1 Kings 19:3

And when he saw that,.... That her design and resolution were to take away his life; the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and Syriac versions read, "and he was afraid"; or frightened; he that had such

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.

Went for his life, i.e. to save his life; or, according to his soul, or mind; whereby it may be intimated, that he did not flee from Jezreel by the hand or direction of the Lord, by which he came thither, , but because of his own fear and apprehension of danger; for this may seem to be an act of human frailty. For God had brought him hither, and his presence might seem very necessary here to encourage and engage the king and people to go on to destroy the priests of the groves, and to purge out idolatry; and his withdrawing, as we see, did discourage all the rest, and occasioned their return to idolatry again; and having had such a late and ample experience of God’ s all-sufficiency in protecting him against the king and four hundred and fifty of Baal’ s priests, and the current of the people incensed against him for the famine, he had little reason to fear the threats of an impotent woman, whom God could cut off in a moment. But Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, , which probably is said with respect to his fear and discontent, manifested here and . And lest he should be exalted above measure for his eminent gifts, and graces, and miraculous works, God saw fit to withdraw his grace, and to leave him to himself, that he might be sensible of his own impotency and sinfulness, and might not dare to take any part of God’ s honour to himself. Which belonged to Judah; either, first, To the tribe of Judah, according to the first division; for Simeon’ s part, in which Beer-sheba was, was afterwards taken out of it. Or, secondly, To the kingdom of Judah. Left his servant there; partly, that he might abide there in safety; and partly, that he should wait there till his return: partly, because he would not expose him to those perils and hardships which he expected; and partly, because he desired solitude, that he might more freely converse with God.

1 Kings 19:3 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.Ver. 3. That he arose and went for his life.] But better he had stood to his task as a prophet, and answered as Chrysostom did when Eudoxia the Empress threatened him, Go tell her, said he, nil nisi peccatum timeo, I fear nothing but sin; or as Basil did when Valens, the Arian Emperor, sent him word he would be the death of him, I would he would, said he; I shall but go to heaven the sooner. Sed non est omnium placide ferre offensiones et contemnere furores magnatum, saith one; - But it is not so easy a matter to bear the displeasure and slight the rage of great ones. Luther had his fits of fear, though ordinarily he could say, Contemptus est a me Romanus et favor et furor, I care neither for the Pope’ s favour nor fury. Elijah, who so lately confronted Ahab, and cut off his Baalites, now trembleth at the threats of a wicked woman, factus seipso imbecillior. Gregory doubteth not to say, that because he began to be tickled with high conceits of himself for the great acts which he had done, he was suffered thus to fear, and to fall beneath himself, for his humiliation. The like we see in Peter, scared by a silly wench; to show us how weak even as water we are, when left never so little to ourselves. And left his servant there.] Heb., His boy, as not willing to expose him to the wants of the wilderness, et ut ipse solus secretius fugeret et lateret, and for privacy’ s sake. Eιθεγενοιτομοι

(3) He arose, and went for his life.—The sudden reaction of disappointment and despondency, strange as it seems to superficial observation, is eminently characteristic of an impulsive and vehement nature. His blow had been struck, as he thought, triumphantly. Now the power of cool unrelenting antagonism makes itself felt, unshaken and only embittered by all that had passed. On Ahab and the people he knows that he cannot rely; so once more he flees for his life. Beer-sheba. (See Genesis 21:14; Genesis 21:33; Genesis 22:19; Genesis 28:10; Genesis 46:1, &c.)—This frontier town of Palestine to the south is little mentioned after the patriarchal time. The note that “it belonged to Judah” is, perhaps, significant. Judah was now in half-dependent alliance with Israel; even under Jehoshaphat, Elijah might not be safe there, though his servant—traditionally the son of the widow of Zarephath—might stay without danger.

Verse 3. He arose, and went for his life] He saw it was best to give place to this storm, and go to a place of safety. He probably thought that the miracle at Carmel would have been the means of effecting the conversion of the whole court and of the country, but, finding himself mistaken, he is greatly discouraged. To Beer-sheba] This being at the most southern extremity of the promised land, and under the jurisdiction of the king of Judah, he might suppose himself in a place of safety. Left his servant there.] Being alone, he would be the more unlikely to be discovered; besides, he did not wish to risk the life of his servant.

3. And when he saw that] The LXX. reading εַ ?ιִ ?ψָ ?ΰ instead of the text εַ ?ιַ ?ψָ ?ΰ renders by καὶἐφοβήθη, ‘and he was afraid.’ And this makes a good sense. But it is not necessary. Elijah saw (mentally) from the message which came to him, that he must be gone, if he would save his life. Moreover after the verb ‘to fear’ there usually follows a mention of the person who is feared. and went for his life] i.e. To make sure of saving his life. It was no part of his duty to expose himself to unnecessary peril. The same phrase is found in 2 Kings 7:7 and nearly the same in Genesis 19:17. The Vulgate rendering ‘quocunque eum ferebat voluntas’ ‘wherever he felt inclined’ is certainly not what is meant. and came to Beer-sheba, which belongeth to Judah] Beer-sheba was in the tribe of Simeon (see Joshua 19:2), though in Joshua 15:28 it is included among the uttermost cities of Judah. Here ‘which belongeth to Judah’ signifies ‘which is part of the kingdom of Judah.’ Elijah had thus escaped from Ahab’s dominions. The use of such a phrase shews that the writer of this narrative was an Israelite. and left his servant there] The servant (according to Jewish tradition, the son of the widow of Zarephath) must have attended on him from Carmel to Jezreel, and from thence to the south of Judah. The prophet now desires solitude, and so dismisses him. In the need of spiritual communion with God no companion is desired. Even Jesus himself said to His disciples ‘Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder’ (Matthew 26:36).

The rapid movement of the original is very striking. “And he saw (or, “feared,” as some read), and he rose, and he went, etc.” The fear and flight of Elijah are very remarkable.

3. When he saw — Saw how things stood; saw the storm coming because of Ahab’s instability and lack of moral courage and firm principle to rule his house, and silence the rage of Jezebel.