Bible Strands
1 Kings 19:3
And Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Elijah acts after Jezebel’s messenger delivers a death threat, reaching Beersheba in Judah where he departs from his attendant. This occurs immediately following his confrontation with the prophets of Baal and the subsequent royal intimidation.
The words — The Hebrew sequence וַיָּקָם וַיֵּלֶךְ אֶל־נַפְשׁוֹ (va/i.Ya.kom, va/i.Ye.lekh, 'el-, naf.Sh/o) literally renders “and he arose and went to his life,” indicating a flight for survival. The place name בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע (be.'Er, She.va') identifies Beersheba, the traditional southern boundary of Judah.
The thread — The location Beersheba echoes Genesis 21:31 as a sworn oath site, while Elijah’s solitary flight parallels the desertion recorded in Matthew 26:56 and the denial in Matthew 26:70. These passages trace a pattern of prophetic and apostolic isolation under threat.
Why it lands — The text records Elijah’s fear and physical retreat without justification, demanding recognition that even empowered prophets experience human collapse. It requires the reader to observe divine response to failure before offering comfort or correction.
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 when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beer–sheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.
Cross-references
- Genesis 21:31 So that place was called Beersheba, because it was there that the two of them swore an oath.
- Matthew 26:56 But this has all happened so that the writings of the prophets would be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples deserted Him and fled.
- Matthew 26:70 But he denied it before them all: “I do not know what you are talking about.”
- 2 Corinthians 12:7 or because of these surpassingly great revelations. So to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.
- Genesis 12:12 and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live.
- Exodus 2:15 When Pharaoh heard about this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, where he sat down beside a well.
- 1 Samuel 27:1 David, however, said to himself, “One of these days now I will be swept away by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will stop searching for me all over Israel, and I will slip out of his hand.”
- 1 Kings 4:25 Throughout the days of Solomon, Judah and Israel dwelt securely from Dan to Beersheba, each man under his own vine and his own fig tree.
- Isaiah 51:12 “I, even I, am He who comforts you. Why should you be afraid of mortal man, of a son of man who withers like grass?
- Amos 7:12 And Amaziah said to Amos, “Go away, you seer! Flee to the land of Judah; earn your bread there and do your prophesying there.