Repairing the Destroyed Altar/2
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Repairing the Destroyed Altar
Exegetical Approaches
Old Altar
The altar had been made much earlier, in one of the eras in which it was permitted to erect private altars.
Whose altar? According to this approach, there might have been many altars remaining in the Northern kingdom from earlier permitted eras and this one need not have had any special significance. Rashi and Radak ("על פי הדרש"), nonetheless, identify the altar with that erected by Shaul after the war with Amalek, as the verse shares, "בָּא שָׁאוּל הַכַּרְמֶלָה וְהִנֵּה מַצִּיב לוֹ יָד". However, it is doubtful whether the Carmel spoken of is identical to the Mt. Carmel of our verse which is in the North, as Sefer Shemeul suggests that Shaul was close to Gilgal at the time.
Recent Altar
The altar was built after the Beit HaMIkdash was constructed, but was permitted since the Mikdash was inaccessible to those living in the Northern Kingdom.
New Altar
The altar was erected by Eliyahu himself, earlier in the day, but was destroyed by the Baal prophets.
Sources:Malbim
"וַיְפַסְּחוּ עַל הַמִּזְבֵּחַ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה" – Malbim understands this verse to mean that the Baal prophets trampled on an altar built by Eliyahu (hence the singular "אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה"). He assumes that at the beginning of the contest, both sides erected altars, and when the false prophets failed to get a response after offering their cow, they blamed the presence of Eliyahu's altar and set out to destroy it.
Altars after the Beit HaMIkdash – According to this approach, the nation as a whole had not been making private altars after the prohibition was in effect. Eliyahu's action was a one time-event, sanctioned by Hashem, as he later says, "[וּבִדְבָרְךָ] (ובדבריך) עָשִׂיתִי אֵת כׇּל הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה".
Fix or build – Malbim claims that the verses are a "כלל ופרט"(general statement followed by details). They first share that Eliyahu repaired his altar and then detail how that was done: via taking twelve new stones etc. The assumption is that the stones originally used to build the altar had been dispersed by the Baal prophets.
"עַד מָתַי אַתֶּם פֹּסְחִים עַל שְׁתֵּי הַסְּעִפִּים" – In using the same language that Eliyahu used to question the people's dual belief (פוסחים) to convey the prophets' trampling on Eliyahu's altar, the text might be highlighting the irony of situation. Eliyahu tells the people not to waver between two sides, and the prophets echo him, trampling Hashem's altar in a move to eliminate Hashem from the picture. Despite their best efforts, however, their god remains absent while Hashem shows himself full force.
Nature of the contest – Malbim's reconstruction adds an element of violence to the story, suggesting that the face-down between the two sides was not a calm one.
No Altar
Eliyahu's fixing of the destroyed altar is a metaphor for his repairing the nation's relationship with Hashem.
