1 Kings 18:19
in 1 Kings 18Now summon all Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel, along with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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 Asherah four hundred, that eat at Jezebel’s table.
KJV
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.
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This verse in 1 Kings 18
Commentary
10 notes on this verse"Have all Israel assemble for me at Mount Carmel." Now, it is amazing how the king obeyed Elijah, who asked him for a general gathering of the people; and how also the people obeyed him humbly, even though he bitterly reproached them for their evil …
This site's exposition
which eat at Jezebel’s table
on 1 Kings 18:19-20
Four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and four hundred of the groves, salaried at the queen's table, against one man who has been fed by ravens and a widow. Carmel is chosen ground: a headland over the sea, on the border toward Baal's Phoenician homeland, where his rain and lightning ought to be strongest. Ahab gathers all Israel to watch, which is exactly what the LORD intends.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening5 voices
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.
45 And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel. 46 And the hand of the L ORD was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:96%@v45-46
Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto Mount Carmel.....
Elijah does not say, "The God that answers by water " (though that was the thing the country needed), but "that answers by fire, let him be God; " because the atonement was to be made by sacrifice, before the judgment could be removed in mercy.
His interview with all Israel upon Mount Carmel, in order to a public trial of titles between the Lord and Baal; a most distinguished solemnity it was, in which, 1.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
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” 1Ki 18:30, belonging probably to the old times of non-idolatrous high-place worship - perhaps an erection of one of the patriarchs.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
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 1Sa 20:25 and 1Ki 4:22).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
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.
The words behind it
23 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְעַתָּ֗ה | veatah | and now | H6258 → | 433 times |
| שְׁלַ֨ח | shelach | send | H7971 → | 845 times |
| קְבֹ֥ץ | kevotz | gather | H6908 → | 127 times |
| אֵלַ֛י | ʾelai | to me | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַ֣ר | har | [the] mountain of | H2022 → | 546 times |
| הַכַּרְמֶ֑ל | hakarmel | <the> Carmel | H3760 → | 22 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| נְבִיאֵ֨י | neviei | [the] prophets of | H5030 → | 314 times |
| הַבַּ֜עַל | habaal | <the> Baal | H1168 → | 82 times |
| אַרְבַּ֧ע | ʾarba' | four | H702 → | 318 times |
| מֵא֣וֹת | meot | hundred<s> | H3967 → | 581 times |
| וַחֲמִשִּׁ֗ים | vachamishim | and fifty | H2572 → | 163 times |
| וּנְבִיאֵ֤י | uneviei | and [the] prophets of | H5030 → | 314 times |
| הָֽאֲשֵׁרָה֙ | haasherah | <the> Asherah | H842 → | 40 times |
| אַרְבַּ֣ע | ʾarba' | four | H702 → | 318 times |
| מֵא֔וֹת | meot | hundred<s> | H3967 → | 581 times |
| אֹכְלֵ֖י | ʾokhelei | [who] eat of | H398 → | 810 times |
| שֻׁלְחַ֥ן | shulchan | [the] table of | H7979 → | 71 times |
| אִיזָֽבֶל׃ | ʾizavel | Jezebel | H348 → | 22 times |
וְעַתָּ֗הand now
veatahH6258 →433 times
שְׁלַ֨חsend
shelachH7971 →845 times
קְבֹ֥ץgather
kevotzH6908 →127 times
אֵלַ֛יto me
ʾelaiH413 →5510 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַ֣ר[the] mountain of
harH2022 →546 times
הַכַּרְמֶ֑ל<the> Carmel
hakarmelH3760 →22 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
נְבִיאֵ֨י[the] prophets of
nevieiH5030 →314 times
הַבַּ֜עַל<the> Baal
habaalH1168 →82 times
אַרְבַּ֧עfour
ʾarba'H702 →318 times
מֵא֣וֹתhundred<s>
meotH3967 →581 times
וַחֲמִשִּׁ֗יםand fifty
vachamishimH2572 →163 times
וּנְבִיאֵ֤יand [the] prophets of
unevieiH5030 →314 times
הָֽאֲשֵׁרָה֙<the> Asherah
haasherahH842 →40 times
אַרְבַּ֣עfour
ʾarba'H702 →318 times
מֵא֔וֹתhundred<s>
meotH3967 →581 times
אֹכְלֵ֖י[who] eat of
ʾokheleiH398 →810 times
שֻׁלְחַ֥ן[the] table of
shulchanH7979 →71 times
אִיזָֽבֶל׃Jezebel
ʾizavelH348 →22 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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
2 Peter 2:1Now there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them—bringing swift destruction on…
it leads to
- Matthew 7:15
Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
- Jude 1:4
For certain men have crept in among you unnoticed—ungodly ones who were designated long ago for condemnation. They turn the grace of our God into a license for immorality, and they deny our only…
- Deuteronomy 13:1–3
If a prophet or dreamer of dreams arises among you and proclaims a sign or wonder to you,
- Matthew 24:11
and many false prophets will arise and mislead many.
- 2 Timothy 4:3
For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires.
- Matthew 7:15
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies5
On this verse
About 1 Kings
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Alfred Edersheim, Bible History: Old Testament; Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS 18:8; F. W. Farrar, The First Book of Kings (Expositor's Bible); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.