1 Kings 19:6
in 1 Kings 19And he looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he looked, and, behold, there was at his head a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again.
KJV
And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again.
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This verse in 1 Kings 19
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
A cake baken on the coals - It is not implied that Elijah found a fire lighted and the cake on it, but only that he found one of the usual baked cakes of the desert, which form the ordinary food of the Arab at the present day. At his head - The Hebrew word means simply “the place on which the head lies;” hence, the marginal rendering, “bolster.”
This site's exposition
an angel touched him
on 1 Kings 19:5-6
Before any word of correction comes food: a cake baken on the coals and a cruse of water, the same pattern of provision that fed Elijah by ravens at Cherith and by a widow's meal at Zarephath in the previous chapters. Barnes reads the angel as no human messenger but a plain angelic ministration, continuing what began with the patriarchs and the judges. Elijah eats, sleeps, and is fed again before he is asked a single question.
This site's exposition
a cake of bread baked over hot coals
Albert Barnes reads the cake as the ordinary baked bread of desert travellers, and the place by his head as the spot where a sleeper lays his head. Matthew Henry notes that Elijah ate better here than the prophets who ate at Jezebel's table in 18:19. He sleeps again at once.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"The angel of the Lord came a second time, touched him and said, 'Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.' " Elijah was sleeping under a tree. Now an angel came to him and woke him up (sleep was …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
He needed not to complain of the unkindness of men when it was thus made up by the ministration of angels. Thus provided for, he had reason to think he had fared better than the prophets of the groves, that did eat at Jezebel's table. Wherever God's children are, as they are still upon their Father's ground, so they are still under their Father's eye and care.
And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baked on the coals,.... Just took off the coals, quite hot.
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 cake baken on the coals - All this seems to have been supernaturally provided.
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּבֵּ֕ט | vaiyabet | and he looked | H5027 → | 69 times |
| וְהִנֵּ֧ה | vehineh | and there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| מְרַאֲשֹׁתָ֛יו | meraashotav | [was] [the] place of head his | H4763 → | |
| עֻגַ֥ת | ʾugat | a bread cake of | H5692 → | |
| רְצָפִ֖ים | retzafim | hot coals | H7529 → | |
| וְצַפַּ֣חַת | vetzapachat | and a jug of | H6835 → | 7 times |
| מָ֑יִם | mayim | water | H4325 → | 581 times |
| וַיֹּ֣אכַל | vaiyokhal | and he ate | H398 → | 810 times |
| וַיֵּ֔שְׁתְּ | vaiyeshet | and he drank | H8354 → | 217 times |
| וַיָּ֖שָׁב | vaiyashov | and he returned | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| וַיִּשְׁכָּֽב׃ | vaiyishkav | and he lay down | H7901 → | 212 times |
וַיַּבֵּ֕טand he looked
vaiyabetH5027 →69 times
וְהִנֵּ֧הand there!
vehinehH2009 →843 times
מְרַאֲשֹׁתָ֛יו[was] [the] place of head his
meraashotavH4763 →
עֻגַ֥תa bread cake of
ʾugatH5692 →
רְצָפִ֖יםhot coals
retzafimH7529 →
וְצַפַּ֣חַתand a jug of
vetzapachatH6835 →7 times
מָ֑יִםwater
mayimH4325 →581 times
וַיֹּ֣אכַלand he ate
vaiyokhalH398 →810 times
וַיֵּ֔שְׁתְּand he drank
vaiyeshetH8354 →217 times
וַיָּ֖שָׁבand he returned
vaiyashovH7725 →1056 times
וַיִּשְׁכָּֽב׃and he lay down
vaiyishkavH7901 →212 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
Matthew 4:11Then the devil left Him, and angels came and ministered to Him.
it leads to
- Matthew 26:53
Are you not aware that I can call on My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?
- Luke 22:43
Then an angel from heaven appeared to Him and strengthened Him.
- Hebrews 1:14
Are not the angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?
- Revelation 5:11–12
Then I looked, and I heard the voices of many angels and living creatures and elders encircling the throne, and their number was myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands.
- Luke 4:13
When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.
- Matthew 26:53
Through
1 Kings 17:6The ravens would bring him bread and meat in the morning and evening, and he would drink from the brook.
it leads to
- Psalms 78:23–24
Yet He commanded the clouds above and opened the doors of the heavens.
- Matthew 6:31–33
Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
- Psalms 78:23–24
Through
Isaiah 33:16he will dwell on the heights; the mountain fortress will be his refuge; his food will be provided and his water assured.
it leads to
- Luke 12:29–31
And do not be concerned about what you will eat or drink. Do not worry about it.
- Luke 12:29–31
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
About 1 Kings
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS 19:4; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.