1 Kings 18:1

And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
many	רַבִּ֔ים ra.Bim	H7227	abundant (in quantity · adjective, masculine plural absolute
days	יָמִ֣ים ya.Mim	H3117	a day (as the warm hours) · noun, common masculine plural absolute
word	וּדְבַר u.de.var-	H1697	a word · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct
LORD	יְהוָ֗ה Yah.weh	H3068	Jehovah · proper noun, a title
Elijah	אֵ֣לִיָּ֔הוּ 'e.li.Ya.hu	H452	Elijah · proper noun, a man's name
third	הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֖ית ha.she.li.Shit	H7992	third · definite article + ordinal number, feminine singular absolute
year	בַּשָּׁנָ֥ה ba.sha.Nah	H8141	a year (as a revolution of time) · preposition with the article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
saying	לֵאמֹ֑ר le.Mor	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
Go	יָלַךְ yâlak	H3212	to walk (literally or figuratively)
shew	הֵרָאֵ֣ה he.ra.'Eh	H7200	to see · verb, niphal imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
Ahab	אַחְאָ֔ב 'ach.'Av	H256	Achab · proper noun, a man's name
send	וְאֶתְּנָ֥ה ve.'e.te.Nah	H5414	to give · conjunction + verb, qal infinitive construct, 1st person common singular
rain	מָטָ֖ר ma.Tar	H4306	rain · noun, common masculine singular absolute
upon	פְּנֵ֥י pe.Nei	H6440	the face (as the part that turns) · noun, common masculine plural construct
earth	הָאֲדָמָֽה ha.'a.da.Mah	H127	soil (from its general redness) · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Luke 4:25 But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when gre…
James 5:17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the sp…
Deuteronomy 28:12 The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine…
1 Kings 17:1 And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there…
1 Kings 18:15-40 And Elijah said, As the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely shew myself unto him to day.
1 Kings 18:2 And Elijah went to shew himself unto Ahab. And there was a sore famine in Samaria.
Leviticus 26:4 Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.
Joel 2:23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Kings 18:1-16

In these verses we find, I. The sad state of Israel at this time, upon two accounts: - 1. Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord (Kg1 18:4), slew them, Kg1 18:13. Being an idolater, she was a persecutor, and made Ahab one. Even in those bad times, when the calves were worshipped and the temple at Jerusalem deserted, yet there were some good people that feared God and served him, and some good prophets that instructed them in the knowledge of him and assisted them in their devotions. The priests and the Levites had all gone to Judah and Jerusalem (Ch2 11:13, Ch2 11:14), but, instead of them, God raised up these prophets, who read and expounded the law in private meetings, or in the familie…

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Adam Clarke on 1 Kings 18:1

After many days - in the third year - We learn from our Lord, Luk 4:25, that the drought which brought on the famine in Israel lasted three years and six months. St. James, Jam 5:17, gives it the same duration. Probably Elijah spent six months at the brook Cherith, and three years with the widow at Sarepta. I will send rain upon the earth - The word האדמה haadamah should be translated the ground or the land, as it is probable that this drought did not extend beyond the land of Judea.

John Gill on 1 Kings 18:1

And it came to pass after many days,.... When two years and more were gone from the time the drought and famine began; or rather from the time of the prophets departure to the brook Cherith, which might be six months after the famine began: that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year; of his absence from Ahab: saying, go show thyself unto Ahab; whom he had not seen so long, and who had been seeking for him, but to no purpose: and I will send rain upon the earth; the term of three years and six months being almost expired, see James 5:17.

Keil & Delitzsch on 1 Kings 18:1-19

As the judgment of drought and famine did not bring king Ahab to his senses and lead him to turn from his ungodly ways, but only filled him with exasperation towards the prophet who had announced to him the coming judgment; there was no other course left than to lay before the people with mighty and convincing force the proof that Jehovah was the only true God, and to execute judgment upon the priests of Baal as the seducers of the nation. Kg1 18:1-6 Elijah's meeting with Ahab. - Kg1 18:1, Kg1 18:2. In the third year of his sojourn at Zarephath the word of the Lord came to Elijah to show himself to Ahab; since God was about to send rain upon the land again. The time given, "the third year,"…

The Church Fathers

"After many days the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year of the drought, saying, 'Go, present yourself to Ahab; I will send rain on the earth.' " The Lord, by giving life back to the child, granted grace to Elijah. He had taught him through the affliction of the child, who had died, that his Lord was also grieved for his creatures tormented by starvation and thirst, even though he did not want to destroy or sever the link of the word of his servant against his will. After preparing the spirit of Elijah through this thought, he calls him and says to him, "Go, present yourself to Ahab; I will send rain on the earth."
— Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS 18:1

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Carmel — A park; generally with the article, “the park.” (1.) A prominent headland of Central Palestine, consisting of several connected hills extending from the plain of Esdraelon to the sea, a distance of…
Elijah — Whose God is Jehovah. (1.) “The Tishbite,” the “Elias” of the New Testament, is suddenly introduced to our notice in 1 Kings 17:1 as delivering a message from the Lord to Ahab. There is mention made…
Elijah · .Returns, and sends a message to Ahab — .Returns, and sends a message to Ahab
Rain · The want of: Occasions famine — The want of: Occasions famine

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).