1 Kings 17:1-6

Elijah Is Fed by Ravens

1 Elijah was from Tishbe in the land of Gilead. He said to Ahab, "I serve the Lord. He is the God of Israel. You can be sure that he lives. And you can be just as sure that there won't be any dew or rain on the whole land. There won't be any during the next few years. It won't come until I say so."

2 Then a message from the LORD came to Elijah. It said,

3 "Leave this place. Go east and hide in the Kerith Valley. It is east of the Jordan River.

4 You will drink water from the brook. I have ordered some ravens to feed you there."

5 So Elijah did what the LORD had told him to do. He went to the Kerith Valley. It was east of the Jordan River. He stayed there.

6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning. They also brought him bread and meat in the evening. He drank water 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.