19-03

birds would bring Elijah bread and meat

God sent the birds to bring food to Elijah so that Elijah could eat. Elijah drank water from the stream.

19-04

another country close by

Elijah would be safe in this country, because Ahab would not go there to look for him to kill him.

took care of Elijah

The widow and her son gave Elijah a place to stay in their house and provided food for him.

jar of flour

This refers to a clay jar in which the widow kept her supply of flour.

bottle of oil

In Israel, olive oil is used for cooking. The widow used the flour and the oil for making bread.

19-05

you troublemaker!

This means: You are a troublemaker! Ahab was accusing Elijah of causing trouble by telling the king that he was doing wrong and also by stopping the rain.

You have abandoned Yahweh

That is, Ahab had led Israel to stop worshiping and obeying Yahweh.

Mount Carmel

Mount Carmel is the name of a mountain located in northern Israel. It is over 500 meters high.

19-06

If Yahweh is God, worship him! But if Baal is God, worship him!

This does not mean that Elijah was undecided. He knew that Yahweh is the real God. He wanted the people to understand that when they worship false gods, they are rejecting Yahweh as the only true God.

19-08

prayed to Baal

The prophets of Baal asked Baal to send fire onto the bull they prepared as a sacrifice.

cut themselves with knives

They injured themselves with knives as an extreme way to show their devotion to Baal, hoping that this would persuade him to listen to them.

19-09

he told the people to pour 12 huge pots of water on top of the sacrifice

Elijah told the people to pour the water on the sacrifice so that it would be more difficult to burn. In this way, the people would know for certain that God had answered when he sent fire onto the sacrifice.

19-11

the rocks, the soil

Rocks and dirt do not burn. But God sent fire that was so hot that it even melted the rocks of the altar and the dirt underneath it. This showed the people that Yahweh is God, because only the true God could send fire that hot.

19-13

Yahweh was ending the drought

God caused it not to rain for about three years in order to punish the people for worshiping Baal. Now, however, the people had rejected Baal and killed his prophets. Therefore, God was going to send rain on the kingdom of Israel again.

19-14

Elijah finished his work

By that time, Elijah was very old. He had done everything that God told him to do.

Naaman heard about Elisha

This means that people had told Naaman that Elisha was able to perform miracles.

he went to Elisha

Naaman had to go into Israel to find Elisha and ask him to do this.

19-15

it seemed foolish

Naaman would not do what Elisha said because he knew that washing alone could not heal his disease.

19-17

a dry well

The well had water in it, but there was still mud in the bottom.