26<\/strong>. which was given them<\/em> ] These words are omitted in the LXX., which represents ‘hear us’ in the latter part of the verse twice over.<\/p>\n and they leaped upon<\/em> [R.V. about<\/strong> ] the altar<\/em> ] One part of the heathen worship consisted in a dance around the altar, during which the devotees wrought themselves up to a pitch of frenzy, and then their action took the form of wild leaping. Such was probably the kind of worship of the Salii<\/em> whom Numa instituted at Rome, and hence their name = Jumpers<\/em>. The dances of the Aborigines of Australia were very much of this fashion.<\/p>\n And called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon – <\/B>Compare the parallel in the conduct of the Greeks of Ephesus. Act 19:34<\/span>. The words O Baal, hear us, probably floated on the air as the refrain of a long and varied hymn of supplication.<\/P> They leaped upon the altar which was made – <\/B>The marginal rendering is preferable to this. Wild dancing has always been a devotional exercise in the East, and remains so to this day; witness the dancing dervishes. It was practiced especially in the worship of Nature-powers, like the Dea Phrygia (Cybele), the Dea Syra (Astarte?), and the like.<\/P> <\/p>\n Verse 26<\/span>. From morning even until noon<\/B><\/I>] It seems that the priests of Baal employed the whole day in their desperate rites. The time is divided into two periods:<\/P> 1. From morning until noon<\/I>; this was employed in preparing and offering the sacrifice, and in earnest supplication for the celestial fire. Still there was no answer, and at noon<\/I> Elijah began to mock and ridicule them, and this excited them to commence anew. And,<\/P> 2. They continued from<\/I> noon till the time of offering the evening sacrifice<\/I>, dancing up and down, cutting themselves with knives, mingling their own blood with their sacrifice, praying, supplicating, and acting in the most frantic manner.<\/P> <\/P> And they leaped upon the altar<\/B><\/I>] Perhaps it will be more correct to read with the margin, they leaped up and down at the altar<\/I>; they danced round it with strange and hideous cries and gesticulations, tossing their heads to and fro, with a great variety of bodily contortions.<\/P> <\/P> A heathen priest, a high priest of Budhoo, has been just showing me the manner in which they dance and jump up and down, and from side to side, twisting their bodies in all manner of ways, when making their offerings to their demon gods; a person all the while beating furiously on a tom-tom, or drum, to excite and sustain those frantic attitudes; at the same time imploring the succour of their god, frequently in some such language as this: “O loving brother devil, hear me, and receive my offering!” To perform these sacrificial attitudes they have persons who are taught to practice them from their earliest years, according to directions laid down in religious books; and to make the joints and body pliant, much anointing of the parts and mechanical management are used; and they have masters, whose business it is to teach these attitudes and contortions according to the rules laid down in those books. It seems therefore that this was a very general practice of idolatry, as indeed are the others mentioned in this chapter.<\/P> <\/p>\n They took the bullock which was given them; <\/B>which being chosen by them, 1Ki 18:25<\/span>, was now put into their hands by those who had the beasts in their custody, till they were taken away for sacrifice. <\/P> They dressed it; <\/B>cut it in pieces, and laid the parts in or upon the wood. <\/P> From morning; <\/B>from the time of the morning sacrifice; which advantage Elijah suffered them to take for their sacrifice. <\/P> Upon the altar; <\/B>or, over the altar<\/I>; which might easily be done, the altar being low, and suddenly made for the present use. Or rather, beside<\/I> (as the Hebrew (al) oft signifies) the altar<\/I>; or, before it. They used some superstitious, unusual, and disorderly gestures, either pretending to be acted by the spirit of their god, and to be in a kind of holy rage, and religious ecstasy; or in way of devotion to their god; which they might borrow from the practice of their progenitors, who, amongst other things, used dancing in Gods service and presence, as Exo 15:20<\/span>; 32:19<\/span>; Jdg 21:21<\/span>; 2Sa 6:14<\/span>. <\/P> Which was made, <\/B>Heb. which he made<\/I>; either, first, Elijah; which some think was already made, though the making of it be not mentioned till afterwards, 1Ki 18:31<\/span>, and that it was their design, by leaping upon his altar, to overthrow it. Or rather, secondly, Ahab on their behalf; or any other person; that being only a Hebraism, the third person active being put for the passive verb, as our translators well render it. <\/P> <\/p>\n And they took the bullock which was given them<\/strong>,…. By such of them as made the choice:<\/p>\n and they dressed it<\/strong>; slew it, and cut it in pieces, and laid it on the wood, but put no fire under it:<\/p>\n and called on the name of Baal, from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us<\/strong>; and send fire down on the sacrifice; and if the sun was their Baal, they might hope, as the heat he gradually diffused was at its height at noon, that some flashes of fire would proceed from it to consume their sacrifice; but after, their hope was turned into despair, they became and acted like madmen:<\/p>\n but there was no voice, nor any that answered<\/strong>; by word, or by sending down fire as they desired:<\/p>\n and they leapt upon the altar which was made<\/strong>; not by Elijah, but by themselves, either now or heretofore, and where they had formerly sacrificed; and they danced about it, and leaped on it, either according to a custom used by them; such as the Salii, the priests of Mars, used, so called from their leaping, because they did their sacred things leaping, and went about their altars capering and leaping s; or rather they were mad on it, as the Targum renders it, and acted like madmen, as if they were agitated by a prophetic fury and frenzy.<\/p>\n s Servius in Virgil. Aeneid. l. 8. “tum Salii ad cantus”, &c. Vid. Gutberleth. de Salii, c. 2. p. 9.<\/p>\n (26) O Baal, hear us.<\/strong>This repeated crythe ever-recurring burden of the prayer, uttered probably first in measured chant, afterwards in a wild excited crystands in an instructive contrast (which has been splendidly emphasised in Mendelssohns music) with the simple, earnest solemnity of the prayer of Elijah. It has been obvious to see m it an illustration of our Lords condemnation of the worship of the heathen, who think that they shall be heard for their much speaking (Mat. 6:7<\/span>). There is a grave irony in the notice of the blank silence which followed this frenzied cry. There was no voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded.<\/p>\n They leaped upon<\/strong>properly, leaped up and down at the altar, <\/em>in one of those wild dances, at once expressing and stimulating frenzy, in which Oriental religions delight, even to this day.<\/p>\n 26<\/strong>. <\/strong> They leaped upon the altar <\/strong> The word translated leaped <\/em> is the Piel form of the same word rendered halt <\/em> in 1Ki 18:21<\/span>. They danced and tottered around and upon the altar they had made, from morning till noon, and yet no answer from Baal. This, says Stanley, “is the exact picture of Oriental fanaticism, such as may still be seen in Eastern religions. As the Mussulman dervishes work themselves into a frenzy by the invocation of Allah! Allah! <\/em> until the words themselves are lost in inarticulate gasps as the pilgrims round the church of St. John at Samaria formerly, and round the chapel of the Holy Sepulchre now, race, run, and tumble, in order to bring down the Divine fire into the midst of them so the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal performed their wild dances round their altar, or upon it, springing up or sinking down with the fantastic gestures which Orientals alone can command, as if by an internal mechanism, and screaming with that sustained energy which believes it will be heard for its much speaking.”<\/p>\n 1Ki 18:26<\/span><\/em><\/strong>. <\/strong>And they leaped upon the altar that was made<\/em><\/strong><\/strong> Or, leaped up and down at the altar. <\/em>Margin. The marginal rendering seems by far the best: and the reference appears plainly to be a custom very common among heathen worshippers, of dancing round the altars of the deity whom they worshipped; and this sometimes with a variety of strange gesticulations. The dances of the Salii were of this sort. Houbigant, however, thinks that the word vaipassechu <\/em>should not be rendered leaped, <\/em>but walked, <\/em>signifying that they walked in solemn procession round the altar. <\/p>\n 1Ki 18:26 And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed [it], and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But [there was] no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made.<\/p>\n Ver. 26. And they leaped upon the altar.<\/strong> ] Or, Leaped up and down at the altar, as if they had been in some prophetical ecstasy, or would have fetched fire from heaven. The heathen Corybantes,<\/em> Luperci and Salii, those Roman priests, used many antic and strange gestures in their idol services.<\/p>\n leaped upon = leaped over. Compare 1Ki 18:21. <\/p>\n was made = had been made. <\/p>\n from morning: Mat 6:7 <\/p>\n hear: or, answer <\/p>\n no voice: 1Ki 18:24, Psa 115:4-8, Psa 135:15-20, Isa 37:38, Isa 44:17, Isa 45:20, Jer 10:5, Dan 5:23, Hab 2:18, 1Co 8:4, 1Co 10:19, 1Co 10:20, 1Co 12:2 <\/p>\n answered: or, heard <\/p>\n leaped upon the altar: or, leaped up and down at the altar, Zep 1:9 <\/p>\n Reciprocal: 1Ki 18:29 – voice 2Ki 4:31 – hearing 2Ki 4:33 – prayed 2Ki 21:3 – he reared 2Ki 23:4 – Baal Psa 108:6 – and answer me Isa 44:9 – and their Isa 46:7 – one shall cry Jer 10:3 – customs Jer 27:18 – they Jer 48:13 – ashamed Jon 1:5 – cried Hab 2:19 – that Act 19:28 – and cried Act 19:34 – all<\/p>\n CHRISTIANS INSTRUCTED BY BAALS PRIESTS<\/p>\n And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, bear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made.<\/p>\n 1Ki 18:26<\/p>\n The conduct of the priests of Baal is in many respects well fitted to put to shame the disciples of Christ.<\/p>\n I. Notice, first, their zeal.They were willing to suffer and cut themselves with knives and lancets till the blood gushed out. The zeal and self-devotion with which idolaters will act on their mistakes ought to put us to the blush for the lukewarmness and cowardice which we often display in acting on our truths. The men who cheerfully acted on the precepts of a sanguinary religion are confronted with those among us who will not submit to the precepts of a mild one.<\/p>\n II. Notice how the idolatrous priests persevered, in spite of the keen ridicule of Elijah.In the matter of religion there is nothing which men find it so difficult to bear as ridicule. It can never be said that the priests of Baal had better reasons for being staunch in their adherence to their idol than the servants of God for confidence in His power and protection. They may be brought up as witnesses against us at the last if we show deficiency either in zeal or courage.<\/p>\n III. These priests furnish us with another lesson by their importunity.They persisted in praying, though no answer was vouchsafed. The silence of their deity appears to have been with them nothing but a reason for greater importunity; they were all the more earnest because they had obtained as yet no answer. Thus they seem to have held fast the principle that the Divine unchangeableness is not an argument against, but for, the possible utility of importunate prayer. We must bring the supremacy of our God to the test to which the idolaters were ready to submit that of Baal. The God that answereth by fire, let him be God. There are those amongst us who have other gods than Jehovah. But can they answer by fire? It is the promise, the characteristic, of the dispensation of the Spirit. Ask, and ye shall receive.<\/p>\n Canon Melvill.<\/p>\n Illustrations<\/p>\n (1) There is nothing which men find it so difficult to bear as ridicule. They can brave a frown, but be quite daunted by a laugh; and a sneer will appal them, when they would not have shrunk from a sword. When we deal faithfully with the young, and set honestly before them the difficulties they will have to encounter, if they separate from the world and give themselves to the duties of religion, we always lay our main stress on the ridicule which they must expect to excite, requiring them to examine, before making their decision, whether they stand prepared to be counted fools for Christs sake. And it is mainly because this point is imperfectly examined, and the decision prematurely made, that we have so many instances of a falling away amongst the youngthose who have begun to all appearance well, and with good promise of perseverance, relapsing, after a while, into the habits and associations which they had resolved to abandon. You will find that, in the majority of cases, the lapse is to be traced to the power of ridicule.<\/p>\n (2) Will not the very heathen rise up against us in the judgment, and condemn us, if they inflict upon themselves excruciating torments, and wear down the body by incessant exactions, just because they find themselves so directed by a fabulous theology; whilst we, with all the advantages of a full revelation, grudge those sacrifices which are to be a thousandfold compensated, and throw off those restraints which, after all, would but make us masters of ourselves?<\/p>\n 1Ki 18:26. They took the bullock which was given them Which, being chosen by them, was now put into their hands by those who had the beasts in their custody till they were taken away for sacrifice; and dressed it Cut it in pieces, and laid the parts upon the wood. From morning From the time of the morning sacrifice; which advantage Elijah suffered them to take. They leaped upon Or, beside the altar; or, before it. They used some superstitious and disorderly gestures; either pretending to be actuated by the spirit of their god, and to be in a kind of religious ecstasy, or in a way of devotion to their god.<\/p>\n 18:26 And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed [it], and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But [there was] no voice, nor any that answered. And they {i} leaped upon the altar which was made.<\/p>\n (i) As men possessed by some strange spirit.<\/p>\n And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed [it], and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But [there was] no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made. 26. which was given them ] These … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Kings 18:26”<\/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-9379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9379","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=9379"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9379\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
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: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"