Melachim Alef 13:3

3 And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the mofet (sign) that Hashem hath spoken: Hinei, the mizbe’ach shall be split apart, and the deshen (fat ashes) that are upon it shall be poured out.

Melachim Alef 13:3 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 13:3

And he gave a sign the same day, saying, this is the sign
which the Lord hath spoken
As a confirmation of the truth of what the prophet had said, and for the proof of his being a true prophet of the Lord:

behold, the altar shall be rent;
of itself, by an invisible hand, by the power of God:

and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out;
signifying it should be entirely demolished, not only shaken but destroyed, so as not to be capable of retaining the ashes on it; this was an emblem of the utter abolition of idolatry here in future times.

Melachim Alef 13:3 In-Context

1 3 And, hinei, by the Devar Hashem there came an Ish HaElohim out of Yehudah unto Beit-El; and Yarov‘am stood by the mizbe’ach to burn ketoret.
2 And he cried against the mizbe’ach by the Devar Hashem, and said, O mizbe’ach, mizbe’ach, thus saith Hashem; Hinei, ben nolad (a son shall be born) unto the Bais Dovid, Yoshiyah shmo; and upon thee shall he offer the kohanim of the [idolatrous] high places that burn ketoret upon thee, and atzmot adam shall be burned upon thee [2Kgs 23:15-16].
3 And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the mofet (sign) that Hashem hath spoken: Hinei, the mizbe’ach shall be split apart, and the deshen (fat ashes) that are upon it shall be poured out.
4 And it came to pass, when HaMelech Yarov`am heard the davar of the Ish HaElohim, which had cried against the mizbe’ach in Beit-El, that he put forth his yad from the mizbe’ach, saying, Lay hold on him. And his yad, which he put forth against him, shriveled up, so that he could not draw it back to him.
5 The mizbe’ach also was split apart, and the deshen poured out from the mizbe’ach, according to the mofet which the Ish HaElohim had given by the Devar Hashem.
The Orthodox Jewish Bible fourth edition, OJB. Copyright 2002,2003,2008,2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International. All rights reserved.