1 tn Heb “to bless.”
2 tn The plural form is used in the Hebrew text to indicate honor and authority.
3 tc Many Hebrew
4 tn Heb “make the name of Solomon better than your name, and make his throne greater than your throne.” The term שֵׁם (shem, “name”) is used here of one’s fame and reputation.
5 tn Or “bowed down; worshiped.”
6 tn Heb “five cubits.”
7 tn Heb “six cubits.”
8 tn Heb “seven cubits.”
9 tn Or “offsets” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); NIV “offset ledges.”
10 tn Heb “so that [the beams] would not have a hold in the walls of the temple.”
11 tn Heb “and they took the bull which he allowed them.”
12 tn Heb “limped” (the same verb is used in v. 21).
13 tc The MT has “which he made,” but some medieval Hebrew
14 sn Elijah’s sarcastic proposals would have been especially offensive and irritating to Baal’s prophets, for they believed Baal was imprisoned in the underworld as death’s captive during this time of drought. Elijah’s apparent ignorance of their theology is probably designed for dramatic effect; indeed the suggestion that Baal is away on a trip or deep in sleep comes precariously close to the truth as viewed by the prophets.