- The Sacrifice of Elijah
- B.M.627
- 17th century
- Dutch
Length: 46.7 cm
Width: 60.3 cm
Length: Frame 64 cm
Width: Frame 77 cm
Depth: Frame 6 cm
This biblical scene is set on Mount Carmel, where the prophet Elijah, covered with a grey mantle and holding a book, kneels before an altar. King Ahab of Israel recoils in terror at the thunderbolt sent by God to ignite Elijah's sacrifice. As a result of this sign, the people of Israel abandoned the cult of Baal and returned to the worship of Jehovah (Kings 18: 38-39).
Images of the life of Elijah were increasingly popular in the 16th and 17th centuries, when the prophet was regarded as a founder and patron of the Carmelite order.