1 Kings 22:28. Micaiah said, If thou return, &c., the Lord hath not spoken by me Let me incur the reproach and punishment of a false prophet; and he Namely, Micaiah; said, Hearken, O people, every one of you Knowing in whom he had believed, and being fully assured of the truth of his prophecy, he calls all the people to be witnesses of it. read more
Ahab and Jehoshaphat (22:1-40)Three years after making his peace agreement with King Ben-hadad of Syria, Ahab broke it. He saw the chance to retake the border town of Ramoth-gilead, and persuaded Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, to help him (22:1-4). (Jehoshaphat had previously made an alliance with Ahab by having his son Jehoram marry Ahab’s daughter Athaliah; 2 Kings 8:16-18,2 Kings 8:25-26; 2 Chronicles 18:1; 2 Chronicles 18:1.) The professional prophets in Ahab’s court were more concerned with... read more
Put this fellow, &c. One of the eleven rulers offended with God's servants for speaking the truth. See note on Exodus 10:28 . read more
People = peoples. every one = all. read more
27, 28. bread of affliction, water of affliction—that is, the poorest prison fare. Micaiah submitted, but reiterated aloud, in the presence of all, that the issue of the war would be fatal to Ahab. read more
Yahweh’s plan to terminate Ahab 22:1-28Another significant battle occurred between the battle of Ramoth-gilead that the writer recorded in chapter 22 (853 B.C.) and the battles he recorded in chapter 20. Ahab and his Aramean ally Ben-Hadad II (860-841 B.C.) defeated their mutual foe King Shalmaneser III of Assyria at Qarqar on the Orontes River in Aram (also in 853 B.C.). [Note: William H. Shea, "A Note on the Date of the Battle of Qarqar," Journal of Cuneiform Studies 29 (1977):240-42.]... read more
Ahab and Micaiah. Ahab’s Death at Ramoth-gllead. Reign of Jehoshaphat, King of Judah1. Three years] probably calculated from the peace described in 1 Kings 20:34.2. Jehoshaphat.. came down] The earlier hostility between Judah and Israel (see 1 Kings 15:16-24) had by this time given place not only to peace but to friendship, which had been cemented (as appears from 2 Kings 8:18) by a marriage between Jehoshaphat’s son Jehoram and Ahab’s daughter Athaliah. It is possible that the change in the... read more
(27) Bread of affliction . . .—Comp. Isaiah 30:20. This is a command of severe treatment, as well as scanty fare. Ahab’s affectation of disbelief—which his subsequent conduct shows to be but affectation—simply draws down a plainer and sterner prediction, accompanied moreover, if our text be correct by an appeal to the whole assembly to bear witness of it. Of Micaiah’s fate we know nothing; but it is hard to suppose that his bold and defiant testimony could escape the extreme penalty of death,... read more
(28) Hearken, O people.—It is a curious coincidence that these are the opening words of the prophetic Book of Micah. They are not found in some MSS. of the LXX., and are supposed by some to be an early interpolation in this passage from that book. read more
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Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 1 Kings 22:26-27
1 Kings 22:26-27. Take Micaiah, and carry him back Namely, into prison, where, it seems, he was before shut up; for so the Lord’s prophets were treated by Ahab. Feed him with bread of affliction, &c. With very coarse and spare diet, whereby he may be only supported to endure his torment. Until I come in peace Until I return in triumph, which I doubt not I shall, in spite of all his malicious suggestions to the contrary; and then I shall call him to an account for all his lies and... read more