1 Kings 17:2–6
Elijah, in hiding, receives bread and meat brought by ravens
Study it word by word2The word of YHWH came to him, saying,
3“Go from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan.
4And it will be that you will drink from the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”
5So he went and did according to the word of YHWH; he went and lived by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan.
6And the ravens were bringing him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.
In its context
1Elijah the Tishbite, of the residents of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As YHWH lives, the Elohim of Israel, before whom I stand, there will be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.”
…
7And it happened after some days that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.
8Then the word of YHWH came to him, saying,
Its words in the original
- יְהִיyehi· be, become, happen
Be, exist; also "become" or "happen". It is the verb of "there was", "it was" and "it came to pass".
- דְבַרdevar· word, matter, thing
Word; what is said. Also "matter" or "thing": what is spoken about, an affair, an event.
- יְהוָהyehva· YHWH
The personal name of the God of Israel, written in Hebrew with four letters, Y-H-W-H, without vowels. Out of reverence Jews stopped pronouncing it and read "Adonai" (Lord), so many Bibles put "the LORD" or "Jehovah". This translation keeps the four letters. The name is related to the verb "to be" (Exodus 3:14-15). He is not a god other than Elohim: "YHWH Elohim" is the same Creator God, called by his name.
- אמֹרmor· say
Say, speak. The most common verb for bringing in what someone says; sometimes "think" (say to oneself) or "command".
- לֵךְlech· go, walk
Go, walk, depart; in the causative form, lead or bring.
- פָנִיתָfanita· turn
Turn, turn toward something; face, look. In another form of the verb, clear, empty a place.
- קֵדְמָkedma· east, of old
What is in front. Since in Israel one faced where the sun rises, it means "east"; applied to time, "of old", "ancient times".
- נִסְתַּרְתָּnistarta· hide
Hide, conceal; be hidden.
- נַחַלnachal· valley, torrent
The bed of a stream that only carries water when it rains; the valley it runs through.
- כְּרִיתkerit· Cherith
Cherith: the name of a brook east of the Jordan where Elijah hid during the drought (1 Kings 17:3-7). The name comes from "cut"; its exact location is not known.
- פְּנֵיpene· face, presence
Face. From there "surface" (the face of something) and "presence" (being before someone's face); with a preposition it means "before" or "in front of".
- יַּרְדֵּןyarden· Jordan
Jordan, the main river of the land of Israel; it runs down from the north to the Dead Sea.
- תִּשְׁתֶּהtishte· drink
Drink.
- עֹרְבִיםorvim· raven
Raven.
- צִוִּיתִיtsiviti· command
Command, give an order; give charge to someone.
- כַלְכֶּלְchalkel· provide for
Sustain, provide someone with what he needs to live; also hold, contain.
- יַּעַשׂyaas· do, make
Do, make, in the widest sense: build, produce, carry out, keep (a command), prepare.
- יֵּשֶׁבyeshev· sit, dwell
Sit, sit down; from there stay in a place, live, dwell. In the causative form, settle someone, make to dwell. Also sit as judge or as king.
- מְבִיאִיםmeviim· come, go in, bring
Come, arrive, go in, enter. In the causative form, "bring" or "carry in". "Go in to" a woman is to have marital relations with her.
- לֶחֶםlechem· bread, food
Bread; in a wide sense, food.
- בָשָׂרvasar· flesh
Flesh: the body, and the person as weak and mortal. "One flesh" is the union of husband and wife; "my flesh" can mean "my family". "All flesh" is every living being. In the Old Testament it does not mean something bad in itself.
- בֹּקֶרboker· morning
Morning, dawn.
- עָרֶבarev· evening
Evening, when the sun goes down. Each day of Genesis 1 is counted "evening and morning"; so in Israel the day begins at sunset.