1 Kings 18:4 (LSB)

Passage

And it happened that when Jezebel was cutting down the prophets of Yahweh, Obadiah took one hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave, and sustained them with bread and water.)

Nearby Context

1 Kings 18:2 So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria.

1 Kings 18:3 And Ahab called Obadiah who was over the household. (Now Obadiah feared Yahweh greatly.

1 Kings 18:4 And it happened that when Jezebel was cutting down the prophets of Yahweh, Obadiah took one hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave, and sustained them with bread and water.)

1 Kings 18:5 Then Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the valleys; perhaps we will find grass and keep the horses and mules alive, and not have to cut down some of the cattle.”

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

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "happened", "jezebel", "cutting", "down", "prophets", "yahweh", "obadiah", and "took". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "happened" and "jezebel", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "And Ahab called Obadiah who was over..." into verse 5's "Then Ahab said to Obadiah Go through...", so "happened" and "jezebel" 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 "happened" and "jezebel" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.