1 Kings 18:41

41 Then Elijah said to Ahab, "Go up, eat and drink, for [there is] the sound of the noise of rain."

1 Kings 18:41 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 18:41

And Elijah said unto Ahab, get thee up
From the brook and valley where the execution of the prophets had been made; either up to his chariot, or to the tent or pavilion erected on the side of the mount, where the whole scene of things was transacted;

eat and drink;
which he had no leisure for all the day, from the time of the morning sacrifice to the evening sacrifice, which was taken up in attending to the issue of the several sacrifices; but now he is bid to eat and refresh himself, and that in token of joy and gladness, as became him, both for the honour of the true God, which had been abundantly confirmed, and for the near approach of rain, of which he assures him:

for there is a sound of abundance of rain;
the wind perhaps began to rise, and blow pretty briskly, which was a sign of it ^F6; besides, according to the Tyrian annals ^F7, there were loud claps of thunder at this time, at least when the heavens became very black, as in ( 1 Kings 18:45 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F6 "Fit fragor, hinc densi----nimbi", Ovid. Metamorph. l. 1. Fab. 8. v. 269.
F7 Apud Joseph, Antiqu. l. 8. c. 13. sect. 2.

1 Kings 18:41 In-Context

39 When all the people saw, they fell on their faces and said, "Yahweh, he [is] God! Yahweh, he [is] God!"

40 Then Elijah said to them, "Seize the prophets of Baal; don't let any man of them escape!" So they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the wadi of Kishon and killed them there.

41 Then Elijah said to Ahab, "Go up, eat and drink, for [there is] the sound of the noise of rain."

42 So Ahab went up to eat and to drink while Elijah went to the top of Carmel, bent down to the earth, and put his face between his knees.

43 Then he said to his servant, "Please go [and] look in the direction of [the] sea." So he went up and looked; then he said, "There is nothing." Then he said, "Go back," seven times.