1 Kings 18:30 - Joseph Benson’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Elijah said, Come near unto me Come away from these impudent deceivers to me, and expect from me the satisfaction of your desire. He repaired the altar of the Lord An altar which probably had remained from the time of the judges; at least, it had been built by some of their ancestors, for the offering of sacrifices to the God of Israel, which was frequently done in high places, of which, it is probable, Carmel was once one of the most eminent in the whole kingdom. This altar Elijah now repaired, because it had been broken down, doubtless, by some of the Baalites out of their enmity to the true God, whose temple they could not reach, and therefore showed their malignity in destroying his altars. “Both Tacitus and Suetonius speak of the God of Carmel, whom Vespasian went to consult when he was in Judea; but they tell us, that there was neither temple nor statue upon the mountain, except one altar only, plain, but venerable for its antiquity. The altar of Carmel seems to have had its original from this altar of the true God, which the ancient Hebrews first erected, and Elijah afterward repaired; and which even the heathen held in such veneration, that when they came to be masters of the country, they would not so much as place an image by it.” Dodd.