1 Kings 18:42

42 So King Ahab went to eat and drink. At the same time Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel, where he bent down to the ground with his head between his knees.

1 Kings 18:42 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 18:42

So Ahab went up to eat and to drink
Up to his chariot, as some think, or rather to some place higher than that in which he now was:

and Elijah went up to the top of Carmel;
higher still, where he both might be alone, and have the opportunity of observing the clouds gathering, and the rain coming:

and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his
knees;
expressive of his humility, and of his earnestness, and vehement desire, and continued importunity, that rain might fall; for this was a posture of prayer he put himself into, and continued in; and it is certain that it was through his prayer that rain came, ( James 5:18 ) and from hence came the fable of the Grecians concerning Aeacus praying for rain in a time of drought, when it came ^F8. So the Chinese writers ^F9 report that at the prayers of their emperor Tangus, after a seven years' drought, great rains fell.

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FOOTNOTES:

F8 Pausan. Attica, sive, l. 1. prope finem. Isocrat. Evagoras, p. 373.
F9 Martin. Sinic. Hist. l. 3. p. 60.

1 Kings 18:42 In-Context

40 Then Elijah said, "Capture the prophets of Baal! Don't let any of them run away!" The people captured all the prophets. Then Elijah led them down to the Kishon Valley, where he killed them.

41 Then Elijah said to Ahab, "Now, go, eat, and drink, because a heavy rain is coming."

42 So King Ahab went to eat and drink. At the same time Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel, where he bent down to the ground with his head between his knees.

43 Then Elijah said to his servant, "Go and look toward the sea." The servant went and looked. "I see nothing," he said. Elijah told him to go and look again. This happened seven times.

44 The seventh time, the servant said, "I see a small cloud, the size of a human fist, coming from the sea." Elijah told the servant, "Go to Ahab and tell him to get his chariot ready and go home now. Otherwise, the rain will stop him."