1 Kings 17:10

10 So Elijah went to Zarephath. He came to the town gate. A widow was there gathering sticks. He called out to her. He asked, "Would you bring me a little water in a jar? I need a drink."

1 Kings 17:10 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 17:10

So he arose, and went to Zarephath
Which, according to Bunting ^F6, was one hundred miles from the brook Cherith:

and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was
there gathering sticks:
perhaps out of an hedge just without the city this shows her to be a poor woman, who had no other way of coming at fuel but this, and no servant to fetch it for her: Bunting tells us, that now before the gate of the city there is showed a certain chapel, where they say Elias first spoke with the widow:

and he called to her, and said, fetch me, I pray thee, a little water
in a vessel, that I may drink;
being thirsty through travelling, and supposing this to be the woman he was directed to, made trial of her this way; some render it, "in this vessel" ^F7, which he had with him, and made use of at the brook Cherith.

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FOOTNOTES:

F6 Ut supra, (Travels) p. 203.
F7 (ylkb) "in hoc vase", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.

1 Kings 17:10 In-Context

8 A message came to Elijah from the Lord. He said,

9 "Go right away to Zarephath in the territory of Sidon. Stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food."

10 So Elijah went to Zarephath. He came to the town gate. A widow was there gathering sticks. He called out to her. He asked, "Would you bring me a little water in a jar? I need a drink."

11 She went to get the water. Then he called out to her, "Please bring me a piece of bread too."

12 "I don't have any bread," she replied. "And that's just as sure as the LORD your God is alive. All I have is a small amount of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I'm gathering a few sticks to take home. I'll make one last meal for myself and my son. We'll eat it. After that, we'll die."