1 Kings 13:22

1Ki 13:22 But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which [the LORD] did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers.

Ver. 22. And hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, &c.] There is in the "Acts and Monuments of the Church," a memorable story of Bishop Ridley, who offering to preach before the Lady Mary, and being repulsed, he was brought by Sir Thomas Warton, her servant, to the dining place, and desired to drink: which after he had done, he paused a while, looking very sadly, and suddenly broke out into these words, Surely I have done amiss! Why so, quoth the knight? For I have drunk, said he, in that place where God’s word offered hath been refused: whereas if I had remembered my duty, I had departed immediately, shaking off the dust of my shoes for a testimony against this house. These words were by the said bishop spoken with such a vehemency, that some of the hearers afterwards confessed the hairs to stand upright on their heads. {a}

Thy carcass shall not come.] Thou shalt die ere thou come home. This was a gracious warning, that he might repent of his sin before he died.

{a} Act. and Mon., fol. 1270.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 22. Thy carcass shall not come] This intimated to him that he was to die an untimely death, but probably did not specify by what means.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

22. the Lord did say to thee] There is no need for the italics of the A. V. There can be no mistaking who is meant if we render (with R.V.) ‘he said to thee.’

thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers] With the Jews, as since with Christians, burial rites were much regarded. To be cast out unburied was deemed a great calamity (cf. Psa_79:3; Jer_14:16), and a judgement for sin, as in the case of Jezebel (2Ki_9:10). To be buried by the side of one’s ancestors shews that all care has been bestowed upon the corpse. In the present instance the deprivation of such burial is equivalent to death in some unusual way and at a distance from home.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him,.... Perhaps not far from Bethel; and this lion might come out of the same wood the she bears did, that devoured the children that mocked the prophet, as Bishop Patrick conjectures, Kg2 2:23.

and his carcass was cast in the way; in the high road, where it seems the lion seized him, and he fell:

and the ass stood by it; disregarded and unhurt by the lion, though the prophet was pulled off of the back of him:

the lion also stood by the carcass: not offering to tear it in pieces and devour it, but rather, as if he was the guard of it, to keep off all others from meddling with it; these circumstances are very surprising, and show the thing to be of God; for when the lion had done what he had a commission to do, which was to kill the prophet, he was to do no more.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

On the anxiety of the Hebrews to be buried with their fathers, see Gen 47:30; Gen 49:29, Gen 49:1,Gen 49:25; 2Sa 19:37, etc.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Fathers. This was a great punishment for the Hebrews, Genesis xlix. 29.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

i.e. Thou shalt not die a natural, but a violent death; and that in this journey, before thou returnest to thy native habitation; and thy carcass shall not be buried in the proper sepulchre; which was esteemed a kind of curse, and a note of infamy; as the contrary was reckoned an honour and blessing. See 1Ki 14:13; Isa 14:19,20; Jer 22:19; 26:23.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

22. Thy carcass shall not come — Thou shalt perish by a violent death on thy return, and thy body shall not be buried with thy kindred. Thou shalt not reach home alive or dead. “We read of no accusation or reply on the part of the seduced prophet, nor any excuse on the part of his seducer. The matter was too solemn for bandying words; and both understood where the real pinch of the matter lay.” — Kitto.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the Lord did say to thee, flat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase rather corpse; "carcase" is now a term of disparagement, of which, however, there is no idea in the Hebrew shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers. The desire, common in a greater or less degree to all mankind, to rest after death amongst kindred dust, was especially strong in the Jew. It is evidenced by the common euphemism "he was gathered unto his fathers," and by the provisions of Abraham, (Gen_23:4) Jacob, (Gen_47:29 Gen_49:29-31) and Joseph. (Gen_1:25) See also the words of Barzillai. (2Sa_19:37; and compare 2Sa_2:32) This denunciation did not necessarily imply a violent death (as Keil, al.) or even a speedy death, but it prepared the man of God for some untimely end.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Shall not, &c. - Thou shalt not die a natural, but a violent death; and that in this journey, before thou returnest to thy native habitation. But is it not strange that the lying prophet escapes, while the man of God is so severely punished? Certainly there must be a judgment to come, when these things shall be called over again, and when those who sinned most and suffered least in this world, will receive according to their works.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.