1 Kings19
King James Version · Public Domain
1And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.
2Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time.
3And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beer–sheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.
4But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.
5And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat.
6And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again.
7And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee.
8And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.
9And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?
10And he said, I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.
11And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake:
12And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
13And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?
14And he said, I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.
15And the Lord said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria:
16And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel–meholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room.
17And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay.
18Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.
19So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him.
20And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee. And he said unto him, Go back again: for what have I done to thee?
21And he returned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave unto the people, and they did eat. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for 1 Kings 19.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: Elijah flees to the wilderness. (1–8). God manifests himself to Elijah. (9–13). God's answer to Elijah. (14–18). The call of Elisha. (19–21).
vv1-8
Jezebel sent Elijah a threatening message. Carnal hearts are hardened and enraged against God, by that which should convince and conquer them. Great faith is not always alike strong. He might be serviceable to Israel at this time, and had all reason to depend upon God's protection, while doing God's work; yet he flees. His was not the deliberate desire of grace, as Paul's, to depart and be with Christ. God thus left Elijah to himself, to show that when he was bold and strong, it was in the Lord, and the power of his might; but of himself he was no better than his fathers. God knows what he designs us for, though we do not, what services, what trials, and he will take care that we are furnished with grace sufficient.
vv9-13
The question God put, What doest thou here, Elijah? is a reproof. It concerns us often to ask whether we are in our place, and in the way of our duty. Am I where I should be? whither God calls me, where my business lies, and where I may be useful? He complained of the people, and their obstinacy in sin; I only am left. Despair of success hinders many a good enterprise. Did Elijah come hither to meet with God? he shall find that God will meet him. The wind, and earthquake, and fire, did not make him cover his face, but the still voice did. Gracious souls are more affected by the tender mercies of the Lord, than by his terrors. The mild voice of Him who speaks from the cross, or the mercy-seat, is accompanied with peculiar power in taking possession of the heart.
vv14-18
God repeated the question, What doest thou here? Then he complained of his discouragement; and whither should God's prophets go with their complaints of that kind, but to their Master? The Lord gave him an answer. He declares that the wicked house of Ahab shall be rooted out, that the people of Israel shall be punished for their sins; and he shows that Elijah was not left alone as he had supposed, and also that a helper should at once be raised up for him. Thus all his complaints are answered and provided for. God's faithful ones are often his hidden ones, Ps 83:3, and the visible church is scarcely to be seen: the wheat is lost in chaff, and the gold in dross, till the sifting, refining, separating day comes. The Lord knows them that are his, though we do not; he sees in secret. When we come to heaven we shall miss many whom we thought to have met there; we shall meet many whom we little thought to have met there. God's love often proves larger than man's charity, and far more extended.
Key Words
אַחְאָב: Achab, the name of a king of Israel and of a prophet at Babylon
נָגַד: properly, to front, i.e. stand boldly out opposite; by implication (causatively), to manifest; figuratively, to announce (always by word of mouth to one present); specifically, to expose, predict, explain, praise
אִיזֶבֶל: Izebel, the wife of king Ahab
כֹּל: properly, the whole; hence, all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a plural sense)
אֲשֶׁר: who, which, what, that; also (as an adverb and a conjunction) when, where, how, because, in order that, etc.
אֵלִיָּה: Elijah, the name of the famous prophet and of two other Israelites
עָשָׂה: to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest application
הָרַג: to smite with deadly intent
נָבִיא: a prophet or (generally) inspired man
חֶרֶב: drought; also a cutting instrument (from its destructive effect), as a knife, sword, or other sharp implement
Cross References
1 Kings 19Paul directly quotes Elijah's complaint regarding his solitude and God's answer concerning the seven thousand.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
New Testament quotation confirming God's preservation of a faithful remnant who have not bowed to Baal.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Identifies Elijah as a man of 'like passions,' directly contextualizing his sudden fear and flight.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Illustrates how God leaves eminent instruments to their own weakness to prevent them from being exalted.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Parallels Moses' forty-day fast on the same mountain (Horeb/Sinai), drawing a direct typological link.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
The 'cave' is traditionally identified with the cleft of the rock where Moses stood before God.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Parallels Jonah's petulant request to die under a shadow in the wilderness.
Supported by JFB
Records the direct historical execution and impact of Elijah's commission to anoint Hazael.
Supported by JFB
Fulfills the command to anoint Jehu king over Israel, completed through Elijah's successor.
Supported by JFB
Explains the physical practice of kissing idols as a gesture of worship to Baal.
Supported by JFB
Jesus contrasts Elisha's permitted farewell with the absolute immediacy required of His disciples.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Recalls the terrifying wind, earthquake, and fire that accompanied God's lawgiving on Horeb.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Parallels using wooden agricultural instruments as immediate fuel for a sacred sacrificial offering.
Supported by JFB
Provides the poetic background for 'a still small voice' (literally a still whisper/silence).
Supported by Matthew Poole