1 Kings 18 · Verse 2

1 Kings 18:2

And Elijah went to shew himself unto Ahab. And there was a sore famine in Samaria.
1 Kings 18:2, King James Version

1 Kings 18:2 in other translations

BSBSo Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. The famine was severe in Samaria,
WEBElijah went to show himself to Ahab. The famine was severe in Samaria.
ASVAnd Elijah went to show himself unto Ahab. And the famine was sore in Samaria.
YLTand Elijah goeth to appear unto Ahab. And the famine is severe in Samaria,
DARBYAnd Elijah went to shew himself to Ahab. And the famine was severe in Samaria.
BBESo Elijah went to let Ahab see him. Now there was no food to be had in Samaria.
WebsterAnd Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. And there was a grievous famine in Samaria.

What does 1 Kings 18:2 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
2. Elijah went--a marvellous proof of the natural intrepidity of this prophet, of his moral courage, and his unfaltering confidence in the protecting care of God, that he ventured to approach the presence of the raging lion. there was a sore famine in Samaria--Elijah found that the famine was pressing with intense severity in the capital. Corn must have been obtained for the people from Egypt or the adjoining countries, else life could not have been sustained for three years; but Ahab, with the chamberlain of his royal household, is represented as giving a personal search for pasture to his cattle. On the banks of the rivulets, grass, tender shoots of grass, might naturally be expected; but the water being dried up, the verdure would disappear. In the pastoral districts of the East it would be reckoned a most suitable occupation still for a king or chief to go at the head of such an expedition. Ranging over a large tract of country, Ahab had gone through one district, Obadiah through another.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 1 Kings 18:1-16

The severest judgments, of themselves, will not humble or change the hearts of sinners; nothing, except the blood of Jesus Christ, can atone for the guilt of sin; nothing, except the sanctifying Spirit of God, can purge away its pollution. The priests and the Levites were gone to Judah and Jerusalem, 2Ch 11:13, 14, but instead of them God raised up prophets, who read and expounded the word. They probably were from…

Read the full comment on 1 Kings 18:1-16 →

1 Kings 18:2 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיֵּ֙לֶךְ֙vai.Ye.lekhand he wentH1980
אֵֽלִיָּ֔הוּ'e.li.Ya.huElijahH452
לְהֵרָא֖וֹתle.he.ra.'otto present himselfH7200
אֶל\־'el-toH413
אַחְאָ֑ב'ach.'AvAhabH256
וְהָרָעָ֖בve.ha.ra.'Avand the famineH7458
חָזָ֥קcha.Zak[was] severeH2389
בְּשֹׁמְרֽוֹן\׃be.sho.me.Ronin SamariaH8111

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 1 Kings 18:2

  • Joel 1:15-20

    Alas for the day! for the day of the Lord is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come. Is not the meat cut off before our eyes, yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God? The seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered. How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate. …

  • Leviticus 26:26

    And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied.

  • Psalms 27:1

    A Psalm of David. The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

  • Psalms 51:4

    Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

  • Isaiah 51:12

    I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass;

  • Deuteronomy 28:23-24

    And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron. The Lord shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.

  • Proverbs 28:1

    The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.

  • 2 Kings 6:25

    And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass’s head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove’s dung for five pieces of silver.

  • Hebrews 13:5-6

    Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

  • Jeremiah 14:2-6

    Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they are black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up. And their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters: they came to the pits, and found no water; they returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded, and covered their heads. Because the ground is chapt, for there was no rain in the earth, the plowmen were ashamed, they covered their heads. Yea, the hind also calved in the field, and forsook it, because there was no grass. …

  • Jeremiah 14:18

    If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then behold them that are sick with famine! yea, both the prophet and the priest go about into a land that they know not.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
went to shew.
Ps 27:1; 51:4; Pr 28:1; Isa 51:12; Heb 13:5,6
a sore.
Le 26:26; De 28:23,24; 2Ki 6:25; Jer 14:2-6,18; Joe 1:15-20

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 1 Kings 18:1

    And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.

  • 1 Kings 18:2

    And Elijah went to shew himself unto Ahab. And there was a sore famine in Samaria.

  • 1 Kings 18:3

    And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly:

Read all of 1 Kings 18

1 Kings 18:2 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Fué pues Elías á mostrarse á Achâb. Había á la sazón grande hambre en Samaria.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et Élie s’en alla pour se montrer à Achab. Et la famine était forte à Samarie.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und Elia ging hin, um sich Ahab zu zeigen. Die Hungersnot aber war stark in Samaria.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Ivit ergo Elias, ut ostenderet se Achab: erat autem fames vehemens in Samaria.