1 Kings 14:3

3 Also take thou in thine hand ten loaves, and a cake, and a vessel of honey, and go thou to him; for he shall show to thee, what shall befall to this child.

1 Kings 14:3 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 14:3

And take with thee ten loaves, and cracknels, and a cruse
of honey, and go to him
It being usual to carry a present to a prophet when he was inquired of on any account, see ( 1 Samuel 9:7 ) and this being a plain present, and of such things as the country afforded, she might be taken for a plain countrywoman, and not for such a personage as she was: the ten loaves could not be large for a woman to carry, most probably made of wheat; the cracknels, according to the Greek version in Drusius, were for the prophet's children; they very likely were spiced, or were sweetened with honey, and might be somewhat like our simnels; they seem to have their name in Hebrew from having points and pricks in them for the sake of ornament; such as Plautus F8 calls "scribilitae", because as Turnebus F9 says, they were marked and pricked, and seemed as if they were written:

he shall tell thee what shall become of the child;
whether it should live or die, for that was all he wanted to know; he did not desire to know what should be done to the child for its recovery, nor to request the prophet's prayers for it.


FOOTNOTES:

F8 Prolog. Poenulo, ver. 43.
F9 Adversar. l. 23. c. 10.

1 Kings 14:3 In-Context

1 In that time Abijah, (the) son of Jeroboam, was sick.
2 And Jeroboam said to his wife, Rise thou up, and change clothing, that thou be not known, that thou art the wife of Jeroboam; and go thou into Shiloh, where Ahijah, the prophet, is, which spake to me, that I should reign upon this people. (And Jeroboam said to his wife, Rise thou up, and change your clothes, so that thou shalt not be known, that thou art Jeroboam's wife; and go thou to Shiloh, where the prophet Ahijah is, who spoke to me, and said that I would reign upon this people.)
3 Also take thou in thine hand ten loaves, and a cake, and a vessel of honey, and go thou to him; for he shall show to thee, what shall befall to this child.
4 The wife of Jeroboam did as he said, and she rose up, and went into Shiloh, and came into the house of Ahijah; and Ahijah might not see, for his eyes dimmed for eld (age). (And Jeroboam's wife did as he said, and she rose up, and went to Shiloh, and came to Ahijah's house; and Ahijah could not see, for his eyes had dimmed because of old age.)
5 Forsooth the Lord said to Ahijah, Lo! the wife of Jeroboam entereth, that she counsel (with) thee on her son, which is sick (who is sick); thou shalt speak these and these things to her. Therefore when she had entered, and had feigned herself to be that (which) she was not,
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.