1 Kings 18:46

1 Kings 18:46

And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

a. ASV: And the hand of Jehovah was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

b. YLT: And the hand of Jehovah hath been on Elijah, and he girdeth up his loins, and runneth before Ahab, till thine entering Jezreel.

c. Amplified Bible Classic: The hand of the Lord was on Elijah. He girded up his loins and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel [nearly twenty miles].

d. Septuagint: And the hand of the Lord [was] upon Eliu, and he girt up his loins, and ran before Achaab to Jezrael.

e. Stone Edition Torah/Prophets/Writings: The hand of HASHEM was upon Elijah, and he girded his loins and ran before Ahab until the approach to Jezreel.

1. “And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah...:”

a. [And the] hand [Strong: 3027 yâd, yawd; a primitive word; a hand (the open one [indicating power, means, direction, etc.], in distinction from 3709, the closed one); used (as noun, adverb, etc.) in a great variety of applications, both literally and figuratively, both proximate and remote [as follows]:—( be) able, × about, armholes, at, axletree, because of, beside, border, × bounty, broad, (broken-) handed, × by, charge, coast, consecrate, creditor, custody, debt, dominion, × enough, fellowship, force, × from, hand(-staves, -y work), × he, himself, × in, labour, large, ledge, (left-) handed, means, × mine, ministry, near, × of, × order, ordinance, × our, parts, pain, power, ×presumptuously, service, side, sore, state, stay, draw with strength, stroke, swear, terror, × thee, × by them, × themselves, × thine own, × thou, through, × throwing, thumb, times, × to, × under, × us, × wait on, (way-) side, where, wide, × with (him, me, you), work, yield, × yourselves.] [The KJV translates Strong's H3027 in the following manner: hand (1,359x), by (44x), consecrate (with H4390) (14x), him (14x), power (12x), them (11x), places (8x), tenons (6x), thee (6x), coast (6x), side (5x), miscellaneous (130x).]

b. [of the] LORD [Strong: 3068 Yᵉhôvâh, yeh-ho-vaw'; from H1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jeho-vah, Jewish national name of God:—Jehovah, the Lord.] [The KJV translates Strong's H3068 in the following manner: LORD](6,510x), GOD (4x), JEHOVAH (4x), variant (1x).]

c. was [Strong: 1961 hayah haw-yaw a primitive root (Compare 1933); to exist, i.e. be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary):--beacon, X altogether, be(-come), accomplished, committed, like), break, cause, come (to pass), do, faint, fall, + follow, happen, X have, last, pertain, quit (one-)self, require, X use.]

d. upon [Strong: 413 'el ale (but only used in the shortened constructive form sel {el}); a primitive particle; properly, denoting motion towards, but occasionally used of a quiescent position, i.e. near, with or among; often in general, to:--about, according to ,after, against, among, as for, at, because(-fore, -side), both...and, by, concerning, for, from, X hath, in(- to), near, (out) of, over, through, to(-ward), under, unto, upon, whether, with(-in).]

e. Elijah [Strong: 452 ʼÊlîyâh, ay-lee-yaw'; or prolonged אֵלִיָּהוּ ʼÊlîyâhûw; from H410 and H3050; God of Jehovah; Elijah, the name of the famous prophet and of two other Israelites:—Elijah, Eliah.] [The KJV translates Strong's H452 in the following manner: Elijah (69x), Eliah (2x).]

1). When ever the hand of the Lord is mentioned there will be a demonstration of power.

a). Psalm 89:13 Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand.

b). Isaiah 48:13 Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together.

2. “...and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.”

a. [and he] girded up [Strong: 8151 shânaç, shaw-nas'; a primitive root; to compress (with a belt):—gird up.] [The KJV translates Strong's H8151 in the following manner: gird up (1x).]

b. [his] loins [Strong: 4975 môthen, mo'-then; from an unused root meaning to be slender; properly, the waist or small of the back; only in plural the loins:— greyhound, loins, side.] [The KJV translates Strong's H4975 in the following manner: loins (42x), side (4x), greyhound (1x).]

1). 1). The phrase “gird up your loins” is used in a few places in the Old Testament. The two most notable are in Exodus and 1 Kings.

a). Exodus 12:11 And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD'S passover.

(1) It is used here to show God commanded His people to be ready at a moments notice. The use of the phrase in 1 Peter 1:13 suggest that we must be ready also. [Compare 2 Timothy 4:2].

(2) We must remember that Jesus is our Passover, 1 Corinthians 5:7.

b). 1 Kings 18:46 And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

(1) The distance between Mt. Carmel and Jezreel is about 20 miles. Elijah ran the whole way because the hand of the LORD was upon him. It was a supernatural marathon.

c. [and] ran [Strong: 7323 rûwts, roots; a primitive root; to run (for whatever reason, especially to rush):—break down, divide speedily, footman, guard, bring hastily, (make) run (away, through), post.] [The KJV translates Strong's H7323 in the following manner: run (72x), guard (14x), post (8x), run away (2x), speedily (1x), miscellaneous (7x).]

d. before [Strong: 6440 [Strong: 6440 pânîym, paw-neem'; plural (but always as singular) of an unused noun פָּנֶה pâneh; from H6437); the face (as the part that turns); used in a great variety of applications (literally and figuratively); also (with prepositional prefix) as a preposition (before, etc.):— accept, a-(be-) fore(-time), against, anger, × as (long as), at, battle, because (of), beseech, countenance, edge, employ, endure, enquire, face, favour, fear of, for, forefront(-part), form(-er time, -ward), from, front, heaviness, × him(-self), honourable, impudent, in, it, look(-eth) (-s), × me, meet, × more than, mouth, of, off, (of) old (time), × on, open, out of, over against, the partial, person, please, presence, prospect, was purposed, by reason of, regard, right forth, serve, × shewbread, sight, state, straight, street, × thee, × them(-selves), through ( -out), till, time(-s) past, (un-) to(-ward), upon, upside ( down), with(-in, -stand), × ye, × you.] [The KJV translates Strong's H6440 in the following manner: before (1,137x), face (390x), presence (76x), because (67x), sight (40x), countenance (30x), from (27x), person (21x), upon (20x), of (20x), ...me (18x), against (17x), ...him (16x), open (13x), for (13x), toward (9x), miscellaneous (195x).]

e. Ahab [Strong: 256 ʼAchʼâb, akh-awb'; once (by contraction) אֶחָב ʼEchâb (Jeremiah 29:22); from H251 and H1; brother (i.e. friend) of (his) father; Achab, the name of a king of Israel and of a prophet at Babylon:—Ahab.] [The KJV translates Strong's H256 in the following manner: Ahab (93x).]

f. to [Strong: 5704 `ad ad properly, the same as 5703 (used as a preposition, adverb or conjunction; especially with a preposition); as far (or long, or much) as, whether of space (even unto) or time (during, while, until) or degree (equally with):--against, and, as, at, before, by (that), even (to), for(-asmuch as), (hither-)to, + how long, into, as long (much) as, (so) that, till, toward, until, when, while, (+ as) yet.]

g. [the] entrance [Strong: 935 bôwʼ, bo; a primitive root; to go or come (in a wide variety of applications):—abide, apply, attain, × be, befall, besiege, bring (forth, in, into, to pass), call, carry, ×certainly, (cause, let, thing for) to come (against, in, out, upon, to pass), depart, ×doubtless again, eat, employ, (cause to) enter (in, into, -tering, -trance, -try), be fallen, fetch, follow, get, give, go (down, in, to war), grant, have, × indeed, (in-) vade, lead, lift (up), mention, pull in, put, resort, run (down), send, set, × (well) stricken (in age), × surely, take (in), way.] [The KJV translates Strong's H935 in the following manner: come (1,435x), bring (487x), ... in (233x), enter (125x), go (123x), carry (17x), ...down (23x), pass (13x), ...out (12x), miscellaneous (109x).]

h. [of] Jezreel [Strong: 3157 Yizrᵉʻêʼl, yiz-reh-ale'; from H2232 and H410; God will sow; Jizreel, the name of two places in Palestine and of two Israelites:—Jezreel.] [The KJV translates Strong's H3157 in the following manner: Jezreel (36x).]