1 Kings 18:5
in 1 Kings 18Then Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go throughout the land to every spring and every valley. Perhaps we will find grass to keep the horses and mules alive so that we will not have to destroy any livestock.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go through the land, unto all the fountains of water, and unto all the brooks: peradventure we may find grass and save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts.
KJV
And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go into the land, unto all fountains of water, and unto all brooks: peradventure we may find grass to save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts.
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This verse in 1 Kings 18
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Unto all fountains of water and unto all brooks - Rather, “to all springs of water and to all torrent-courses.” The former are the perennial streams; the latter are the torrent-courses which become dry in an ordinary summer. All the beasts - Rather, some, or, “a portion of our beasts.”
This site's exposition
Obadiah, which was the governor of his house
on 1 Kings 18:3-6
Inside Ahab's own palace stands a man who fears the LORD greatly and has a hundred prophets hidden in two caves on bread and water, fed under Jezebel's nose. The narrator sets the king's errand beside it without comment: Ahab divides the land with his steward to hunt grass for the horses, a kingdom's ruler searching fountains for fodder and not for the God who shut them. Obadiah's caves answer Elijah's later claim to be alone before Elijah ever makes it.
This site's exposition
to every spring and every valley
Albert Barnes separates the two sources of water: the springs flow all year, and the valleys are stream beds that run dry in an ordinary summer. Ahab hopes to keep part of the livestock alive. Matthew Henry notes that this king kept a faithful servant of the LORD in charge of his palace.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Observe again and see how the Lord orders Elijah to appear before Ahab exactly on the day when [the king] had taken up the heavy burden of searching for food to feed the horses and the mules of his house. This was part of the …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Obadiah would not have accepted the place if he could not have had it without bowing the knee to Baal, nor was Ahab so impolitic as to exclude those from offices that were fit to serve him, merely because they would not join with him in his devotions. That man that is true to his God will be faithful to his prince.
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
And Ahab said unto Obadiah, go into the land, unto all fountains of water, and unto all brooks,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Unto all fountains of water - All marshy or well-watered districts, where grass was most likely to be preserved.
The words behind it
22 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אַחְאָב֙ | ʾachav | Ahab | H256 → | 92 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| עֹ֣בַדְיָ֔הוּ | ʾoadyahu | Obadiah | H5662 → | 20 times |
| לֵ֤ךְ | lekh | go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| בָּאָ֙רֶץ֙ | baaretz | in the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מַעְיְנֵ֣י | ma'yenei | [the] springs of | H4599 → | |
| הַמַּ֔יִם | hamayim | <the> water | H4325 → | 581 times |
| וְאֶ֖ל | veel | and to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַנְּחָלִ֑ים | hanechalim | the wadis | H5158 → | 141 times |
| אוּלַ֣י׀ | ʾulai | perhaps | H194 → | 45 times |
| נִמְצָ֣א | nimtza' | we will find | H4672 → | 455 times |
| חָצִ֗יר | chatzir | grass | H2682 → | |
| וּנְחַיֶּה֙ | unechaiyeh | so we may preserve alive | H2421 → | 282 times |
| ס֣וּס | sus | horse | H5483 → | 140 times |
| וָפֶ֔רֶד | vafered | and mule | H6505 → | |
| וְל֥וֹא | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נַכְרִ֖ית | nakhrit | we will cut off | H3772 → | 288 times |
| מֵהַבְּהֵמָֽה׃ | mehabehemah | any of the livestock | H929 → |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אַחְאָב֙Ahab
ʾachavH256 →92 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
עֹ֣בַדְיָ֔הוּObadiah
ʾoadyahuH5662 →20 times
לֵ֤ךְgo
lekhH1980 →1546 times
בָּאָ֙רֶץ֙in the land
baaretzH776 →2504 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
מַעְיְנֵ֣י[the] springs of
ma'yeneiH4599 →
הַמַּ֔יִם<the> water
hamayimH4325 →581 times
וְאֶ֖לand to
veelH413 →5510 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַנְּחָלִ֑יםthe wadis
hanechalimH5158 →141 times
אוּלַ֣י׀perhaps
ʾulaiH194 →45 times
נִמְצָ֣אwe will find
nimtza'H4672 →455 times
חָצִ֗ירgrass
chatzirH2682 →
וּנְחַיֶּה֙so we may preserve alive
unechaiyehH2421 →282 times
ס֣וּסhorse
susH5483 →140 times
וָפֶ֔רֶדand mule
vaferedH6505 →
וְל֥וֹאand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
נַכְרִ֖יתwe will cut off
nakhritH3772 →288 times
מֵהַבְּהֵמָֽה׃any of the livestock
mehabehemahH929 →
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
Psalms 104:14He makes the grass grow for the livestock and provides crops for man to cultivate, bringing forth food from the earth:
it leads to
- Psalms 136:25
He gives food to every creature. His loving devotion endures forever.
- Psalms 147:8–9
who covers the sky with clouds, who prepares rain for the earth, who makes grass to grow on the hills.
- Job 28:5
Food may come from the earth, but from below it is transformed as by fire.
- Psalms 145:15–16
The eyes of all look to You, and You give them their food in season.
- Genesis 9:3
Everything that lives and moves will be food for you; just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you all things.
- Psalms 136:25
Through
Joel 2:22Do not be afraid, O beasts of the field, for the open pastures have turned green, the trees bear their fruit, and the fig tree and vine yield their best.
it leads to
- Zechariah 8:12
“For the seed will be prosperous, the vine will yield its fruit, the ground will yield its produce, and the skies will give their dew. To the remnant of this people I will give…
- Psalms 65:12
The pastures of the wilderness overflow; the hills are robed with joy.
- Zechariah 8:12
Through
Joel 1:18How the cattle groan! The herds wander in confusion because they have no pasture. Even the flocks of sheep are suffering.
it leads to
- Hosea 4:3
Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it will waste away with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air; even the fish of the sea disappear.
- Hosea 4:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies5
On this verse
About 1 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
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); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.