1 Kings 17:1
in 1 Kings 17Now 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 these years except at my word!”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the sojourners of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As Jehovah, the God of Israel, liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.
KJV
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.
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This verse in 1 Kings 17
Commentary
11 notes on this verseGreat is the virtue of fasting. Indeed, its military appearance is so beautiful that it delightfully attracts and elevates humans to heaven for fasting and for Christ: so powerful that it raises men up to heaven. And to use more human than divine examples, from the fasting mouth of Elijah a voice was uttered that closed heaven to the sacrilegious people of the Jews. For when Ahab, the king, had set up an altar to the idol, according to the words of the prophet, there was no rain for three years and six months upon the earth.
This site's exposition
As the Lord God of Israel liveth
on 1 Kings 17:1-2
Elijah enters Scripture with no genealogy beyond a place name, the Tishbite of the inhabitants of Gilead, unlike the fuller introductions Kings gives its other prophets. His oath, before whom I stand, is the standing formula he repeats to Obadiah at 18:15, and it grounds his authority to shut heaven in a single sentence rather than in any king's sending. Kings measures the drought as these years and the third year at 18:1; Luke 4:25 and James 5:17 give the New Testament's own count, three years and six months.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
Exactly at the time when the prophet and father of the prophets Elijah appeared, the rebellion of Ahab and his wife Jezebel had increased to such an extent that they not only trampled the law and fear of God underfoot, nor were content to promote …
Elijah was sent to prevent Ahab's insane rage and to show with words and actions of power and vigor the truth of the curses that the fathers had proclaimed against the transgres sors of the law of God, as they were not vain threats.… Moses …
A commentator
Philoxenus of Mabbug13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 2 -- On Faith · Written before 523.
proposed
Faith is a command, and its command ruleth; it prayeth with confidence, and according to its confidence its prayer is straightway perfected into works. There are instances in which faith doth not even offer up prayer and then give a command concerning something; but it …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
There should be neither dew nor rain for some years, none but according to my word, that is, "Expect none till you hear from me again." The apostle teaches us to understand this, not only of the word of prophecy, but the word of prayer, which turned the key of the clouds, James
And rough spirits are called to rough services. His name signifies, my God Jehovah is he: he that sends me, and will own me, and bear me out. Said to Ahab - Having doubtless admonished him of his sin and danger before; now upon his obstinacy in his wicked courses, he proceeds to declare, and execute the judgment of God upon him.
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
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.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The impending calamity was in answer to his earnest prayer, and a chastisement intended for the spiritual revival of Israel. Drought was the threatened punishment of national idolatry (De 11:16, 17;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
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 city beyond Jordan, in the tribe of Gad, and in the land of Gilead. Who was his father, or from what tribe he sprang, is not intimated; he seems to have been the prophet of Israel peculiarly, as we never find him prophesying in Judah. A number of apocryphal writers have trifled at large about his parentage, miraculous birth, of his continual celibacy, his academy of the prophets, etc., etc., all equally worthy of credit. One opinion, which at first view appears strange, bears more resemblance to truth than any of the above, viz., that he had no earthly parentage known to any man; that he was an angel of God, united for a time to a human body, in order to call men back to perfect purity, both in doctrine and manners, from which they had totally swerved. His Hebrew name, which we have corrupted into Elijah and Elias, is אליהו Alihu, or, according to the vowel points, Eliyahu; and signifies he is my God. Does this give countenance to the supposition that this great personage was a manifestation in the flesh of the Supreme Being? He could not be the Messiah; for we find him with Moses on the mount of transfiguration with Christ. The conjecture that he was an angel seems countenanced by the manner of his departure from this world; yet, in Jas 5:17, he is said to be a man ὁμοιοπαθης, of like passions, or rather with real human propensities: this, however, is irreconcilable with the conjecture. There shall not be dew nor rain these years - In order to remove the abruptness of this address, R. S. Jarchi dreams thus: - “Elijah and Ahab went to comfort Hiel in his grief, concerning his sons. […]
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Eliyahu haTishbi said. From a land (Other texts: The name of the city) named Toshav.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
24 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּאמֶר֩ | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵלִיָּ֨הוּ | ʾeliyahu | Elijah | H452 → | 71 times |
| הַתִּשְׁבִּ֜י | hatishbi | the Tishbite | H8664 → | 6 times |
| מִתֹּשָׁבֵ֣י | mitoshavei | one of [the] resident aliens of | H8453 → | |
| גִלְעָד֮ | gilad | Gilead | H1568 → | 134 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אַחְאָב֒ | ʾachav | Ahab | H256 → | 92 times |
| חַי־ | chai- | [by] [the] life | H2416 → | 498 times |
| יְהוָ֞ה | yahweh | of Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֤י | ʾelohei | [the] God of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | whom | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עָמַ֣דְתִּי | ʾamadti | I stand | H5975 → | 521 times |
| לְפָנָ֔יו | lefanav | <to> before him | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| יִהְיֶ֛ה | yihyeh | it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| הַשָּׁנִ֥ים | hashanim | the years | H8141 → | 877 times |
| הָאֵ֖לֶּה | haeleh | <the> these | H428 → | 746 times |
| טַ֣ל | tal | dew | H2919 → | |
| וּמָטָ֑ר | umatar | and rain | H4306 → | 38 times |
| כִּ֖י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | except | H518 → | 1069 times |
| לְפִ֥י | lefi | to [the] mouth of | H6310 → | 498 times |
| דְבָרִֽי׃ ס | devari | word my | H1697 → | 1440 times |
וַיֹּאמֶר֩and he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֵלִיָּ֨הוּElijah
ʾeliyahuH452 →71 times
הַתִּשְׁבִּ֜יthe Tishbite
hatishbiH8664 →6 times
מִתֹּשָׁבֵ֣יone of [the] resident aliens of
mitoshaveiH8453 →
גִלְעָד֮Gilead
giladH1568 →134 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אַחְאָב֒Ahab
ʾachavH256 →92 times
חַי־[by] [the] life
chai-H2416 →498 times
יְהוָ֞הof Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֵ֤י[the] God of
ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times
יִשְׂרָאֵל֙Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhom
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
עָמַ֣דְתִּיI stand
ʾamadtiH5975 →521 times
לְפָנָ֔יו<to> before him
lefanavH6440 →2123 times
אִם־if
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
יִהְיֶ֛הit will be
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
הַשָּׁנִ֥יםthe years
hashanimH8141 →877 times
הָאֵ֖לֶּה<the> these
haelehH428 →746 times
טַ֣לdew
talH2919 →
וּמָטָ֑רand rain
umatarH4306 →38 times
כִּ֖יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
אִם־except
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
לְפִ֥יto [the] mouth of
lefiH6310 →498 times
דְבָרִֽי׃ סword my
devariH1697 →1440 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
Luke 1:17And 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…
it leads to
- Malachi 4:5–6
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD.
- Matthew 11:14
And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come.
- Luke 1:76
And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for Him,
- John 1:21–30
“Then who are you?” they inquired. “Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.”
- Matthew 17:11–12
Jesus replied, “Elijah does indeed come, and he will restore all things.
- Malachi 4:5–6
Through
James 5:17Elijah 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.
it leads to
- Luke 4:25
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…
- 1 Kings 18:1
After a long time, in the third year of the drought, the word of the LORD came to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the face of…
- Revelation 11:6
These witnesses have power to shut the sky so that no rain will fall during the days of their prophecy, and power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with…
- Luke 4:25
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
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 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, On Elijah and Fasting, Chapter 2, 2-3; Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS 17:1; 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; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Philoxenus of Mabbug, 13 Ascetic Discourses, Discourse 2 -- On Faith.