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1 Kings 19

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Jezebel Threatens Elijah's Life 1–3

1
And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.
2
Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to-morrow about this time. ​
3
And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there. ​

Elijah Finds Refuge and Despairs 4–8

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But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper-tree: and he requested for himself that he might die, and said, It is enough; now, O Jehovah, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers. ​
5
And he lay down and slept under a juniper-tree; and, behold, an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat.
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And he looked, and, behold, there was at his head a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again.
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And the angel of Jehovah came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for thee.
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And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God. ​

The Lord Appears to Elijah at Horeb 9–18

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And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of Jehovah came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah? ​
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And he said, I have been very jealous for Jehovah, the God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword: and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. ​
11
And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before Jehovah. And, behold, Jehovah passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before Jehovah; but Jehovah was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but Jehovah was not in the earthquake:
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and after the earthquake a fire; but Jehovah was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. ​
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And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entrance of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?
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And he said, I have been very jealous for Jehovah, the God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.
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And Jehovah said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, thou shalt anoint Hazael to be king over Syria; ​
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and Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel; and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room. ​
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And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay; and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay.
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Yet will I leave me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him. ​

The Call of Elisha 19–21

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So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing, with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed over unto him, and cast his mantle upon him. ​
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And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee. And he said unto him, Go back again; for what have I done to thee?
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And he returned from following him, and took the yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave unto the people, and they did eat. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for 1 Kings 19

Verse 2

So let the gods do to me, and more also — An oath formula, spoken by Ruth in the LORD's name (Ruth 1:17), by Benhadad (20:10) and by the king of Israel (2 Kgs 6:31). Jezebel swears by 'the gods'. The 'one of them' whose life Elijah's will be made like are the prophets of Baal he slew at the brook Kishon (18:40).

Verse 3

went for his life — Literally for his nephesh, the word of the 'life' Jezebel threatened in v.2. Beersheba 'belongeth to Judah', outside the kingdom of Israel, and is the southern end of the land ('from Dan even to Beersheba', Judg 20:1). Elijah leaves his servant there and goes on alone.

Verse 4

a juniper tree — Rethem, the broom, a desert shrub; the KJV uses 'juniper' for it only here and in v.5, Job 30:4 and Ps 120:4 ('coals of juniper'). Moses (Num 11:15) and Jonah (Jonah 4:3) also asked the LORD to end their lives. Elijah says 'It is enough' (rav) and adds, 'for I am not better than my fathers'.

Verse 8

forty days and forty nights unto Horeb — Horeb is 'the mountain of God' (Ex 3:1), where the covenant was given. Moses was on it 'forty days and forty nights' (Ex 24:18; 34:28; Deut 9:9), and Christ fasted the same length of time (Matt 4:2). Elijah goes 'in the strength of that meat', the cake and water the angel gave him (vv.5–7).

Verse 9

What doest thou here, Elijah? — The word of the LORD comes as a question, as to Adam (Gen 3:9) and to Hagar (Gen 16:8). It is asked again at v.13 and answered in the same words in v.10 and v.14. Moses was set in a cleft of the rock as the LORD's glory passed by (Ex 33:21–23).

Verse 10

I have been very jealous — The verb qana is doubled in the Hebrew, 'jealous, I have been jealous'. The LORD declares that his own name is 'Jealous' (Ex 34:14). 'I, even I only, am left' repeats 18:22, though Obadiah had hidden a hundred prophets (18:4). Paul cites the scene in Rom 11:2–4.

Verse 12

a still small voice — Literally qol demamah daqqah, 'a voice of thin silence'. Demamah is the 'silence' before the voice in Job 4:16 and the 'calm' of Ps 107:29. The wind, earthquake and fire come first, and the LORD 'was not in' them. At Sinai the LORD spoke 'out of the midst of the fire' (Deut 4:12).

Verse 15

anoint Hazael — The command to anoint (mashach) a king over Syria. No anointing of Hazael is recorded; Elisha at Damascus tells Hazael, 'The LORD hath shewed me that thou shalt be king over Syria' (2 Kgs 8:13), and Amos names 'the house of Hazael' in judgment (Amos 1:4). Elijah is sent back 'on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus'.

Verse 16

Jehu the son of Nimshi — Elisha sends one of the sons of the prophets with a box of oil to anoint Jehu at Ramothgilead (2 Kgs 9:1–6). Elisha 'of Abelmeholah' is the third commission, and the narrative records Elijah casting his mantle on him (v.19). Jehu and Hazael are the two who bring the judgment of vv.17–18.

Verse 18

seven thousand — Paul quotes the verse for Israel: 'I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal', then 'there is a remnant according to the election of grace' (Rom 11:4–5). 'Left' is sha'ar, the root of 'remnant' (Isa 10:20–22). To kiss the idol is to give it homage, as in Hos 13:2, 'kiss the calves'.

Verse 19

cast his mantle upon him — Elisha is ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen, himself with the twelfth. The addereth, the mantle, is the garment Elisha later takes up when it falls from Elijah and with which he smites the Jordan (2 Kgs 2:13–14). Another man called from his work is David, taken 'from the sheepfolds' (Ps 78:70).

Verse 21

ministered unto him — Sharath, to attend, the verb for Joshua serving Moses (Ex 24:13). Elisha is later called the one 'which poured water on the hands of Elijah' (2 Kgs 3:11). The yoke of oxen is slain and boiled 'with the instruments of the oxen', so the tools of his ploughing are spent in the meal given to the people.