1 Kings 17:1-16

Elijah Predicts Drought

1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of ¹the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, "²As the LORD, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, surely ³there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except * by my word."

2 The word of the LORD came to him, saying,

3 "Go away from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east * of the Jordan.

4 "It shall be that you will drink of the brook, and ⁴I have commanded the ravens to provide for you there."

5 So he went and did according to the word of the LORD, for he went and lived by the brook Cherith, which is east * of the Jordan.

6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he would drink from the brook.

7 It happened after * a while that the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

8 Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying,

9 "Arise, go to ⁵Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there; behold, ⁶I have commanded a widow there to provide for you."

10 So he arose and went to Zarephath, and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks; and ⁷he called to her and said, "Please get me a little water in a jar, that I may drink."

11 As she was going to get it, he called to her and said, "Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand."

12 But she said, "⁸As the LORD your God lives, ⁹I have no bread, only * a handful * of flour in the bowl and a little oil in the jar; and behold, I am gathering a few sticks that I may go in and prepare for me and my son, that we may eat it and ¹⁰die."

13 Then Elijah said to her, "Do not fear; go, do as you have said, but make me a little bread cake from it first and bring it out to me, and afterward you may make one for yourself and for your son.

14 "For thus says the LORD God of Israel, 'The bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain on the face of the earth.' "

15 So she went and did according to the word of Elijah, and she and he and her household ate for many days.

16 The bowl of flour was not exhausted nor did the jar of oil become empty, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke through Elijah.

1 Kings 17:1-16 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS 17

This chapter begins with a prophecy of Elijah, that there should be want of rain for some years to come, and he is directed to go first to the brook Cherith, where he should be fed by ravens, 1Ki 17:1-7, and afterwards he is sent to a widow at Zarephath, where he, she, and her son, were supported for a considerable time with a handful of meal, and a little oil in a cruse miraculously increased, 1Ki 17:8-16, whose son falling sick and dying, he restored to life, 1Ki 17:17-24.

Cross References

• 1. Judges 12:4
• 2. 1 Kings 18:10; 1 Kings 22:14; 2 Kings 3:14; 2 Kings 5:20
• 3. 1 Kings 18:1; Luke 4:25; James 5:17
• 4. 1 Kings 17:9
• 5. Obadiah 20; Luke 4:26
• 6. 1 Kings 17:4
• 7. Genesis 24:17; John 4:7
• 8. 1 Kings 17:1
• 9. 2 Kings 4:2-7
• 10. Genesis 21:15, 16

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "Tishbe in Gilead"
• [b]. Lit "before"
• [c]. Lit "before"
• [d]. Or "vessel"
• [e]. Lit "cake"
• [f]. Lit "pitcher"
• [g]. Lit "two"
• [h]. Lit "there"
• [i]. Lit "pitcher"
• [j]. Lit "lack"
• [k]. Lit "pitcher"
• [l]. Lit "lack"