And it came to pass at noon
When they had been from the time of the morning sacrifice until now invoking their deity to no purpose:
that Elijah mocked them;
he jeered and bantered them:
and said, cry aloud;
your god does not hear you; perhaps, if you raise your voice higher, he may;
for he is a god;
according to your esteem of him, and, if so, he surely may hear you: unless
either he is talking;
with others about matters of moment and importance, who are waiting on him with their applications to him; or he is in meditation; in a deep study upon some things difficult to be resolved:
or he is pursuing;
his studies, or his pleasures, or his enemies, to overtake them; or he is employed on business F20:
or he is in a journey;
gone to visit his friends, or some parts of his dominions; so Homer F21 represents Jupiter gone to pay a visit to the Ethiopians, and as yesterday gone to a feast, and all the gods following him, from whence he would not return until twelve days; and in like manner Lucian F23 speaks of the gods, mocking at them:
or, peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked;
with a loud crying to him: it being now noon, Abarbinel thinks this refers to a custom of sleeping after dinner; Homer F24 also speaks of the sleep of the gods, and which used to be at noon; and therefore the worshippers of Baal ceased then to call upon him; and it is said F25, the Heathens feared to go into the temples of their gods at noon, lest they should disturb them; but such is not the true God, the God of Israel, he neither slumbers nor sleeps, ( Psalms 121:4 ) .