Ephrem the Syrian — Commentary on Scripture

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.

When Elijah said, “I alone am left as a prophet to the Lord,” he was not speaking against the just, because they were no [longer] to be found. Rather he was denouncing sinners, because they had done away with [the just]. He did not wish it to be, therefore, that he alone be found just, and for this reason, he could not be found by them for three years, for he had discovered that they were not worthy of being visited by God.

1 Kings 18:26

And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made.

“They limped about the altar that they had made.” This means they had cut the bull in pieces and passed among the pieces lying on the altar by going from side to side. The Scripture shows us another image of this in the sacrifice of Abraham. He divided the animals and saw a torch of fire passing among the pieces. And Jeremiah mentions something similar when he reproaches the Jews because they had become similar to the pagan people and passed among the pieces of their sacrifices: “I will make [those who transgressed my covenant] like the calf which they cut in two and passed between its parts—the officials of Judah, the officials of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf shall be handed over to their enemies.”

1 Kings 18:38

Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.

Elijah, who on mount Carmel abolished the sacrifices of the pagan priests, ministers of vanity, through the burnt offering which he offered to the living God, gives us a living image of the burnt offering that the Emmanuel made on Mount Golgotha, bringing to an end through his own sacrifice which was offered only once, all the sacrifices prescribed by Moses, as well as the burnt offerings which the pagans offered to their infamous gods. “Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones and the dust, and even licked up the water that was in the trench.” You acted justly, Elijah, and quite wisely! Your fire will consume the stones, and the worshipers of the stones will blush for their shame. It will consume the wood, and those who make their gods out of carved wood will be upset and will turn away from their madness. It will consume the bull, so that nobody may ever worship the bull.

1 Kings 18:40

And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.

“Elijah brought them down to the Wadi Kishon, and cut their throats there.” There is no doubt that the people rose against the prophets of shame and brought them before Elijah. But it is not entirely clear who killed them. The Scripture says that Elijah cut their throats. And this is in perfect agreement with the true spirit of Elijah, who was concerned for the safety of the assembly: he tried to be the only one who could be accused of the murder of the prophets. Indeed, he knew that Jezebel would have claimed vengeance for the shed blood of her priests.

1 Kings 18:41

And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain.

“Elijah said to Ahab, ‘Go up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of rushing rain.’ ” Elijah, after acknowledging that the people, thanks to the miracle that he had showed them, had turned away from their evil thoughts, and that the priests of Baal, their deceivers, had received a just sentence, wisely prophesies and announces the rain to the king. And he asks his Lord for a new miracle, in order to confirm his first miracle and accomplish his promise. Indeed, he had promised his people to give them rain if they repented of their iniquity. Therefore he prophesies [the coming of the rain], because he is certain that God is reconciled with his people in consequence of their repentance and the killing of the prophets who had misled them.

1 Kings 18:42

So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees,

“And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel.” He does not go to Jerusalem in order to offer a sacrifice to the Lord, even though he knows the commandment of the law, which prevents the Jews from sacrificing outside the place that God had appointed as holy for them. He goes up to top of the Carmel in order to ask for rain, even though he knows that Solomon had mentioned the rain in his prayer for the people and the Lord had promised him that he would have given rain to those who prayed to him inside the temple of Jerusalem. Therefore Elijah prayed, so that they might see the miracle, because many of them still had not realized that the famine that overwhelmed them had been sent by the Lord through Elijah, who had prayed to him. In order that the word might confirm that Elijah had bound the heavens and now opened them, it was necessary that the people saw the prophet kneeling down in prayer, in the act of causing the rain to come down through his prayer.

1 Kings 18:44

And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not.

“Look, a little cloud no bigger than a person’s hand is rising out of the sea.” Before going up, Elijah prayed seven times. He did this, in the first place, in order to invite the people who were waiting for the rain, to meditate on the greatness of the grace that they received from their Lord; second, in order to teach them that even if their prayers were not fulfilled [immediately], they should not cease from multiplying their prayers until they were fulfilled at the time appointed by God. And at the seventh time a cloud bringing rain appeared, so that they might know that God had released [them] from the bondage of the famine into the abundance of his mercy in the fourth year, even though he had originally fixed the term to the seventh.

1 Kings 18:45-46

And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel.

In my opinion Elijah accorded a great honor to Ahab, of which he was unworthy, when he ran in front of him like a servant. And there are two reasons for this. In the first place, [the prophet intended] to comfort with his company the terrified and trembling king who was troubled in his spirit by the sudden weather changes that had occurred. It seems that he was taken by a great fear when, in a second, the sun had veiled its light and a heavy darkness had spread over all the land. And in that obscure and thick darkness he saw lightning and heard terrifying peals of thunder and a storm of violent winds and the rain falling like a cataract. Indeed, it was necessary that the atmosphere was clothed with such a dress in order to show the greatness of the sign that God had accomplished before his prophet. But the main reason for this action was that the king, who saw the honor that the prophets, messengers of the Highest, accorded to him, might learn that he had to honor God, his Creator, over all things, might be converted, might fulfill his commandments, observe his laws and obey the prop…

In my opinion Elijah accorded a great honor to Ahab, of which he was unworthy, when he ran in front of him like a servant. And there are two reasons for this. In the first place, [the prophet intended] to comfort with his company the terrified and trembling king who was troubled in his spirit by the sudden weather changes that had occurred. It seems that he was taken by a great fear when, in a second, the sun had veiled its light and a heavy darkness had spread over all the land. And in that obscure and thick darkness he saw lightning and heard terrifying peals of thunder and a storm of violent winds and the rain falling like a cataract. Indeed, it was necessary that the atmosphere was clothed with such a dress in order to show the greatness of the sign that God had accomplished before his prophet. But the main reason for this action was that the king, who saw the honor that the prophets, messengers of the Highest, accorded to him, might learn that he had to honor God, his Creator, over all things, might be converted, might fulfill his commandments, observe his laws and obey the prophets sent to him.See the humility of Elijah, and admire his wisdom before the pride, insanity and foolishness of Ahab. I certainly call mad and senseless one who, after seeing the wind, the water, the fire and the weather subjected to the power of Elijah, and hearing the entire people proclaim his power similar to that of God, did not recognize the excellence of his dignity, did not admire his action or honor his person, but in the excess of his pride, let him march before him, as a servant precedes one who is superior to him many times over. Indeed, the king should have let the prophet climb up and sit with him on his chariot.

1 Kings 19:2

Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time.

“Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, ‘So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.’ ” The insane woman contemplated that after learning from the king what Elijah had done to the prophets of Baal. However, she postponed the revenge that she desired, until the people, who were around [the prophet], were dispersed. In fact, in spite of her madness, she feared to be stoned if the people discovered her scheme to kill the prophet, who was well-known for the justice of his customs and had been seen in the act of releasing the clouds and making rain and fire, through which he had benefited his people by humiliating the arrogance of the friends of Baal and by defeating completely the famine.

1 Kings 19:3

And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.

“Then he was afraid; he got up and fled for his life.” It was out of wisdom that he turned away from danger, because it was absolutely wrong that he disposed of his soul, since he had no reason to give it to death, but, on the contrary, he had every reason to keep it alive. And that was done so that the prophets of falsehood might not say that the god—whose worship he had disrupted, whose sacrifices he had despised and whose prophets he had killed—had handed him over to the power of the queen.

1 Kings 19:4

But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.

“He came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die.” He hopes for death, but not for the one with which Jezebel had threatened him, that is, the one that would have given the prophets of Baal the pretext to say that Baal had defeated the God of Israel, otherwise he would have never abandoned his servant in such a danger: therefore he had forsaken him by force.

1 Kings 19:5-8

And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat.

“The angel of the Lord came a second time, touched him and said, ‘Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.’ ” Elijah was sleeping under a tree. Now an angel came to him and woke him up (sleep was weighing him down because of his fatigue, affliction and discouragement) and provided him with strength and comfort through the meal that he prepared for him. The nourishment of the prophet consisted of bread baked in the ashes and his drink of water. “And he said, ‘The journey will be too much for you,’ ” that is, “you will not escape the affliction which you fear, through your death, as you believe, but through your flight. Therefore the journey is too long for you, and it is not like going to Cherith, a place close by. Rather, you are leaving for a distant location among foreign people where you will get peace and prosperity. That is why, until you are allowed to do so, you must eat and drink and prepare yourself to be strong enough for a long journey, because in a barren and desert land, you will not find any food.”Allegorically the bread baked in the ashes, which…

“The angel of the Lord came a second time, touched him and said, ‘Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.’ ” Elijah was sleeping under a tree. Now an angel came to him and woke him up (sleep was weighing him down because of his fatigue, affliction and discouragement) and provided him with strength and comfort through the meal that he prepared for him. The nourishment of the prophet consisted of bread baked in the ashes and his drink of water. “And he said, ‘The journey will be too much for you,’ ” that is, “you will not escape the affliction which you fear, through your death, as you believe, but through your flight. Therefore the journey is too long for you, and it is not like going to Cherith, a place close by. Rather, you are leaving for a distant location among foreign people where you will get peace and prosperity. That is why, until you are allowed to do so, you must eat and drink and prepare yourself to be strong enough for a long journey, because in a barren and desert land, you will not find any food.”Allegorically the bread baked in the ashes, which the vigilant [the angel] offers to Elijah, has two different meanings: on the one side, it immediately shows the toils of penitence which the ashes symbolize perfectly, since they are a figure of mourning and of a contrite heart; the unleavened bread soaked in ashes and the water are also the food of the poor and the miserable. But we can say, with greater accuracy, that they are figures of all the righteous, for whom the providence of the Creator has established a course of life in the paths of privation. Therefore he leads them through much suffering, privation of food and a severe fast in order to purify them completely from all the filth of earthly things. Then he guides them to the mountain, which is the perfection and the accomplishment of the saints.

1 Kings 19:9-10

And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?

Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” After reaching Horeb, the mountain of God, Elijah spent the night in a cave, and on the next day, when he heard the noise of God coming to him, he went out to the entrance of the cave where he heard him saying, “What are you doing?” And he answered, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. That is why I have stopped the heavens, so that it might no longer rain on the sinners, or on the earth either so that it might not give them any food, even though this seems to be a mild punishment for those who deserve a harsh and cruel torture. Should I have been quiet and kept silent while I was seeing the apostasy of an impious people that despised your commandments, abandoned your covenant made on this mountain, and exchanged you for Baal, the idol of the Sidonians, and for the vain cults of the pagans? Or should I have endured the insanity of Jezebel, who persecuted and killed your prophets? But I stood, thanks to the abundance of your mercy, because your powerful hand protected me at the Wadi…

Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” After reaching Horeb, the mountain of God, Elijah spent the night in a cave, and on the next day, when he heard the noise of God coming to him, he went out to the entrance of the cave where he heard him saying, “What are you doing?” And he answered, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. That is why I have stopped the heavens, so that it might no longer rain on the sinners, or on the earth either so that it might not give them any food, even though this seems to be a mild punishment for those who deserve a harsh and cruel torture. Should I have been quiet and kept silent while I was seeing the apostasy of an impious people that despised your commandments, abandoned your covenant made on this mountain, and exchanged you for Baal, the idol of the Sidonians, and for the vain cults of the pagans? Or should I have endured the insanity of Jezebel, who persecuted and killed your prophets? But I stood, thanks to the abundance of your mercy, because your powerful hand protected me at the Wadi Cherith and in Zarephath of Sidon. And now you have led me to your sacred mountain, even though the mad queen does not cease from setting up ambushes to destroy my soul.”

1 Kings 19:11-12

And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake:

“Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind.” Now, after the wind, the earthquake came, and after the earthquake the fire, and [Elijah] noticed that the Lord was not in the earthquake or in the fire. This was the purpose of such a revelation: the Lord wanted to instruct the prophet through various figures in order to correct his excessive zeal and to lead him to imitate, according to righteousness, the providence of the most High who regulates the judgments of his justice through the abundant mercy of his grace. From the allegorical point of view this is the meaning of the frightening signs that precede the coming of the Lord: the earthquake and the fire kindled by the strong winds prefigure the type of the dreadful signs that will precede the final day of judgment.

1 Kings 19:13-14

And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?

“When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ He answered, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant.’ ” He stayed at the entrance of the cave because he did not dare approach the Lord who was coming to him. He wrapped his face, saying, “The creature is not worthy of seeing his Creator.” But he did not move from his first thought, even though he saw the image of the benevolence of his Lord in the symbol that was presented to him, and in addition he experienced his admirable mercy and ineffable love for human beings. Who would not have been astonished by the word of the divine majesty who asked him with love, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” But Elijah did not change his mind or shut his mouth. Instead he rose against the sinners once again and complained about the sons of his people before the Lord who asked him the reason for his flight.

1 Kings 19:15-17

And the LORD said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria:

“Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram.” As I have already said, “the sound of a sweet word” which comes after the storm and the fire divulged this good news. And what follows this manifestation fits perfectly with this context: Elijah, who had so far fled from Jezebel the queen, is now sent to anoint the kings and to hallow the prophets. And he anoints Hazael as king of Aram with his word; Jehu, son of Namsi, as king of Israel, judge of Ahab and avenger of innocent blood with oil; and Elisha [as prophet] with his mantle. Now, since the Lord had decided that those who had been condemned by Elijah because of their rebellion should receive the just retribution for their iniquity, their condemnation was prepared in this way: a part of the people would be punished by Hazael, king of Aram, whereas Ahab and Jezebel would receive their condemnation from Jehu; finally, if anything had been overlooked by them, Elisha would accomplish the task through the authority that the Lord had given him. And the people truly deser…

“Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram.” As I have already said, “the sound of a sweet word” which comes after the storm and the fire divulged this good news. And what follows this manifestation fits perfectly with this context: Elijah, who had so far fled from Jezebel the queen, is now sent to anoint the kings and to hallow the prophets. And he anoints Hazael as king of Aram with his word; Jehu, son of Namsi, as king of Israel, judge of Ahab and avenger of innocent blood with oil; and Elisha [as prophet] with his mantle. Now, since the Lord had decided that those who had been condemned by Elijah because of their rebellion should receive the just retribution for their iniquity, their condemnation was prepared in this way: a part of the people would be punished by Hazael, king of Aram, whereas Ahab and Jezebel would receive their condemnation from Jehu; finally, if anything had been overlooked by them, Elisha would accomplish the task through the authority that the Lord had given him. And the people truly deserved punishment for not turning from their error. Even after learning the truth through the great and obvious signs that Elijah had performed, they did not abandon the worship of Baal. Also the sins of Ahab and Jezebel were great, well known and evident, and both of them had to be harshly punished for that reason. And since Jezebel had appointed new priests of Baal, her god, in order to replace those who had been killed by Elijah, it was necessary that they received the same punishment as their predecessors.In addition, other reasons obliged Elijah to raise Elisha to the dignity of prophet exactly at that time when he was about to leave this world: first, in order to assist him in the time of affliction; second, in order to confirm through his word the event of the kidnapping of his master and his ascension to heaven because nobody had ever heard anything like that before. Therefore [Elijah elevated Elisha to the dignity of prophet] in order to cut short the lies of the priests of Baal who could not commend the works of Elijah, their persecutor, and tried with all their might to persuade the people with false words that the disciples of Elijah had entirely invented the kidnapping of their master and pretended that God had raised him to heaven.

1 Kings 19:18

Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.

Through these words it is clear that seven thousand people remained faithful to the true religion of the ancestors, while the others had turned away from it, even though at the time of Jeroboam, king of the ten tribes, it is written that 800, men came out with him to fight. But it is wonderful how this small troop was precious in the eyes of the Lord, and how, because of it, he gave a double victory to the sons of their people and to Ahab, their king, who were absolutely unworthy of it. The Scripture says that in those days Ben-hadad, king of Aram, came against Samaria with thirty-two kings. Now 7, men with 232 youths, who preceded the troop, came out of the city, and fought against the Arameans, and killed them and defeated that great army.

1 Kings 19:19-20

So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him.

“So he set out from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He passed by him and threw his mantle over him.” With his mantle Elijah took Elisha from farming to prophesying. From the symbolic point of view, Elisha represents the type of the apostles to whom our Lord said in the Gospel, “So stay here in the city of Jerusalem until you have been clothed with power from high.” Therefore the mantle of Elijah signified the gifts of the Spirit which the apostles would receive.

1 Kings 20:20-30

And they slew every one his man: and the Syrians fled; and Israel pursued them: and Benhadad the king of Syria escaped on an horse with the horsemen.

Here the Scripture relates the two battles of the king of Israel against the Arameans, at which we have already hinted, and the twin slaughters of the Arameans, of which the second caused the death of 127, men, as God took his revenge on the impious voice of the Arameans, who said about the true God worshiped by the Israelites, “The Lord is a god of the hills, but he is not a god of the valleys.”

1 Kings 20:41-43

And he hasted, and took the ashes away from his face; and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets.

In the course of these events Ahab’s indulgence toward a man who was notoriously impious and an open and arrogant despiser of divine majesty fully deserved to be condemned, just as Saul’s clemency toward the king of the Amalekites was reproached with good reason by Samuel; this is especially true if, as some commentators assert, the same prophet who had promised the victory in the name of God prescribed that a punishment was to be inflicted on Ben-hadad. On the other hand, a mild punishment should have been inflicted on Ahab and his subjects, if they were completely unaware of the will of God. But they could not ignore God’s will at all, because the prophet had told them ahead of time that the Arameans would be handed over to them, after the Arameans had violated the majesty of God with their impious insults.