Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Kings 17:12

"And she said, As Jehovah thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but a handful of meal in the jar, and a little oil in the cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die." — 1 Kings 17:12 (ASV)

I have not a cake. —The famine may have already extended to Phoenicia; for there, according to Menander, it lasted for a year; or, since the country depended upon Israel for supplies, the distress may have been only the reflex effect of the famine in Israel.

As the Lord thy God liveth. —The phrase indicates a recognition of Elijah as a prophet of Jehovah, the God of Israel, but probably (as, indeed, seems to be implied by the use of the words “thy God”) no acknowledgment of Him yet by the woman herself, such as the neighboring Gentiles (for example, Hiram in the days of Solomon) often acknowledged.