1 Kings 22:1-12. Ahab resolves to recover Ramoth-gilead. Jehoshaphat joins him. Ahab's prophets promise him victory (2 Chronicles 18:1-11) 1. _they continued three years without war_ This probably means after the defeat of Benhadad described in chapter 20. It must have been during this interval of... [ Continue Reading ]
_Jehoshaphat … came down to the king of Israel_ The writer speaks as though Jerusalem was still regarded as the capital-city of the whole nation. To leave it and go elsewhere was -to go down." The Chronicler and Josephus connect this visit with the mention of Jehoshaphat's -affinity with" Ahab. Jeh... [ Continue Reading ]
_Know ye that Ramoth in Gilead_is _ours_ The statement of Josephus (_Ant_. viii. 15, 3) is very probable, viz. that the father of Ben-hadad had taken Ramoth-gilead, with other cities, from Omri. Ben-hadad had stipulated, when he feared for his life (1 Kings 22:34), to restore these conquests, but ap... [ Continue Reading ]
_I_am _as thou_art] The marriage between the royal children would no doubt make Jehoshaphat more ready to comply with Ahab's request. But it was not without danger to Judah also, that the Syrian king should hold a strong position in the land of Gilead. _my horses as thy horses_ From this expression... [ Continue Reading ]
_Inquire, I pray thee, at the word of the Lord_ The persuasion has gained from him a promise, but Jehoshaphat would still find out whether the proposed expedition has the sanction of Jehovah. It is clear from his request that he expected to find a true prophet of Jehovah at hand in Israel. The natio... [ Continue Reading ]
_gathered the prophets together, about four hundred_ These cannot have been the prophets of Baal, for their ringleader, Zedekiah, in 1 Kings 22:11, begins his speech, -Thus saith Jehovah," and in 1 Kings 22:24 speaks of -the spirit of Jehovah" as being with him. But they were not true adherents of t... [ Continue Reading ]
Is there _not here a prophet of the Lord besides_ The R.V. transposes _besides_, putting it after _here_. This brings out more clearly the reason for Jehoshaphat's inquiry. Besides what he has heard, he would gladly be told what to do by a true prophet of Jehovah. These men and their answer did not... [ Continue Reading ]
There is _yet one man_ In the R.V. immediately after these words are placed -by whom we may inquire of the Lord." This order of words, which corresponds more nearly with the Hebrew arrangement, shews that Ahab understood what his guest required, and why he was not satisfied with the prophets that ha... [ Continue Reading ]
_Hasten_hither] R.V. FETCH QUICKLY. This is the rendering in Chronicles, and enables us to dispense with italics.... [ Continue Reading ]
_And_[R.V. NOW] _the king of Israel_ The change is justified, as the sentence is not a mere addition to what has gone before but a new feature in the history. _having put on their robes_ R.V. ARRAYED IN THEIR ROBES. The original language indicates a degree of display suited to the meeting of two ki... [ Continue Reading ]
_Zedekiah_ In 1 Kings 22:24 we see that Zedekiah was the leader of Ahab's prophets. His action here is one of those symbolical proceedings not uncommon with the prophets. Thus Ahijah significantly rent his garment into twelve pieces (1 Kings 11:30) and gave Jeroboam ten. Zedekiah's language, address... [ Continue Reading ]
_into the king's hand_ R.V. INTO THE HAND OF THE KING. A change made to shew that the words are just the same as in 1 Kings 22:6. The LXX. adds here -even the king of Syria.... [ Continue Reading ]
Micaiah's prophecy. Ahab, in displeasure, sends him to prison (2 Chronicles 18:12-27) 13. _And the messenger that was gone_[R.V. WENT] _to call Micaiah_ The tradition, which Josephus preserves, that the -son of the prophets" mentioned in 1 Kings 20:35, was Micaiah, and that Ahab put him in prison fo... [ Continue Reading ]
_what the Lord saith_ In 2 Chronicles 18:13 it is -what my God saith.... [ Continue Reading ]
_So he came to the king. And the king said_ R.V. AND WHEN HE WAS COME TO THE KING, THE KING SAID. Conforming to 2 Chron. where the Hebrew is precisely the same. The change also represents the events in rather more close sequence, as no doubt they happened. _Micaiah, shall we go against_[R.V. TO] _R... [ Continue Reading ]
_How many times shall I adjure thee_ It would seem from this that Ahab on former occasions had consulted Micaiah, and been dissatisfied with his answers. _that thou tell me nothing but_that which is _true_ R.V. THAT THOU SPEAK UNTO ME NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH. This is very nearly the form in 2 Chron.... [ Continue Reading ]
_And he said_ Here the LXX. adds οὐχ οὕτως, -Not so," and there is a similar insertion at the beginning of 1 Kings 22:19, where see note. _I saw all Israel_ Here Micaiah in true prophetic tone relates a vision which foretells the utter ruin of the coming expedition. _scattered upon the hills_ R.V.... [ Continue Reading ]
_that he would prophesy no good_ R.V. (as in Chronicles) THAT HE WOULD NOT PROPHESY GOOD. Of course Ahab was desirous of representing to Jehoshaphat that it was out of ill will that Micaiah spake always evil; and he appears to have weakened the effect of the prophet's words in some way, or else, aft... [ Continue Reading ]
_And he said_ After these words the LXX. adds οὐχ οὕτως οὐκ ἐγώ, -Not so, I do not." Here we can discern how the insertion was made. The next word in the Hebrew text is לכן = Therefore. This the translators have taken for לא כן = not so, and have put in the οὐκ ἐγὼ to round off the sense. Apparently... [ Continue Reading ]
_Who shall persuade_[R.V. ENTICE] _Ahab_ The same change also is made in the two following verses. -Entice" is the rendering in 2 Chronicles, and it represents much better the sense of the verb in the original, which implies flattery and deception; and this it was which was to lead Ahab to his ruin.... [ Continue Reading ]
_And there came forth a spirit_ The Hebrew has - _the_spirit" as is noted on the margin of the R.V. It seems therefore to imply some definite power which imparted to prophets their gifts; the prophetic spirit. That God allowed this power to delude Ahab was because of the king's persistence in evil.... [ Continue Reading ]
_and I will be_ The R.V. omits -I" here, and later on inserts -shalt" before -prevail," to accord with 2 Chronicles, the English being thus as exactly alike in the two passages as the Hebrew is.... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Lord hath put a lying spirit_ These words bear out what has been said on 1 Kings 22:21. It was a messenger from Jehovah which led these prophets astray. We are not to conclude from this that it was an evil spirit, or Satan, as some have suggested. Such spirits are not God's agents. The spirit w... [ Continue Reading ]
_But Zedekiah … went_[R.V. CAME] _near_ The verb is the same as in 1 Kings 20:13. See note there. Josephus has a great expansion of the narrative at this point, which leads up to the blow given to Micaiah. He says -the king began to ponder on what had been said, but Zedekiah, one of the false proph... [ Continue Reading ]
_Behold, thou shalt see_ _IN_ [R.V. ON] _that day_ The small change harmonizes this passage with 2 Chron. What Micaiah was to see and be convinced of was, that the spirit of God had passed away from him and gone to Micaiah. The events would bring proof with them. _into an inner chamber_ See note on... [ Continue Reading ]
_carry him back unto Amon_ As Ahab knew so well how to find Micaiah when he was wanted, it may be that he was already under the charge of Amon, in a sort of _libera custodia_. But the command in the next verse to put him into prison seems conclusive that he had not been a prisoner before. _Joash th... [ Continue Reading ]
_bread of affliction_ Prison fare. The expression is found in Isaiah 30:20, of the suffering of Israel in captivity. Hence it indicates the food which would be procurable in a time of siege, or by prisoners in captivity.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Hearken, O people, every one of you_ R.V. HEAR, YE PEOPLES, ALL OF YOU. This sentence is omitted by the LXX. as are also the words -And he said" which precede. In consequence it has been thought that they are no part of the original text, but a marginal note of a later time, which some one put down... [ Continue Reading ]
Battle of Ramoth-gilead. Defeat and death of Ahab (2 Chronicles 18:28-34) 30. _I will disguise myself, and enter_[R.V. GO] _into the battle_ Another tense of the same verb is translated -went" in this verse, and -go" is the rendering in 2 Chronicles 18:29. There must have been some mark by which t... [ Continue Reading ]
_But_[R.V. NOW] _the king of Syria commanded_[R.V. HAD COMMANDED] _his thirty and two captains_. The changes are as usual to conform to 2 Chronicles. These thirty-two captains were most likely those who had been chosen to supply the places of the thirty-two kings that were removed in the campaign of... [ Continue Reading ]
_when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat_ They would recognise from a distance that this was a royal personage, and would naturally suppose that it could be none other than Ahab. On approaching nearer they would probably discern that he was not wearing the armour and insignia of Israel. Th... [ Continue Reading ]
_when the captains … perceived that it_was _not the king of Israel_ From this it is plain that the pursuers gathered, by the cry, knowledge that it was Jehoshaphat. A cry of supplication would have been no guide to them, but a shout of -Judah to the rescue," or some similar word, might make them awa... [ Continue Reading ]
_And a_certain _man_ Josephus has given him a name. -A certain youth of the royal family of Adad [i.e. Ben-hadad] whose name was Aman." -Fate, the inevitable," he says, -found Ahab out even without his robes." _drew a bow_[R.V. HIS BOW] _at a venture_ The noun is definite in form in the Hebrew, so t... [ Continue Reading ]
_the king was stayed up in his chariot_ Some attempt was doubtless made to stop the bleeding, and it was thought best that though not in the fight, Ahab should not withdraw from the field. The LXX. says -from morning till evening," thus giving the impression that the king was wounded at the very beg... [ Continue Reading ]
_And there went a proclamation_ R.V. A CRY. The word is often rendered -cry" and applied both to sorrowful and joyous utterances. Cf. Psalms 17:1; Psalms 30:5. Nowhere else is it rendered -proclamation." It indicates that word was passed round from troop to troop that some disaster made retreat nece... [ Continue Reading ]
_And_one [R.V. THEY] _washed the chariot in_[R.V. BY] _the pool of Samaria_ The first change substitutes an English for a Hebrew idiom; the second renders more exactly the preposition of the original. It was necessary in the East to provide large reservoirs outside each town that the supplies of wat... [ Continue Reading ]
_the ivory house that he made_[R.V. BUILT] The verb is the same as in the next clause. The house was of course not of ivory, but largely adorned with it. That such adornment prevailed in Oriental lands, see Amos 3:15. The family of Ahab were great builders. It was the father of this king who in his... [ Continue Reading ]
_Ahaziah his son_ Ahaziah was the elder son of Ahab, and died subsequently in consequence of a fall (2 Kings 1:17) and was succeeded by his brother Jehoram (2 Kings 3:1).... [ Continue Reading ]
Brief notice of the reign of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah (2 Chronicles 20:31-37; 2 Chronicles 21:1) 41. _Jehoshaphat the son of Asa_ For the events of the twenty-five years of Jehoshaphat's reign the books of Kings give but a scanty record. His alliance with Jehoram, Ahab's son, against the king of M... [ Continue Reading ]
_He reigned twenty and five years_ His son and successor, Jehoram, was made king in conjunction with his father, before Jehoshaphat's death (2 Kings 9:16). But this could only have been done just at the close of Jehoshaphat's reign. For it was in the fourth year of Ahab that Jehoshaphat began to rei... [ Continue Reading ]
_nevertheless_[R.V. HOWBEIT] _the high places were not taken away_ for [om. _for_R.V.] _the people offered_[R.V. STILL SACRIFICED] _and burnt incense yet_[om. _yet_R.V.] _in the high places_. The changes get rid of the italic _for_, and put _still_instead of _yet_in its proper place in the verse. -T... [ Continue Reading ]
_Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel_ This is mentioned because up to his time the two kingdoms had been always at war.... [ Continue Reading ]
_and how he warred_ The words are not represented in the LXX. On the wars of Jehoshaphat, see above on 1 Kings 22:41, and the Chapter s in 2 Chronicles there referred to. _in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah_ The Chronicler gives, as the authority for Jehoshaphat's history, the book... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the remnant_, &c. This passage, down to the end of 1 Kings 22:49, is omitted by the (_Vat._) LXX. _which remained in the days of his father_ Asa had striven to put them down. See 1 Kings 15:12 above. _he took_[R.V. PUT AWAY] _out of the land_ -To put away" is by far the most frequent renderin... [ Continue Reading ]
There was _then_[R.V. AND THERE WAS] _no king in Edom_ Therefore Jehoshaphat could go through Idumæa to the Red Sea and prepare him a fleet in Ezion-geber. On Ezion-geber and its position in the land of Edom, see above on 1 Kings 9:26. _a deputy_was _king_ What had become of the royal family of Edom... [ Continue Reading ]
_ships of Tharshish_ See above on 1 Kings 10:22. _Ophir_ See 1 Kings 9:28. The Chronicler says the ships were to go to Tarshish (2 Chronicles 20:3-8). _the ships were broken_ According to the Chronicler (2 Chronicles 20:35-37) these ships were built in conjunction with Ahaziah, king of Israel. And... [ Continue Reading ]
_Let my servants go with thy servants_ This appears to have been an attempt to engage Jehoshaphat in a second expedition. If there were two expeditions contemplated, one may have been to Ophir, and the other to Tarshish. This would account for what is noticed in the previous verse, that the Chronicl... [ Continue Reading ]
Ahaziah, king of Israel. His wicked reign (Not in Chronicles) 51. _the seventeenth year_ The R.V. inserts IN before these words, and as the preposition is in the original, there is no ground for excluding it in the English. On the chronology see above on 1 Kings 22:42. _and reigned_ R.V. AND HE RE... [ Continue Reading ]
_did evil_[R.V. DID THAT WHICH WAS EVIL] As often before. _the way of his mother_ i.e. He tried to put down the worship of Jehovah altogether, as Jezebel had done. _who_[R.V. WHEREIN HE] _made Israel to sin_ On a similar change, cf. above 1 Kings 16:30.... [ Continue Reading ]
_for_[R.V. AND] _he served Baal_ This is an additional count in his wickedness, not an explanation of what is contained in the verse before. Hence the change. The LXX., instead of -according to all that his fathe [9] [9] Lumby, J. R. (1886). _The First Book of the Kings, with Introduction and Notes... [ Continue Reading ]