Prophetic Contests: Elijah Appears
1 Kings 17:1-6
One Volume
by Gary M. Burge

After the report about Hiel of Bethel and the fulfillment of the word of the Lord spoken through Joshua many centuries before, Elijah the prophet bursts onto the scene (17:1) without much introduction (like Ahijah, Shemaiah, and Jehu before him), though he seems to originate from a settlement beyond the Jordan River. Elijah’s initial confrontation with Ahab consists of a single sentence about rain, an important narrative signal of a key theme in this stretch of text. As numerous scholars maintain, there is a theological confrontation in this text as well: where does ultimate power reside, in the word …

Baker Publishing Group, The Baker Illustrated Bible Commentary, by Gary M. Burge