1 Kings 18 · Verse 19

1 Kings 18:19

Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel’s table.
1 Kings 18:19, King James Version

1 Kings 18:19 in other translations

BSBNow summon all Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel, along with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
WEBNow therefore send, and gather to me all Israel to Mount Carmel, and four hundred fifty of the prophets of Baal, and four hundred of the prophets of the Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
ASVNow therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the Asherah four hundred, that eat at Jezebel’s table.
YLTand now, send, gather unto me all Israel, unto the mount of Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the shrine, four hundred--eating at the table of Jezebel.'
DARBYAnd now send, gather to me all Israel to mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the Asherah four hundred, who eat at Jezebel's table.
BBENow send, and get Israel together before me at Mount Carmel, with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal who get their food at Jezebel's table.
WebsterNow therefore send, and gather to me all Israel to mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, who eat at Jezebel's table.

What does 1 Kings 18:19 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
19. gather ... the prophets of Baal ... the prophets of the groves--From the sequel it appears that the former only came. The latter, anticipating some evil, evaded the king's command. which eat at Jezebel's table--that is, not at the royal table where she herself dined, but they were maintained from her kitchen establishment (see on 1Sa 20:25 and 1Ki 4:22). They were the priests of Astarte, the Zidonian goddess.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 19 Gather to me all Israel - The heads of tribes and families; the rulers of the people. The prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty - the prophets of the groves four hundred - The king and queen had different religious establishments; the king and his servants worshipped Baal, the supreme lord and master of the world, the sun. For this establishment four hundred and fifty priests were maintained. The queen and her women worshipped אשרה Asherah, Astarte, or Venus; and for this establishment four hundred priests were maintained. These latter were in high honor; they ate at Jezebel's table; they made a part of her household. It appears that those eight hundred and fifty priests were the domestic chaplains of the king and queen, and probably not all the priests that belonged to the rites of Baal and Asherah in the land; and yet from the following verse we learn that Ahab had sent to all the children of Israel to collect these prophets; but Jezebel had certainly four hundred of them in her own house who were not at the assembly mentioned here. Those of Baal might have a more extensive jurisdiction than those of Asherah, the latter being constantly resident in Samaria.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 1 Kings 18:17-20

One may guess how people stand affected to God, by observing how they stand affected to his people and ministers. It has been the lot of the best and most useful men, like Elijah, to be called and counted the troublers of the land. But those who cause God's judgments do the mischief, not he that foretells them, and warns the nation to repent.

Read the full comment on 1 Kings 18:17-20 →

1 Kings 18:19 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְעַתָּ֗הve.'a.Tahand nowH6258
שְׁלַ֨חshe.LachsendH7971
קְבֹ֥ץke.VotzgatherH6908
אֵלַ֛י'e.Laito meH413
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
כָּל\־kol-allH3605
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לYis.ra.'ElIsraelH3478
אֶל\־'el-toH413
הַ֣רhar[the] mountain ofH2022
הַכַּרְמֶ֑לha.kar.Mel<the> CarmelH3760
וְאֶת\־ve.'Etand <obj.>H853
נְבִיאֵ֨יne.vi.'Ei[the] prophets ofH5030
הַבַּ֜עַלha.Ba.'al<the> BaalH1168
אַרְבַּ֧ע'ar.Ba'fourH702
מֵא֣וֹתme.'othundred<s>H3967
וַחֲמִשִּׁ֗יםva.cha.mi.Shimand fiftyH2572
וּנְבִיאֵ֤יu.ne.vi.'Eiand [the] prophets ofH5030
הָֽאֲשֵׁרָה֙ha.'a.she.Rah<the> AsherahH842
אַרְבַּ֣ע'ar.Ba'fourH702
מֵא֔וֹתme.'othundred<s>H3967
אֹכְלֵ֖י'o.khe.Lei[who] eat ofH398
שֻׁלְחַ֥ןshul.Chan[the] table ofH7979
אִיזָֽבֶל\׃'i.Za.velJezebelH348

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 1 Kings 18:19

  • Joshua 19:26

    And Alammelech, and Amad, and Misheal; and reacheth to Carmel westward, and to Shihor–libnath;

  • 1 Kings 16:33

    And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him.

  • 2 Peter 2:1

    But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

  • 2 Kings 2:25

    And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria.

  • 1 Samuel 15:12

    And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal.

  • Amos 1:2

    And he said, The Lord will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither.

  • Jeremiah 46:18

    As I live, saith the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts, Surely as Tabor is among the mountains, and as Carmel by the sea, so shall he come.

  • 2 Kings 13:6

    Nevertheless they departed not from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who made Israel sin, but walked therein: and there remained the grove also in Samaria.)

  • Revelation 2:20

    Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.

  • 1 Kings 18:22

    Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the Lord; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men.

  • 2 Kings 9:22

    And it came to pass, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it peace, Jehu? And he answered, What peace, so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many?

  • Amos 9:3

    And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them:

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
mount Carmel.Mount Carmel is situated north of Dora and south of Ptolemais or Acre, from which it is distant, according to Josephus, 120 stadia, or, according to Thevenot, 10 miles; one of its principal points advancing considerably into the Mediterranean, and forming an elevated promontory. It is described as a flattened cone, about 2,000 feet (some say 1,500) in height, very rocky, its sides steep and rugged, and the soil neither deep nor rich. Capt. Mangles says its is now quite barren, though at the north-eastern foot of it there are some pretty olive-grounds.
42,43; Jos 19:26; 1Sa 15:12; 2Ki 2:25; Jer 46:18; Am 1:2; 9:3
the prophets of Baal.
22:6; 2Pe 2:1; Re 19:20
prophets of the groves.
15:13; 16:33; 2Ki 13:6Though {ashairah} certainly denotes in some place a grove, yet it is equally certain, that in others, as here, it must signify an idol; and it is thought by learned men to be the same as Ashtoreth, or Astarte the Syrian Venus.
eat at Jezebel's table.
19:1,2; 2Ki 9:22; Re 2:20

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 1 Kings 18:18

    And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim.

  • 1 Kings 18:19

    Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel’s table.

  • 1 Kings 18:20

    So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel.

Read all of 1 Kings 18

1 Kings 18:19 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Envía pues ahora y júntame á todo Israel en el monte de Carmelo, y los cuatrocientos y cincuenta profetas de Baal, y los cuatrocientos profetas de los bosques, que comen de la mesa de Jezabel.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et maintenant, envoie, rassemble vers moi tout Israël, à la montagne du Carmel, et les 450 prophètes de Baal et les 400 prophètes des ashères, qui mangent à la table de Jézabel.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und nun sende hin, versammle ganz Israel zu mir nach dem Berge Karmel, und die 450 Propheten des Baal und die 400 Propheten der Aschera, die am Tische Isebels essen.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Verumtamen nunc mitte, et congrega ad me universum Israël in monte Carmeli, et prophetas Baal quadringentos quinquaginta, prophetasque lucorum quadringentos, qui comedunt de mensa Jezabel.