1 Kings 19:18 (DBY)

Passage

Yet I have left [myself] seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth that hath not kissed him.

Nearby Context

1 Kings 19:16 and Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint king over Israel; and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah shalt thou anoint prophet in thy stead.

1 Kings 19:17 And it shall come to pass, [that] him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay; and him that escapeth the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay.

1 Kings 19:18 Yet I have left [myself] seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth that hath not kissed him.

1 Kings 19:19 And he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was ploughing [with] twelve yokes before him, and he with the twelfth; and Elijah went over to him, and cast his mantle on him.

1 Kings 19:20 And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and I will follow thee. And he said to him, Go back again; for what have I done to thee?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "left", "myself", "seven", "thousand", "israel", "knees", "bowed", and "baal". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "left" and "myself", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "And it shall come to pass that..." into verse 19's "And he departed thence and found Elisha...", so "left" and "myself" 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 "left" and "myself" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.