And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.
Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead х 'Eeliyaahuw (H452) ha-Tishbiy (H8664) mitoshaabeey (H8453) Gil`aad (H1568) The third word may be rendered either from the present Hebrew text, as in the King James Version, or, by a slight change of punctuation, Elijah the Tishbite, from Tisbi of Gilead: so also the Septuagint renders it: Eeliou ho profeetees ho ek Thesboon tees Galaad]. The site of this place has not yet been discovered; but if the latter meaning of the words be adopted, it conclusively settles two points:
(1) That Thisbe was not in Naphtali, as has been supposed (Reland, 'Palaestina,' p. 1035), but in Gilead; and
(2) that Elijah was not a resident merely, being a foreigner by birth, as Keil maintains ('Commentary,' in loco); an Ishmaelite (many of that race being on the confines of Gilead), as Michaelis suggests; but a native Gileadite. Josephus ('Antiquities,' b. 8:, ch. 13:, sec. 2) describes him as a native of Thesbon, a district in the Gilead country.' This prophet is introduced as abruptly as Melchizedek-his birth, parents, and call to the prophetic office being alike unrecorded. The commencement of his recorded ministry was at a great public crisis in the national history of Israel, when measures had been adopted by the court of Samaria which threatened to extinguish the very existence of true religion in the land. Jeroboam and his immediate successors had introduced an unhappy innovation in religion, by not only changing the central place of worship and the appointed time of the festivals, but by patronizing the use of Egyptian symbols. Still they adhered to the worship of Yahweh in connection with images. Ahab effected a far worse revolution by the introduction of the pagan or Phoenician idols, Baal and Ashtaroth, and building sanctuaries to them. Through the seductive influence of the court, the people of Israel, previously prone to idolatry, followed the pernicious precedent, and the worship of Yahweh was at a low ebb in the kingdom of Israel. Elijah appeared in this state of affairs.
Said unto Ahab. The prophet appears to have been warning this apostate king how fatal both to himself and people would be the reckless course he was pursuing; and the failure of Elijah's efforts to make an impression on the obstinate heart of Ahab is shown by the penal prediction uttered at parting.
Before whom I stand - i:e., whom I serve (Deuteronomy 18:5).
There shall not be dew nor rain these years. Not absolutely; but the dew and the rain should not fall in the usual and necessary quantities. This was a calamity incident to the land of Israel, and applied for the punishment of sin (cf. 1 Kings 8:33; Deuteronomy 11:17; Deuteronomy 28:23). Such a suspension of moisture was sufficient to answer the corrective purposes of God, while an absolute drought must have converted the whole country into an uninhabitable waste. The duration of this drought is stated by the Apostle James (James 5:17), to have been three years and six months.
But according to my word. Not uttered in spite, vengeance, or caprice, but as the minister of God. The impending calamity was in answer to his earnest prayer, and a chastisement intended for the spiritual revival of Israel. Miracles and prophecies are the two grand evidences of a divine revelation. And in particular, the commission of a true prophet was attested steal by the occurrence of extraordinary events in the future, conformably to his announcement. Drought was the threatened punishment of national idolatry (Deuteronomy 11:16-17; Deuteronomy 28:23); and Elijah now made a particular application of the divine denunciation.