Text -- 1 Kings 20:35-43 (NET)

A Prophet Denounces Ahab’s Actions

20:35 One of the members of the prophetic guild, speaking with divine authority, ordered his companion, “Wound me!” But the man refused to wound him. 20:36 So the prophet said to him, “Because you have disobeyed the Lord, as soon as you leave me a lion will kill you.” When he left him, a lion attacked and killed him. 20:37 He found another man and said, “Wound me!” So the man wounded him severely. 20:38 The prophet then went and stood by the road, waiting for the king. He also disguised himself by putting a bandage down over his eyes. 20:39 When the king passed by, he called out to the king, “Your servant went out into the heat of the battle, and then a man turned aside and brought me a prisoner. He told me, ‘Guard this prisoner. If he ends up missing for any reason, you will pay with your life or with a talent of silver.’ 20:40 Well, it just so happened that while your servant was doing this and that, he disappeared.” The king of Israel said to him, “Your punishment is already determined by your own testimony.” 20:41 The prophet quickly removed the bandage from his eyes and the king of Israel recognized he was one of the prophets. 20:42 The prophet then said to him, “This is what the Lord says, ‘Because you released a man I had determined should die, you will pay with your life and your people will suffer instead of his people.’” 20:43 The king of Israel went home to Samaria bitter and angry.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 1Ki 20:35

¹ tn Heb “Now a man from the sons of the prophets said to his companion by the word of the Lord, ‘Wound me.’”

NET Notes: 1Ki 20:36

¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the prophet) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

NET Notes: 1Ki 20:37

¹ tn Heb “and the man wounded him, wounding and bruising.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 20:39

¹ tn Heb “middle.”

² tn Heb “man” (also a second time later in this verse).

³ tn Heb “if being missed, he is missed.” The emphatic infinitive absolute before the finite verbal form lends solemnity to the warning.

⁴ tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 75 pounds of silver.

⁵ tn Heb “your life will be in place of his life, or a unit of silver you will pay.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 20:40

¹ tn Heb “so [i.e., in accordance with his testimony] is your judgment, you have determined [it].”

NET Notes: 1Ki 20:41

¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the prophet) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

NET Notes: 1Ki 20:42

¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the prophet) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Heb “Because you sent away the man of my destruction [i.e., that I determined should be destroyed] from [my/your?] hand, your life will be in place of his life, and your people in place of his people.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 20:43

¹ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.