1 Kings 17:2-12

2 The word of the Lord came to him, saying,

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

4 You shall drink from the wadi, 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 Wadi Cherith, which is east of the Jordan.

6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the wadi.

7 But after a while the wadi dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying,

9 "Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there; for I have commanded a widow there to feed you."

10 So he set out and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the town, a widow was there gathering sticks; he called to her and said, "Bring me a little water in a vessel, so that I may drink."

11 As she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, "Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand."

12 But she said, "As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die."

1 Kings 17:2-12 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.