1 Kings 14:3

3 Take with you ten loaves, and cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him: he will tell you what shall become of the 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 At that time Aviyah the son of Yarov`am fell sick.
2 Yarov`am said to his wife, Please get up and disguise yourself, that you not be known to be the wife of Yarov`am; and get you to Shiloh: behold, there is Achiyah the prophet, who spoke concerning me that I should be king over this people.
3 Take with you ten loaves, and cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him: he will tell you what shall become of the child.
4 Yarov`am's wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Achiyah. Now Achiyah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age.
5 The LORD said to Achiyah, Behold, the wife of Yarov`am comes to inquire of you concerning her son; for he is sick: thus and thus shall you tell her; for it will be, when she comes in, that she will feign herself to be another woman.
The Hebrew Names Version is in the public domain.