1 Kings 18:10

1Ki 18:10 [As] the LORD thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when they said, [He is] not [there]; he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not.

Ver. 10. There is no nation or kingdom.] And yet the prophet, by the widow’s industry, lay hid no farther off him than was Zarephath, a city of his father-in-law Ethbaal’s. This was God’s own doing; and the like was done for good Athanasius, who, for the space of forty-six years - so long his troubles lasted - is said to have found no friend but God and death: the one a defender of his innocency, the other the finisher of all his miseries. Some report of him, that he lived six years in a well, without the light of the sun, forsaken of friends, and everywhere hunted by enemies.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

18:10 every nation and kingdom: Ancient Near Eastern protocol called for the extradition of fugitives or runaway slaves, as noted in the famous treaty between Pharaoh Ramses II and the Hittite king Hattusilis (see ANET 200b, 203a). But Elijah had not had to seek asylum with a foreign king. God provided for his safety at Kerith Brook (17:3) and with the widow at Zarephath (17:9).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 10. There is no nation or kingdom] He had sent through all his own states and to the neighbouring governments to find out the prophet, as he knew, from his own declaration, that both rain and drought were to be the effect of his prayers. Had he found him, he no doubt intended to oblige him to procure rain, or punish him for having brought on this drought.

He took an oath] Ahab must have had considerable power and authority among the neighbouring nations to require and exact this, and Elijah must have kept himself very secret to have shunned such an extensive and minute search.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(10) There is no nation.—This unremitting search—implying perhaps some supremacy or authority over neighbouring kingdoms—suits ill with the half-hearted enmity of Ahab. No doubt it was the work of Jezebel, in Ahab’s name, connived at (as in the murder of Naboth) by his timidity.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

10. there is no nation or kingdom] Of course Obadiah’s words only apply to those countries immediately around Israel and into which Elijah could be supposed to have fled for refuge. But he employs the language of Oriental hyperbole, so frequently found in the Old Testament Cf. Gen_7:19; Deu_2:25.

he took an oath] The search had been made after a very thorough and formal manner, and solemn attestation made of its fruitlessness. The LXX. says ‘he burnt up that kingdom and the countries thereof because he did not find thee.’

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

As the Lord thy God liveth,.... Which is the form of an oath he thought fit to make, to ascertain the truth of what he was about to say:

there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee; which is either an hyperbolical expression, signifying he had sought for him in many places, and in every place he could think of; or it must be understood either of the ten tribes, which were as so many nations and kingdoms as they had been; or were more in the times of the Canaanites; or of the nations round about, that were in alliance with or tributary to the king of Israel:

and when they said, he is not there, he took an oath of the kingdom and nation that they found thee not; which he might exact of his own subjects, but could not of other nations, unless they were free to it of themselves; or he might take it of their ambassadors or merchants that came into his land, of whom he inquired, and adjured them to tell him the truth.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

There is no nation ... - This is expressed in the style of Oriental hyperbole. What Obadiah means is: “there is no nation nor kingdom, of those over which he has influence, whither the king has not sent.” He could scarcely, for example, have exacted an oath from such countries as Egypt or Syria of Damascus. But Ahab may have been powerful enough to expect an oath from the neighboring Hittite, Moabite, and Edomite tribes, perhaps even from Ethbaal his father-in-law, and the kings of Hamath and Arpad.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

An oath of every kingdom, adjuring all his neighbours to tell if they knew any thing about Elias. (Haydock) --- Achab wished to make him restore rain, or to punish him for the refusal. (Calmet) --- How stupid he must have been, not to perceive that God was punishing him! (Haydock) --- Elias must have kept himself very retired, not to be discovered at Sarephta, which was so near, (Calmet) and where Jezabel’s father reigned. But God could render him invisible, even upon the high road, when he went thither. (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

There is no nation or kingdom, to wit, near to his own, where he could in reason think that Elijah had hid himself. Nothing is more frequent than to understand general expressions with such limitations.

He took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not; not that he could force other kingdoms to take an oath, but that by his persuasions he prevailed with the chief persons in several kingdoms for his satisfaction to swear that they did not know of Elijah’s being among them; which was not hard for him to obtain. For Ahab was a great prince, and had a great interest among the neighbouring kings, the king of Tyre was his father-in-law; the king of Moab tributary to him; Jehoshaphat his friend and relation, to whom the king of Edom was tributary. We read also of

all the kings of Arabia, and of all the kings of the Hittites, and of Syria, 1Ki 10:15,29; which as they corresponded with Solomon, so how far they might be allied to or confederate with Ahab we know not; nor what articles or agreements were between him and them, among which this might be one, that they should deliver up to one another all their fugitive or banished subjects upon demand; which might give sufficient ground for his desire or expectation of this oath.

Quest. How then could Elijah lie hid in the house of the widow of Sarepta?

Answ. That might easily be, either because she herself, or at least others, did not know particularly who he was; or because she used all possible care to conceal him, her conscience and interest both obliging her so to do; or because God secured him there.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

10. No nation or kingdom — Ahab had sought far and near for the stern prophet, whom he regarded as the troubler of Israel. 1Ki_18:17. “It was then, doubtless, as it still is, the belief of Eastern countries that seers and saints have the power of withholding or giving rain. In the convent of Mount Sinai the Arabs believe that there is a book, by the opening or shutting of which the monks can disperse or retain the rain of the peninsula.” — Stanley.

Took an oath… that they found thee not — That is, he made each nation and kingdom through which he sought, swear to him that they had not found the prophet, and knew not the place of his concealment.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

As the Lord thy God liveth Obadiah uses precisely the same adjuration as the widow of Zarephath, 1Ki_17:12. But then, though Jehovah was undoubtedly his God, He was in a more special and intimate manner Elijah"s God. The oath corresponds well with the prophet"s name there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee Keil says the hyperbole is to be explained by the "inward excitement and fear" of the speaker. But the Orientals use similar exaggerations in their calmest moments. All that is meant is that all neighbouring and accessible courts had been communicated with. This search for Elijah shows that Ahab regarded him as the author of the drought, and did not recognize it as sent by God. The belief in occult and magical powers has always held possession of the Eastern mind: and when they said, He is not there Heb. Not, and he, etc.; he took an oath LXX. ejneprhse, which has been thought by some to point to acts of vengeance. But more probably it is a clerical error, perhaps for wrkise, or ejnwrkise. On the frequency of oaths in that age (see on 1Ki_1:51) of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

No nation - Near his own, where he could in reason think that Elijah had hid himself. It does not appear, that Ahab sought him, in order to put him to death: but rather in hopes of prevailing upon him, to pray for the removal of the drought.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

That they did not find you. For the nation was unable to find you.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.