Discovery Box1 Kings 18:26 
Context18:26 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 18:28
Context18:28 So they yelled louder and, in accordance with their prescribed ritual, 4 mutilated themselves with swords and spears until their bodies were covered with blood. 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
4 tn Or “as was their custom.”
5 tn Heb “until blood poured out on them.”
sn mutilated…covered with blood. This self-mutilation was a mourning rite designed to facilitate Baal’s return from the underworld.
