1 Kings 17:7-24

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

The Widow of Zarephath

8 Then the word of the LORD came to him,

9 "Arise, go to ¹Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you."

10 So he arose and went to ²Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there ³gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, "Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink."

11 And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, "Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand."

12 And she said, ⁴"As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die."

13 And Elijah said to her, "Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son.

14 For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain upon the earth.'"

15 And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days.

16 The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by Elijah.

Elijah Raises the Widow's Son

17 After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill. And his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him.

18 And she said to Elijah, ⁵"What have you against me, O ⁶man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!"

19 And he said to her, "Give me your son." And he took him from her arms and carried him up into the upper chamber where he lodged, and laid him on his own bed.

20 And he cried to the LORD, "O LORD my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?"

21 ⁷Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the LORD, "O LORD my God, let this child's life^[a] come into him again."

22 And the LORD listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and ⁸he revived.

23 And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house and delivered him to his mother. And Elijah said, "See, your son lives."

24 And the woman said to Elijah, ⁹"Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth."

1 Kings 17:7-24 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. Obadiah 20; Luke 4:26
• 2. [See ver. 9 above]
• 3. Numbers 15:32, 33
• 4. [See ver. 1 above]
• 5. [Luke 4:34; Luke 5:8]
• 6. See Deuteronomy 33:1
• 7. 2 Kings 4:34, 35; Acts 20:10
• 8. [Hebrews 11:35]
• 9. [John 3:2]

Footnotes

• [a]. Or soul; also verse 22