1 Kings 18:22
in 1 Kings 18Then Elijah said to the people, “I am the only remaining prophet of the LORD, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, am left a prophet of Jehovah; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men.
KJV
Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the Lord; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men.
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This verse in 1 Kings 18
Commentary
4 notes on this verseWhen Elijah said, "I alone am left as a prophet to the Lord," he was not speaking against the just, because they were no [longer] to be found. Rather he was denouncing sinners, because they had done away with [the just]. He did not wish …
This site's exposition
I, even I only
on 1 Kings 18:22-24
Elijah states the odds as he feels them, one prophet of the LORD against four hundred and fifty, though Obadiah's hundred in the caves say the arithmetic of despair is not the whole truth, and 19:18 will say it louder with seven thousand. The test he proposes gives Baal every advantage: fire is the storm god's own advertised power, and his prophets choose their bullock first. The God that answereth by fire, let him be God, and all the people call the terms fair.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only remain a prophet of the Lord,.... At least as he thought, all the rest being slain, as he supposed; however there were none present but himself: but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men; which were very great odds he had to contend with.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
I only, remain a prophet of the Lord - That is, I am the only prophet of God present, and can have but the influence of an individual; while the prophets of Baal are four hundred and fifty men! It appears that the queen’s prophets, amounting to four hundred, were not at this great assembly; and these are they whom we meet with 1Ki 22:6, and whom the king consulted relative to the battle at Ramoth-gilead.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Two concepts. Two thoughts, because you do not know how to decide who is God.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵלִיָּ֙הוּ֙ | ʾeliyahu | Elijah | H452 → | 71 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הָעָ֔ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| אֲנִ֞י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| נוֹתַ֧רְתִּי | notarti | I am left | H3498 → | 106 times |
| נָבִ֛יא | navi' | a prophet | H5030 → | 314 times |
| לַיהוָ֖ה | layahweh | of Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לְבַדִּ֑י | levadi | to alone me | H905 → | 200 times |
| וּנְבִיאֵ֣י | uneviei | and [the] prophets of | H5030 → | 314 times |
| הַבַּ֔עַל | habaal | <the> Baal | H1168 → | 82 times |
| אַרְבַּע־ | ʾarba'- | [are] four | H702 → | 318 times |
| מֵא֥וֹת | meot | hundred<s> | H3967 → | 581 times |
| וַחֲמִשִּׁ֖ים | vachamishim | and fifty | H2572 → | 163 times |
| אִֽישׁ׃ | ʾish | man | H376 → | 1663 times |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֵלִיָּ֙הוּ֙Elijah
ʾeliyahuH452 →71 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הָעָ֔םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
אֲנִ֞יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
נוֹתַ֧רְתִּיI am left
notartiH3498 →106 times
נָבִ֛יאa prophet
navi'H5030 →314 times
לַיהוָ֖הof Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 times
לְבַדִּ֑יto alone me
levadiH905 →200 times
וּנְבִיאֵ֣יand [the] prophets of
unevieiH5030 →314 times
הַבַּ֔עַל<the> Baal
habaalH1168 →82 times
אַרְבַּע־[are] four
ʾarba'-H702 →318 times
מֵא֥וֹתhundred<s>
meotH3967 →581 times
וַחֲמִשִּׁ֖יםand fifty
vachamishimH2572 →163 times
אִֽישׁ׃man
ʾishH376 →1663 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
Romans 11:3“Lord, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars. I am the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well”?
it leads to
- 1 Kings 19:10–18
“I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of Hosts,” he replied, “but the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I am…
- 1 Kings 18:13
Was it not reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel slaughtered the prophets of the LORD? I hid a hundred prophets of the LORD, fifty men per cave, and I provided them…
- Nehemiah 9:26
But they were disobedient and rebelled against You; they flung Your law behind their backs. They killed Your prophets, who had admonished them to return to You. They committed terrible blasphemies.
- 1 Kings 19:10–18
Through
1 Kings 19:10“I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of Hosts,” he replied, “but the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I am…
it leads to
- 1 Kings 18:4
for when Jezebel had slaughtered the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty men per cave, providing them with food and water.)
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 34:14
For you must not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.
- Exodus 20:5
You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth…
- Romans 11:2–4
God did not reject His people, whom He foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says about Elijah, how he appealed to God against Israel:
- 1 Kings 18:30
Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people approached him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD that had been torn down.
- 1 Kings 18:4
Where this verse is studied
Studies5
On this verse
About 1 Kings

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 7.14; F. W. Farrar, The First Book of Kings (Expositor's Bible); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
