1 Kings 17:2-16

2 Then the Lord said to Elijah,

3 "Leave this place and go east and hide yourself near Cherith Brook, east of the Jordan.

4 The brook will supply you with water to drink, and I have commanded ravens to bring you food there."

5 Elijah obeyed the Lord's command, and went and stayed by Cherith Brook.

6 He drank water from the brook, and ravens brought him bread and meat every morning and every evening.

7 After a while the brook dried up because of the lack of rain.

8 Then the Lord said to Elijah,

9 "Now go to the town of Zarephath, near Sidon, and stay there. I have commanded a widow who lives there to feed you." ¹

10 So Elijah went to Zarephath, and as he came to the town gate, he saw a widow gathering firewood. "Please bring me a drink of water," he said to her.

11 And as she was going to get it, he called out, "And please bring me some bread, too."

12 She answered, "By the living Lord your God I swear that I don't have any bread. All I have is a handful of flour in a bowl and a bit of olive oil in a jar. I came here to gather some firewood to take back home and prepare what little I have for my son and me. That will be our last meal, and then we will starve to death."

13 "Don't worry," Elijah said to her. "Go on and prepare your meal. But first make a small loaf from what you have and bring it to me, and then prepare the rest for you and your son.

14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: "The bowl will not run out of flour or the jar run out of oil before the day that I, the Lord, send rain.' "

15 The widow went and did as Elijah had told her, and all of them had enough food for many days.

16 As the Lord had promised through Elijah, the bowl did not run out of flour nor did the jar run out of oil.

1 Kings 17:2-16 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.

Cross References

• 1. 17.9Luke 4.25, 26.