Bible Strands
1 Kings 18:29
Midday passed, and they kept on raving until the time of the evening sacrifice. But there was no response; no one answered, no one paid attention.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophets of Baal continue their ritual from verse 28 after Elijah’s challenge, acting alone until the appointed time for the daily evening offering. No speaker addresses them; they are the sole actors in this moment of sustained ritual.
The words — הַֽ/צָּהֳרַ֔יִם (ha.tzo.ho.Ra.yim) literally means the noontide, marking the temporal threshold, while לַ/עֲל֣וֹת הַ/מִּנְחָ֑ה (la./'a.Lot ha./min.Chah) literally means to the going up of the offering, denoting the fixed time for the daily sacrifice.
The thread — The fixed time for the evening offering echoes the daily lamb sacrifices prescribed in Exodus 29:39 and Exodus 29:41. The term for prophesying (וַ/יִּֽתְנַבְּא֔וּ) appears in 1 Samuel 18:10 during a divinely sent spirit of distress.
Why it lands — The text records prolonged ritual activity met with absolute silence, demanding a reader to weigh human effort against divine response. It asks for a clear-eyed assessment of whether devotion produces action or only exhaustion.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded.
Cross-references
- Exodus 29:39 Offer one lamb in the morning and the other at twilight.
- Exodus 29:41 And offer the second lamb at twilight with the same grain offering and drink offering as in the morning, as a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the LORD.
- 1 Samuel 18:10 The next day a spirit of distress sent from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied inside the house while David played the harp as usual. Now Saul was holding a spear,
- 1 Kings 18:26 And they took the bull that was given them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, shouting, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no sound, and no one answered as they leaped around the altar they had made.
- 1 Kings 22:10 Dressed in royal attire, the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were sitting on their thrones at the threshing floor by the entrance of the gate of Samaria, with all the prophets prophesying before them.
- 1 Kings 22:12 And all the prophets were prophesying the same, saying, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and triumph, for the LORD will deliver it into the hand of the king.”
- Jeremiah 28:6 “Amen!” Jeremiah said. “May the LORD do so! May the LORD fulfill the words you have prophesied, and may He restore the articles of His house and all the exiles back to this place from Babylon.
- Acts 16:16 One day as we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl with a spirit of divination, who earned a large income for her masters by fortune-telling.
- 1 Corinthians 11:4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head.
- Galatians 4:8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods.