Bible Strands
Luke 4:26
Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to the widow of Zarephath in Sidon.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses the congregation in the synagogue at Nazareth, responding to their expectations after reading from the scroll of Isaiah. He notes the historical reality of Elijah’s ministry during a severe famine.
The words — The Greek οὐδεμὴν αὐτῶν ἐπεμφθη (oudemēn autōn epemphthē) translates literally as "was sent to none of them," specifying the exclusion of Israelite widows from the prophet’s mission.
The thread — This event directly echoes 1 Kings 17:9, where God commands Elijah to stay with a widow in Zarephath of Sidon, and aligns with the geographic pattern Jesus outlines in Luke 4:27 regarding Elisha and Naaman.
Why it lands — The text states that God’s provision bypassed Israelite widows for a foreigner, requiring readers to confront their own assumptions about who qualifies for divine intervention.
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 Greek words
King James Version
But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 17:9 “Get up and go to Zarephath of Sidon, and stay there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.”
- Matthew 11:21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
- Obadiah 1:20 And the exiles of this host of the Israelites will possess the land of the Canaanites as far as Zarephath; and the exiles from Jerusalem who are in Sepharad will possess the cities of the Negev.