And Elijah said unto all the people, come near unto me,.... And observe what I do, and what will be done at my request:and all the people came near unto him; left the prophets of Baal to themselves, and took no more notice of them, but attended to what the prophet should say and do:and he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down; which had been set up when high places and altars were allowed of, while the tabernacle was unsettled, and the temple not built; this is supposed to have been erected in the times of the judges; though, according to a tradition of the Jews , it was built by Saul, see 1Sa 15:12 but had been thrown down by the idolatrous Israelites, who demolished such as were erected to the name of the Lord everywhere, and built new ones for their idols, 1Ki 19:10.
Benjamin of Tudela says, that on the top of Mount Carmel is now to be seen the place of the altar Elijah repaired, which is four cubits round. Jarchi & Kimchi in loc. ltinerar. p.