And he prayed again – <\/B>The allusion here seems to be to 1Ki 18:42<\/span>, 1Ki 18:45<\/span>, though it is not expressly said there that he prayed. Perhaps it might be fairly gathered from the narrative that he did pray, or at least that would be the presumption, for he put himself into a natural attitude of prayer. He cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, 1Ki 18:42<\/span>. In such circumstances, it is to be fairly presumed that such a man would pray; but it is remarkable that it is not expressly mentioned, and quite as remarkable that James should have made his argument turn on a thing which is not expressly mentioned, but which seems to have been a matter of inference. It seems probable to me, therefore, that there was some tradition on which he relied, or that it was a common interpretation of the passage in 1 Kings, that Elijah prayed earnestly, and that this was generally believed by those to whom the apostle wrote. Of the fact that Elijah was a man of prayer, no one could doubt; and in these circumstances the tradition and common belief were sufficient to justify the argument which is employed here.<\/P> And the heaven gave rain – <\/B>The clouds gave rain. The heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain, 1Ki 18:45<\/span>.<\/P> And the earth brought forth her fruit – <\/B>The famine ceased, and the land again became productive. The case referred to here was indeed a miracle, but it was a case of the power of prayer, and therefore to the point. If God would work a miracle in answer to prayer, it is reasonable to presume that he will bestow upon us the blessings which we need in the same way.<\/P><\/p>\n Verse 18. And he prayed again<\/B><\/I>] This second<\/I> prayer is not mentioned in the history in express words, but as in 1Kgs 18:42<\/span>, it is said, He cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face<\/I> between his knees<\/I>; that was probably the time of the second praying, namely, that rain might come, as this was the proper posture of prayer.<\/P><\/p>\n And he prayed again; <\/B>after the destroying the prophets of Baal. Baal-worship especially gave occasion to his former prayer, which he puts up out of his zeal to Gods glory, then laid low by the Israelites idolatry, and a desire to have them by some exemplary punishment for their sin awakened to repentance. And the destruction of the idolaters, and reformation of the people, who now acknowledged the Lord to be God, might give occasion to this. <\/P> And the heaven gave rain; <\/B>i.e. the air or clouds, which had not been for three years before. <\/P> <\/p>\n 18. prayed . . . and<\/B>that is,”and so.” Mark the connection between the prayer and itsaccomplishment. <\/P> her fruit<\/B>her usual anddue fruit, heretofore withheld on account of sin. Three and a halfyears is the time also that the two witnesses prophesy who “havepower to shut and open heaven that it rain not.”<\/P><\/p>\n And he prayed again<\/strong>,…. 1Ki 18:42<\/span>. Here also is no express mention of his prayer, but it may be concluded from his gestures; and so the Jewish interpreters understand these words, “Elijah went up to the top of Carmel”, , “to pray, and he cast himself down upon the earth”, , “to pray for rain; and he put his face between his knees”, , “and prayed, and said to his servant, go up now, look toward the sea”; and this he said while he was , “in his prayers” i: and the effect of this his prayer was,<\/p>\n and the heaven gave rain<\/strong>; see 1Ki 18:45<\/span>.<\/p>\n And the earth brought forth her fruit<\/strong>: which for the years past it had not; hence there was a sore famine in the land, 1Ki 18:2<\/span>. Now the apostle chose to give this example, because it was a common thing for the Jews to ask for rain: we often read of such a doctor, that he prayed for rain, and it came; and of another, that he asked for the rains, and they descended k: and his view is to observe, that the weakness and infirmities of the saints ought not to discourage them from prayer; and that they should be earnest and fervent in it, as was Elias, a man of like passions with themselves.<\/p>\n i Jarchi, Kimchi, Ralbag, & Laniado in loc. k T. Bab. Moed Katon, fol. 28. 1. & Taanith, fol. 19. 1. 23. 1. 24. 2. 25. 2. & Yoma, fol. 53. 2.<\/p>\n Gave rain <\/B> ( <\/SPAN><\/span>). This idiom is in the LXX of God as here of heaven (1Sam 12:17<\/span>; 1Kgs 18:1<\/span>) and also in Ac 14:17<\/span> instead of <\/SPAN><\/span> of verse 17<\/span>. H<\/SPAN><\/span> is old word for rain (from <\/SPAN><\/span>, to rain), genuine here, but not in verse 7<\/span>.<\/P> Brought forth <\/B> (<\/SPAN><\/span>). First aorist active of <\/SPAN><\/span>, old verb, to sprout (intransitive as Mr 4:27<\/span>), here as occasionally in later Greek transitive with accusative <\/SPAN><\/span>. <\/P><\/p>\n 1) Again he prayed and rain fell, clouds emptied themselves and the earth brought forth food to satisfy the hungry, 1Ki 18:42<\/span>. God interrupts nature’s blessings because of His creatures’ sins, Deu 28:38-40<\/span>; Mal 3:9-11<\/span>.<\/p>\n 2) He also bestows blessings in answer to Christian prayers when they fervently call upon him. He supplies every need in connection with fervent prayer, Php_4:19; 1Jn 5:14-15<\/span>.<\/p>\n 18<\/strong>. <\/strong> Prayed<\/strong> In the Old Testament narrative (1Ki 17:1<\/span>; 1Ki 18:42-45<\/span>) it is not expressly said that he prayed<\/strong>. Herein Huther affirms, and Alford does not deny, a discrepancy. But the whole narrative (1Ki 18:36-46<\/span>) suggests the truth of our apostle’s statement. At the time of the evening sacrifice Elijah prays for God’s vindication of himself by miracle, and the prayer is answered by fire. As concluding part of the same transaction Elijah is described as first warning Ahab of the approaching rain which closed the miraculous drought, and as then on Carmel putting himself in the attitude of profound prayer, <\/em> while his servant was commissioned to watch and report the tokens of the coming of the “great rain.” We are hereby entitled to infer that Elijah’s position by divine assignment was that of deep communion and harmony with God. His office was as mediator between God and Israel, to pray for the divine self-vindication, and the self-vindication itself was verified as being a manifested <\/em> answer to his permanent inward and outward prayer. Hence was he a true example for the early Church standing in the same position. When specially gifted with the prayer of miraculous faith by its deep communion with God, and commissioned to vindicate God’s revelation of himself in Christianity, the apostolic Church was entitled to offer that prayer which was antecedent to a divine response. It was thereby that the apostle fully comprehended, both by sympathy and similar position, the position of Elijah. And similar to this of James was the view of St. John, as appears by his allusion in Rev 11:6<\/span>. Similar was, doubtless, the view of the entire apostolic Church. And similar, too, was, probably, the view of the devout in the Jewish Church. So Sir 48:1-3 : “Then stood up Elias the prophet as fire, and his word burned like a lamp. He brought a sore famine upon them, and by his zeal he diminished their number. By the word of the Lord he shut up the heaven, and also three times brought down fire.” Here is a depth of sympathetic understanding of the divine word that rebukes the shallowness of modern rationalism. The deep divine assent <\/em> of the great prophet, wrought by his commissioning God, was a permanent prayer of which the miracle was the consequent. So that in this deep view our writers make him cause <\/em> the miracles he predicts. When he prayed again<\/strong>, then the heaven <\/strong> and earth <\/strong> obeyed his prayer through an intervening omnipotence. Her <\/strong> accustomed fruit<\/strong> So long miraculously withheld.<\/p>\n ‘And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.’<\/p>\n And the result of his trials and his faith was that he prayed again, and the heavens produced rain (see 1Ki 18:36-37<\/span>; 1Ki 18:41<\/span>), and the earth became fruitful. He asked and it was given to him (see Jas 1:5<\/span> and contrast Jas 4:3<\/span>), and the result was blessing from Heaven. James no doubt intended his readers to make the connection.<\/p>\n We should, however, note that Elijah’s prayer was answered because the will and purpose of God was his consuming passion. He did not pray for himself or for his own benefit. He prayed in order that God’s work might go forward. Nothing else mattered to him. That is the kind of prayer that is always effective.<\/p>\n Jas 5:18<\/span> . The second prayer of Elias, and its result.<\/p>\n ] a popular form of expression; comp. Act 14:17<\/span> .<\/p>\n . . .] contains not a further description, but added to mark more strongly the effect of the prayer: heaven and earth acted according to the prayer of Elias.<\/p>\n ] properly an intransitive verb; so in Mat 13:26<\/span> ; Mar 4:27<\/span> ; Heb 9:4<\/span> . The first aorist here, as frequently in the later classics, in a transitive signification; comp. Gen 1:11<\/span> , LXX. With respect to the form, see Winer, p. 77 [E. T. 92].<\/p>\n ] Schneckenburger: fruges suas i. e. quas ferre solet.<\/p>\n 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n Ver. 18. And the earth brought forth<\/strong> ] When the roots and fruits seemed all dried up, and the land past recovery. But prayer never comes too late, because God never doth. <\/p>\n 18<\/strong> .] and again he prayed<\/strong> (see above), and the heavens gave<\/strong> rain (reff.) and the earth brought forth<\/strong> ( <\/strong> or –<\/strong> <\/strong> is properly an intr. verb, but used transitively in the 1 aor., as some other verbs. So in Hippocrates (Palm and Rost’s Lex.), Apoll. Rhod. i. 1131 ( , , ), and later writers) her fruit<\/strong> (“quas ferre solet,” Schneckenb.).<\/p>\n Jas 5:18<\/span> . With this and the preceding verse cf.<\/em> Ta‘anith<\/em> , 24 b<\/em> , where we are told of how Rabbi Chaninah, on being caught in a shower of rain, prayed: “Master of the Universe, the whole world is pleased, while Chaninah alone is annoyed”; then the rain immediately ceased. On arriving home he prayed: “Master of the Universe, shall all the world be grieved while Chaninah enjoys his comfort?” Whereupon the rain came down again (see Jewish Encycl.<\/em> , vi. 215).<\/p>\n brought forth. Greek. blastano. See Heb 9:4. Compare 1Ki 17:1; 1Ki 18:1, 1Ki 18:41-45. Elijah’s praying for drought is first revealed in this passage. <\/p>\n 18.] and again he prayed (see above), and the heavens gave rain (reff.) and the earth brought forth ( or – is properly an intr. verb, but used transitively in the 1 aor., as some other verbs. So in Hippocrates (Palm and Rosts Lex.), Apoll. Rhod. i. 1131 ( , , ), and later writers) her fruit (quas ferre solet, Schneckenb.).<\/p>\n Jam 5:18. , he prayed again) when the idolatry had been abolished. His gesture in prayer is described, 1Ki 18:42.- , and the earth) , and so.-, her or its) though a little before it had not been able to produce it.<\/p>\n 1Ki 18:18, 1Ki 18:42-45, Jer 14:22, Act 14:17 <\/p>\n Reciprocal: Exo 9:33 – and the thunders Lev 26:4 – Then I 1Ki 8:36 – give rain 2Ch 6:27 – send rain Job 12:15 – Behold Job 37:12 – that Job 38:34 – General Psa 147:8 – prepareth Jer 5:24 – that giveth Luk 9:30 – Elias<\/p>\n Jas 5:18. And he prayed again. This, also, is not expressly mentioned in the Old Testament, but it is certainly implied. It is there said that Elijah went up to the top of Carmel, and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees (1Ki 18:42); that is, placed himself in the attitude of prayer.and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.<\/p>\n And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. And he prayed again – The allusion here seems to be to 1Ki 18:42, 1Ki 18:45, though it is not expressly said there that he prayed. Perhaps it might be fairly gathered from the narrative that he did pray, … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of James 5:18”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30293"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30293\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Greek Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"