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1–8. Jezebel's threat to the prophet Elijah and his removal from Jezreel to Beersheba and further to Horeb. 9–18. Horeb Epiphany to the Prophet. 19–21. The anointing of Elisha to the prophetic ministry in place of Elijah. 1 Kings 19:1. And Ahab told Jezebel everything that Elijah had done, and that he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 1 Kings 19:2. And Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say: [if you are Elijah, and I am Jezebel, then] let the gods do this and that to me, and even more, if by this time tomorrow I do not do with your soul what was done with the soul of each of them. 1 Kings 19:3. When he saw this, he arose and went to save his life, and came to Beersheba, which is in Judea, and left his servant there. Ahab's story to Jezebel about the Carmel events, in particular about the killing, according to the word of the prophet Elijah, of the priests of Baal (1 Kings 18:40), was probably intended to win over his wife to the religion of Jehovah; but on Jezebel, a stubborn and fanatical pagan, this story had the opposite effect; aroused her rage, vindictiveness and intention to fight with all determination for the cult of Baal and against the main representative of the religion of Jehovah - the prophet Elijah, who caused the death of her priests; and she, through the ambassador, swears (cf. 3 Kings 2:23,20:10) threatens him with death, probably intending to induce him to flee (to kill the prophet Elijah, like many other prophets (1 Kings 18:4,13), Jezebel apparently does not find it possible due to the fame of his people, especially soon after the incidents at Carmel, when the impression of the prophet’s power the true God was still fresh on the people). LXX, glory. in the words of Jezebel, v. 2, add ει συ ει Ηλιου, καὶ ἐγὼ ᾿Ιεζαβελ, “if you are Elijah, I”, i.e. “I will be able to contrast your activity and the authority of the prophet with my authority as a queen, a reader Baal." Jezebel probably did this not without the knowledge of Ahab, who turned out to be too weak to resist Jezebel: the feeling of repentance (cf. note to (1 Kings 18:45–46)) in him turned out to be too shallow and fruitless. The prophet was afraid (LXX: ἐφοβήθη; Vulg.: timuit ergo, slav.: “and feared”, corresponding to the Hebrew chapter yare, “to be afraid”, and not yara – “to see”, as in the Hebrew and Russian synod, v. 3). “Why,” asks blessed Theodoret (question 59), “Elijah, having such strength, was afraid of Jezebel alone?” And he answers: “because he was not only a prophet, but also a man. On the other hand, fear was a matter of God’s vision. So that the greatness of miracles would not overwhelm the mind, grace allowed nature to give place to fear, and through this the prophet to know his own weakness.” The prophet leaves the kingdom of Israel for Bathsheba - in the kingdom of Judah. Bathsheba belonged to the tribe of Simeon (Josh. 19:2; 2 Sam. 24:7), lay on the border of Idumea, now Khirbet-bir-es-Seba, Onomast 277; at the southern end of Judah and all Canaan, as Dan formed the northern boundary thereof; hence the well-known expression “from Dan to Bathsheba” (Judges 20:1; 1 Kings 3:20; 2 Kings 3:10,17:11,24:15; 1 Kings 4:25), cf. Robinson, Palastinal, 337. Although this city belonged to the kingdom of Judah, even during the division of the kingdoms it attracted many pilgrims from the kingdom of Israel (Am.5:5,8:14). In Bathsheba the prophet leaves his servant (v. 3), n. (1 Kings 18:43–44); In his sadness, the prophet naturally wanted to be alone. 1 Kings 19:4. And he himself went into the desert for a day's journey and, coming, sat down under a juniper bush, and asked for death for himself and said: Enough is enough, Lord; take my soul, for I am no better than my fathers. 1 Kings 19:5. And he lay down and fell asleep under a juniper bush. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him: get up, eat [and drink]. 1 Kings 19:6. And Elijah looked, and behold, at his head was a baked cake and a pitcher of water. He ate and drank and fell asleep again. 1 Kings 19:7. And the Angel of the Lord returned a second time, touched him and said: Arise, eat [and drink], for a long road is before you. 1 Kings 19:8. And he got up, ate and drank, and, refreshed with that food, he walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God Horeb. Dejected by grief, the prophet goes into the desert - the same Arabian desert through which the people of God once wandered, and here under one bush there is a gorse plant (Heb. rotem, cf. (Ps. 119:4; Job 30:4); LXX: ὑποκάτω ´Ραθμέν; Vulg.: subter juniperum; slav.: “under the tornado”; Russian synod: “under the juniper bush”) - a plant that is often found in Arabia and produces the coal used there (Ps. 119:4) - gave in to a feeling of deep sorrow and regret about the failures of his prophetic mission, and this feeling, in connection with fiery zeal for God (compare verses 10, 14), resulted in the prophet asking or a prayer to God about death - about taking away from him the highest gift of God's mercy - life (cf. (Ps. 60:7; Proverbs 3:2), etc.): his life seemed to him not fulfilling its purpose, and therefore, following the example of his ancestors, he asks God for death. This desire and request of the prophet was not an expression of cowardice and murmuring on his part, otherwise he would not have been awarded the double message of the angel 22 (vv. 5, 7) to strengthen him and teach him. Having refreshed himself with the food indicated by the angel, the prophet goes to Mount Horeb of God and reaches it in 40 days. Horeb (LXX: With ωρήβ; Heb. Horeb; Vulg.: Horeb, ( Ex.3:1,17:6,33:6; Deut.1:6,4:10; 3Kings.8:9), etc.) is called the mountain of God and is often identified in the Bible with Sinai. They are usually distinguished by the fact that Horeb is taken to be the entire mountain range between aadi Shueb, Raha and Leja, and Sinai is a separate high peak rising above it to the south (Onomastic, 975). The prophet walked a relatively small space from the desert adjacent to Beersheba to Horeb in the land of Midian for 40 days - probably with long stops and deviations from the direct path (to avoid pursuers); the direct route in the indicated direction did not exceed 50 versts (according to (Deut. 1:2) from Horeb to Kadesh-Barnea, which lies somewhat south of Bathsheba, - 11 days of travel). The 40 days of Elijah's journey to the mountain of legislation have an analogy with the 40-day stay of Moses on the mountain of legislation (Exodus 24:18), and how Moses spent 40 days without food or drink (Exodus 34:28; Deut.9:9,18,25,10:10), so one might think that the prophet Elijah fasted during the 40-day journey to Horeb ("fortified by it") food"; slav.: "I go to the fortress of that food"; Vulg.: ambulavit in fortitudine cibi illius), passionately wanting to have God's Revelation about the fate of Israel and his own prophetic mission. 1 Kings 19:9. And he entered a cave there and spent the night in it. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and the Lord said to him: Why are you here, Elijah? 1 Kings 19:10. He said, “I have been jealous for the Lord God of hosts, because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, destroyed Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword; I am left alone, but they are looking for my soul to take it away. 1 Kings 19:11. And he said, Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, and behold, the Lord will pass by, and a great and strong wind will tear apart the mountains and break the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord will not be in the wind; after the wind there is an earthquake, but the Lord is not in the earthquake; 1 Kings 19:12. after the earthquake there is fire, but the Lord is not in the fire; after the fire there is a breath of quiet wind, [and the Lord is there]. 1 Kings 19:13. Hearing this, Elijah covered his face with his mantle, and went out and stood at the entrance to the cave. And a voice came to him and said to him: Why are you here, Elijah? 1 Kings 19:14. He said, “I have been jealous for the Lord God of hosts, because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, destroyed Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword; I am left alone, but they are also looking for my soul in order to take it away. God’s question to Elijah, “Why are you here, Elijah?” (v. 9) there is no meaning of reproach to the prophet for his cowardly flight into the desert from a mission among society, as some interpreters think, but there is simply a call of divine love to the prophet, tired in soul and body - to open his soul to Jehovah. And the prophet reveals the innermost content of his thoughts and feelings of his heart: fiery jealousy and acute grief about Israel’s violation of the covenant with God, about the destruction or desecration of sacred altars, about the beating of the prophets, so that of the latter only Elijah remained, but his life was in danger from his persecutors (vv. 10, 14). Jealousy for the broken Covenant 23, once concluded at Sinai (Exodus 34:1-10), and now prompting the prophet to turn to God with complaints about Israel (Rom.11:2): ΄ ισραήλ) on the same mountain of covenant and legislation puts the prophet Elijah in parallel with the Lawgiver Moses (both great men subsequently appeared as the Lawgiver of the New Testament, Jesus Christ, on the Mount of Transfiguration), (Matthew 17:3; Mark 9:4; Luke 9:30). With the name of the zealot, the prophet Elijah passed into history. The very speech of the prophet v. 10, repeated after art. 14, there is a question for God: what measures or means can be applied to treacherous Israel? Without prejudging this issue, the prophet, however, could have wanted quick and decisive punishment. God's answer to the words and thoughts of the prophet is, firstly, the special character of theophany, v. 11–12, and then God’s command to appoint two kings and a prophet to carry out God’s judgment on Israel. Epiphany to the prophet Elijah at Horeb, v. 11–12, closely resembles the Epiphany that once took place here to Moses (Exodus 33:18–19,22,34:6) - also regarding the violation of the covenant by Israel at Sinai (Exodus 32:1). As for the very nature of the theophany, it follows from the fact that Jehovah did not appear in a whirlwind and storm (cf. Is. 17:13, 40:24), not in an earthquake (cf. Is. 24:18), not in an all-consuming fire (cf. Is. 66:15) - the usual formidable elemental forces of the punishing, angry power of God (cf. Ps. 17: 8-18; Is.29:5–6), and in the stillness of the wind (cf. Job 4:16; Ps.103:3), - the prophet learned that Jehovah “recognized that it is best to rule the human race with meekness and long-suffering, although it is not difficult for Him to send lightning and thunder against the wicked, to shake the earth, instantly dig a ditch for them and completely destroy them all with swift winds” (Blessed Theodoret, question 59). The word and there Lord in the Slavic and Russian translations of verse 12 is not in the Hebrew text, nor in the accepted text of the LXX, however, in many Greek codices they are read (κὰκεῖ: Κύριος in codices 19, 44, 52, 64, 74, 92, 106, 119, 120, 123, 158, 236, 213, 246, in Golmes; και εκει Κυριος - in codices 59, 108, 121, 134, 245, 247, ibid) and they fully express the meaning of the text. Vulg. however, it also does not have them. In general, this theophany is very important for the whole theology of the Old Testament, testifying that, according to the teaching of the Old Testament, God is not an elemental force, but a spiritual moral principle, for which elemental phenomena are only means of manifestation, but whose actions are always sealed with a higher moral character, and the basic law of God’s action in the world in general and especially towards people is love and mercy (cf. Ex. 34:6). Feeling the presence of God in the breeze of the quiet wind, the prophet Elijah came out of the cave in which he was during the stunning natural phenomena, and in reverent awe before the Unapproachable God covered his face with a cloak (with mercy, LXX: ἐν τῆ μιλωτῆ; Vulg.: pallio; Heb. adderet) his face, like Moses with those who were with him at Horeb same theophany (Ex.3:6,33:20,22; cf. Is.6:2). 1 Kings 19:15. And the Lord said to him: Go back on your way through the desert to Damascus, and when you come, anoint Hazael king over Syria, 1 Kings 19:16. and anoint Jehu the son of Namesa king over Israel; Now anoint Elisha, the son of Shaphat, from Abel-meholah, as a prophet in your place; 1 Kings 19:17. whoever runs away from the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill him; and whoever escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill him. 1 Kings 19:18. However, I left among the Israelites seven thousand [men]; All these knees have not bowed before Baal, and all these lips have not kissed him. If in Art. 11–12 contains a symbolic answer to the words of the prophet (vv. 10, 14), now another answer of God is given to the same bewilderment of the prophet - God’s command to him - to “anoint”: Hazael as king over Syria, Jehu as king over Israel and Elisha as Elijah’s successor in the prophetic ministry (v. 15). These three very different figures are united here as having to serve the fulfillment of the will of God, God's plans for Israel in particular: Hazael, king of Syria, subsequently became the scourge of God's wrath against Israel and constantly oppressed him from the outside (2 Kings 8:12,29,10:32,13:3,7); Jehu made difficult internal upheavals in the kingdom of Israel: he destroyed the house of Ahab and the cult of Baal, which he introduced (2 Kings 9:24,33,10:1–28); the prophet Elisha was a direct successor of the work of the prophet Elijah: the struggle against paganism in Israel, and was an instrument of the teaching and punishing action of God - of course, not through a material sword, like the first two (v. 17), but through the sword of the prophetic word (Is. 49:2) and all his prophetic activities. The Prophet Elijah personally fulfilled only the third command of God - to appoint Elisha as his successor (vv. 19-21). But “if he anointed the prophet and imparted spiritual grace to him, then he also anointed others, because Elisha, having received prophetic grace through him, transferred the gift to them and imparted to them royal grace” (Blessed Theodoret, issue 60). However, “anointing” here has a completely general meaning: appointments, assignments, pre-indications, callings: even Elisha was called by the prophet Elijah to prophetic service not through anointing with oil (the anointing of prophets as a method of calling is not mentioned at all in the Old Testament, except for the prophecies about the anointing of the supreme prophet Messiah), (Is. 61:1; Luke 4:18 ), and through the placing on him of a prophetic mantle or cloak (v. 19) n. (2 Kings 1:8,2:13; Zech.13:4); nevertheless, we can talk about the “anointing” of Hazael to rule in Syria: the prophet Elisha, the executor of the will of the prophet Elijah, simply conveyed to Hazael the will of God about him (2 Kings 8: 7–13); only Jehu, like other Jewish kings (cf. 1 Kings 10:1; 1 Kings 1:34, etc.), was actually anointed to the kingdom, although not by the prophet Elisha himself, but by one of the “sons of the prophets” (2 Kings 9:1–10). For the position of Abel-Meholah, the hometown of the prophet Elisha (according to Eusebius-Jerome, 10 miles south; from Scythopolis or Bethsan, Onomastic 5), see note. to (1 Kings 4:12). Along with the announcement of judgment against the kingdom of Israel (v. 17), the prophet Elijah is also given the gracious consolation that among the widespread spread of wickedness in Israel there are also bearers of true faith and piety unknown to the world and even to the prophet, but known to the one God: 7,000 (men) who did not bow the knee to Baal and did not kiss his statue (v. 18). 7 thousand - a round definite number instead of an indefinite set like the 144,000 sealed - in (Rev. 7: 4,14: 1-5); 7 is the symbolic number of holiness, covenant, cult (K. Bahr. Symbolik des masisch. Kull. I, 5, 193) and here, naturally, is taken to designate the remnant of the Israelites faithful to the covenant, as the “holy seed” of the people of the covenant (Is. 6:13; cf. Rom. 11:7). On kneeling as an expression of religious feeling, see (1 Kings 8:54); about kissing statues of golden calves, see (Hos. 13:2). Wed. in M. Palmov, Idolatry among the Ancient Jews, p. 232. 1 Kings 19:19. And he went from there, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, while he was shouting; He had twelve pairs of oxen, and he himself was with the twelfth. Elijah, passing by him, threw his mantle at him. 1 Kings 19:20. And [Elisha] left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me kiss my father and my mother, and I will follow thee. He said to him: Go and come back, for what have I done to you? 1 Kings 19:21. He departed from him, took a pair of oxen and slaughtered them, and, having lit the oxen's plow, roasted their meat, and distributed it to the people, and they ate. And he himself got up and went after Elijah, and began to serve him. Although the voice of God commanded Elijah (v. 15) to go from Horeb through the desert to Damascus, the capital of Syria (Is. 7:8); Onomast 378, for the anointing of Hazael, but he, having decided first of all to appoint a successor in the future, and a necessary collaborator in the present, goes to the city of Abel-Meholah, where Elisha lived. It is possible that the prophet Elijah previously knew this young man (which is why he stopped right at him), who apparently belonged to a rich family (12 pairs of working oxen). The symbolic action of the prophet Elijah, which meant his acceptance of Elisha into his spiritual communion (cf. Ruth. 3:9; Ezek. 16:8), more particularly into cooperation in the prophetic ministry (cf. 2 Kings 2:13), was precisely understood by Elisha, who completely, with complete readiness follows this calling, having only asked the consent of the prophet Elijah to say goodbye to his parents (v. 20; the words of the prophet Elijah “what have I done for you” indicate the importance of the calling to prophecy and together with freedom in following this calling) and having arranged a farewell meal for relatives and friends from the very oxen on which he plowed. By this, the prophet broke off his everyday relationships for the highest service of God in the office of a prophet (v. 21). See A Glagolev. Old Testament biblical teaching about angels. Kyiv, 1900, p. 302 Talmudists, under the name of “Covenant” (Heb. takes), here, on the basis of (Gen. 17:13–14), mean circumcision, and since circumcision was not actually abandoned during the time of the prophet, then, according to the belief of the Talmudists, the prophet Elijah was punished for his incorrect condemnation of Israel by the fact that from then on he was forever obliged to be present at the operation of circumcision, for which it is usually supplied at circumcision special chair for the prophet Elijah. See A. Alekseev. Worship, holidays and religious rites of modern Jews. Novgorod, 1861, p. 154–155 You might be interested in: