1 Kings 18:8
in 1 Kings 18“It is I,” he answered. “Go tell your master, ‘Elijah is here!’”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he answered him, It is I: go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here.
KJV
And he answered him, I am: go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here.
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This verse in 1 Kings 18
Commentary
5 notes on this verseAnd he answered him, I am,.... He did not desire to be concealed, his orders were to show and make himself known to Ahab, and Obadiah was one of his domestic servants: go tell thy lord, behold, Elijah is here; in such a place, ready to face him at any time. Elijah, by calling Ahab the lord of Obadiah, as he tacitly reproves him for calling him lord, shows reverence to Ahab as a king, and yet that he was fearless of him, as he was the prophet and ambassador of the Lord of hosts to him.
This site's exposition
Art thou that my lord Elijah
on 1 Kings 18:7-14
Obadiah's long protest is the chapter's measure of Elijah's reputation: no nation or kingdom where Ahab has not sought him, oaths taken from kings that he was not there, and the standing assumption that the Spirit of the LORD carries the prophet where no messenger can follow. A man who has spent three years hiding prophets by fifty is still afraid that this errand will cost his head. The fear is reasonable, and the text lets it speak at full length before Elijah answers it.
This site's exposition
Go tell your master
Obadiah has just called Elijah lord, and Elijah answers by naming Ahab as the master of Obadiah. John Gill reads the reply as a quiet correction of Obadiah and a mark of respect for the office of the king. Elijah shows no fear of Ahab.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
(3.) Obadiah begs to be excused from carrying this message to Ahab, for it might prove as much as his life was worth. [1.] He tells Elijah what great search Ahab had made for him and how much his heart was upon it to find him out,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Art thou he that troubleth Israel--A violent altercation took place. Ahab thought to awe him into submission, but the prophet boldly and undisguisedly told the king that the national calamity was traceable chiefly to his own and his family's patronage and practice of idolatry. But, while rebuking the sins, Elijah paid all due respect to the high rank of the offender.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֥אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| ל֖וֹ | lo | to him | ||
| אָ֑נִי | ʾani | [it is] I | H589 → | 874 times |
| לֵ֛ךְ | lekh | go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| אֱמֹ֥ר | ʾemor | say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לַאדֹנֶ֖יךָ | ladoneikha | to master<s> your | H113 → | 333 times |
| הִנֵּ֥ה | hineh | here! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| אֵלִיָּֽהוּ׃ | ʾeliyahu | Elijah | H452 → | 71 times |
וַיֹּ֥אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
ל֖וֹto him
lo
אָ֑נִי[it is] I
ʾaniH589 →874 times
לֵ֛ךְgo
lekhH1980 →1546 times
אֱמֹ֥רsay
ʾemorH559 →5305 times
לַאדֹנֶ֖יךָto master<s> your
ladoneikhaH113 →333 times
הִנֵּ֥הhere!
hinehH2009 →843 times
אֵלִיָּֽהוּ׃Elijah
ʾeliyahuH452 →71 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
Romans 13:7Pay everyone what you owe him: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.
it leads to
- Luke 20:25
So Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
- 1 Peter 2:17–18
Treat everyone with high regard: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.
- Matthew 17:25
“Yes,” he answered. When Peter entered the house, Jesus preempted him. “What do you think, Simon?” He asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs and taxes: from their own sons,…
- Proverbs 24:21
My son, fear the LORD and the king, and do not associate with the rebellious.
- 1 Timothy 5:17
Elders who lead effectively are worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.
- Luke 20:25
Through
1 Kings 18:3and Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. (Now Obadiah greatly feared the LORD,
it leads to
- Nehemiah 7:2
Then I put my brother Hanani in charge of Jerusalem, along with Hananiah the commander of the fortress, because he was a faithful man who feared God more than most.
- 1 Kings 16:9
However, while Elah was in Tirzah getting drunk in the house of Arza the steward of his household there, Elah’s servant Zimri, the commander of half his chariots, conspired against him.
- Matthew 10:28
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
- Nehemiah 7:2
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 Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.