1 Kings 17:7-24

7 And it came to pass after a while that the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.
8 And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,
9 Arise, go to Zarephath of Zidon, and thou shalt 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, Bring 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 again and said, Bring me also, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thy hand.
12 And she said, As the LORD thy God lives, I have no baked bread, but only a handful of meal in a pitcher and a little oil in a cruse; and now I was gathering two sticks that I may go in and prepare 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 first make me a little cake of bread baked under the ashes and bring it unto me, and afterwards thou shalt make for thee and for thy son.
14 For thus hath said the LORD God of Israel, The pitcher of meal shall not be consumed, neither shall the cruse of oil fail until that day when the LORD shall send rain upon the earth.
15 And she went and did as Elijah told her; and he and she and her house ate for many days.
16 And the pitcher of meal was not consumed, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD which he spoke by Elijah.
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 severe 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 iniquity to remembrance and to cause my son to die?
19 And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom and carried him up into the chamber 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 even brought evil upon the widow, with whom I sojourn, by killing 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 lives.
24 Then the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God and that the word of the LORD is true in thy mouth.

1 Kings 17:7-24 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.

The Jubilee Bible (from the Scriptures of the Reformation), edited by Russell M. Stendal, Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2010