1 Kings 18:31

1 Kings 18:31 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the Lord came, saying, Israel shall be thy name:
• New International Version (NIV)Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, "Israel shall be your name,"
• New King James Version (NKJV)And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Israel shall be your name.”

Context of 1 Kings 18:31

29They continued to shout and dance all the afternoon, until the time of the evening offering. But there was no voice to reply. There was no answer at all. 30Then Elijah said to all the people, ‘Come nearer to me.’ When they came, Elijah mended the Lord's altar that had broken into pieces. Elijah picked up 12 stones, one for each of the tribes that were Jacob's descendants. Jacob was the man that the Lord had given the new name ‘Israel’. 32Elijah used the 12 stones to build an altar that would give honour to the Lord. He dug a hole in the ground all around it. The hole was big enough to contain 15 litres of seeds. 33Then he put wood on the altar. He cut the bull into pieces and he put the pieces on top of the wood. Then he said to the people, ‘Fill four large jars with water. Pour the water all over the offering and the wood.’

1 Kings 18:31 word by word

וַיִּקַּ֣ח אֵלִיָּ֗הוּ שְׁתֵּ֤ים עֶשְׂרֵה֙ אֲבָנִ֔ים כְּמִסְפַּ֖ר שִׁבְטֵ֣י בְנֵֽי־יַעֲקֹ֑ב אֲשֶׁר֩ הָיָ֨ה דְבַר־יְהוָ֤ה אֵלָיו֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל יִהְיֶ֥ה שְׁמֶֽךָ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Elijahאֵלִיָּה'êlîyâh 'êlîyâhû · ElijahH452
• tookלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
• twelveעָשָׂר‛âώâr · tenH6240
• twelveשְׁנַ֫יִםshenayim shettayim · twoH8147
• stonesאֶ֫בֶן'eben · stoneH68
• according to the numberמִסְפָּרmispâr · numberH4557
• of the tribesשֵׁ֫בֶטshêbeţ · tribeH7626
• of the sonsבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
• of Jacobיַעֲקֹבya‛ăqôb · JacobH3290
• unto whom the wordדָּבָרdâbâr · wordH1697
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• came, sayingאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• shall be thy nameשֵׁםshêm · nameH8034

Cross-references for 1 Kings 18:31

• Exodus 24:4Then Moses wrote down everything that the Lord had said. Early the next morning, Moses built an altar at the bottom of the mountain. Then he put up 12 stone pillars. Each pillar stood there for one of Israel's 12 tribes.
• Joshua 4:3Tell them, “Pick up 12 stones from the middle of the river. Take them from the place where the priests are standing. Carry the stones with you to the shore. Put them in the place where you stay tonight.” ’
• Ezra 6:17They offered 100 bulls, 200 male sheep and 400 lambs. Then they sacrificed 12 male goats as a sin offering for all Israel. There was one goat for each of the 12 tribes of Israel.
• Jeremiah 31:1The Lord says this: ‘When that time comes, I will be the God of every family in Israel. And they will be my people.’
• Ezekiel 37:16‘Son of man, take a stick and write on it, “This stick belongs to Judah and the Israelite tribes that are with him.” Then take another stick and write on it, “This stick belongs to Joseph's son Ephraim and the Israelite tribes that are with him.”
• Ezekiel 47:13This is what the Almighty Lord says: ‘This is the land that you will share among Israel's 12 tribes. Give one part to each tribe, but Joseph's descendants will have two parts.
• Ephesians 2:20You are like a house that God is building for himself. God's apostles and his prophets are like the foundation under the house. Jesus Christ is like the most important stone in the house.
• Ephesians 4:4As God's people, you are like one body. There is one Spirit that gives you life. God has chosen you to be his own people. So you all expect to receive the same great things from God.
• Revelation 7:4Then I heard how many people received God's seal. The number of people was 144,000. They came from all the tribes of Israel's people:
• Revelation 21:12The city had a very big, high wall round it. The wall had 12 gates in it. 12 angels stood at the 12 gates. The names of the 12 tribes of Israel's people were written on the 12 gates.
• Genesis 32:28Then the man said, ‘Your name will not be Jacob any longer. Your name will now be Israel. That is because you have fought with God and you have fought with men. And you have won!’
• Genesis 33:20Jacob built an altar in that place. He called the altar ‘The God of Israel is the true God’.
• Genesis 35:10He said to Jacob, ‘Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob. Instead, your name will be Israel.’ So God gave the name Israel to Jacob.
• 2 Kings 17:34Even today, they still do things in the same way that they have always done them. They do not truly worship the Lord. They do not obey his rules, his laws or his teaching. They do not obey the commands that the Lord gave to the descendants of Jacob. Jacob was the man that the Lord gave a new name to. He gave him the name ‘Israel’.
• Isaiah 48:1Listen to this, family of Jacob. You are called ‘Israel’, and you are Judah's descendants. You use the name of the Lord when you make promises. You pray to Israel's God. But you do not do those things honestly and fairly.

Commentaries on 1 Kings 18:31

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 31Took twelve stones - He did this to show that all the twelve tribes of Israel should be joined in the worship of Jehovah.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 21-40Verses 21-40 Many of the people wavered in their judgment, and varied in their practice. Elijah called upon them to determine whether Jehovah or Baal was the self-existent, supreme God, the Creator, Governor, and Judge of the world, and to follow him alone. It is dangerous to halt between the service of God and the service of sin, the dominion of Christ and the dominion of our lusts. If Jesus be the only Saviour, let us cleave to him alone for every…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 31-32The twelve stones Elijah used to rebuild the altar for the Lord should have reminded the people that God was the redeemer of all Israel (compare Joshua 4:1–11; see Isaiah 41:14; 49:26).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 21-4021-40. Elijah said unto all the people, How long halt ye?--They had long been attempting to conjoin the service of God with that of Baal. It was an impracticable union and the people were so struck with a sense of their own folly, or dread of the king's displeasure, that they "answered not a word." Elijah proposed to decide for them the controversy between God and Baal by an appeal, not to the authority of the law, for that would have no weight, but by a…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Kings 18:31

• Ahab
• Altar
• Carmel
• Prayer
• Revivals

In the dictionaries

• Elijah
• Israel
• Ahab
• Answer
• Carmel
• Cut
• Either
• Follow
• Halt
• Lord

Commentaries on 1 Kings 18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings