John Gill's Bible Commentary Ver. 1. And Elijah the Tishbite, [who] was of the inhabitants of Gilead , etc.] Which belonged partly to the Reubenites and Gadites, and partly to the half-tribe of Manasseh on the other side Jordan, where this prophet dwelt; but why he is called the Tishbite is not easy to say; what Kimchi observes seems right, that he was at first of a city called Toshab, and afterward’s dwelt at Gilead; which city perhaps is the same with Thisbe, in the tribe of Naphtali, the native place of Tobit, “Who in the time of Enemessar king of the Assyrians was led captive out of Thisbe, which is at the right hand of that city, which is called properly Nephthali in Galilee above Aser.” (Tobit 1:2) and, if so, is an instance of a prophet, even the prince of prophets, as Abarbinel calls him, coming out of Galilee, contrary to the suggestions of the Jews, ( John 7:52). R. Elias Levita observes, that after the affair of Gibeah an order was given to smite the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead, ( Judges 21:8-15), and that as it is reasonable to suppose some might escape, he thinks Elijah was one of them; and that when this began to be inhabited again, they that returned were called the inhabitants of Gilead, of whom Elijah was, who lived in those times, being, as the Jews suppose, Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the son of Aaron, (see Judges 20:28), but that he should be Elijah, and live to the times of Ahab, is beyond belief. By Origen he is said to be in Thesbon of Gilead; and by Epiphanius to be of Thesbis, of the land of the Arabians, Gilead bordering upon it: the same said unto Ahab ; who perhaps had been with him before, and reproved him for idolatry, warned him of the evil consequences of it, but to no purpose, and therefore now threatened in a very solemn manner: as the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand ; he swears by the living God, in whose presence he was, and to whom he appeals as the omniscient God, whose minister and prophet he was, and in whose name he came and spoke, and to whom he prayed; for standing was a prayer gesture, and sometimes put for it, (see Gill on “ Matthew 6:5”) and it was at the prayer of Elijah that rain was withheld, as follows, (see James 5:17) there shall not be dew nor rain these years ; for some years to come, even three years and a half: but according to my word ; in prayer, or as he should predict, in the name of the Lord.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-7 - God wonderfully suits men to the work he designs them for. The time were fit for an Elijah; an Elijah was fit for them. The Spirit of the Lord knows how to fit men for the occasions. Elijah let Ahab know tha God was displeased with the idolaters, and would chastise them by the want of rain, which it was not in the power of the gods they served to bestow. Elijah was commanded to hide himself. If Providence calls us to solitude and retirement, it becomes us to go: when we cannot be useful we must be patient; and when we cannot work for God, we must sit stil quietly for him. The ravens were appointed to bring him meat, and di so. Let those who have but from hand to mouth, learn to live upo Providence, and trust it for the bread of the day, in the day. God could have sent angels to minister to him; but he chose to show that he can serve his own purposes by the meanest creatures, as effectually a by the mightiest. Elijah seems to have continued thus above a year. The natural supply of water, which came by common providence, failed; but the miraculous supply of food, made sure to him by promise, failed not If the heavens fail, the earth fails of course; such are all ou creature-comforts: we lose them when we most need them, like brooks in summer. But there is a river which makes glad the city of God, tha never runs dry, a well of water that springs up to eternal life. Lord give us that living water! (1Ki 17:8-16)
Original Hebrew ויאמר559 אליהו452 התשׁבי8664 מתשׁבי8453 גלעד1568 אל413 אחאב256 חי2416 יהוה3068 אלהי430 ישׂראל3478 אשׁר834 עמדתי5975 לפניו6440 אם518 יהיה1961 השׁנים8141 האלה428 טל2919 ומטר4306 כי3588 אם518 לפי6310 דברי׃1697
