1 Kings 19:9
in 1 Kings 19There Elijah entered a cave and spent the night. And the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of Jehovah came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?
KJV
And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?
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This verse in 1 Kings 19
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
A cave - Rather, “the cave.” Some well-known cave must be intended - perhaps the “cliff of the rock” Exo 33:22. The traditional “cave of Elijah” which is shown in the secluded plain immediately below the highest summit of the Jebel Mousa, cannot, from its small size, be the real cavern.
This site's exposition
What doest thou here, Elijah
on 1 Kings 19:9-10
The question that opens Horeb is repeated word for word at verse thirteen after the whole demonstration of wind, earthquake and fire, and Elijah gives it the identical answer both times. His complaint runs four counts, jealousy for the Lord, Israel's forsaken covenant, thrown down altars, slain prophets, and his own claim, I even I only am left, though the caves Obadiah stocked in the previous chapter already say the count is off before the Lord answers it. The question is not an accusation but an invitation to name what has driven him this far.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" After reaching Horeb, the mountain of God, Elijah spent the night in a cave, and on the next day, when he heard the noise of God coming to him, …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there,....
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.
He came thither unto a cave - Conjectured by some to be the same cave in which God put Moses that he might give him a glimpse of his glory. See Exo 33:22. What doest thou here, Elijah? - Is this a reproach for having fled from the face of Jezebel, through what some call unbelieving fears, that God would abandon him to her rage?
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
They have demolished Your Altars. [I.e.,] the private altars that were built in the Name of Heaven, 5 See above:30 and Rashi there. for the altar of the Beis [Hamikdosh] was in Yerusholayim. 6 Eliyahu intimated that God should take vengeance against the Bnei Yisroel.—Ralbag
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּבֹא־ | vaiyavo'- | and he went | H935 → | 2568 times |
| שָׁ֥ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | into | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַמְּעָרָ֖ה | hamearah | the cave | H4631 → | 37 times |
| וַיָּ֣לֶן | vaiyalen | and he spent [the] night | H3885 → | |
| שָׁ֑ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| וְהִנֵּ֤ה | vehineh | and there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| דְבַר־ | devar- | [the] word of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֵלָ֔יו | ʾelav | [was] to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| ל֔וֹ | lo | to him | ||
| מַה־ | mah- | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| לְּךָ֥ | lekha | [is] to you | ||
| פֹ֖ה | foh | here | H6311 → | 82 times |
| אֵלִיָּֽהוּ׃ | ʾeliyahu | O Elijah | H452 → | 71 times |
וַיָּבֹא־and he went
vaiyavo'-H935 →2568 times
שָׁ֥םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
אֶל־into
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַמְּעָרָ֖הthe cave
hamearahH4631 →37 times
וַיָּ֣לֶןand he spent [the] night
vaiyalenH3885 →
שָׁ֑םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
וְהִנֵּ֤הand there!
vehinehH2009 →843 times
דְבַר־[the] word of
devar-H1697 →1440 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֵלָ֔יו[was] to him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
ל֔וֹto him
lo
מַה־what?
mah-H4100 →752 times
לְּךָ֥[is] to you
lekha
פֹ֖הhere
fohH6311 →82 times
אֵלִיָּֽהוּ׃O 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
Genesis 3:9But the LORD God called out to the man, “Where are you?”
it leads to
- Genesis 4:9
And the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I do not know!” he answered. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
- Genesis 16:8
“Hagar, servant of Sarai,” he said, “where have you come from, and where are you going?” “I am running away from my mistress Sarai,” she replied.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 18:20–21
Then the LORD said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great. Because their sin is so grievous,
- Revelation 20:12–13
And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. And there were open books, and one of them was the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their…
- Joshua 7:17–19
He had the clans of Judah come forward, and the clan of the Zerahites was selected. He had the clan of the Zerahites come forward, and the family of Zabdi was selected.
- Genesis 4:9
Through
Genesis 16:8“Hagar, servant of Sarai,” he said, “where have you come from, and where are you going?” “I am running away from my mistress Sarai,” she replied.
it leads to
- Genesis 3:9
But the LORD God called out to the man, “Where are you?”
- Genesis 4:10
“What have you done?” replied the LORD. “The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.
- Jeremiah 2:17–18
Have you not brought this on yourself by forsaking the LORD your God when He led you in the way?
- Genesis 3:9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
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 19:9; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament.