1 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.
2 And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying,
3 Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.
4 And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.
5 So he went and did according unto the word of the Lord: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.
6 And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.
7 And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.
8 And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying,
9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.
10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.
11 And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.
12 And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.
13 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.
14 For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth.
15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.
16 And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah.
17 And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him.
18 And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son?
19 And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed.
20 And he cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son?
21 And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again.
22 And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.
23 And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth.
24 And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth.
<html><b>Eliyahu haTishbi said.</b> From a land (Other texts: The name of the city) named Toshav. <b>As Adonoy lives.</b> Why was this placed here? For Eliyahu and Achov went to console Chieil in his mourning. Achov said to Eliyahu, “Is it possible that the student’s curse was fulfilled while Moshe our teacher’s curse was not fulfilled, as it is stated, “And you turn away and serve other gods, and bow down to them, Adonoy’s wrath will be aroused against you, and He will restrain the skies [and there will be no rain].”1<i class=“footnote”>Devarim 11:17,18.</i> Now, all Yisroel are worshiping idols, yet, the rains are not being withheld. Immediately, Eliyahu said, etc.2<i class=“footnote”>Maseches Sanhedrin 113a.</i> 3<i class=“footnote”>Eliyahu intended that by withholding the rain and dew, some or all of the people would repent from their idol worship.—Radak</i></html>
<html><b>And hide.</b> From Achov and Ezevel.4<i class=“footnote”>No one should know where you are.—Radak</i></html>
<html><b>The brook dried up.</b> In order that he realize the need for rain and trouble himself to go into exile, for it was displeasing to the Holy One Blessed Is He, that Yisroel should be living in hunger.5<i class=“footnote”>See Maseches Sanhedrin 113a and Rashi there.</i></html>
<html><b>To Tzorphas.</b> [Tzorphas was] the name of the city. <b>I have commanded there.</b> In My retinue, that a widow will feed you there.</html>
<html><b>Please bring me a little water.</b> He was unable to identify the widow6<i class=“footnote”>According to the Midrash, this widow was the mother of Yonah the son of Amitai, the prophet.—Radak</i> about whom the Holy One Blessed Is He, had told him. But he learned from Eliezer, the servant of Avrohom, and he said, “The one who gives me water to drink, she is the widow.”</html>
<html><b>Cake.</b> [מעוג means] the same as עוגה [=cake]. <b>A handful.</b> [Targum] Yonoson rendered, “the palm of a handful.” <b>In a bottle.</b> <i>Bouteille</i>, in O.F., as it is stated regarding Shaul, “the flask of water that was at [Shaul’s] head.”7<i class=“footnote”>I Shmuel 26:12.</i> <b>We will die.</b> From then on,8<i class=“footnote”>I.e., because after we eat it there is nothing else left for us to eat so ultimately we will die of hunger.</i> we will die of hunger.</html>
<html><b>A small cake first.</b> There is a Midrash Aggdah in Bereishis Rabboh9<i class=“footnote”>The Midrash cited by Rashi is not found in our texts of Midrash Rabboh on this verse.</i> (why he wanted it first) on [the verse], “And Leah said, ‘Unexpected success has come.’”10<i class=“footnote”>Bereishis 30:11.</i></html>
<html><b>Illness struck the son of the woman.</b> So that he should need the Key of Resurrection of the Dead, as stated at the end of the Aggadah of [the chapter entitled] “Cheilek.”11<i class=“footnote”>Maseches Sanhedrin 113a.</i></html>
<html><b>To cause my sins to be remembered.</b> Before you came, they would weigh my deeds and the deeds of my city, and I was worthy of a miracle. But since you came here, I am not reckoned with as [being worthy of] anything and my righteousness is not noticeable.12<i class=“footnote”>Before you came I was no worse than my neighbors, but compared to you I am a sinner.—Ralbag</i> 13<i class=“footnote”>Alternatively, she said that her sins were being remembered because she had not properly served Eliyahu, and that is why her son died.—Radak</i> (Other texts: Remembered) And similarly, concerning Lot it states, “I cannot escape to the mountain,”14<i class=“footnote”>Bereishis 19:19.</i> [i.e., referring] to Avrohom, for my merit will not be remembered next to his.15<i class=“footnote”>Bereishis Rabboh 50:11.</i></html>
<html><b>He spread himself out.</b> [ויתמודד is] an expression of מדה, [i.e.,] he spread himself upon him.16<i class=“footnote”>Eliyahu prostrated himself in the same manner as Elisha did, in the case of Shunamis’ son. He placed his eyes on the youth’s eyes, and his mouth on the youth’s mouth, in II Melochim 4:34.—Radak </i></html>