1 Kings Chapter 17 — Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath
The prophet Elijah announces a drought in Israel and is miraculously sustained by God through ravens and a widow whose food supply never runs out.
1Elijah the Tishbite, who was one of the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.”
2Then the LORD’s word came to him, saying,
3“Go away from here, turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, that is before the Jordan.
4You shall drink from the brook. I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”
5So he went and did according to the LORD’s word, for he went and lived by the brook Cherith that is before the Jordan.
6The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook.
7After a while, the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.
8The LORD’s word came to him, saying,
9“Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to sustain you.”
10So he arose and went to Zarephath; and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and said, “Please get me a little water in a jar, that I may drink.”
11As she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”
12She said, “As the LORD your God lives, I don’t have anything baked, but only a handful of meal in a jar and a little oil in a jar. Behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and bake it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”
13Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go and do as you have said; but make me a little cake from it first, and bring it out to me, and afterward make some for you and for your son.
14For the LORD, the God of Israel, says, ‘The jar of meal will not run out, and the jar of oil will not fail, until the day that the LORD sends rain on the earth.’ ”
15She went and did according to the saying of Elijah; and she, he, and her household ate many days.
16The jar of meal didn’t run out and the jar of oil didn’t fail, according to the LORD’s word, which he spoke by Elijah.
17After these things, the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became sick; and his sickness was so severe that there was no breath left in him.
18She said to Elijah, “What have I to do with you, you man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to memory, and to kill my son!”
19He said to her, “Give me your son.” He took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into the room where he stayed, and laid him on his own bed.
20He cried to the LORD and said, “LORD my God, have you also brought evil on the widow with whom I am staying, by killing her son?”
21He stretched himself on the child three times, and cried to the LORD and said, “LORD my God, please let this child’s soul come into him again.”
22The LORD listened to the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.
23Elijah took the child and brought him down out of the room into the house, and delivered him to his mother; and Elijah said, “Behold, your son lives.”
24The woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the LORD’s word in your mouth is truth.”
WEB Translation
Notable Verses
1 Kings 17:1
“Elijah the Tishbite, who was one of the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be death nor rain these years, but according to my word.””
This verse marks the dramatic entrance of Elijah into the biblical narrative and the start of the great drought.
1 Kings 17:14
“For the LORD, the God of Israel, says, ‘The jar of meal will not run out, and the jar of oil will not fail, until the day that the LORD sends rain on the earth.’”
It illustrates God's miraculous provision for those who act in faith during times of extreme scarcity.
1 Kings 17:24
“The woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the LORD’s word in your mouth is truth.””
This conclusion validates Elijah's authority and the truth of God's word through the power of the resurrection miracle.
Chapter Summary
1 Kings Chapter 17 introduces the prophet Elijah, who declares to King Ahab that there will be no rain or dew in Israel for years to come. Following God's direction, Elijah hides by the brook Cherith, where he drinks from the stream and is fed bread and meat by ravens every morning and evening. When the brook eventually dries up due to the drought, God sends him to Zarephath to stay with a widow. Although the woman is preparing her final meal for herself and her son, Elijah promises that her flour and oil will not fail if she first provides for him. The miracle occurs as promised, sustaining them for many days. Later, the widow’s son falls ill and stops breathing. Elijah carries the boy to his upper room and cries out to God, who restores the child's life. This miracle confirms the widow's faith in Elijah as a true man of God.
Frequently Asked Questions
Elijah was first fed by ravens who brought him bread and meat twice a day while he stayed by the brook Cherith. Later, he was sustained by a widow in Zarephath through a miraculous supply of flour and oil that never ran out during the drought.
When the widow's son became so ill that he stopped breathing, Elijah took the child to his room and prayed to God for his life to return. God heard Elijah's prayer, and the boy was restored to life.
The widow feared that Elijah's presence as a man of God had brought her past sins to light, leading to the death of her son as a form of divine judgment.
The brook Cherith served as a place of refuge and testing for Elijah where he had to rely entirely on God for food and water until the drought caused the stream to dry up.
Study Note
The location of Zarephath was in Sidonian territory, the homeland of Queen Jezebel, indicating that God's power and provision extended even into regions dominated by Baal worship.
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