The Bible — World English Bible
1 Kings 17
In brief
1 Kings 17 introduces the prophet Elijah, who announces a drought in Israel to King Ahab. God first sends him to hide by the brook Cherith, where ravens feed him. When the brook dries up, God sends him to Zarephath, to a poor widow. Her flour and oil do not run out, then her son dies and Elijah intercedes. The child comes back to life. The chapter speaks of God's provision, obedience and trust in seasons of lack.
The chapter in 4 parts
1Elijah the Tishbite, who was one of the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As Yahweh, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.”
2Then Yahweh’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 Yahweh’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.
8Yahweh’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 Yahweh your God lives, I don’t have a cake, but 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 Yahweh, 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 Yahweh sends rain on the earth.’ ”
15She went and did according to the saying of Elijah; and she, and he, and her house, ate many days.
16The jar of meal didn’t run out, and the jar of oil didn’t fail, according to Yahweh’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 Yahweh, and said, “Yahweh 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 Yahweh, and said, “Yahweh my God, please let this child’s soul come into him again.”
22Yahweh 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 Yahweh’s word in your mouth is truth.”
Key verses
Elijah the Tishbite, who was one of the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As Yahweh, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.”
Elijah speaks with confidence in the name of the living God. This declaration opens his ministry and stands against the worship of Baal that Ahab and Jezebel supported.
“Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to sustain you.”
God says he has already prepared the provision at Zarephath before Elijah arrives. The divine word comes before the encounter, and Elijah is called to get up and go.
Elijah 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. For Yahweh, 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 Yahweh sends rain on the earth.’ ”
Elijah asks the widow to give first, then announces that the flour and oil will not run out. The promise here targets a specific situation of famine, not a rule for getting rich.
Yahweh listened to the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.
God listens to Elijah's prayer and the child is given back his life. The chapter ends with a sign that the widow receives as confirmation of the word of God.
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Frequently asked questions about 1 Kings 17
Why did God send Elijah to the brook Cherith?
God sends Elijah to Cherith to protect him from Ahab after the announcement of the drought and to provide for his needs: he drinks from the brook and ravens bring him bread and meat. For many preachers, it is also a time of training in obscurity, before the great confrontations.
What happens when the brook Cherith dries up?
Verse 7 says the brook dried up because there was no rain. God does not abandon Elijah: he gives him a new word and directs him to Zarephath. Many see here a reminder that God's provisions are tied to seasons, and that setting out is part of obedience.
What do the widow of Zarephath's flour and oil represent?
The widow has only a handful of flour and a little oil, enough for a last meal. Elijah asks her to make him a small cake first, with the promise that the jar and the jug will not be empty until rain returns. This shows the trust required, for a specific situation, and not a general promise of prosperity.
What does 1 Kings 17 say about the raising of the widow's son?
The widow's son dies, and she fears that Elijah's presence is tied to her sin. Elijah takes the child from her, prays to the Lord earnestly and the Lord gives him back his life. It is the first account of a resurrection in the Bible. The widow concludes that the word of the Lord in Elijah's mouth is truth.
Articles quoting 1 Kings 17
World English Bible translation — public domain.