1 Kings 17:13

13 Elijah said to her, Don't be afraid; go and do as you have said; but make me of it a little cake first, and bring it forth to me, and afterward make for you and for your son.

1 Kings 17:13 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 17:13

And Elijah said unto her, fear not
That she and her son should die, it would not be the case:

go and do as thou hast said:
mix her meal and her oil, and make a cake thereof, and bake it:

but make thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after
make for thee and for thy son:
which was not said from a selfish spirit of the prophet, but to try the faith of the woman; and besides, as Abarbinel observes, the prophet was not only hungry and thirsty through his journey, and so required to be served first, but it was for the sake of his sustenance, that the Lord would command a blessing on the meal and oil; wherefore, if she dressed it for herself and her son first, there would have been none left for the divine blessing to descend upon.

1 Kings 17:13 In-Context

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

12 She said, As Yahweh your God lives, I aren't they a cake, but a handful of meal in the jar, and a little oil in the jar: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and bake it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.

13 Elijah said to her, Don't be afraid; go and do as you have said; but make me of it a little cake first, and bring it forth to me, and afterward make for you and for your son.

14 For thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, The jar of meal shall not empty, neither shall the jar of oil fail, until the day that Yahweh sends rain on the earth.

15 She went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, ate [many] days.