1 Kings 18:26

18:26 So they took a bull, as he had suggested, 1  and prepared it. They invoked the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “Baal, answer us.” But there was no sound and no answer. They jumped 2  around on the altar they had made. 3 

1 Kings 18:29

18:29 Throughout the afternoon they were in an ecstatic frenzy, 4  but there was no sound, no answer, and no response. 5 

1 tn Heb “and they took the bull which he allowed them.”

2 tn Heb “limped” (the same verb is used in v. 21).

3 tc The MT has “which he made,” but some medieval Hebrew mss and the ancient versions have the plural form of the verb.

4 tn Heb “when noon passed they prophesied until the offering up of the offering.”

5 tc The Old Greek translation and Syriac Peshitta include the following words here: “When it was time to offer the sacrifice, Elijah the Tishbite spoke to the prophets of the abominations: ‘Stand aside for the time being, and I will offer my burnt offering.’ So they stood aside and departed.”

sn In 2 Kgs 4:31 the words “there was no sound and there was no response” are used to describe a dead boy. Similar words are used here to describe the god Baal as dead and therefore unresponsive.