1 Kings 22:18

1Ki 22:18 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil?

Ver. 18. Did I not tell thee? &c.] Hereby he would persuade Jehoshaphat - and perhaps did so persuade him - that Micaiah spake all out of ill-will, which never speaks well, and therefore was not much to be regarded.

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.

1Ki 22:18. The king of Israel said, Did not I tell thee, &c. — Now thou seest my words verified, and how this man shows his hatred by his malignant and treasonable prophecy, and how little regard is to be paid to his words. Which crafty insinuation seems to have had too great an influence on good Jehoshaphat, otherwise he would not have gone to the battle. That he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil — Nay, but what evil was it to tell him what would be the event if he proceeded in his expedition, while it was in his own power whether he would proceed or not? The greatest kindness we can do to one that is walking in a dangerous way is to tell him of his danger.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil?--Since Ahab was disposed to trace this unwelcome truth to personal enmity, Micaiah proceeded fearlessly to tell the incensed monarch in full detail what had been revealed to him. The Hebrew prophets, borrowing their symbolic pictures from earthly scenes, described God in heaven as a king in His kingdom. And as earthly princes do nothing of importance without asking the advice of their counsellors, God is represented as consulting about the fate of Ahab. This prophetic language must not be interpreted literally, and the command must be viewed as only a permission to the lying spirit (Rom 11:34) [CALMET].

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

18. that he would prophesy no good] R.V. (as in Chronicles) that he would not prophesy good. Of course Ahab was desirous of representing to Jehoshaphat that it was out of ill will that Micaiah spake always evil; and he appears to have weakened the effect of the prophet’s words in some way, or else, after such a solemn portending of disaster, Jehoshaphat would hardly have joined the expedition. It was perhaps with the consciousness of the effect which was being produced on the mind of the king of Judah, that Micaiah proceeds to unfold a further vision shewing how God was allowing Ahab to be led astray to his destruction.

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 there came forth a spirit,.... Not from the heavenly host on the right hand or the left, for they are pure and holy spirits, and impeccable, and cannot lie or deceive; but the evil spirit, Satan, the father of lies, the old deceiver, who came forth from his own place and his own company:

and stood before the Lord presented himself before him, as Satan did, Job 1:6,

and said, l will persuade him; or prevail upon him; evil spirits love to be employed in doing harm to men, they go about seeking whom they may devour. This could not be the spirit of Naboth, as the Jews say (q), seeking revenge on Ahab; that was in a state of happiness, could not move from thence, and be capable of sinning.

(q) T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 89. 1. & 102. 2. Targum in 2 Chron. xviii. 20.

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

See 1Ki 22:8. Ahab implies that he believes Micaiah to have spoken out of pure malevolence, without any authority for his prediction from God. By implication he invites Jehoshaphat to disregard this pseudo-prophecy, and to put his trust in the unanimous declaration of the 400. Micaiah, therefore, proceeds to explain the contradiction between himself and the 400, by recounting another vision.

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

Now thou seest my words verified, and this man showing his hatred by this malignant and treasonable prophecy, and how little heed is to be given to his words: which crafty insinuation seems to have had too great an influence upon good Jehoshaphat; otherwise he would never have gone to the battle.

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

And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would Heb. say to thee, He will, etc. prophesy no good concerning me but evil? It is clear that Ahab had understood perfectly the purport of Micaiah"s words. He now appeals to them as a proof of the latter"s malice.

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

Evil - Nay, but what evil was it, to tell him, what would be the event, if he proceeded in his expedition, while it was in his own power, whether he would proceed, or no? The greatest kindness we can do to one that is walking in a dangerous way, is to tell him of his danger.

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

Did I not tell you ... but only disaster?

Ahab asks this question to emphasize that he had spoken the truth about Micaiah. AT: "I told you ... but only disaster!" (See: Rhetorical Question)

fall at Ramoth Gilead

Ahab dying in battle is spoken of as if he will fall. AT: "die at Ramoth Gilead" (See: Metaphor and Euphemism)

One of them said ... and another one said

"One ... and another" refers to two or more angels in the heavenly host who were responding to Yahweh's question in the previous verse.

translationWords

Jehoshaphat

prophet

word of God

throne

heaven

right hand

Ahab

Ramoth

Gilead

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.