Luke 4:26

"But truly I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land."

Key Reflection

In Luke 4:26, Jesus references a significant period in Israel's history during Elijah's ministry when the sky was shut up for three and a half years, leading to a severe famine across the land. This historical context would have resonated with his original audience, reminding them of a time when God intervened through Elijah to highlight His power over nature, even in times of great scarcity.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

Verse 26. Save unto Sarepta. Sarepta was a town between Tyre and Sidon, near the Mediterranean Sea. It was not a Jewish city, but a Sidonian, and therefore a Gentile town. The word "save" in this verse does not express the meaning of the original. It would seem to imply that the city was Jewish. The meaning of the verse is this: "He was sent to none of the widows in Israel. He was not sent except to Sarepta, to a woman that was a Sidonian." Dr. Thomson (The Land and the Book, vol. i. p. 232-236) regards Sarepta as the modern Sarafend.

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