1 Kings 17

This chapter was originally written in the Hebrew language and since the 16th century is divided into 24 verses.

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis (895), Aleppo Codex (10th century), and Codex Leningradensis (1008).{{sfn|Würthwein|1995|pp=35-37}}

There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus (B; $\backslash mathfrak\{G\}$^B; 4th century) and Codex Alexandrinus (A; $\backslash mathfrak\{G\}$^A; 5th century).{{sfn|Würthwein|1995|pp=73-74}}{{efn|The whole book of 1 Kings is missing from the extant Codex Sinaiticus.{{Catholic Encyclopedia|wstitle=Codex Sinaiticus}}}}

File:Anonymous - Elijah and the Raven - 1966-9.19 - Albright–Knox Art Gallery.tiff

Following the list of Ahab's mistake in the previous chapter, prophet Elijah suddenly appeared to confront the king with Yahweh's word against Ahab's policy of syncretizing the worship of Yahweh and Baal, and declaring the war against Baal (as the god of fertility and rain) that the land would suffer drought and hunger (only Yahweh can control rain).{{sfn|Dietrich|2007|p=245}}{{sfn|Coogan|2007|p=521 Hebrew Bible}} This set up a tense conflict between the worship of the two deities which would be resolved in 1 Kings 18:41-5.{{sfn|Dietrich|2007|p=245}} As soon as he finished with his message, Elijah withdrew to a small east Jordanian river valley, being fed by the usually greedy (ravenous) ravens.{{sfn|Dietrich|2007|p=245}}

:And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word."{{bibleref2|1 Kings|17:1|NKJV}} NKJV

• "Elijah": his name means: 'My God is Yahweh!', and his stories depict him as a man led by God and obedient to him.{{sfn|Dietrich|2007|p=245}}
• "Tishbite": or "from Tishbe", here is a place in Gilead,Confirmed by Josephus in Ant. viii. 13, 2, that he was {{lang|grc|ἐκ πόλεως θεσβώνης τῆς Γαλααδίτιδος χώρας}}, apud Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges. [http://biblehub.com/commentaries/cambridge/1_kings/17.htm 1 Kings 17]. Accessed 28 April 2019. not a place with similar name in the territory of Naphtali, which was the birthplace of Tobit (Tobit 1:2).Ellicott, C. J. (Ed.) (1905). [http://biblehub.com/commentaries/ellicott/1_kings/17.htm Ellicott's Bible Commentary for English Readers. 1 Kings 17.] London : Cassell and Company, Limited, [1905-1906] Online version: (OCoLC) 929526708. Accessed 28 April 2019.
• "These years": or "these following years", which were three and a half years according to Luke 4:25 and James 5:17.Benson, Joseph. [http://biblehub.com/commentaries/benson/1_kings/17.htm Commentary on the Old and New Testaments. 1 Kings 17.] Accessed 9 Juli 2019.

File:Simonsbrunnen Abtei Sayn, Detail Sarepta.JPG

After a period of time, Elijah experienced the same drought as the people of Israel, with the brook near where he lived, the wadi Cherith (see verse 3), running dry, so God sent him to the Sidon region, on the coast of Phoenicia (modern Lebanon), home of Queen Jezebel, and the heartland of Baal worship (cf. 1 Kings 16:31).{{sfn|Dietrich|2007|p=245}}{{sfn|Coogan|2007|p=522 Hebrew Bible}} Elijah was to find a widow to feed him there by having randomly asked a woman at the gates of Zarephath for water and then for bread. When she claimed, 'as Yahweh your God lives', that she and her son are starving themselves, Elijah repeated his wish, but adding the soothing words, 'Do not be afraid', and a prophecy of an endless supply of food, which happened as Elijah had said.{{sfn|Dietrich|2007|p=245}}

File:Elijah Resuscitating the Son of the Widow of Sarepta - Hersent, Louise - 1819.jpg by Louis Hersent]]

{{main|Raising of the son of the widow of Zarephath}}

This story as the previous one involves the same three people and deals with the same question of whether it is worthwhile to support the men of God, whose presence might bring not only death (by revealing sins and bestowing punishment, verse 18), but also life.{{sfn|Dietrich|2007|p=245}} The narrative is closely related to that in 2 Kings 4:18-37, showing that while a prophet 'plays the role of a magician reviving a dead soul by a ritual action', only God has the authority over life and death (the prophet had to plead twice to God).{{sfn|Dietrich|2007|p=245}}{{sfn|Coogan|2007|p=523 Hebrew Bible}}

There are notable parallels of this narrative with the raising of the son of the widow of Nain in Luke 7,Fred Craddock, [https://books.google.com/books?id=HX10bLsVOqsC&q=nain Luke], 2009 {{ISBN|0664234356}} page 43, 95–8 especially some verbal parallels.The People's New Testament Commentary - M. Eugene Boring, Fred B. Craddock - 2004 Page 204 "7:11-17 RAISING THE WIDOW'S SON This story is only in Luke, but it has many points of contact with the story of Elijah's raising the widow of Zarephath's son (1 Kgs. 17:8-24), including such verbatim parallels as "he gave him to his mother" ..." The raising of the son of the woman of Shunem (2 Kings 4) by Elisha is also similar, giving an example of a repeated pattern in the history of redemption.Sinclair Ferguson, [http://www.proctrust.org.uk/dls/christ_paper.pdf Preaching Christ from the Old Testament] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130903060849/http://www.proctrust.org.uk/dls/christ_paper.pdf |date=2013-09-03 }}, Proclamation Trust, 2002, page 12.

{{columns-list|colwidth=22em|

• Cherith
• Gilead
• Idolatry
• Israel
• Jordan River
• Prophet
• Zarephath}}
• Related Bible parts: 1 Kings 16, 2 Kings 4, 2 Chronicles 17, Luke 4, Luke 7, James 5

{{notelist}}

{{reflist}}

• {{cite book | last = Collins | first = John J. | title = Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures |chapter = Chapter 14: 1 Kings 12 – 2 Kings 25 | pages = 277–296 |publisher = Fortress Press|year = 2014 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=fbsoBAAAQBAJ |isbn = 978-1451469233}}
• {{cite book | last= Coogan| first = Michael David | author-link= Michael D. Coogan | title = The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books: New Revised Standard Version, Issue 48 | editor-last1 = Coogan | editor-first1= Michael David | editor-first2 = Marc Zvi | editor-last2 = Brettler | editor-first3 = Carol Ann | editor-last3 = Newsom | editor-first4= Pheme | editor-last4 = Perkins | edition= Augmented 3rd | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 2007 |isbn = 978-0195288810 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=HmpMPgAACAAJ}}
• {{cite book|last= Dietrich | first= Walter | chapter = 13. 1 and 2 Kings | title=The Oxford Bible Commentary | editor-first1=John | editor-last1 = Barton | editor1-link = John Barton (theologian) | editor-first2=John | editor-last2= Muddiman | editor2-link = John Muddiman | publisher = Oxford University Press | edition= first (paperback) | year = 2007 | pages = 232–266 | isbn = 978-0199277186 | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ZJdVkgEACAAJ | access-date=February 6, 2019}}
• {{cite book | last= Halley | first= Henry H. | author-link= Henry Hampton Halley | title= Halley's Bible Handbook: an abbreviated Bible commentary |edition=24th (revised)| publisher= Zondervan Publishing House | date= 1965 | url= https://archive.org/details/halleysbiblehand00henr | url-access= registration| isbn= 0-310-25720-4}}
• {{Cite book | last = Hayes | first = Christine | title = Introduction to the Bible |publisher = Yale University Press | year = 2015 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=SKbkXYHxvlAC |isbn = 978-0300188271}}
• {{cite book |last= Leithart | first = Peter J. | title = 1 & 2 Kings | series = Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible | publisher= Brazos Press | year= 2006 | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Z_gvin9G7LgC | isbn= 978-1587431258 }}
• {{Cite book | last= McKane | first= William | chapter= Kings, Book of |editor1-last = Metzger | editor1-first = Bruce M |editor1-link = Bruce M. Metzger | editor2-last = Coogan | editor2-first = Michael D | title = The Oxford Companion to the Bible | url= https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780195046458 | url-access= registration | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 1993 | pages= [https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780195046458/page/409 409]–413 | isbn = 978-0195046458 }}
• {{Cite book | editor1-last = Metzger |editor1-first = Bruce M | editor1-link = Bruce M. Metzger | editor2-last = Coogan | editor2-first = Michael D | title = The Oxford Companion to the Bible | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 1993 | isbn = 978-0195046458}}
• {{cite book | last = Würthwein | first = Ernst | author-link = Ernst Würthwein | title = The Text of the Old Testament | publisher = Wm. B. Eerdmans |location = Grand Rapids, MI | year= 1995 | translator-first1 = Erroll F.| translator-last1 = Rhodes | isbn = 0-8028-0788-7 | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=FSNKSBObCYwC | access-date= January 26, 2019}}

• Jewish translations:
• [https://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/15901 Melachim I - I Kings - Chapter 17 (Judaica Press)]. Hebrew text and English translation [with Rashi's commentary] at Chabad.org
• Christian translations:
• [http://www.gospelhall.org/bible/bible.php?passage=1+Kings+17 Online Bible at GospelHall.org] (ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
• [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=11&chapter=17&version=9 1 Kings chapter 17. Bible Gateway]

{{First Book of Kings}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kings 1 17}}

17

Category:Hebrew Bible chapters about Elijah

Category:Phoenicians in the Hebrew Bible

Category:Baal

Category:Resurrection

Category:Jezebel