1 Kings 19:11

Contextual Overview

⁹ And he came there to a cave, and lodged there; and, look, the word of Yahweh came to him, and he said to him, What are you doing here, Elijah? ⁹ There he came to a cave, where he spent the night. But the Lord said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" ⁹ And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah? ⁹ There Elijah went into a cave and stayed all night. Then the Lord spoke his word to him: "Elijah! Why are you here?" ⁹ He went into a cave there and spent the night. All of a sudden the Lord spoke to him, "Why are you here, Elijah?" ⁹ And he came thither to a cave, and lodged there; and behold, the word of the LORD [came] to him, and he said to him, What doest thou here, Elijah? ⁹ He came there to a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of Yahweh came to him, and he said to him, What are you doing here, Elijah? ⁹There he came to a cave and spent the night in it; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" ⁹ There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" ⁹ And whanne he hadde come thidur, he dwellide in a denne; and lo! the word of the Lord `was maad to him, and seide to hym, Elie, what doist thou here?

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

stand upon the mount: Exodus 19:20, Exodus 24:12, Exodus 24:18, Exodus 34:2, Matthew 17:1-3, 2 Peter 1:17, 2 Peter 1:18

the Lord passed: Exodus 33:21-23, Exodus 34:6, Habakkuk 3:3-5

and a great: Exodus 19:16, Exodus 20:18, Job 38:1, Psalms 50:3, Isaiah 30:30, Ezekiel 1:4, Ezekiel 37:7, Nahum 1:3, Nahum 1:6, Hebrews 12:18-21, Revelation 20:11

but the Lord was not in the wind: Zechariah 4:6

an earthquake: 1 Samuel 14:15, Psalms 68:8, Nahum 1:5, Zechariah 14:5, Matthew 24:7, Matthew 27:51-54, Matthew 28:2, Hebrews 12:26, Revelation 11:19, Revelation 16:18

Reciprocal: Exodus 19:18 - whole 2 Kings 2:1 - by a whirlwind Job 8:2 - the words Psalms 46:3 - mountains Jeremiah 4:24 - mountains Zechariah 6:5 - spirits Acts 2:2 - as Revelation 6:12 - there Revelation 8:5 - an

Cross-References

Genesis 19:28
And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and he looked and, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace.

Genesis 19:28
and he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and over the whole surface of the land (of the [Jordan] valley), and looked, and saw that the smoke of the land went up as the smoke of a furnace.

Genesis 19:28
He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the Jordan Valley and saw smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.

Genesis 19:28
He looked out toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of that region. As he did so, he saw the smoke rising up from the land like smoke from a furnace.

Genesis 19:28
And he looked towards Sodom and Gomorrah, and towards all the land of the plain, and beheld, and lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.

Genesis 19:28
He looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and looked, and saw that the smoke of the land went up as the smoke of a furnace.

Genesis 19:28
and he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the valley [of the Dead Sea]; and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a kiln (pottery furnace).

Genesis 19:28
and al the lond of that cuntrey; and he seiy a deed sparcle stiynge fro erthe, as the smoke of a furneis.

Genesis 19:28
and he looketh on the face of Sodom and Gomorrah, and on all the face of the land of the circuit, and seeth, and lo, the smoke of the land went up as smoke of the furnace.

Genesis 19:28
He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of the plain, and he saw the smoke rising from the land like smoke from a furnace.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And he said, go forth and stand upon the mount before the Lord,.... Who would appear there as he had to Moses formerly, though not in the same manner:

and, behold, the Lord passed by; or was about to pass, for as yet he had not; his messengers first went before him:

and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; strong enough to do all this, and so it might:

but the Lord was not in the wind; as he sometimes is, Nahum 1:3, he spake to Job out of a whirlwind, Job 38:1,

and after the wind an earthquake; that shook the earth all around, and the mountain also, as it did when the law was given on it, Psalms 68:8

but the Lord was not in the earthquake; as he was when it trembled in the times of Moses, Exodus 19:18.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And behold, the Lord passed by - The remainder of this verse and the whole of the next are placed by the Septuagint, and by the Arabic translator, in the mouth of the Angel. But it seems best to regard the vision as ending with the words “before the Lord” - and the writer as then assuming that this was done, and proceeding to describe what followed.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Kings 19:11. Stand upon the mount before the Lord. — God was now treating Elijah nearly in the same way that he treated Moses; and it is not unlikely that Elijah was now standing on the same place where Moses stood, when God revealed himself to him in the giving of the law. See Exodus 19:9; Exodus 19:16.

The Lord passed by — It appears that the passing by of the Lord occasioned the strong wind, the earthquake, and the fire; but in none of these was God to make a discovery of himself unto the prophet; yet these, in some sort, prepared his way, and prepared Elijah to hear the still small voice. The apparatus, indicating the presence of the Divine Majesty, is nearly the same as that employed to minister the law to Moses; and many have supposed that God intended these things to be understood thus: that God intended to display himself to mankind not in judgment, but in mercy; and that as the wind, the earthquake, and the fire, were only the forerunners of the still small voice, which proclaimed the benignity of the Father of spirits; so the law, and all its terrors, were only intended to introduce that mild spirit of the Gospel of Jesus, proclaiming glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, and good will unto men. Others think that all this was merely natural; and that a real earthquake, and its accompaniments, are described.

1. Previously to earthquakes the atmosphere becomes greatly disturbed, mighty winds and tempests taking place.

2. This is followed by the actual agitation of the earth.

3. In this agitation fire frequently escapes, or a burning lava is poured out, often accompanied with thunder and lightning.

4. After these the air becomes serene, the thunder ceases to roll, the forked lightnings no longer play, and nothing remains but a gentle breeze.

However correct all this may be, it seems most probably evident that what took place at this time was out of the ordinary course of nature; and although the things, as mentioned here, may often be the accompaniments of an earthquake that has nothing supernatural in it; yet here, though every thing is produced in its natural order, yet the exciting cause of the whole is supernatural. Thus the Chaldee understands the whole passage: "And behold the Lord was revealed; and before him was a host of the angels of the wind, tearing the mountains, and breaking the rocks before the Lord, but the Majesty (Shechinah) of the Lord was not in the host of the angels of the wind. And after the host of the angels of the wind, there was a host of the angels of commotion; but the Majesty of the Lord was not in the host of the angels of commotion. And after the host of the angels of commotion, a fire; but the Majesty of the Lord was not in the host of the angels of fire. And after the host of the angels of fire, a voice singing in silence," c. that is, a sound with which no other sound was mingled. Perhaps the whole of this is intended to give an emblematical representation of the various displays of Divine providence and grace.