ESV Global Study Bible :: Footnotes for 1 Kings 19

1 Kings 19:1–21 Elijah has won a mighty battle on the mountain, but a stronger opponent than Ahab awaits him: Queen Jezebel.

1 Kings 19:1–2 Jezebel sent a messenger. Jezebel has already killed several prophets (see 18:4, 13). She is to be taken seriously when she threatens to take Elijah’s life.

1 Kings 19:3 he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life. The shock of Jezebel’s resistance after Mount Carmel has led Elijah to forget to trust God. He flees to Beersheba in the far south of the Promised Land—as far away from Jezebel as he can get. The distance was about 120 miles (193 km), which would have taken an ordinary single traveler around six days.

1 Kings 19:5 The broom tree is a bush with many branches and twigs, small leaves, and clusters of flowers. an angel touched him. Elijah has been responding so far only to Jezebel’s “messenger” (v. 2). Now God sends an “angel” or messenger of his own, leading Elijah back onto the path of faith.

1 Kings 19:7 the journey is too great. Elijah thought his journey was over; he has had “enough” (v. 4). But now he is to fortify himself for a further journey, which will otherwise be “too great” (same Hebrew word as “enough”).

1 Kings 19:8 he arose . . . and went . . . to Horeb, the mount of God. Horeb is another name for Mount Sinai, where God first spoke the Ten Commandments to the people of Israel (Exodus 19–20). The forty days and forty nights of Elijah’s travels represented a journey of about 250 miles (400 km). The last part of the journey would have taken much longer because of rugged terrain.

1 Kings 19:10 I, even I only, am left. The resistance of one person (Jezebel) has turned massive victory into overwhelming defeat in Elijah’s mind. He is certainly not the only one left, but that is how he feels.

1 Kings 19:11–12 not in the wind . . . not in the earthquake . . . not in the fire. The emphasis on Mount Carmel had been on God’s spectacular ways, particularly his use of fire. The emphasis here is on God’s quiet ways, being found in a low whisper.

1 Kings 19:13–14 What are you doing here, Elijah? The point of the demonstration on the mountain was presumably that Elijah would answer this question differently the second time (compare v. 9). His answer is, however, exactly the same as before (I have been very jealous for the Lord). There is a suggestion in the text that he does not particularly want to understand what God is saying through these events. He has always claimed to “stand before the Lord” (see 17:1; 18:15), but here on Mount Horeb, in spite of the command of 19:11 (“Go out and stand . . . before the Lord”), he apparently stays in the cave until the storm is over and he hears the “whisper” (v. 12). When he does go out, it is with his cloak over his face, which makes it difficult for him to “see.”

1 Kings 19:15–18 Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. Elijah must now return to northern Syria-Palestine and anoint Hazael, Jehu, and Elisha. This new political and religious order will bring about the final victory over Baal worship. Elijah is to prepare the way.

1 Kings 19:19 he departed from there and found Elisha. Has Elijah regained his faith as a result of his trip to Mount Horeb? The closing verses of ch. 19 suggest not. There is no mention here or later of Elijah’s ever even trying to meet Hazael and Jehu (see vv. 15–16). One never reads of Elijah anointing Hazael. Later, Elisha will arrange the anointing of Jehu (2 Kings 9:1–13). There is no mention of Elijah anointing Elisha as his prophetic successor; he merely enlists him as his assistant (1 Kings 19:21). Yet the very names of the two prophets indicate the way God’s plan is unfolding. “Elijah” means “the Lord, he is God,” and Elijah has demonstrated that truth (18:39). “Elisha” means “God saves.”

1 Kings 19:20–21 Let me kiss my father and my mother. Elisha immediately leaves his normal employment to follow his new mentor, pausing only briefly to cut his ties with his old life. He kisses his parents goodbye and destroys his old means of financial support (the 12 yoke of oxen and . . . the yokes of the oxen that control them), symbolizing that he has abandoned home and income for the Lord.