And he said, what have I sinned ,.... Or in what have I offended God or his prophet, that revenge should be taken on me in this way: that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab to slay me ? for that he supposed would be the consequence of it, as he argues and more plainly expresses his sense in the following words. read more
As the Lord thy God liveth ,.... Which is the form of an oath he thought fit to make, to ascertain the truth of what he was about to say: there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee ; which is either an hyperbolical expression, signifying he had sought for him in many places, and in every place he could think of; or it must be understood either of the ten tribes, which were as so many nations and kingdoms as they had been; or were more in the times of the... read more
And now thou sayest, go tell thy lord, behold, Elijah is here. Which, if I should not be able to make good, would be of fatal consequence to me; and that it is plain he feared, by what he next says. read more
And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of the Lord shall carry thee whither I know not ,.... This he supposed might possibly, and very probably, be the case, since small raptures might have been already, and known to Obadiah, as there were afterwards, see 2 Kings 2:16 , and then he should not know where he was, nor be able to direct his master where to find him: and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me ; for telling... read more
Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the Lord? how I hid one hundred men of the Lord's prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water? See Gill on 1 Kings 18:4 , this he said not in a way of ostentation, but to show that it would be very ungenerous and ungrateful, as well as impolitic, to sacrifice such a friend at court to the Lord's prophets as he had been, and might still continue to be. read more
And now thou sayest, go tell my lord, behold, Elijah is here : and he shall slay me. That is, should he carry such a message to him, and Elijah should be removed elsewhere, and not to be found. read more
And Elijah said, as the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand ,.... In whose presence he was, and whose prophet and minister he was; he takes this oath, to assure Obadiah that he would certainly be upon the spot, or to be found, and not expose him to any danger: I will surely show myself unto him today ; he was determined at all events to present himself to him that day. read more
So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him ,.... That Elijah was in such a place, and had desired him to inform him of it, and was ready to appear before him that day wherever he pleased; for upon the prophet's oath Obadiah was entirely satisfied, and was in no fear of delivering the message: and Ahab went to meet Elijah ; though perhaps the bold message of the prophet might make him fear he had something to say to him not very agreeable. read more
And it came to pass when Ahab saw Elijah ,.... As soon as he came up to him, and knew who he was; Abarbinel thinks, because his hair was grown so long that Ahab did not know him certainly, and therefore put the following question: that Ahab said unto him, art thou he that troubleth Israel ? by opposing the religion of Baal, which prevailed among them; but chiefly rain being withheld from them according to his word, and at his prayer. read more
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John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 18:8
And he answered him, I am ,.... He did not desire to be concealed, his orders were to show and make himself known to Ahab, and Obadiah was one of his domestic servants: go tell thy lord, behold, Elijah is here ; in such a place, ready to face him at any time. Elijah, by calling Ahab the lord of Obadiah, as he tacitly reproves him for calling him lord, shows reverence to Ahab as a king, and yet that he was fearless of him, as he was the prophet and ambassador of the Lord of hosts to him. read more