1 Kings 19:9-14

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Kings 19:9-18

Here is, I. Elijah housed in a cave at Mount Horeb, which is called the mount of God, because on it God had formerly manifested his glory. And perhaps this was the same cave, or cleft of a rock, in which Moses was hidden when the Lord passed by before him and proclaimed his name, Exod. 33:22. What Elijah proposed to himself in coming to lodge here, I cannot conceive, unless it was to indulge his melancholy, or to satisfy his curiosity and assist his faith and devotion with the sight of that... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 19:9

And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there ,.... This cave, some travellers say F21 Egmont and Heyman's Travels, vol. 2. p. 166. , is to be seen at this day, not far from a church dedicated to the prophet Elijah, and that the cave itself has the appearance of a chapel; but a more particular account of it is given in a journal F23 Journal from Cairo to Mount Sinai in 1722, p. 26. Ed. 2. lately published, which says, this cave exists to this very day, and is situated at the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 19:10

And he said, I have been jealous for the Lord God of hosts ,.... Through zeal for the glory of God he had slain four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and this had stirred up the malice and revenge of Jezebel against him, who sought his life, and which had obliged him to flee, and come to this place for shelter; this is the first part of his answer, others follow: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant ; the law, especially the two first commandments delivered in this... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 19:11

And he said, go forth and stand upon the mount before the Lord ,.... Who would appear there as he had to Moses formerly, though not in the same manner: and, behold, the Lord passed by ; or was about to pass, for as yet he had not; his messengers first went before him: and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord ; strong enough to do all this, and so it might: but the Lord was not in the wind ; as he sometimes is, Nahum 1:3 , he... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 19:12

And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire ,.... As he was when he descended on this mount, and spake to Moses, Exodus 19:1 , the Targum, and so Jarchi, interpret all these appearances of angels, and not amiss; the wind, of an host of angels of wind; the earthquake, of an host of angels of commotion; the fire, of an host of angels of fire; see Psalm 104:4 , these ministers of the Lord went before him, to prepare the way of his glorious Majesty; which emblems may... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 19:13

And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle ,.... Through reverence of the divine Majesty he perceived was there, and through shame and confusion under a sense of his impurity, imperfections, and unworthiness, as the seraphim in Isaiah 6:2 , and as Moses, Exodus 3:6 , and went out and stood in the entering in of the cave; he attempted to come forth out of the cave upon the divine order, 1 Kings 19:11 , but was stopped by the terrible appearances of the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 19:14

And he said ,.... Elijah, in answer to the question put, and he says the same as before: I have been very jealous ,.... which the question was designed to draw from him, in order to give him some instructions and directions; which would suggest to him, that though he should not deal severely with Israel, nor with Ahab and his house, yet he would hereafter by the kings he should anoint over Syria and Israel, and by the prophet he should anoint in his room, as instruments of his vengeance. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Kings 19:9

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 Exodus 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? read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Kings 19:10

I have been very jealous for the Lord - The picture which he draws here of apostate Israel is very affecting: - 1. They have forsaken thy covenant - They have now cleaved to and worshipped other gods. 2. Thrown down thine altars - Endeavoured, as much as they possibly could, to abolish thy worship, and destroy its remembrance from the land. 3. And slain thy prophets - That there might be none to reprove their iniquity, or teach the truth; so that... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Kings 19:11

Stand upon the mount before the Lord - God was now treating Elijah nearly in the same way that he treated Moses; and it is not unlikely that Elijah was now standing on the same place where Moses stood, when God revealed himself to him in the giving of the law. See Exodus 19:9 , Exodus 19:16 . The Lord passed by - It appears that the passing by of the Lord occasioned the strong wind, the earthquake, and the fire; but in none of these was God to make a discovery of... read more

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