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Selected Verse: 1 Kings 18:19 - Strong Concordance
| Verse |
Translation |
Text |
| 1Ki 18:19 |
Strong Concordance |
Now therefore send [07971], and gather [06908] to me all Israel [03478] unto mount [02022] Carmel [03760], and the prophets [05030] of Baal [01168] four [0702] hundred [03967] and fifty [02572], and the prophets [05030] of the groves [0842] four [0702] hundred [03967], which eat [0398] at Jezebel's [0348] table [07979]. |
| |
King James |
Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table. |
Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse
| A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882] |
gather . . . the prophets of Baal . . . the prophets of the groves--From the sequel it appears that the former only came. The latter, anticipating some evil, evaded the king's command.
which eat at Jezebel's table--that is, not at the royal table where she herself dined, but they were maintained from her kitchen establishment (see on Sa1 20:25 and Kg1 4:22). They were the priests of Astarte, the Zidonian goddess. |
| Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834] |
Carmel (Jos 12:22 note) was chosen by the prophet as the scene of the gathering to which he invited, or rather summoned, Ahab. Its thick jungles of copse and numerous dwarf-oaks and olives, would furnish abundant wood for his intended sacrifice. Here was a perennial fountain; and here again an ancient "altar of the Lord" Kg1 18:30, belonging probably to the old times of non-idolatrous high-place worship - perhaps an erection of one of the patriarchs. On the one hand, there would be a view of the Mediterranean, from where the first sign of rain was likely to come, and on the other of Jezreel, the residence of the court at the time, with its royal palace and its idol-temples, so that the intended trial would take place in the sight (so to speak) of the proud queen and her minions.
The prophets of Baal - The priests of Baal are so called not so much because they claimed a power of foretelling the future, as because they were "teachers" of the false religion, and more especially because they stand here in antagonism to the "prophet of the Lord," with whom they are about to contend.
The prophets of the groves, four hundred - Rather, "of the grove" - the prophets, or priests, attached to the "grove" - אשׁרה 'ăshêrāh - which Ahab had made, probably at Jezreel (marginal reference). The number 400 seems to have been one especially affected by Ahab. We again find 400 prophets at the close of his reign Kg1 22:6. The number 40 entered largely into the religious system of the Jews Kg1 6:17; Exo 26:19; Deu 25:3; Eze 41:2.
Which eat at Jezebel's table - Rather, "which eat from Jezebel's table." Oriental etiquette would not have allowed them to eat "at" the table of the queen, which was spread in the seraglio. They were fed from the superfluity of her daily provision, which was no doubt on a sumptuous scale. Compare Kg1 4:22-23. |
| Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65] |
| Send - Messengers, that this controversy may be decided, what is the cause of these heavy judgments. All Israel - By their heads, or representatives, that they may be witnesses of all our transactions. Carmel - Not that Carmel, in Judah, but another in Issachar by the midland sea, which he chose as a convenient place being not far from the center of his kingdom, to which all the tribes might conveniently resort, and at some distance from Samaria, that Jezebel might not hinder. Prophets of Baal - Who were dispersed in all the parts of the kingdom. Of the groves - Who attended upon those Baal's or idols that were worshipped in the groves, which were near the royal city, and much frequented by the king and the queen. |
| Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826 |
Gather to me all Israel - The heads of tribes and families; the rulers of the people.
The prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty - the prophets of the groves four hundred - The king and queen had different religious establishments; the king and his servants worshipped Baal, the supreme lord and master of the world, the sun. For this establishment four hundred and fifty priests were maintained. The queen and her women worshipped אשרה Asherah, Astarte, or Venus; and for this establishment four hundred priests were maintained. These latter were in high honor; they ate at Jezebel's table; they made a part of her household. It appears that those eight hundred and fifty priests were the domestic chaplains of the king and queen, and probably not all the priests that belonged to the rites of Baal and Asherah in the land; and yet from the following verse we learn that Ahab had sent to all the children of Israel to collect these prophets; but Jezebel had certainly four hundred of them in her own house who were not at the assembly mentioned here. Those of Baal might have a more extensive jurisdiction than those of Asherah, the latter being constantly resident in Samaria. |
22 And Solomon's [08010] provision [03899] for one [0259] day [03117] was thirty [07970] measures [03734] of fine flour [05560], and threescore [08346] measures [03734] of meal [07058],
25 And the king [04428] sat [03427] upon his seat [04186], as at other times [06471], even upon a seat [04186] by the wall [07023]: and Jonathan [03083] arose [06965], and Abner [074] sat [03427] by Saul's [07586] side [06654], and David's [01732] place [04725] was empty [06485].
22 And Solomon's [08010] provision [03899] for one [0259] day [03117] was thirty [07970] measures [03734] of fine flour [05560], and threescore [08346] measures [03734] of meal [07058],
23 Ten [06235] fat [01277] oxen [01241], and twenty [06242] oxen [01241] out of the pastures [07471], and an hundred [03967] sheep [06629], beside harts [0354], and roebucks [06643], and fallowdeer [03180], and fatted [075] fowl [01257].
2 And the breadth [07341] of the door [06607] was ten [06235] cubits [0520]; and the sides [03802] of the door [06607] were five [02568] cubits [0520] on the one side, and five [02568] cubits [0520] on the other side: and he measured [04058] the length [0753] thereof, forty [0705] cubits [0520]: and the breadth [07341], twenty [06242] cubits [0520].
3 Forty [0705] stripes [05221] he may give him, and not exceed [03254]: lest, if he should exceed [03254], and beat [05221] him above these with many [07227] stripes [04347], then thy brother [0251] should seem vile [07034] [05869] unto thee.
19 And thou shalt make [06213] forty [0705] sockets [0134] of silver [03701] under the twenty [06242] boards [07175]; two [08147] sockets [0134] under one [0259] board [07175] for his two [08147] tenons [03027], and two [08147] sockets [0134] under another [0259] board [07175] for his two [08147] tenons [03027].
17 And the house [01004], that is, the temple [01964] before [03942] it, was forty [0705] cubits [0520] long.
6 Then the king [04428] of Israel [03478] gathered [06908] the prophets [05030] together [06908], about four [0702] hundred [03967] men [0376], and said [0559] unto them, Shall I go [03212] against Ramothgilead [07433] [01568] to battle [04421], or shall I forbear [02308]? And they said [0559], Go up [05927]; for the Lord [0136] shall deliver [05414] it into the hand [03027] of the king [04428].
30 And Elijah [0452] said [0559] unto all the people [05971], Come near [05066] unto me. And all the people [05971] came near [05066] unto him. And he repaired [07495] the altar [04196] of the LORD [03068] that was broken down [02040].
22 The king [04428] of Kedesh [06943], one [0259]; the king [04428] of Jokneam [03362] of Carmel [03760], one [0259];