Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Kings 19:4

"But he himself went a day`s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper-tree: and he requested for himself that he might die, and said, It is enough; now, O Jehovah, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers." — 1 Kings 19:4 (ASV)

Juniper tree. This is a type of broom, found abundantly in the desert. It has been noted that its roots were much prized for charcoal, the “coal” of 1 Kings 19:6.

I am not better than my fathers. This exclamation is characteristic. Evidently, he had hoped that he himself was “better than his fathers” as a servant of God, singled out beyond all those who went before him to be the victorious champion of a great crisis, he, and he alone (1 Kings 18:22; 1 Kings 19:10–14). Now he thinks his hope was in vain and sees no reason why he should succeed when all who went before him have failed. Why, he asks, should he live when the rest of the prophets have died?