1tn Heb “the word of the Lord came to Elijah.”

2map For location see Map2-B1; Map4-D3; Map5-E2; Map6-A4; Map7-C1.

3tn Heb “now Obadiah greatly feared the Lord.” “Fear” refers here to obedience and allegiance, the products of healthy respect for the Lord’s authority.

4tn Heb “cutting off.”

5tn Heb “grass.”

6tn Heb “to cut off.”

7tn The Hebrew text has “alone” here and again in reference to Obadiah toward the end of the verse.

8tn Heb “look, Elijah [came] to meet him.”

9tn Heb “[It is] I.”

10tn Heb “Look, Elijah”; or “Elijah is here.”

11tn Heb “he”; the referent (Obadiah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

12tn Heb “to kill me.”

13tn Heb “he makes the kingdom or the nation swear an oath.”

14tn Heb “Look, Elijah”; or “Elijah is here.”

15tn Heb “to [a place] which I do not know.”

16tn Heb “and I will go to inform Ahab and he will not find you and he will kill me.”

17tn The words “that would not be fair” are added to clarify the logic of Obadiah’s argument.

18tn Heb “has feared the Lord” (also see the note at 1 Kgs 18:3).

19tn Heb “Has it not been told to my master what I did…?” The rhetorical question expects an answer, “Of course it has!”

20tn Heb “Look, Elijah”; or “Elijah is here.”

21tn Traditionally, “the Lord of Hosts.”

22tn Heb “(before whom I stand).”

23tn Heb “Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah.”

24tn Heb “Ahab.”

25tn Or “trouble.”

26tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

27tn Or “trouble.”

28tn The word “messengers” is supplied in the translation both here and in v. 20 for clarification.

29tn Heb “who eat at the table of Jezebel.”

30tn Heb “How long are you going to limp around on two crutches?” (see HALOT 762 s.v. סְעִפִּים). In context this idiomatic expression refers to indecision rather than physical disability.

31tn Heb “the God.”

32tn Heb “to the people.”

33tn Elijah now directly addresses the prophets.

34tn Heb “the God.”

35tn Heb “The matter [i.e., proposal] is good [i.e., acceptable].”

36tc The last sentence of v. 25 is absent in the Syriac Peshitta.

37tn Heb “and they took the bull which he allowed them.”

38tn Heb “limped” (the same verb is used in v. 21).

39tc The MT has “which he made,” but some medieval Hebrew mss and the ancient versions have the plural form of the verb.

40sn Elijah’s sarcastic proposals would have been especially offensive and irritating to Baal’s prophets, for they believed Baal was imprisoned in the underworld as death’s captive during this time of drought. Elijah’s apparent ignorance of their theology is probably designed for dramatic effect; indeed the suggestion that Baal is away on a trip or deep in sleep comes precariously close to the truth as viewed by the prophets.

41tn Or “as was their custom.”

42tn Heb “until blood poured out on them.”

sn mutilated…covered with blood. This self-mutilation was a mourning rite designed to facilitate Baal’s return from the underworld.

43tn Heb “when noon passed they prophesied until the offering up of the offering.”

44tc The Old Greek translation and Syriac Peshitta include the following words here: “When it was time to offer the sacrifice, Elijah the Tishbite spoke to the prophets of the abominations: ‘Stand aside for the time being, and I will offer my burnt offering.’ So they stood aside and departed.”

sn In 2 Kgs 4:31 the words “there was no sound and there was no response” are used to describe a dead boy. Similar words are used here to describe the god Baal as dead and therefore unresponsive.

45sn Torn down. The condition of the altar symbolizes the spiritual state of the people.

46tn The word “new” is implied but not actually present in the Hebrew text.

47sn Israel will be your new name. See Gen 32:28; 35:10.

48tn Heb “and he built the stones into an altar in the name of the Lord.

49tn A seah was a dry measure equivalent to about seven quarts.

50tn The words “when they had done so” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

51tn Heb “at the offering up of the offering.”

52tn The words “the altar” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

53tn Heb “let it be known.”

54tn Heb “the God.”

55tn Heb “that you are turning their heart[s] back.”

56tn The words “from the sky” are added for stylistic reasons.

57tn Heb “the God” (the phrase occurs twice in this verse).

58tn Or “slaughtered.”

59tn Heb “for [there is] the sound of the roar of the rain.”

60sn So he went on up, looked, and reported, “There is nothing.” Several times in this chapter those addressed by Elijah obey his orders. In vv. 20 and 42 Ahab does as instructed, in vv. 26 and 28 the prophets follow Elijah’s advice, and in vv. 30, 34, 40 and 43 the people and servants do as they are told. By juxtaposing Elijah’s commands with accounts of those commands being obeyed, the narrator emphasizes the authority of the Lord’s prophet.

61tn Heb “He said, ‘Return,’ seven times.”

62tn Heb “he”; the referent (the servant) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

63tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

64tn Heb “so that the rain won’t restrain you.”

65tn Heb “rode and went to.”

66tn Heb “and the hand of the Lord was on Elijah.”

67tn Heb “and girded up his loins.” The idea is that of gathering up the robes and tucking them into the sash or belt so that they do not get in the way of the legs when running (or working or fighting).