1 Kings 19:18
in 1 Kings 19Nevertheless, I have reserved seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Yet will I leave me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.
KJV
Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.
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This verse in 1 Kings 19
Commentary
9 notes on this verseYet I have left me seven thousand in Israel,.... From perishing by the sword of either of them: all the knees which have not bowed to Baal; that is, had not worshipped him, which was signified by this gesture: and every mouth which hath not kissed him; either the image of Baal itself, or the hand, in reverence of him; which rites, one or other, or both, were used by his worshippers; See Gill on Hos 13:
This site's exposition
seven thousand in Israel
Against Elijah's I, even I only, the Lord names seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal nor kissed him, the bent knee and the kiss being the two gestures of Baal worship named together. Paul quotes this verse by name at Romans 11:4 as the pattern for a remnant according to grace in his own generation, an explicit New Testament use of the count. Clarke reads seven thousand as the language of completeness; Wesley allows either a literal figure or an indefinite way of saying many thousands, and both readings stand on the same verse.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Through these words it is clear that seven thousand people remained faithful to the true religion of the ancestors, while the others had turned away from it, even though at the time of Jeroboam, king of the ten tribes, it is written that 800,000 men …
[The apostle Paul], treating of those who belong to the circumcision, says, "Those who serve to the example and shadow of heavenly things." Now perhaps, through these illustrations, no doubt will be entertained regarding the five books of Moses by those who hold the writings of the apostle as divinely inspired.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
In times of the greatest degeneracy and apostasy God has always had, and will have, a remnant faithful to him, some that keep their integrity and do not go down the stream. The apostle mentions this answer of God to Elijah ( Rom. xi. 4 ) and applies it to his own day, when the Jews generally rejected the gospel.
Seven thousand - Either, definitely so many: or rather, indefinitely, for many thousands; the number of seven being often used for a great number. Kissed him - That is, all those who have not worshipped Baal, nor professed reverence or subjection to him: which idolaters did to their idols, by bowing the knee, and by kissing them.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Seven thousand in Israel - That is, many thousands; for seven is a number of perfection, as we have often seen: so, The barren has borne seven - has had a numerous off-spring; Gold seven times purified - purified till all the dross is perfectly separated from it. The court and multitudes of the people had gone after Baal; but perhaps the majority of the common people still worshipped in secret the God of their fathers.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
In the solitude of Sinai, God appeared to instruct him. "What doest thou here, Elijah?" was a searching question addressed to one who had been called to so arduous and urgent a mission as his.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Yet I have left me ... - Rather, as in the margin. “Seven thousand” faithful Israelites shall survive all the persecutions of Ahab and Jezebel, and carry down the worship of Yahweh to another generation. Elijah is mistaken in supposing that he only is left. The number is manifestly a “round” number, not an exact estimate. Perhaps it is, moreover, a mystical or symbolic number. Compare Rev 7:5-8. Of all the symbolic numbers used in Scripture, seven is the most common. Every mouth which hath not kissed him - Idolaters sometimes kissed the hand to the object of their worship Job 31:26-27; at other times they kissed the actual image (marginal reference).
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהִשְׁאַרְתִּ֥י | vehisharti | and I will leave | H7604 → | 133 times |
| בְיִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | veyisrael | among Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| שִׁבְעַ֣ת | shivat | seven | H7651 → | 394 times |
| אֲלָפִ֑ים | ʾalafim | thousand<s> | H505 → | 505 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַבִּרְכַּ֗יִם | habirkayim | the knees | H1290 → | 25 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֤ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| כָֽרְעוּ֙ | khareu | they have bowed down | H3766 → | |
| לַבַּ֔עַל | labaal | to <the> Baal | H1168 → | 82 times |
| וְכָ֨ל־ | vekhol | and every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַפֶּ֔ה | hapeh | <the> mouth | H6310 → | 498 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נָשַׁ֖ק | nashak | it has kissed | H5401 → | |
| לֽוֹ׃ | lo | <to> it |
וְהִשְׁאַרְתִּ֥יand I will leave
vehishartiH7604 →133 times
בְיִשְׂרָאֵ֖לamong Israel
veyisraelH3478 →2507 times
שִׁבְעַ֣תseven
shivatH7651 →394 times
אֲלָפִ֑יםthousand<s>
ʾalafimH505 →505 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַבִּרְכַּ֗יִםthe knees
habirkayimH1290 →25 times
אֲשֶׁ֤רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
כָֽרְעוּ֙they have bowed down
khareuH3766 →
לַבַּ֔עַלto <the> Baal
labaalH1168 →82 times
וְכָ֨ל־and every
vekholH3605 →5413 times
הַפֶּ֔ה<the> mouth
hapehH6310 →498 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
נָשַׁ֖קit has kissed
nashakH5401 →
לֽוֹ׃<to> it
lo
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
Philippians 2:10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
it leads to
- Isaiah 45:23–25
By Myself I have sworn; truth has gone out from My mouth, a word that will not be revoked: Every knee will bow before Me, every tongue will swear allegiance.
- Matthew 28:18
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.
- Revelation 5:13–14
And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To Him who sits on the throne and to…
- Hebrews 1:6
And again, when God brings His firstborn into the world, He says: “Let all God’s angels worship Him.”
- Romans 14:10–11
Why, then, do you judge your brother? Or why do you belittle your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.
- Isaiah 45:23–25
Through
Isaiah 1:9Unless the LORD of Hosts had left us a few survivors, we would have become like Sodom, we would have resembled Gomorrah.
it leads to
- Romans 9:29
It is just as Isaiah foretold: “Unless the Lord of Hosts had left us descendants, we would have become like Sodom, we would have resembled Gomorrah.”
- Isaiah 37:31–32
And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root below and bear fruit above.
- Genesis 19:24
Then the LORD rained down sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens.
- Romans 9:29
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
About 1 Kings
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
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 19:18; 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; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, ON FIRST PRINCIPLES 4.1.13.