Bible Strands
1 Kings 18:13
Was it not reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel slaughtered the prophets of the LORD? I hid a hundred prophets of the LORD, fifty men per cave, and I provided them with food and water.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Obadiah addresses Elijah in direct response to the prophet’s command to report his location to King Ahab. He voices his plea during a moment of immediate fear that Ahab will execute him if Elijah is discovered.
The words — הֻגַּד (hu.Gad) = has it been told, and אִיזֶבֶל ('i.Ze.vel) = Jezebel. The phrasing anchors Obadiah’s defense in a documented royal purge that remains politically active.
The thread — The hiding of the prophets is first recorded in 1 Kings 18:4, while the provision of food and water parallels the mercy motif in Matthew 25:35. Obadiah’s fearful appeal to a ruler’s judgment mirrors Abimelech’s plea in Genesis 20:4.
Why it lands — The verse records a factual defense of clandestine obedience rather than a theological argument. It requires the reader to confront the practical cost of protecting God’s people under hostile authority.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the Lord, how I hid an hundred men of the Lord’s prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water?
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 18:4 for when Jezebel had slaughtered the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty men per cave, providing them with food and water.)
- Matthew 25:35 For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in,
- Genesis 20:4 Now Abimelech had not gone near her, so he replied, “Lord, would You destroy a nation even though it is innocent?
- Psalms 18:21 For I have kept the ways of the LORD and have not wickedly departed from my God.
- Matthew 10:41 Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward.
- Acts 20:34 You yourselves know that these hands of mine have ministered to my own needs and those of my companions.
- 1 Thessalonians 2:9 Surely you recall, brothers, our labor and toil. We worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to anyone while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.