1 Kings 19:13

13 And Elijah, hearing it, went out, covering his face with his robe, and took his place in the opening of the hole. And there a voice came to him saying, What are you doing here, Elijah?

1 Kings 19:13 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 19:13

And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face
in his mantle
Through reverence of the divine Majesty he perceived was there, and through shame and confusion under a sense of his impurity, imperfections, and unworthiness, as the seraphim in ( Isaiah 6:2 Isaiah 6:3 ) , and as Moses, ( Exodus 3:6 ) , and went out and stood in the entering in of the cave; he attempted to come forth out of the cave upon the divine order, ( 1 Kings 19:11 ) , but was stopped by the terrible appearances of the wind, earthquake, and fire, a little within it; but now he came quite out, and stood at the mouth of it, to hear what the Lord would say unto him:

and, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, what dost thou
here, Elijah?
the same question is here put as in ( 1 Kings 19:9 ) , though there by an angel, here by the Lord himself.

1 Kings 19:13 In-Context

11 Then he said, Go out and take your place on the mountain before the Lord. Then the Lord went by, and mountains were parted by the force of a great wind, and rocks were broken before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind there was an earth-shock, but the Lord was not in the earth-shock.

12 And after the earth-shock a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, the sound of a soft breath.

13 And Elijah, hearing it, went out, covering his face with his robe, and took his place in the opening of the hole. And there a voice came to him saying, What are you doing here, Elijah?

14 And he said, I have been burning for the honour of the Lord, the God of armies; for the children of Israel have not kept your agreement; they have had your altars broken down, and have put your prophets to death with the sword: till I, even I, am the only one living; and now they are attempting to take away my life.

15 And the Lord said to him, Go back on your way through the waste land to Damascus; and when you come there, put the holy oil on Hazael to make him king over Aram;