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together, Elijah, having first upbraided them with their vile prevarication, in mixing the worship of God and the worship of Baal together, made them a fair proposal, to this effect. "Since there can be no more than one infinite, supreme, almighty, and independent being, lei us, at this time, make the experiment who this being is. You, who are the worshippers of Baal, have all the advantages on your side, the favour and protection of the court, 450 priests of one kind, and 400 priests of another; whereas I, who am the manager of God's cause, am but one poor banished man; and yet let two oxen be brought before us. Let the priests of Baal choose their ox, dress it, cut it in pieces, lay it on the altar; but let there be no fire thereon; and 1, in like manner, will do so to my ox. Let them pray unto their gods, and 1 likewise will call on the name of Jehovah; and then let the God, who, by consuming the sacrifice with a sudden flash of fire, shall make it appear, that he hath heard the prayers, be owned by this whole assembly to be this one, this true, supreme, independent Being."

ecuted, himself went along with some of them." Obadiah, | ordered the priests to attend. When they were all met of all the king's domestics, was the most religious. He in the time of Jezebel's persecuting the prophets of the Lord, concealed an hundred of them, by fifty in a cave, and there sustained them with necessaries. When Elijah met him, Obadiah saluted him with great respect; but when the prophet required him to go and acquaint the king that he was there, and desired to speak with him, Obadiah at first excused himself, upon apprehension that Elijah might vanish, and leave him the object of the king's indignation, who had taken such vast pains to find him out; but when the other assured him that he would not stir, he went and brought the king to him. The king, at the first interview, began to upbraid him with being the cause of the calamity that the nation suffered; but Elijah boldly returned the charge, and having taxed him with the worship of false gods, which was the source of all their wo, he undertook to prove that they were no more than false gods, if so be the king would be pleased to summon all the people to meet upon mount Carmel, and to bring thither the 450 priests of Baal, together with the 400 priests of Astarte, who were supported at Jezebel's table.

Elijah had told Ahab, that there should be neither dew nor rain upon the earth, but according to his word;' and therefore the king being persuaded, perhaps, that the national remedy was in his hands, neglected not to issue out writs for the convention of the people, and

1 Kings xvii. 1.

a Of the dreadful extremities to which the inhabitants were reduced, for want of provender for their beasts of burden, an idea may be formed by the extraordinary circumstance of the haughty Ahab proposing to his prime minister Obadiah, to go in person, and by different routes, in search of grass for the horses and mules, both of which were held in the highest estimation. The places where Obadiah was recommended by his royal master to look for provender was in the vicinity of springs and running waters-a recommendation founded on a correct knowledge of the state of the parched and barren regions of the east, where the few spots of verdure that occur are found so generally to afford water, that the presence of the one is almost always a sure indication of the nearness of the other; and the circumstance of two personages of such elevated rank setting out from the palace in search of such places, is one of the strongest proofs that could be given of the simplicity of ancient manners, when the greatest princes were in the habit of stooping to perform the meanest and commonest offices. Among the tribes of Asia and Africa, the same habits are to this day observed by the most powerful chiefs, who are so far from deeming it derogatory to their royal dignity to engage in an expedition to obtain either grass or water, that no employment could be considered more suitable to their character, or more likely to secure for them the good-will and esteem of their subjects.-Jamieson's Eastern Manners.-ED.

Elijah, in his appeal to the people, tells them, 'I, even I, only remain a prophet of the Lord,' (1 Kings xviii. 22.) and therefore we can hardly imagine, that all these hundred, whom Obadiah preserved, were men actually inspired and invested with a prophetic character, but only such as were the disciples of the prophets, and candidates for that office. For it is not unlikely, that even to Jezebel's time, there were remaining in Israel schools of the prophets, which she endeavoured to destroy, as well as those that were bred up in them, that there might be none left to instruct the people in the true religion. These she certainly looked upon as enemies to her idolatry, and might possibly persuade her husband, that they were disaffected to his government and favourers of the kings of Judah, because they worshipped the same God, and thought that the proper place of his worship was Jerusalem and therefore the greater was the piety and courage of Obadiah, in rescuing so many victims from the hands of this furious and enraged woman.-Patrick's and Le Clerc's Com

mentaries.

This was a proposal that none could gainsay; and therefore the priests of Baal prepared their altar, sacrificed their bullock, placed it on the altar, and began to call upon their god: but Baal continuing deaf to their invocations, they betook themselves to odd gesticulations: they sometimes jumped over the altar, d some

e This is not the first time, wherein God had declared his approbation of his worshippers, by sending down fire to consume the sacrifices, (Lev. ix. 24. and Judg. vi. 21.) and though perhaps it may be possible for evil spirits, who may have great knowledge make fire descend from the clouds; yet, since they can do how to manage meteors and exhalations to their purposes, to nothing without a divine permission, it is absurd to think, that, give evil spirits any license to rival him in his miracles. — Le in a matter of competition between him and false gods, he should Clerc's Commentary.

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made.' Baal, whose idolatrous worship is here referred to, was
d 1 Kings xviii. 26. They leaped upon the altar which was
the same as Apollo, or the Sun. Callimachus has given us a
remarkable instance of the universal veneration which was paid
by the ancient pagans, at his altar in the temple of Delos.
Amongst other ceremonies in the worship of this idol, it was
customary to run round his altar, to strike it with a whip, and
For of Delos, the poet says:—
with their hands or arms bound behind them, to bite the olive,

Thee, ever-honour'd isle, what vessel dares
Sail by regardless? 'twere in vain to plead

Strong driving gales, or, stronger still than they,
Swift-wing'd necessity: their swelling sails
Here mariners must furl: nor hence depart,
Till round thy altar, struck with many a blow,
The maze they tread, and backward bent their arms,
The sacred olive bite.

Hymn to Delos, v. 433.
The former part of this ceremony plainly alludes to singing and
dancing round the altar. The latter part seems to accord with
what is said of Baal, (1 Kings xviii. 26-28.) where we read of
the priests of Baal who leaped upon the altar they had made,
which the Septuagint renders ran round; and they cried aloud,
and cut themselves, after their manner, with knives and lancets,
till the blood gushed out upon them.' Their running round the
altar signified the annual rotation of the earth round the sun.
Striking with a whip the altar, cutting themselves with knives
and lancets, crying aloud to their deity, were symbolical actions,
denoting their desire that he would show forth his power upon
all nature in general, and that sacrifice in particular then before
him. Having thus surrounded the altar of Apollo, and by these
actions declared their belief in his universal power, they used to
bend their own arms behind them, and so take the sacred olive
into their mouths: thereby declaring, that not their own arm or
power which was bound, but from his whose altar they surround-

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ed, and from him they expected to obtain that peace, whereof the olive was always a symbol. (Gen. viii. 11.) There are some evident allusions to these abominable idolatrous practices in the Old Testament; and for which the Jews are severely reprimanded by the prophets, for following such absurd and wicked ceremonies. Thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that make my people err, that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace,' (Micah iii. 5.:) and respecting Ashdod, the prophet says, 'I will take away his blood out of his mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth.' (Zech. ix. 7.) “Theseus, on his return from Crete, put in at Delos, and having sacrificed to Apollo, and dedicated a statue of Venus, which he received from Ariadne, joined with the young men in a dance, which the Delians are said to practise at this day. It consists in an imitation of the mazes and outlets of the labyrinth; and, with various involutions and evolutions, is performed in regular time. This kind of dance, as Dicæarchus informs us, is called by the Delians the Crane; he danced it round the altar Keraton, which was built entirely of the left side horns of beasts." (Plutarch vita Theseus.) This was a circular dance, and probably called the crane, because cranes commonly fly in the figure of a circle. This dance, after a lapse of 3000 years, still exists in Greece, under the name of the Candiot. See an account of it in M. Guy's Hist. Lit. de la Grece, Lett. 13, and a plate in Leroy Baines des plus beaux monumens de la Grece.—ED.

a A strange method, one would think, to obtain the favour of their gods! and yet, if we look into antiquity we shall find, that nothing was more common in the religious rites of several nations than this barbarous custom. To this purpose we may observe, that as Plutarch, on Superstition, tells us, the priests of Belona, when they sacrificed to that goddess, were wont to besmear the victim with their own blood; that the Persian Magi, according to Herodotus (b. 7. c. 191.), used to appease tempests, and allay the winds, by making incisions in their flesh; that they who carried about the Syrian goddess, as Apuleius (b. 8.), relates, among other mad pranks, were, every now and then, cutting and slashing themselves with knives, till the blood gushed out; and that even to this day, some modern travellers tell us, that in Turkey, Persia, and several parts of the Indies, there are a kind of fanatics, who think they do a very meritorious thing, and what is highly acceptable to the deity, in cutting and mangling their own flesh. "But the gods ought not to be worshipped at all," says Seneca, as he is quoted by St Austin de Civ. Dei (b. 6. c. 10.), "if they delight in such. The fury of a restless and excited mind to gain the favour of the gods is so great, that not even the most hideous tyrants can exercise their cruelty so savagely," &c. Calmet's and Le Clerc's Com

mentaries.

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The words of the prophet are very cutting and sarcastical. "Cry aloud, for he is a god" no doubt, though he may be deaf, or a great way off, so that he cannot hear unless you cry aloud; or "either he is talking," about business, or "pursuing his pleasures;" or perhaps "he is in a journey, and not at home;" or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awakened." The two last notions of "being asleep, and not at home," how absurd soever they may be when applied to the deity, were certainly such as several idolaters conceived of their gods, as appears from these passages in Homer. In the former of these, Thetis, says he, cannot meet with Jupiter, because he was gone abroad, and would not return in less than twelve days. For Jupiter yesterday went away to a feast among the Ethiopians, and all the other gods are along with him, but on the twelfth day he will return again to Olympus." And in the conclusion of that book, he shows in what manner the gods went to sleep:-" But Jupiter, the Olympian prince of lightning, went up to his couch, where it was his wont to repose when gentle sleep hung heavily on his eyelids," &c.

e Elijah's taunts were not the groundless effusions of satire and ridicule, but were founded on the absurd and grovelling notions entertained of the objects of their worship by the heathen; who, both in ancient and modern times, ascribed to their gods all the attributes of humanity; and considered that their favour was to

d

This farce of devotion they continued till the day was above half spent; when Elijah, desiring the people to draw near, and take twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes, & repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been broken down, and then laying his bullock on the wood, e poured a great quantity of water three times on the sacrifice, on the wood, and on the altar; so that the water filled the trench, which was dug round the altar to receive it. It was now much about the time of

men.

be procured, and their presence and attention obtained, by means similar to those practised in securing the ear and the good-will of The heathen deities had all of them certain employments assigned them,-one had the management of the winds, another of the water, the cares of which were supposed necessarily to occupy and distract their minds at particular periods; and some were also engaged in long and distant expeditions, from which they had to return before they could answer the supplications of their votaries. Even in the present day, the same notions prevail among the heathen, of the limited powers of the deities. Thus Siva, the principal god of the Hindoos, once fell into a profound reverie, which was supposed to be the cause of great public calamities and portentous occurrences that befell the land. On a particular season of the year, he is constantly occupied with the pleasures of the chase, to gratify him with which, his statue, together with that of his favourite wife, is taken from his temple, placed on a car, and carried out to the open fields. Sometimes he suddenly departs on long journeys, and sometimes he falls asleep, which he did on one occasion particularly, when he had assumed the form of a porter, and, wearied with his task, resigned himself under a tree to the influence

"Of nature's soft restorer, balmy sleep."

From these circumstances, it appears that the sarcastic observations of the prophet were thrown out in ridicule of the prevailing ideas of the priests and devotees of Baal; and they were rendered the more cutting, by his recommending them to cry aloud;' the very last attempt to gain the ear of their deity they would have dreamt of making, as it is considered the greatest impropriety to disturb any one in a temple or sacred place, when he is meditating, or to trouble him when engaged in the pleasures of the chase-in prosecuting a journey, or the enjoyment of repose. The proposal was made by Elijah, as if, in the extremity of their distress, they should break through the ordinary rules of respect for their God, more particularly as the occasion so greatly concerned his honour; and, as if he wished to afford the spectators the strongest proofs, according to the popular notions, of the impotence and insignificance of the idol, to whom they had been taught to prostrate themselves with blind homage.-Jamieson's Eastern Manners.—ED.

d The altar, which the sacred author here calls the altar of the Lord,' was certainly one of those which were built in the time of the judges, and first kings of Israel; when, for want of a fixed place of worship, such structures were permitted. Both Tacitus (b. 2. c. 74,) and Suetonius, speak of the God of Carmel, whom Vespasian went to consult when he was at Judea. His priest Basilides promised him all manner of prosperity and success in his undertakings; but, as the two historians tell us, there was neither temple nor statue upon the mountain, but one altar only, plain but very venerable for its antiquity. Some are of opinion, that this Basilides was a Jew, and priest of the Most High God; but it seems more reasonable that he was a pagan priest, and probably the same who met Vespasian in the temple of Serapis in Egypt. However this be, the altar of Carmel seems to have had its origin from this altar of the true God, which the ancient Hebrews first erected, and Elijah afterwards repaired; which even the heathens held in such veneration, that when they came to be masters of the country, they would not place so much as an image by it.-Calmet's Commentary.

e This the prophet did to make the miracle more conspicuous and convincing, to show, that there was no fallacy in it, no fire concealed in or about the altar, but that the lightning, which was to consume the sacrifice, came from heaven, and came at his invocation; for so Josephus tells us, that Elijah invited the people to draw near, even that they might search, and spy everywhere if they could find any fire that was conveyed under the altar.-Jewish Antiquities, b. 8. c. 7; Calmet's and Le Clerc's Commentaries.

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A. M. 3001. A. C. 1003; OR, ACCORDING TO HALES, A. M. 4482. A. C. 929. 1 KINGS viii. TO THE END OF 2 CHRON.

offering the evening sacrifice, when, having prepared all things, he approached the altar, and prayed in this manLord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, show this day, that thou art the God of Israel, that I am thy servant, and that it is by thy commandment that I have done this thing. a Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that these people may understand, that thou art the Lord God, and that their hearts may be converted from their idol unto thee.' And no sooner had he ended this short prayer, but a fire fell from heaven, and consumed not only the burnt-offering, but the wood and stones, nay, the very dust of the place, and the water that was in the trench; insomuch, that, when the people saw the miracle, they fell on their faces, and in admiration and acknowledgment of it, owned that the God of Elijah was the true God whereupon he ordered them to seize on the priests of Baal as a pack of cheats and impostors, to carry them down from the mountain, and to slay them all at the brook Kishon.

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he sent his servant seven times to see if he could perceive any appearance of it: and he at last brought him back word, that he saw a small cloud rising out of the sea, no bigger, to look at, than a man's hand; whereupon he commanded him immediately to go to Ahab, and to advise him to hasten to his chariot, and make the best of his way home, lest the rain should stop him. The king took his advice, and the prophet, having ƒ girded up his vest about him, ran all the way before him to Jezreel.

As soon as queen Jezebel understood what Elijah had done, and more especially, how he had caused all the prophets of Baal to be slain, she vowed revenge, and § sent him word, that his life the next day should certainly pay for theirs whereupon, not thinking himself safe in Ahab's dominions, he withdrew to a town in the southern parts of the tribe of Judah, called Beersheba, where he dismissed his servant, and, pursuing his journey farther into Arabia Petræa, walked all day but in the evening, being extremely fatigued, he laid himself down under a After this just execution was finished, the prophet return-juniper tree, sick with the world, and desirous to leave ed to the top of the mountain, from whence he might view it. He had not, however, slept long, before an angel, the Mediterranean sea; where, having prayed for rain,

d

a He was the more earnest and fervent in his prayer, as Abarbinel thinks, because he had undertaken to make the experiment of God's power on his own accord, and without any particular command from him, nothing doubting, but that he would appear to vindicate his own honour, even though he offered sacrifice on a high place, which was not agreeable to the law.-Patrick's Commentary. There is no ground whatever, for supposing that Elijah in this affair acted on his own responsibility; on the contrary, he expressly declares in his prayer, that he had acted according to the commandment of God.-Ep. b1 Kings xviii. 38. Bishop Patrick apprehends that God testified his approbation of Abel's sacrifice by a stream of light, or a flame from the shekinah, which burned it up. In this opinion many ancient writers concur; remarking that footsteps of it may be met with in many other cases. (See Gen. xv. 17. Lev. ix. 24. Judg. vi. 21. 1 Chron. xxi. 26. 2 Chron. vii. 13. Ps. xx. 3, marginal reading) Some relics of it are to be found among the heathen: for when the Greeks went on shipboard to the Trojan war, Homer represents Jupiter promising them good success in this manner. (Iliad, ii, 354.) And thunder sometimes accompanying lightning, Virgil makes him establish covenants in that manner. After Æneas had called the sun to witness, Latinus lifts up his eyes and right hand to heaven, saying, “Let the (heavenly) father hear what I say, who established covenants with thunder." (Eneid, xii. 200.) From some early instances of this kind the heathen seem to have derived their notions, that when a sacrifice took fire spontaneously, it was a happy omen. Pausanias says, that when Seleucus, who accompanied Alexander in his expedition from Macedonia, was sacrificing at Pella to Jupiter, the wood advanced of its own accord towards the image, and was kindled without fire. See also Lev. ix. 24. 1 Chron. xxi, 26. 2 Chron. vii. 1.-ED.

c The process of this consumption is very remarkable, and all calculated to remove the possibility of a suspicion that there was any concealed fire. 1. The fire came down from heaven. 2. The pieces of the sacrifices were first consumed. 3. The wood next, to show that it was not even by means of the wood that the flesh was burned. 4. The twelve stones were also consumed, to show that it was no common fire, but one whose agency nothing could resist. 5. The dust, the earth of which the altar was constructed, was burned up. 6. The water that was in the trench, was by the action of this fire entirely evaporated. 7. The action of this fire was in every case downward, contrary to the nature of all earthly and material fire. Nothing can be more simple and artless than this description, yet how amazingly full and satisfactory is

the whole account.-Dr A. Clarke.-ED.

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between his knees. Chardin relates that the dervises, especially those of the Indies, put themselves into this posture, in order to meditate, and also to repose themselves. They tie their knees against their belly with their girdles, and lay their heads on the top of them, and this, according to them, is the best posture for recollection.-Harmer, vol. ii. p. 506.-Ed.

e When Elijah's servant reported to his master, that he saw a little cloud arising out of the sea like a man's hand, he commanded him to go up and say to Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not.' This circumstance was justly considered as the sure indication of an approaching shower, for it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain.' Mr Bruce (Travels, vol. iii. p. 669) has an observation which greatly corroborates this relation. He says, "there are three remarkable appearances attending the inundation of the Nile: every morning in Abyssinia is clear, and the sun shines; about nine, a smail cloud not above four feet broad, appears in the east, whirling vie lently round, as if upon an axis; but arrived near the zenith, it first abates its motion, then loses its form, and extends itself greatly, and seems to call up vapours from all opposite quarters. These clouds having attained nearly the same height, rush against each other with great violence, and put me always in mind of Elijah's foretelling rain on Mount Carmel. The air, impelled before the heaviest mass, or swiftest mover, makes an impression of its own form, in the collection of clouds opposite, and the moment it has taken possession of the space made to receive it, the most violent thunder possible to be conceived instantly follows, with rain; and after some hours the sky again clears.”—ED.

f In this country, loose and long garments were in use; and therefore, when the people were minded to run, or make ary great expedition, their custom was to gird them round their waist: but why the prophet condescended to become, as it were, the king's running footman upon this occasion, was to show the world, that his extraordinary power, in working miracles, and the car quest he had thereby gained over his enemies, had not made him proud, and to satisfy the king of his readiness to do him all the honour imaginable; that he was far from being his enemy, and only desired he would become the true worshipper of God, who was, as he could not but see, the Lord God of Israel.— Patrick's Commentary.

g This certainly was the effect of her blind rage, and not of any prudence in her: for prudence would have advised her to conceal her resentment until she had been ready to put her de signs in execution; whereas this sending him word, was giving him notice of his danger, and admonishing him to avoid it. But, since he had the confidence to come where she was, she might think perhaps, that he was as courageous as she was furious; that upon this notice he would scorn to fly; and she too, in her pride, might scorn to kill him secretly or surreptitiously, resolving to make him a public sacrifice.-Patrick's Commentary, and Poole's

Annotations.

A. M. 3001. A. C. 1003; OR, ACCORDING TO HALES, A. M. 4482. A. C. 929. 1 KINGS viii. TO THE END OF 2 CHRON. who had brought him meat and drink, awoke him, and understand, that the number of his true worshippers was bade him eat heartily, because he had a long journey to greater than he imagined, d and that he would not fail take. The prophet did as he was ordered, and in the to take vengeance on the house of Ahab for their abominstrength of that repast, walked a 40 days and 40 nights, able idolatry. To this purpose he ordered him to reuntil he came to Mount Horeb, the place where God at turn into his own country by the way of Damascus, first delivered the law to Moses. Here he betook him- where he was to anoint Hazael king of Syria, Jehu self to a cave, intending very probably to spend the king of Israel, and to appoint Elisha his successor in remainder of his days in retirement; but he had not the prophetic office; intimating hereby, that these men e been long in the place, before he had a vision, wherein would be proper instruments, in his almighty hand, God having first, by several emblems, made him sen- whereby to punish the idolatry of Israel, and to assert sible of his almighty power and presence, e gave him to the righteousness of his own cause.

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a From Beersheba to Mount Horeb is, at the most, not above 150 miles, and the prophet, it seems, had advanced one day's journey into the wilderness; so that he had not now more to finish than any active man might have done in four or five days at most: how came the prophet then to make forty of it? To this some reply, that he, as the Israelites of old, was kept wandering up and down this pathless wilderness forty days, as they were forty years, till, at length, he hit upon this sacred mountain. Others suppose that he went about by private ways, and perhaps sometimes rested, and lay hid, in order to prevent discovery. But, when he was got into the wilderness, one would think he might have been safe, and proceeded straightway, if he knew the straight way to the place intended. I was thinking, therefore, that there would be no solecism, if we should say, that the time of going to, staying at, and coming from, the mount of Horeb, is to be included in these forty days, though, in a short narration, words may be so expressed, as if the journey only had taken up all that time.-Patrick's, Calmet's, and Le Clerc's Commentaries. b Elijah being now come to the same place, where God had delivered the law to his servant Moses, God was minded to communicate the like favour to his servant the prophet, namely, to unveil his majesty to him, and give him some signal of his immediate presence: but there is something very remarkable in the words of the text. And behold the Lord passed by, and a strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind, an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake, a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire, a still small voice,' (1 Kings xix. 11, &c.) And various are the speculations which this appearance of the divine majesty hath suggested to interpreters. The generality of them have looked upon this as a figure of the gospel dispensation, which came, not in such a terrible manner as the law did, with storms, thunders, lightnings, and earthquakes (Exod. xix. 16.), but with great lenity and sweetness, wherein God speaks to us by his Son, who makes use of no other but gentle arguments and soft persuasions. But, if we take this to be a symbolical admonition to Elijah, according to the circumstances he was then in, we may reasonably suppose, that herein God intended to show him, that, though he had all the elements ready armed at his command to destroy idolaters, if he pleased to make use of them, yet he had rather attain his end by patience, and tenderness, and long-suffering, signified by that small still voice, wherein the Deity exhibited himself, and consequently, that the prophet should hereby be incited to imitate him, bridling that passionate zeal to which his natural complexion did but too much incline him.-Le Clerc's, Calmet's, and Patrick's Commentaries.

c And Elijah wrapped his face in his mantle and went out,' (1 Kings xix. 13.) The Jews accounted it a token of reverence to nave their feet bare in public worship, and to have their heads covered. This was accordingly the practice, not of the priests only, but of the people also; and the latter practice remains so to this day. Thus, on the divine appearance to Moses in the bush, it is said, he hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God' (Exod. iii. 6.); and on the extraordinary manifestation of the divine presence to Elijah, he wrapped his face in his mantle.' On the same account perhaps the angels were represented in vision to Isaiah as covering their faces with their wings in the presence of Jehovah (Is. vi. 2.). The ancient Romans performed their sacred rites with a covering on their heads. Thus Virgil:

Our way we bend

To Pallas, and the sacred hill ascend:
There prostrate to the fierce virago pray,

Whose temple was the landmark of our way,-
Each with a Phrygian mantle veil'd his head.

This was a matter of some comfortable expectation to Elijah and therefore leaving Horeb, in his return by the way of Damascus, f he found Elisha at plough, and as he passed by, & cast his mantle upon him; which the

The Greeks, on the contrary, performed their sacred rites bareheaded. St Paul, therefore, writing to the Corinthians, who were Greeks, says, every man praying or prophesying with his head covered dishonoureth his head.' (I Cor. xi. 4.)-ED.

d' Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.' (1 Kings xix. 18.) Bowing the knee was an act of worship, and so was kissing the idol. This was done two ways, either by applying their mouth immediately to the image, or kissing the hand before the image, and then stretching it out, and, as it were, throwing the kiss to it.-ED.

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e The words in the text are, And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael, shall Jehu slay; and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay' (I Kings xix. 17.) Where it is easy to observe, that these things are not mentioned according to the order of time wherein they fell out, for Elisha was a prophet before Hazael was king, and Hazael was king before Jehu, but they are spoken of according to the decree of God, who, as Abarbinel observes, appointed every one to execute that which was proper for him to do: "Thus he intended," continues that learned commentator, "that Hazael should destroy the idolaters of Israel in battle, and therefore he mentions that first, because it is a general calamity; but as Jezebel, the children of Ahab, and the priests of Baal, went not to fight, and consequently could not fall in battle, he ordained Jehu to cut off them, and all the worshippers of Baal, in the manner that we find he did: but as he did not know the disposition of little children, he left them to be punished by Elisha, who by the spirit of proBut in this phecy, foresaw that they would become idolaters." there seems to be more subtilty than needs, since the plain sense of the words is no more than this:-"That God, in his providence, had appointed three persons to punish the Israelites according to their deserts; and that one or other of these should infallibly execute his judgments upon them." The only difficulty is, how the prophet Elisha can be said to slay, when, by profession, he was a pacific man, and never engaged in war? But when we consider the two and forty children which he destroyed, besides others, whom, upon the like occasion, he might destroy; the sore famine, which, by God's appointment, he sent upon the Israelites, (2 Kings vi. 25.) and the many cutting prophecies and comminations called in Scripture the sword of the mouth,' (Is. xlix. 2. and Rev. i. 16.) which he denounced against them, and which were fulfilled, we shall find reason enough to justify the expression.-Poole's Annotations.

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f So far was this from being any argument of his poverty, that it was in reality a token of his wealth and great riches: for he who could keep twelve yoke of oxen at plough, was in this respect no inconsiderable man, and yet according to the manner of these early times, he looked after his own business himself; for nothing was of greater esteem, not only among the Hebrews, but among the ancient Greeks and Romans likewise, than agriculture, and such persons as were of the best quality were called aurougysì, men who did their work themselves, and left not the care of it to others. Elisha therefore was taken from the plough to be a prophet, in like manner as among the Romans afterwards, some

were taken from thence to be consuls and dictators.-Patrick's Commentary.

g The mantle was the proper habit of prophets (2 Kings i. 8.), and therefore Elijali's casting it upon him was the ceremony

A. M. 3001. A. C. 1003; OR, ACCORDING TO HALES, A. M. 4182. A. C. 929. I KINGS viii. TO THE END OF 2 CHRON.

other understanding to be a call to the prophetic ministry, as soon as he had settled his private concerns,

a

here used for his inauguration; though, as it was customary for

went with Elijah, and was his servant as long as he lived; so that Elijah did not think it necessary to go to Damascus, upon the account of Hazael, nor to speak with Jehu in Israel; but left these affairs to be transacted by Elisha, whenever a fit opportunity should offer.

Not long after this, but upon what provocation it is not said, Benhadad raised a vast army against Ahab king of Israel, and marched directly into his country, with a design to invest Samaria, his capital city. But before he did that, he sent him an haughty message, demanding all that belonged to him, in satisfaction for some presumed affront. Ahab was in no condition to oppose him, and therefore he tamely submitted himself to his mercy but this tameness only inflamed Benhadad's insolence, so that, in his next message, he demanded all things to be immediately put into his hand; which, when the king of Israel understood, he called a general council of the kingdom to advise what to do. They unanimously agreed to stand by their king to the last extremity; which, when Benhadad's ambassadors told him, he fell into a great rage, and immediately ordered his army to invest Samaria; but while he lay before the town,1 God, who was justly provoked at this proud Syrian, sent © a

servants to carry their masters' garments after them, others understand it only as a token that Elisha was to be his servant, to attend upon him, and succeed in his office. However this be, it is probable, that when he cast his mantle upon him, he said something to Elisha, whereby he acquainted him with his design, though the particular words, in so short an history, are not expressed.-Poole's Annotations, and Le Clerc's Commentary. a 1 Kings xix. 21. Elijah is commanded (ver. 16.) to anoint Elisha prophet in his room. 1. Though it is generally believed that kings, priests, and prophets, were inaugurated into their respective offices by the rite of unction, and this I have elsewhere supported; yet this is the only instance on record where a prophet is commanded to be anointed; and even this case is problematical, for it does not appear that Elijah did anoint Elisha. Nothing is mentioned in his call to the prophetic office, but the casting the mantle of Elijah upon him; wherefore it is probable that the word anoint, here signities no more than the call to the office, accompanied by the simple rite of having the prophet's mantle thrown over his shoulders. 2. A call to the ministerial office, though it completely sever from all secular occupations, yet never supersedes the duties of filial affection. Though Elisha must leave his oxen, and become a prophet to Israel; yet he may first go home, eat and drink with his parents and relatives, and bid them an affectionate farewell. 3. We do not find any at-prophet to Ahab, not only to assure him of victory, but tempt on the part of his parents to hinder him from obeying the to instruct him likewise d in what method he was to atdivine call: they had too much respect for the authority of God, and they left their son to the dictates of his own conscience. Woe to those parents who strive, for filthy lucre's sake, to prevent their son from embracing a call to preach Jesus to their perishing countrymen, or to the heathen, because they see that the life of a true evangelist is a life of comparative poverty, and they had

rather he should gain money than save souls. 4. The cloak, we have already observed, was the prophet's peculiar habit; it was probably in imitation of this that the Greek philosophers wore a sort of mantle, that distinguished them from the common people; and by which they were at once as easily known as certain academical characters are by their gowns and square caps. The pallium was as common among the Greeks as the toga was among the Romans. Each of these was so peculiar to those nations, that Palliatus is used to signify a Greek, as Togatus is to signify a Roman. 5. Was it from this act of Elijah, conveying the prophetic office and its authority to Elisha by throwing his mantle upon him, that the popes of Rome borrowed the ceremony of collating an archbishop to the spiritualities and temporalities of his see, and investing him with plenary sacerdotal authority, by sending him what is well known in ecclesiastical history by the name of pallium, pall, or cloak? I think this is likely, for as we learn from Zech. xiii. 4, and 2 Kings i. 8, that this mantle was a rough or hairy garment, so we learn from Durandus that the pallium or pall was made of white wool, after the following manner:-The nuns of St Agnes, annually on the festival of their patroness, offer two white lambs on the altar of their church, during the time they sing Agnus Dei, in a solemn mass; which lambs are afterwards taken by two of the canons of the Lateran church, and by them given to the pope's subdeacons, who send them to pasture till shearing time; and then they are shorn, and the pall is made of their wool, mixed with other white wool. The pall is then carried to the Lateran church, and there placed on the high altar by the deacons, on the bodies of St Peter and St Paul; and, after an usual watching or vigil, it is carried away in the night, and delivered to the suhdeacons, who lay it up safely. Now, because it was taken from the body of St Peter, it signifies the plenitude of ecclesiastical power; and, therefore, the popes assume it as their prerogative, being the professed successors of this apostle, to invest other prelates with it. It was at first confined to Rome, but afterwards it was sent to popish prelates in different parts of the world. 6. It seems, from the place in Zechariah quoted above, that this rough cloak or garment became the covering of hypocrites and deceivers; and that persons assumed the prophetic call; and God threatens to unmask them. We know that this became general in the popish church in the beginning of the 16th century; and God stripped those false prophets of their false and wicked pretensions, and exposed them to the people. See Dr Clark's Commentary.-ED.

tain it; which succeeded so well that Benhadad himself had much to do to escape with his life.

The same prophet, however, gave the king of Israel great caution to recruit his army, and be upon his guard, against the beginning of the next year, because then the

61 Kings xx. 12. And it came to pass, when Benhadad heard this message, as he was drinking, he and the kings, in the pavilions.' &c. The pavilions here spoken of were nothing more than mere booths or common tents, notwithstanding Benhadad and the kings were drinking in them. That great and even royal persons occasionally refreshed or indulged themselves in this manner, is clear from the following paragraph in Dr Chandler's Travels in the Lesser Asia, (p. 149.) "While we were employed on the theatre of Miletus, the aga of Suki, son-in-law by marriage to Elez Oglu, crossed the plain towards us, attended by a considerable train of domestics and officers, their vests and turbans of various and lively colours, mounted on long tailed horses, with showy trappings, and glittering furniture. He returned, after hawking, to Miletus, and we went to visit him, with a present of coffee and sugar; but were told that two favourite birds had flown away, and that he was vexed and tired. A couch was prepared for him beneath a shed made against a cottage, and covered with green boughs to keep off the sun. He entered as we were standing by, and fell down on it to sleep, without taking any notice of us.”—Harmer, vol. iii. p. 50.—ED.

e Who the prophet was, who upon this, and another message afterwards, was sent to Ahab, the Scripture nowhere informs us. It is somewhat odd, that during this whole war with Benhadad, neither Elijah nor Elisha, the two principal prophets of Israel should appear, though other prophets, whereof there seems to be a considerable number, make no scruple of executing their office; whether it was, that this war commenced before Jezebel's persecution of the prophets, or that this impious queen abated her per secution, and let them have some respite, when she had exter minated Elijah as she thought.-Culmet's Commentary.

d The instruments in attaining this victory were to be the young men of the princes of the provinces,' with Ahab at the head of them, (1 Kings xx. 14.) The Hebrew word has some ambiguity in it, and may signify, either the sons,' or the 'servants' of the 'princes of the provinces,' either young noblemen themselves, or their father's pages, who were equally brought up delicately, and quite unaccustomed to war. It was by these young men, and not by old experienced officers that this battle was to be won: that thereby it might appear, that the victory was wholly owing to God's gracious and powerful providence, and not to the valour, or fitness of the instruments.-Poole's Annot.

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