Verses 1–22
dearth
The significance of a drought at this time was very great. It was one of the signs predicted in the Palestinian Covenant Deuteronomy 28:23,24 and already fulfilled in part in the reign of Ahab. 1 Kings 17:1, etc. As that sign had been followed, even though after a long interval, by the Assyrian captivity of the northern kingdom, it should have been received by Judah as a most solemn warning.