1 Kings 18:17
in 1 Kings 18When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Is it thou, thou troubler of Israel?
KJV
And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?
⋯
This verse in 1 Kings 18
Commentary
8 notes on this verse"When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, "Is it you, you troubler of Israel?" He answered, "I have not troubled Israel; but you have, and your father's house." "It is you and your father Omri who ruined this people, because through your abominable customs …
This site's exposition
he that troubleth Israel
on 1 Kings 18:17-18
Ahab's greeting hands Elijah the vocabulary of Achan, the troubler whose sin at Jericho cost Israel a battle, and Elijah hands it back: I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father's house. The commentators note the word is the same root the Achan story turns on, so the king is accusing the prophet of the very office the king holds. The charge sheet is specific, forsaken the commandments and followed Baalim, and the contest that follows is its trial.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
A commentator
John ChrysostomON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 18.4 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
Were Elijah and John then lacking in boldness? Did not the one reprove Ahab, and the other Herod? The latter said, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother Philip's wife." And Elijah said to Ahab with boldness: "It is not I that trouble Israel, but you and your father's house." You see that this poverty especially produces boldness? For while the rich person is a slave, being subject and in the power of every one wishing to do him hurt, one who has nothing fears no confiscation or fine. So, if poverty had made people to lack in boldness, Christ would not have sent his disciples with poverty to a work requiring great boldness.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
And it came to pass when Ahab saw Elijah,.... As soon as he came up to him, and knew who he was; Abarbinel thinks, because his hair was grown so long that Ahab did not know him certainly, and therefore put the following question: that Ahab said unto him, art thou he that troubleth Israel? by opposing the religion of Baal, which prevailed among them; but chiefly rain being withheld from them according to his word, and at his prayer.
But it was utterly false concerning Elijah; so far was he from being an enemy to Israel's welfare that he as the stay of it, the chariots and horsemen of Israel. Note, It has been the lot of the best and most useful men to be called and counted the troublers of the land, and to be run down as public grievances. Even Christ and his apostles were thus misrepresented, Acts xvii.
His interview with all Israel upon Mount Carmel, in order to a public trial of titles between the Lord and Baal; a most distinguished solemnity it was, in which, 1.
Elijah first surrendered, or rather discovered, himself to Obadiah. He knew, by the Spirit, where to meet him, and we are here told what passed between them.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Art thou he ... - Meaning, “Can it possibly be that thou dost venture to present thyself before me, thou that troublest Israel by means of this terrible drought?” The charge of “troubling” had never before been brought against anyone but Achan (marginal reference “e”); it was one which must have called to the prophet’s recollection Achan’s miserable fate.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֛י | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כִּרְא֥וֹת | kirot | when saw | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| אַחְאָ֖ב | ʾachav | Ahab | H256 → | 92 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֵלִיָּ֑הוּ | ʾeliyahu | Elijah | H452 → | 71 times |
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אַחְאָב֙ | ʾachav | Ahab | H256 → | 92 times |
| אֵלָ֔יו | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַאַתָּ֥ה | haatah | ¿ you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| זֶ֖ה | zeh | [is] this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| עֹכֵ֥ר | ʾokher | O [one who] troubles | H5916 → | |
| יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
וַיְהִ֛יand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
כִּרְא֥וֹתwhen saw
kirotH7200 →1300 times
אַחְאָ֖בAhab
ʾachavH256 →92 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אֵלִיָּ֑הוּElijah
ʾeliyahuH452 →71 times
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אַחְאָב֙Ahab
ʾachavH256 →92 times
אֵלָ֔יוto him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
הַאַתָּ֥ה¿ you
haatahH859 →1094 times
זֶ֖ה[is] this
zehH2088 →1180 times
עֹכֵ֥רO [one who] troubles
ʾokherH5916 →
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 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
Acts 24:5We have found this man to be a pestilence, stirring up dissension among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes,
it leads to
- Acts 28:22
But we consider your views worth hearing, because we know that people everywhere are speaking against this sect.”
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Acts 24:14
I do confess to you, however, that I worship the God of our fathers according to the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that is laid down by the Law and…
- Acts 28:22
Through
Acts 17:6But when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have now come here,
it leads to
- Acts 24:5
We have found this man to be a pestilence, stirring up dissension among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes,
- Acts 16:19–21
When the girl’s owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities in the marketplace.
- Luke 23:5
But they kept insisting, “He stirs up the people all over Judea with His teaching. He began in Galilee and has come all the way here.”
- Acts 24:5
Through
Joshua 7:25“Why have you brought this trouble upon us?” said Joshua. “Today the LORD will bring trouble upon you!” And all Israel stoned him to death. Then they stoned the others and burned their bodies.
it leads to
- Joshua 6:18
But keep away from the things devoted to destruction, lest you yourself be set apart for destruction. If you take any of these, you will set apart the camp of Israel for destruction and…
- Joshua 6:18
Through
1 Kings 21:20When Elijah arrived, Ahab said to him, “So you have found me out, my enemy.” He replied, “I have found you out because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of…
it leads to
- Romans 7:14
We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.
- 2 Kings 17:17
They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire and practiced divination and soothsaying. They devoted themselves to doing evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.
- Romans 7:14
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies5
On this verse
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 Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS 18:8; John Chrysostom, ON THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 18.4; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.