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1 Kings 18 General Notes
Structure and formatting
The story of Elijah continues in this chapter.
Special concepts in this chapter
Baal
God proved himself to all the people of Israel. Elijah went to meet Ahab. He told Ahab to bring the 450 prophets of Baal and all the people to Mount Carmel. Then he proposed an experiment, which was carried out. The prophets of Baal took one bull, killed it, cut it up, and placed it on wood on an altar without lighting the fire. The prophets of Baal danced and prayed to Baal all morning and half the afternoon. After they were exhausted, Elijah built his altar, put the bull he had prepared on it, and drenched it with water. Then he prayed. God answered his prayer with fire that burned up the sacrifice, the altar and the water. Then Elijah told the people to seize the prophets of Baal and kill them. After that, Elijah prayed for rain, and it rained very hard. (See: rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/prophet)
Other possible translation difficulties in this chapter
Humor
Elijah insults the false god Baal. He states, "Perhaps he is thinking, or is relieving himself, or he is traveling on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened." Baal was too busy in the bathroom to answer the prophets. "Relieving himself" is a euphemism. (See: rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/falsegod and rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-euphemism)