1 Kings 18:15
in 1 Kings 18Then Elijah said, “As surely as the LORD of Hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will present myself to Ahab today.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Elijah said, As Jehovah of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself unto him to-day.
KJV
And Elijah said, As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely shew myself unto him to day.
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This verse in 1 Kings 18
Commentary
4 notes on this verseElijah swears by the Lord of hosts, who has all power in his hands, and is therefore able to protect his servants against all the powers of hell and earth. (5.) Notice is hereby soon brought to Ahab that Elijah had sent him a challenge to meet him immediately at such a place, and Ahab accepts the challenge: He went to meet Elijah,
This site's exposition
As surely as the LORD of Hosts lives
on 1 Kings 18:15-16
Elijah swears by the title that entered Scripture at 1 Sam 1:3 and adds the formula that opened his ministry, before whom I stand. The prophet's standing is before the LORD of armies, not before Ahab, which is why he can promise to show himself to the king.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And Elijah said, as the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand,.... In whose presence he was, and whose prophet and minister he was; he takes this oath, to assure Obadiah that he would certainly be upon the spot, or to be found, and not expose him to any danger: I will surely show myself unto him today; he was determined at all events to present himself to him that day.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Art thou he that troubleth Israel--A violent altercation took place. Ahab thought to awe him into submission, but the prophet boldly and undisguisedly told the king that the national calamity was traceable chiefly to his own and his family's patronage and practice of idolatry. But, while rebuking the sins, Elijah paid all due respect to the high rank of the offender.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵֽלִיָּ֔הוּ | ʾeliyahu | Elijah | H452 → | 71 times |
| חַ֚י | chai | [by] [the] life | H2416 → | 498 times |
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | of Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| צְבָא֔וֹת | tzevaot | of hosts | H6635 → | 485 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | whom | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עָמַ֖דְתִּי | ʾamadti | I stand | H5975 → | 521 times |
| לְפָנָ֑יו | lefanav | <to> before him | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הַיּ֖וֹם | haiyom | this day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| אֵרָאֶ֥ה | ʾeraeh | I will present myself | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| אֵלָֽיו׃ | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙and he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֵֽלִיָּ֔הוּElijah
ʾeliyahuH452 →71 times
חַ֚י[by] [the] life
chaiH2416 →498 times
יְהוָ֣הof Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
צְבָא֔וֹתof hosts
tzevaotH6635 →485 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhom
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
עָמַ֖דְתִּיI stand
ʾamadtiH5975 →521 times
לְפָנָ֑יו<to> before him
lefanavH6440 →2123 times
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
הַיּ֖וֹםthis day
haiyomH3117 →2304 times
אֵרָאֶ֥הI will present myself
ʾeraehH7200 →1300 times
אֵלָֽיו׃to him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Kings 17:1Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was among the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As surely as the LORD lives—the God of Israel before whom I stand—there will be neither dew nor rain in…
it leads to
- Luke 4:25–26
But I tell you truthfully that there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and great famine swept over all…
- James 5:17
Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.
- Luke 1:17
And he will go on before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to…
- 1 Kings 22:14
But Micaiah said, “As surely as the LORD lives, I will speak whatever the LORD tells me.”
- 2 Kings 3:14
Then Elisha said, “As surely as the LORD of Hosts lives, before whom I stand, were it not for my regard for the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at…
- Luke 4:25–26
Through
Luke 1:19“I am Gabriel,” replied the angel. “I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.
it leads to
- Luke 1:26
In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,
- Matthew 18:10
See that you do not look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father in heaven.
- Daniel 8:16
And I heard the voice of a man calling from between the banks of the Ulai: “Gabriel, explain the vision to this man.”
- Luke 1:26
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 1 Kings
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonDivided kingdomElijahThe Tishbite who shut heaven for three years and a half, called down fire on Carmel, heard the still small voice at Horeb, and wen…
- PersonDivided kingdomAhabSeventh king of the northern kingdom, son of Omri, who "did evil above all that were before him"; Elijah's chief antagonist, conde…
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.