ובאלוהיהם עשה ה' שפטים, “and the Lord executed judgments on their gods.” Read שופטיהם, “their judges,” instead of their gods; “judgments” cannot be executed on inert idols. The Torah here uses a play on words, seeing that the word אלוהים is also used in the Torah for judges. (Compare Exodus 22,7)

ואבדתם את כל צלמי משכיתם, “you are to destroy all their molten images.” According to Tanchuma 8 on this verse this is what is meant in Job 35,11 מלפנו מבהמות ארץ, “who gives us more knowledge than the beasts of the earth.” G–d told the Israelites to learn a lesson from Elijah at Mount Carmel who had asked the priests of the Baal to prepare one bullock as their sacrifice to the Baal and to wait if the Baal would respond in any manner at all. When almost the whole day had passed and no response from the Baal had been forthcoming, Elijah proceeded to dig a trench around an ancient altar that had been destroyed when the Temple in Jerusalem was built, and he filled the trench with water. He poured water over the bullock after it had been cut up three times and prayed to the Lord of Israel; fire descended from heaven and consumed the bullock and licked up all the water in the trench. (Kings I 18,32). I have heard that the size and shape of that trench was copied from what the Israelites constructed in front of the Tabernacle. The amount of water poured into that trench and over the bullock also was the same as had been used with the altar in front of the Tabernacle. How was he allowed to use jugs which had been used by the idolatrous priests of the Baal? In Kings II 3,11 Elisha, Elijah’s successor, is quoted as having been the one who poured the water on Mount Carmel for his mentor Elijah so that there is no problem of idolatrous vessels having been used. There is puzzling verse in Job 35,11: where one of Job’s friends tells him that “the Lord gives us more wisdom than the birds in the sky.” This was a reference to the ravens which had supplied Elijah with food and water when he was hiding out from King Achav. These birds did not want to enter the palace of the idolatrous king. Our author feels that this interpretation cannot be reconciled with the Talmud on that subject. (Chulin folio 5.) It is stated there that the ravens took that food from the kitchen of the King, which being under the supervision of Adoniah, (a prophet) was strictly kasher.