1 Kings 17:3

3 Go from here and turn east. Hide by the Cherith Brook that faces the Jordan River.

1 Kings 17:3 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 17:3

Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward
From the place where he was, being in danger from Ahab and Jezebel, provoked by his reproofs, threatenings, and prophecies:

and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan;
in some wood or cave near it, or among the reeds and rushes that grew on the banks of it; and Bochart ^F15 takes it to be the same with the river Kanah, on the borders of Ephraim, which has its name from reeds, ( Joshua 16:8 ) ( 17:9 ) , and Cherith by anticipation, from the prophet's being fed there; and Adrichomius ^F16 places this brook in the tribe of Ephraim; though Fuller ^F17 in the half tribe of Manasseh, beyond Jordan; but Bunting says ^F18 it runs from Mount Ephraim between Bethel and Jericho, eight miles from Jerusalem towards the north, and so, passing along towards the east, falls into Jordan.

---

FOOTNOTES:

F15 Hierozoic. par. 2. l. 2. c. 13. col. 216.
F16 Theatrum Terrae Sanct. p. 26.
F17 Pisgah-Sight B. 2. c. 3. p. 97.
F18 Travels p. 205.

1 Kings 17:3 In-Context

1 Elijah from Tishbe, who was one of the settlers in Gilead, said to Ahab, "As surely as the LORD lives, Israel's God, the one I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain these years unless I say so."

2 Then the LORD's word came to Elijah:

3 Go from here and turn east. Hide by the Cherith Brook that faces the Jordan River.

4 You can drink from the brook. I have also ordered the ravens to provide for you there.

5 Elijah went and did just what the LORD said. He stayed by the Cherith Brook that faced the Jordan River.