Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Kings 18:44
And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare [thy chariot], and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not.
44. there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand ] R.V. a cloud out of the sea as small as a man’s hand. This is more in accordance with the Hebrew construction. The statement was not meant to describe the shape of the cloud, but the size of it. The servant returns as soon as there appears the smallest token of a rain-cloud. The Hebrew word here employed, , is sometimes used for the ‘sole of the foot’ (see Jos 1:3). Josephus therefore gives here ‘not bigger than the sole of a man’s foot.’
Prepare [R.V. make ready thy chariot] The change is introduced from 2Ki 9:21, where the word for ‘chariot,’ which is here understood, stands in the text.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
A little cloud … – Sailors know full well that such a cloud on the far horizon is often the forerunner of a violent storm.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 44. There ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand.] kechaph ish, like the hollow of a man’s hand. In the form of the hand bent, the concave side downmost. I have witnessed a resemblance of this kind at sea previously to a violent storm, a little cloud the size of a man’s hand first appearing, and this increasing in size and density every moment, till at last it covered the whole heavens, and then burst forth with incredible fury.
Mr. Bruce mentions a similar appearance in Abyssinia: – “Every morning, in Abyssinia, is clear, and the sun shines. About nine a small cloud, not above four hundred feet broad, appears in the east, whirling violently round, as if upon an axis; but arrived near the zenith, it first abates its motion, then loses its form, and extends itself greatly, and seems to call up vapours from all opposite quarters. These clouds, having attained nearly the same height, rush against each other with great violence, and put me always in mind of Elijah foretelling rain on Mount Carmel.” – Travels, vol. v., page 336, edit. 1806.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
44. Behold, there ariseth a littlecloud out of the sea, like a man’s handThe clearness of thesky renders the smallest speck distinctly visible; and this is inPalestine the uniform precursor of rain. It rises higher and higher,and becomes larger and larger with astonishing celerity, till thewhole heaven is black, and the cloud bursts in a deluge of rain.
Prepare thy chariot, and getthee down, that the rain stop thee noteither by the riverKishon being suddenly so swollen as to be impassable, or from thedeep layer of dust in the arid plain being turned into thick mud, soas to impede the wheels.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And it came to pass at the seventh time that he said, behold there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand,…. Either about the size or in the form of it; rain water comes out of the sea, and, being strained through the clouds and air, becomes fresh:
and he said, go up: the meaning seems to be, that he should first go down from the mount, and then go up to that part of it where Ahab was:
say unto Ahab, prepare thy chariot; bind or fasten the horses to it, as the phrase seems to signify:
and get thee down; from the mountain where he was, to go to Jezreel, which lay low in a valley:
that the rain stop thee not; on the road, that might be made impassable by it, signifying that such abundance should fall as would make it so.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
44. Go up, say unto Ahab The king was yet on the lofty summit; the prophet still remained in his nook of prayer.
That the rain stop thee not By causing the streams to rise so suddenly, and to such a degree, as to prevent all crossing.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1Ki 18:44 And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare [thy chariot], and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not.
Ver. 44. Behold, there ariseth a little cloud. ] This little cloud shall ere long overmask the whole heaven. Every former mercy is a pledge and forerunner of a future and greater, if it be well improved; only we must pray on, and not faint. Luk 18:1 Gregorius Turonensis relateth a the like to have fallen out once at Orleans, upon the prayer of Anianus, bishop there; at what time that city was almost taken by Attilus, king of Hunns, but seasonably rescued, and the siege raised by Aetius and Theodoricus, helped by abundance of rain at that time falling, after the sight of a little cloud, arising out of the earth.
a Lib. ii. cap. 7.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
a little cloud: Kekaph ish, “like the hollow of a man’s hand;” in the form of a hand bent, the concave side downmost. Mr. Bruce mentions a similar cloud in Abyssinia, as attending the inundation of the Nile. “Every morning, about nine, a small cloud, not above four feet broad, appears in the east, whirling violently round, as if upon an axis; but arrived near the zenith, it first abates its motion, then loses its form, and extends itself greatly, and seems to call up vapours from all opposite quarters. These clouds having attained nearly the same height, rush against each other with great violence, and put me always in mind of Elijah foretelling rain on Mount Carmel.” Job 8:7, Zec 4:10
Prepare: Heb. Tie, or Bind, 1Sa 6:7, 1Sa 6:10, Mic 1:13
Reciprocal: 1Ki 20:14 – order Job 36:29 – the spreadings Psa 147:8 – covereth Amo 5:8 – that calleth Luk 12:54 – When
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Ki 18:44. There ariseth a little cloud like a mans hand Which presently overspread the heavens, and watered the earth. Great blessings often rise from small beginnings, and showers of plenty from a cloud of a span long: let us therefore never despise the day of small things, but hope and wait for greater things from it.