1 Kings 18:33
in 1 Kings 18Next, he arranged the wood, cut up the bull, placed it on the wood,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid it on the wood. And he said, Fill four jars with water, and pour it on the burnt-offering, and on the wood.
KJV
And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood.
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This verse in 1 Kings 18
Commentary
9 notes on this verseMoreover, if anyone has not been baptized, let him be converted all the more securely by receiving the remission of his sins, [so that baptism] as a kind of fire may consume his sins, because Christ baptizes in fire and spirit. Hence, you read of this type in the books of Kings, where Elijah placed wood upon the altar and told them to pour water on it from urns. "And he said, 'Do the same the second time.' And they did it the second time.
This site's exposition
Fill four barrels with water
on 1 Kings 18:33-35
Four barrels, poured three times, until the wood is soaked, the trench full, and every suspicion of hidden fire drowned; in the third year of drought, water is the costliest thing on the mountain. Elijah spends it like a man removing every explanation but one. The commentators note Carmel's springs and the nearby sea as the likely source, which answers the practical question without shrinking the extravagance.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
A commentator
Origen of AlexandriaCOMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 6.125 · Written before 253.
proposed
And what is the source of your belief that Elijah who is to come will baptize? Did he not even baptize the wood on the altar in the times of Ahab, when it required a bath that it might be burned up when the Lord appeared in fire? He commanded the priests to do this, and not only once, for he says, "Do it a second time, when also they did it a second time," and "Do it a third time, when also they did it a third time." How, then, will he who did not himself baptize at that time, but gave the task to others, baptize when he has come in fulfillment of the things said by Malachi? Christ, therefore, does not baptize in water, but his disciples. He reserves for himself the act of baptizing with the Holy Spirit and fire.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
If we, in sincerity, offer our hearts to God, he will, by his grace, kindle a holy fire in them. Elijah was no priest, nor were his attendants Levites. Carmel had neither tabernacle nor temple; it was a great way distant from the ark of the testimony and the place God had chosen; this was not the altar that sanctified the gift; yet never was any sacrifice more acceptable to God than this.
With water - This they could quickly fetch, either from the river Kishon; or, if that was dried up, from the sea; both were at the foot of the mountain. This he did to make the miracle more glorious, and more unquestionable.
And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And he put the wood in order ... - He obeyed, that is, all the injunctions of the Law with respect to the offering of a burned sacrifice (marginal reference). He thus publicly taught that the ordinances of the Law were binding upon the kingdom of Israel. Barrels - Rather, “pitchers” or “water-jars,” such as the maidens used to carry on their heads (Gen 24:14-20. Compare Jdg 7:16, Jdg 7:19).
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
In vain did they continue invoking their senseless deity from morning till noon, and from noon till evening, uttering the most piercing cries, using the most frantic gesticulations, and mingling their blood with the sacrifice. Elijah exposed their folly and imposture with the severest irony and, as the day was far advanced, commenced his operations.
Fill four barrels - This was done to prevent any kind of suspicion that there was fire concealed under the altar. An ancient writer under the name of Chrysostom, quoted by Calmet, says that he had seen under the altars of the heathens, holes dug in the earth with funnels proceeding from them, and communicating with openings on the tops of the altars. In the former the priests concealed fire, which, communicating through the funnels with the holes, set fire to the wood and consumed the sacrifice; and thus the simple people were led to believe that the sacrifice was consumed by a miraculous fire. Elijah showed that no such knavery could be practiced in the present case. Had there been a concealed fire under the altar, as in the case mentioned above, the water that was thrown on the altar must have extinguished it most effectually. This very precaution has for ever put this miracle beyond the reach of suspicion.
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֗אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מִלְא֨וּ | milu | fill | H4390 → | 249 times |
| אַרְבָּעָ֤ה | ʾarbaah | four | H702 → | 318 times |
| כַדִּים֙ | khadim | jars | H3537 → | 18 times |
| מַ֔יִם | mayim | water | H4325 → | 581 times |
| וְיִֽצְק֥וּ | veyitzku | and pour [it] | H3332 → | 50 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הָעֹלָ֖ה | haolah | the burnt offering | H5930 → | 287 times |
| וְעַל־ | veal- | and on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הָעֵצִ֑ים | haetzim | the wood<s> | H6086 → | 328 times |
וַיֹּ֗אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
מִלְא֨וּfill
miluH4390 →249 times
אַרְבָּעָ֤הfour
ʾarbaahH702 →318 times
כַדִּים֙jars
khadimH3537 →18 times
מַ֔יִםwater
mayimH4325 →581 times
וְיִֽצְק֥וּand pour [it]
veyitzkuH3332 →50 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הָעֹלָ֖הthe burnt offering
haolahH5930 →287 times
וְעַל־and on
veal-H5921 →5755 times
הָעֵצִ֑יםthe wood<s>
haetzimH6086 →328 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
Daniel 3:25“Look!” he exclaimed. “I see four men, unbound and unharmed, walking around in the fire—and the fourth looks like a son of the gods!”
it leads to
- Isaiah 43:2
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you go through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched;…
- Acts 28:5
But Paul shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.
- Mark 16:18
they will pick up snakes with their hands, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will be made well.”
- Psalms 91:3–9
Surely He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler, and from the deadly plague.
- Psalms 34:7
The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, and he delivers them.
- Isaiah 43:2
Through
Daniel 3:19At this, Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He gave orders to heat the furnace seven times hotter than usual,
it leads to
- Daniel 3:13
Then Nebuchadnezzar, furious with rage, summoned Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king,
- Leviticus 26:24
then I will act with hostility toward you, and I will strike you sevenfold for your sins.
- Daniel 3:13
Through
Genesis 22:9When they arrived at the place God had designated, Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood. He bound his son Isaac and placed him on the altar, atop the wood.
it leads to
- James 2:21
Was not our father Abraham justified by what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?
- James 2:21
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies5
On this verse
About 1 Kings
This page draws on 10 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); Ambrose of Milan, On Elijah and Fasting, Chapter 22, 83; 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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 6.125.