1 Kings 17:1-6

Elijah and the ravens

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.

6 The ravens brought bread and meat in the mornings and evenings. He drank from the Cherith Brook.

1 Kings 17:1-6 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS 17

This chapter begins with a prophecy of Elijah, that there should be want of rain for some years to come, and he is directed to go first to the brook Cherith, where he should be fed by ravens, 1Ki 17:1-7, and afterwards he is sent to a widow at Zarephath, where he, she, and her son, were supported for a considerable time with a handful of meal, and a little oil in a cruse miraculously increased, 1Ki 17:8-16, whose son falling sick and dying, he restored to life, 1Ki 17:17-24.