In the Old Testament, Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel.
The confrontation is recorded in 1 Kings 18 during the reign of Ahab, king of Israel. Elijah proposes a test: each side will prepare a sacrifice and call on its deity to send fire. The prophets of Baal call throughout the day, while Elijah repairs an altar and prays to the God of Israel.
The narrative says that fire consumes Elijah’s offering, wood, stones, dust, and water in the trench. The people then acknowledge the God of Israel. The episode is presented as a contest over exclusive worship, not merely as a personal dispute between rival prophets.
Elijah is sometimes confused with Elisha, his prophetic successor. Elisha appears prominently in the following chapters and continues the prophetic tradition, but Mount Carmel’s confrontation belongs to Elijah.