1 Kings 18:7 (DBY)

Passage

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

Nearby Context

1 Kings 18:5 and Ahab said to Obadiah, Go through the land, to all the fountains of water and to all the torrents, perhaps we may find grass to save the horses and the mules alive, so that we may not have to destroy some of [our] beasts.

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

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

1 Kings 18:8 And he said to him, I [am he]: go, say to thy lord, Behold Elijah!

1 Kings 18:9 And he said, What have I sinned, that thou givest thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to put me to death?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "obadiah", "behold", "elijah", "knew", "fell", "face", "said", and "indeed". 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 "And they divided the land between them..." into verse 8's "And he said to him I am...", 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.