1 Kings 17
17
Elijah Visits a Widow in Sidonian Territory
1 Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As certainly as the Lord God of Israel lives (whom I serve),#tn Heb “before whom I stand.” there will be no dew or rain in the years ahead unless I give the command.”#tn Heb “except at the command of my word.” 2 The Lord told him:#tn Heb “and the word of the Lord came to him, saying.” 3 “Leave here and travel eastward. Hide out in the Kerith Valley near the Jordan. 4 Drink from the stream; I have already told#tn Heb “commanded.” the ravens to bring you food#tn Heb “to provide for you.” there.” 5 So he did#tn Heb “So he went and did.” as the Lord told him; he went and lived in the Kerith Valley near the Jordan. 6 The ravens would bring him bread and meat each morning and evening, and he would drink from the stream.
7 After a while,#tn Heb “And it came about at the end of days.” the stream dried up because there had been no rain in the land. 8 The Lord told him,#tn Heb “And the word of the Lord came to him, saying.” 9 “Get up, go to Zarephath in Sidonian territory, and live there. I have already told#tn Heb “Look, I have commanded.” a widow who lives there to provide for you.” 10 So he got up and went to Zarephath. When he went through the city gate, there was a widow gathering wood. He called out to her, “Please give me a cup#tn Heb “a little.” of water, so I can take a drink.” 11 As she went to get it, he called out to her, “Please bring me a piece of bread.”#tn The Hebrew text also includes the phrase “in your hand.” 12 She said, “As certainly as the Lord your God lives, I have no food, except for a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. Right now I am gathering a couple of sticks for a fire. Then I’m going home to make one final meal for my son and myself. After we have eaten that, we will die of starvation.”#tn Heb “Look, I am gathering two sticks and then I will go and make it for me and my son and we will eat it and we will die.” 13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go and do as you planned.#tn Heb “according to your word.” But first make a small cake for me and bring it to me; then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord God of Israel says, ‘The jar of flour will not be empty and the jug of oil will not run out until the day the Lord makes it rain on the surface of the ground.’” 15 She went and did as Elijah told her; there was always enough food for Elijah and for her and her family.#tn Heb “and she ate, she and he and her house [for] days.” 16 The jar of flour was never empty and the jug of oil never ran out, just as the Lord had promised#tn Heb “out, according to the word of the Lord which he spoke.” through Elijah.
17 After this#tn Heb “after these things.” the son of the woman who owned the house got sick. His illness was so severe he could no longer breathe. 18 She asked Elijah, “Why, prophet, have you come#tn Heb “What to me and to you, man of God, that you have come.” to me to confront me with#tn Heb “to make me remember.” my sin and kill my son?” 19 He said to her, “Hand me your son.” He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him down on his bed. 20 Then he called out to the Lord, “O Lord, my God, are you also bringing disaster on this widow I am staying with by killing her son?” 21 He stretched out over the boy three times and called out to the Lord, “O Lord, my God, please let this boy’s breath return to him.” 22 The Lord answered Elijah’s prayer; the boy’s breath returned to him and he lived. 23 Elijah took the boy, brought him down from the upper room to the house, and handed him to his mother. Elijah then said, “See, your son is alive!” 24 The woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a prophet and that the Lord really does speak through you.”#tn Heb “you are a man of God and the word of the Lord is truly in your mouth.”sn This episode is especially significant in light of Ahab’s decision to promote Baal worship in Israel. In Canaanite mythology the drought that swept over the region (v. 1) would signal that Baal, a fertility god responsible for providing food for his subjects, had been defeated by the god of death and was imprisoned in the underworld. While Baal was overcome by death and unable to function like a king, Israel’s God demonstrated his sovereignty and superiority to death by providing food for a widow and restoring life to her son. And he did it all in Sidonian territory, Baal’s back yard, as it were. The episode demonstrates that Israel’s God, not Baal, is the true king who provides food and controls life and death. This polemic against Baalism reaches its climax in the next chapter, when the Lord proves that he, not Baal, controls the elements of the storm and determines when the rains will fall.
Currently Selected:
1 Kings 17: NET
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
1996 - 2007 by Biblical Studies Press, LLC
1 Kings 17
17
Elijah Announces Famine
1Now Elijah#1Kg 17–19; 2Kg 1–2; Mal 4:5; Mt 11:14 the Tishbite, from the Gilead settlers,#17:1 LXX reads from Tishbe of Gilead#Jdg 12:4 said to Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives,#1Kg 18:10; 22:14 in whose presence I stand, there will be no dew or rain during these years except by my command!” #Dt 11:16–17; Jms 5:17; Rv 11:6
2Then the word of the Lord came to him: 3“Leave here, turn eastward, and hide#1Kg 18:4 at the Wadi Cherith where it enters the Jordan. 4You are to drink from the wadi. I have commanded the ravens#1Kg 17:9; Jb 38:41; Lk 12:24 to provide for you there.”
5So he proceeded to do what the Lord commanded. Elijah left and lived at the Wadi Cherith where it enters the Jordan. 6The ravens kept bringing him bread and meat in the morning and in the evening,#Ex 16:8 and he would drink from the wadi. 7After a while, the wadi dried up because there had been no rain in the land.
Elijah and the Widow
8Then the word of the Lord came to him: 9“Get up, go to Zarephath#Ob 20; Lk 4:26 that belongs to Sidon and stay there. Look, I have commanded a woman who is a widow to provide for you there.” 10So Elijah got up and went to Zarephath. When he arrived at the city gate, there was a widow gathering wood. Elijah called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup and let me drink.”#Gn 24:17; Jn 4:7 11As she went to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand.”
12But she said, “As the Lord your God lives,#1Kg 17:1 I don’t have anything baked — only a handful of flour in the jar and a bit of oil#2Kg 4:2–7 in the jug. Just now, I am gathering a couple of sticks in order to go prepare it for myself and my son so we can eat it and die.”#Gn 21:14,16
13Then Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid; go and do as you have said. But first make me a small loaf from it and bring it out to me. Afterward, you may make some for yourself and your son, 14for this is what the Lord God of Israel says, ‘The flour jar will not become empty and the oil jug will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the surface of the land.’”#1Kg 17:1; Php 4:19
15So she proceeded to do according to the word of Elijah. Then the woman, Elijah, and her household ate for many days.#Mt 6:11 16The flour jar did not become empty, and the oil jug did not run dry, according to the word of the Lord he had spoken through#17:16 Lit by the hand of Elijah.
The Widow’s Son Raised
17After this, the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. His illness got worse until he stopped breathing.#Ac 9:37 18She said to Elijah, “Man of God,#1Kg 12:22 what do you have against me?#2Sm 16:10; 2Kg 3:13 Have you come to call attention to my iniquity#Lk 5:8 so that my son is put to death?”
19But Elijah said to her, “Give me your son.” So he took him from her arms, brought him up to the upstairs room#Ac 9:37,39 where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed. 20Then he cried out to the Lord#2Kg 4:33 and said, “Lord my God, have you also brought tragedy on the widow I am staying with by killing her son?” 21Then he stretched himself out over the boy three times.#2Kg 4:34; Ac 20:10 He cried out to the Lord and said, “Lord my God, please let this boy’s life come into him again!”
22So the Lord listened to Elijah, and the boy’s life came into him again, and he lived.#Lk 7:14 23Then Elijah took the boy, brought him down from the upstairs room into the house, and gave him to his mother.#Lk 7:15; Heb 11:35 Elijah said, “Look, your son is alive.”
24Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know you are a man of God#Jn 3:2 and the Lord’s word from your mouth is true.”#1Kg 22:16; Jn 17:17
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers