1 Kings 18:38

38 Soothly [the] fire of the Lord felled down then, and devoured the burnt sacrifice, the wood, and the stones, and it licked up also the powder, and the water that was in the leading-(to), (or the rut,) of (the) water. (Then the fire of the Lord fell down, and devoured the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and it also licked up the water that was in the ditch, or in the rut, for the water.)

1 Kings 18:38 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 18:38

Then the fire of the Lord fell
An extraordinary fire from God out of heaven, as the effects of it show:

and consumed the burnt sacrifice;
as it had done in former instances, ( Leviticus 9:24 ) ( Judges 6:21 ) ( 1 Chronicles 21:26 ) ( 2 Chronicles 7:1 2 Chronicles 7:3 ) , and besides this, which is still more extraordinary,

and the wood, and the stones, and the dust;
of the altar, thereby signifying that even such were not to be used any more:

and licked up the water that was in the trench;
around the altar, see ( 1 Kings 18:32 ) .

1 Kings 18:38 In-Context

36 And when the time was then, that the burnt sacrifice should be offered, Elijah the prophet nighed, and said, Lord God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, show thou today that thou art God of Israel, and that I am thy servant, and have done all these words by thy commandment. (And when it was the time, that the burnt sacrifice should be offered, Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Lord God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Israel, or Jacob, show thou today that thou art the God of Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things by thy commandment.)
37 Lord, hear thou me; Lord, hear thou me; that this people learn, that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast converted again the heart of them. (Lord, hear thou me; Lord, hear thou me; so that this people shall learn that thou art the Lord God, and thou shalt turn their hearts back to thee again.)
38 Soothly [the] fire of the Lord felled down then, and devoured the burnt sacrifice, the wood, and the stones, and it licked up also the powder, and the water that was in the leading-(to), (or the rut,) of (the) water. (Then the fire of the Lord fell down, and devoured the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and it also licked up the water that was in the ditch, or in the rut, for the water.)
39 And when all the people had seen this, the people felled into his face (the people fell down on their faces), and said, The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.
40 And Elijah said to them, Take ye the prophets of Baal; not one soothly escape of them. And when they had taken them, Elijah led them to the strand of Kishon, and killed them there. (And Elijah said to them, Take ye hold of the prophets of Baal; do not let one of them escape. And when they had taken hold of them, Elijah led them to the Kishon Stream/to the Kishon Gorge, and they killed them there.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.