1-Kings-19-Vv-1-21
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Colour coded details of
our beloved TaNaKh:
1. Torah = History &
Law, 2. Nevi’im = The Prophets. 3. *Ketuvim = all other Writings.
*The Ketuvim - Includes, Poetical
books - Psalms, Proverbs, Job, the Megillot, or Scrolls -
Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations of Jeremiah, Ecclesiastes, and
Esther, prophecy of Daniel, and history of Ezra, Nehemiah, and
Chronicles I & II.
Please Note: Some alterations or (additions) have been made
relating to ‘Names’ and ‘Attributes’ of אֱלֹהִים - Elohim, having been corrected
like it once was pre the “Masoretic Text”.
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Remember the following truth from our beloved Torah!
“Ye shall NOT ADD TO THE WORD which I command
you, NEITHER SHALL YE DIMINISH FROM IT, that ye may keep the commandments of יְהוָה
אֱלֹהֵיכֶם - the LORD your Eloleichem, which I command you”. Davarim -
Deuteronomy 4:2. (JPS-1917).
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With
Rabbi, Dr. Reuven Ben Avraham-Goossens,
PhD.
Introduction:
In Chapter 19, we witness the human side of Eliyahu HaNavi (Elijah the Prophet). Fresh from the monumental victory over the prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel, Elijah expects a national spiritual awakening. Instead, he faces the lethal threats of Queen Jezebel. This chapter is a transition from the "fire and whirlwind" of public miracles to the "still, small voice" of internal revelation. It explores the exhaustion of a zealot and the Divine instruction that leadership must eventually pass to a new generation.
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Let us read 1 Kings Chapter
19:1-21: (JPS-1917 version of the Tanakh).
1. “And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. 2. Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying: ‘So let the gods do (to me), and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to-morrow about this time’. 3. And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there. 4. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom-tree; and he requested for himself that he might die; and said: ‘It is enough; now, O יְהוָה - LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers’. 5. And he lay down and slept under a broom-tree; and, behold, an angel touched him, and said unto him: ‘Arise and eat’. 6. And he looked, and, behold, there was at his head a cake baked on the hot stones, and a cruse of water. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again. 7. And the angel of יְהוָה - the LORD came again the second time, and touched him, and said: ‘.Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee’. 8. And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meal forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of אֱלֹהִים - Elohim (God). 9. And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of יְהוָה - the LORD came to him, and He said unto him: ‘What doest thou here, Elijah?’ 10. And he said: ‘I have been very jealous for צְבָאוֹת אֱלֹהִים-יְהוָה - the LORD, the Elohim of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Thy covenant, thrown down Thine altars, and slain Thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away’. 11. And He said: ‘Go forth, and stand upon the mount before יְהוָה - the LORD’. And, behold, יְהוָה - the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before יְהוָה - the LORD; but יְהוָה - the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake; but יְהוָה - the LORD was not in the earthquake; 12. and after the earthquake a fire; but יְהוָה - the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. 13. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entrance of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said: ‘What doest thou here, Elijah?’ 14. And he said: ‘I have been very jealous for צְבָאוֹת אֱלֹהִים-יְהוָה - the LORD, the Elohim of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Thy covenant, thrown down Thine altars, and slain Thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away’. 15. And יְהוָה - the LORD said unto him: ‘Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus; and when thou comest, thou shalt anoint Hazael to be king over Aram; 16. and Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel; and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room. 17. And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay; and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay. 18. Yet will I leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him’. 19. So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing, with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth; and Elijah passed over unto him, and cast his mantle upon him. 20. And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said: ‘Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee’. And he said unto him: ‘Go back; for what have I done to thee?’ 21. And he returned from following him, and took the yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave unto the people, and they did eat. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him”.
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Let us look at the Chapter’s Commentary:
The Flight to the Wilderness (Verses 1-8): Elijah’s request for death (“It
is enough; now, O יְהוָה - LORD,
take away my life”) reveals a soul crushed by
the Israelites’ perceived failure to repent. The Midrash
notes that even a giant of faith can experience “burnout”. The angel feeding
him provides the physical sustenance needed for a forty-day journey,
paralleling Moshe Rabbeinu’s time on Horeb.
The Cave and the Theophany (Verses 9-14): Elijah stands where Moses once stood. When אֱלֹהִים - Elohim asks, “What doest thou here, Elijah?” the prophet responds with zealotry (Kanno’i), complaining that Israel has forsaken the covenant. אֱלֹהִים - Elohim demonstrates through the wind, earthquake, and fire that He is not found in destructive force, but in the Kol Demamah Dakah (the thin voice of silence). This is a rebuke: a prophet’s role is to defend the people, not just the Law.
The Three Commissions (Verses 15-18): אֱלֹהִים - Elohim commands Elijah to anoint Hazael, Jehu, and Elisha. This signifies that Elijah’s era of solitary struggle is ending. The mention of the “seven thousand” who have not bowed to Baal is a reminder that the prophet’s pessimistic view of the nation was incomplete; a righteous remnant always remains.
The Call of Elisha (Verses 19-21): The
mantle is literally cast upon Elisha. Elisha’s request to kiss his parents
goodbye and his subsequent slaughter of his oxen show a total break from his
past life. He transforms his physical livelihood into a communal feast, signalling
his transition from a wealthy farmer to a servant of אֱלֹהִים - Elohim and his mentor.
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My Closing Comments:
Chapter 19 teaches us that while zealotry has its moment, the long-term survival of the Jewish soul depends on the quiet, steady transmission of Torah. Elijah learned that is found in the silence after the storm. As he prepares to mentor Elisha, we see the beginning of a shift from a prophet of “fire” to a prophet of “wonders” who lives among the people. May we all merit to hear that “still, small voice” in our own lives, guiding us toward patience and communal responsibility!
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