Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Kings 17:18
And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son?
18. What have I to do with thee? ] Used by persons who wish him whom they address to depart from them. (Cf. 2Sa 16:10; Luk 5:8).
O thou man of God? ] She recognizes the sacred character of Elijah, and feels that she is in presence of one who has closer communion with the Divine power than she. ‘Man of God’ becomes afterwards the distinguished appellation of Elijah and Elisha.
art thou come unto me to call [R.V. bring ] my sin to remembrance? ] The change of R.V. brings out a little more the woman’s thought. The man of God has been sojourning with her, and hence God’s attention, in her idea, has been more directed to her than it would otherwise have been. Her sin in this way has been brought to His remembrance, and so He has taken the life of her son as a punishment.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
What have I to do with thee? – i. e., What have we in common? – implying a further question, Why hast thou not left me in peace? The woman imagines that Elijahs visit had drawn Gods attention to her, and so to her sins, which (she feels) deserve a judgment – her sons death.
Thou man of God – In the mouth of the Phoenician woman this expression is remarkable. Among the Jews and Israelites 1Ki 12:22; Jdg 13:6, Jdg 13:8 it seems to have become the ordinary designation of a prophet. We now see that it was understood in the same sense beyond the borders of the holy land.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 18. To call my sin to remembrance] She seems to be now conscious of some secret sin, which she had either forgotten, or too carelessly passed over; and to punish this she supposes the life of her son was taken away. It is mostly in times of adversity that we duly consider our moral state; outward afflictions often bring deep searchings of heart.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
What have I to do with thee? wherein have I injured or provoked thee? or, why didst thou come to sojourn in my house, (as the following words seem to explain these,) if this be the fruit of it? They are words of a troubled mind, savouring of some rashness and impatience.
Art thou come unto me? didst thou come for this end, that thou mightest severely observe my sins, and by thy prayers bring down Gods just judgment upon me for them, as thou hast for the like cause brought down this famine upon the nation?
To remembrance; either,
1. To my remembrance; that I should by this dreadful judgment be brought to the knowledge and remembrance of my sins, which have procured it. Or rather,
2. To Gods remembrance; for God is oft said in Scripture to remember sins, when he punisheth them; and to forget them, when he spares the sinner. See 2Sa 16:10. Have I, instead of the blessing which I expected from thy presence, met with a curse?
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And she said unto Elijah, what have I to do with thee, O thou man of God!…. As if she should say, it would have been well for me if I had never seen thy face, or had any conversation with thee; this she said rashly, and in her passion and agony, being extremely affected with the death of her child, which made her forget and overlook all the benefits she had received through the prophet’s being with her:
art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son? to punish her for her former sins, she was conscious she had been guilty of; for she supposed, that as it was by his prayer that the drought and famine were come upon the land, so it was in the same way that her son’s death came, namely, through the prayer of the prophet.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(18) O thou man of God.The terms of the address (contrasted with 1Ki. 17:12), indicate a natural growth in the recognition of the true God by the woman, through familiar intercourse with the prophet, and experience of his wonder-working power. For it is the adoption of the regular Israelitish description of the prophet as her own. (See Jdg. 13:6; 1Ki. 12:22; 1Ki. 13:1.)
To call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son?The words express the unreasonableness of natural sorrow. The underlying idea is that of the exclamation, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord. The better knowledge of God, gained through the presence of the prophet, had, of course, brought out in her a deeper sense of sin, and now makes her feel that her sorrow is a just punishment. With pathetic confusion of idea, she cries out against his presence, as if it were the actual cause of judgment on the sin, which it has simply brought home to her conscience.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
18. What have I to do with thee Language of confusion, agony, and alarm. A consciousness of her past sins rises up and makes her look on this bereavement as a penal judgment, and on Elijah as the instrument of her woe! Like the disciples who regarded all human sorrow as a punishment for sin, (Joh 9:2,) she did not yet understand that it often serves to show forth the glorious power of God.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
(18) And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son?
Reader, do not fail to remark, (and which is, indeed, the sweetest improvement of the passage) what a close connection there is in the mind, between the guilt of sin and the afflictions of life which are the consequences of sin. You see how the death of her child revived a sense and conviction of sin in her conscience. And this is the sting of all afflictions. For only suppose the sting of sin removed, though the affliction be not removed, the burden and pressure is gone, and the mind is at ease. Hence the prophet, speaking of gospel-times, and of the blessed effects of the sting of sin taken out by the blood and righteousness of Christ, makes this sweet observation: The inhabitants shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein, shall be forgiven their iniquity. Isa 33:24 Not that the prophet meant by this, to say that mankind had discovered a climate where no sickness was known; for wherever sinners, even redeemed sinners, live, there must he sickness and death, the sure consequence of sin. See Rom 5:12 . But the inhabitant of the Gospel Church of Jesus shall no longer complain of sickness; because he is forgiven all his iniquities in Jesus. The burden and sorrow of sickness is gone, because the guilt of sin is taken away. Hence David, under the assurance of pardoning mercy in Christ, calls upon all that is within him to bless the Lord, who hath forgiven all his iniquities, and healed all his diseases. Psa 103:1-3 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
1Ki 17:18 And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son?
Ver. 18. What have I to do with thee? ] An unkind challenge of a perplexed, and therefore over passionate, woman, imputing the death of her son to the presence of the prophet. How ready are the best to mistake the grounds of their afflictions, and to cast them upon false causes! But what said the emperor? Let us quarrel with our faults, and not with our friends. Vatablus rendereth it, Qua in re te unquam laesi? what wrong have I ever done thee?
Art thou come unto me to call, &c.?
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
What have I. ? See note on 2Sa 16:10.
man of God. See note on Deu 33:1, and App-49.
sin. Hebrew. ‘avon. App-44.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
What have I: 2Sa 16:10, 2Sa 19:22, 2Ki 3:13, 2Ch 35:21, Luk 4:34, Luk 5:8, Luk 8:28, Joh 2:4
O thou man: 1Ki 13:1
art thou come: 1Ki 18:9, Gen 42:21, Gen 42:22, Gen 50:15, Gen 50:17, 1Sa 16:4, Job 13:23, Job 13:26, Eze 21:23, Eze 21:24, Mar 5:7, Mar 5:15-17, Mar 6:16
Reciprocal: Num 5:15 – bringing Jdg 13:6 – A man 1Ki 12:22 – the man 1Ki 20:28 – there came 2Ki 4:9 – man of God 2Ki 4:16 – do not lie 2Ki 4:40 – O thou Psa 79:8 – remember Ecc 7:14 – but Jer 14:10 – he will Jer 35:4 – a man Jer 44:21 – did Eze 18:22 – his transgressions Eze 29:16 – bringeth Mat 8:34 – they besought Mat 9:24 – Give Mar 5:17 – General Luk 7:12 – the only Luk 8:37 – besought Joh 8:9 – being Joh 11:21 – if Joh 21:17 – grieved Act 5:13 – of 1Ti 6:11 – O man Heb 10:3 – a remembrance Jam 5:16 – The effectual 2Pe 1:21 – in old time
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Ki 17:18. She said, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? Wherein have I injured or offended thee, or been wanting in my duty? Or, why didst thou come to sojourn in my house, if this be the fruit of it? They are the words of a troubled mind. How unconcernedly had she spoken of her own and her sons death, when she expected to die for want, (1Ki 17:12,) That we may eat it and die; yet now her son dies, and not so miserably as by famine, and she is extremely disturbed at it. We may speak slightly of an affliction at a distance, but when it toucheth us, we are troubled, Job 4:5. Art thou come to call my sin to remembrance? That thou mightest severely observe my sins, and by thy prayers bring down Gods just judgment upon me for them, as thou hast, for the like cause, brought down this famine upon the nation? She may mean, either, 1st, Her own remembrance; that she should by this dreadful judgment be brought to the knowledge and remembrance of her sins which had procured it: or, rather, 2d, Gods remembrance; for God is often said in Scripture to remember sins when he punishes them, and to forget them when he spares the sinner, 2Sa 16:10. Has God taken occasion from thy abiding in my house, and my not making the improvement I ought to have made by thee, to punish this and my former sins by suddenly cutting off my son? And have I, instead of the comfort and blessing I expected, met with a severe chastisement and curse?