I Kings 20, Warfare with Ben-Hadad of Damascus

Elijah has recovered from the depression caused by Jezebel's threats. He now has a disciple and future prophet in Elisha. Elijah is also prepared to anoint Hazael and Jehu as kings of Damascus and Israel, respectively.

1 Kings 20:1-6, The demands of Ben-Hadad

Now Ben-Hadad king of Aram mustered his entire army. Accompanied by thirty-two kings with their horses and chariots, he went up and besieged Samaria and attacked it. He sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel, saying, "This is what Ben-Hadad says: `Your silver and gold are mine, and the best of your wives and children are mine.'"

The king of Israel answered, "Just as you say, my lord the king. I and all I have are yours."

The messengers came again and said, "This is what Ben-Hadad says: `I sent to demand your silver and gold, your wives and your children. But about this time tomorrow I am going to send my officials to search your palace and the houses of your officials. They will seize everything you value and carry it away.'"

Ben-Hadad, king of Aram/Damascus, surrounds Samaria and demands its surrender. Ahab agrees to the first set of conditions, apparently conceding to being a vassal of Ben-Hadad and paying tribute. But then Ben-Hadad demands the right to enter into the city and take everything. 

Commentators Patterson and Austel identify ancient Ben-Hadad I, king of Aram-Damascus (c. 885-865 BC), with the king who made a treaty with Asa in 1 Kings 15:18-22. The commentators argue that the king attacking Ahab here is the son of Ben-Hadad I, a king commonly identified as Hadadezer.

1 Kings 20:7-12, Taunts

The king of Israel summoned all the elders of the land and said to them, "See how this man is looking for trouble! When he sent for my wives and my children, my silver and my gold, I did not refuse him."

The elders and the people all answered, "Don't listen to him or agree to his demands."

So he replied to Ben-Hadad's messengers, "Tell my lord the king, `Your servant will do all you demanded the first time, but this demand I cannot meet.'" They left and took the answer back to Ben-Hadad.

Then Ben-Hadad sent another message to Ahab: "May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if enough dust remains in Samaria to give each of my men a handful."

The king of Israel answered, "Tell him: `One who puts on his armor should not boast like one who takes it off.'"

Ben-Hadad heard this message while he and the kings were drinking in their tents, and he ordered his men: "Prepare to attack." So they prepared to attack the city.

Ahab's refusal to the second set of conditions angers Ben-Hadad and after trading taunts, Ben-Hadad orders his men to attack Samaria. Ahab's taunt tells Ben-Hadad that even if he, Ben-Hadad, is confident of victory, the battle still needs to be fought. There is a difference between arrogant boasts at the beginning of a battle and justified boasts at the end.

1 Kings 20:13-14, "Start the battle"

Meanwhile a prophet came to Ahab king of Israel and announced, "This is what the LORD says: `Do you see this vast army? I will give it into your hand today, and then you will know that I am the LORD.'"

"But who will do this?" asked Ahab. 

The prophet replied, "This is what the LORD says: `The young officers of the provincial commanders will do it.'" 

"And who will start the battle?" he asked. 

The prophet answered, "You will."

A prophet orders Ahab to begin the battle first.

1 Kings 20:15-21, Attack on Ben-Hadad's army

So Ahab summoned the young officers of the provincial commanders, 232 men. Then he assembled the rest of the Israelites, 7,000 in all. They set out at noon while Ben-Hadad and the 32 kings allied with him were in their tents getting drunk.

The young officers of the provincial commanders went out first. Now Ben-Hadad had dispatched scouts, who reported, "Men are advancing from Samaria."

He said, "If they have come out for peace, take them alive; if they have come out for war, take them alive."

 

The young officers of the provincial commanders marched out of the city with the army behind them and each one struck down his opponent. At that, the Arameans fled, with the Israelites in pursuit. But Ben-Hadad king of Aram escaped on horseback with some of his horsemen. The king of Israel advanced and overpowered the horses and chariots and inflicted heavy losses on the Arameans.

Attacking first, Ahab catches the leaders of Ben-Hadad drinking. They defeat the army of the people of Aram/Damascus.

1 Kings 20:22-25, "He will be back"

Afterward, the prophet came to the king of Israel and said, "Strengthen your position and see what must be done, because next spring the king of Aram will attack you again."

Meanwhile, the officials of the king of Aram advised him, "Their gods are gods of the hills. That is why they were too strong for us. But if we fight them on the plains, surely we will be stronger than they. Do this: Remove all the kings from their commands and replace them with other officers. You must also raise an army like the one you lost--horse for horse and chariot for chariot--so we can fight Israel on the plains. Then surely we will be stronger than they." He agreed with them and acted accordingly.

 

Ahab is told that the king of Aram will be back. Meanwhile the king of Aram begins to rebuild his army.

1 Kings 20:26-28, Year Two

The next spring Ben-Hadad mustered the Arameans and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel.

When the Israelites were also mustered and given provisions, they marched out to meet them. The Israelites camped opposite them like two small flocks of goats, while the Arameans covered the countryside.

The man of God came up and told the king of Israel, "This is what the LORD says: `Because the Arameans think the LORD is a god of the hills and not a god of the valleys, I will deliver this vast army into your hands, and you will know that I am the LORD.'"

The Aramean army returns in the spring. YHWH will defeat them in the valley to show that the question is not one of gods of hills versus gods of valleys. YHWH is God of all creation!

1 Kings 20: 29-34, Victory

For seven days they camped opposite each other, and on the seventh day the battle was joined. The Israelites inflicted a hundred thousand casualties on the Aramean foot soldiers in one day. The rest of them escaped to the city of Aphek, where the wall collapsed on twenty-seven thousand of them. And Ben-Hadad fled to the city and hid in an inner room.

The battle is joined on the "seventh day". The Israelites win in a rout. (Numbers here are what commentators call an example of numerical hyperbole -- it is unlikely that the Arameans had a population of 100,000 or that a single wall collapse could kill 27,000 at one time.)

1 Kings 20: 29-34, Treaty

His officials said tohim, "Look, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful. Let us go to the king of Israel with sackcloth around our waists and ropes around our heads. Perhaps he will spare your life."

Wearing sackcloth around their waists and ropes around their heads, they went to the king of Israel and said, "Your servant Ben-Hadad says: `Please let me live.'" 

The king answered, "Is he still alive? He is my brother."

The men took this as a good sign and were quick to pick up his word. "Yes, your brother Ben-Hadad!" they said. 

"Go and get him," the king said. 

When Ben-Hadad came out, Ahab had him come up into his chariot. "I will return the cities my father took from your father," Ben-Hadad offered. 

"You may set up your own market areas in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria." [Ahab said,] "On the basis of a treaty I will set you free." So he made a treaty with him, and let him go.

Ben-Hadad surrenders to Ahab and Ahab agrees to a treaty.

1 Kings 20:35-38, "Strike me"

By the word of the LORD one of the sons of the prophets said to his companion, "Strike me with your weapon," but the man refused.

So the prophet said, "Because you have not obeyed the LORD, as soon as you leave me a lion will kill you." And after the man went away, a lion found him and killed him.

The prophet found another man and said, "Strike me, please." So the man struck him and wounded him. Then the prophet went and stood by the road waiting for the king. He disguised himself with his headband down over his eyes.

A son of a prophet insists on being struck. When one refuses, a lion kills the one who refused. When a second agrees to wound the young prophet, the wounded prophet then prepares to give the king a message.

1 Kings 20:39-43, A prophet's story

As the king passed by, the prophet called out to him, "Your servant went into the thick of the battle, and someone came to me with a captive and said, `Guard this man. If he is missing, it will be your life for his life, or you must pay a talent of silver.' While your servant was busy here and there, the man disappeared." 

"That is your sentence," the king of Israel said. "You have pronounced it yourself."

Then the prophet quickly removed the headband from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. He said to the king, "This is what the LORD says: `You have set free a man I had determined should die. Therefore it is your life for his life, your people for his people.'"

Sullen and angry, the king of Israel went to his palace in Samaria.

 

The prophet's story is a message that Ben-Hadad, who was supposed to die, has been allowed to live. The king of Samaria (presumably Ahab) is unhappy with this message, as it concludes with the death of Ben-Hadad being passed on to be the death of the king of Israel.

First published December 2, 2023, updated October 16, 2026

I Kings 19, Whisper

Elijah and YHWH have defeated the prophets of Baal and then rain has returned to the land.

1 Kings 19:1-2, Jezebel's anger

Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, "May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them."

Elijah's defeat of the prophets of Baal infuriates the queen. She has introduced Baal to the land and her religion and authority have been challenged by this usurper. The queen promises to kill Elijah.

1 Kings 19:3-4, Flee

Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day's journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, LORD," he said. "Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors."

Elijah flees from the angry queen. He is completely devastated by her threat and flees to Beersheba, ninety miles away. (In modern Israel, the city of Beersheba is 110 miles due south of Mount Carmel on the Yitzhak Rabin Highway, Highway 6.) After reaching Beersheba, Elijah then continues deeper into the desert, calling on YHWH to take his life. His devastation, after such a dramatic victory, is remarkable (but very human.) Some suggest that Elijah's distress is not due to Jezebel's threats as much as due to the persistent devotion of the people to Baal, despite all that they have seen. What more can Elijah do?

1 Kings 19:5-8, Sustenance

Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, "Get up and eat." He looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.

The angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched him and said, "Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you." So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.

The angel of YHWH intervenes and provides food to Elijah. Fueled by this food, Elijah goes deep into the Arabian peninsula, to Horeb/Sinai.

1 Kings 19:9-10, "Only me"

There he went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the LORD came to him: "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

He replied, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too."

Elijah finds a cave on Mount Horeb, in which he spends the night. The Hebrew in verse 19 has Elijah staying in "the cave" (say Patterson and Austel) as if this were a special, known cave. Some commentators argue that this then is the cave of Exodus 33:18-23, where Moses stood as God "passed by."

When YHWH confronts him, Elijah repeats his despair that, of all the followers of God, only he is left. This is a prayer of lament -- that everything is wrong and God does not understand.

1 Kings 19:11-12a, Wind, earthquake, fire

The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." 

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. 

After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.

After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. 

Elijah is instructed to stand on the mountain and wait for YHWH to pass by.  Three dramatic events occur, heralds of the approach of the King: a powerful wind, an earthquake, then fire. But YHWH does not arrive with any of these.

1 Kings 19:12b-14, Gentle whisper

And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

He replied, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too."

In the cave, Elijah hears a gentle whisper and recognizes it as the presence of God. He repeats his complaint that he has been completely abandoned.

1 Kings 19:15-18, Seven thousand

The LORD said to him, "Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu.

Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel--all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him."

Elijah is told to return to society and make a number of appointments. Hazael is to be king of Aram-Damascus and Jehu king of Israel. A man named Elisha will be Elijah's successor as a prophet of God. And Elijah is to understand that although he believe that he was alone, indeed seven thousand men in Israel have remained committed to YHWH and have refused to follow Ahab and Jezebel in the worship of Baal.

1 Kings 19:19-21, Elisha

So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. 

Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah. "Let me kiss my father and mother good-by," he said, "and then I will come with you." 

"Go back," Elijah replied. "What have I done to you?"

So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his attendant.

Elijah obeys the instructions given by God and finds Elisha. He puts his cloak around Elisha, a symbol that Elisha understands. Elisha asks to say goodbye to his parents and then destroys his oxen and plowing equipment, giving the meat from the oxen to the local people. He then follows Elijah as Elijah's disciple and servant.

First published December 2, 2023, updated October 15, 2026

I Kings 18, Battle of the Gods

The prophet Elijah, introduced to us in the last chapter, is trying to survive an intense drought.

1 Kings 18:1-6, A search for grass

After a long time, in the third year, the word of the LORD came to Elijah: "Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land."

So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria, and Ahab had summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of his palace. (Obadiah was a devout believer in the LORD. While Jezebel was killing off the LORD's prophets, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them in two caves, fifty in each, and had supplied them with food and water.)
 

Ahab had said to Obadiah, "Go through the land to all the springs and valleys. Maybe we can find some grass to keep the horses and mules alive so we will not have to kill any of our animals." So they divided the land they were to cover, Ahab going in one direction and Obadiah in another.

Elijah is finally told to present himself to Ahab. This will occur while Ahab and Obadiah are searching for green grass for the horses.

Obadiah means "Servant of YAH". Commentators Patterson and Austel argue that this is too early in Israel's history for the prophet Obadiah, who wrote his own short Old Testament book.

Verse 4 mentions a hundred prophets and we will see, in 1 & 2 Kings, from time to time, a school of prophets. Little is known about them but Elijah, Obadiah and Elisha all had contacts with them. They appear again in 2 Kings 4:1 and 2 Kings 4:38-44.

1 Kings 18:7-14, "Why me?"

As Obadiah was walking along, Elijah met him. Obadiah recognized him, bowed down to the ground, and said, "Is it really you, my lord Elijah?"

"Yes," he replied. "Go tell your master, `Elijah is here.'"

"What have I done wrong," asked Obadiah, "that you are handing your servant over to Ahab to be put to death? As surely as the LORD your God lives, there is not a nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to look for you. And whenever a nation or kingdom claimed you were not there, he made them swear they could not find you. But now you tell me to go to my master and say, `Elijah is here.'  I don't know where the Spirit of the LORD may carry you when I leave you. If I go and tell Ahab and he doesn't find you, he will kill me. Yet I your servant have worshiped the LORD since my youth. Haven't you heard, my lord, what I did while Jezebel was killing the prophets of the LORD? I hid a hundred of the LORD's prophets in two caves, fifty in each, and supplied them with food and water. And now you tell me to go to my master and say, `Elijah is here.' He will kill me!"

 

Obadiah knows that meeting Elijah is very dangerous and fears for his own life. Since Ahab has been hunting for Elijah, Obadiah would be especially in danger if he told Ahab that Elijah was in a certain place and then Ahab did not find Elijah there.

1 Kings 18:15-19, Bring the prophets of Baal to me

Elijah said, "As the LORD Almighty lives, whom I serve, I will surely present myself to Ahab today."

So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah.

When he saw Elijah, he said to him, "Is that you, you troubler of Israel?"

"I have not made trouble for Israel," Elijah replied. "But you and your father's family have. You have abandoned the LORD's commands and have followed the Baals. Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table."

Elijah reassures Obadiah and then presents himself to Ahab. Ahab calls Elijah a "troublemaker" of Israel, an accusation that Elijah turns on its head, accusing Ahab of gross idolatry.

In the ancient Canaanite godhead, Asherah was often a consort of Baal. While Ahab follows Baal, his wife worships Asherah.

1 Kings 18:20-24, Challenge

So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. Elijah went before the people and said, "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him." 

But the people said nothing.

Then Elijah said to them, "I am the only one of the LORD's prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. Get two bulls for us. Let them choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by fire--he is God." 

Then all the people said, "What you say is good."

Elijah challenges the king and all the prophets of Baal. The prophets arrive (450 of them!) and Elijah sets up a contest. Commentators Patterson and Austel write that Baal's stronghold was Mount Carmel and so Elijah is essentially going into the devil's den!

1 Kings 18:25-28, The prophets of Baal call out

Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, "Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire."

So they took the bull given them and prepared it. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. "O Baal, answer us!" they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.

At noon Elijah began to taunt them. "Shout louder!" he said. "Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened." 

So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed.

The challenge to the prophets of Baal is to have Baal light the fire. But Baal does not respond. Elijah taunts the prophets, suggesting that Baal is "asleep" or "indisposed". ("Busy" may be a euphemism for "using the toilet.") In attempts to get Baal's attention, the prophets of Baal, in ecstatic dancing, begin cutting themselves. This was apparently a common activity in idol worship and in Leviticus 19:26-29, the Israelites were prohibited from a number of these religious rituals, including "cutting oneself for the dead."

1 Kings 18:29-35, Soaking an altar.

Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.

Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come here to me." 

They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD, which was in ruins. Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, "Your name shall be Israel." With the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed. He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. 

Then he said to them, "Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood."

"Do it again," he said, and they did it again. 

"Do it a third time," he ordered, and they did it the third time. The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.

The prophets of Baal call out to their god all day. As the day is ending, Elijah gathers everyone and rebuilds an altar apparently previously devoted to YHWH. He then has the altar repeatedly soaked, so much so that the water floods the trenches around the altar. (Note that this is done in a time of intense drought.)

Elijah's choice of twelve stones, one for each tribe of Israel, is an implicit statement on the culture of the day. Instead of ten tribes worshiping Baal at Mount Carmel, Israel should be a united nation worshiping YHWH in Jerusalem.

1 Kings 18:36-40, Fire from heaven

At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: "O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again."

Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.

When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, "The LORD--he is God! The LORD--he is God!"

Then Elijah commanded them, "Seize the prophets of Baal. Don't let anyone get away!" They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there.

Once the altar is soaked, Elijah prays. Fire falls and burns up the sacrifice and everything around it, even evaporating the water in the trench. This dramatic event is the end of the prophets of Baal, who are now killed for their obvious idolatry.

1 Kings 18:41-46, Rain

And Elijah said to Ahab, "Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain." 

So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees. "Go and look toward the sea," he told his servant. 

And he went up and looked. "There is nothing there," he said. 

Seven times Elijah said, "Go back."

The seventh time the servant reported, "A cloud as small as a man's hand is rising from the sea." 

So Elijah said, "Go and tell Ahab, `Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.'"

Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain came on and Ahab rode off to Jezreel.

The power of the LORD came upon Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.

Elijah has won. He has defeated the prophets of Baal and then, as implied earlier, ends the drought. Beautiful rain arrives. Elijah races Ahab back to Ahab's palace in Jezreel, a distance (say Patterson and Austel) of seventeen miles.

First published December 2, 2023, updated October 14, 2026

I Kings 17, Elijah

The date is around 870 BC., a century after the death of David. Ahab, son of Omri, has become king in Israel. Ahab's reign is marked by evil and so a new prophet is about to appear. Our narrator's story, which hurried through the century after David's reign, will now slow down to focus on the reign of Ahab and his conflicts with this prophet.

1 Kings 17:1-7, Extreme drought

Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word."

Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah: Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there."

So he did what the LORD had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.

Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.

 

The dry desert land of Canaan is always susceptible to droughts; this one, forecast by a man named Elijah, is severe. Eventually even the brook, on which Elijah relies, runs out of water.

The name Elijah apparently means "Yah is my God." The word "Tishbite" is unclear. Gilead is a region east of the Jordan, just southeast of the Sea of Galilee.

Throughout the desert lands of the Old Testament, rain is always a good thing! Here it is being withheld.

1 Kings 17:8-16, Widow of Zarephath

Then the word of the LORD came to him: "Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food."

So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, "Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink? As she was going to get it, he called, "And bring me, please, a piece of bread."

"As surely as the LORD your God lives," she replied, "I don't have any bread--only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it--and die."

Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: `The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.'"

She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah.

 

Elijah is told to go to Zarephath and rely on a widow there. When he meets the starving widow, Elijah asks for things she cannot really provide, a little water and some bread. Despite her poverty, the widow attempts to serve the prophet and as a reward for her hospitality, she miraculously receives food every day. 

Sidon is now a town on the Mediterranean coast in modern Lebanon, northwest of Israel. Jezebel, Ahab's wife, was from nearby Tyre.

1 Kings 17:17-24, Son revived

Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing.

She said to Elijah, "What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?"

"Give me your son," Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. Then he cried out to the LORD, "O LORD my God, have you brought tragedy also upon this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?"

Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried to the LORD, "O LORD my God, let this boy's life return to him!"

The LORD heard Elijah's cry, and the boy's life returned to him, and he lived. Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, "Look, your son is alive!"

Then the woman said to Elijah, "Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth."

One day the widow's son becomes ill and eventually stops breathing. Elijah spreads his body across the boy's body and cries to YHWH, begging that the young boy's life return. Elijah does this three times and finally his prayer is answered.

Elijah is now identified as an important man of God, one who reflects YHWH's plans.

First published December one, 2023, updated October 13, 2026

I Kings 16, Brief Kingdoms of Israel

Baasha is king of the Israel, the northern kingdom. He became king by killing the former king, Nadab, son of Jeroboam.

1 Kings 16:1-4, Baasha's house to be consumed

Then the word of the LORD came to Jehu son of Hanani against Baasha: "I lifted you up from the dust and made you leader of my people Israel, but you walked in the ways of Jeroboam and caused my people Israel to sin and to provoke me to anger by their sins.  So I am about to consume Baasha and his house, and I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat. Dogs will eat those belonging to Baasha who die in the city, and the birds of the air will feed on those who die in the country."

As Baasha killed Nadab, Baasha's kingdom will also perish.

Jehu recorded the details of the reign of Jehoshaphat (according to 2 Chronicles 20:34.) More details about the reign of Baasha are recorded by Josephus in his Antiquites of the Jews, Book VIII.

1 Kings 16:5-7, Elah

As for the other events of Baasha's reign, what he did and his achievements, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? Baasha rested with his fathers and was buried in Tirzah. 

And Elah his son succeeded him as king. Moreover, the word of the LORD came through the prophet Jehu son of Hanani to Baasha and his house, because of all the evil he had done in the eyes of the LORD, provoking him to anger by the things he did, and becoming like the house of Jeroboam--and also because he destroyed it.

Elah, son of Baasha becomes king.  At this time, another prophet, Jehu, speaks out against Baasha. Hubbard argues that this book of Kings, along with recording the various dynasties, emphasizes the important role of prophets.

1 Kings 16:8-14, Zimri

In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah son of Baasha became king of Israel, and he reigned in Tirzah two years. Zimri, one of his officials, who had command of half his chariots, plotted against him. Elah was in Tirzah at the time, getting drunk in the home of Arza, the man in charge of the palace at Tirzah. Zimri came in, struck him down and killed him in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah. Then he succeeded him as king.

As soon as he began to reign and was seated on the throne, he killed off Baasha's whole family. He did not spare a single male, whether relative or friend. So Zimri destroyed the whole family of Baasha, in accordance with the word of the LORD spoken against Baasha through the prophet Jehu-- because of all the sins Baasha and his son Elah had committed and had caused Israel to commit, so that they provoked the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger by their worthless idols. As for the other events of Elah's reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?

Zimri kills Elah while Elah is drunk and partying.  Zimri then destroys Baasha's family, as foretold earlier by the prophet Jehu.

1 Kings 16:15-20, Omri defeats Zimri

In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri reigned in Tirzah seven days. The army was encamped near Gibbethon, a Philistine town. When the Israelites in the camp heard that Zimri had plotted against the king and murdered him, they proclaimed Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel that very day there in the camp. Then Omri and all the Israelites with him withdrew from Gibbethon and laid siege to Tirzah. 

When Zimri saw that the city was taken, he went into the citadel of the royal palace and set the palace on fire around him. So he died, because of the sins he had committed, doing evil in the eyes of the LORD and walking in the ways of Jeroboam and in the sin he had committed and had caused Israel to commit.

As for the other events of Zimri's reign, and the rebellion he carried out, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?

The reigns of the kings of the northern kingdom are getting shorter and shorter. Zimri only lasts seven days before Omri besieges Tirzah and Zimri kills himself by setting the palace on fire around him.

We are promised more details about Zimri's reign in "the book of the annals of the kings of Israel", but the reign is so short that this promise seems to be more of a mantra at the end of each short biography of a king.

1 Kings 16:21-28, Omri builds Samaria

Then the people of Israel were split into two factions; half supported Tibni son of Ginath for king, and the other half supported Omri. But Omri's followers proved stronger than those of Tibni son of Ginath. So Tibni died and Omri became king.

In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned twelve years, six of them in Tirzah. He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver and built a city on the hill, calling it Samaria, after Shemer, the name of the former owner of the hill.

But Omri did evil in the eyes of the LORD and sinned more than all those before him.  He walked in all the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat and in his sin, which he had caused Israel to commit, so that they provoked the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger by their worthless idols.

As for the other events of Omri's reign, what he did and the things he achieved, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? Omri rested with his fathers and was buried in Samaria. And Ahab his son succeeded him as king.

Omri defeats another pretender, Tibni. Then Omri builds a capitol city, Samaria. The northern kingdom will now be centered on Samaria. Omri manages to reign twelve years.

Few archaeological details of ancient Israelite history have survived the almost three millennia since that time. But Omri is named in the Moabite Stone (often called the Mesha Stele) in which a Moabite king brags about defeating a son of Omri in several battles. The Stele describes Omri as having "oppressed Moab for many days", but eventually, according to the Stele, the Moabites fight back.

1 Kings 16:29-33,  Ahab and Jezebel

In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years. Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the LORD than any of those before him.

He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than did all the kings of Israel before him.

Omri's reign is followed by the reign of his son, Ahab. Ahab and his wife, Jezebel, will be the center of our story for a time.

1 Kings 16:34, Jericho rebuilt

In Ahab's time, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho. He laid its foundations at the cost of his firstborn son Abiram, and he set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, in accordance with the word of the LORD spoken by Joshua son of Nun.

We have a tangential statement that updates us on the reconstruction of Jericho. The prophecy by Joshua is in Joshua 6:26.

After Jeroboam created the northern kingdom, there have been, in Israel, six kings: Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri, Omri, Ahab. The reigns of Jeroboam and Baasha are over twenty years in length; the reign of Omri was twelve. The others only reigned for a short time. Ahab will reign twenty-two years.  (A nice summary of the kings of Judah and Israel is given on this Wikipedia page.)

Stories from the notorious reign of Ahab and his queen will begin in the next chapter.

First published November 30, 2023, updated October 12, 2026

Baal and Ashera, Idols of the Ancient Near East

A colorful battle occurs in 1 Kings 18:16-45 when Elijah takes on 450 priests of Baal. He challenges them to a test by fiery sacrifice and in a dramatic daylong drama, the sacrifices to Baal are ignored while Elijah's sacrifice to YHWH is answered by fire from heaven. The god Baal shows up throughout the Old Testament but most notoriously in the books of 1 & 2 Kings. In addition to Baal, a secondary character is Asherah, often worshiped with "Asherah poles". The passage in 1 Kings, above, states that there were 400 prophets of Asherah, "who ate at Jezebel's table" (1 Kings 18:19.)

The uses of the ancient Hebrew word Ba'al is not clear. In the ancient Near East, in the Northwest Semitic languages, it often meant "lord" or "master". In the first chapter of Esther (see Esther 1:16-18) it is the word used by the king's court that is translated "husband" -- apparently "husband", "lord" or "master" were, in that culture, synonymous! In the Old Testament writings, the word Ba'al was often used to represent gods that Canaanites worshiped, as part of their pantheon. This was to distinguish this god or gods from the One God YHWH, as the Elijah episode demonstrates. As the Israelites moved into Canaan during the time of the judges, Ba'al was most likely the main fertility god of the local people. As the Israelites learned the seasonal rhythm of farming, they were introduced to a variety of fertility rites that went with planting and harvesting, rites that surely centered around worship of Ba'al.

Ba'al Zebub (literally "Lord of the flies"), the god of the Philistine city of Ekron, is briefly mentioned in 2 Kings 1:2. Over time, the Israelites adopted that name for the ruler of the demons and so in the New Testament, when Jesus healed a demon-possessed man (Matthew 12:22-24), he was accused of doing the healing in cohort with Ba'al Zebub.

El and Dagon

In some cultures, Ba'al was the son of the god El; "El" is another Semitic word that was a generic word for "god": Elijah's name, "Jah" is "El, simply means "YHWH is God"; the site "Bethel" is "House (Beth) of El". The word "El" probably had the same role in the ancient Near East as "Allah" has today in Arabic communities -- "Allah" is the Arabic word for "God" and so both Muslims and Arabic Christians use the word that way.) 

If El was the father of Ba'al in one culture, Dagon was the father of El in another culture. In 1 Samuel, early in Saul's reign, we see Dagon as a god of the Philistines. In Joshua 19:24-31, the region of Asher has a town called Beth Dagon ("house of Dagon".) In Judges 16:23-30, Samson's last act is to bring down a temple to Dagon. In 1 Samuel 5, the ark is carried into a temple of Dagon, leading to damage to the temple and the community.

Asherah

A female fertility goddess of the ancient Near East was Asherah. She is worshiped along with Ba'al in Judges 3:7; worship of Asherah often involved sacred trees ("Asherah poles") and are described at various times in 1 & 2 Kings. Ba'al and Asherah were especially associated with the reign of Israel's king Ahab and his wife Jezebel, during the time of Elijah. One of the many sins of Manasseh, several centuries later, was to put an Asherah pole even in the temple of Jerusalem (2 Kings 21:7.)

In the agricultural world of the ancient Near East, fertility (fertile lands, fertile animals, fertile wives) was an important characteristic of a land, flock, tribe.  Fertility was obviously associated with females (human or animal) and their ability to reproduce and so it was natural to assume a fertility idol would portray a female. Asherah was sometimes portrayed as pregnant with large breasts. In that male dominated world, it was natural to include sex as part of fertility worship and so some altars to Asherah or other fertility goddesses included temple prostitutes. When patriarch Judah had sex with Tamar, he apparently assumed she was a prostitute at such a shrine (see Genesis 38:21.) In Numbers 25, Israelite men were having sex with Moabite women as part of a fertility cult.

During the times of the divided kingdom, worship of gods and goddesses, other than YHWH, was metaphorically identified with adultery and prostitution. At times the comparison was not just metaphorical; at times worship of fertility goddesses involved literal prostitution.

Resources

Here are a few external links I looked at as I wrote this essay:

• The Fertility Cults of Canaan is an online article by Ray Vander Laan.
• On the worship of Baal and Asherah at GotQuestions.com
• On Asherah/Ashteroth from CompellingTruth.org
• On the Israelite struggle with Baal and Asherah  from CompellingTruth.org
• An Encyclopedia Britannica article on Asherah.

First published December 17, 2023; updated October 11, 2026

I Kings 15, Abijah, Asa, and Nadab, Baasha

Rehoboam and Jeroboam, kings of the southern and northern kingdoms, respectively, have died. The date is about 910 BC. 

1 Kings 15:1-5, Abijah

In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijah became king of Judah, and he reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother's name was Maacah daughter of Abishalom. He committed all the sins his father had done before him; his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his forefather had been.

Nevertheless, for David's sake the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by raising up a son to succeed him and by making Jerusalem strong. For David had done what was right in the eyes of the LORD and had not failed to keep any of the LORD's commands all the days of his life--except in the case of Uriah the Hittite.

Abijah of Judah only lasts three years. David is given as an example of one who did right in the eyes of YHWH... with the one obvious exception.

Does the mother of Abijah differ in chapter 14? Some ancient manuscripts give Abijam in place of Abijah. Abijah's reign is described more fully in 2 Chronicles 13.

Abishalom is a variant of Absalom. The phrase translated "daughter of Absalom" could also mean "granddaughter of Absalom". According to 2 Samuel 14:27 , Absalom has one daughter, Tamar, and according to 2 Chronicles 13: 2, Maacah is a daughter (or granddaughter) of Uriel who probably married Tamar. Maacah's appearance several times in Old Testament scripture is due to the fact that she was the favorite wife of Rehoboam (see 2 Chronicles 11:21.)

1 Kings 15:6-8, Death of Abijah

There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam throughout [Abijah's] lifetime. As for the other events of Abijah's reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. And Abijah rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David. And Asa his son succeeded him as king.

Asa succeeds Abijah in Judah.

Most ancient Hebrew manuscripts give Rehoboam in verse 6 but some Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac manuscripts give Abijam/Abijah.

1 Kings 15:9-15, Asa

In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa became king of Judah, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty-one years. His grandmother's name was Maacah daughter of Abishalom. Asa did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as his father David had done. He expelled the male shrine prostitutes from the land and got rid of all the idols his fathers had made. He even deposed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother, because she had made a repulsive Asherah pole. Asa cut the pole down and burned it in the Kidron Valley.

Although he did not remove the high places, Asa's heart was fully committed to the LORD all his life.  He brought into the temple of the LORD the silver and gold and the articles that he and his father had dedicated.

After Rehoboam and Abijah, there is Asa in Judah. Asa is described as following YHWH. He attempts to root out the idols and he returns the precious medals to the temple in Jerusalem.

Maacah shows up again. Hubbard argues that the adjective "repulsive", describing the Asherah pole built by Macaah, probably indicates a sexually suggestive idol. (The ancients had their own pornography.)

1 Kings 15:16-19, Blockade by Baasha

There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel throughout their reigns.

Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah. Asa then took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the LORD's temple and of his own palace. He entrusted it to his officials and sent them to Ben-Hadad son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, the king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus.

"Let there be a treaty between me and you," he said, "as there was between my father and your father. See, I am sending you a gift of silver and gold. Now break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so he will withdraw from me."

Baasha becomes king of Israel and fortifies the important city of Ramah to prevent the people of the southern kingdom from easily trading with the people of Israel. (Ramah was only about five miles north of Jerusalem.) Meanwhile, Asa, in the southern kingdom, makes a treaty with Ben-Hadad in Damascus. Ben-Hadad's territory is east and northeast of the northern kingdom and provides a threat to Baasha's reign.

1 Kings 15:20-24, Aid of Ben-Hadad

Ben-Hadad agreed with King Asa and sent the commanders of his forces against the towns of Israel. He conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel Beth Maacah and all Kinnereth in addition to Naphtali.

When Baasha heard this, he stopped building Ramah and withdrew to Tirzah.

Then King Asa issued an order to all Judah--no one was exempt--and they carried away from Ramah the stones and timber Baasha had been using there. With them King Asa built up Geba in Benjamin, and also Mizpah.

As for all the other events of Asa's reign, all his achievements, all he did and the cities he built, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? In his old age, however, his feet became diseased. Then Asa rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the city of his father David. And Jehoshaphat his son succeeded him as king.
 

Ben-Hadad, to the northeast of Judah, is an important ally, as he can attack the northern kingdom.  He forces Baasha to back off of his blockage of Israel.

We are briefly told that Jehoshaphat follows Asa.  We will return to the story of Jehoshaphat in I Kings 22. Before we do this, we will cover the reign of a number of kings of the northern kingdom.

1 Kings 15:25-28, Nadab

Nadab son of Jeroboam became king of Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, walking in the ways of his father and in his sin, which he had caused Israel to commit. Baasha son of Ahijah of the house of Issachar plotted against him, and he struck him down at Gibbethon, a Philistine town, while Nadab and all Israel were besieging it. Baasha killed Nadab in the third year of Asa king of Judah and succeeded him as king.

In Israel, Nadab follows Jeroboam and then is murdered by Baasha. This paragraph seems to be a flashback to explain the occurrence of Baasha.

1 Kings 15:29-31, Massacre of Jeroboam's family

As soon as he began to reign, he killed Jeroboam's whole family. He did not leave Jeroboam anyone that breathed, but destroyed them all, according to the word of the LORD given through his servant Ahijah the Shilonite-- because of the sins Jeroboam had committed and had caused Israel to commit, and because he provoked the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger.

As for the other events of Nadab's reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?

In taking the crown, Baasha massacres Jeroboam's family.

1 Kings 15:32-34, Asa and Baasha at war

There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel throughout their reigns. In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha son of Ahijah became king of all Israel in Tirzah, and he reigned twenty-four years. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, walking in the ways of Jeroboam and in his sin, which he had caused Israel to commit.

The kings of Judah after Rehoboam are Asa and the Jehoshaphat. 

The kings of Israel after Jeroboam are Abijah and Baasha, with a brief interlude of Nadab.

First published November 29, 2023, updated October 10, 2026