Bible Strands
1 Kings 18:40
Then Elijah ordered them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let a single one escape.” So they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered them there.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Elijah commands the crowd to capture the prophets of Baal immediately after their public confession that Yahweh is God. He then transports them to the Kishon Valley and executes them before turning to Ahab to announce the coming rain.
The words — The imperative תִּפְשׂוּ (tif.Su) commands "seize," combined with אִישׁ (ish) "anyone" and אַל (al) "may not" to form the absolute directive "do not let a single one escape."
The thread — This action fulfills the death penalty for false prophets in Deuteronomy 13:5 and Deuteronomy 18:20, and reuses the Kishon Valley as a locus of divine judgment established in Judges 4:7.
Why it lands — The text requires complete eradication of false worship without exception, demanding that obedience to divine judgment follow immediately upon the confirmation of God's authority.
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 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.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 18:20 But if any prophet dares to speak a message in My name that I have not commanded him to speak, or to speak in the name of other gods, that prophet must be put to death.”
- Judges 4:7 And I will draw out Sisera the commander of Jabin’s army, his chariots, and his troops to the River Kishon, and I will deliver him into your hand.’”
- Deuteronomy 13:5 Such a prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he has advocated rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery; he has tried to turn you from the way in which the LORD your God has commanded you to walk. So you must purge the evil from among you.
- Judges 5:21 The River Kishon swept them away, the ancient river, the River Kishon. March on, O my soul, in strength!
- Zechariah 13:2 And on that day, declares the LORD of Hosts, I will erase the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. I will also remove the prophets and the spirit of impurity from the land.
- 2 Kings 10:24 And they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had stationed eighty men outside and warned them, “If anyone allows one of the men I am delivering into your hands to escape, he will forfeit his life for theirs.”
- Jeremiah 48:10 Cursed is the one who is remiss in doing the work of the LORD, and cursed is he who withholds his sword from bloodshed.
- Revelation 19:20 But the beast was captured along with the false prophet, who on its behalf had performed signs deceiving those who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. Both the beast and the false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
- Revelation 20:10 And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, into which the beast and the false prophet had already been thrown. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.