1 Kings 22:1-6

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.”

[22:1]  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.