1 Kings 17:13

13 And Elijah saith unto her, `Fear not, go, do according to thy word, only make for me thence a little cake, in the first place, and thou hast brought out to me; and for thee and for thy son make -- last;

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 And she goeth to bring [it], and he calleth unto her and saith, `Bring, I pray thee, to me a morsel of bread in thy hand.'
12 And she saith, `Jehovah thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but the fulness of the hand of meal in a pitcher, and a little oil in a dish; and lo, I am gathering two sticks, and have gone in and prepared it for myself, and for my son, and we have eaten it -- and died.'
13 And Elijah saith unto her, `Fear not, go, do according to thy word, only make for me thence a little cake, in the first place, and thou hast brought out to me; and for thee and for thy son make -- last;
14 for thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, The pitcher of meal is not consumed, and the dish of oil is not lacking, till the day of Jehovah's giving a shower on the face of the ground.'
15 And she goeth, and doth according to the word of Elijah, and she eateth, she and he, and her household -- days;
Young's Literal Translation is in the public domain.