Bible Strands
1 Kings 18:5
Then Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go throughout the land to every spring and every valley. Perhaps we will find grass to keep the horses and mules alive so that we will not have to destroy any livestock.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Ahab commands Obadiah to search for water and pasture during a drought, following Obadiah’s prior concealment of prophets from Jezebel. (1 Kings 18:4-6)
The words — The Hebrew לֵ֤ךְ (lekh) issues a direct command to "go," while כָּל־ (kol-) stresses the exhaustive scope of searching "every" spring and valley.
The thread — The desperate search for grazing land mirrors the drought imagery in Jeremiah 14:5, Joel 1:18, and Psalm 104:14.
Why it lands — The text records a royal directive prioritizing livestock survival, leaving the reader to weigh pragmatic statecraft against spiritual fidelity.
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
And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go into the land, unto all fountains of water, and unto all brooks: peradventure we may find grass to save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 14:5 Even the doe in the field deserts her newborn fawn because there is no grass.
- Joel 1:18 How the cattle groan! The herds wander in confusion because they have no pasture. Even the flocks of sheep are suffering.
- Psalms 104:14 He makes the grass grow for the livestock and provides crops for man to cultivate, bringing forth food from the earth:
- Joel 2:22 Do not be afraid, O beasts of the field, for the open pastures have turned green, the trees bear their fruit, and the fig tree and vine yield their best.
- Habakkuk 3:17 Though the fig tree does not bud and no fruit is on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the sheep are cut off from the fold and no cattle are in the stalls,
- Romans 8:20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will, but because of the One who subjected it, in hope