Carmel. [Car'mel]
1. Th
is name has generally the article, and signifies 'the park' or fruitful place. A mountain 12 miles in length that runs from the plain of Esdraelon in Galilee, in a N.W. direction toward the Mediterranean, where it forms a notable promontory, the only one in Palestine. It was the scene of Elijah's contest with the priests of Baal, that led to their destruction. 1 Kings 1:18-40. One part towards its east end is still called Mukrakah, 'place of burning,' the traditional spot of the above encounter. There Elijah repaired the altar of the Lord: this may have been erected before the temple was built, and been broken down, but its moral bearing is obvious. God vindicated His servant, and answered by fire from heaven. A perennial well near by would, notwithstanding the drought, have supplied the water Elijah needed. The spot is about 1,600 feet above the sea, and Elijah's servant had to go but a short distance to have the Mediterranean in view and to watch for a cloud.The mountain was afterwards the residence of Elisha, where he was visited by the Shunammite woman on the death of her child. 2 Kings 4:25. It is well wooded with shrubberies and brushwood, Isaiah 33:9; Micah 7:14, and is beautiful with the multitude of its flowers, in fact the spot is declared to be even now the fragrant lovely mountain as of old. In Song of Solomon 7:5 the head of the bride is compared to Carmel. It is now called Jebel Kurmul.
2. City in the hill-country of Judah, Joshua 15:55, the abode of Nabal and Abigail the Carmelitess. 1 Samuel 25:2-40. Identified with el Kurmul, 31 26' N, 35 8' E. It is probable that 1 Samuel 15:12 refers to this city; also 2 Chronicles 26:10, unless the word there is translated 'fruitful fields,' as in the margin and R.V. All other passages refer to No. 1.