1 Kings 17:3-13

3 "Go from this place and turn to the east; you must hide yourself in the Wadi Kerith {which faces the Jordan}.
4 It shall be that you shall drink from the wadi, and I have commanded the crows to sustain you there."
5 So he went and did according to the word of Yahweh. He went and stayed in the Wadi Kerith {which faces the Jordan}.
6 The crows [were] bringing bread and meat in the morning for him and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the wadi.
7 It happened {after a while} that the wadi dried up, because there was no rain in the land.
8 Then the word of Yahweh came to him, saying,
9 "Get up and go to Zarephath which belongs to Sidon and stay there. Look, I have commanded a woman there, a widow, to sustain you."
10 So he arose and went to Zarephath and came to the gate of the city. There [was] a widow woman gathering wood, so he called to her, and he said, "Please bring a little water for me in a vessel so that I can drink."
11 She went to fetch [it], and he called to her and said, "Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand."
12 She said, "{As Yahweh your God lives}, surely I do not have a cake, {but only a handful of flour} in the jar and a little olive oil in the jug. Here I [am] gathering a few pieces of wood, and I will go and prepare it for me and my son, that we might eat it and die."
13 Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid. Go and do according to your word; only make for me a small bread cake from it first, and bring it out to me. Make it for yourself and for your son afterward.

1 Kings 17:3-13 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.

Footnotes 10

  • [a]. A valley that is dry most of the year, but contains a stream during the rainy season
  • [b]. Literally "on the face of the Jordan"
  • [c]. A valley that is dry most of the year, but contains a stream during the rainy season
  • [d]. A valley that is dry most of the year, but contains a stream during the rainy season
  • [e]. Literally "on the face of the Jordan"
  • [f]. A valley that is dry most of the year, but contains a stream during the rainy season
  • [g]. Literally "from the end of days"
  • [h]. A seasonal stream that is often dry
  • [i]. Literally "The life of Yahweh your God"
  • [j]. Literally "except that which fills a hand with flour"
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.