1 Kings 22 Ahab's Demise

seekeroftruth

Well-Known Member
1 Kings 22:29 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead. 30 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will enter the battle in disguise, but you wear your royal robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle.

31 Now the king of Aram had ordered his thirty-two chariot commanders, “Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel.” 32 When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they thought, “Surely this is the king of Israel.” So they turned to attack him, but when Jehoshaphat cried out, 33 the chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel and stopped pursuing him.

34 But someone drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between the sections of his armor. The king told his chariot driver, “Wheel around and get me out of the fighting. I’ve been wounded.” 35 All day long the battle raged, and the king was propped up in his chariot facing the Arameans. The blood from his wound ran onto the floor of the chariot, and that evening he died. 36 As the sun was setting, a cry spread through the army: “Every man to his town. Every man to his land!”

37 So the king died and was brought to Samaria, and they buried him there. 38 They washed the chariot at a pool in Samaria (where the prostitutes bathed),(b) and the dogs licked up his blood, as the word of the Lord had declared.

39 As for the other events of Ahab’s reign, including all he did, the palace he built and adorned with ivory, and the cities he fortified, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? 40 Ahab rested with his ancestors. And Ahaziah his son succeeded him as king.​

b, 1 Kings 22:38 Or Samaria and cleaned the weapons

Wow... that paints a picture.....

ahab dies.jpg

This is from the easy English site.

It is surprising that Jehoshaphat continued to go with Ahab to battle. Micaiah had clearly warned Jehoshaphat that the battle would not be successful. But Micaiah only said that Ahab would die. So perhaps Jehoshaphat thought that he would be safe. Or perhaps Ahab was such an impressive person that Jehoshaphat did not want to disappoint him. Perhaps Jehoshaphat even felt that it would not be honourable to refuse to join in the battle. But, for whatever reason, Jehoshaphat went with Ahab to the battle. And Jehoshaphat seemed not to realise that he was taking a great risk. Ahab would even persuade Jehoshaphat to dress in a manner that would put him (Jehoshaphat) in great danger.

Ahab encouraged Jehoshaphat to put on the clothes of an army leader. Perhaps Ahab hoped that Jehoshaphat would think this to be an honour. Ahab did not wear his royal clothes. He realised that the king of Syria would be very angry with him. Ahab was not obeying the peace agreement that he made in 1 Kings 20:34. So Ahab thought that he could confuse the enemy soldiers. And, at the start of the battle, Ahab’s scheme did confuse them. But God knows the truth about everyone. The things that Micaiah prophesied would happen. Nobody can ever confuse God.

We can see how angry the king of Syria was, by his instructions to his captains. The king of Syria ordered his men to aim at King Ahab. At first, they thought that Jehoshaphat was Ahab. They were confused because only Jehoshaphat was wearing royal clothes. But then Jehoshaphat shouted his battle cry. From this they knew that he was not Ahab. One man shot an arrow. Tradition says that this man was Naaman from Syria (2 Kings chapter 5). We do not know. He did not have a particular purpose but the arrow hit Ahab.

At first, King Ahab left the battle. Then however, he stayed in his chariot and he encouraged his men to attack. That evening he died and the Israelite soldiers were without their leader. They had to escape to their homes.

Ahab’s officials buried the king in Samaria. So Ahab’s body had a proper grave, unlike the bodies of his descendants (1 Kings 21:24; 21:29). Ahab’s officials washed the chariot in a pool. But there was much blood on this chariot. The blood attracted dogs. The dogs licked the king’s blood. So Elijah’s prophecy came true (1 Kings 21:19). Ahab’s death was in 853 B.C.​

This is from GodVine.

The dogs licked up his blood - Some of the rabbins think that this was in the very place where Naboth was stoned; see on 1 Kings 21:19. The Septuagint translates this verse strangely: "And the swine and the dogs licked his blood, and the whores bathed themselves in his blood, according to the word of the Lord." It is certain that the Hebrew words, הזנות רחצו hazzonoth rachatsu, "washed his armor," might be translated as the Septuagint have done; "and the whores (or public women) washed," etc. And so the rabbins seem to have understood the words; but then they suppose that Jezebel had made him two images of prostitutes, which he had with him in the chariot. It is not worth inquiring into the use for which they say these images were made.

They washed his armour - Rather, "the harlots bathed in it." The "pool of Samaria," which was stained with Ahab's blood by the washing of his chariot in it, was, according to Josephus, the usual bathing-place of the Samaritan harlots. A large tank or reservoir, probably identical with this pool, still remains on the slope of the hill of Samaria, immediately outside the walls.​

Interesting....

:coffee:
 
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