1 Kings 18:44
in 1 Kings 18On the seventh time the servant reported, “There is a cloud as small as a man’s hand rising from the sea.” And Elijah replied, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a cloud out of the sea, as small as a man’s hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Make ready thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not.
KJV
And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not.
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This verse in 1 Kings 18
Commentary
9 notes on this verse"Look, a little cloud no bigger than a person's hand is rising out of the sea." Before going up, Elijah prayed seven times. He did this, in the first place, in order to invite the people who were waiting for the rain, to meditate on …
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
After this blessed Elijah presented himself to the king, "went up to Mount Carmel and put his head between his knees," praying the Lord to send rain on the earth. "And he said to his servant, 'Look toward the sea.' " When the boy reported …
After this blessed Elijah presented himself to the king, "went up to Mount Carmel and put his head between his knees," praying the Lord to send rain on the earth. "And he said to his servant, 'Look toward the sea.' " When the boy reported that he saw nothing at all, he told him, "Go and look seven times." The seventh time he returned and said, " 'I see a little cloud rising out of the sea like a person's foot.' And suddenly the heavens grew dark, and there fell a great rain." For this reason, as we said, Elijah prefigured our Lord and Savior. Elijah prayed and offered sacrifice; Christ offered himself as a spotless sacrifice for the whole world. Elijah prayed for rain to come on the earth; Christ prayed that divine grace might come down into the hearts of humankind. When Elijah told his servant, "Go and look seven times," he signified the sevenfold grace of the Holy Spirit that was to be given to the church. When he declared that he saw a little cloud rising out of the sea, it prefigured the body of Christ, which was to be born in the sea of this world. Therefore, lest anyone doubt, he said that the cloud had the foot of a person who said, "Who do people say the Son of man is?" After three years and six months, rain came down from heaven at the prayer of Elijah, because at the coming of our Lord and Savior the rain of the word of God happily watered the whole world during the three years and six months in which he deigned to preach. Just as at the coming of Elijah all the priests of the idols were killed and destroyed, so at the advent of the true Elijah, our Lord Jesus Christ, the wicked observances of the pagans were destroyed.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
9 And he said, What have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me? 10 As the L ORD thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when they said, He is not there; he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:97%@v9-10
Great blessings often arise from small beginnings, and showers of plenty from a cloud of a span long. Let us therefore never despise the day of small things, but hope and wait for great things from it. This was not as a morning cloud, which passes away (though Israel's goodness was so), but one that produced a plentiful rain ( Ps. lxviii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And it came to pass at the seventh time that he said, behold there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand,....
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
There ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand. - ככף איש kechaph ish, like the hollow of a man’s hand. In the form of the hand bent, the concave side downmost. I have witnessed a resemblance of this kind at sea previously to a violent storm, a little cloud the size of a man’s hand first appearing, and this increasing in size and density every moment, till at last it covered the whole heavens, and then burst forth with incredible fury.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand--The clearness of the sky renders the smallest speck distinctly visible; and this is in Palestine the uniform precursor of rain. It rises higher and higher, and becomes larger and larger with astonishing celerity, till the whole heaven is black, and the cloud bursts in a deluge of rain.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
A little cloud ... - Sailors know full well that such a cloud on the far horizon is often the forerunner of a violent storm.
The words behind it
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַֽיְהִי֙ | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בַּשְּׁבִעִ֔ית | basheviit | at the seventh [time] | H7637 → | 98 times |
| וַיֹּ֗אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הִנֵּה־ | hineh- | there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| עָ֛ב | ʾav | a cloud | H5645 → | |
| קְטַנָּ֥ה | ketanah | small | H6996 → | 101 times |
| כְּכַף־ | kekhaf- | like [the] hand of | H3709 → | 192 times |
| אִ֖ישׁ | ʾish | a person | H376 → | 1663 times |
| עֹלָ֣ה | ʾolah | [is] coming up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| מִיָּ֑ם | miyam | from [the] sea | H3220 → | 396 times |
| וַיֹּ֗אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| עֲלֵ֨ה | ʾaleh | go up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| אֱמֹ֤ר | ʾemor | say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אַחְאָב֙ | ʾachav | Ahab | H256 → | 92 times |
| אֱסֹ֣ר | ʾesor | harness | H631 → | |
| וָרֵ֔ד | vared | and go down | H3381 → | 381 times |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יַעַצָרְכָ֖ה | yaatzarekhah | it will hold back you | H6113 → | 47 times |
| הַגָּֽשֶׁם׃ | hagashem | the rain | H1653 → | 35 times |
וַֽיְהִי֙and it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
בַּשְּׁבִעִ֔יתat the seventh [time]
basheviitH7637 →98 times
וַיֹּ֗אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
הִנֵּה־there!
hineh-H2009 →843 times
עָ֛בa cloud
ʾavH5645 →
קְטַנָּ֥הsmall
ketanahH6996 →101 times
כְּכַף־like [the] hand of
kekhaf-H3709 →192 times
אִ֖ישׁa person
ʾishH376 →1663 times
עֹלָ֣ה[is] coming up
ʾolahH5927 →890 times
מִיָּ֑םfrom [the] sea
miyamH3220 →396 times
וַיֹּ֗אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
עֲלֵ֨הgo up
ʾalehH5927 →890 times
אֱמֹ֤רsay
ʾemorH559 →5305 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אַחְאָב֙Ahab
ʾachavH256 →92 times
אֱסֹ֣רharness
ʾesorH631 →
וָרֵ֔דand go down
varedH3381 →381 times
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יַעַצָרְכָ֖הit will hold back you
yaatzarekhahH6113 →47 times
הַגָּֽשֶׁם׃the rain
hagashemH1653 →35 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
Job 8:7Though your beginnings were modest, your latter days will flourish.
it leads to
- Job 42:12–13
So the LORD blessed Job’s latter days more than his first. He owned 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.
- Matthew 13:31–32
He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man planted in his field.
- Proverbs 19:20
Listen to counsel and accept discipline, that you may be wise the rest of your days.
- Zechariah 4:10
For who has despised the day of small things? But these seven eyes of the LORD, which scan the whole earth, will rejoice when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.”
- Proverbs 4:18
The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday.
- Job 42:12–13
Through
Zechariah 4:10For who has despised the day of small things? But these seven eyes of the LORD, which scan the whole earth, will rejoice when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.”
it leads to
- Job 8:7
Though your beginnings were modest, your latter days will flourish.
- 1 Corinthians 1:28–29
He chose the lowly and despised things of the world, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are,
- 2 Chronicles 16:9
For the eyes of the LORD roam to and fro over all the earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are fully devoted to Him. You have acted foolishly in…
- Job 8:7
Where this verse is studied
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 Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, SERMON 124.5; Caesarius of Arles, Commentary (church-history corpus); Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS 18:44; 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.
