1 Kings 22:1-29

Ahab Dies in Battle

22:1 There was no war between Syria and Israel for three years. ¹  22:2 In the third year King Jehoshaphat of Judah came down to visit ²  the king of Israel. 22:3 The king of Israel said to his servants, “Surely you recognize that Ramoth Gilead belongs to us, though we are hesitant to reclaim it from the king of Syria.” ³  22:4 Then he said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to attack Ramoth Gilead?” Jehoshaphat replied to the king of Israel, “I will support you; my army and horses are at your disposal.” ⁴  22:5 Then Jehoshaphat added, ⁵  “First seek an oracle from the Lord.” ⁶  22:6 So the king of Israel assembled about four hundred prophets and asked them, “Should I attack Ramoth Gilead or not?” ⁷  They said, “Attack! The sovereign one ⁸  will hand it over to the king.” 22:7 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there not a prophet of the Lord still here, that we may ask him?” 22:8 The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man through whom we can seek the Lord’s will. ⁹  But I despise ¹⁰  him because he does not prophesy prosperity for me, but disaster. His name is Micaiah son of Imlah. ¹¹  Jehoshaphat said, “The king should not say such things.” 22:9 The king of Israel summoned an official and said, “Quickly bring Micaiah son of Imlah.”

22:10 Now the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah were sitting on their respective thrones, ¹²  dressed in their robes, at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria. ¹³  All the prophets were prophesying before them. 22:11 Zedekiah son of Kenaanah made iron horns and said, “This is what the Lord says, ‘With these you will gore Syria until they are destroyed.’” 22:12 All the prophets were prophesying the same, saying, “Attack Ramoth Gilead! You will succeed; the Lord will hand it over to the king.” 22:13 Now the messenger who went to summon Micaiah said to him, “Look, the prophets are in complete agreement that the king will succeed. ¹⁴  Your words must agree with theirs; you must predict success.” ¹⁵  22:14 But Micaiah said, “As certainly as the Lord lives, I will say what the Lord tells me to say.”

22:15 When he came before the king, the king asked him, “Micaiah, should we attack Ramoth Gilead or not?” He answered him, “Attack! You will succeed; the Lord will hand it over to the king.” ¹⁶  22:16 The king said to him, “How many times must I make you solemnly promise in ¹⁷  the name of the Lord to tell me only the truth?” 22:17 Micaiah ¹⁸  said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains like sheep that have no shepherd. Then the Lord said, ‘They have no master. They should go home in peace.’” 22:18 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Didn’t I tell you he does not prophesy prosperity for me, but disaster?” 22:19 Micaiah ¹⁹  said, “That being the case, hear the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, with all the heavenly assembly standing on his right and on his left. 22:20 The Lord said, ‘Who will deceive Ahab, so he will attack Ramoth Gilead and die ²⁰  there?’ One said this and another that. 22:21 Then a spirit ²¹  stepped forward and stood before the Lord. He said, ‘I will deceive him.’ The Lord asked him, ‘How?’ 22:22 He replied, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’ The Lord ²²  said, ‘Deceive and overpower him. ²³  Go out and do as you have proposed.’ 22:23 So now, look, the Lord has placed a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours; but the Lord has decreed disaster for you.” 22:24 Zedekiah son of Kenaanah approached, hit Micaiah on the jaw, and said, “Which way did the Lord’s spirit go when he went from me to speak to you?” 22:25 Micaiah replied, “Look, you will see in the day when you go into an inner room to hide.” 22:26 Then the king of Israel said, “Take Micaiah and return him to Amon the city official and Joash the king’s son. 22:27 Say, ‘This is what the king says, “Put this man in prison. Give him only a little bread and water ²⁴  until I safely return.”’” ²⁵  22:28 Micaiah said, “If you really do safely return, then the Lord has not spoken through me.” Then he added, “Take note, ²⁶  all you people.”

22:29 The king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah attacked Ramoth Gilead.

[22:1]  ¹ tn Heb “and they lived three years without war between Aram and Israel.”

[22:2]  ² tn The word “visit” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[22:3]  ³ tn Heb “Do you know that Ramoth Gilead belongs to us, and we hesitate to take it from the hand of the king of Aram?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course, you must know!”

[22:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “Like me, like you; like my people, like your people; like my horses; like your horses.”

[22:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “and Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel.”

[22:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “the word of the Lord.” Jehoshaphat is requesting a prophetic oracle revealing the Lord’s will in the matter and their prospects for success. For examples of such oracles, see 2 Sam 5:19, 23-24.

[22:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “Should I go against Ramoth Gilead for war or should I refrain?”

[22:6]  ⁸ tn Though Jehoshaphat requested an oracle from “the Lord” (יְהוָה, Yahweh), they stop short of actually using this name and substitute the title אֲדֹנָי (’adonai, “lord; master”). This ambiguity may explain in part Jehoshaphat’s hesitancy and caution (vv. 7-8). He seems to doubt that the four hundred are genuine prophets of the Lord.

[22:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “to seek the Lord from him.”

[22:8]  ¹⁰ tn Or “hate.”

[22:8]  ¹¹ tn The words “his name is” are supplied for stylistic reasons.

[22:10]  ¹² tn Heb “were sitting, a man on his throne.”

[22:10]  ¹³ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[22:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the words of the prophets are [with] one mouth good for the king.”

[22:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “let your words be like the word of each of them and speak good.”

[22:15]  ¹⁶ sn “Attack! You will succeed; the Lord will hand it over to the king.” One does not expect Micaiah, having just vowed to speak only what the Lord tells him, to agree with the other prophets and give the king an inaccurate prophecy. Micaiah’s actions became understandable later, when it is revealed that the Lord desires to deceive the king and lead him to his demise. The Lord even dispatches a lying spirit to deceive Ahab’s prophets. Micaiah can lie to the king because he realizes this lie is from the Lord. It is important to note that in v. 14 Micaiah only vows to speak the word of the Lord; he does not necessarily say he will tell the truth. In this case the Lord’s word itself is deceptive. Only when the king adjures him to tell the truth (v. 16), does Micaiah do so.

[22:16]  ¹⁷ tn Or “swear an oath by.”

[22:17]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Micaiah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:19]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Micaiah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:20]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and fall.”

[22:21]  ²¹ tn Heb “the spirit.” The significance of the article prefixed to רוּחַ (ruakh) is uncertain, but it could contain a clue as to this spirit’s identity, especially when interpreted in light of v. 24. It is certainly possible, and probably even likely, that the article is used in a generic or dramatic sense and should be translated, “a spirit.” In the latter case it would show that this spirit was vivid and definite in the mind of Micaiah the storyteller. However, if one insists that the article indicates a well-known or universally known spirit, the following context provides a likely referent. Verse 24 tells how Zedekiah slapped Micaiah in the face and then asked sarcastically, “Which way did the spirit from the Lord (רוּחַ־יְהוָה, [ruakh-Yahweh], Heb “the spirit of the Lord”) go when he went from me to speak to you?” When the phrase “the spirit of the Lord” refers to the divine spirit (rather than the divine breath or mind, Isa 40:7, 13) elsewhere, the spirit energizes an individual or group for special tasks or moves one to prophesy. This raises the possibility that the deceiving spirit of vv. 20-23 is the same as the divine spirit mentioned by Zedekiah in v. 24. This would explain why the article is used on רוּחַ; he can be called “the spirit” because he is the well-known spirit who energizes the prophets.

[22:22]  ²² tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:22]  ²³ tn The Hebrew text has two imperfects connected by וְגַם (vÿgam). These verbs could be translated as specific futures, “you will deceive and also you will prevail,” in which case the Lord is assuring the spirit of success on his mission. However, in a commissioning context (note the following imperatives) such as this, it is more likely that the imperfects are injunctive, in which case one could translate, “Deceive, and also overpower.”

[22:27]  ²⁴ tn Heb “the bread of affliction and the water of affliction.”

[22:27]  ²⁵ tn Heb “come in peace.” So also in v. 28.

[22:28]  ²⁶ tn Heb “Listen.”