1 Kings 13:5
in 1 Kings 13And the altar was split apart, and the ashes poured out, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of Jehovah.
KJV
The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord.
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This verse in 1 Kings 13
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThe altar also was rent,.... Split into two parts perhaps, and one fell one way, and the other another; and the ashes poured out from the altar; the ashes of the burnt offering, these were spilled on the ground; all which was done without any outward force, or any visible means thereof: according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord; by his direction and order.
This site's exposition
he stretched out his hand and said
on 1 Kings 13:4-6
Jeroboam's hand carries out the sign: stretched out to seize the prophet, it withers, and the altar splits at the same moment. The king who ordered the arrest now asks the same man to “pray that my hand may be restored”, and the hand is healed. His heart stays unchanged.
This site's exposition
the altar was split apart
Albert Barnes pictures a crack running down the altar, with the ashes and pieces of the offerings poured out. Matthew Henry reads the split altar as a sign of its ruin under Josiah and a rebuke to hearts harder than stone. The sign of verse 3 came true that day.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
But when in the temple of our God, that wicked king Jeroboam took away the gifts that his father had laid up and offered them to idols on the holy altar, did not his right hand, which he stretched, wither, and his idols, which he called on, were not able to help him? Then, turning to the Lord, he asked for pardon, and at once his hand, which had withered by sacrilege, was healed by true religion.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
How could the gift be acceptable when the altar that should sanctify it was an abomination? It was a reproach to the people, whose hearts were harder than these stones and rent not under the word of the Lord. It was a specimen of what should be done to it in the accomplishment of this prophecy by Josiah; it was now rent, in token of its being then ruined.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
We need not suppose a complete shattering of the altar, but rather the appearance of a crack or fissure in the fabric, which, extending from top to bottom, caused the embers and the fragments of the victims to fall until they reached the ground.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
That moment the king's arm became stiff and motionless, and the altar split asunder, so that the fire and ashes fell on the floor. Overawed by the effects of his impiety, Jeroboam besought the prophet's prayer. His request was acceded to, and the hand was restored to its healthy state.
The altar was also rent - It split or clave of its own accord; and, as the split parts would decline at the top from the line of their perpendicular, so the ashes and coals would fall off, or be poured out.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהַמִּזְבֵּ֣חַ | vehamizbeach | and the altar | H4196 → | 401 times |
| נִקְרָ֔ע | nikra' | it was torn apart | H7167 → | 63 times |
| וַיִּשָּׁפֵ֥ךְ | vaiyishafekh | and it was poured out | H8210 → | 114 times |
| הַדֶּ֖שֶׁן | hadeshen | the fatty ash | H1880 → | |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַמִּזְבֵּ֑חַ | hamizbeach | the altar | H4196 → | 401 times |
| כַּמּוֹפֵ֗ת | kamofet | according to the sign | H4159 → | 36 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| נָתַ֛ן | natan | he had given | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| אִ֥ישׁ | ʾish | [the] man of | H376 → | 1663 times |
| הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים | haelohim | <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| בִּדְבַ֥ר | bidvar | by [the] word of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
וְהַמִּזְבֵּ֣חַand the altar
vehamizbeachH4196 →401 times
נִקְרָ֔עit was torn apart
nikra'H7167 →63 times
וַיִּשָּׁפֵ֥ךְand it was poured out
vaiyishafekhH8210 →114 times
הַדֶּ֖שֶׁןthe fatty ash
hadeshenH1880 →
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הַמִּזְבֵּ֑חַthe altar
hamizbeachH4196 →401 times
כַּמּוֹפֵ֗תaccording to the sign
kamofetH4159 →36 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
נָתַ֛ןhe had given
natanH5414 →2011 times
אִ֥ישׁ[the] man of
ʾishH376 →1663 times
הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים<the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
בִּדְבַ֥רby [the] word of
bidvarH1697 →1440 times
יְהוָֽה׃Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Mark 16:20And they went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked through them, confirming His word by the signs that accompanied it.
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 2:4–5
My message and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,
- Acts 14:3
So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who affirmed the message of His grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders.
- Hebrews 2:4
and was affirmed by God through signs, wonders, various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will.
- Romans 15:19
by the power of signs and wonders, and by the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.
- Acts 8:4–6
Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.
- 1 Corinthians 2:4–5
Through
1 Kings 13:3That day the man of God gave a sign, saying, “The LORD has spoken this sign: ‘Surely the altar will be split apart, and the ashes upon it will be poured out.’”
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 1:22
Jews demand signs and Greeks search for wisdom,
- Exodus 4:3–5
“Throw it on the ground,” said the LORD. So Moses threw it on the ground, and it became a snake, and he ran from it.
- John 2:18
On account of this, the Jews demanded, “What sign can You show us to prove Your authority to do these things?”
- 1 Corinthians 1:22
Where this verse is studied
About 1 Kings
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, Concerning Virginity 2.5.38; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.