1 Kings 18:40

And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Elijah	אֵלִיָּ֨הוּ 'e.li.Ya.hu	H452	Elijah · proper noun, a man's name
said	וַיֹּאמֶר֩ vai.yo.Mer	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Take	תִּפְשׂ֣וּ tif.Su	H8610	to manipulate · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine plural
prophets	נְבִיאֵ֣י ne.vi.'Ei	H5030	a prophet or (generally) inspired man · noun, common masculine plural construct
Baal	הַבַּ֗עַל ha.Ba.'al	H1168	Baal · definite article + noun, masculine singular absolute
one	אִ֛ישׁ 'ish	H376	a man as an individual or a male person · noun, common masculine singular absolute
escape	יִמָּלֵ֥ט yi.ma.Let	H4422	properly · verb, niphal jussive, 3rd person masculine singular
took	וַֽיִּתְפְּשׂ֑וּם vai.yit.pe.Sum	H8610	to manipulate · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
Elijah	אֵלִיָּ֙הוּ֙ 'e.li.Ya.hu	H452	Elijah · proper noun, a man's name
down	וַיּוֹרִדֵ֤ם vai.yo.ri.Dem	H3381	to descend (literally · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
brook	נַ֣חַל Na.chal	H5158	a stream · noun, common masculine singular construct
Kishon	קִישׁ֔וֹן ki.Shon	H7028	Kishon · proper noun, a place name
slew	וַיִּשְׁחָטֵ֖ם vai.yish.cha.Tem	H7819	to slaughter (in sacrifice or massacre) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Deuteronomy 18:20 But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of…
Judges 4:7 And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver h…
Deuteronomy 13:5 And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which br…
Judges 5:21 The river of Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the river Kishon. O my soul, thou hast trodden down strength.
Zechariah 13:2-3 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall n…
2 Kings 10:24-25 And when they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings, Jehu appointed fourscore men without, and said, If any of the men whom I have…
Jeremiah 48:10 Cursed be he that doeth the work of the LORD deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.
Revelation 19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Kings 18:21-40

Ahab and the people expected that Elijah would, in this solemn assembly, bless the land, and pray for rain; but he had other work to do first. The people must be brought to repent and reform, and then they may look for the removal of the judgment, but not till then. This is the right method. God will first prepare our heart, and then cause his ear to hear, will first turn us to him, and then turn to us, Psa 10:17; Psa 80:3. Deserters must not look for God's favour till they return to their allegiance. Elijah might have looked for rain seventy times seven times, and not have seen it, if he had not thus begun his work at the right end. Three years and a half's famine would not bring them back…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Kings 18:21

Elijah said unto all the people, How long halt ye?--They had long been attempting to conjoin the service of God with that of Baal. It was an impracticable union and the people were so struck with a sense of their own folly, or dread of the king's displeasure, that they "answered not a word." Elijah proposed to decide for them the controversy between God and Baal by an appeal, not to the authority of the law, for that would have no weight, but by a visible token from Heaven. As fire was the element over which Baal was supposed to preside, Elijah proposed that two bullocks should be slain and placed on separate altars of wood, the one for Baal, and the other for God. On whichever the fire shou…

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Adam Clarke on 1 Kings 18:40

Let not one of them escape - They had committed the highest crime against the state and the people by introducing idolatry, and bringing down God's judgments upon the land; therefore their lives were forfeited to that law which had ordered every idolater to be slain. It seems also that Ahab, who was present, consented to this act of impartial justice.

John Gill on 1 Kings 18:40

And Elijah said unto them, take the prophets of Baal,.... The four hundred and fifty that were upon the spot; for the number of the people of Israel, now gathered together, were equal to it; nor was it in Ahab's power to hinder it, and he might himself be so far surprised and convicted as not in the least to object to it: let not one of them escape: that there might be none of them left to seduce the people any more: and they took them; laid hold on them, everyone of them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon; which ran by the side, and at the bottom of Mount Carmel, into the sea; See Gill on Judges 4:7, Judges 5:21. and slew them there; intimating, that it was owing to the i…

The Church Fathers

"Elijah brought them down to the Wadi Kishon, and cut their throats there." There is no doubt that the people rose against the prophets of shame and brought them before Elijah. But it is not entirely clear who killed them. The Scripture says that Elijah cut their throats. And this is in perfect agreement with the true spirit of Elijah, who was concerned for the safety of the assembly: he tried to be the only one who could be accused of the murder of the prophets. Indeed, he knew that Jezebel would have claimed vengeance for the shed blood of her priests.
— Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS 18:40

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Carmel — A park; generally with the article, “the park.” (1.) A prominent headland of Central Palestine, consisting of several connected hills extending from the plain of Esdraelon to the sea, a distance of…
Elijah — Whose God is Jehovah. (1.) “The Tishbite,” the “Elias” of the New Testament, is suddenly introduced to our notice in 1 Kings 17:1 as delivering a message from the Lord to Ahab. There is mention made…
Kishon — Winding, a winter torrent of Central Palestine, which rises about the roots of Tabor and Gilboa, and passing in a northerly direction through the plains of Esdraelon and Acre, falls into the…
Ahab · .Reproved by Elijah; assembles the prophets of Baal — .Reproved by Elijah; assembles the prophets of Baal
Baal · .Prophets of, slain by Elijah — .Prophets of, slain by Elijah
Brooks · Mentioned in scripture: Kishon — Mentioned in scripture: Kishon
Carmel · prophets — prophets
Elijah · .Kills the prophets of Baal — .Kills the prophets of Baal
Intolerance, Religious · .Elijah — .Elijah
Kishon · Prophets of Baal — Prophets of Baal
Massacre · .Prophets of Baal — .Prophets of Baal
Revivals · .Elijah — .Elijah

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

1 Kings 18:40

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Kings 18:21-40

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Kings 18:21

Adam Clarke on 1 Kings 18:40

John Gill on 1 Kings 18:40

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

1 Kings 18:40

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Kings 18:21-40

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Kings 18:21

Adam Clarke on 1 Kings 18:40

John Gill on 1 Kings 18:40

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on 1 Kings 18:20–end

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 Kings 18:38-39

Rashi on 1 Kings 18:39