1 Kings 18:41

And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up [It is clear from the word עֲלֵה that the king had gone clown with the crowd to the Kishon. Curiosity had perhaps impelled him to witness the slaughter which he was powerless to prevent. And no doubt he had been profoundly awed by the portent he had just witnessed], eat and drink [It is hardly likely that there was aught of derision in these words. It is extremely probable that the excitement of the ordeal was so intense that the king had barely tasted food all day long. Elijah now bids him eat if he can, after what he has witnessed. There is now, he suggests, no further cause for anxiety or alarm. The people being repentant ( 1 Kings 18:39 , 1 Kings 18:40 ), and the men who have brought a curse on the land being cut off, the drought can now be abated (cf. 2 Samuel 21:1 , 2 Samuel 21:6 , 2 Samuel 21:14 ). The next words assign the reason why he should eat and drink. It is a mistake, however (Ewald, Rawlinson), to suppose that he was bidden to "eat of the feast which always followed a sacrifice," for this was a whole burnt offering and had been entirely consumed ( 1 Kings 18:38 ). It is probable that the attendants of the king had spread a tent for him upon the plateau, and had brought food for the day along with them]; for there is a sound of abundance of rain [Heb. for a voice of a noise— הָמוֹן ; cf. hum, an onomatopoetic word— of rain . Gesenius and Keil think that the prophet could already hear the sound of the drops of rain, but if so, it was only in spirit (cf. verse 45). The words may refer to the rise of the wind which so often precedes a storm, but it is more probable that Elijah speaks of signs and intimations understood only by himself. This was the "word" of 1 Kings 17:1 .]