Marginal stories

For more commentary on this week's readings, see the Reflections on the Lectionary page, which includes Neumark's current Living by the Word column as well as past magazine and blog content. For full-text access to all articles, subscribe to the Century.

The story of the widow of Zarephath and Elijah is bracketed by two other stories that are excluded from the lectionary and are therefore never heard by many people in our congregations. Both of them concern the deviant monarchy under which the widow and her child live.

At the end of 1 Kings 17, Ahab assumes his reign, and the first major project under his rule is the construction of Jericho. The builder kills his two young sons and buries their bodies in the foundation of the city. This was an ancient practice of child sacrifice forbidden by the God of the Israelites but accepted by King Ahab.