1 Kings 17:1

Elijah Visits a Widow in Sidonian Territory

17:1 Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As certainly as the Lord God of Israel lives (whom I serve), ¹  there will be no dew or rain in the years ahead unless I give the command.” ² 

1 Kings 17:13

17:13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go and do as you planned. ³  But first make a small cake for me and bring it to me; then make something for yourself and your son.

1 Kings 18:1

Elijah Meets the King’s Servant

18:1 Some time later, in the third year of the famine, the Lord told Elijah, ⁴  “Go, make an appearance before Ahab, so I may send rain on the surface of the ground.”

1 Kings 18:21

18:21 Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long are you going to be paralyzed by indecision? ⁵  If the Lord is the true God, ⁶  then follow him, but if Baal is, follow him!” But the people did not say a word.

1 Kings 18:25

18:25 Elijah told the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls for yourselves and go first, for you are the majority. Invoke the name of your god, but do not light a fire.” ⁷ 

1 Kings 18:27

18:27 At noon Elijah mocked them, “Yell louder! After all, he is a god; he may be deep in thought, or perhaps he stepped out for a moment or has taken a trip. Perhaps he is sleeping and needs to be awakened.” ⁸ 

1 Kings 18:36

18:36 When it was time for the evening offering, ⁹  Elijah the prophet approached the altar ¹⁰  and prayed: “O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, prove ¹¹  today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command.

1 Kings 19:2

19:2 Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah with this warning, ¹²  “May the gods judge me severely ¹³  if by this time tomorrow I do not take your life as you did theirs!” ¹⁴ 

1 Kings 19:19-21

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 ¹⁵  said to him, “Go back! Indeed, what have I done to you?” 19:21 Elisha ¹⁶  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. ¹⁷  He gave the people meat and they ate. Then he got up and followed Elijah and became his assistant.

[17:1]  ¹ tn Heb “before whom I stand.”

[17:1]  ² tn Heb “except at the command of my word.”

[17:13]  ³ tn Heb “according to your word.”

[18:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “the word of the Lord came to Elijah.”

[18:21]  ⁷ tn Heb “How long are you going to limp around on two crutches?” (see HALOT 762 s.v. סְעִפִּים). In context this idiomatic expression refers to indecision rather than physical disability.

[18:21]  ⁸ tn Heb “the God.”

[18:25]  ⁹ tc The last sentence of v. 25 is absent in the Syriac Peshitta.

[18:27]  ¹¹ sn Elijah’s sarcastic proposals would have been especially offensive and irritating to Baal’s prophets, for they believed Baal was imprisoned in the underworld as death’s captive during this time of drought. Elijah’s apparent ignorance of their theology is probably designed for dramatic effect; indeed the suggestion that Baal is away on a trip or deep in sleep comes precariously close to the truth as viewed by the prophets.

[18:36]  ¹³ tn Heb “at the offering up of the offering.”

[18:36]  ¹⁴ tn The words “the altar” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[18:36]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “let it be known.”

[19:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “saying.”

[19:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “So may the gods do to me, and so may they add.”

[19:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “I do not make your life like the life of one of them.”

[19:20]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:21]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:21]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and with the equipment of the oxen he cooked them, the flesh.”