1 Kings 18:32

1Ki 18:32 And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed.

Ver. 32. In the name of the Lord,] i.e., By his special warrant, and for his honour and service.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Ki 18:32-33. With the stones he built an altar — With the assistance of the people, who now readily yielded their helping hands. In the name of the Lord — By the authority of God and for his worship. He made a trench, as great as would contain two measures of seed — As capacious, say some, as a sack that would contain that quantity, namely, two third parts of an ephah. Others understand the words as meaning a trench of sufficient breadth and circuit to sow therein that quantity of seed, or about twenty pounds’ weight of barley: which must have been very large indeed. Fill four barrels with water — This they could quickly fetch, either from the river Kishon; or, if that was dried up, from the sea; both were at the foot of the mountain. This he did to make the miracle more glorious, and more unquestionable; to show that there was no fallacy in it, no fire concealed in or about the altar; but that the lightning which was to consume the sacrifice came from heaven; and came at Elijah’s invocation; and Josephus tells us, that Elijah invited the people to draw near, that they might search and spy everywhere, if they could find any fire secretly conveyed under the altar. Antiq. lib. 8. cap. 7.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Hebrew, seahs, which some think contain about three pottles and a third part a piece.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 32. He made a trench] This was to detain the water that might fall down from the altar when the barrels should be poured upon it, 1Kg 18:35.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(32) Measures.—The “measure,” the third part of the ephah, hence also often called shalish (a “tierce,” or “third”), was something less than three gallons. A trench to contain only six gallons seems too insignificant for the context; hence it is supposed that the sense is “large enough for the sowing (as in a furrow) of two measures of seed.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

32. a trench] The LXX. has θάλασσαν = a sea, which is interesting in connexion with the name given to the great cistern which Solomon caused to be made for the temple-services. Cf. 1Ki_7:23 above.

as great as would contain two measures of seed] The LXX. omits these words, which are not quite easy of explanation. The measure mentioned is a seah, which is the third part of an ephah. But whether the dimension applies to each side of the altar, so that on each of the four sides there would be a ditch of this capacity, or whether this was the capacity of the whole surrounding trench is not evident. It was clearly intended to catch the water that was poured over the sacrifice.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And he said, do it the second time, and they did it the second time,.... That is, poured four barrels of water more upon the wood:

and he said, do it the third time, and they did it the third time; so that there were in all twelve barrels of water poured on the wood, agreeably to the number of the twelve stones the altar was built with, and may have respect to the same as they.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

He built an altar in the name of the Lord - i. e., calling, as he built it, on the name of Yahweh, and so dedicating it to His service.

Two measures of seed - literally, “two seahs of seed.” The seah contained about three gallons.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Furrows. Hebrew, "of two (sathayim) measures of seed." These furrows Elias filled with water, to impede the natural activity of fire, and to shew the miracle in a more striking light; (Haydock) as also to convince all that there was no deceit. An author quoted, under the name of St. Chrysostom, says that the pagans had sometimes subterraneous passages, by which they kindled the wood on the altar, as if by miracle, ita ut multi decepti ignem illum cœlestem esse existiment. (ap. Surium iv.)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

With the assistance of the people, who readily yielded their helping hand,

he built an altar; which, though generally forbidden, he might do, because he did it by the command and suggestion of God, who can dispense with his own laws, and upon apparent and urgent necessity, and for a work of great mercy, (to which even by God’s command the ceremonial laws must give place, Hos 6:6; Mar 2:27) even for the conversion of the Israelites, whom it was impossible to bring to the altar of Jerusalem at this time.

In the name of the Lord; by the authority of God, and for his worship.

Two measures, i.e. two third parts of an ephah; which shows that the trench was of a competent largeness.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

32. As great as would contain two measures of seed — This means, according to Thenius and Keil, that the space taken up by the whole trench was as large as that on which two measures of grain would ordinarily be sown. But this would have made the trench enclose a space incredibly large. The measures here mentioned are in the Hebrew seahs, containing at the lowest estimate about six quarts, and twelve quarts of grain would be more than enough to sow over the entire level space of the summit of el-Mohrakah, which is about twenty rods square. It is better, therefore, to understand that the trench itself would hold about twelve quarts of grain or water. It was dug to catch and hold the water which Elijah proposed to pour over the altar, and thus to show the people that there was no secret way of letting it off. It needed no large trench to answer this purpose, and no deep trench could easily be dug in that rocky surface; but the shallow soil now on the rock would be sufficient for a trench capable of holding three gallons, and the soil may have been deeper in Elijah’s time. “I myself observed,” writes Professor Mead, (Bibliotheca Sacra, 1873, p. 685,) “close to the Mohrakah, a rocky surface, artificially smoothed, about eight feet square, around the edge of which had been dug a groove an inch or two in depth. One might almost be tempted to find in that the foundation and trench of the very altar itself.”

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And with the stones the twelve he had chosen out of the ruins. (Exo_20:25) he built an altar in the name of the Lord not "by the command of Jehovah" (Bahr), but rather as the minister and for the service of Jehovah, or, as Keil. "by the authority and for the glory of Jehovah." Nor is it certain that "he called, as he Built it, on the name of Jehovah, and so dedicated it to His service" (Rawl.) (See: Gen_12:8 Gen_13:4 Gen_33:20 Gen_35:7) and he made a trench or channel, 2Ki_18:17; Isa_7:3 Isa_36:2; Eze_31:4. The word implies that it was for holding the water, not for keeping off the people about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed Heb. as the inside (lit., house) of two seahs of seed. These words have been variously interpreted. Keil, with Thenius and Wordsworth, understands that "the trench was so large that you could sow two seahs of seed upon the ground which it covered." But apart from the fact that tyiB" must refer to capacity rather than superficial extent, one does not measure a trench, as Bahr observes, by the ground which it covers, but by its depth. He would follow Gesenius in understanding that the trench was so deep as to hold two seahs of seed; i.e., as deep as the grain measure containing two seahs. The ha; s was the third of an ephah. Cf. Jos., Ant. 9:4. 5, and the sata tria of Mat_13:33

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

A ditch. Fosse, in O.F.

Which would contain two se’ah. Its width [i.e., capacity] was as great as to hold two se’ah, [i.e.,] one hundred amohs by fifty amohs, like [the area of] the Tabernacle’s courtyard. by 50 amohs.—Radak

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.