Chapter Eighteen

Compare (1 Kgs 22:2-40)

The war of Jehoshaphat in alliance with Ahab the king of Israel against Syria is set forth with substantial similarity in 3 Kings and 2 Chronicles. Only a few minor differences in specific expressions can be pointed out.

2 Chronicles 18:1. And Jehoshaphat had great wealth and honor; and he allied himself by marriage with Ahab. 2 Chronicles 18:2. And after some years he went down to Ahab to Samaria; and Ahab sacrificed much livestock for him and for the people who were with him, and incited him to go up to Ramoth-Gilead. 2 Chronicles 18:3. And Ahab the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah: Will you go with me to Ramoth-Gilead? And he said to him: As you are, so am I; as your people, so my people: I will go with you to war! Compare (1 Kgs 22:2-4). Jehoshaphat’s kinship with Ahab consisted in that the son of the former, Joram, was married to the daughter of the latter, Athaliah (2 Kgs 8:18; 2 Chr 21:6). Jehoshaphat’s alliance with the impious Ahab appears all the more rash in that his father Asa could have warned him by his own example, having been rebuked by the prophet Hanani for his alliance with the king of Syria, mentioned above (2 Chr 16:7). Later the seer Jehu the son of Hanani rebuked Jehoshaphat for this alliance, below (2 Chr 19:2).

2 Chronicles 18:4. And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel: Please inquire today what the Lord will say. 2 Chronicles 18:5. And the king of Israel gathered the prophets, four hundred men, and said to them: Shall we go to Ramoth-Gilead to war, or shall I refrain? And they said: Go up, and God will give it into the hand of the king. 2 Chronicles 18:6. And Jehoshaphat said: Is there not here another prophet of the Lord, that we might inquire of him? 2 Chronicles 18:7. And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat: There is still one man by whom we can inquire of the Lord; but I hate him, for he does not prophesy good about me, but always evil—this is Micaiah the son of Imlah. And Jehoshaphat said: Let not the king say so. 2 Chronicles 18:8. And the king of Israel called one of his eunuchs and said: Go quickly, bring Micaiah the son of Imlah. 2 Chronicles 18:9. Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah sat each on his throne, clothed in their royal garments, on the threshing floor at the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets prophesied before them. 2 Chronicles 18:10. And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made himself horns of iron and said: Thus says the Lord: With these you shall push Syria until they are destroyed. 2 Chronicles 18:11. And all the prophets prophesied the same, saying: Go up to Ramoth-Gilead; you shall prosper, and the Lord will give it into the hand of the king. Compare (1 Kgs 22:5-12). In verse 5 of 2 Chronicles the number of prophets is determined exactly: “four hundred men,” whereas in (3 Kings 22:6) it is stated approximately: “about four hundred men.”

2 Chronicles 18:12. The messenger who went to call Micaiah said to him: Behold, the prophets speak with one accord in favor of the king; let your word also be like one of theirs, and speak favorably. 2 Chronicles 18:13. And Micaiah said: As the Lord lives, what the Lord says to me, that I will speak. 2 Chronicles 18:14. And he came to the king, and the king said to him: Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-Gilead to war, or shall I refrain? And he said: Go up, you shall prosper, and they shall be delivered into your hand. 2 Chronicles 18:15. And the king said to him: How many times shall I make you swear that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord? 2 Chronicles 18:16. Then Micaiah said: I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains like sheep that have no shepherd, and the Lord said: These have no master; let them return each to his house in peace. 2 Chronicles 18:17. And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat: Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but only evil? Compare (1 Kgs 22:14-18), “Explanatory Bible,” vol. II, pp. 474–475.

2 Chronicles 18:18. And Micaiah said: Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left. 2 Chronicles 18:19. And the Lord said: Who will entice Ahab the king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-Gilead? And one spoke saying one thing, and another spoke saying another. 2 Chronicles 18:20. And one spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, and said: I will entice him. And the Lord said to him: By what means? 2 Chronicles 18:21. And he said: I will go out and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And the Lord said: You shall entice him and shall prevail. Go forth and do so. 2 Chronicles 18:22. Now then, behold, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these prophets of yours, and the Lord has spoken evil against you. 2 Chronicles 18:23. And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came up and struck Micaiah on the cheek, and said: Which way did the Spirit of the Lord go from me to speak to you? 2 Chronicles 18:24. And Micaiah said: Behold, you shall see this in that day, when you go into an inner chamber to hide yourself. 2 Chronicles 18:25. And the king of Israel said: Take Micaiah, and bring him to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king’s son, 2 Chronicles 18:26. and say: Thus says the king: Put this man in prison and feed him with bread and water of affliction, until I return in peace. 2 Chronicles 18:27. And Micaiah said: If you return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me. And he said: Hear, all you people! Compare (1 Kgs 22:19-28), “Explanatory Bible,” vol. II, pp. 475–476.

2 Chronicles 18:28. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-Gilead. 2 Chronicles 18:29. And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat: I will disguise myself and go into battle; but you put on your royal garments. So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into battle. 2 Chronicles 18:30. And the king of Syria had commanded the commanders of his chariots, saying: Fight with neither small nor great, but only with the king of Israel. 2 Chronicles 18:31. And when the commanders of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said: It is the king of Israel! And they turned to fight against him. But Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him; God drew them away from him. 2 Chronicles 18:32. And when the commanders of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him. 2 Chronicles 18:33. And a certain man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. And he said to the driver: Turn around and carry me out of the battle, for I am wounded. 2 Chronicles 18:34. But the battle grew fierce that day. And the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot facing the Arameans until evening; and at sunset he died. Compare (1 Kgs 22:29-35). In verse 31 of 2 Chronicles there is a noteworthy addition to the words “Jehoshaphat cried out” (compare 1 Kgs 22:32); namely: “and the Lord helped him, and God drew them away from him.” This addition accurately characterizes Jehoshaphat’s cry as a prayer-filled outcry to the Lord, and the subsequent deliverance of Jehoshaphat presents itself as a direct work of the Lord.