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2 Chronicles 18

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Jehoshaphat Allies with Ahab 1–3

1
Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honor in abundance; and he joined affinity with Ahab. ​
2
And after certain years he went down to Ahab to Samaria. And Ahab killed sheep and oxen for him in abundance, and for the people that were with him, and moved him to go up with him to Ramoth-gilead.
3
And Ahab king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat king of Judah, Wilt thou go with me to Ramoth-gilead? And he answered him, I am as thou art, and my people as thy people; and we will be with thee in the war. ​

Consulting the False Prophets 4–11

4
And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Inquire first, I pray thee, for the word of Jehovah. ​
5
Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for God will deliver it into the hand of the king. ​
6
But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of Jehovah besides, that we may inquire of him?
7
And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of Jehovah: but I hate him; for he never prophesieth good concerning me, but always evil: the same is Micaiah the son of Imla. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so. ​
8
Then the king of Israel called an officer, and said, Fetch quickly Micaiah the son of Imla.
9
Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah sat each on his throne, arrayed in their robes, and they were sitting in an open place at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets were prophesying before them. ​
10
And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron and said, Thus saith Jehovah, With these shalt thou push the Syrians, until they be consumed. ​
11
And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramoth-gilead, and prosper; for Jehovah will deliver it into the hand of the king.

Micaiah Predicts Defeat 12–27

12
And the messenger that went to call Micaiah spake to him, saying, Behold, the words of the prophets declare good to the king with one mouth: let thy word therefore, I pray thee, be like one of theirs, and speak thou good.
13
And Micaiah said, As Jehovah liveth, what my God saith, that will I speak.
14
And when he was come to the king, the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And he said, Go ye up, and prosper; and they shall be delivered into your hand. ​
15
And the king said to him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou speak unto me nothing but the truth in the name of Jehovah?
16
And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd: and Jehovah said, These have no master; let them return every man to his house in peace. ​
17
And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?
18
And Micaiah said, Therefore hear ye the word of Jehovah: I saw Jehovah sitting upon his throne, and all the host of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left. ​
19
And Jehovah said, Who shall entice Ahab king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one spake saying after this manner, and another saying after that manner.
20
And there came forth a spirit, and stood before Jehovah, and said, I will entice him. And Jehovah said unto him, Wherewith?
21
And he said, I will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt entice him, and shalt prevail also: go forth, and do so. ​
22
Now therefore, behold, Jehovah hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of these thy prophets; and Jehovah hath spoken evil concerning thee.
23
Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near, and smote Micaiah upon the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of Jehovah from me to speak unto thee?
24
And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see on that day, when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself.
25
And the king of Israel said, Take ye Micaiah, and carry him back unto Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king’s son;
26
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 return in peace. ​
27
And Micaiah said, If thou return at all in peace, Jehovah hath not spoken by me. And he said, Hear, ye peoples, all of you.

Ahab Is Slain at Ramoth-gilead 28–34

28
So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead.
29
And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and go into the battle; but put thou on thy robes. So the king of Israel disguised himself; and they went into the battle. ​
30
Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of his chariots, saying, Fight neither with small nor great, save only with the king of Israel.
31
And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, It is the king of Israel. Therefore they turned about to fight against him: but Jehoshaphat cried out, and Jehovah helped him; and God moved them to depart from him. ​
32
And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him.
33
And a certain man drew his bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the armor: wherefore he said to the driver of the chariot, Turn thy hand, and carry me out of the host; for I am sore wounded. ​
34
And the battle increased that day: howbeit the king of Israel stayed himself up in his chariot against the Syrians until the even; and about the time of the going down of the sun he died.

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for 2 Chronicles 18

Verse 1

joined affinity with Ahab — Chathan is to contract affinity by marriage, from the word for a son-in-law. The marriage is told in 21:6 and 2 Kings 8:18: Jehoshaphat's son Jehoram 'had the daughter of Ahab to wife'. Jehu the seer later asks the king, 'Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the LORD?' (19:2).

Verse 3

Ramothgilead — Ramoth in Gilead was a city of refuge in the lot of Gad (Deut 4:43), and Ahab claims it as lost to Syria: 'Ramoth in Gilead is ours' (1 Kings 22:3). Jehoshaphat's reply, 'I am as thou art, and my people as thy people', is the one he gives Ahab's son Jehoram in 2 Kings 3:7.

Verse 4

Enquire… at the word of the LORD — Darash, the verb of 17:3–4 where Jehoshaphat 'sought' the LORD and not Baalim, is used here for inquiring, as in 1 Sam 9:9, 'to enquire of God'. Jehoshaphat asks for a word from the LORD before the march, 'to day'.

Verse 5

four hundred men — Their answer is 'God will deliver it into the king's hand', using the general name Elohim, where Jehoshaphat had asked for 'the word of the LORD'. His reply in v.6 is 'Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides?' Verse 21 explains the unanimous answer: 'a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets'.

Verse 7

Micaiah the son of Imla — Ahab's 'I hate him' recalls his words to Elijah, 'Hast thou found me, O mine enemy?' (1 Kings 21:20). Isaiah describes the same demand made of seers, 'Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things' (Isa 30:10). Jehoshaphat answers, 'Let not the king say so.'

Verse 9

a void place — The Hebrew is goren, a threshing floor, here meaning an open space at 'the entering in of the gate of Samaria'. The two kings sit on their thrones in their robes, the same robes Ahab tells Jehoshaphat to keep on in v.29. The prophets prophesy 'before them', and Micaiah is brought to this place.

Verse 10

horns of iron — Zedekiah acts out his message. Nagach, to push or gore, is the verb of Deut 33:17, where Joseph's horns 'push the people together to the ends of the earth'. He claims the LORD's name for it, 'Thus saith the LORD', and Micaiah answers him in vv.23–24.

Verse 14

Go ye up, and prosper — Micaiah repeats the words of the other prophets in v.11 ('Go up to Ramothgilead, and prosper'), and the messenger had asked him to speak like them (v.12). The king's reply shows he did not take it as meant: 'How many times shall I adjure thee that thou say nothing but the truth to me in the name of the LORD?' (v.15).

Verse 16

as sheep that have no shepherd — The figure is Moses' prayer in Num 27:17, 'that the congregation of the LORD be not as sheep which have no shepherd', and Christ uses it of the crowds in Matt 9:36. 'Master' is adon, the king. The sheep are sent home 'in peace', and Ahab hears evil in it: 'Did I not tell thee…?' (v.17).

Verse 18

I saw the LORD sitting upon his throne — The 'host of heaven' (tsava) stand at his right and left. The vision is of the kind Isaiah describes, 'I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne' (Isa 6:1). Micaiah sets it against the court prophets with 'hear the word of the LORD', and the scene asks, 'Who shall entice Ahab… that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead?' (v.19).

Verse 21

a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets — Pathah, to entice, is the verb of v.20 and of Ezek 14:9, 'I the LORD have deceived that prophet'. The spirit acts only on the word 'go out, and do even so'. Paul speaks of a like judgment: 'God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie' (2 Thess 2:11).

Verse 26

bread of affliction and with water of affliction — Lachats is pressure or oppression, the word of 'the water of affliction' in Isa 30:20. The order begins 'Thus saith the king', in answer to Micaiah's 'Thus saith the LORD', and it ends 'until I return in peace', the peace the LORD said to the sheep in v.16. Micaiah answers in v.27.

Verse 29

I will disguise myself — Chaphas, in the reflexive form, is the verb used of Saul going to the woman of Endor (1 Sam 28:8) and of Josiah before Megiddo (35:22). Ahab disguised himself and told Jehoshaphat to 'put thou on thy robes'. The king of Syria's order in v.30 was to fight 'only with the king of Israel'.

Verse 31

Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him — The clause 'the LORD helped him; and God moved them to depart from him' has no counterpart in 1 Kings 22:32. 'Helped' is azar, the verb of Asa's prayer, 'help us, O LORD our God' (14:11). 'Moved' is sut, to incite, and v.32 says the captains turned back when they 'perceived that it was not the king of Israel'.

Verse 33

at a venture — The Hebrew is le-tummo, 'in his simplicity', a bow drawn without aim at any man. The arrow found the king of Israel 'between the joints of the harness', so the disguise of v.29 did not hide him from the word of v.22, 'the LORD hath spoken evil against thee'. The wording matches 1 Kings 22:34.