The Bible In Paintings, #139: ELIJAH CONFRONTS BAAL’S 450 PROPHETS

Bing Images ^ | c.2200 BC - c.95 AD | by the Father, Son & Holy Spirit

[Hebrews 11:6]

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ELIJAH CONFRONTS
BAAL’S 450 PROPHETS

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1^st. K I N G S . 1 6 – 1 8
New International Version, emphases added
Abrdgd: the complete text is in your Bible
or Click:
To read 1^ST KINGS 16-18 in full
To hear MAX McLEAN reading it
To hear a DRAMATIZATION of it
To watch a BRIEF ANIMATION OF 1^st Kings

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8 6 3 . B. C.

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29 In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years. 30 Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him. 31 He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. 32 He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. 33 Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to arouse the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than did all the kings of Israel before him.

CHAPTER 18

16 Ahab went to meet Elijah. 17 When he saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?”

18 “I have not made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “But you and your father’s family have. You have abandoned the Lord’s commands and you have followed the Baals. 19 Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

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20 So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. 21 Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”

But the people said nothing.

22 Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23 Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire—he is God.”

Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”

25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.” 26 So they took the bull given them and prepared it.

Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.

27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 28 So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. 29 Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.

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by PHILIPPS VAN GALLE, 1567
“The story of Elijah and the Priests of Baal”

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by JAMES TISSOT
“The Prophets of Baal Leap upon the Altar”

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by PHILIPPS VAN GALLE, 1567
“The story of Elijah and the Priests of Baal”

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by LUCA GIORDANO, 1655
“The Sacrifice of Elijah Against the Prophets of Baal”

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30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.” 32 With the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs[a] of seed. 33 He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.”

34 “Do it again,” he said, and they did it again.

“Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. 35 The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.

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by ALBERT JOSEPH MOORE, 1863
“Elijah's Sacrifice”

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36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”

38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.

39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”

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by DOMENICO FETTI, 1622
“The Triumph of Elijah over the Prophets of Baal”

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by PHILIPPS VAN GALLE
“Elijah Competes with the Prophets of Baal”

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by LUCAS CRANACH THE YOUNGER, 1545
“Elijah and the Priests of Baal”

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by J. A. MARIENHOF, 1651
“The Sacrifice of Elijah”

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by MUSA SON OF STEFAN, 1699
“Elijah Thanks God after the Triumph
over the Priests of Baal”

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by NICOLAS LE SUEUR, 1735
“Sacrifices of Elijah and the Prophets of Baal”

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“Elijah Praying to God to Set Fire to His Altar
in front of the Prophets of Baal”

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“Elijah’s Sacrifice Consumed by Fire”
St. Matthew's German Evangelical Lutheran Church, Charleston, South Carolina

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by MARC CHAGALL, 1956
“Offering of Elijah”

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by JAMES TISSOT
“Elijah Bringeth Fire from Heaven”

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40 Then Elijah commanded them, “Seize the prophets of Baal. Don’t let anyone get away!” They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there.

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by JUAN DE VALDÉS LEAL
“Elijah and Baal’s Prophets”

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by GUSTAVE DORÉ
“Slaughter of the Prophets of Baal”

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→ a n d…. f i n a l l y ←

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by JULIUS SCHNORR VON CAROLSFELD, 1855
“Elijah Goes after Prophets of Baal”

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֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎

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SNEAK PEEK: Next time,

ELIJAH,
RAINING AND RUNNING

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֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎

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R E S O U R C E S

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If you'd like to see for yourself the Bing page
which yielded most of the works above, here is the link:

Elijah & Baal’s Prophets

Image Sources are provided for most individual works.
Where no attribution appears below a work,
the source did not provide the artist's name.
Works are numbered to facilitate your commenting.

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Links to three masters who painted Biblical scenes prolifically:

REMBRANDT HARMENSZOON van RIJN

GUSTAV DORÉ
241 wood engravings for
La Grande Bible de Tours

JAMES TISSOT
180 watercolors depicting Bible scenes

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Links to two Bibles with comprehensive illustrations:

The Art Bible (1896)

The Maciejowski-Morgan Bible (c.1245)

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This series keeps moving from one Bible passage to another,
so here is a fascinating and enjoyable link to assist in following along:
BIBLE TIMELINE

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Here are links to the
PREVIOUS 138 POSTS IN THIS SERIES
with descriptive titles to assist you in finding those which interest you

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Finally, what God did to initiate The Bible In Paintings:
HOW GOD STARTED THIS SERIES
BY SHOWING ME JUST ONE PICTURE

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SPECIAL THANKS
to FReeper left that other site,
who allowed God to make her His conduit
for incomparable enthusiasm, encouragement,
education, advice and technical assistance!

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NOTES ON MY SELECTION CRITERIA

A r t Q u a l i t y

The Bible and its Author are my focus, not the art: this is The Bible in Paintings, not "Great Paintings" nor even "Good Paintings." So, works need not be masterpieces to qualify for inclusion here—they don't need to be housed at the Louvre nor auctioned by Sotheby's. They only need to illustrate successfully some aspect of the Biblical text or, frankly, just tickle my fancy, which I'm always asking the Holy Spirit to guide.

Often, artists misrepresent the Scripture, but unless the error is material, licentious or heretical I usually include the artwork, trusting that the Spirit is perfectly capable of defending Himself. So, with such forgiving filters, it means that you're seeing practically everything I'm finding.

T e x t S e q u e n c i n g

The Protestant Canon does not (for several reasons) follow a strictly chronological sequence. There are many examples where, for God's good purposes, stories are told out-of-order. Nevertheless, for the sake of simplicity, clarity, and my sanity, I have chosen to proceed linearly and methodically from Genesis onward, illustrating each Bible passage as we come to it. Where two passages cover the same incident I omit the second telling, excepting the four Gospels which I will treat synoptically. Now, onward!

P a c i n g

The pace here may seem appallingly snail-like to those eager to see their favorite events illustrated. My commission is to search for art on each Bible passage in sequence: if I find enough, then it becomes the next installment, even if undramatic (but where there is little or no art, that Bible passage goes untold here).

Then, there is the human element: this is not actually a daily series, because I can only research, compose, edit and post five or six of these installments weekly. And because I only get to do this series once, I'm taking my time, chiefly by posting everything; if I find lots of art, I don't cherry-pick some and discard the rest. Rather, I line up all of them and then sort them into manageable bunches, often resulting in multiple days' episodes of the same story. Obviously, I like being thorough. Were you in a big hurry?

The Bible is a thick book, as you know; but we'll get there eventually, Lord willing—this is His project, after all. And always remember:
love, joy, peace, patience kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness & self-control is a fruit of the Spirit!

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Art is merely the Toy Department of Bible study,
so I'm just having fun here—I hope you are, too!
Thank you for your understanding.

Hebrews 11:6
Dan Lewis
DodgerDan

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P I N G… .L I S T

for "The Bible In Paintings" series

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To be alerted to each new posting,
either reply here or FRmail me.

No contracts, startup charges or monthly fees;
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[Hebrews 11:6]

At the Holy Spirit's prompting, I am surveying "Bible art" to give God glory, as many of these artists have done, and for my own amusement and learning; and I thought others might enjoy it and be blessed by it, too. My plan is to proceed methodically from left-to-right, Genesis to Revelation, as the Lord wills. Back soon with another.

The Bible encourages us to meditate on it (Ps. 1:1-3, 119:11-16, etc.); these artists have done so, and their works can assist us and enrich our own thoughts about biblical characters, incidents and concepts, and increase our faith in He who is behind it all. As you encounter and consider these images and the related Scriptures and the Spirit enlightens your understanding, please share it with us!

But it is not only oil-on-canvas that can so help us; I refer to the astonishing video series The Chosen, which strolls through the four Gospels at the most leisurely pace. The eight episodes of Season 1 are finished, and the second of a planned seven seasons is being filmed right now. I say "leisurely" because after an entire year's viewing Jesus still has only seven of the apostles (although He's preparing to call up Thomas from the minor leagues--but Thomas is skeptical, of course). Anticipating a canvas of fifty-plus hours instead of a movie's paltry two hours, The Chosen turns the characters (especially including Jesus!) into three-dimensional humans and brings the Gospels alive--you have never seen anything even remotely like it! Here is the Official Trailer.

Here is a link for free viewing of The Chosen: "Works with your phone, tablet, and you can cast to your Roku or Chromecast." Last fall I paid $34.98 for DVDs and ongoing internet access—best 35 bucks I've ever spent (I don't recall how much our marriage license cost, but then it was 43 years ago).

[Hebrews 11:6]

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F o r . . y o u r

CONSIDERATION

ENJOYMENT

& BLESSING

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[Red Badger]

Elijah had a great sense of humor.....................

[Hebrews 11:6]

OK, I’ll bite: explain?

[Hebrews 11:6]

Oh, his jokes about Baal.

[Red Badger]

He taunted the 450 Prophets of Baal while they were trying their turn at the altar........

[Hebrews 11:6]

It must have been a pathetic and laughable sight, watch those fools’ antics for hours.

[Red Badger]

And having them continually beat themselves bloody!...................

[left that other site]

I would just LOVE to see this scene portrayed in the 20th-Century Art Form of Cinematography.

With REAL Special Effects...NO CGI.

I wonder why nobody has ever tackled it.

[ConorMacNessa]

Thanks very much, Dan, for that toasty array of Biblical Art - the Prophet Elijah was not someone to be trifled with!

"Dia shábháil ar fad anseo!"

"God save all here!"

[Hebrews 11:6]

Ordinarily, 450:1 makes for poor matchmaking odds, unless the 1 has Yahweh as his Manager, Trainer, and Corner-Man.

[Hebrews 11:6]

Really? Never, ever been filmed?!<p<Do you suppose that, in the sweet by-and-by, we’ll be able to view the actual Biblical events?

[left that other site]

Not that I know of...and I’m a “BEB” (Biblical Epic Buff).

I am sure That The LORD will let us watch an instant replay if we ask Him nicely. 0:-)

[Hebrews 11:6]

ML / LTOS / BEB

[left that other site]

FINALLY! Some letters after my name.

[Albion Wilde]

I’ve always been a Cranach fan. Here again, he did not disappoint.

[Hebrews 11:6]

Must be an acquired taste. I just noticed #33 is a zoom of Cranach’s.

[Albion Wilde]

Cranach the Elder painted this guy a couple of dozen times, at all stages of life:

Cranach the Younger was into crowd scenes!

[Albion Wilde]

This is a Cranach the Younger from the National Gallery that I really love: Christ Blessing the Children:

[Hebrews 11:6]

I know Martin Luther when I see him.