Gospel Decoded
HomeAll entries › 1 Kings

“Perhaps he is occupied”

1 Kings 18:27
Foreign wordWell-supportedElijah
Shout louder, for he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or occupied, or on a journey. Perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened! (1 Kings 18:27 BSB)
* The taunt is far cruder in Hebrew than most translations admit: 'occupied' is widely read as a euphemism for relieving himself, that is, Baal is on the toilet; 'sleeping' mocks a god who cannot even wake up.

What it sounds like today

Elijah politely allows that the god might be distracted.

The cultural key

Elijah's mockery is bawdier than the polished English lets on. As Baal's prophets rave, gash themselves, and get no answer, he heckles them with a list of reasons their god stays silent, and the third item, rendered 'occupied,' 'busy,' or 'wandered off' in most translations, is widely understood as a euphemism for relieving himself, in other words, the mighty Baal is on the toilet. The rest are just as cutting: a god 'deep in thought,' 'on a journey,' or fast 'asleep' and needing to be woken is no god at all. It is deliberate, crude satire against a deaf idol, and English versions quietly clean it up.

Recovered meaning

Elijah's taunt is coarse comedy the translations soften: maybe great Baal is busy in the bathroom, or away traveling, or asleep. A god who can be indisposed is exposed as no god.

Parallels: Psalm 115:4–7; Isaiah 44:9–17
Part of Gospel Decoded, 833 phrases from across the whole Bible decoded into their first-century meaning. Open this entry in the interactive explorer →
Browse all 833 entries →