Christian Standard Bible
1 Kings 18:3
3Ahab called for Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. Obadiah was a man who greatly feared the Lord
1 Kings 18:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly:
- New International Version (NIV)and Ahab had summoned Obadiah, his palace administrator. (Obadiah was a devout believer in the Lord.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And Ahab called Obadiah, who was over the household. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly,
- New King James Version (NKJV)And Ahab had called Obadiah, who was in charge of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly.
Context of 1 Kings 18:3
1After a long time, the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year: “Go and present yourself to Ahab. I will send rain on the surface of the land.” 2So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. The famine was severe in Samaria. Ahab called for Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace. Obadiah was a man who greatly feared the Lord 4and took a hundred prophets and hid them, fifty men to a cave, and provided them with food and water when Jezebel slaughtered the Lord’s prophets. 5Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go throughout the land to every spring and to every wadi. Perhaps we’ll find grass so we can keep the horses and mules alive and not have to destroy any cattle.”
Read all of 1 Kings 181 Kings 18:3 word by word
וַיִּקְרָ֣א אַחְאָ֔ב אֶל־עֹבַדְיָ֖הוּ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עַל־הַבָּ֑יִת וְעֹבַדְיָ֗הוּ הָיָ֥ה יָרֵ֛א אֶת־יְהוָ֖ה מְאֹֽד׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for 1 Kings 18:3
- Genesis 24:2Abraham said to his servant, the elder of his household who managed all he owned, “Place your hand under my thigh,
- Genesis 39:4Joseph found favor with his master and became his personal attendant. Potiphar also put him in charge of his household and placed all that he owned under his authority.
- Genesis 41:40You will be over my house, and all my people will obey your commands. Only I, as king, will be greater than you.”
- 1 Kings 18:12But when I leave you, the Spirit of the Lord may carry you off to some place I don’t know. Then when I go report to Ahab and he doesn’t find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have feared the Lord from my youth.
- Genesis 22:12Then he said, “Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from me.”
- Genesis 42:18On the third day Joseph said to them, “I fear God — do this and you will live.
- 2 Kings 4:1One of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant, my husband, has died. You know that your servant feared the Lord. Now the creditor is coming to take my two children as his slaves.”
- Nehemiah 5:15The governors who preceded me had heavily burdened the people, taking from them food and wine as well as a pound of silver. Their subordinates also oppressed the people, but because of the fear of God, I didn’t do this.
- Nehemiah 7:2Then I put my brother Hanani in charge of Jerusalem, along with Hananiah, commander of the fortress, because he was a faithful man who feared God more than most.
- Proverbs 14:26In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence and his children have a refuge.
- Malachi 3:16At that time those who feared the Lord spoke to one another. The Lord took notice and listened. So a book of remembrance was written before him for those who feared the Lord and had high regard for his name.
- Matthew 10:28Don’t fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul; rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
- Acts 10:2He was a devout man and feared God along with his whole household. He did many charitable deeds for the Jewish people and always prayed to God.
Commentaries on 1 Kings 18:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Obadiah feared the Lord greatly - He was a sincere and zealous worshipper of the true God, and his conduct towards the persecuted prophets was the full proof both of his piety and humanity.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3Obadiah‘s name, “servant of Yahweh,” indicates his religious character. It corresponds to the modern Arabic name Abdallah. Ahab could scarcely have been ignorant of Obadiah‘s faithfulness to Yahweh; and it tells in favor of the monarch‘s tolerance that he should have maintained an adherent of the old religion in so important an office. There seems to be no doubt that the worst deeds of Ahab‘s reign sprang less from his own free will and natural…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3-6Because of the severe drought, Ahab and Obadiah, his chief officer (see 1 Kings 4:6; 16:9), went to find enough water and grass for the king’s horses. These supplies were essential for military readiness. Assyrian King Shalmaneser III wrote that Ahab used about 2,000 horse-drawn chariots in the Battle of Qarqar in 853 BC. Solomon also had many horses and chariots (1 Kings 10:26).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. Obadiah feared the Lord greatly--Although he did not follow the course taken by the Levites and the majority of pious Israelites at that time of emigration into Judah (2Ch 11:13-16), he was a secret and sincere worshipper. He probably considered the violent character of the government, and his power of doing some good to the persecuted people of God as a sufficient excuse for his not going to worship in Jerusalem.Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Kings 18:3
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 1 Kings 18
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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