Skip to content
mannafest.faith
Read

1 Kings 18:1

in 1 Kings 18

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 the earth.”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And it came to pass after many days, that the word of Jehovah came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, Go, show thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.

KJV

And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.

⋯

This verse in 1 Kings 18

Commentary

6 notes on this verse

A commentator

Ephrem the Syrian

ON THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS 18:1 · Written before 373.

"After many days the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year of the drought, saying, 'Go, present yourself to Ahab; I will send rain on the earth.' " The Lord, by giving life back to the child, granted grace to Elijah. …

This site's exposition

in the third year

on 1 Kings 18:1-2

The drought that began with a sentence at 17:1 ends the same way: the word of the LORD comes, and rain is promised before any contest is proposed. Kings dates the word in the third year; Luke 4:25 and Jas 5:17 give the whole span as three years and six months, the New Testament's own reckoning of the closed heaven. Carmel is not a duel to see whether rain will come but a public settling of who sends it.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

And it came to pass after many days,....

The Nineteenth Century3 voices

The third year - i. e., in the third year of his sojourn with the widow. The whole period of drought was three years and a half Luk 4:25; Jas 5:17: of this, probably about one year was passed by Elijah in the torrent-course of Cherith, and two years and a half at Sarepta.

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

Go, show thyself unto Ahab--The king had remained obdurate and impenitent. Another opportunity was to be given him of repentance, and Elijah was sent in order to declare to him the cause of the national judgment, and to promise him, on condition of his removing it, the immediate blessing of rain.

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

After many days - in the third year - We learn from our Lord, Luk 4:25, that the drought which brought on the famine in Israel lasted three years and six months. St. James, Jas 5:17, gives it the same duration. Probably Elijah spent six months at the brook Cherith, and three years with the widow at Sarepta. I will send rain upon the earth - The word האדמה haadamah should be translated the ground or the land, as it is probable that this drought did not extend beyond the land of Judea.

The words behind it

20 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיְהִי֙and it was

    vayhiH1961 →3559 times

  • יָמִ֣יםdays

    yamimH3117 →2304 times

  • רַבִּ֔יםmany

    rabimH7227 →454 times

  • וּדְבַר־and [the] word of

    udevar-H1697 →1440 times

  • יְהוָ֗הYahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • הָיָה֙it came

    hayahH1961 →3559 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • אֵ֣לִיָּ֔הוּElijah

    ʾeliyahuH452 →71 times

  • בַּשָּׁנָ֥הin the year

    bashanahH8141 →877 times

  • הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֖ית<the> third

    hashelishitH7992 →107 times

  • לֵאמֹ֑ר<to> saying

    lemorH559 →5305 times

  • לֵ֚ךְgo

    lekhH1980 →1546 times

  • הֵרָאֵ֣הpresent yourself

    heraehH7200 →1300 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • אַחְאָ֔בAhab

    ʾachavH256 →92 times

  • וְאֶתְּנָ֥הso let me give

    veetenahH5414 →2011 times

  • מָטָ֖רrain

    matarH4306 →38 times

  • עַל־on

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • פְּנֵ֥י[the] surface of

    peneiH6440 →2123 times

  • הָאֲדָמָֽה׃the ground

    haadamahH127 →225 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

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.14 worksLuke 4:25But 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 the land.9 works1 Kings 18:41And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.”6 works1 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 these years except at my word!”5 worksDeuteronomy 28:12The LORD will open the heavens, His abundant storehouse, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations, but borrow from none.5 works1 Kings 18:15–40Then Elijah said, “As surely as the LORD of Hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will present myself to Ahab today.”4 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
1 Kings 18:2So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. The famine was severe in Samaria,3 worksPsalms 135:7He causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth. He generates the lightning with the rain and brings forth the wind from His storehouses.3 works1 Kings 8:36then may You hear from heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel, so that You may teach them the good way in which they should walk. May You send rain on the land that You gave Your people as an inheritance.3 worksJeremiah 14:22Can the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Do the skies alone send showers? Is this not by You, O LORD our God? So we put our hope in You, for You have done all these things.3 worksLeviticus 26:4I will give you rains in their season, and the land will yield its produce, and the trees of the field will bear their fruit.2 worksJoel 2:23Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God, for He has given you the autumn rains for your vindication. He sends you showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before.2 works2 Samuel 12:1Then the LORD sent Nathan to David, and when he arrived, he said, “There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor.2 works2 Kings 1:3But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are on your way to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?’2 worksActs 14:17Yet He has not left Himself without testimony to His goodness: He gives you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with food and gladness.”2 worksRevelation 11:6These 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 every kind of plague as often as they wish.1 works1 Kings 17:15So she went and did according to the word of Elijah, and there was food every day for Elijah and the woman and her household.1 worksIsaiah 5:6I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and thorns and briers will grow up. I will command the clouds that rain shall not fall on it.”1 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    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.

    it leads to

    • 1 Kings 17:1

      Now 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…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • 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…

  • Through

    Deuteronomy 28:12

    The LORD will open the heavens, His abundant storehouse, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations, but borrow…

    it leads to

    • Deuteronomy 15:6

      When the LORD your God blesses you as He has promised, you will lend to many nations but borrow from none; you will rule over many nations but be ruled by none.

    • Joel 2:23–24

      Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God, for He has given you the autumn rains for your vindication. He sends you showers, both autumn and spring rains, as…

    • Deuteronomy 11:14

      then I will provide rain for your land in season, the autumn and spring rains, that you may gather your grain, new wine, and oil.

    • Leviticus 26:4

      I will give you rains in their season, and the land will yield its produce, and the trees of the field will bear their fruit.

    • Deuteronomy 15:10

      Give generously to him, and do not let your heart be grieved when you do so. And because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything…

  • Through

    1 Kings 17:1

    Now 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

    • 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.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

Where this verse is studied

About 1 Kings

The Prophets of Baal Are Slaughtered — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
The Prophets of Baal Are Slaughtered — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
1 Kings: the study guide →Read 1 Kings 18 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS 18:1; 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 Keil, The Books of the Kings.

Read on in 1 Kings 18 →