Bible Commentaries

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

1 Kings 22

Clinging to a Counterfeit Cross
Introduction

1  Ahab, seduced by false prophets, according to the word of Micaiah, is slain at Ramoth-gilead.
37  The dogs lick up his blood, and Ahaziah succeeds him.
41  Jehoshaphat's good reign.
45  His acts.
46  Jehoram succeeds him.
51  Ahaziah's evil reign.
Verse 1

And they continued three years without war between Syria and Israel.
A. M. 3104-3107. B.C. 900-897
20:34
Verse 2

And it came to pass in the third year, that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel.
A. M. 3107. B.C. 897. in the third
1, Matthew 12:40, 16:21
Jehoshaphat
41,44, 15:24, 2 Kings 8:18, 2 Chronicles 18:1,2-27
Verse 3

And the king of Israel said unto his servants, Know ye that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, and we be still, and take it not out of the hand of the king of Syria?
Ramoth
4:13, Deuteronomy 4:43, Joshua 20:8
still
Heb. silent from taking it.
Judges 16:2, 2 Samuel 19:10; *marg:
Verse 4

And he said unto Jehoshaphat, Wilt thou go with me to battle to Ramothgilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses.
Wilt thou go
2 Kings 3:7, 2 Chronicles 18:3
I am as thou
2 Chronicles 19:2, Psalms 139:21,22, Proverbs 13:20, 1 Corinthians 15:33, 2 Corinthians 6:16,17, Ephesians 5:11, 2 John 1:11, Revelation 2:26
Verse 5

And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Enquire, I pray thee, at the word of the LORD to day.
Enquire
Numbers 27:21, Joshua 9:14, Judges 1:1, 20:18,23,29, 1 Samuel 14:18, 23:2,4,9-12, 1 Samuel 30:8, 2 Kings 1:3, 3:11, 1 Chronicles 10:13, 2 Chronicles 18:4,5, Proverbs 3:5,6, Jeremiah 21:2, Jeremiah 42:2-6, Ezekiel 14:3, 20:1-3
Verse 6

Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king.
the prophets together
18:19, 2 Timothy 4:3
Go up
15,22,23, 2 Chronicles 18:14, Jeremiah 5:31, 8:10,11, 14:13,14, 23:14-17, Jeremiah 28:1-9, Ezekiel 13:7-16,22, Matthew 7:15, 2 Peter 2:1-3, Revelation 19:20
the Lord
This prophecy is couched in the ambiguous terms in which the heathen oracles were delivered. It may mean, either "The Lord will deliver it (Ramoth Gilead) into the king's (Ahab's) hand;" or, "The Lord will deliver (Israel) into the king's (of Syria) hand." So in the famous reply of the Delphian oracle to Pyrrhus: Aio te Æacida, Romanos vincere posse: Ibis redibis nunquam in bello peribis; "I say to thee, Pyrrhus the Romans shall overcome: thou shalt go, thou shalt return never in war shalt thou perish."
Verse 7

And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides, that we might enquire of him?
Is there not
2 Kings 3:11-13, 2 Chronicles 18:6,7
Verse 8

And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.
yet one man
18:4, 19:10,14, 20:41,42
but I hate him
27, 20:43, 21:20, Genesis 37:8, 2 Chronicles 36:16, Psalms 34:21, Proverbs 9:8, 15:12, Isaiah 49:7, Jeremiah 18:18, 20:10, 43:3,4, Amos 5:10, Zechariah 11:8, Matthew 10:22, John 3:19-21, 7:7, 15:18,19, 17:14, Galatians 4:16, Revelation 11:7-10
good
13, Isaiah 30:10, Jeremiah 38:4, Micah 2:11
concerning me
20:35-42, 2 Kings 9:22, Isaiah 3:11, 57:19-21
Let not the
21:27-29, Proverbs 5:12-14, Micah 2:7
Verse 9

Then the king of Israel called an officer, and said, Hasten hither Micaiah the son of Imlah.
officer
or, eunuch.
2 Kings 9:32, 2 Chronicles 18:8, Isaiah 39:7, Daniel 1:18
Hasten
26,27
Verse 10

And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah sat each on his throne, having put on their robes, in a void place in the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them.
having put
30, Esther 5:1, 6:8,9, Matthew 6:20, 11:8, Acts 12:21, 25:23
void place
Heb. floor. all the prophets.
18:29, 2 Chronicles 18:9-11, Jeremiah 27:14-16, Ezekiel 13:1-9
Verse 11

And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron: and he said, Thus saith the LORD, With these shalt thou push the Syrians, until thou have consumed them.
horns of iron
Jeremiah 27:2, 28:10-14, Zechariah 1:18-21, Acts 19:13-16, 2 Corinthians 11:13-15, 2 Timothy 3:8
Thus saith
Jeremiah 23:17,25,31, 28:2,3, 29:21, Ezekiel 13:6-9, 22:27,28, Micah 3:11
Verse 12

And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramothgilead, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the king's hand.
Go up
6-15,32-36, 2 Chronicles 35:22
Verse 13

And the messenger that was gone to call Micaiah spake unto him, saying, Behold now, the words of the prophets declare good unto the king with one mouth: let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them, and speak that which is good.
Behold now
Psalms 10:11, 11:1, 14:1, 50:21, Isaiah 30:10,11, Hosea 7:3, Amos 7:13-17, Micah 2:6,7,11, 1 Corinthians 2:14-16
Verse 14

And Micaiah said, As the LORD liveth, what the LORD saith unto me, that will I speak.
what the Lord
Numbers 22:38, 24:13, 2 Chronicles 18:12,13, Jeremiah 23:28, 26:2,3, 42:4, Ezekiel 2:4-8, Ezekiel 3:17-19, Acts 20:26,27, 2 Corinthians 2:17, 4:2, Galatians 1:10
Verse 15

So he came to the king. And the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king.
shall we go
Go and prosper
This was strong irony; they were the precise words of the false prophets; but were spoken by Micaiah in such a tone and manner as at once shewed Ahab that he did not believe, but ridiculed these words of uncertainty. The reply of the Delphian oracle to Crosesus was as ambiguous as that returned to Pyrrhus, Croesus Halym penetrans magnam pervertet opum vim, "If Croesus crosses the Halys, he will overthrow a great empire." This he understood of the empire of Cyrus; the event proved it to be his own: he was deluded, yet the oracle maintained its credit.
18:27, Judges 10:14, 2 Kings 3:13, 2 Chronicles 18:14, Ecclesiastes 11:9, Matthew 26:45
Verse 16

And the king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the LORD?
shall I adjure
Joshua 6:26, 1 Samuel 14:24, 2 Chronicles 18:15, Matthew 26:63, Mark 5:7, Acts 19:13
that thou tell
Jeremiah 42:3-6, Matthew 22:16,17
Verse 17

And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the LORD said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace.
I saw
1 Samuel 9:9, Jeremiah 1:11-16, Ezekiel 1:4, Acts 10:11-17
as sheep
34-36, Numbers 27:17, 2 Chronicles 18:16,17, Jeremiah 23:1,2, 50:6,17, Ezekiel 34:4-6, Zechariah 10:2, 13:7, Matthew 9:36
Verse 18

And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil?
Did I not tell
8, Proverbs 10:24, 27:22, 29:1, Luke 11:45
Verse 19

And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.
Hear thou
Isaiah 1:10, 28:14, Jeremiah 2:4, 29:20, 42:15, Ezekiel 13:2, Amos 7:16
I saw the Lord
Micaiah evidently gives here an account of what appeared to him in a vision: many of the circumstances must be considered as parabolical; for truth, rather than facts, is revealed in such representations.
2 Chronicles 18:18-22, Isaiah 6:1-3, Ezekiel 1:26-28, Daniel 7:9,10, Acts 7:55,56, Revelation 4:2,3
all the host
Job 1:6, 2:1, Psalms 103:20,21, Isaiah 6:2,3, Zechariah 1:10, Matthew 18:10, 25:31, Hebrews 1:7,14, 12:22, Revelation 5:11
Verse 20

And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner.
persuade
or, deceive.
Job 12:16, Jeremiah 4:10, Ezekiel 14:9
Verse 21

And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him.
23, Job 1:6,7, 2:1
Verse 22

And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so.
a lying spirit
Job 1:8-11, 2:4-6, John 8:44, Acts 5:3,4, 2 Thessalonians 2:9,10, 1 Timothy 4:1, 1 John 4:6, Revelation 12:9,10, 13:14, 16:13,14, 20:3,7,10
Thou shalt
20, Judges 9:23, Job 12:16, Psalms 109:17, 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12, Revelation 17:17
Verse 23

Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee.
behold, the Lord
Exodus 4:21, 10:20, Deuteronomy 2:30, 2 Chronicles 25:16, Isaiah 6:9,10, 44:20, Ezekiel 14:3-5,9, Matthew 13:13-15, 24:24,25
and the Lord
8-11, 20:42, 21:19, Numbers 23:19,20, 24:13, Isaiah 3:11
Verse 24

But Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of the LORD from me to speak unto thee?
Zedekiah
smote Micaiah
2 Chronicles 18:23,24, Isaiah 50:5,6, Lamentations 3:30, Micah 5:1, Mark 14:65, 15:19,20, John 15:18,20, Acts 23:2
Which way
Jeremiah 28:10,11, 29:26,27, Matthew 26:68, 27:42,43
Verse 25

And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see in that day, when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself.
Behold
Numbers 31:8, Isaiah 9:14-16, Jeremiah 23:15, 28:16,17, 29:21,22,32, Amos 7:17, 2 Peter 2:1, Revelation 19:20
into an inner chamber
or, from chamber to chamber. Heb. a chamber in a chamber.
20:30; *marg:
Verse 26

And the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah, and carry him back unto Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king's son;
carry him back
Verse 27

And say, Thus saith the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace.
Put this fellow
2 Chronicles 16:10, 18:25-27, Jeremiah 20:2, 29:26, 37:15, 38:6, Lamentations 3:53-55, Mark 6:17-28, Luke 3:20, Acts 5:18, 16:23,24, 24:25-27, 26:10, Ephesians 3:1, Revelation 2:10
bread of affliction
Deuteronomy 16:3, Psalms 80:5, 102:9, 127:2, Isaiah 30:20
until I come in peace
Luke 12:45,46, 1 Thessalonians 5:2,3, James 4:13,14
Verse 28

And Micaiah said, If thou return at all in peace, the LORD hath not spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, O people, every one of you.
If thou return
Numbers 16:29, Deuteronomy 18:20-22, 2 Kings 1:10,12, Isaiah 44:26, Jeremiah 28:8,9, Acts 13:10,11
Hearken
18:21-24,36,37, 2 Chronicles 18:27, Amos 3:1, Micah 1:2, Mark 7:14-16, 12:37
Verse 29

So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramothgilead.
2-9, 2 Chronicles 18:28
Verse 30

And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and enter into the battle; but put thou on thy robes. And the king of Israel disguised himself, and went into the battle.
I will, etc
or, when he was to disguise himself, and enter into the battle. put thou on.
10, Psalms 12:2
disguised himself
14:2, 20:38, 1 Samuel 28:8, 2 Samuel 14:2, 2 Chronicles 18:29, 35:22, Proverbs 21:30, Jeremiah 23:24
Verse 31

But the king of Syria commanded his thirty and two captains that had rule over his chariots, saying, Fight neither with small nor great, save only with the king of Israel.
thirty and two
20:24, 2 Chronicles 18:30
Fight
20:33-42
small nor great
Genesis 19:11, 1 Samuel 30:2, Jeremiah 16:6
Verse 32

And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, Surely it is the king of Israel. And they turned aside to fight against him: and Jehoshaphat cried out.
they turned
Proverbs 13:20
Jehoshaphat
Exodus 14:10, 2 Chronicles 18:31, Psalms 50:15, 91:15, 116:1,2, 130:1-4, Jonah 2:1,2
Verse 33

And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots perceived that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him.
that they turned
31, Psalms 76:10
Verse 34

And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: wherefore he said unto the driver of his chariot, Turn thine hand, and carry me out of the host; for I am wounded.
at a venture
Heb. in his simplicity.
2 Samuel 15:11
and smote
1 Samuel 17:49, 2 Kings 9:24
joints of the harness
Heb. joints and the breast-plate.
Revelation 9:9
wounded
Heb. made sick.
2 Chronicles 18:30, 35:23; *margins; Micah 6:13
Verse 35

And the battle increased that day: and the king was stayed up in his chariot against the Syrians, and died at even: and the blood ran out of the wound into the midst of the chariot.
increased
Heb. ascended. died at even.
28, 20:42
midst
Heb. bosom.
Verse 36

And there went a proclamation throughout the host about the going down of the sun, saying, Every man to his city, and every man to his own country.
there went
17,31, 12:16, 2 Kings 14:12
Every man
12:24, Judges 7:7,8, 21:24, 1 Samuel 4:10, 2 Samuel 19:8, 2 Kings 14:12
Verse 37

So the king died, and was brought to Samaria; and they buried the king in Samaria.
was brought
Heb. came.
Verse 38

And one washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria; and the dogs licked up his blood; and they washed his armour; according unto the word of the LORD which he spake.
and the dogs
21:19, Joshua 23:14,15, Isaiah 44:25,26, 48:3-5, Jeremiah 44:21-23, Zechariah 1:4-6, Matthew 24:35
Verse 39

Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house which he made, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
A. M. 3086-3107. B.C. 918-897. the rest
14:19, 15:23,31, 16:5,20,27
the ivory house
That is, probably, decorated with ivory in such abundance as to merit the appellation of an ivory house.
10:18,22, Psalms 45:8, Ezekiel 27:6,15, Amos 3:15, 6:4
Verse 40

So Ahab slept with his fathers; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead.
slept
2:10, 11:21, 14:31, Deuteronomy 31:16, 2 Samuel 7:12
Ahaziah
51, 2 Kings 1:2,17, 2 Chronicles 20:35
Verse 41

And Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel.
A. M. 3090. B.C. 914. Jehoshaphat
2, 1 Chronicles 3:10, 2 Chronicles 17:1, 20:31
began to reign
"Began to reign alone. ver. 51."
Verse 42

Jehoshaphat was thirty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.
thirty and five
2 Kings 1:17, 8:16
And his mother's
14:21, 15:2,10
Verse 43

And he walked in all the ways of Asa his father; he turned not aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of the LORD: nevertheless the high places were not taken away; for the people offered and burnt incense yet in the high places.
he walked
15:11,14, 2 Chronicles 14:2-5,11, 15:8,17, 17:3
he turned
15:5, Exodus 32:8, 1 Samuel 12:20,21, 2 Chronicles 16:7-12, Psalms 40:4, 101:3, 125:5, Proverbs 4:27
doing
2 Chronicles 17:3-6, 19:3,4, 20:3-30
the high
14:23, 15:14, 2 Kings 12:3, 14:3,4, 15:3,4, 18:22
Verse 44

And Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel.
made peace
2, 2 Kings 8:18, 2 Chronicles 19:2, 21:6, 2 Corinthians 6:14
Verse 45

Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might that he shewed, and how he warred, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
Now
are they
11:41, 14:29
Verse 46

And the remnant of the sodomites, which remained in the days of his father Asa, he took out of the land.
the remnant
14:24, 15:12, Genesis 19:5, Deuteronomy 23:17, Judges 19:22, Romans 1:26,27, 1 Corinthians 6:9, 1 Timothy 1:10, Jude 1:7
Verse 47

There was then no king in Edom: a deputy was king.
no king
Genesis 25:23, 27:40, 36:31-43, 2 Samuel 8:14, 2 Kings 3:9, 8:20, Psalms 108:9,10
Verse 48

Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they went not; for the ships were broken at Eziongeber.
Jehoshaphat
2 Chronicles 20:35,36-21
made ships
or, had ten ships.
10:22, 2 Chronicles 9:21, Psalms 48:7, Isaiah 2:16, 60:9, Jonah 1:3
Tharshish
Josephus and the Chaldee and Arabic paraphrasts explain this place of Tarsus in Cilicia; the LXX., Theodoret, and Jerome, understand it of Carthage; but the learned Bochart makes it Tartessus, an island in the straits of Gades. Ibn Haukal describes Tarsousa as belonging to Andalus, or Andalusia; and Festus Avienus expressly says, Hic Gadir urbs est dicta Tartessus prius, "the city Cadiz was formerly called Tartessus."
to Ophir
9:28, Psalms 45:9
they went not
2 Chronicles 20:37, 25:7
Ezion-geber
9:26, Numbers 33:35,36
Verse 50

And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Jehoram his son reigned in his stead.
A. M. 3115. B.C. 889. slept with his fathers
40, 2:10, 2 Chronicles 21:1
in the city
11:43, 14:31, 15:24
Jehoram
2 Kings 8:16-18, 2 Chronicles 21:5-7
Verse 51

Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned two years over Israel.
A. M. 3107-3108. B.C. 897-896. began. "Now he begins to reign alone. ver. 40."
two years
15:25, 2 Kings 1:17
Verse 52

And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin:
he did evil
15:26, 16:30-33, 2 Kings 1:2-7
in the way
21:25, 2 Kings 8:27, 9:22, 2 Chronicles 22:3, Mark 6:24, Revelation 3:20
and in the way
12:28-33, 14:9-16, 15:34, 2 Kings 3:3
Verse 53

For he served Baal, and worshipped him, and provoked to anger the LORD God of Israel, according to all that his father had done.
he served Baal
16:31, Judges 2:1-11, 2 Kings 1:2, 3:2
provoked
16:7, Psalms 106:29, Isaiah 65:3, Ezekiel 8:3
according to all
21:29, Ezekiel 18:14-18

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