1 Kings 17:1-9

1 Eliyah the Tishbi, who was of the sojourners of Gil`ad, said to Ach'av, As the LORD, the God of Yisra'el, lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.

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

3 Get you hence, and turn you eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Kerit, that is before the Yarden.

4 It shall be, that you shall drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.

5 So he went and did according to the word of the LORD; for he went and lived by the brook Kerit, that is before the Yarden.

6 The ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.

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

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

9 Arise, get you to Tzarfat, which belongs to Tzidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow there to sustain you.

1 Kings 17:1-9 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.