Albert Barnes Commentary 1 Kings 19

The prophet had not long to wait before learning the intentions of the queen. A priest’s daughter herself, she would avenge the slaughtered priests; a king’s wife and a king’s child, she would not quail before a subject. That very night, a messenger declared her determination to bring about the prophet’s death within a day.

So let the gods ... - A common oath at that time (marginal references). The Greek Version prefixes another clause to this, which makes the oath even more forceful: As surely as you are Elijah and I am Jezebel, so let the gods...

The rapid pace of the original narrative is very striking: “And he saw (or, “feared,” as some read), and he rose, and he went...” Elijah's fear and flight are very remarkable. Jezebel’s threat alone likely did not produce this extraordinary change. Instead, it was probably caused by a combination of factors: partly a physical reaction from the over-excitement of the previous day, and partly an internal turmoil and doubt about the wisdom of the course he had taken.

Beersheba is about 95 miles from Jezreel, on the very edge of the desert et-Tih. Elijah could not possibly have reached it until the end of the second day. The text seems to imply that he traveled both night and day, not resting until he arrived there. It was one of the towns assigned to the tribe of Simeon (Joshua 19:2). The Simeonites, however, had by this time been absorbed into Judah.

Elijah did not feel safe until he was beyond the territory of Judah, for Ahab might demand him from Jehoshaphat (1 Kings 18:10), with whom he had a close alliance (1 Kings 22:4). Therefore, he proceeded southward into the desert simply to be out of his enemies' reach.

A juniper-tree — The tree mentioned here, a species of broom (Genista monosperma) called “rethem” by the Arabs, is not the juniper. It is abundant in the Sinaitic peninsula and grows large enough to provide travelers with shade and protection from both heat and storm.

Requested for himself that he might die — Like Moses and Jonah, the prophet’s depression here reached its lowest point. He was still suffering from the reaction to his overstrained emotions; he was weary from days and nights of travel; he was faint from the sun’s heat; he was exhausted from lack of food; and for the first time, he was alone—alone in the overwhelming solitude and silence of the great white desert.

Such solitude can brace the soul in certain moods, but in others it can utterly overwhelm and crush. Thus, the prophet finally gave way completely, prayed that he might die, and, exhausted, sank to sleep.

I am not better than my fathers — That is, “I am merely a weak man, no better or stronger than those who have gone before me, no more able to revolutionize the world than they were.”

An angel touched him - The friendly ministry of angels, which was common during the time of the patriarchs (Genesis 18:2–16; Genesis 19:1–22; Genesis 28:12; Genesis 32:1, 24-29) and also known during the time of the Judges (Judges 6:11–21; Judges 13:3–20), was now extended to Elijah. Any other explanation of this passage violates the plain meaning of the words. It is certainly not the writer's intention to portray Elijah as being helped on this occasion by a human “messenger.”

A cake baked on the coals - This does not imply that Elijah found a fire lit with the cake on it, but only that he found one of the usual baked cakes of the desert, which is the ordinary food of the Arab today.

At his head - The Hebrew word simply means “the place on which the head lies”; therefore, the rendering in the margin is “bolster.”