1 Kings 17:8-9

8 Then the word of the LORD came to him:

9 “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.”

1 Kings 17:8-9 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.

1 Kings 17:8-9 In-Context

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

7 Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.

8 Then the word of the LORD came to him:

9 “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.”

10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?”

11 As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”

Cross References

• 1. Obadiah 1:20
• 2. Luke 4:26