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1 Kings 17

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Elijah Prophesies Drought and Hides at Cherith 1–7

1
And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. ​
2
And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,
3
Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. ​
4
And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. ​
5
So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.
6
And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.
7
And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land. ​

Sustained by the Widow of Zarephath 8–16

8
And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,
9
Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. ​
10
So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.
11
And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.
12
And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. ​
13
And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. ​
14
For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth. ​
15
And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.
16
And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.

Resurrection of the Widow's Son 17–24

17
And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him. ​
18
And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son? ​
19
And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed.
20
And he cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? ​
21
And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again. ​
22
And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.
23
And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth.
24
And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for 1 Kings 17

Verse 1

As the LORD God of Israel liveth — The oath sets the living God against the Baal whom Ahab served after marrying Jezebel of the Zidonians (1 Kgs 16:31–32). 'Before whom I stand' is the language of a servant in attendance (2 Kgs 3:14). The shut heaven is the penalty for idolatry (Deut 11:16–17); Luke 4:25 and James 5:17 add that it lasted three years and six months.

Verse 3

Cherith, that is before Jordan — Nachal is a winter torrent, a stream that runs only with rain, so the brook that sustains Elijah is the very kind that fails in a drought (v.7). 'Hide' is çathar; the same verb is used of what the LORD does for those who trust him: 'Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence' (Ps 31:20).

Verse 4

I have commanded the ravens — 'Commanded' (tsavah) is the verb used of the widow in v.9: one word orders both a bird and a woman. The raven is among the fowls 'in abomination' (Lev 11:13–15), yet it is fed by God (Ps 147:9), and Christ points to it: 'Consider the ravens… and God feedeth them' (Luke 12:24).

Verse 7

the brook dried up — 'After a while' is literally 'at the end of days'. The drought Elijah announced in v.1 reaches the place where he is kept. He is not left there: the word of the LORD comes to him again (v.8) and directs him to Zarephath, where the supply is no longer a stream but a household.

Verse 9

Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon — Zarephath lay in the land of Zidon, the homeland of Jezebel (1 Kgs 16:31). Christ cites the sending: 'unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow' (Luke 4:26). 'Sustain' is kul, the verb used of the ravens' feeding in v.4.

Verse 12

an handful of meal in a barrel — 'Handful' is literally the fulness of the palm (melo kaph); the 'cruse' (tsappachath) is a small flask. The woman swears 'As the LORD thy God liveth', yet speaks of the LORD as Elijah's God. Her last supply recalls the widow in Elisha's time who had 'not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil' (2 Kgs 4:2).

Verse 13

Fear not… make me thereof a little cake first — The cake is uggah, a round loaf baked on hearth stones. The command to give first comes before the promise of v.14, which is introduced as the word of the LORD. The order is the one Christ gives: 'seek ye first the kingdom of God… and all these things shall be added unto you' (Matt 6:33).

Verse 14

shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail — 'Waste' is kalah, to come to an end; 'fail' is chaser, to lack. The promise has a limit, 'until the day that the LORD sendeth rain', which is the promise of 1 Kgs 18:1. It was kept: 'according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah' (v.16).

Verse 17

no breath left in him — 'Breath' is neshamah, the breath of life that God breathed into man's nostrils at creation (Gen 2:7). The boy's sickness is choli, and the verse says plainly that it ended in death. The woman is called 'the mistress of the house' (baalah), the owner of the home Elijah lodges in.

Verse 18

to call my sin to remembrance — 'Remembrance' is zakar, and 'sin' is avon, iniquity: the pair appears in the offering of jealousy, 'bringing iniquity to remembrance' (Num 5:15). Her words 'What have I to do with thee' mark a separation, as in Luke 4:34; 'man of God' is the title she repeats in v.24, now as a confession.

Verse 20

hast thou also brought evil upon the widow — 'Evil' is raa, calamity or harm. Elijah calls himself a sojourner (gur) in her house, a lodger, and puts the death to the LORD in prayer, 'O LORD my God'. James cites his praying: 'he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain' (Jas 5:17–18).

Verse 21

stretched himself upon the child three times — The verb is madad, to measure; the body is laid along the body, three times. The prayer is that the child's 'soul' (nephesh) 'come into him again', using shub, to turn back. It is the first raising of the dead recorded in Scripture; Elisha repeats the act (2 Kgs 4:34–35), and Paul 'fell on' Eutychus (Acts 20:9–10).

Verse 24

the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth — 'Truth' is emeth, firmness, what can be relied on. Elijah's own word in v.1 was 'according to my word'; she now knows that his word is the LORD's. Her 'Now by this I know' follows the flour and oil of v.16 and the child's life, and answers the charge of v.18.