And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
Parallel translations
- WEB When he saw that, he arose, and ran for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
- KJV And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.
- BSB And Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there,
- NASB And he was afraid, and got up and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah; and he left his servant there.
- NLT Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Frightened, Elijah flees for his life southward to Beersheba and leaves his servant there. The bold prophet is suddenly overwhelmed by fear.
Overview
The dramatic shift from Carmel's victor to a fleeing fugitive shows how vulnerable even great servants of God are to fear and discouragement. Elijah runs to the far south of Judah, beyond Jezebel's reach. His weakness reminds us that the prophets were ordinary people who depended wholly on God's sustaining grace.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Gen 21:31Therefore he called that place Beersheba, because they both swore there.
- Matt 26:70–74But he denied it before them all, saying, “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
- Matt 26:56But all this has happened, that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples left him, and fled.
- 2 Cor 12:7By reason of the exceeding greatness of the revelations, that I should not be exalted excessively, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, that I should not be exalted excessively.
- 1 Sam 27:1David said in his heart, “I will now perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me any more in all the borders of Israel. So shall I escape out of his hand.”
- Amos 7:12–13Amaziah also said to Amos, “You seer, go, flee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there:
- Isa 51:12–13“I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you, that you are afraid of man who shall die, and of the son of man who will be made as grass?
- 1 Kgs 4:25Judah and Israel lived safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.
- Gen 12:12–13It will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ They will kill me, but they will save you alive.
- Exod 2:15Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and lived in the land of Midian, and he sat down by a well.
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Christ at the center
Solomon's glory, wisdom, and temple where God's presence dwells are a shadow of the greater Son of David — 'one greater than Solomon is here' — and of the true Temple, Christ himself.
How 1 Kings 19:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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