Ravens

I Kings 17:4 And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.
5 So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.
6 And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook. (KJV)

I had a gentleman in the church on Wednesday night ask me about the "ravens" in this passage. It seems that he heard someone on the radio or on the internet say that the ravens here were not the actual raven bird, but rather a group of individuals that dressed in black clothing and would distribute scraps from the king's table to the poor and needy. Apparently, in their robes, they resembled a flock of ravens.

First, I, in nearly 40 years of ministry, have never heard such a theory.

Second, the Hebrew word translated "ravens" in this passage is the same Hebrew word translated "ravens" in the following passages, and leave no doubt that they refer to the actual bird.

Psalm 147:9 He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry.
Proverbs 30:17 The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it.

I told this gentleman that my first thought was this guy he heard on the radio was simply mistaken. But, I told him that I would dig into it a bit. Every commentator that I have access to says nothing but that these are actual birds, which I firmly believe as well.

I was just curious as to whether some of you might have heard this viewpoint and where it might have come from.

 

Thank you. I had checked Clarke on verse 4, but see that he elaborates on this in his commentary of verse 24. It seems that most of his argument employs mainly human logic. It was interesting, though, to see where this idea might have come.