1 Kings 17:3

3 "Leave this place. Go east and hide in the Kerith Valley. It is east of the Jordan River.

1 Kings 17:3 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 17:3

Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward
From the place where he was, being in danger from Ahab and Jezebel, provoked by his reproofs, threatenings, and prophecies:

and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan;
in some wood or cave near it, or among the reeds and rushes that grew on the banks of it; and Bochart ^F15 takes it to be the same with the river Kanah, on the borders of Ephraim, which has its name from reeds, ( Joshua 16:8 ) ( 17:9 ) , and Cherith by anticipation, from the prophet's being fed there; and Adrichomius ^F16 places this brook in the tribe of Ephraim; though Fuller ^F17 in the half tribe of Manasseh, beyond Jordan; but Bunting says ^F18 it runs from Mount Ephraim between Bethel and Jericho, eight miles from Jerusalem towards the north, and so, passing along towards the east, falls into Jordan.

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FOOTNOTES:

F15 Hierozoic. par. 2. l. 2. c. 13. col. 216.
F16 Theatrum Terrae Sanct. p. 26.
F17 Pisgah-Sight B. 2. c. 3. p. 97.
F18 Travels p. 205.

1 Kings 17:3 In-Context

1 Elijah was from Tishbe in the land of Gilead. He said to Ahab, "I serve the Lord. He is the God of Israel. You can be sure that he lives. And you can be just as sure that there won't be any dew or rain on the whole land. There won't be any during the next few years. It won't come until I say so."

2 Then a message from the LORD came to Elijah. It said,

3 "Leave this place. Go east and hide in the Kerith Valley. It is east of the Jordan River.

4 You will drink water from the brook. I have ordered some ravens to feed you there."

5 So Elijah did what the LORD had told him to do. He went to the Kerith Valley. It was east of the Jordan River. He stayed there.