What is the…
Cherith

also known as: Chorath and Kerith

Meaning: a cutting; separation; a gorge, a torrent-bed or winter-stream, a “brook”

It was on the banks of this river that the prophet Elijah hid himself during the early part of the 3 year drought.

Go away from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. …So he went and did according to the word of Yahweh, for he went and lived by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. —1 Kings 17:3, 5 LSB

It has by some been identified as the Wady el-Kelt behind Jericho, which is formed by the junction of many streams flowing from the mountains west of Jericho. It is dry in summer. Travellers have described it as one of the wildest ravines of this wild region, and peculiarly fitted to provide a safe hiding place for the persecuted.

But if the prophet’s interview with Ahab was in Samaria, and he thence journeyed toward the east, it is probable that he crossed Jordan and found refuge in some of the ravines of Gilead.

The “brook” is said to have been “before Jordan,” which probably means that it opened toward that river, into which it flowed. This description would apply to the east as well as to the west of Jordan.

Thus Elijah’s hiding-place may have been the Jermuk, in the territory of the half-tribe of Manasseh.

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Article Version: October 22, 2024