1 Kings 18:7 (ASV)

Passage

And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, Is it thou, my lord Elijah?

Nearby Context

1 Kings 18:5 And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go through the land, unto all the fountains of water, and unto all the brooks: peradventure we may find grass and save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts.

1 Kings 18:6 So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it: Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.

1 Kings 18:7 And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, Is it thou, my lord Elijah?

1 Kings 18:8 And he answered him, It is I: go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah [is here].

1 Kings 18:9 And he said, Wherein have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "obadiah", "behold", "elijah", "knew", "fell", "face", "said", and "thou". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "obadiah" and "behold", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 6's "So they divided the land between them..." into verse 8's "And he answered him It is I...", so "obadiah" and "behold" belong inside that flow. In 1 Kings context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "obadiah" and "behold" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.