Because it was not totally predictable (Amos 4: 7) and could fail altogether, rainfall was much prayed for, looked for, and even induced (1 Kgs. 18: 45); it has been suggested that Elijah's action in bowing to the ground with his face between his knees was a piece of sympathetic magic; he was trying to make himself look like a cloud. Such rain-making was practised amongst ancient peoples. Early rain in Palestine fell in the autumn, with the main rainfall from October to March, but there could be prolonged droughts when the rains failed (1 Kgs. 17: 7; Joel 1: 20). The amount of rainfall in the south was considerably more than in the north of the land.