Melachim Alef 17:10

10 So he arose and went to Tzarphat. And when he came to the gate of the ir, hinei, the isha almanah was there gathering sticks; and he called to her, and said, Bring me a little mayim in a vessel, that I may drink.

Melachim Alef 17:10 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 17:10

So he arose, and went to Zarephath
Which, according to Bunting ^F6, was one hundred miles from the brook Cherith:

and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was
there gathering sticks:
perhaps out of an hedge just without the city this shows her to be a poor woman, who had no other way of coming at fuel but this, and no servant to fetch it for her: Bunting tells us, that now before the gate of the city there is showed a certain chapel, where they say Elias first spoke with the widow:

and he called to her, and said, fetch me, I pray thee, a little water
in a vessel, that I may drink;
being thirsty through travelling, and supposing this to be the woman he was directed to, made trial of her this way; some render it, "in this vessel" ^F7, which he had with him, and made use of at the brook Cherith.

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FOOTNOTES:

F6 Ut supra, (Travels) p. 203.
F7 (ylkb) "in hoc vase", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.

Melachim Alef 17:10 In-Context

8 And the Devar Hashem came unto him, saying,

9 Arise, get thee to Tzarphat, which belongeth to Tzidon, and dwell there; hinei, I have commanded an isha almanah there to sustain thee.

10 So he arose and went to Tzarphat. And when he came to the gate of the ir, hinei, the isha almanah was there gathering sticks; and he called to her, and said, Bring me a little mayim in a vessel, that I may drink.

11 And as she was going to get it, he called to her, and said, Bring me a morsel of lechem in thine hand.

12 And she said, As Hashem Eloheicha liveth, I have nothing baked, but an handful of meal in a pot, and a little shemen in a jug; and, see, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in, cook it for me and beni, that we may eat it, and die.