1 Kings 18:5

5 Ahab said to Obadiah, "Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the wadis. Perhaps we may find green grass that we may keep horses and mules alive and that we might not lose any of the animals."

1 Kings 18:5 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 18:5

And Ahab said unto Obadiah, go into the land, unto all
fountains of water, and unto all brooks
To observe in what condition they were, and the places adjoining to them, the meadows and valleys: peradventure we may find grass to save the horses and mules alive;
particularly those which belonged to the king's stables, to find provisions for which it was found difficult: that we lose not all the beasts;
many of them, doubtless, were lost through the drought already, and there was great danger of the rest, and so, in time, of there being none to procreate and preserve their species, and to prevent which Ahab proposed to take this method.

1 Kings 18:5 In-Context

3 Ahab summoned Obadiah who [was] over the house. (Now Obadiah was fearing Yahweh greatly.

4 It had happened that when Jezebel killed the prophets of Yahweh, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them {by fifties} in the cave and sustained them [with] food and water.)

5 Ahab said to Obadiah, "Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the wadis. Perhaps we may find green grass that we may keep horses and mules alive and that we might not lose any of the animals."

6 So they divided the land for themselves in order to pass through it; Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.

7 It happened that Obadiah [was] on the way, and suddenly Elijah was there to meet him. When he recognized him, he fell on his face and said, "[Is] this you, my lord Elijah?"

Footnotes

• [a]. A valley that is dry most of the year, but contains a stream during the rainy season