New King James Version
1 Kings 18:19
19Now therefore, send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
1 Kings 18:19 in other versions
- King James Version (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.
- New International Version (NIV)Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)Now therefore send and gather all Israel to me at Mount Carmel, and the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table."
- New Living Translation (NLT)Now summon all Israel to join me at Mount Carmel, along with the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah who are supported by Jezebel.”
Context of 1 Kings 18:19
17Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?” 18And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and have followed the Baals. Now therefore, send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.” 20So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel. 21And Elijah came to all the people, and said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people answered him not a word.
Read all of 1 Kings 181 Kings 18:19 word by word
וְעַתָּ֗ה שְׁלַ֨ח קְבֹ֥ץ אֵלַ֛י אֶת־כָּל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל אֶל־הַ֣ר הַכַּרְמֶ֑ל וְאֶת־נְבִיאֵ֨י הַבַּ֜עַל אַרְבַּ֧ע מֵא֣וֹת וַחֲמִשִּׁ֗ים וּנְבִיאֵ֤י הָֽאֲשֵׁרָה֙ אַרְבַּ֣ע מֵא֔וֹת אֹכְלֵ֖י שֻׁלְחַ֥ן אִיזָֽבֶל׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Now therefore sendשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
- gatherקָבַץqâbats · to gatherH6908
- to me all Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- unto mountהַרhar · mountain: mountH2022
- Carmelכַּרְמֶלkarmel · (Mount) CarmelH3760
- and the prophetsנָבִיאnâbîy' · prophetH5030
- of Baalבַּעַלba‛al · BaalH1168
- fourאַרְבַּע'arba‛ 'arbâ‛âh · fourH702
- hundredמֵאָהmê'âh mê'yâh · hundredH3967
- and fiftyחֲמִשִּׁיםchămishshîym · fiftyH2572
- of the grovesאֲשֵׁרָה'ăshêrâh 'ăshêyrâh · AsherahH842
- which eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
- at Jezebel’sאִיזֶבֶל'îyzebel · JezebelH348
- tableשֻׁלְחָןshûlchân · tableH7979
People and places in 1 Kings 18:19
Cross-references for 1 Kings 18:19
- 1 Kings 18:42So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees,
- Joshua 19:26Alammelech, Amad, and Mishal; it reached to Mount Carmel westward, along the Brook Shihor Libnath.
- 1 Samuel 15:12So when Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul, it was told Samuel, saying, “Saul went to Carmel, and indeed, he set up a monument for himself; and he has gone on around, passed by, and gone down to Gilgal.”
- 2 Kings 2:25Then he went from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.
- Jeremiah 46:18“As I live,” says the King, Whose name is the Lord of hosts, “Surely as Tabor is among the mountains And as Carmel by the sea, so he shall come.
- Amos 1:2And he said: “The Lord roars from Zion, And utters His voice from Jerusalem; The pastures of the shepherds mourn, And the top of Carmel withers.”
- Amos 9:3And though they hide themselves on top of Carmel, From there I will search and take them; Though they hide from My sight at the bottom of the sea, From there I will command the serpent, and it shall bite them;
- 1 Kings 22:6Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall I go against Ramoth Gilead to fight, or shall I refrain?” So they said, “Go up, for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king.”
- 2 Peter 2:1But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.
- Revelation 19:20Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.
- 1 Kings 15:13Also he removed Maachah his grandmother from being queen mother, because she had made an obscene image of Asherah. And Asa cut down her obscene image and burned it by the Brook Kidron.
- 1 Kings 16:33And Ahab made a wooden image. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.
- 2 Kings 13:6Nevertheless they did not depart from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who had made Israel sin, but walked in them; and the wooden image also remained in Samaria.
- 1 Kings 19:1And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword.
- 2 Kings 9:22Now it happened, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, “Is it peace, Jehu?” So he answered, “What peace, as long as the harlotries of your mother Jezebel and her witchcraft are so many?”
- Revelation 2:20Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.
Commentaries on 1 Kings 18:19
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 19Gather 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…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 19Carmel (Joshua 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” 1 Kings 18:30, belonging probably to the old times of non-idolatrous high-place worship - perhaps an erection of one of the…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 17-20Verses 17-20 One may guess how people stand affected to God, by observing how they stand affected to his people and ministers. It has been the lot of the best and most useful men, like Elijah, to be called and counted the troublers of the land. But those who cause God's judgments do the mischief, not he that foretells them, and warns the nation to repent.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 19-20Mount Carmel is on a ridge that separates the coastal plain of Palestine. The site was famous for Canaanite idol worship, and an altar to the Lord was also built there earlier (1 Kings 18:30). It was a natural place for the contest with Baal. The Septuagint (a Greek translation of the Old Testament) might suggest that the prophets of Asherah were present at the contest on Mount Carmel, but the Hebrew text does not confirm this (compare 1 Kings 18:22).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1919. 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). They were the priests of Astarte, the Zidonian goddess.Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Kings 18:19
In the dictionaries
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries