1 Kings 17:3

3 “Go to the east and hide by Kerith Brook, near where it enters 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 Now Elijah, who was from Tishbe in Gilead, told King Ahab, “As surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives—the God I serve—there will be no dew or rain during the next few years until I give the word!”
2 Then the LORD said to Elijah,
3 “Go to the east and hide by Kerith Brook, near where it enters the Jordan River.
4 Drink from the brook and eat what the ravens bring you, for I have commanded them to bring you food.”
5 So Elijah did as the LORD told him and camped beside Kerith Brook, east of the Jordan.
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