1 Kings 18:6
in 1 Kings 18So they divided the land to explore. Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went the other way by himself.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it: Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.
KJV
So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it: Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.
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This verse in 1 Kings 18
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace
on 1 Kings 18:3-6
Inside the palace of Ahab, “Obadiah greatly feared the LORD”, and he has hidden a hundred prophets from Jezebel's slaughter, “fifty men per cave”. Ahab divides the land to search every spring and valley for grass to keep the horses alive. Obadiah's caves answer Elijah's later claim to be alone.
This site's exposition
So they divided the land
Ahab and his steward search the land in person. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read the famine of verse 2 as pressing hard on the capital itself. The search puts Obadiah alone on the road where Elijah meets him at verse 7.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The land of Judah lay close to the land of Israel, yet we find no complaint there of the want of rain; for Judah yet ruled with God, and was faithful with the saints and prophets ( Hos. xi.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
So they divided the land between them, to pass through it,.... And one took one part, and the other the other part: Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself; Ahab not caring to trust any but Obadiah, who he knew was a faithful man, lest they should be bribed by those that had grass not to discover it.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַֽיְחַלְּק֥וּ | vaychaleku | and they divided | H2505 → | |
| לָהֶ֛ם | lahem | to themselves | ||
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָאָ֖רֶץ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| לַֽעֲבָר־ | laavor- | to pass | H5674 → | 556 times |
| בָּ֑הּ | bah | in it | ||
| אַחְאָ֞ב | ʾachav | Ahab | H256 → | 92 times |
| הָלַ֨ךְ | halakh | he went | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| בְּדֶ֤רֶךְ | bederekh | in a direction | H1870 → | 707 times |
| אֶחָד֙ | ʾechad | one | H259 → | 971 times |
| לְבַדּ֔וֹ | levado | to only him | H905 → | 200 times |
| וְעֹֽבַדְיָ֛הוּ | veoadyahu | and Obadiah | H5662 → | 20 times |
| הָלַ֥ךְ | halakh | he went | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| בְּדֶרֶךְ־ | bederekh- | in a direction | H1870 → | 707 times |
| אֶחָ֖ד | ʾechad | one | H259 → | 971 times |
| לְבַדּֽוֹ׃ | levado | to only him | H905 → | 200 times |
וַֽיְחַלְּק֥וּand they divided
vaychalekuH2505 →
לָהֶ֛םto themselves
lahem
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָאָ֖רֶץthe land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
לַֽעֲבָר־to pass
laavor-H5674 →556 times
בָּ֑הּin it
bah
אַחְאָ֞בAhab
ʾachavH256 →92 times
הָלַ֨ךְhe went
halakhH1980 →1546 times
בְּדֶ֤רֶךְin a direction
bederekhH1870 →707 times
אֶחָד֙one
ʾechadH259 →971 times
לְבַדּ֔וֹto only him
levadoH905 →200 times
וְעֹֽבַדְיָ֛הוּand Obadiah
veoadyahuH5662 →20 times
הָלַ֥ךְhe went
halakhH1980 →1546 times
בְּדֶרֶךְ־in a direction
bederekh-H1870 →707 times
אֶחָ֖דone
ʾechadH259 →971 times
לְבַדּֽוֹ׃to only him
levadoH905 →200 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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
Jeremiah 14:3The nobles send their servants for water; they go to the cisterns, but find no water; their jars return empty. They are ashamed and humiliated; they cover their heads.
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 15:30
But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went up. His head was covered, and he was walking barefoot. And all the people with him covered their heads and went up,…
- Psalms 40:14
May those who seek my life be ashamed and confounded; may those who wish me harm be repelled and humiliated.
- Jeremiah 2:13
“For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living water, and they have dug their own cisterns—broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
- 2 Kings 18:31
Do not listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then every one of you will eat from his own vine…
- Amos 4:8
People staggered from city to city for water to drink, but they were not satisfied; yet you did not return to Me,” declares the LORD.
- 2 Samuel 15:30
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 1 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on F. W. Farrar, The First Book of Kings (Expositor's Bible); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.