1 Kings 19:12

Contextual Overview

⁹He entered a cave there and spent the night. ⁹ He came there to a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said to him, What are you doing here, Eliyah? 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 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 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?" 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 Then he came there to a cave and spent the night there; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" ⁹ And there he entred into a caue, & lodged there: and beholde, the Lorde spake to him, and said vnto him, What doest thou here, Eliiah? ⁹Then 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?"

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

a fire: 1 Kings 18:38, Genesis 15:17, Exodus 3:2, Deuteronomy 4:11, Deuteronomy 4:12, Deuteronomy 4:33, 2 Kings 1:10, 2 Kings 2:11, Hebrews 12:29

a still: Exodus 34:6, Job 4:16, Job 33:7, Zechariah 4:6, Acts 2:2, Acts 2:36, Acts 2:37

Reciprocal: Exodus 19:18 - whole Psalms 50:3 - a fire

Cross-References

Genesis 7:1
The LORD said to Noach, "Come with all of your household into the teivah, for I have seen your righteousness before me in this generation.

Genesis 7:1
And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.

Genesis 7:1
Then Yahweh said to Noah, "Go—you and all your household—into the ark, for I have seen you are righteous before me in this generation.

Genesis 7:1
Then the Lord said to Noah, "I have seen that you are the best person among the people of this time, so you and your family can go into the boat.

Genesis 7:1
The Lord said to Noah, "Come into the ark, you and all your household, for I consider you godly among this generation.

Genesis 7:1
Then the LORD said to Noah, "Come into the ark, you with all your household, for you [alone] I have seen as righteous (doing what is right) before Me in this generation.

Genesis 7:1
Then the LORD said to Noah, "Enter the ark, you and all your household, for you alone I have seen to be righteous before Me in this generation.

Genesis 7:1
And the Lord said vnto Noah, Enter thou and all thine house into the Arke: for thee haue I seene righteous before me in this age.

Genesis 7:1
Then Yahweh said to Noah, "Enter the ark, you and all your household, for you alone I have seen to be righteous before Me in this generation.

Genesis 7:1
The Lord told Noah: Take your whole family with you into the boat, because you are the only one on this earth who pleases me.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And after the earthquake a fire, [but] the Lord was not in the fire,.... As he was when he descended on this mount, and spake to Moses, Exodus 19:1, the Targum, and so Jarchi, interpret all these appearances of angels, and not amiss; the wind, of an host of angels of wind; the earthquake, of an host of angels of commotion; the fire, of an host of angels of fire; see Psalms 104:4, these ministers of the Lord went before him, to prepare the way of his glorious Majesty; which emblems may represent the power of God, the terribleness of his majesty, and the fury of his wrath, which he could display, if he would, to the destruction of his enemies; and could as easily destroy the idolatrous kingdom of Israel, which Elijah seems to be solicitous of, as the wind rent the mountains, and broke the rocks, and the earthquake shook the earth, and the fire consumed all in its way; but he chose not to do it now, but to use lenity, and show mercy, signified by the next emblem:

and after the fire a still small voice: not rough, but gentle, more like whispering than roaring; something soft, easy, and musical; the Targum is, the voice of those that praise God in silence; and all this may be considered as showing the difference between the two dispensations of law and Gospel; the law is a voice of terrible words, and was given amidst a tempest of wind, thunder, and lightning, attended with an earthquake, Hebrews 12:18, but the Gospel is a gentle voice of love, grace, and mercy, of peace, pardon, righteousness, and salvation by Christ; and may also point at the order and manner of the Lord's dealings with the souls of men, who usually by the law breaks the rocky hearts of men in pieces, shakes their consciences, and fills their minds with a sense of fiery wrath and indignation they deserve, and then speaks comfortably to them, speaks peace and pardon through the ministration of the Gospel by his Spirit; blessed are the people that hear this still, small, gentle voice, the joyful sound, Psalms 89:15.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

A still small voice - literally, “a sound of soft stillness.” The teaching is a condemnation of that “zeal” which Elijah had gloried in, a zeal exhibiting itself in fierce and terrible vengeances, and an exaltation and recommendation of that mild and gentle temper, which “beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.” But it was so contrary to the whole character of the stern, harsh, unsparing Tishbite, that it could have found no ready entrance into his heart. It may have for a while moderated his excessive zeal, and inclined him to gentler courses; but later in his life the old harshness recurred in a deed in reference to which our Lord himself drew the well-known contrast between the spirits of the two Dispensations Luke 9:51-56.