The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Kings — Section 409

went one way by himself [Heb. alone. lord, Behold, Elijah 1s he?,'- [Heb. Behold, Rawlinson says, "Thie does not mean Elijah. Obe.dia.h echorn th~ words of ver. 8.J that either Ahab or Obadio.h wo.s un- Ver. 12.-And it shall come to pass, accompanied by o. retinue," but it may very as soon as I am gone rrom thee, that [Heb. well mean that (i "JS, solw; LXX. µ6voc; I shall go from thee, and] the Spirit of the Lord shall carry thee whither I know not Bii.hr allein. Cf. ver. 22), if, indeed, it must [These words, which literally tro.nslo.ted a.re not necessarily mean it; and ver. 14 "shall lift thee up upan where," &c., are to certo.inly implies that Obadiah at least was be explained by 2 Kings ii. 16, " lest tho nnattended], and Obadiah went another Spirit of the Lord ho.th taken him up" (same way by himself. word) "e.nd cast him upon some 11wuntain," Ver. 7.-And as Obadiah was In the way, &c. Seb. Schmidt, Wordsworth, al. think behold, Elijah met him [Heb. to meet him]: that such a transportation must ho.ve and he lmew [i.e., recognized. Same word, already occurred in the history of Elijah, Gen. xxvii. 23; xlii. 7; &c.] him, and fell on but the sudden, mysterious rliso.ppeamnce h1s face, and said, Art thou that [Heb. this, and the long concealment of the prnphet is probably used adverbially (like hie) for here quite sufficient to account for Obadiah's = in::!] my lord Elijah? [The humble fear. Compare Acts viii. 30. The words obei~~nce and the terms in which he ad- do suggest, however, tha.t it ho.d beeu dresses him a.like show the profound rever- believed by some that the Lord had hid ence with which Obadiah regarded him, as Elijah, and it is not improbable tha.t during well he might do, considering the terrible his long absence rumours had often gained power he wielded. The whole land was, so credence tho.t he had been seen and had to speak, at his mercy.] suddenly disappeared, just o.s later Jews Ver. 8.-And he answered him, I am have held the.t he "ho.s appeared ag11in [Heb. I]: go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah and age.in as an A.mbio.n merchant to wise 1s here. [The last two words are not in the and good Rabbis at their prayers or in Hebrew, and the sentence is much more their journeys" (Stanley)]; and so when I graphic without them.] come and tell [Heb. and I come to tdll Ver. 9.-And he said, What have I sinned, Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall that thou wouldst deliver [Heb, that t/wu slay me [This is just whe.t a prince like art giving] thy servant into the hand of Ahab, or o.ny prince who was under the Ahab, to slay me? guide.nee of a Jezebel, would do, out of sheer Ver. 10.-As the Lord thy God llveth vexation o.t losing his prey when so nea1·ly [Obo.dia.h uses precisely the same adjuration in his graspJ: but [Heb. and] I thy servant as the widow of Zo.rephath, eh. xvii. 12. fear the Lord from my youth. [Olrndio.h's But then, though Jehovah was undoubtedly meaning clearly is not that he, "as a. Go<l- his God, He was in o. more special and in- fea1·ing man and a protector of the prophets, timate manner Elijah's God. The oo.th cannot have any specio.l favour to expect corresponds well with the prophet's no.ma], from A.ho.b" (Keil; similo.rlyEwo.lJ).but tlio.t there 1s no nation or kingdom, whither my it we.s hard that one who wu.s a steo.dfaot lord hatll not sent to seek thee (Keil says worshipper of Elijah's God shoul,l be sLJ.iu the hyperbole is to be explained by the "in- !or his sake. It is extremely unlikely that ward excitement and fear" of the speaker. Aho.b knew of Obadio.h's having protected But the Orientals use similo.r exai;:gero.tione the prophets. He could ho.rdly have m,\in- in their calmest moments. All that is tained him in his post ha,1 he kuowu thr1t meant is that o.ll neighbouring and acces- the steward of tho po.lace ho.d thww:tc,l tho sible courts had been co=unico.ted with. designs of his queen.] This search for Elijah shows that Ahab re- Ver. 13.-Wa.s it not told my lord what I go.rded hini as the author of the drought, di<l when Jezebel slew tilo prophets of the and did not recognize it as sent by God. Lord, how I hid an hundred meu of [Heb. The belief in occult and magical powers from] the Lord's prophets by llfty 1n a cave, has o.lwaye held possessiou of t\Je Eastern and fed them with bread and water 1 mind) : and when they saJd, Ha is not [Stanley happily calls Obndiah "the Sebas- there [Heb. Not, and he, &o.]; he took an tian of this Jewish Dioolctian."] oath [LXX. ivhrp71a,, which ho.s been Ver. 14.-And now thou sayest [="This thought by some to point to e.cts of von- is to be the rew1\rd of my devotion, is it?"], geanoe. But more probably it is a clerico.l Go, tell thy .lord, Behold, Elijah 1s here : error, perhaps for wpir:,ae, or lvwp~1ae. On and he shall slay me. the frequency of oaths in the.t o.ge see on Ver. 15.-And Elijah said, As tho Lord of eh. i. 51) of the kingdom and na.tion, that hosts llveth, before whom I sta.nd [This they found thee not. formula should be compared with t\a\t of Ver. 11 .-And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy 'eh. xvii, 1. The repetition is suggestive as  'l'HE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS. [oH. xvm. 1-46.