1 Kings 17:1-6

Elijah Predicts a Drought

1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, of ¹Tishbe^[a] in Gilead, said to Ahab, ²"As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, ³before whom I stand, ⁴there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word."

2 And the word of the LORD came to him:

3 "Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan.

4 You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there."

5 So he went and did according to the word of the LORD. He went and lived by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan.

6 And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.

1 Kings 17:1-6 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.

Cross References

• 1. [Judges 12:4]
• 2. 1 Kings 18:10, 15; 1 Kings 22:14; 2 Kings 3:14; 2 Kings 5:16; See Ruth 3:13
• 3. 1 Kings 18:15; [Deuteronomy 10:8]
• 4. Luke 4:25; James 5:17; [1 Kings 18:1]

Footnotes

• [a]. Septuagint; Hebrew of the settlers