1 Kings 19:9

9 He came there to a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said to him, What are you doing here, Eliyah?

1 Kings 19:9 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 19:9

And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there
This cave, some travellers say ^F21, is to be seen at this day, not far from a church dedicated to the prophet Elijah, and that the cave itself has the appearance of a chapel; but a more particular account of it is given in a journal ^F23 lately published, which says, this cave exists to this very day, and is situated at the foot of Mount Sinai, and is now enclosed in a church built of red and white granite marble, the entrance into which is from the west; the dimensions of this cave are in length five feet, in depth four feet, and in height four and a half. The Jewish writers are of opinion that this was the cleft of the rock in which Moses was put, when the Lord passed before him; but, if so, there would have been no need of Elijah to have gone forth to and stand upon the mount when the Lord passed by, ( 1 Kings 19:11 ) ,

and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him;
an articulate voice was heard by him:

and he said unto him, what dost thou here, Elijah?
this is not a proper place for a prophet to be in, in a wilderness, in a mountain, in a cave in it: what work could he do for God? or what service to his people? in the land of Israel he might bear his testimony against idolatry, and so be a means of reclaiming backsliders, and of establishing those that were in the true religion; but of what usefulness could he be here? Abarbinel takes it to be a reproof of Elijah, for going into a place so holy as it was, and in which Moses, the chief of the prophets, had been, and that it did not become such a man as he was to be in such a place.

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FOOTNOTES:

F21 Egmont and Heyman's Travels, vol. 2. p. 166.
F23 Journal from Cairo to Mount Sinai in 1722, p. 26. Ed. 2.

1 Kings 19:9 In-Context

7 The angel of the LORD came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.

8 He arose, and ate and drink, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horev the Mount of God.

9 He came there to a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said to him, What are you doing here, Eliyah?

10 He said, I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God Tzva'ot,; for the children of Yisra'el have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and slain your prophets with the sword: and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.

11 He said, Go forth, and stand on the mountain before the LORD. Behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: