1 Kings 17:1

_AND ELIJAH THE TISHBITE, WHO WAS OF THE INHABITANTS OF GILEAD, SAID UNTO AHAB, AS THE LORD GOD OF ISRAEL LIVETH, BEFORE WHOM I STAND, THERE SHALL NOT BE DEW NOR RAIN THESE YEARS, BUT ACCORDING TO MY WORD._ Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead х_ 'EELIYAAHUW_ (H452) _ HA-TISHBIY_ (H8664) _ MITOSHAABEEY_ (H8453) _ GIL`AAD_ (H1568) The third word may be rendered either from the present Hebrew text, as in the King James Version, or, by a slight change of punctuation, Elijah the Tishbite, from Tisbi of Gilead: so also the Septuagint renders it: Eeliou ho profeetees ho ek Thesboon tees Galaad]. The site of this place has not yet been discovered; but if the latter meaning of the words be adopted, it conclusively settles two points: (1) That This

1-7 God wonderfully suits men to the work he designs them for. The times were fit for an Elijah; an Elijah was fit for them. The Spirit of the Lord knows how to fit men for the occasions. Elijah let Ahab know that God was displeased with the idolaters, and would chastise them by the want of rain, which it was not in the power of the gods they served to bestow. Elijah was commanded to hide himself. If Providence calls us to solitude and retirement, it becomes us to go: when we cannot be useful, we must be patient; and when we cannot work for God, we must sit still quietly for him. The ravens were appointed to bring him meat, and did so. Let those who have but from hand to mouth, learn to live upon Providence, and trust it for the bread of the day, in the day. God could have sent angels to minister to him; but he chose to show that he can serve his own purposes by the meanest creatures, a...

CHAPTER XVII _Elijah's message to Ahab concerning the three years' drought_, 1. _He is commanded to go to the brook Cherith; where he is fed by_ _ravens_, 2-7. _He afterwards goes to a widow's house at Zarephath, and_ _miraculously multiplies her meal and oil_, 8-16. _Her son dies, and Elijah restores him to life_, 17-24. NOTES ON CHAP. XVII Verse 1 Kings 17:1. _ELIJAH THE TISHBITE_] The history of this great man is introduced very abruptly; his origin is enveloped in perfect obscurity. He is here said to be a _Tishbite_. Tishbeh, says Calmet, is a cit

The name Elijah means “Yahweh is my God.” It is expressive of the truth which his whole life preached. The two words rendered “Tishbite” and “inhabitant” are in the original (setting aside the vowel points) “exactly alike.” The meaning consequently must either be “Elijah the stranger, of the strangers of Gilead,” or (more probably) “Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbi of Gilead.” Of Tishbi in Gilead there is no further trace in Scripture; it is to be distinguished from another Tishbi in Galilee. In forming to ourselves a conception of the great Israelite prophet, we must always bear in mind that the wild and mountainous Gilead, which bordered on Arabia, and was half Arab in customs, was the country wherein he grew up. His abrupt appearance may be compared with the similar appearances of Ahijah 1 Kings 1

EXPOSITION ELIJAH AND THE GREAT DROUGHT.—The picture which the historian has just drawn of the shameless idolatry and the gross degeneracy of the earlier part of Ahab's reign forms a fit prelude to an account of the ministry of the great prophet Elijah, which occupies this and several succeeding chapters; for the two stand together in the closest connexion. It was only the unprecedented corruption of that age which necessitated such a mission, and a mission armed with such credentials as his. It will be obvious to the most cursory reader that the narratives comprised in the remaining portion of this book and the earlier part of 2 Kings are of a very different character from those which have so far been before us. The ministry of Elijah and Elisha alike is little more than a series of miracles. Of their words comparatively few are recorded; we hear of little but the signs and w

AND ELIJAH THE TISHBITE, [WHO] WAS OF THE INHABITANTS OF GILEAD,.... Which belonged partly to the Reubenites and Gadites, and partly to the half-tribe of Manasseh on the other side Jordan, where this prophet dwelt; but why he is called the Tishbite is not easy to say; what Kimchi observes seems right, that he was at first of a city called Toshab, and afterward's dwelt at Gilead; which city perhaps is the same with Thisbe, in the tribe of Naphtali, the native place of Tobit, "Who in the time of Enemessar king of the Assyrians was led captive out of Thisbe, which is at the right hand of that city, which is called properly Nephthali in Galilee above Aser.'' (Tobit 1:2) and, if so, is an instance of a prophet, even the prince of prophets, as Abarbinel calls him, coming out of Galilee, contrary to the suggestions of the Jews, John 7:52. R. Elias Levita l observes, that after th

ELIJAH Hebrew, "Elijahu," (Luke 1:17); (Luke 4:25) called Elias. AHAB It was a small thing for a man whose life was passed in Jehovah's presence to stand before Ahab....

IV. THE PROPHET ELIJAH AND KING AHAB 1. Elijah's Prediction and Miracles CHAPTER 17 _ 1. Elijah's message to Ahab (1 Kings 17:1)_ 2. At the brook Cherith (1 Kings 17:2) 3. With the widow of Zarephath (1 Kings 17:8) 4. The widow's son restored to life (1 Kings 17:17) Upon this scene of complete departure of God, when Ahab and his heathen wife worshipped Baal and all the vileness connected with that cult flourished in Israel, there appeared suddenly one of the greatest of God's prophets, Elijah (my God is Jehovah) the Tishbite. “A grander figure never stood out even against the Old Te

ELIJAH IS FED BY RAVENS, AND RAISES THE WIDOW'S SON. Elijah appeared suddenly: we hear nothing of his birth or parentage. He simply announced to Ahab, in the name of Yahweh, before whom I stand (_cf._ Jeremiah 35:19), that there should be no rain for three years. Elijah is described as one of the sojourners of Gilead. Probably the LXX is correct in saying that he came from Tishbe (_mg.),_ said to be in Gilead to distinguish it from another Tishbe in Galilee (Tob_1:2). He then retired (1 Kings 17:3) to the brook Cherith, E. of Jordan, where he was fed by ravens. In the valley of the Jordan was the rock of Oreb the raven (Judges 7:25;...

ELIJAH. First mention. GOD (_El_) is JAH (or Jehovah). See App-4. TISHBITE. sojourner. Probably. priest. INHABITANTS. sojourners. BEFORE, &C. Probably. priest. See note above. DEW. night-mist. Compare Deuteronomy 32:2; 2 Samuel 1:21.Job 38:28. THESE YEARS (not three years). No definite period stated. "Years" is plural, not dual. In Luke 4:25 and James 5:17. "three years and six months". These six months must be reckoned before the three years, not added to the end because of "the third year...