1 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.
2 Then 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.
3 And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.
4 But 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.
5 And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat.
6 And 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.
7 And 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.
8 And 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.
9 And 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?
10 And he said, I have been very jealous 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.
11 And 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:
12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
13 And 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?
14 And he said, I have been very jealous 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.
15 And 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:
16 And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room.
17 And 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.
18 Yet 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.
19 So 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.
20 And 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?
21 And 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.
1 And Ahab H256 told H5046 Jezebel H348 all that Elijah H452 had done, H6213 and withal how he had slain H2026 all the prophets H5030 with the sword. H2719
2 Then Jezebel H348 sent H7971 a messenger H4397 unto Elijah, H452 saying, H559 So let the gods H430 do H6213 to me, and more H3254 also, if I make H7760 not thy life H5315 as the life H5315 of one H259 of them by to morrow H4279 about this time. H6256
3 And when he saw H7200 that, he arose, H6965 and went H3212 for his life, H5315 and came H935 to Beersheba, H884 which belongeth to Judah, H3063 and left H3240 his servant H5288 there.
4 But he himself went H1980 a day's H3117 journey H1870 into the wilderness, H4057 and came H935 and sat down H3427 under a H259 juniper tree: H7574 and he requested H7592 for himself H5315 that he might die; H4191 and said, H559 It is enough; H7227 now, O LORD, H3068 take away H3947 my life; H5315 for I am not better H2896 than my fathers. H1
5 And as he lay H7901 and slept H3462 under a H259 juniper tree, H7574 behold, then an angel H4397 touched H5060 him, and said H559 unto him, Arise H6965 and eat. H398
6 And he looked, H5027 and, behold, there was a cake H5692 baken on the coals, H7529 and a cruse H6835 of water H4325 at his head. H4763 And he did eat H398 and drink, H8354 and laid him down H7901 again. H7725
7 And the angel H4397 of the LORD H3068 came again H7725 the second time, H8145 and touched H5060 him, and said, H559 Arise H6965 and eat; H398 because the journey H1870 is too great H7227 for thee.
8 And he arose, H6965 and did eat H398 and drink, H8354 and went H3212 in the strength H3581 of that meat H396 forty H705 days H3117 and forty H705 nights H3915 unto Horeb H2722 the mount H2022 of God. H430
9 And he came H935 thither unto a cave, H4631 and lodged H3885 there; and, behold, the word H1697 of the LORD H3068 came to him, and he said H559 unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah? H452
10 And he said, H559 I have been very H7065 jealous H7065 for the LORD H3068 God H430 of hosts: H6635 for the children H1121 of Israel H3478 have forsaken H5800 thy covenant, H1285 thrown down H2040 thine altars, H4196 and slain H2026 thy prophets H5030 with the sword; H2719 and I, even I only, am left; H3498 and they seek H1245 my life, H5315 to take it away. H3947
11 And he said, H559 Go forth, H3318 and stand H5975 upon the mount H2022 before H6440 the LORD. H3068 And, behold, the LORD H3068 passed by, H5674 and a great H1419 and strong H2389 wind H7307 rent H6561 the mountains, H2022 and brake in pieces H7665 the rocks H5553 before H6440 the LORD; H3068 but the LORD H3068 was not in the wind: H7307 and after H310 the wind H7307 an earthquake; H7494 but the LORD H3068 was not in the earthquake: H7494
12 And after H310 the earthquake H7494 a fire; H784 but the LORD H3068 was not in the fire: H784 and after H310 the fire H784 a still H1827 small H1851 voice. H6963
13 And it was so, when Elijah H452 heard H8085 it, that he wrapped H3874 his face H6440 in his mantle, H155 and went out, H3318 and stood H5975 in the entering in H6607 of the cave. H4631 And, behold, there came a voice H6963 unto him, and said, H559 What doest thou here, Elijah? H452
14 And he said, H559 I have been very H7065 jealous H7065 for the LORD H3068 God H430 of hosts: H6635 because the children H1121 of Israel H3478 have forsaken H5800 thy covenant, H1285 thrown down H2040 thine altars, H4196 and slain H2026 thy prophets H5030 with the sword; H2719 and I, even I only, am left; H3498 and they seek H1245 my life, H5315 to take it away. H3947
15 And the LORD H3068 said H559 unto him, Go, H3212 return H7725 on thy way H1870 to the wilderness H4057 of Damascus: H1834 and when thou comest, H935 anoint H4886 Hazael H2371 to be king H4428 over Syria: H758
16 And Jehu H3058 the son H1121 of Nimshi H5250 shalt thou anoint H4886 to be king H4428 over Israel: H3478 and Elisha H477 the son H1121 of Shaphat H8202 of Abelmeholah H65 shalt thou anoint H4886 to be prophet H5030 in thy room.
17 And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth H4422 the sword H2719 of Hazael H2371 shall Jehu H3058 slay: H4191 and him that escapeth H4422 from the sword H2719 of Jehu H3058 shall Elisha H477 slay. H4191
18 Yet I have left H7604 me seven H7651 thousand H505 in Israel, H3478 all the knees H1290 which have not bowed H3766 unto Baal, H1168 and every mouth H6310 which hath not kissed H5401 him.
19 So he departed H3212 thence, and found H4672 Elisha H477 the son H1121 of Shaphat, H8202 who was plowing H2790 with twelve H8147 H6240 yoke H6776 of oxen before H6440 him, and he with the twelfth: H8147 H6240 and Elijah H452 passed H5674 by him, and cast H7993 his mantle H155 upon him.
20 And he left H5800 the oxen, H1241 and ran H7323 after H310 Elijah, H452 and said, H559 Let me, I pray thee, kiss H5401 my father H1 and my mother, H517 and then I will follow H3212 H310 thee. And he said H559 unto him, Go back H3212 again: H7725 for what have I done H6213 to thee?
21 And he returned back H7725 from him, H310 and took H3947 a yoke H6776 of oxen, H1241 and slew H2076 them, and boiled H1310 their flesh H1320 with the instruments H3627 of the oxen, H1241 and gave H5414 unto the people, H5971 and they did eat. H398 Then he arose, H6965 and went H3212 after H310 Elijah, H452 and ministered H8334 unto him.
1 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.
2 Then Jezebel send 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.
3 And 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.
4 But 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 Jehovah, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.
5 And he lay down and slept under a juniper-tree; and, behold, an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat.
6 And he looked, and, behold, there was at his head a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again.
7 And the angel of Jehovah came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for thee.
8 And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.
9 And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of Jehovah came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?
10 And he said, I have been very jealous for Jehovah, the 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.
11 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before Jehovah. And, behold, Jehovah passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before Jehovah; but Jehovah was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but Jehovah was not in the earthquake:
12 and after the earthquake a fire; but Jehovah was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
13 And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entrance of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?
14 And he said, I have been very jealous for Jehovah, the 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.
15 And Jehovah said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, thou shalt anoint Hazael to be king over Syria;
16 and 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.
17 And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay; and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay.
18 Yet will I leave `me' seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.
19 So 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 over unto him, and cast his mantle upon him.
20 And 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?
21 And he returned from following him, and took the 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.
1 And Ahab declareth to Jezebel all that Elijah did, and all how he slew all the prophets by the sword,
2 and Jezebel sendeth a messenger unto Elijah, saying, `Thus doth the gods, and thus do they add, surely about this time to-morrow, I make thy life as the life of one of them.'
3 And he feareth, and riseth, and goeth for his life, and cometh in to Beer-Sheba, that `is' Judah's, and leaveth his young man there,
4 and he himself hath gone into the wilderness a day's Journey, and cometh and sitteth under a certain retem-tree, and desireth his soul to die, and saith, `Enough, now, O Jehovah, take my soul, for I `am' not better than my fathers.'
5 And he lieth down and sleepeth under a certain retem-tree, and lo, a messenger cometh against him, and saith to him, `Rise, eat;'
6 and he looketh attentively, and lo, at his bolster a cake `baken on' burning stones, and a dish of water, and he eateth, and drinketh, and turneth, and lieth down.
7 And the messenger of Jehovah turneth back a second time, and cometh against him, and saith, `Rise, eat, for the way is too great for thee;'
8 and he riseth, and eateth, and drinketh, and goeth in the power of that food forty days and forty nights, unto the mount of God -- Horeb.
9 And he cometh in there, unto the cave, and lodgeth there, and lo, the word of Jehovah `is' unto him, and saith to him, `What -- to thee, here, Elijah?'
10 And he saith, `I have been very zealous for Jehovah, God of Hosts, for the sons of Israel have forsaken Thy covenant -- Thine altars they have thrown down, and Thy prophets they have slain by the sword, and I am left, I, by myself, and they seek my life -- to take it.'
11 And He saith, `Go out, and thou hast stood in the mount before Jehovah.' And lo, Jehovah is passing by, and a wind -- great and strong -- is rending mountains, and shivering rocks before Jehovah: -- not in the wind `is' Jehovah; and after the wind a shaking: -- not in the shaking `is' Jehovah;
12 and after the shaking a fire: -- not in the fire `is' Jehovah; and after the fire a voice still small;
13 and it cometh to pass, at Elijah's hearing `it', that he wrappeth his face in his robe, and goeth out, and standeth at the opening of the cave, and lo, unto him `is' a voice, and it saith, `What -- to thee, here, Elijah?'
14 And he saith, `I have been very zealous for Jehovah, God of Hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Thy covenant, Thine altars they have thrown down, and Thy prophets they have slain by the sword, and I am left, I, by myself, and they seek my life -- to take it.'
15 And Jehovah saith unto him, `Go turn back on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus, and thou hast gone in, and anointed Hazael for king over Aram,
16 and Jehu son of Nimshi thou dost anoint for king over Israel, and Elisha son of Shaphat, of Abel-Meholah, thou dost anoint for prophet in thy stead.
17 `And it hath been, him who is escaped from the sword of Hazael, put to death doth Jehu, and him who is escaped from the sword of Jehu put to death doth Elisha;
18 and I have left in Israel seven thousand, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that hath not kissed him.'
19 And he goeth thence, and findeth Elisha son of Shaphat, and he is plowing; twelve yoke `are' before him, and he `is' with the twelfth; and Elijah passeth over unto him, and casteth his robe upon him,
20 and he forsaketh the oxen, and runneth after Elijah, and saith, `Let me give a kiss, I pray thee, to my father and to my mother, and I go after thee.' And he saith to him, `Go, turn back, for what have I done to thee?'
21 And he turneth back from after him, and taketh the yoke of oxen, and sacrificeth it, and with instruments of the oxen he hath boiled their flesh, and giveth to the people, and they eat, and he riseth, and goeth after Elijah, and serveth him.
1 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and in detail how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.
2 And Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah saying, So do the gods [to me], and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to-morrow about this time!
3 And when he saw [that], he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
4 And he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a certain broom-bush, and requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough: now, Jehovah, take my life; for I am not better than my fathers.
5 And he lay down and slept under the broom-bush. And behold, an angel touched him, and said to him, Arise, eat!
6 And he looked, and behold, at his head was a cake, baked on hot stones, and a cruse of water. And he ate and drank, and lay down again.
7 And the angel of Jehovah came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise, eat; for the journey is too great for thee.
8 And he arose, and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God.
9 And there he went into a cave, and lodged there. And behold, the word of Jehovah [came] to him, and he said to him, What doest thou here, Elijah?
10 And he said, I have been very jealous for Jehovah the 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 am left, I alone, and they seek my life, to take it away.
11 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before Jehovah. And behold, Jehovah passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before Jehovah: Jehovah was not in the wind. And after the wind, an earthquake: Jehovah was not in the earthquake.
12 And after the earthquake, a fire: Jehovah was not in the fire. And after the fire, a soft gentle voice.
13 And it came to pass, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice [came] to him and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?
14 And he said, I have been very jealous for Jehovah the 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 am left, I alone, and they seek my life, to take it away.
15 And Jehovah said to him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus; and when thou comest, anoint Hazael king over Syria;
16 and Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint king over Israel; and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah shalt thou anoint prophet in thy stead.
17 And it shall come to pass, [that] him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay; and him that escapeth the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay.
18 Yet I have left [myself] seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth that hath not kissed him.
19 And he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was ploughing [with] twelve yokes before him, and he with the twelfth; and Elijah went over to him, and cast his mantle on him.
20 And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and I will follow thee. And he said to him, Go back again; for what have I done to thee?
21 And he returned back from him, and took the yoke of oxen, and killed them, and boiled their flesh with the implements of the oxen, and gave to the people, and they ate. And he arose and went after Elijah, and ministered to him.
1 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.
2 Then Jezebel send a messenger to Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I don't make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.
3 When he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
4 But 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 Yahweh, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.
5 He lay down and slept under a juniper tree; and, behold, an angel touched him, and said to him, Arise and eat.
6 He looked, and, behold, there was at his head a cake baked on the coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drink, and laid him down again.
7 The angel of Yahweh came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.
8 He arose, and ate and drink, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the Mount of God.
9 He came there to a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of Yahweh came to him, and he said to him, What are you doing here, Elijah?
10 He said, I have been very jealous for Yahweh, the God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and slain your prophets with the sword: and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.
11 He said, Go forth, and stand on the mountain before Yahweh. Behold, Yahweh passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before Yahweh; but Yahweh was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but Yahweh was not in the earthquake:
12 and after the earthquake a fire; but Yahweh was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
13 It was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entrance of the cave. Behold, there came a voice to him, and said, What are you doing here, Elijah?
14 He said, I have been very jealous for Yahweh, the God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and slain your prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.
15 Yahweh said to him, Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when you come, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria;
16 and Jehu the son of Nimshi shall you anoint to be king over Israel; and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah shall you anoint to be prophet in your room.
17 It shall happen, that he who escapes from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu kill; and he who escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha kill.
18 Yet will I leave [me] seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth which has not kissed him.
19 So he departed there, 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 over to him, and cast his mantle on him.
20 He left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray you, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you. He said to him, Go back again; for what have I done to you?
21 He returned from following him, and took the yoke of oxen, and killed them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave to the people, and they ate. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered to him.
1 Ahab gave Jezebel news of all Elijah had done, and how he had put all the prophets to death with the sword.
2 Then Jezebel sent a servant to Elijah, saying, May the gods' punishment be on me if I do not make your life like the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.
3 And he got up, fearing for his life, and went in flight, and came to Beer-sheba in Judah, parting there from his servant;
4 While he himself went a day's journey into the waste land, and took a seat under a broom-plant, desiring for himself only death; for he said, It is enough: now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.
5 And stretching himself on the earth, he went to sleep under the broom-plant; but an angel, touching him, said to him, Get up and have some food.
6 And looking up, he saw by his head a cake cooked on the stones and a bottle of water. So he took food and drink and went to sleep again.
7 And the angel of the Lord came again a second time, and touching him said, Get up and have some food, or the journey will be overmuch for your strength.
8 So he got up and took food and drink, and in the strength of that food he went on for forty days and nights, to Horeb, the mountain of God.
9 And there he went into a hole in the rock for the night; then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, What are you doing here, Elijah?
10 And he said, I have been burning for the honour of the Lord, the God of armies; for the children of Israel have not kept your agreement; they have made destruction of your altars, and have put your prophets to death with the sword: till I, even I, am the only one living; and now they are attempting to take away my life.
11 Then he said, Go out and take your place on the mountain before the Lord. Then the Lord went by, and mountains were parted by the force of a great wind, and rocks were broken before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind there was an earth-shock, but the Lord was not in the earth-shock.
12 And after the earth-shock a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, the sound of a soft breath.
13 And Elijah, hearing it, went out, covering his face with his robe, and took his place in the opening of the hole. And there a voice came to him saying, What are you doing here, Elijah?
14 And he said, I have been burning for the honour of the Lord, the God of armies; for the children of Israel have not kept your agreement; they have had your altars broken down, and have put your prophets to death with the sword: till I, even I, am the only one living; and now they are attempting to take away my life.
15 And the Lord said to him, Go back on your way through the waste land to Damascus; and when you come there, put the holy oil on Hazael to make him king over Aram;
16 And on Jehu, son of Nimshi, making him king over Israel; and on Elisha, the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah, to be prophet in your place.
17 And it will come about that the man who gets away safe from the sword of Hazael, Jehu will put to death; and whoever gets away safe from the sword of Jehu, Elisha will put to death.
18 But I will keep safe seven thousand in Israel, all those whose knees have not been bent to Baal, and whose mouths have given him no kisses.
19 So he went away from there and came across Elisha, the son of Shaphat, ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen, he himself walking with the twelfth; and Elijah went up to him and put his robe on him.
20 And letting the oxen be where they were, he came running after Elijah, and said, Only let me give a kiss to my father and mother, and then I will come after you. But he said to him, Go back again; for what have I done to you?
21 And he went back, and took the oxen and put them to death, and cooking their flesh with the yokes of the oxen, he gave the people a feast. Then he got up and went after Elijah and became his servant.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on 1 Kings 19
Commentary on 1 Kings 19 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
The hope of completing his victory over the idolaters and overthrowing the worship of Baal, even in the capital of the kingdom, with which Elijah may have hastened to Jezreel, was frustrated by the malice of the queen, who was so far from discerning any revelation of the almighty God in the account given her by Ahab of what had occurred on Carmel, and bending before His mighty hand, that, on the contrary, she was so full of wrath at the slaying of the prophets of Baal as to send to the prophet Elijah to threaten him with death. This apparent failure of his ministry was the occasion of a severe inward conflict, in which Elijah was brought to a state of despondency and fled from the land. The Lord allowed His servant to pass through this conflict, that he might not exalt himself, but, being mindful of his own impotence, might rest content with the grace of his God, whose strength is mighty in the weak (2 Corinthians 12:8-9), and who would refine and strengthen him for the further fulfilment of his calling.
1 Kings 19:1-2
Elijah's flight into the desert and guidance to Horeb . - 1 Kings 19:1, 1 Kings 19:2. When “Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and all, how he had slain all the prophets (of Baal),” she sent a messenger to Elijah in her impotent wrath, with a threat, which she confirmed by an oath (see at 1 Kings 2:23), that in the morning she would have him slain like the prophets whom he had put to death. The early commentators detected in this threat the impotentia muliebris iracundiae , and saw that all that Jezebel wanted was to get rid of the man who was so distressing and dangerous to her, because she felt herself unable to put him to death, partly on account of the people, who were enthusiastic in his favour, and partly on account of the king himself, upon whom the affair at Carmel had not remained without its salutary effect.
1 Kings 19:3-4
But when Elijah saw ( ויּרא ), sc. how things stood, or the audacity of Jezebel, from which the failure of his work was evident, he rose up and went to Beersheba in Judah, i.e., Bir-seba on the southern frontier of Canaan (see at Genesis 21:31). The expression ליהוּדה אשׁר , “which to Judah,” i.e., which belonged to the kingdom of Judah, for Beersheba was really allotted to the tribe of Simeon (Joshua 19:2), is appended not merely as a geographical indication that Elijah went outside the land, but to show that he meant to leave the kingdom of Israel, the scene of his previous labours, just as Jeremiah in a similar internal conflict gave utterance to the wish that he could leave his people, if he had but a lodging-place in the wilderness (Jeremiah 9:2). ויּרא is not to be altered into ויּירא , et timuit , after the lxx and Vulg., notwithstanding the fact that some Codd. have this reading, which only rests upon an erroneous conjecture. For it is obvious that Elijah did not flee from any fear of the vain threat of Jezebel, from the fact that he did not merely withdrawn into the kingdom of Judah, where he would have been safe under Jehoshaphat from all the persecutions of Jezebel, but went to Beersheba, and thence onwards into the desert there to pour out before the Lord God his weariness of life (1 Kings 19:4).
ילך אל־נפשׁו , he went upon his soul, or his life, i.e., not to save his life (as I once thought, with many other commentators), for his wish to die (1 Kings 19:4) is opposed to this; but to care for his soul in the manner indicated in 1 Kings 19:4, i.e., to commit his soul or his life to the Lord his God in the solitude of the desert, and see what He would determine concerning him.
(Note: G. Menken ( christl. Homil. üb. den Proph. Elias , p. 231) has given the following admirable explanation of אל נפשו fo so far as the sense is concerned: “ For conscience sake, from conviction, out of obligation, not from fear. After all his former experience, and from the entire relation in which Elijah stood to God, it was impossible that he should be afraid, and not be firmly convinced that the God who had shut up heaven at his word, who had supplied him with bread and flesh for a whole year in the desert through the medium of ravens, who had supported him miraculously for years in a foreign land through the medium of a poor widow, who had concealed and rescued him for three years and a half from the search of the king, who had accredited and honoured him in the sight of all the people as His servant, who had given an immediate answer to his prayer for rain, could also defend him in this extremity, and rescue him from this danger, if such should be His will. ” )
- He left his servant in Beersheba, while he himself went a day's journey farther into the desert (Paran), not merely because he was so filled with weariness of life in his dark oppression, that he thought he should have no further need of his servant, and therefore left him behind in Beersheba, but that he might pour out his heart before God alone in the desert and yield himself up to His guidance. For however unquestionably his lamentation in 1 Kings 19:4, for example, expresses a weariness of life, this merely indicates the feeling which had taken possession of his soul after a day's journey in the barren desert. And even there he lays his wish to die before God in prayer; so that this feeling is merely to be regarded as one result of the spiritual conflict, which is bodily exhaustion had now raised to a height that it cannot have reached when he was in Beersheba. If, therefore, he did not start with the intention of making a pilgrimage to Horeb, he had certainly gone into the desert for the purpose of seeing whether the Lord would manifest His mercy to him, as He had formerly done to His people under Moses, or whether He would withdraw His hand entirely from him. After a day's journey he sat down under a רתם (construed here as a feminine, in 1 Kings 19:5 as a masculine), a species of broom ( genista Retem in Forskâl), which is the finest and most striking shrub of the Arabian desert, growing constantly in the beds of streams and in the valleys, where places of encampment are frequently selected for the sake of the shelter which they afford by night from the wind and by day from the sun (Rob. Pal . i. 299). למוּת ... ויּשׁאל : and wished that his soul might die (a kind of accusative with infinitive; see Ewald, § 336, b .), and said, עתּה רב , “Enough now; take, Lord, my soul, for I am not better than my fathers;” i.e., I have worked and endured enough, and deserve no longer life than my fathers. From this it appears that Elijah was already of a great age.
1 Kings 19:5-6
In this disturbed state of mind he lay down and slept under a broom-tree. Then the Lord came with His power to the help of the despairing man. “An angel touched him (wakened him out of his sleep), and said to him: Arise, eat.” And behold he saw at his head עגּת רצפים , a bread cake baked over red-hot stones, a savoury article of food which is still a great favourite with the Bedouins (see at Genesis 18:6; Genesis 19:3), and a pitcher of water, and ate and drank, and lay down again.
1 Kings 19:7
But the angel wakened him a second time, and called upon him to eat with these words: “for the way is too far for thee” ( רב ממּך הדּרך , iter est majus quam pro viribus tuis - Vat.).
1 Kings 19:8
“Then he arose, ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to the mount of God at Horeb.” As the angel did not tell him whither he was to go, and Elijah wandered to Horeb in consequence of this strengthening, it appears to have been his intention from the very beginning to go into the desert, and see whether the Lord would still further acknowledge him and his work; so that in the support and strength imparted by the angel he saw an indication that he was to follow the footsteps of the divine grace still farther into the desert, and make a pilgrimage to Horeb, with the hope that there perhaps the Lord would reveal to him His counsel concerning the further guidance of the people of His covenant, as He had formerly done to His servant Moses, and give him the necessary instruction for the continuance of his prophetic service. Horeb is called the mount of God here, as it was proleptically in Exodus 3:1, as the place where the Lord confirmed the covenant, already made with the patriarchs, to their descendants, and adopted the tribes of Israel as His people and made them into a kingdom of God. The distance from Beersheba to Horeb is about 200 miles. Consequently Elijah would not have required forty days to travel there, if the intention of God had been nothing more than to cause him to reach the mountain, or “to help him on his say” (Thenius). But in the strength of the food provided by the angel Elijah was not only to perform the journey to Horeb, but to wander in the desert for forty days and forty nights, i.e., forty whole days, as Moses had formerly wandered with all Israel for forty years; that he might know that the Lord was still the same God who had nourished and sustained His whole nation in the desert with manna from heaven for forty years. And just as the forty years' sojourn in the desert had been to Moses a time for the trial of faith and for exercise in humility and meekness (Numbers 12:3), so was the strength of Elijah's faith to be tried by the forty days' wandering in the same desert, and to be purified from all carnal zeal for the further fulfilment of His calling, in accordance with the divine will. What follows shows very clearly that this was the object of the divine guidance of Elijah (cf. Hengstenberg, Diss. on the Pentateuch , vol. i. 171,172).
Appearance of God at Horeb . - 1 Kings 19:9. When Elijah arrived at Horeb, he went into the cave (the definite article in המּערה , with the obvious connection between the appearance of God, which follows here, and that described in Exodus 33:12., points back to the cleft in the rock, נקרת הצּוּר ) in which Moses had stood while the glory of Jehovah passed by (see at Exodus 33:22), and there he passed the night. And behold the word of the Lord came to him (in the night): “What doest thou here, Elijah?” This question did not involve a reproof, as though Elijah had nothing to do there, but was simply intended to lead him to give utterance to the thoughts and feelings of his heart.
1 Kings 19:10
Elijah answered: “I have striven zealously for Jehovah the God of hosts, for the children of Israel have forsaken Thy covenant, destroyed Thine altars, and killed Thy prophets with the sword; and I only am left, and they seek my life.” In these words there was not only the greatest despair expressed as to the existing condition of things, but also a carnal zeal which would gladly have called down the immediate vengeance of the Almighty upon all idolaters. The complaint contained, on the one hand, the tacit reproof that God had looked on quietly for so long a time at the conduct of the ungodly, and had suffered things to come to such an extremity, that he, His prophet, was the only one left of all the true worshippers of God, and, on the other hand, the indirect appeal that He would interpose at last with His penal judgments. Because Elijah had not seen the expected salutary fruits of his zeal for the Lord, he thought that all was lost, and in his gloomy state of mind overlooked what he had seen a short time before with his own eyes, that even in the neighbourhood of the king himself there lived a pious and faithful worshipper of Jehovah, viz., Obadiah, who had concealed a hundred prophets from the revenge of Jezebel, and that the whole of the people assembled upon Carmel had given glory to the Lord, and at his command had seized the prophets of Baal and put them to death, and therefore that the true worshippers of the Lord could not all have vanished out of Israel. קנּא קנּאתי ליהוה recalls to mind the zeal of Phinehas (Numbers 25:11.), which put an end to the whoredom of the sons of Israel with the daughters of Moab. But whereas Phinehas received the promise of an everlasting priesthood for his zeal, Elijah had seen so little fruit from his zeal against the worshippers of Baal, that they actually sought his life. מזבּחתך are altars, which pious Israelites in the kingdom of the ten tribes had built in different places for the worship of Jehovah (see at 1 Kings 18:30).
1 Kings 19:11
The Lord replied to the prophet's complaint first of all by the manifestation of His control of the phenomena of nature (1 Kings 19:11-13), and then by a verbal explanation of His design (1 Kings 19:15-18).
In this divine revelation men have recognised from the very earliest times a repetition of the appearance of God which was granted to Moses upon Sinai. As God, in token of His grace, granted the prayer of Moses that he might see His glory, after he had striven zealously for the honour of the Lord when the people rebelled by worshipping the golden calf; so did He also display His glory upon Horeb to Elijah as a second Moses for the purpose of strengthening his faith, with this simple difference, that He made all His goodness pass by Moses, and declared His name in the words, “Jehovah, a gracious and merciful God,” etc. (Exodus 34:6-7), whereas He caused Elijah first of all to behold the operation of His grace in certain phenomena of nature, and then afterwards made known to him His will with regard to Israel and to the work of His prophets. This difference in the form of the revelation, while the substance and design were essentially the same, may be explained from the difference not only in the historical circumstances, but also in the state of mind of the two servants to whom He manifested His glory. In the case of Moses it was burning love for the welfare of his people which impelled him to offer the prayer that the Lord would let him see His glory, as a sign that He would not forsake His people; and this prayer was granted him, so far as a man is ever able to see the glory of God, to strengthen him for the further discharge of the duties of his office. Hidden in the cleft of the rock and shielded by the hand of God, he saw the Lord pass by him, and heard Him utter in words His inmost being. Elijah, on the other hand, in his zeal for the honour of God, which was not quite free from human passion, had been led by the want of any visible fruit from his own labour to overlook the work of the Lord in the midst of His people; so that he had fled into the desert and wished to be released from this world by death, and had not been brought out of his despair by the strengthening with meat and drink which he had received from the angel, and which enabled him to travel for forty days to the mount of God without suffering from want, a fact which was intended to remind him of the ancient God of the fathers, to whose omnipotence and goodness there is no end; so that it was in a most gloomy state of mind that he reached Horeb at last. And now the Lord designed not only to manifest His glory as the love in which grace and righteousness are united, but also to show him that his zeal for the honour of the Lord was not in harmony with the love and grace and long-suffering of God. “The design of the vision was to show to the fiery zeal of the prophet, who wanted to reform everything by means of the tempest, the gentle way which God pursues, and to proclaim the long-suffering and mildness of His nature, as the voice had already done to Moses on that very spot; hence the beautiful change in the divine appearance” (Herder, Geist der hebr. Poesie , 1788, ii. p. 52).
1 Kings 19:12
After God had commanded him to come out of the cave and stand upon the mountain (that part of the mountain which was in front of the cave) before Him, “behold Jehovah went by (the participle עבר is used to give a more vivid representation of the scene); and a great and strong tempest, rending mountains and breaking rocks in pieces, before Jehovah - it was not in the tempest that Jehovah was; and after the tempest an earthquake - it was not in the earthquake that Jehovah was; and after the earthquake fire - it was not in the fire that Jehovah was; and after the fire a still, gentle rustling.” דקּה דּממה קול , literally the tone of a gentle blowing. On the change of gender in וחזק גּדולה רוּח , see Ewald, §174 , e . - Tempest, earthquake, and fire, which are even more terrible in the awful solitude of the Horeb mountains than in an inhabited land, are signs of the coming of the Lord to judgment (cf. Psalms 18:8.). It was in the midst of such terrible phenomena that the Lord had once come down upon Sinai, to inspire the people who were assembled at the foot of the mountain with a salutary dread of His terrible majesty, of the fiery zeal of His wrath and love, which consumes whatever opposes it (see at Exodus 19:16.). but now the lord was not in these terrible phenomena; to signify to the prophet that He did not work in His earthly kingdom with the destroying zeal of wrath, or with the pitiless severity of judgment. It was in a soft, gentle rustling that He revealed Himself to him.
1 Kings 19:13-17
When Elijah heard this, he covered up his face in his cloak ( אדּרת ; see at 2 Kings 1:8) and went out to the entrance to the cave. And behold he heard the question a second time, “What doest thou here, Elijah?” and answered with a repetition of his complain (see 1 Kings 19:9, 1 Kings 19:10). - While the appearance of God, not in the tempest, the earthquake, and the fire, but in a gentle rustling, revealed the Lord to him as a merciful and gracious God, long-suffering, and of great goodness and truth (Exodus 34:6), the answer to his complaint showed him that He did not leave guilt unpunished (Exodus 34:7), since the Lord gave him the following command, 1 Kings 19:15.: “Go back in thy way to the desert of Damascus, and anoint Hazael king over Aram (see 2 Kings 8:12-13), and Jehu the son of Nimshi king over Israel (see 2 Kings 9:2), and Elisha the son of Shaphat prophet in thy stead” (see 1 Kings 19:19); and then added this promise, which must have quieted his zeal, that was praiseworthy in the feelings from which it sprang, although it had assumed too passionate a form, and have given him courage to continue his prophetic work: “And it will come to pass, that however escapeth the sword of Hazael, him will Jehu slay, and whoever escapeth the sword of Jehu, him will Elisha slay.”
1 Kings 19:18
But in order that he might learn, to his shame, that the cause of the Lord in Israel appeared much more desperate to his eye, which was clouded by his own dissatisfaction, than it really was in the eye of the God who knows His own by number and by name, the Lord added: “I have seven thousand left in Israel, all knees that have not bent before Baal, and every mouth that hath not kissed him.” מדבּרה המּשׂק , into the desert of Damascus (with the He loc . with the construct state as in Deuteronomy 4:41; Joshua 12:1, etc.; cf. Ewald, §216, b .), i.e., the desert lying to the south and east of the city of Damascus, which is situated on the river Barady ; not per desertum in Damascum (Vulg., Luth., etc.); for although Elijah would necessarily pass through the Arabian desert to go from Horeb to Damascus, it was superfluous to tell him that he was to go that way, as there was no other road. The words “return by thy way ... and anoint Hazael,” etc., are not to be understood as signifying that Elijah was to go at once to Damascus and anoint Hazael there, but simply that he was to do this at a time which the Spirit would more precisely indicate. According to what follows, all that Elijah accomplished immediately was to call Elisha to be his successor; whereas the other two commissions were fulfilled by Elisha after Elijah's ascension to heaven (2 Kings 8 and 9). The opinion that Elijah also anointed Hazael and Jehu immediately, but that this anointing was kept secret, and was repeated by Elisha when the time for their public appearance arrived, has not only very little probability in itself, but is directly precluded by the account of the anointing of Jehu in 2 Kings 9. The anointing of Hazael and Jehu is mentioned first, because God had chosen these two kings to be the chief instruments of His judgments upon the royal family and people for their idolatry. It was only in the case of Jehu that a real anointing took place (2 Kings 9:6); Hazael was merely told by Elisha that he would be king (2 Kings 8:13), and Elisha was simply called by Elijah to the prophetic office by having the cloak of the latter thrown upon him. Moreover, the Messianic passage, Isaiah 61:1, is the only one in which there is any allusion to the anointing of a prophet. Consequently משׁח must be taken figuratively here as in Judges 9:8, as denoting divine consecration to the regal and prophetic offices. And so, again, the statement that Elisha would slay those who escaped the sword of Jehu is not to be understood literally. Elisha slew by the word of the Lord, which brought judgments upon the ungodly, as we see from 2 Kings 2:24 (cf. Jeremiah 1:10; Jeremiah 18:7). The “seven thousand,” who had not bowed the knee before Baal, are a round number for the ἐκλογν́ of the godly, whom the Lord had preserved for Himself in the sinful kingdom, which was really very large in itself, however small it might be in comparison with the whole nation. The number seven is the stamp of the works of God, so that seven thousand is the number of the “remnant according to the election of grace” (Romans 11:5), which had then been preserved by God. Kissing Baal was the most usual form in which this idol was worshipped, and consisted not merely in throwing kisses with the hand (cf. Job 31:27, and Plin. h. n. 28, 8), but also in kissing the images of Baal, probably on the feet (cf. Cicero in Verr . 4, 43).
Call of Elisha to be a prophet . - 1 Kings 19:19. As he went thence (viz., away from Horeb), Elijah found Elisha the son of Shaphat at Abel-Meholah, in the Jordan valley (see at Judges 7:22), occupied in ploughing; “twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he himself with the twelfth” (a very wealthy man therefore), and threw his cloak to him as he passed by. The prophet's cloak was sign of the prophet's vocation so that throwing it to him was a symbol of the call to the prophetic office.
1 Kings 19:20
Elisha understanding the sign, left the oxen standing, ran after Elijah, and said to him, “Let me kiss my father and my mother,” i.e., take leave of my parents, and when I will follow thee. For the form אשׁקה see Ewald, § 228, b . As he has ploughed his earthly field with his twelve pair of oxen, he was not to plough the spiritual field of the twelve tribes of Israel (Luke 9:62). Elijah answered, “Go, return, for what have I done to thee?” שׁוּב לך belong together, as in 1 Kings 19:15; so that Elijah thereby gave him permission to return to his father and mother. כּי signifies for , not yet (Thenius); for there is no antithesis here, according to which כּי might serve for a more emphatic assurance (Ewald, § 330, b .). The words “what have I done to thee?” can only mean, I have not wanted to put any constraint upon thee, but leave it to thy free will to decide in favour of the prophetic calling.
1 Kings 19:21
Then Elisha returned, took the pair of oxen with which he had been ploughing, sacrificed, i.e., slaughtered them ( זבח used figuratively), boiled the flesh with the plough, gave a farewell meal to the people (of his place of abode), i.e., his friends and acquaintance, and then followed Elijah as his servant, i.e., his assistant. The suffix in בּשּׁלם refers to הבּקר צמּד , and is more precisely defined by the apposition הבּשׂר , “namely, the flesh of the oxen.”