1 Kings 18:43

43 Then Elijah said to his servant, "Go and look toward the sea." The servant went and looked. "I see nothing," he said. Elijah told him to go and look again. This happened seven times.

1 Kings 18:43 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 18:43

And said to his servant
Whom some take to be the son of the widow of Sarepta, but he must be too young to be employed in such service as this was:

go up now;
still higher on Mount Carmel; than where he was, even to the highest point of it:

look towards the sea:
or the west, as the Targum, the Mediterranean sea, which lay to the west of the land of Israel:

and he went up and looked, and he said, there is nothing;
there was nothing in the sky, or arising out of the sea, that looked like or foreboded rain:

and he said, go again seven times;
till he should see something.

1 Kings 18:43 In-Context

41 Then Elijah said to Ahab, "Now, go, eat, and drink, because a heavy rain is coming."
42 So King Ahab went to eat and drink. At the same time Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel, where he bent down to the ground with his head between his knees.
43 Then Elijah said to his servant, "Go and look toward the sea." The servant went and looked. "I see nothing," he said. Elijah told him to go and look again. This happened seven times.
44 The seventh time, the servant said, "I see a small cloud, the size of a human fist, coming from the sea." Elijah told the servant, "Go to Ahab and tell him to get his chariot ready and go home now. Otherwise, the rain will stop him."
45 After a short time the sky was covered with dark clouds. The wind began to blow, and soon a heavy rain began to fall. Ahab got in his chariot and started back to Jezreel.
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.