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1 Kings Chapter
Seventeen
New King James Version (NKJV)
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, 1 Kings 17:1, 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, 1 Kings 17:8, whose
son falling sick and dying, he restored to life, 1 Kings 17:17.
1 Kings 17:1 And
Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the
Lord God of Israel
lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except
at my word.”
YLT
1And Elijah the Tishbite, of
the inhabitants of Gilead, saith unto Ahab, `Jehovah, God of Israel, liveth,
before whom I have stood, there is not these years dew and rain, except
according to my word.'
And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of
Gilead,.... Which belonged partly to the Reubenites and Gadites, and
partly to the half-tribe of Manasseh on the other side Jordan, where this
prophet dwelt; but why he is called the Tishbite is not easy to say; what Kimchi
observes seems right, that he was at first of a city called Toshab, and
afterward's dwelt at Gilead; which city perhaps is the same with Thisbe, in the
tribe of Naphtali, the native place of Tobit,
"Who
in the time of Enemessar king of the Assyrians was led captive out of Thisbe,
which is at the right hand of that city, which is called properly Nephthali in
Galilee above Aser.' (Tobit 1:2)
and,
if so, is an instance of a prophet, even the prince of prophets, as Abarbinel
calls him, coming out of Galilee, contrary to the suggestions of the Jews, John 7:52. R. Elias
LevitaF12In Tishbi, p. 275. Vid. Shalshalet Hakabala, fol. 11. 1.
& David de Pomis Lexic. fol. 235. 4. observes, that after the affair of
Gibeah an order was given to smite the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead, Judges 21:8, and
that as it is reasonable to suppose some might escape, he thinks Elijah was one
of them; and that when this began to be inhabited again, they that returned
were called the inhabitants of Gilead, of whom Elijah was, who lived in those
times, being, as the Jews suppose, Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the son of
Aaron, see Judges 20:28, but
that he should be Elijah, and live to the times of Ahab, is beyond belief. By
OrigenF13Comment. in Matth. p. 224. Ed. Huet. he is said to be in
Thesbon of Gilead; and by EpiphaniusF14De Prophet. Vit. c. 6. to be
of Thesbis, of the land of the Arabians, Gilead bordering upon it: the same
said unto Ahab; who perhaps had been with him before, and
reproved him for idolatry, warned him of the evil consequences of it, but to no
purpose, and therefore now threatened in a very solemn manner:
as the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand; he swears by
the living God, in whose presence he was, and to whom he appeals as the
omniscient God, whose minister and prophet he was, and in whose name he came
and spoke, and to whom he prayed; for standing was a prayer gesture, and
sometimes put for it; see Gill on Matthew 6:5 and it
was at the prayer of Elijah that rain was withheld, as follows, see James 5:17.
there shall not be dew nor rain these years; for some
years to come, even three years and a half:
but according to my word; in prayer, or as he
should predict, in the name of the Lord.
1 Kings 17:2 2 Then the word of the Lord came to him,
saying,
YLT
2And the word of Jehovah is
unto him, saying,
And the word of the Lord came to him,.... The word
of prophecy, as the Targum; this shows that by word, in the former verse, he
means the word of the Lord by him:
saying; as follows.
1 Kings 17:3 3 “Get away from here and
turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan.
YLT
3`Go from this [place]; and
thou hast turned for thee eastward, and been hidden by the brook Cherith, that
[is] on the front of the Jordan,
Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward,.... From the
place where he was, being in danger from Ahab and Jezebel, provoked by his
reproofs, threatenings, and prophecies:
and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan; in some wood
or cave near it, or among the reeds and rushes that grew on the banks of it;
and BochartF15Hierozoic. par. 2. l. 2. c. 13. col. 216. takes it to
be the same with the river Kanah, on the borders of Ephraim, which has its name
from reeds, Joshua 16:8, and
Cherith by anticipation, from the prophet's being fed there; and AdrichomiusF16Theatrum
Terrae Sanct. p. 26. places this brook in the tribe of Ephraim; though FullerF17Pisgah-Sight,
&c. B. 2. c. 3. p. 97. in the half tribe of Manasseh, beyond Jordan; but
Bunting saysF18Travels, &c. p. 205. it runs from Mount Ephraim
between Bethel and Jericho, eight miles from Jerusalem towards the north, and
so, passing along towards the east, falls into Jordan.
1 Kings 17:4 4 And it will be that
you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you
there.”
YLT
4and it hath been, from the
brook thou dost drink, and the ravens I have commanded to sustain thee there.'
And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook,.... The water
of that was to be his drink:
and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there; whereby he
should be provided with food to eat; by whom are meant not angels in the form
of ravens, as some; nor, as others, Arabians, for there were none of that
people near him; nor, as others, merchants, the word being sometimes used of
them, for this was not a likely method for privacy; nor, as others, the
inhabitants of a place called Oreb, or Orbo; so the Arabic version calls them
Orabimi; but we read of no such place near Jordan; the JewsF19Bereshit
Rabba, sect. 33. fol. 29. 1. speak of a city of this name near Bethshean, from
whence these Orebim came; and some of themF20T. Bab. Cholin. fol. 5.
1. Menasseh Ben Israel Conciliat. in Lev. quaest. 3. think they had their name
from Oreb, in Judges 7:25 it
seems better to interpret them of ravens, as we do, these creatures delighting
to be in solitary places, in valleys, and by brooks; nor need it be any
objection that they were unclean creatures by the law, since Elijah did not
feed upon them, but was fed by them; and supposing any uncleanness by touch,
the ceremonial law might be dispensed with in an extraordinary case, as it
sometimes was; though it is very remarkable that such creatures should be
employed in this way, which are birds of prey, seize on anything they can, live
on carrion, and neglect their own young, and yet feed a prophet of the Lord;
which shows the power and providence of God in it. Something like this JeromF21In
Vita Paul Erem. fol. 82. C. relates, of a raven bringing a whole loaf of bread,
and laying it before the saints, Paulus and Antonius.
1 Kings 17:5 5 So he went and did
according to the word of the Lord, for he went and stayed
by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan.
YLT
5And he goeth and doth
according to the word of Jehovah, yea, he goeth and dwelleth by the brook
Cherith, that [is] on the front of the Jordan,
So he went, and did according to the word of the Lord,.... Took his
journey eastward, and hid himself in the place directed to:
for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan; see Gill on 1 Kings 17:3.
1 Kings 17:6 6 The ravens brought him
bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank
from the brook.
YLT
6and the ravens are bringing
to him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening, and
of the brook he drinketh.
And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and
bread and flesh in the evening,.... For his breakfast and supper, the two
principal meals then in use; and as there were several employed, they could
bring a sufficiency in a short time for each meal; and these provisions were
ready prepared, the bread made and baked, and the flesh boiled, broiled, or
roasted; from whence they had it need not be inquired after; the Jews sayF23T.
Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 113. 1. Cholin, fol. 5. 1. Tanchuma apud Abarbinel in loc.
they were fetched from Ahab's table, and others from Jehoshaphat's, and others,
as probable as any, from the tables of the 7000 who had not bowed the knee to
Baal:
and he drank of the brook; at his meals.
1 Kings 17:7 7 And it happened after a
while that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.
YLT
7And it cometh to pass, at
the end of days, that the brook drieth up, for there hath been no rain in the
land,
And it came to pass after a while,.... Or "at the end
of days"F24מקץ ימים
"in, vel a, fine dierum", Pagninus, Montanus, &c. , perhaps a
year, which sometimes is the sense of this phrase, see Exodus 13:10,
that the brook dried up; through the excessive
heat, and for want of supplies from the springs and fountains with which it was
fed, and for the following reason:
because there had been no rain in the land; from the time
Elijah prayed and prophesied; of this drought mention is made in profane
history: Menander, a Phoenician writer, speaksF25Apud Joseph.
Antiqu. l. 8. c. 13. sect. 2. of a drought in the times of Ithobalus (the same
with Ethbaal the father of Jezebel), which lasted a whole year, and upon prayer
being made there were thunder, &c.
1 Kings 17:8 8 Then the word of the Lord came to him,
saying,
YLT
8and the word of Jehovah is
unto him, saying,
And the word of the Lord came unto him,.... As
before, after he had been a year at the brook, and that was dried up:
saying; as follows.
1 Kings 17:9 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath,
which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow
there to provide for you.”
YLT
9`Rise, go to Zarephath,
that [is] to Zidon, and thou hast dwelt there; lo, I have commanded there a
widow woman to sustain thee.'
Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell
there,.... This might be a trial of the prophet's faith, to be sent to
dwell in a place belonging to the Zidonians, among whom Jezebel had an interest,
being the daughter of their king, 1 Kings 16:31, the
place is so called, to distinguish it from another Zarephath, Obadiah 1:20,
Kimchi interprets it, near to Zidon, yet not as belonging to it, but of the
land of Israel; though it rather seems to be a Gentile city; it is called, in Luke 4:26 Sarepta
of Sidon; and also by PlinyF26Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 19. ; according to
JosephusF1Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 8. c. 13. sect. 2.) , it was not far
either from Sidon or Tyre, and lay between them; it was three quarters of a
mile from Sidon; and so Mr. MaundrellF2Journey from Aleppo, &c.
p. 48. speaks of it as in the way from Sidon to Tyre, and which is now called
Sarphan; of which he says, the place shown us for this city consisted only of a
few houses, on the tops of the mountains, within about half a mile from the
sea; but it is more probable the principal part of the city stood below in the
space between the hills and the sea, there being ruins still to be seen in that
place of a considerable extent; and a traveller into those parts many years
before him saysF3Rauwolff's Travels, par. 3. ch. 22. p. 326. , that
he saw nothing of any building on the shore, but some small houses in the place
where formerly the town of Sarepta did stand; and Bunting saysF4Ut
supra. (Travels, &c. p. 205.) , there are at this time but eight houses in
all the town, though by the ruins it seems to have been in times past a very
fair city; and anotherF5Baumgarten. Peregrinatio, l. 3. c. 9. p.
126. observes, that it is about three miles from Berytus:
behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee; not that this
was declared to the woman, or that she had any orders from the Lord to support
him; but that he had determined it in his mind, and would take care in his
providence that he should be supplied by her: this was another trial of the
prophet's faith, that he should be sent to a poor widow woman for his support,
and she a Gentile; but he that had been so long fed by ravens, could have no
reason to doubt of his being provided for in this way.
1 Kings 17:10 10 So he arose and went to
Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was
there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Please bring me a
little water in a cup, that I may drink.”
YLT
10And he riseth, and goeth to
Zarephath, and cometh in unto the opening of the city, and lo there, a widow
woman gathering sticks, and he calleth unto her, and saith, `Bring, I pray
thee, to me, a little water in a vessel, and I drink.'
So he arose, and went to Zarephath,.... Which, according to
BuntingF6Ut supra, (Travels, &c.) p. 203. , was one hundred
miles from the brook Cherith:
and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman
was there gathering sticks: perhaps out of an hedge just without the
city this shows her to be a poor woman, who had no other way of coming at fuel
but this, and no servant to fetch it for her: Bunting tells us, that now before
the gate of the city there is showed a certain chapel, where they say Elias
first spoke with the widow:
and he called to her, and said, fetch me, I pray thee, a little
water in a vessel, that I may drink; being thirsty through
travelling, and supposing this to be the woman he was directed to, made trial
of her this way; some render it, "in this vessel"F7בכלי "in hoc vase", Junius & Tremellius,
Piscator. , which he had with him, and made use of at the brook Cherith.
1 Kings 17:11 11 And as she was going to
get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in
your hand.”
YLT
11And 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.'
And as she was going to fetch it,.... For she made no
difficulty of granting his request, but immediately set out to fetch him some
water from the city, or some spring close by, or her own house; being very
ready to do an hospitable act to a stranger, and especially to a good man, and
a prophet, as she might perceive by his habit he was, as it seems by what
follows:
and said, bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand; to eat before
he drank; this he said still further to try her whether she was the person that
was to sustain him, as well as in order to lead on to more discourse with her.
1 Kings 17:12 12 So she said, “As the Lord your God
lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil
in a jar; and see, 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.”
YLT
12And 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.'
And she said, as the Lord thy God liveth,.... Which
shows her to be a good woman, swearing by the living God, and him only, and
that she took Elijah to be a good man, and a prophet of the Lord:
I have not a cake; greater or less, not a morsel of bread in
the house:
but a handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse; these
separate and unmixed, and not made into a cake, and dressed as she intended to
do with them:
and, behold, I am gathering two sticks; or a few,
which would be sufficient to bake such a quantity as her meal and oil would
make; she speaks by the figure "meiosis", which expresses less than
what is meant, as Ben Melech observes:
that I may go in and dress it for me, and my son, that we may eat
it, and die; having nothing more left, and no expectation of any elsewhere,
and the famine strong in the land; so that she could look for nothing but death
after this was eaten.
1 Kings 17:13 13 And Elijah said to her,
“Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it
first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself
and your son.
YLT
13And 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;
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 17:14 14 For thus says the Lord God of Israel:
‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until
the day the Lord
sends rain on the earth.’”
YLT
14for 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.'
For thus saith the Lord God of Israel,.... Whom the
prophet perceived she had knowledge of, and faith in:
the barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil
fail; that is, the meal in the barrel, and the oil in the cruse, by an
hypallage, or change of words:
until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth; which was
assuring her the rain would be sent, and that the Lord, who had the sole
command of it, would send it; and that, until that time it should be sent, she
would have no lack of provisions, and therefore need not scruple dressing for
the prophet first.
1 Kings 17:15 15 So she went away and did
according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many
days.
YLT
15And she goeth, and doth
according to the word of Elijah, and she eateth, she and he, and her household
-- days;
And she went, and did according to the saying of Elijah,..... Made a
cake for him first, and brought it to him, which showed great faith in the word
of the Lord by him:
and she, and he, and her house, did eat; many days, a
year at least, if not two years, see 1 Kings 17:7 the
widow, the prophet, and her family, lived upon the meal and oil so long; we
read but of one son, but she might have more.
1 Kings 17:16 16 The bin of flour was not
used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke
by Elijah.
YLT
16the pitcher of meal was not
consumed, and the dish of oil did not lack, according to the word of Jehovah
that He spake by the hand of Elijah.
And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil
fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah. There being a
continual increase and supply of both, through the mighty power of God working
a continued miracle; just as the loaves and fishes were increased while the
disciples were eating, Matthew 14:19.
1 Kings 17:17 17 Now it happened after
these things that the son of the woman who owned the house became sick.
And his sickness was so serious that there was no breath left in him.
YLT
17And it cometh to pass,
after these things, the son of the woman, mistress of the house, hath been
sick, and his sickness is very severe till that no breath hath been left in
him.
And it came to pass after these things,.... Not only
after the conversation that passed between the prophet, and the widow, but
after they had lived together many days, a year or years, upon the miraculous
provision made for them:
that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; that is, the
son of the widow woman in whose house the prophet dwelt; the Jews sayF8Pirke
Eliezer, c. 33. this woman was the mother of Jonah, and that he was this son of
her's:
and his sickness was so sore that there was no breath left in him: it was a
sickness unto death, it issued in it; for that he was really dead appears from
all that follows.
1 Kings 17:18 18 So she said to Elijah,
“What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin
to remembrance, and to kill my son?”
YLT
18And she saith unto Elijah,
`What -- to me and to thee, O man of God? thou hast come unto me to cause mine
iniquity to be remembered, and to put my son to death!'
And she said unto Elijah, what have I to do with thee, O thou man
of God!.... As if she should say, it would have been well for me if I had
never seen thy face, or had any conversation with thee; this she said rashly,
and in her passion and agony, being extremely affected with the death of her
child, which made her forget and overlook all the benefits she had received
through the prophet's being with her:
art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay
my son? to punish her for her former sins, she was conscious she had
been guilty of; for she supposed, that as it was by his prayer that the drought
and famine were come upon the land, so it was in the same way that her son's
death came, namely, through the prayer of the prophet.
1 Kings 17:19 19 And he said to her, “Give
me your son.” So he took him out of her arms and carried him to the upper room
where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed.
YLT
19And he saith unto her,
`Give to me thy son;' and he taketh him out of her bosom, and taketh him up
unto the upper chamber where he is abiding, and layeth him on his own bed,
And he said unto her, give me thy son, and he took him out of her
bosom,.... Where she had laid him, mourning over him; from thence the
prophet took him with her leave:
and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon
his own bed; an upper room, which was his bedchamber; hither he carried him,
that he might be alone, and use the greater freedom both in his expressions and
gestures.
1 Kings 17:20 20 Then he cried out to the Lord and said, “O Lord my God, have
You also brought tragedy on the widow with whom I lodge, by killing her son?”
YLT
20and crieth unto Jehovah,
and saith, `Jehovah my God, also on the widow with whom I am sojourning hast
Thou done evil -- to put her son to death?'
And he cried unto the Lord,.... Or prayed unto him,
as the Targum, with great vehemence and importunity:
and said, O Lord, my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the
widow, with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? he pleads his interest
in the Lord, and makes use of it as an argument with him to hear his prayer; he
observes the character and condition of the woman, a widow, such as the Lord
has a compassionate regard for; and he urges the kindness of her to him, with
whom he had sojourned so long; and seems to represent the case as an additional
evil or affliction to him, as well as to the widow.
1 Kings 17:21 21 And he stretched himself
out on the child three times, and cried out to the Lord and said, “O Lord my God, I pray,
let this child’s soul come back to him.”
YLT
21And he stretcheth himself
out on the lad three times, and calleth unto Jehovah, and saith, `O Jehovah my
God, let turn back, I pray Thee, the soul of this lad into his midst;'
And he stretched himself upon the child three times,.... Or
"measured himself"F9ויתמדד
"et mensus est se", Pagninus, Montanus; "admensus se",
Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. on it, or put himself into a posture in some
respects equal to the child; putting his mouth on its mouth, his eyes on its
eyes, his hands on its hands, as Elisha afterwards did in a like case, perhaps
in imitation of him, 2 Kings 4:34,
thereby showing his great affection to the child, and in order to increase it
the more, and to make him the more fervent and importunate in his prayers for
its life; and hereby signifying also that he would if he could infuse his
breath and life into it, and warm it with his own heat:
and cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, I pray thee, let
this child's soul come into him again: which shows that the
child was really dead; and a proof this that the soul dies not with the body,
but exists in a separate state without it.
1 Kings 17:22 22 Then the Lord heard the
voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he revived.
YLT
22and Jehovah hearkeneth to
the voice of Elijah, and the soul of the lad turneth back into his midst, and
he liveth.
And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah,.... In
prayer, and answered it:
and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived; this is the
first instance of anyone being raised from the dead; this Satan has imitated;
hence the many fabulous stories with the Heathens of persons being raised to
life after deathF11Vid. Huet. Alnetan. Quaest. l. 2. c. 12. sect.
30. .
1 Kings 17:23 23 And Elijah took the child
and brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his
mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives!”
YLT
23And Elijah taketh the lad,
and bringeth him down from the upper chamber of the house, and giveth him to
his mother, and Elijah saith, `See, thy son liveth!'
And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber
into the house,.... Being come to life, he took it off of the bed in his
bedchamber, and brought it down to the lower part of the house, where the woman
was:
and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, see, thy son
liveth; which no doubt was to her great surprise, and was a wonderful
instance of divine power and goodness, and to which the apostle may have
respect, Hebrews 11:35,
BuntingF12Travels, &c. p. 205. says, the inhabitants of this
place now take upon them to show the chamber wherein the prophet Elias lived,
when he raised the widow's child to life.
1 Kings 17:24 24 Then the woman said to
Elijah, “Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that
the word of the Lord
in your mouth is the truth.”
YLT
24And the woman saith unto
Elijah, `Now, this I have known, that a man of God thou [art], and the word of
Jehovah in thy mouth [is] truth.'
And the woman said to Elijah, now by this I know that thou art a
man of God,.... She took him to be one at his first coming to her; she was
in a great measure confirmed in it by the miracle of the barrel of meal and
cruse of oil; but upon the death of her son, which she was ready to impute to
the prophet, she was staggered at it; but now, by his resurrection from the
dead, was fully assured of it:
and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth; she had known
before that what he said concerning the meal and oil not failing was true; but
now she was more and more convinced and assured that the God, whose prophet he
was, was the true God, and that the religion he professed was the true
religion, and he a true prophet, and that all his prophecies would be exactly
fulfilled.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》