1Ki 19:4-21 - Commentary

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Text -- 1 Kings 19:4-21 (NET)

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Context

19:4 while he went a day’s journey into the desert. He went and sat down under a shrub and asked the Lord to take his life: “I’ve had enough! Now, O Lord, take my life. After all, I’m no better than my ancestors.” 19:5 He stretched out and fell asleep under the shrub. All of a sudden an angelic messenger touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” 19:6 He looked and right there by his head was a cake baking on hot coals and a jug of water. He ate and drank and then slept some more. 19:7 The Lord’s angelic messenger came back again, touched him, and said, “Get up and eat, for otherwise you won’t be able to make the journey.” 19:8 So he got up and ate and drank. That meal gave him the strength to travel forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. 19:9 He went into a cave there and spent the night. All of a sudden the Lord spoke to him, “Why are you here, Elijah?” 19:10 He answered, “I have been absolutely loyal to the Lord, the sovereign God, even though the Israelites have abandoned the agreement they made with you, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left and now they want to take my life.” 19:11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord. Look, the Lord is ready to pass by.” A very powerful wind went before the Lord, digging into the mountain and causing landslides, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the windstorm there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 19:12 After the earthquake, there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire, there was a soft whisper. 19:13 When Elijah heard it, he covered his face with his robe and went out and stood at the entrance to the cave. All of a sudden a voice asked him, “Why are you here, Elijah?” 19:14 He answered, “I have been absolutely loyal to the Lord, the sovereign God, even though the Israelites have abandoned the agreement they made with you, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left and now they want to take my life.” 19:15 The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came and then head for the Desert of Damascus. Go and anoint Hazael king over Syria. 19:16 You must anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to take your place as prophet. 19:17 Jehu will kill anyone who escapes Hazael’s sword, and Elisha will kill anyone who escapes Jehu’s sword. 19:18 I still have left in Israel seven thousand followers who have not bowed their knees to Baal or kissed the images of him.” 19:19 Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve pairs of oxen; he was near the twelfth pair. Elijah passed by him and threw his robe over him. 19:20 He left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, “Please let me kiss my father and mother goodbye, then I will follow you.” Elijah said to him, “Go back! Indeed, what have I done to you?” 19:21 Elisha went back and took his pair of oxen and slaughtered them. He cooked the meat over a fire that he made by burning the harness and yoke. He gave the people meat and they ate. Then he got up and followed Elijah and became his assistant.

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Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics

Names, People and Places:

· Abel the second son of Adam and Eve; the brother of Cain,an English name representing two different Hebrew names,as representing the Hebrew name 'Hebel' or 'Habel',the second son of Adam,as representing the Hebrew name 'Abel',a town in northern Israel near Dan (OS)

· Baal a pagan god,a title of a pagan god,a town in the Negeb on the border of Simeon and Judah,son of Reaiah son of Micah; a descendant of Reuben,the forth son of Jeiel, the Benjamite

· Damascus a city-state in Syria, located near Mt. Hermon at the edge of the Syrian desert (OS),a town near Mt. Hermon at the edge of the Syrian desert (OS)

· Elijah a prophet from the 9th century B.C.,a prophet from Tishbe in Gilead to Israel in King Ahab's time,son of Jeroham of Benjamin,a priest of the Harim clan who put away his heathen wife,a layman of the Bani Elam clan who put away his heathen wife

· Elisha a son of Shaphat; a prophet of the 9th century B.C. who succeeded the prophet Elijah,son of Shaphat of Abel-Meholah; successor of the prophet Elijah

· Hazael a king of Syria

· Horeb a mountain; the place where the law was given to Moses

· Israel a citizen of Israel.,a member of the nation of Israel

· Jehu son of Hanani who prophesied against King Baasha of Israel,son of Nimshi who killed King Joram and took his place as king of Israel,son of Obed of Judah,son of Joshibiah; head of a large influential family of Simeon in King Hezekiah's time,a man of Anathoth; one of the Benjamites who defected to David at Ziklag

· Nimshi father of Jehu, king of Israel

· Shaphat son of Hori of Simeon; the spy sent by Moses to explore the land of Canaan,father of the prophet Elisha,son of Shemaiah, a descendant of Hananiah, Zerubbabel and David,a chief of the tribe of Gad,son of Adlai; David's chief shepherd over the valley herds

· Syria the country to the north of Palestine,a country of north western Mesopotamia

Table of Contents

Verse Notes / Footnotes NET Notes

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Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 1Ki 19:4 Heb “fathers.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 19:5 Heb “Look, a messenger.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 19:6 Heb “and again lay down”

NET Notes: 1Ki 19:7 Heb “for the journey is too great for you.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 19:10 Heb “and they are seeking my life to take it.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 19:11 Heb “tearing away the mountains and breaking the cliffs” (or perhaps, “breaking the stones”).

NET Notes: 1Ki 19:12 Heb “a voice, calm, soft.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 19:13 Heb “look.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 19:14 Heb “and they are seeking my life to take it.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 19:18 Heb “I have kept in Israel seven thousand, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and all the mouths that have not kissed him.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 19:20 Heb “he”; the referent (Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

NET Notes: 1Ki 19:21 Heb “and with the equipment of the oxen he cooked them, the flesh.”

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