Глава 18

1–2. God's command to the prophet Elijah to appear to Ahab. 3–6. A picture of hunger in the last days of the drought. 7–16. Meeting of the prophet with Obadiah, Ahab's courtier. 17–19. The prophet's meeting with Ahab, denouncing him and offering to test the strength of Jehovah and Baal. 20–38. On Carmel: the failure of the prayers and sacrifices of the priests of Baal and the fall of heavenly fire on the sacrifice of the prophet. 39–46. Execution of priests; the appearance of rain; return of Ahab and the prophet. 1 Kings 18:1. After many days the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year: Go and show yourself to Ahab, and I will give rain on the earth. 1 Kings 18:2. And Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. There was a severe famine in Samaria. “In the third year”: this date does not contradict the New Testament testimony - 3 years and 6 months (Luke 4:25; James 5:17), since the latter more accurately indicate the entire duration of the prophetic word of Elijah, and this place in 3 Books of Kings indicates only the actual duration of the disaster of drought and famine (at first, the inhabitants could eat from the reserves of the previous year). 1 Kings 18:3. And Ahab called Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. Obadiah was a very God-fearing man, 1 Kings 18:4. and when Jezebel destroyed the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took one hundred prophets, and hid them, fifty at a time, in caves, and fed them with bread and water. 1 Kings 18:5. And Ahab said to Obadiah: Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the streams on the earth, see if we can find grass somewhere, so that we can feed the horses and mules and not lose the livestock. 1 Kings 18:6. And they divided the land among themselves in order to go around it: Ahab went specially one way, and Obadiah specially went another way. The upcoming meeting of the prophet Elijah with Ahab fell at the time of the highest development of drought and famine, and here are indicated the circumstances that led to the meeting of the prophet with the king. The position of chief of the palace, introduced by Solomon (1 Kings 4:6), also existed among Ahab (v. 3), whose reign from the external, political and international side was, apparently, a reflection of the splendor of Solomon’s reign (cf. Chapter XX). The decline of religion during this reign is all the more pronounced, which found expression, among other things, in the persecution and killing by Jezebel of the prophets (v. 4), that is, the sons of the prophets who performed pious religious exercises under the guidance of some prophet (cf. 1 Samuel 10: 5-6, 19: 20-24): obviously, there were a lot of them at that time in the kingdom of Israel (cf. 2 Kings 2:3–7); wickedness, which raised its head high, called forth the great religious and moral force of prophetic societies (sometimes unfortunately called “prophetic schools”) to fight against it. Obadiah, the ruler of the palace of Ahab, due to his piety and zeal for the religion of Jehovah (vv. 3, 7, 12; cf. blessed Theodoret, in question. 55) hid and fed the persecuted prophets in one of the caves, perhaps on Mount Carmel. 1 Kings 18:7. As Obadiah walked along the road, behold, Elijah came towards him. He recognized him and fell on his face and said, “Is this you, my lord Elijah?” 1 Kings 18:8. He said to him: I; Go and tell your master, “Elijah is here.” 1 Kings 18:9. He said: What have I done wrong that you are delivering your servant into the hands of Ahab to kill me? 1 Kings 18:10. The Lord your God lives! There is not a single people or kingdom where my sovereign has not sent to look for you; and when they told him that you were not there, he took an oath from that kingdom and people that they could not find you; 1 Kings 18:11. and now you say: “Go, tell your master: Elijah is here.” 1 Kings 18:12. When I leave you, then the Spirit of the Lord will take you away, I don’t know where; and if I go to notify Ahab, and he does not find you, he will kill me; and your servant has feared God from his youth. 1 Kings 18:13. Was it not told to my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, how I hid a hundred prophets of the Lord, fifty men at a time, in caves and fed them with bread and water? 1 Kings 18:14. And now you say: “Go, tell your master: Elijah is here”; he will kill me. 1 Kings 18:15. And Elijah said, As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand! Today I will show myself to him. 1 Kings 18:16. And Obadiah went to meet Ahab and reported to him. And Ahab went to meet Elijah. Obadiah could easily recognize (glorified: “striving”, LXX: έσπεοσε) the prophet Elijah (v. 7) by his peculiar appearance: “that man was all covered in hair and girded around his loins with a leather belt” (2 Kings 1:8), - by these signs the prophet was recognized. In Obadiah’s conversation with the prophet, it is characteristic, in addition to his deep respect for the prophet (vv. 7, 9, 13), also the view that the Spirit of Jehovah at any moment can take the prophet to an unknown place (v. 12; cf. v. 46); (Ezek.3:12,8:3,11:1,43:5), as it happened at the end of the prophet’s life (2 Kings 2:11). From the same conversation we learn what intense efforts Ahab used to find Elijah - “the one who closed the clouds with his lips in order to do one of two things, or to convince the prophet to open the clouds, or to destroy him if he is not convinced” (Blessed Theodoret, issue 55). Only the prophet’s oath (v. 15) of his intention to appear before Ahab convinces Obadiah to inform Ahab about the prophet’s arrival (v. 16). The name of God is “Lord of Hosts” (Heb. Jehovah - Tsebaoth) or more fully “Lord God of Hosts” (Jehovah - Elogei - Tsebaoth) is used almost exclusively by the prophets (found especially in Isaiah, Amos, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, in the psalms and in the books of Kings and Chronicles) and means God: 1) as the heavenly Leader of the armies of Israel; 2) as the Lord of the heavenly lights and mainly 3) as the Lord of the angelic armies (see A. Glagolev, Old Testament biblical teaching about angels. pp. 238–256). 1 Kings 18:17. When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Are you the one who troubles Israel?” 1 Kings 18:18. And Elijah said, “It is not I who trouble Israel, but you and your father’s house, because you have despised the commandments of the Lord and are following the Baals; 1 Kings 18:19. Now come and gather to me all Israel to Mount Carmel, and the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of the groves, who eat at the table of Jezebel. 1 Kings 18:20. And Ahab sent to all the children of Israel and gathered all the prophets to Mount Carmel. Ahab superstitiously sees in the prophet a man who brings misfortune to the people (Heb. ocher, v. 17,: achar; v. 18: destroy, destroyer), cf. (Gen.34:30; Joshua 6:17,7:25), but the prophet sees the source of Israel’s destruction (v. 18) in the idolatry of Baal (Baal, in addition to the common name, had various epithets and nicknames: Baal-Berith, Baal-Zebub, etc., in which the idolaters saw separate deities) and proposes a religious competition with 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Ashora-Astarte, in the presence of “all Israel” (i.e., the people’s representatives) on Mount Carmel. Mount Carmel (Heb. Carmel, proper garden, (Josh. 19:26); Onomast. 602), south of the Gulf of Acre, constitutes the northern extension of Mount Ephraim, near the stream Kishon. In ancient times, the city of Carmel, according to Josephus (Jude. Ancient. V, 1, 22; Jude. War, III, 3, 1), formed the border between Galilee and the Tire region; It was famous for its vegetation, as well as the abundance of grottoes. She was chosen by the prophet, probably, as the central place in the kingdom of Israel, and, moreover, close to the summer residence of Ahab (cf. v. 46); finally, here, obviously, has long been a revered altar of Jehovah (v. 30). Ahab immediately fulfills the proposal of the prophet (v. 20), against whom he had just burned with anger (v. 17): it is clear that the personality of the prophet had a strong influence on this king. 1 Kings 18:21. And Elijah came to all the people and said, How long will you be limping on both knees? if the Lord is God, then follow Him; and if Baal, then follow him. And the people did not answer him a word. 1 Kings 18:22. And Elijah said to the people: I am the only prophet of the Lord left, and the prophets of Baal are four hundred and fifty men [and four hundred prophets of the oak forests]; 1 Kings 18:23. Let them give us two bulls, and let them choose one bull for themselves, and cut it up, and put it on the firewood, but let them not add fire; and I will prepare another calf and put it on the wood, but I will not add fire; 1 Kings 18:24. And you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord my God. The God who will give the answer through fire is God. And all the people answered and said: Well, [let it be so]. 1 Kings 18:25. And Elijah said to the prophets of Baal: Choose for yourself one bull and prepare it first, for you are many; and call on the name of your god, but do not add fire. In view of the upcoming test of the power of Jehovah and Baal, the prophet Elijah reproaches the people for the religious syncretism they have allowed - the simultaneous service of Jehovah and Baal (cf. Blessed Theodoret, question 57): the expression “how long will you limp on both knees,” which has the character of a proverb, contains the idea that pure idolatry is in some respects better than an indifferent hesitation between the religion of the True God and the cult of Baal. Having not received an answer to his reproach from the people, the prophet points out (v. 22) that he is here one of the prophets of Jehovah (in other places in the kingdom of Israel there were still prophets of Jehovah, cf. vv. 4, 13; 2 Kings 2:3,5), and there are 450 prophets of Baal. (LXX add in v. 22: καὶ οἱ προφῆται τοῦ ἄλσους τετρακόσιοι; glor.: “and the prophets of the oak forests were four hundred”; addition, apparently borrowed from Art. 19: the priests of Asherah were not present at Carmel, as can be seen from Art. 25, 40). The prophet turns to them with a proposal, v. 23–25, offer sacrifices here: the priests to Baal, and the prophet to Jehovah, under equal conditions (without adding fire, v. 23, 25), and the prophet allows the priests to make a sacrifice before him (v. 25), “so that the shamed servants of lies do not say that Baal was upset that he was not the first to be given the gift” (Blessed Theodoret, question 58), and at the same time for the purpose of creating an impression of the power and greatness of Jehovah, when He sent down fire (v. 24; cf. 38), more imprinted in the consciousness of the people - after the insignificance of Baal was previously shown. 1 Kings 18:26. And they took the calf that was given to them, and prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying: Baal, hear us! But there was no voice, no answer. And they galloped around the altar they had made. 1 Kings 18:27. At noon Elijah began to laugh at them and said: Shout with a loud voice, for he is a god; Maybe he’s lost in thought, or busy with something, or on the road, or maybe he’s sleeping, so he’ll wake up! 1 Kings 18:28. And they began to shout with a loud voice, and stabbed themselves as usual with knives and spears, so that blood flowed over them. 1 Kings 18:29. Noon passed, and they were still raging until the time of the evening sacrifice; but there was no voice, no answer, no hearing. [And Elijah the Tishbite said to the prophets of Baal: Now go away, so that I too may perform my sacrifice. They walked away and fell silent.] Characteristic is the depiction of prayer and liturgical actions of the priests of the cult of Baal, very typical of the pagan cults of antiquity in general. In addition to prayer cries from morning to evening (verses 26, 27, 29), the priests galloped (Hebrew pasah - to jump while limping; LXX: διειρεχον; Vulg.: transsiliebant, glorified: "ristahu", v. 26) around the altar; then this circular movement of the priests took on more and more the character of a religious orgies: armed with swords and spears, in their wild dance the priests inflicted cuts and wounds on each other, from which they bled (v. 28) - a superstition very common among the peoples of antiquity: the Philistines, Moabites, Babylonians, Scythians, Romans, see W. Hebraische Archaologie, I, s 194, arising from. the idea that blood, and especially priestly blood, is powerful to appease the deity; the Jews were strictly forbidden to make such cuts on their bodies (Deut. 14:1); finally, all of the above: wild gestures with a rotational movement, the clang of weapons, streams of blood - brought the priests to the highest exalted state, designated in Hebrew gitnabbe (v. 29), one root with nabi. prophet; LXX and convey this term (v. 29) ´επροφήτευον; glav.: “to the prophetess”; Vulg ilIis profetantilus: in this sense, the named Hebrew term is often applied to the prophets (1 Sam. 10:5–6, 10, 13; Ezek. 37:10, etc.), but in relation to pagan ecstatic prophets, such as the priests of Baal in this story, another meaning of the named term may be applicable: “went into a frenzy” (Russian synod. translation), Greek: μαίνομαι, with which is related μάντις, “soothsayer”; in the sense of “to go mad, to go crazy”, this term was used, for example, about Saul’s illness (1 Sam. 18:10; cf. Jer. 29:26) In Art. 27, the ironic speech of the prophet depicts the extremely anthropomorphic understanding of the pagans about the deity. The prayers and religiously exalted actions of the priests continued until the time of the evening sacrifice - minus (bloodless, flour sacrifice), (Num. 28:8; Exod. 29:39-41; cf. 2 Kings 3:20; Dan. 9:21), i.e. until the time from 3 to 5 o'clock in the afternoon. (according to the biblical Hebrew reckoning: between 9 and 11 o'clock in the afternoon). Further the text of LXX has in Art. 29 increase (words placed in brackets in the Russian Synodal translation); compared to Art. This 30 increase does not give anything special. 1 Kings 18:30. Then Elijah said to all the people, Come to me. And all the people came up to him. He restored the destroyed altar of the Lord. 1 Kings 18:31. And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the Lord said thus: Israel shall be your name. 1 Kings 18:32. And he built an altar of these stones in the name of the Lord, and made a ditch around the altar, containing two hundred grains of grain, Starting the sacrifice, the prophet invites the people to attention, and first of all restores the destroyed ancient altar on Carmel; this also meant the restoration of the covenant with God broken by the people (cf. 1 Kings 19:10), expressing the idea of ​​this renewal of the ancient covenant, Elijah, like Moses (Exodus 24:4), takes 12 stones according to the number of the 12 tribes of Israel and builds from them one altar in the name of Jehovah: factual evidence that the 12 tribes were only temporarily and accidentally separated, but in theory they form one whole, that the unifying principle for them is faith to Jehovah and serving Him; Moreover, the tribal unity of all 12 tribes is emphasized by the origin of all of them from Jacob, and religious unity and purity of the cult are instilled in them through the reminder of another name of the patriarch: Israel (Gen. 32:28), and the jealousy of Jacob-Israel about the removal of other gods from his family (Gen. 35: 1,10). To the question that arises: how could the prophet build an altar on Carmel given the law on the unity of the place of worship (Deut. 12:5), Blessed Theodoret gives the following answer (question 56): “There is no law for the righteous” (1 Tim. 1:9). Because of their frivolity, God legitimized the Israelites to perform divine services in one place, so that, having received permission to perform them everywhere, they would not begin to worship false gods. The prophet wanted to show both the powerlessness of the demons who seduce people, and the omnipotence of the God of all. Leading the Israelites to the Jerusalem temple was impossible due to the division of the kingdom; Therefore, he brought them to Carmel, where he often stayed.” 1 Kings 18:33. and he laid the wood [on the altar], and cut the calf, and laid it on the wood, 1 Kings 18:34. and said, Fill four buckets of water and pour them on the burnt offering and on the wood. [And they did so.] Then he said: repeat. And they repeated. And he said: do the same a third time. And they did it a third time 1 Kings 18:35. and the water flowed round the altar, and the trench was filled with water. Expecting a miraculous fire to be sent down from heaven onto the victim, the prophet does everything to eliminate the possibility of any suspicion of artificially placing the fire; For this purpose, the canal around the altar is also used (2 sats deep - approx. 1/2 quadrangle), all filled with water after water was abundantly poured over both the sacrifice and the firewood; in this case, the number of buckets of water (4x3 = 12) can have the same symbolic meaning as the number of stones of the altar (31 v.); the triple number of libations may indicate the sacrament of the Trinity (Blessed Theodoret, 58 questions). When preparing the sacrifice, the prophet acts as a priest, according to G. Grotius, “jure prophetico, minoribus legibus exsolutus, utmajores servaret.” 1 Kings 18:36. During the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet came up [and cried out to heaven] and said: Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel! [Hear me, O Lord, hear me now in the fire!] Let [this people] know this day that You alone are God in Israel, and that I am Your servant and have done everything according to Your word. 1 Kings 18:37. Hear me, Lord, hear me! Let this people know that You, O Lord, are God, and You will turn their hearts [to You]. 1 Kings 18:38. And the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and consumed the water that was in the trench. In his prayer to Jehovah, the prophet no longer calls Him not only his God, as at the resurrection of the son of the widow of Zarephath (1 Kings 17:20), but the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, raising his and others’ thoughts to the revelation of the God of the covenant to Moses (Exodus 3:15). The purpose of the sacrifice and prayer of the prophet is the complete appeal of Israel to Jehovah (the words “hear me, Lord, hear me now in the fire!” - an insertion that, however, the Greek word has no variations). The answer to the prophet’s prayer was a miraculous fall of fire from the sky, showing God’s merciful acceptance of the prophet’s sacrifice and prayer (cf. Lev. 9:24; Judg. 6:20–21). “And this heavenly fire burned not only the wood and the sacrifice, but also the dust, and the water, and the stones, so that God’s altar would not be desecrated when the wicked began to offer sacrifices to the demons on it” (Blessed Theodoret, issue 58). 1 Kings 18:39. Seeing this, all the people fell on their faces and said: The Lord is God, the Lord is God! 1 Kings 18:40. And Elijah said to them, Seize the prophets of Baal, so that not one of them may escape. And they seized them, and Elijah took them to the brook Kishon and slaughtered them there. The impression of the greatness and omnipotence of Jehovah - in sending down fire from heaven and striking the victim (plentifully doused with water) both in itself and in contrast with the previously manifested impotence of Baal - was inexpressibly strong and overwhelming; Filled with deep reverence for Jehovah and faith in Him, the people together felt an uncontrollable indignation against the priests of Baal. With such a popular mood, “Ahab, even if he wanted, could not protect the false prophets and priests of idols.” At one wave of the prophet, who expressed according to the law (Deut. 13:9-10) that idolaters and corrupters of the people should be killed, the people grabbed the priests and dragged them to the stream Kishon, where they were killed, and the rapid stream carried their corpses and blood into the sea. Kisshi, LXX: Κασῶν; Vulg.: Cison, slav.: Kison, “the stream of Kissov”, is a stream near Carmel and Tabor (Judges 4:7,13); Onomast, 618, flowing in a northwesterly direction through the plain of Ezdrilon or Jezreel, originates at Jenin and flows into the Mediterranean Sea at Kaifa; now “nahr-el-Mutata” (Robinson. Palastina, III, 474). Thus, “after performing the miracle, Elijah commanded that the artists of evil be put to death, and then he already resolved the clouds from the diseases of birth” (Blessed Theodoret, question 58). 1 Kings 18:41. And Elijah said to Ahab, Go, eat and drink, for you can hear the sound of rain. 1 Kings 18:42. And Ahab went to eat and drink, and Elijah went up to the top of Carmel and stooped down to the ground, and put his face between his knees, 1 Kings 18:43. and he said to his servant, Go and look to the sea. He went and looked and said: there is nothing. He said: continue this up to seven times. 1 Kings 18:44. The seventh time he said: behold, a small cloud rises from the sea, the size of a man’s hand. He said: Go, tell Ahab: “Harness [your chariot] and go, so that the rain does not catch you.” 1 Kings 18:45. Meanwhile, the sky became gloomy with clouds and wind, and heavy rain began to fall. Ahab got into the chariot, [buried] and rode to Jezreel. 1 Kings 18:46. And the hand of the Lord was upon Elijah. He girded his loins and fled before Ahab as far as Jezreel. After the end of the disaster of drought, according to the word of the prophet (1 Kings 17:1), the prophet advises Ahab, who was present at the beating of the priests, to “eat and drink,” that is, to calm down and refresh himself (cf. Ex. 24:11; Luke 12:19), since the people have been returned to God and normal life should begin, with which the people’s disaster will also cease. In anticipation of rain, the prophet plunges into a prayerful state: at the top of Carmel, he “bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees” (v. 42) - a common position in the East (for example, in India, Persia) of a person immersed in prayer and contemplation. After a short wait, a small cloud from the sea (often, according to descriptions of sea voyages, foreshadowing the beginning of heavy rain) announced to the prophet the onset of heavy rain, which followed. Ahab, shocked and touched by everything that happened (in the LXX and in the Slavic text in v. 45 there is an additional word about Ahab: καί ἔκχαιε; slav.: “and weeping”), hastily went to his residence in Jezreel (Heb. Jezreel, LXX: ᾿Ιεζραέλ, ´Ιεζραέλ; cf. (1 Kings 21:1; 2 Kings 9:25); - later: the plain of Ezdrilon, (Jud. 1:8), now Zeryn, Onomast. 545), see note. to (1 Kings 4:12); the prophet, wanting to establish this saving mood in Ahab’s soul, runs through, strengthened by the power of God (v. 46) cf. (2 Kings 3:15), the entire considerable space from Carmel to Jezreel (about 240 stadia or 46 versts) in front of Ahab’s chariot. From the next (19) chapter it is clear how shallow the transformative influence of the Carmel event was on the soul of Ahab. You might be interested in: