1 Kings 18:1

1 Kings 18:1 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.
• English Standard Version (ESV)After many days the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, "Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth."
• New King James Version (NKJV)And it came to pass after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth.”
• New Living Translation (NLT)Later on, in the third year of the drought, the Lord said to Elijah, “Go and present yourself to King Ahab. Tell him that I will soon send rain!”

Context of 1 Kings 18:1

After a long time, in the third year, the word of the Lord came to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land.” 2So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria, 3and Ahab had summoned Obadiah, his palace administrator. (Obadiah was a devout believer in the Lord.

1 Kings 18:1 word by word

וַיְהִי֙ יָמִ֣ים רַבִּ֔ים וּדְבַר־יְהוָ֗ה הָיָה֙ אֶל־אֵ֣לִיָּ֔הוּ בַּשָּׁנָ֥ה הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֖ית לֵאמֹ֑ר לֵ֚ךְ הֵרָאֵ֣ה אֶל־אַחְאָ֔ב וְאֶתְּנָ֥ה מָטָ֖ר עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הָאֲדָמָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• manyרַבrab · manyH7227
• daysיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• that the wordדָּבָרdâbâr · wordH1697
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• came to Elijahאֵלִיָּה'êlîyâh 'êlîyâhû · ElijahH452
• in the thirdשְׁלִישִׁיshelîyshîy · thirdH7992
• yearשָׁנָהshâneh shânâh · yearH8141
• sayingאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Goיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
• shewרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• thyself unto Ahabאַחְאָב'ach'âb 'echâb · AhabH256
• and I will sendנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
• rainמָטַרmâţâr · rainH4306
• uponפָּנֶהpânîym · face: surfaceH6440
• the earthאֲדָמָה'ădâmâh · land: countryH127

Cross-references for 1 Kings 18:1

• Luke 4:25I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land.
• James 5:17Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.
• Revelation 11:2But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months.
• 1 Kings 17:1Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.”
• 1 Kings 18:2So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria,
• Leviticus 26:4I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees their fruit.
• Deuteronomy 28:12The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none.
• Psalms 65:9You care for the land and water it; you enrich it abundantly. The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with grain, for so you have ordained it.
• Isaiah 5:6I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and briers and thorns will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it.”
• Jeremiah 10:13When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar; he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth. He sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses.
• Jeremiah 14:22Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Do the skies themselves send down showers? No, it is you, Lord our God. Therefore our hope is in you, for you are the one who does all this.
• Joel 2:23Be glad, people of Zion, rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given you the autumn rains because he is faithful. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before.
• Amos 4:7“I also withheld rain from you when the harvest was still three months away. I sent rain on one town, but withheld it from another. One field had rain; another had none and dried up.

Commentaries on 1 Kings 18:1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1After many days - in the third year - We learn from our Lord, Luke 4:25, that the drought which brought on the famine in Israel lasted three years and six months. St. James, James 5:17, gives it the same duration. Probably Elijah spent six months at the brook Cherith, and three years with the widow at Sarepta. I will send rain upon the earth - The word האדמה haadamah should be translated the ground or the land, as it is probable that this drought did not…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1The third year - i. e., in the third year of his sojourn with the widow. The whole period of drought was three years and a half Luke 4:25; James 5:17: of this, probably about one year was passed by Elijah in the torrent-course of Cherith, and two years and a half at Sarepta.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1Elijah sends Ahab notice of his coming. (1-16) Elijah meets Ahab. (17-20) Elijah's trial of the false prophets. (21-40) Elijah, by prayer, obtains rain. (41-46) Verses 1-16 The severest judgments, of themselves, will not humble or change the hearts of sinners; nothing, except the blood of Jesus Christ, can atone for the guilt of sin; nothing, except the sanctifying Spirit of God, can purge away its pollution. The priests and the Levites were gone to Judah…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-46The prophet Elijah's work was closely tied to his spiritual growth. Elijah challenged Israel's interest in Baal, the Canaanite storm god. During this conflict, Elijah saw God's power and support, unlike Baal's weakness. This was shown in Elijah's contest with Baal's prophets on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:1–46). After fleeing from Jezebel, God renewed Elijah's mission at Mount Sinai (1 Kings 19:1–18). Elijah's mission was finished by his successor, Elisha (1…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-161Ki 18:1-16. Elijah Meets Obadiah. 1. the third year--In the New Testament, it is said there was no rain "for the space of three years and six months" [Jas 5:17]. The early rain fell in our March, the latter rain in our October. Though Ahab might have at first ridiculed Elijah's announcement, yet when neither of these rains fell in their season, he was incensed against the prophet as the cause of the national judgment, and compelled him, with God's…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Kings 18:1

• Elijah
• Famine
• Israel
• Prayer

In the dictionaries

• Ahab
• Elijah
• Answer
• Carmel
• Cut
• Either
• Follow
• Halt
• Lord
• Quotations

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