1 Kings 22:32

1Ki 22:32 And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, Surely it [is] the king of Israel. And they turned aside to fight against him: and Jehoshaphat cried out.

Ver. 32. And Jehoshaphat cried out.] To God for help, {2Ch 18:31} but in addition in such a manner, as the Syrians perceived it was not Ahab, perhaps because he cried out to Jehovah alone, contemnens minutulos illos deos, modo Iovam sibi propitium haberet. And now Jehoshaphat seeth to his sorrow the great inconvenience of being in bad company: and that green wood also, if bound up with dry, doth easily take fire, and is burned together.

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 22:32-33. When the captains — saw Jehoshaphat, they said, Surely, &c. — They saw no other but him in a royal habit, and hence concluded he must be the king of Israel, whom they believed to be present in the battle, and to be the commander of the Israelitish army. They turned aside to fight against him — They drew their forces from their several quarters toward him. And Jehoshaphat cried out — By his danger God now let him know that he was displeased with him, for joining in confederacy with Ahab. They that associate with evil doers are in danger of sharing in their plagues. When the captains — perceived it was not the king of Israel — This they would easily perceive, either by the words which he spake, when he cried out, or by the difference of his form and countenance from those of Ahab, whom, probably, many of them had seen, and knew well. They turned back from pursuing him — Thus, by his deliverance, God showed him that, though he was displeased with him, he had not deserted him. To him he cried out, not in cowardice, but devotion, and from him his relief came. For God, who has the hearts of all men in his hand, moved them to depart from him, 2Ch 18:31. In the mean time Ahab, who brought him into this danger, seems to have been in no care to succour him. God is a friend who will not fail us when other friends do.

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

That is, to the Lord for help.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

(32) Cried out—i.e., to rally his people round him In 2Ch_18:31 it is added, “And the Lord helped him; and God moved them to depart from him.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

32. when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat] They would recognise from a distance that this was a royal personage, and would naturally suppose that it could be none other than Ahab. On approaching nearer they would probably discern that he was not wearing the armour and insignia of Israel. The LXX. represents them as saying ‘This seems to be the king of Israel,’ as if they were guided by the robes and kingly array.

And they turned aside to fight against him] The LXX. has ‘and they compassed him about &c.’

and Jehoshaphat cried out] Perhaps to his own men to rally round him for defence. It can hardly have been a cry to his assailants to let them know he was not the man they sought. For he could not be acquainted with the orders they had received. We see from the expansion in 2Ch_18:31 ‘But Jehoshaphat cried out and the Lord helped him; and God moved them to depart from him’ that it was understood at that time that the cry was to Jehovah to save him from the danger. The Vulg. has ‘clamavit ad Dominum.’

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 went a proclamation throughout the host, about the going down of the sun,.... Much about the time that Ahab died; and this proclamation by an herald might be made by his order, as he was dying, or by Jehoshaphat, when he understood he was dead:

saying, every man to his city, and every man to his own country; the order was to cease fighting, and make the best of their way as fast as they could to their own homes, since their shepherd and master was dead, which fulfilled the vision of Micaiah, Kg1 22:17. It seems to have been a drawn battle, at least there is no account of the advantage on either side.

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

Surely it is the king of Israel - This was a natural supposition, as Jehoshaphat alone wore royal robes.

And Jehoshaphat cried out - Jehoshaphat called to his men for help, using perhaps his own special battle-cry, which would be distinct from that of Ahab, and would probably be known to the Syrians.

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

Cried out. Paralipomenon add, to the Lord, and he helped him, and turned them away from him. The Jews (in Seder. Olam xvii.) acknowledge the same thing; and thus it was known that Josaphat was not the king of Israel, who would rather have invoked Baal. (Menochius) --- Perhaps he also declared the truth, and who he was, when he saw the Syrians surround him, crying, This is the king of Israel! (2 Paralipomenon xviii. 31.) (Tirinus)

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).

They turned aside; they drew their forces from their several quarters towards Jehoshaphat.

Jehoshaphat cried out to the Lord for help, 2Ch 18:31.

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

32. Jehoshaphat cried out — He called upon God to save him, and probably used in his prayer his own name, or title, or at least some expression by which those Syrian captains learned that he was not the king of Israel. By this means “the Lord helped him; and God moved them to depart from him.” 2Ch_18:31.

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

And it came to pass when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, Surely not only (Bahr, Keil), but certainly; (cf. Gen_44:28; Jud_1:3:24; 2Ki_24:3) it Heb. he is the king of Israel. And they turned aside Cf.klwsen, 1Ki_20:39, same word. The Hebrew inserts wyl. The chronicler reads Wbsoy; they surrounded him, instead of Wrsuy; and the LXX has ejku in both places. But the Syrians can hardly have actually closed round the king, and the alteration might easily be made in the course of transcription to fight against him according to their instructions: and Jehoshaphat cried out. This cry has been very variously interpreted. According to some, it was his own name that he ejaculated, which is possible, if the command of ver. 31 was known in the allied army. According to others, it was the battle cry of Judah, which, it is said, would be familiar to the Syrians, and which would rally his own soldiers round him. The Vulgate, no doubt influenced by the words of 2Ch_18:31, "And the Lord helped him, and God moved them to depart from him," interprets, clamavit ad Dominum. That it was a cry for Divine help is the most probable, because it is almost an instinct, especially with a pious soul like Jehoshaphat, to cry to God in the moment of danger. That he had doubts as to whether the course he was pursuing was pleasing to God, would make him all the more ready to cry aloud for mercy the moment he found himself in peril. But it may have been merely a cry of terror. It must be carefully observed that the Scripture does not say that it was this cry led to his being recognized and spared.

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

And Yehoshofot cried out. To the Holy One Blessed Is He.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.