Does Elijah outrun Ahab?

1 Kings 18.44-46.

Seven פְּעָמִֽים/pe’amím, “beats,” or “seconds,” after Elijah’s boy had checked the weather and saw nothing, Elijah had him check it again, and the boy saw a cloud coming. That, to Elijah, meant rain, so he sent the boy to warn the king, Ahab ben Omri, rain was coming—so go אֱסֹ֣ר/asór, “tie up.” Tie up what? The KJV translates this “Prepare [thy chariot]”—it added the words “thy chariot” because it presumed Ahab rode a chariot, because Ahab later used a chariot in battle. 1Ki 22.35

But the reason you used chariots in battle was so your driver could steer the horse while you shot arrows; people back then didn’t know how to do both, and it kinda terrified middle easterners when the Scythians figured out how to do both. You really have to know how to ride, and Ahab wasn’t that kind of rider.

But the verb יִּרְכַּ֥ב/yorkháv, “mounted,” in verse 45, indicates Ahab wasn’t riding in a chariot; he was on horseback when he rode to his palace in יִזְרְעֶֽאל/Yitzre’el, KJV “Jezreel.” This is a valley near Samaria. Its name means “God scatters seed,” and was probably named that because people originally farmed it. Various Christians nonetheless try to find some way to ironically connect its meaning to the events of Ahab’s life, but that’s just futile guesswork. Anyway, “chariot” got added to the text by the KJV, and there’s no reason to insist Ahab rode one home. It’s why I don’t translate it that way.

1 Kings 18.44-46 KWL

44In the seventh second this happened:

The boy said, “Look, a little cloud,

looking like the palm of a man’s hand,

rising from the sea.”

Elijah said, “Go up.

Tell Ahab, ‘Harness your horse

and go down lest the rain stop you.’¹”

45While this happened, the skies blackened—

clouds and wind, and it became great rain.

Ahab mounted his horse

and went to Jezre’el.

46YHWH’s hand came upon Elijah,

who put his belt on his hips

and ran before Ahab’s face

until he entered Jezre’el.

Here’s the thing: The text says Elijah “ran before Ahab’s face.” That actually doesn’t mean Elijah outran Ahab, or Ahab’s chariot, or Ahab’s horse, or Ahab’s anything. I know that’s how Christians traditionally interpret this passage—Ahab whipping his horse to run as fast as possible, and Elijah somehow, miraculously, running faster than Ahab’s horse; running like God had struck him with lightning and turned him into the Flash.

Nope. Time for some grammato-historical context, folks.

Running before the king.

In Ahab’s day, kings wanted to show off their power and authority, just like certain megalomaniacal dictators and presidents. How they’d do it. was to have heralds run in front of their horses and announce the king was approaching. Usually they’d get a big crowd of heralds—say, 450 of them, who happened to also be the prophets of their favorite god. The king wouldn’t ride full-speed; he didn’t want to outpace them. He’d have his horse go at a stately walk. Think of how fast horses go in our parades, and how marching bands can go just as fast in front of them.

Ahab used to have 450 of those prophets run in front of him. They were all dead now.

So in their place—and indicating the new relationship Ahab now had with the LORD instead of Baal—was God’s sole prophet, Elijah. Running in front of the king’s horse.

God’s hand was on Elijah. Not in the sense that God gave him any special sort of power to be able to run 40 miles an hour, but in the sense God’s favor was upon Elijah. Running before Ahab’s horse was considered an honor in that culture. God’s prophets hadn’t been granted this honor in a very long time. Now, when the Israelis witnessed the king approach Samaria and Jezre’el, they’d see—by the fact Elijah ran before the king, not the Baalists—there was now a new world order. Ahab no longer honored Baal, but the LORD. Elijah was no longer persona non grata in the kingdom, but an honored friend of the king.

And that—as they’re seeing the rain come, and later when they heard the story of the contest at Mt. Karmél—revealed to them the LORD is almighty, and Baal is not.

Altogether, a nice way to end this chapter.