Reading for September 14th

 Read 1 Kings 20.35-43. A talent was a measure of weight between 45 and 130 pounds. In verse 42: Devotion to destruction was an aspect of holy war in which the enemy was killed as a kind of sacrifice. The king of Israel is condemned for not carrying out Yahweh's command, much the same as Saul is condemned in 1 Sam 15 for the same offense. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 13th

 Read 1 Kings 20.16-34. In verse 22: In the spring is literally "at the turn of the year," which may mean "next year." In verses 23-25: A chariot force would be more useful on flat ground than in hilly or mountainous territory. In verse 30: Twenty-seven thousand may be a simple exaggeration, or the word translated "thousand" may refer to a military unit of much fewer than a thousand men. In verse 31: Sackcloth (Heb., "saq') refers to some type of clothing that was worn to show sorrow. In verses 32-33: The servants of Ben-hadad refer to him as the servant of the king of Israel. But the king of Israel calls him a brother, thus making him an equal. This is also treaty language and indicates that the king of Israel wants to be treaty partners with Ben-hadad. This indication is the sign or omen the servants of Ben-hadad were awaiting. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 12th

 Read 1 Kings 20.1-15. In 20.1-43: Tales of other prophets. In this chapter probably went originally with ch. 22 as in the Greek (Septuagint) version of 1 Kings, which has chs. 20 and 21 in reverse order. The stories in chs. 20 and 22 are out of place historically, since they assume a setting in which in which Israel was dominated by Aram (Syria), which was not the case during Ahab's reign. In verse 1: The thirty-two kings were rulers not of nations but of city-states or chieftains dominated by Damascus. In verse 2: The king of Israel is here identified as Ahab, but this identification is likely secondary. For most of the chapter he is called simply "the king of Israel." In verse 12: The booths probably refer to the army's tents. However, it might also be read as "Sukkoth," a site west of the Jordan. In verse 14: The young men who serve the district governors seems to be a special rank or division within the military, but we no longer know exactly what it means. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 11th

 Read 1 Kings 19.1-21. In 19.1-21: Elijah on Mount Horeb. In verses1-3: Elijah flees south some 130 miles to Beer-sheba out of fear of Jezebel. In verse 8: Like Moses, Elijah fasts forty days and forty nights. Elijah goes to Horeb the mount of God which is called Sinai at other places in the Bible. It is the place where Moses received the law. In verse 9: The Hebrew text reads "the" cave, apparently the same cave where Moses hid when the Lord passed by (Ex 33.17-23). In verses 11-12: The Lord does not appear in any of these violent forms, which might be associated with the storm god, Baal. Rather, the Lord appears quietly. In verse 13: Elijah wrapped his face in his mantle, apparently because he was afraid. In verse 14: Again, Elijah is overstating matters when he says I alone am left. In verses 15-18: The Lord evidently accepts Elijah's "resignation." Elijah is assured that he is not alone (v. 18), but he is told to anoint or designate Elisha ('my God saves') as his replacement. The other two commissions in these verses are actually carried out by Elisha (2 Kings 8-9). In verse 19: Introduction of Elisha is abrupt. We know nothing of his background except what is narrated here. The twelve yoke of oxen (v. 19) suggests that he is from a wealthy family. The mantle was a token of the prophetic office. When he threw his mantle over him, Elijah was designating Elisha as his replacement. In verse 20: Elijah's response to Elisha's request In v. 20 is obscure. By asking What have I done to you? he maybe asking Elisha to keep in mind that the has received an important call. In verse 21: Elisha's feats is a way of bidding goodbye to his family. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 10th

 Read 1 Kings 18.30-46. In verses 30-32: Elijah's repair and use of an altar away from Jerusalem would not have been approved by the deuteronomistic historian and is one indication that the stories in chs. 17-19 are a later insertion. In verse 32: Two measures (Heb., two "se'ahs") of seed was about three pecks or seven gallons, though this seems too small for the amount indicated in the story. Some have suggested that it refers to the amount of land that could be planted by two measures of seed. But this seems inappropriately large. In verses 33-35: The point of drenching the sacrifice is to make clear that the fire is not accidental and does not origin at on the earth. It also makes the test all the more difficult in order to impress the audience with the Lord's power, especially during a drought. In verses 36-39: The Lord answers by sending lightening onto the altar, and the people recognize that Yahweh is the true God, who controls the storm and fertility. In verse 40: The slaughter of the prophets of Baal counters Jezebel's slaughter of the Lord's prophets. In verse 41: Elijah tells Ahab to eat and drink. Ahab may have been fasting for ritual purposes before and during the contest. In verses 42-45: Elijah's calls for the end of the drought is yet one  more sign of the Lord's control over the elements and of Elijah's prowess as a man of God. In verse 46: Jezreel was about 17 miles away! Elijah was able to out run Ahab's chariot because the hand of the Lord was on [hand] often signifies power. Comments or Questions..

Reading for September 9th

 Read 1 Kings 18.17-29. In verses 17-18: Ahab blames Elijah for the drought and calls him the troubler of Israel, but Elijah points out that it is Ahab's apostasy that has brought trouble to Israel. In verse 19: Baal and Asherah were the leading male and female deities, respectively, in the fertility religion of ancient Canaan. Carmel means "vineyard of god (El)" and implies afflation with Canaanite fertility religion. Mount Carmel is near the Mediterranean coast in northern Israel and held a place for worship near its summit. In verse 21: Elijah accuses the people of limping with two different opinions or "straddling the fence" between the worship of Yahweh and that of Baal. The word "limping" is echoed later (v. 26) in referring to the ritual dance of the prophets of Baal. In verse 22: Elijah is overstating the case when he says, I, even, I only, am left a prophet of the Lord since there are at least the 150 prophets of the Lord saved by Obadiah. In verses 23-24:Elijah proposes a decisive test to determine whether the Lord (Yahweh) or Baal truly controls the storm. The fire which each of them prays is lighting. In verse 26: No voice or "sound" means that there was no thunder. When the prophets limped about the altar they were apparently engaged in a ritual dance. In verse 27: He is meditating may mean that he is relieving himself (see Gen 24.63) which could certainly fit with Elijah's mocking. In verse 28: This kind of blood-letting was common in ritual as a sign of fervency or perhaps sympathetic magic. In verse 29: The verb for raved on also means "prophesy" and implies trance behavior or some other loss of self-control. The time of the offering of the oblation, about 3 pm. Second Kings 3.20 also mentions a morning oblation. The practice of two daily oblations may have arisen first in Exile or later. The reference to the oblation also implies the existence of a central sanctuary and therefore a southern author. Comments or Questions..

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Reading for September 8th

 Read 1 Kings 18.1-16. In 18.1-46: Contest on Mount Carmel. In verse 3: Obadiah is loyal to Yahweh, his name means "servant of Yahweh." In verse 4: There is no story preserved about Jezebel killing off the prophets of the Lord. In verse 5: Ahab is more concerned about saving his animals than about his wife's slaughter of the Lord's prophets. In verses 7-8: Obadiah calls Elijah my lord, but Elijah refers to Ahab as your lord, thus hinting that he is not pleased about Obadiah being a servant to such a wicked king. In verse 12: Obadiah's fear about Elijah's disappearance shows the aura of mystery and power that surrounded the prophet. In verse 15: Lord of Hosts is a title for Yahweh indicating his authority over the armies or hosts of both heaven and earth. Comments or Questions..