1 Kings 19:13

13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him and said, “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 the LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD. Behold, the LORD is about to pass by.” And a great and mighty wind tore into the mountains and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.

12 After the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a still, small voice.

13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

14 “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of Hosts,” he replied, “but the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I am the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well.”

15 Then the LORD said to him, “Go back by the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you arrive, you are to anoint Hazael as king over Aram.