Text -- 1 Kings 22:30-53 (NET)

22:30 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and then enter into the battle; but you wear your royal robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and then entered into the battle. 22:31 Now the king of Syria had ordered his thirty-two chariot commanders, “Do not fight common soldiers or high-ranking officers; fight only the king of Israel.” 22:32 When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “He must be the king of Israel.” So they turned and attacked him, but Jehoshaphat cried out. 22:33 When the chariot commanders realized he was not the king of Israel, they turned away from him. 22:34 Now an archer shot an arrow at random, and it struck the king of Israel between the plates of his armor. The king ordered his charioteer, “Turn around and take me from the battle line, because I’m wounded.” 22:35 While the battle raged throughout the day, the king stood propped up in his chariot opposite the Syrians. He died in the evening; the blood from the wound ran down into the bottom of the chariot. 22:36 As the sun was setting, a cry went through the camp, “Each one should return to his city and to his homeland.” 22:37 So the king died and was taken to Samaria, where they buried him. 22:38 They washed off the chariot at the pool of Samaria (this was where the prostitutes bathed); dogs licked his blood, just as the Lord had said would happen. 22:39 The rest of the events of Ahab’s reign, including a record of his accomplishments and how he built a luxurious palace and various cities, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 22:40 Ahab passed away. His son Ahaziah replaced him as king.

Jehoshaphat’s Reign over Judah

22:41 In the fourth year of King Ahab’s reign over Israel, Asa’s son Jehoshaphat became king over Judah. 22:42 Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king and he reigned for twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi. 22:43 He followed in his father Asa’s footsteps and was careful to do what the Lord approved. However, the high places were not eliminated; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense on the high places. 22:44 Jehoshaphat was also at peace with the king of Israel. 22:45 The rest of the events of Jehoshaphat’s reign, including his successes and military exploits, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 22:46 He removed from the land any male cultic prostitutes who had managed to survive the reign of his father Asa. 22:47 There was no king in Edom at this time; a governor ruled. 22:48 Jehoshaphat built a fleet of large merchant ships ships to travel to Ophir for gold, but they never made the voyage because they were shipwrecked in Ezion Geber. 22:49 Then Ahaziah son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “Let my sailors join yours in the fleet,” but Jehoshaphat refused. 22:50 Jehoshaphat passed away and was buried with his ancestors in the city of his ancestor David. His son Jehoram replaced him as king.

Ahaziah’s Reign over Israel

22:51 In the seventeenth year of King Jehoshaphat’s reign over Judah, Ahab’s son Ahaziah became king over Israel in Samaria. He ruled for two years over Israel. 22:52 He did evil in the sight of the Lord and followed in the footsteps of his father and mother; like Jeroboam son of Nebat, he encouraged Israel to sin. 22:53 He worshiped and bowed down to Baal, angering the Lord God of Israel just as his father had done.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 1Ki 22:30

¹ tn The Hebrew verbal forms could be imperatives (“Disguise yourself and enter”), but this would make no sense in light of the immediately following context. The forms are better interpreted as infinitives absolute functioning as cohortatives. See IBHS 594 §35.5.2a. Some prefer to emend the forms to imperfects.

NET Notes: 1Ki 22:31

¹ tn Heb “small or great.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 22:34

¹ tn Heb “now a man drew a bow in his innocence” (i.e., with no specific target in mind, or at least without realizing his target was the king of Israel).

² tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ tn Heb “camp.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 22:37

¹ tn Heb “and the king died and he came to Samaria, and they buried the king in Samaria.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 22:38

¹ tn Heb “now the prostitutes bathed.”

² tn Heb “according to the word of the Lord which he spoke.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 22:39

¹ tn Heb “As for the rest of the acts of Ahab and all that he did, and the house of ivory which he built and all the cities which he built, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?”

NET Notes: 1Ki 22:40

¹ tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 22:42

¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

NET Notes: 1Ki 22:43

¹ tn Heb “he walked in all the way of Asa his father and did not turn from it, doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord.”

² sn Beginning with 22:43b, the verse numbers through 22:53 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), because 22:43b in the English Bible = 22:44 in the Hebrew text. The remaining verses in the chapter differ by one, with 22:44-53 ET = 22:45-54 HT.

NET Notes: 1Ki 22:45

¹ tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Jehoshaphat, and his strength that he demonstrated and how he fought, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”

NET Notes: 1Ki 22:46

¹ tn Heb “and the rest of the male cultic prostitutes who were left in the days of Asa his father, he burned from the land.” Some understand the verb בִּעֵר (bi’er) to mean “sweep away” here rather than “burn.” See the note at 1 Kgs 14:10.

sn Despite Asa’s opposition to these male cultic prostitutes (see 1 Kgs 15:12) some of them had managed to remain in the land. Jehoshaphat finished what his father had started.

NET Notes: 1Ki 22:48

¹ tn Heb “a fleet of Tarshish [ships].” This probably refers to large ships either made in or capable of traveling to the distant western port of Tarshish.

NET Notes: 1Ki 22:49

¹ tn Heb “Let my servants go with your servants in the fleet.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 22:50

¹ tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”

² tn Heb “with his fathers in the city of his father.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 22:51

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

NET Notes: 1Ki 22:52

¹ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

² tn Or “way.”

³ tn Heb “and walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother and in the way of Jeroboam son of Nebat who made Israel sin.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 22:53

¹ tn Heb “he served Baal and bowed down to him.”

² tn Heb “according to all which his father had done.”