Another Bible Commentary: 1 Kings

This is another installment of the Deuteronomistic Histories, in which national success or failure is explained by adherence/non-adherence to the Torah. Alleged reign length discrepancies are due to different calendars in the North/Israel (1 Kings 12:32-33) and South/Judah as well as Egyptian-style co-regencies (2 Kings 8:16 is spelled out in the text; others can be deduced by comparing stated times between events). Co-regencies (royal on-the-job-training) let an heir get used to ruling. There have been several chronologies attempted (Edwin Thiele has a popular one, although he missed the Hezekiah/Ahaz co-regency). Also, there were some gaps and periods of anarchy before new rulers became established. Then, there are gaps like between Saul’s or David’s anointing and when they actually sat on thrones. More housekeeping notes: Throughout these history books, what is translated as “pagan shrines” or “high places” can also mean sites of unauthorized worship of the real God (2 Chronicles 33:17). Also, based on 1 Chronicles 28, Solomon was the known successor promised in 2 Samuel 7 so Adonijah was a usurper.

1:1-4 Just to be clear, Abishag was a concubine. In addition to needing the warmth of blankets, “warm” in Hebrew also has a similar connotation to saying your cat is “in heat”. Note the “cherish him” (KJV) and “lie in your bosom/lap” in the job duties. As in outlaw motorcycle clubs, a man too weak to “ride” is considered too weak to rule. Despite his aides’ best efforts, it seems that David was impotent. Remember that male/female coitus with a natural penis was what “sexual relations” was meant to represent by the word “know”, as that is how it has been used so far in the Bible to signify a man “knowing” his wife and begetting a child.

1:8 Unlike a movie in which, for example, only one character named Steve is allowed for clarity, life and history often have many characters with the same name. This Shimei (among the many in the Bible) is seen later working for Solomon and is not likely the Shimei that cursed David.

1:17 See 2 Samuel 7:14-15 and 2 Samuel 12:25. A mother getting the younger son blessed rather than his elder sibling is reminiscent of the Jacob and Esau scenario minus the shenanigans.

1:33,38 Riding the royal mule is a statement, even more so than the ostentatious displays of 1 Kings 1:5.

1:44 Because of his loyalty, Zadok’s descendants would be the high priests. See Ezekiel 40:46 and Ezekiel 44.

2:4 like Genesis 49:10. When Herod the Great, an Edomite, sat down on the throne Christ came. Earlier kings count even under the thumbs of various empires; the conditional “if”s (which they didn’t obey) and Christ (having no beginning or end) fixes any gap retroactively.

2:5-9 Let’s recap: David mostly did right (1 Kings 15:5). Shimei should have died (Exodus 22:28) but David spared him that day (2 Samuel 16:5-14) and again for national unity (2 Samuel 19:23). David kept his word while he lived, but he was savvy enough to arrange Shimei’s death on different charges after he passed on. We are safe forever because Christ lives forever (Hebrews 7:25).

2:17 See 2 Samuel 16:21. Royal widows only married kings. Only other kings were of suitable station. Sleeping with a king’s concubine, riding his donkey, etc., was seen as an attempted coup. An alternative explanation for the whole mess is that a lovesick boy attempted to steal a throne just to obtain the object of his affection. Even so, the Law was pretty clear about not marrying stepmothers, too (the lack of consummation has been argued, but since the Law treats “engaged” the same as married with regard to sex crimes, consummation is unnecessary).

2:20 The kingdom is not a “small” request, so Solomon’s word was kept.

2:22-25 See 1 Kings 1:52. Solomon is justified for the usual post-accession cleanup.

2:26 See 1 Kings 2:22.

2:27 See 1 Samuel 2:27-33.

2:28 See 1 Kings 2:22.

2:31-32 See Exodus 21:14.

2:33 This expression is used again in Matthew 27:25.

2:36-37 David’s charge to Solomon aside, a Saul loyalist leaving house arrest for his homeland might be seen as going to foment rebellion.

2:39-44 Solomon obeyed his father (1 Kings 3:3, 1 Kings 2:9). The circumstances of the slaves’ escape to a royal household and the subsequent news deliveries smell like a setup.

2:45 Jesus is Lord and rules forever.

3:3 Solomon was not yet a pagan (1 Kings 11:3-4). This was just worship of God at places he did not authorize (and likely by unauthorized methods, too). God meets us where we are.

3:4 The Tabernacle was at Gibeon (1 Chronicles 21:29, 2 Chronicles 1:5).

3:5 “Please save us all without conditions!” would be a better request for anyone given a blank check from God.

3:9 “A discerning/listening” “heart/mind” open to God’s direction to better serve the nation.That’s good. “And to distinguish right and wrong” sounds like he thought some more of that fruit from Genesis 2:17 would have been helpful. See Psalm 72. David also prayed for Solomon to be wise (1 Chronicles 22:11-13). Since Jesus is the Wisdom/Logos/Reason through whom all was created and is sustained (John 1, Colossians 1:15-20), we have that, too (1 Corinthians 2:16).

3:12 And yet, Solomon still did the Deuteronomy 17:16-17 stuff. We all need Grace. We all need the New Covenant’s new heart, new spirit, and the Holy Spirit living in us; accept no substitutes. Apart from Christ, Solomon’s wisdom manifested itself as nihilism (Ecclesiastes). Despair led to pleasure-seeking (Ecclesiastes 1:18-2:1). Pleasure-seeking and a plethora of marriages to idolatrous wives (partly to maintain international relations) led Solomon astray. Since Romans 3:19-20 was the plan, and Deuteronomy 32 says their efforts were always doomed and that the Gentiles would get a chance a salvation because of it, then a cynical mind could see Solomon’s wisdom as “help” to bring about Israel’s fall like Eve helped Adam (Genesis 2:18). Don’t doubt God’s motives. He is good. Knowing something will happen is not the same as causing it to happen.

3:16 Two very not-stoned-to-death prostitutes asked for a public trial before the king about a dispute. Consider the implications regarding their legality and acceptance.

4:22-23 The supplies were for Solomon’s household/court, that is.

4:31 This Heman was a seer (1 Chronicles 25:5) (There are several; a Heman wrote Psalm 88), not to be confused with He-Man from the cartoons and action figures.

5:3 This is the stability that was lacking in 2 Samuel 7.

5:5 The Books of Chronicles detail how David donated lots of building materials for this project.

5:6 See Genesis 12:3. Hiring foreigners to work for God was not sinful for Solomon; worshiping the gods of their women was.

1 King 6 – See Hebrews 8:5. The budding garden imagery was significant to ancient people who believed Heaven touched Earth at fertile places like the Garden of Eden (note the guardian cherub imagery) and high places like Mount Sinai. That’s also why the Holy of Holies (the innermost room) was elevated based on the measurements. Since gold doesn’t rust/tarnish, it conveys an image of eternity.

7:1 People notice that Solomon spent longer constructing his own house/government building than the Temple. There are good reasons for this. There was a pious rush to finish the Temple (“All hands on deck”), the Temple was a simpler boxy plan, and David had stockpiled building materials for it.

7:14 Regarding 2 Chronicles 2:14, the city of Dan in the north was on Naphtali land.

7:23 The “sea” was a big vessel for water. See Exodus 30:18-19 and Leviticus 1:13. Paradise and the connected Heaven is beyond the Sea of chaos above and below the space our reality occupies. Crossing water can be a metaphor for approaching God, a portal to the Presence. The Tabernacle was a repeatable Sinai experience; the Temple retained this imagery.

7:26 It seems to be hemispherical here and cylindrical in 2 Chronicles 4:5. The Septuagint lacks this sentence.

8:4 The Tabernacle leaves the story here.

8:11 See John 17:22, Acts 2, 2 Corinthians 13:5, and Hebrews 8:13. Christ, God’s Glory, lives in us now, and we no longer need merely human priests.

8:19 The Temple is just for the Name. God cannot be confined to a building, as seen in verse 27.

8:22 This next section invites comparison to John 17 (in which Jesus prayed for us, His new Temple) and to the blessings and curses of Leviticus 26.

8:27 See John 1:14. “Pleased with us in flesh to dwell; Jesus our Immanuel.”

8:41-43 like Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 4:2. We Gentiles were part of the plan all along. We even had this bit of name-it-claim-it-gab-it-grab-it “believin’ for a jet ski” enticement to latch onto.

8:46 Pobody’s nerfect (Ecclesiastes 7:20, Psalm 14:3, Romans 3:23, James 3:2). Christ perfects us (Hebrews 10:14).

8:50 “forgive all” See Hebrews 10:14. No one is 38% forgiven. Christians are totally cleansed and forgiven thanks to the finished work of Jesus Christ. We’ll discuss later how some verses have been interpreted to make some people think that being forgiven happens a sin at a time or is some sort of process of getting free of your past, but Jesus saves completely (Hebrews 7:25).

8:51 like Daniel 3.

8:57 like Immanuel, “God With Us”.

8:58 Solomon asks for the will and ability to please God under the Old Covenant, but Christians have received exactly that (Philippians 2:13) pertaining to what He wants from us under the New Covenant.

8:60 Again, the Gentile mission was always there, regardless of how some of Jesus’ and Paul’s opponents felt about it.

9:9 Again, the deal was a) obey, and be blessed or b) go astray, and be so cursed (but still alive) that the hand of God was evidently at work (Exodus 19:6, but Exodus 9:16).

9:11-13 Ceding towns in the Promised Land (in a deal like 1 Kings 5:9-11) already sounds bad, but they came right back (2 Chronicles 8:2).

9:24 See 2 Chronicles 8:11. Solomon somehow went from moving a foreign wife away from where the Ark had been to sacrificing to false gods. If you’re worried that you might wander from Him, remember that He put His love in your heart (Romans 5:5) so the shifting sands of human emotions aren’t in the equation for us (2 Timothy 2:13).

9:28 “Ophir” was allegedly 60 miles north of Mumbai, for reference.

10:1 “Sheba” or the Sabeans of Genesis 10:28 and Genesis 25:3 (of Abrahamic descent); allegedly modern-day Yemen.

10:10 Obtaining this wealth is part of the blessing of 1 Kings 3:13, but relying on it instead of God violated Deuteronomy 17:17. He was blessed to be a blessing.

10:14 A memorable number for later (Revelation 13:18).

10:22 Between sitting in the overland trade route, Phoenician ships, many related royal families as trade partners, and long-range friendly harbors, Solomon got really rich. The Temple was reminiscent of the Garden of Eden, people were living in Edenic prosperity, etc. Is it any surprise that poor choices are coming in chapter 11?

10:28 See Deuteronomy 17:16

10:29 Solomon was a wise arms dealer.

11:1 KJV: “Solomon loved many strange women…” See Deuteronomy 17:17.

11:3 Many other writers readily agree with me about 700 wives being good for international relations but 300 sex slaves is just nature running its course. The wives were the ones that led Solomon to foreign gods, not the concubines.

11:4 Solomon’s life story is Israel’s story again, like Samson’s. Promising beginnings, disobedience, loss of kingdom/freedom, etc.

11:6 “did The Evil” in some translations, namely idolatry.

11:7 The Mount of Olives. The Son of God’s betrayal happened at the old child sacrifice site.

11:15 in 2 Samuel 8:13-14.

11:17-22 Here’s an Edomite parallel to Moses.

11:23-24 Here’s an Aramaic knockoff of David.

11:26-27 Ephraimite: “Hey, why aren’t the children of Joseph running things around here, anyway?”

11:28 He even had a Joseph-like position.

11:31-32 The vestigial Benjamin rounds out the 12 tribes; it goes with Jerusalem.

11:36 “light” A city on a hill plus the eternal flame at the Temple altar. See Matthew 5:14.

11:38 Because of this offer, the Deuteronomistic History books chart the Torah observance of the northern kingdom of Israel as well. Spoiler alert: Jeroboam made gold calves immediately, and every king of Israel after him was rated poorly.

11:41 Here’s another book we don’t have. Redactions can be inspired.

11:43 Rehoboam’s mother was an Ammonite (1 Kings 14:21).

12:4 A “let my people go” Exodus 5:1 moment. They’re about to opt for the former slavedriver (1 King 11:28).

12:6 Solomon had been smart enough to delegate.

12:8 Hiring some guy you’ve known since junior high to be your accountant instead of an actual accountant leads to things like race horses as an investment, etc.

12:10 “little finger” is a colloquialism for penis.

12:11 “scorpions” were likely barbed whips.

12:18 See 1 Kings 4:6 and 1 Kings 5:14.

12:20 See 2 Chronicles 11:13-17. Judah (distinct from Jerusalem) was rural and had about one-tenth the population of Israel, but grew with the northern refugees. The Levites, the remnants of Benjamin and Simeon, and Northerners loyal to the LORD moved south. The society/nation/people/tribe that assimilated them was Judah. Therefore, even in the New Testament after the Assyrians had destroyed/bred out Israel, there are representatives of “lost” tribes like Anna of Asher in Luke 2:36.

12:25 Shechem is the first capital of the northern kingdom, Judah-less Israel. The promise to Abe was renewed here. Jacob’s Well (Genesis 33:18-20) revered by the Samaritan woman of John 4, the rape of Dinah (Genesis 34), Joseph’s tomb, Joshua’s “as for me and my house” speech (Joshua 24), several burials of idols as recommitment to God (Genesis 35:4 for starters), and the idolatry at the end of Gideon’s rule (Judges 8:27) and immediately afterward were all in or near Shechem. It sits between the mountains of blessing and cursing from Deuteronomy 27:12-13. Also, the Samaritans built their Temple on Mt. Gerizim.

12:27 He doubts 1 Kings 11:38.

12:28 Ephraim was born from an Egyptian priest’s daughter (Genesis 41:45). Moses told them they would fail in his farewell address, but reenacting the Golden Calf episode is a bit much (Exodus 32).

13:2 “Josiah” This is an important prophecy to the Deuteronomistic historians. Josiah would go on to bring the nation back to God during his reign. The original audience would have understood the adult human sacrifices as defiling the altars. To dig up bones and reduce them to ash was intended to be a disrespectful no-afterlife/vengeful spirit origin.Even child sacrificers buried the bones after burning the meat from them. Does this mean cremation is a problem for Christians? No. Whether your body turns to dust in seven years in the ground or seven minutes in an oven (or is alive and kicking when Christ returns), the God who spoke everything into existence (from nothing) will give you a Resurrection Body like Christ’s. See 1 Corinthians 15 and 1 Thessalonians 4 for the details. Back to the pagans and their altars/bones: God playing along with their superstitions is like taking away something imaginary (e.g. a video game, etc.) that a child values to punish them.

13:6 Note he said “your” and not “our” God. Also, Christ restored a withered hand, too (Luke 6:10).

13:9 Idol worshipers were under God’s ban, worthy of total burning. Remember Deuteronomy 13. He couldn’t accept anything from them, even the bad dirt to track onto his good footsteps. He was to shake the dust from his feet when he left like in Matthew 10:14.

13:18 Was this malicious (Matthew 7:15, 1 John 4:1)? Did he want to feel important or included? He was willfully living in the idolatrous North when many of the faithful were headed to the South, but God sent His prophets into enemy territory. This was an object lesson in ignoring what the Northerners said. When the South teamed up with the North, bad things happened, as we’ll see with Jehosephat’s boats. Many well-meaning people are quick to offer what they think God thinks (sometimes based on “Good Christian principles” and “tradition”) as advice, but double-check everything with the Bible.

13:24 See 1 Peter 5:8. Prophetically, when Judah joined in the idolatry of the North, the Babylonian Lion slew them.

13:28 The donkey didn’t run away, and the lion didn’t attempt to eat the donkey. God is at work.

13:29 Prophetically, being buried in the foreign land represented the exile Judah was to experience later.

13:33 “Even after this”: See 1 Kings 13:4-6. God does fewer miracles than some people expect because He is not heeded (Luke 16:31).

14:10 The King James Version gives us: “I will…cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall” which is to say every male. I guess dudes peed on walls a lot back then over there. Don’t go to your grandmother’s house saying crude things she doesn’t want to hear (which would be unloving), but know that modernity has sanitized the Bible, and “cursing” has more to do with trying to bring about evil with words than merely being gross and descriptive.

14:11-13 The pagan notion of that time and place was that a person went to the underworld with their identity intact if they were properly buried; the quality of their afterlife depended on being remembered by relatives and receiving gifts. Entering the afterlife through a dog’s rectum was abhorrent to them.

14:14 Remember 2 Samuel 12:10? God loved David; what did Jeroboam expect?

14:16 The actions of the kings are in focus in these books, but 2 Kings 17:7-23 details sins of the people of the Kingdom of Israel leading to destruction/exile.

14:19 I am told that this is distinct from Chronicles and is another book we don’t have. Redactions can be inspired.

14:20 The longer arc of the kingdom of Israel’s history (overly simplified): The Kingdom of Israel was a secondary player stuck between larger powers like Egypt, Aram, and Assyria. Assyria relieved Israel from Aram’s threat. Post-Jeroboam was basically anarchy with six kings in just thirty years (four of whom were assassinated). Assyria, which had become weaker in Jonah’s time, got powerful again and conquered Israel.

14:21 “Ammonite” This fact is meant to suggest Rehoboam’s susceptibility to being led astray.

14:22-24 The actions of the kings are in focus in these books, but the people of the Kingdom of Judah did many things that got them exiled, too.

14:24 “male shrine prostitutes” The KJV goes with “sodomites”, but using a concordance we see that this word for temple prostitute shares the same root word as holy; these were not merely gay-for-pay whores.

14:29 I am told that this is distinct from Chronicles and is another book we don’t have. Redactions can be inspired.

15:1 Later, 2 Chronicles 13 paints a rosier picture of Abijah.

15:2 His maternal influence is described in verse 13.

15:5 Until Jesus demonstrated perfection, David (Acts 13:22) and Abraham (Genesis 26:5) were great examples to follow.

15:11 “what was right” sometimes rendered “The Right Thing” in contrast to “The Evil” (idolatry).

15:12 See 1 Kings 22:46. As in Genesis 19:4,14 “all” doesn’t always mean all.

15:14 “high places” were sites of unauthorized worship, both pagan and of the true God.

15:18-19 Later, 2 Chronicles 16:7-10 provides commentary on this incident. The miracle that passage references (the death of one million Ethiopian soldiers) is in 2 Chronicles 14.

15:22 “no one was exempted” The elderly, disabled, newlyweds, Torah students, etc., that would ordinarily have gotten a pass apparently did not. Remember this when you read about Asa getting gout.

15:29 See 1 Kings 14:14.

16:7 “and also because he destroyed it”: Sometimes, even those God uses to punish evil get punished for those actions. We will see what the prophets had to say about God’s implements like Babylon, etc., later.

16:11 See 1 Kings 14:10 note.

16:16 Omri was the founder of the Omride dynasty. There’s about to be lots of Baal worship in the text. Baal was thought to be a storm god who therefore influenced agriculture. Baal (“lord”) was usually localized (Baal Melqart, Baal of Samaria, etc.). In the Ugaritic Baal Cycle, Baal’s myth involved him being killed by Mot and rising from the dead like spring following winter or corn growing from a seed. Baal was called Hadad by the Syrians/Aram. As a dying/rising corn god false Christ, Baal got special emphasis in the Books of Kings.

16:19 See verse 15; those must have been seven days chock full of idolatry. Okay, you can parallel what we talked about for verse 7 with what happened in verse 12.

16:22 There were four years of civil war and no national leadership between verses 15 and verse 23 for anyone attempting to make a timeline of the rulers.

16:24 This was the new capital city. A similar real estate transaction was attempted in 1 Kings 21.

16:30 “evil” like monogamy and listening to his wife like Adam. I’m kidding (it’s full-on Baal worship), but the original audience wouldn’t have thought that was a joke.

16:31 The Phoenician “Baal-Melqart” aka the King of Tyre was this Baal. Jezebel means “Baal exists” or “wife of Baal”. If you’ve read other classical literature, Jezebel may have been Dido’s great-aunt.

16:34 See Joshua 6:26

17:1 Elijah wasn’t speaking out of turn; this is promised in Deuteronomy 11:16-17. They asked Baal for good rains for crops, so their punishment is a drought. Ignore the rabbinic voices that say Elijah was too stubborn or too much of a holy roller for God to use (necessitating his early exit via flaming chariot); Elijah was as righteous as could be expected (1 Kings 18:36-38, James 5:16-17). I say it that way because only God is good (Mark 10:18). Side note: The existence of names ending in -jah proves that people weren’t as persnickety about using The Name of God until the Exile.

17:3-4 “Bring out the new wilderness experience for the new protagonist!” “Aye-aye, Sir!”

17:9 Zarephath is in Phoenician Jezebel’s homeland, where she’s not looking. The Law says to care for widows, so this is radical faith and dire straits. See Matthew 10:41: The widow got the prophet’s reward of being sustained, too.

17:14 See Luke 4:25-26. There was no provision for Israelite widows during this fight between Ahab and the LORD about Baal that we know of, but all of fallen humanity deserved death. YHWH was a better provider to Baal’s people than Baal was.

17:17-23 “You say Baal resurrects himself and makes crops grow from “dead” seeds? Check this out…”

17:24 “Now I know” as if verse 16 wasn’t enough.

18:1 God is gracious. There has been no repentance. Elijah’s triumphant return from the wilderness mirrors Baal’s alleged seasonal trip to the underworld and back.

18:4,13 “Jezebel was killing off the LORD’s prophets” Modern voices paint her in a sympathetic light, but this part gets overlooked.

18:19 “who eat at Jezebel’s table” She provided for and protected God’s enemies while killing his prophets. Mount Carmel’s not that far from Megiddo (Revelation 16:16). It’s apocalyptic showdown time.

18:22 Elijah didn’t snitch on the cave dwellers from verse 13.

18:24 Alleged “storm god”? Lightning zap duel.

18:25 To the legalists that say Elijah was offering sacrifices at an unorthodox location, it’s not like he set it on fire himself.

18:27 “busy” = on the toilet. Ascribing human limitations to gods was a big insult back then.

18:28 See Genesis 4:10, Leviticus 17:11, and Deuteronomy 14:1. It was thought that when humans bled, the gods paid attention, like when drops of body/bodily fluids hitting dirt allegedly encouraged rain to fall.

18:32-35 In the midst of a severe drought, Elijah poured twelve jars of water (one for each tribe) onto the offering and the wood to make it even harder to light. Three applications of water followed by fire from on high sounds like a vision of baptism: “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.”

18:37 See 1 Kings 19:12. He’s not only found in the grand gestures.

18:40 See Deuteronomy 13:5. This was the same location as the victory in Judges 5:21.

18:43 Keep looking. It’s coming. Whatever help from God you seek, it’s on the way. You may not see it until Heaven, but I’ve read the rest of this book – it turns out fine for believers in Jesus Christ.

18:44 Little cloud, big faith.

18:45 Here’s another chariot chase with water (Exodus 14).

19:3 “Elijah was afraid” Same Hebrew consonants as “Elijah saw”. He saw that nothing changed after the big duel. Even the famine was for nothing. It was time for another wilderness experience like Moses’ flight, Israel after Egypt, etc.

19:4 like Jonah 4 and Numbers 11:15-16. When Moses lost the will to live, he got 70 elders to help. Elijah’s about to get Elisha.

19:8 “forty” See Exodus 34:28. Elijah was an early fulfillment of the promise that there would be prophets like Moses (Deuteronomy 18), with Jesus being the ultimate answer. “Horeb” is another name for Mount Sinai.

19:9 See Exodus 33:22; it’s time for a theophany.

19:12 Big things like the return from the Babylonian Captivity weren’t the final fulfillment of prophecy; but the Messiah that slept in a manger is.

19:19 This is like Moses getting himself a Joshua.

19:20-21 “What have I done to you?” See verse 14; this calling might have been a death sentence (Luke 9:61), so good-byes are in order. This was a special leave-it-all-behind mission like Genesis 12:1. Becoming the thirteenth member of the Twelve Apostles was offered to the Rich Young Ruler similarly in Matthew 19, Mark 10, and Luke 18. (Even the apostles’ calling was just an issue of focus: they still had houses to throw dinner parties in, fishing businesses to resume, etc. No one actually gave up everything but Jesus.)

20:1 “Ben-Hadad” means “Son of Hadad” which also means Son of Baal. This was a common regnal name for rulers of Aram.

20:13 This was a very gracious offer given the Northern kingdom’s relationship with God as of late.

20:16 “noon” Battles usually started at dawn to have the most possible daylight to use.

20:22 Here’s even more grace.

20:23,28 They blasphemed God.

20:32, 34 “He is now your brother? No, you were supposed to end him. (Leviticus 24:16, similar to Deuteronomy 20:13)”

20:36 See 1 Peter 5:8

20:37 He got “busted open” to tell a better story like a wrestler.

20:38-42 This prophet’s behavior proves that acting and fiction are not the same as lying.

21:1-3 Ahab has just acquitted the guilty; now in this story he will condemn the innocent (Proverbs 17:15). This attempted transaction is similar to Omri’s deal in 1 Kings 16:24. Land sales don’t work like this in the Torah; the tribal allotments were supposed to remain intact. Ahab and Jezebel later died for failing to kill Ben-Hadad, false witness, murder, theft, idolatry, etc. There are limits to legitimate government power despite the general Noahide respect for authority (that we still have in Romans 13). They cannot command what God forbids nor forbid what God commands. However, His list is pretty short on this side of the Cross and the Resurrection, so we should be a notoriously easy-going group of people.

21:5 “eat” Eve offers the apple once again.

21:8-11 Not just the national rulers were corrupt. There was widespread corruption among those who were tasked with upholding the law.

21:10 In other words, “two of you (Deuteronomy 17:6-7, Numbers 35:30) break Exodus 20:16 and Deuteronomy 5:20 with regard to Exodus 22:28 and Leviticus 24:14-16 (with no fear of Deuteronomy 19:15-21), because the leaders are behind it.”

21:14 is what was supposed to happen in 1 Kings 20:42 for 1 Kings 20:28. Stories are related next to each other for comparison.

21:15 Just to be clear, they killed everyone in Naboth’s family that was still living on that land (2 Kings 9:26) like when Achan was killed (Joshua 7).

21:19 adds dishonor and no rest in his idea of the afterlife to the death sentence he was already under (1 Kings 20:42).

21:21 See 1 Kings 14:10 note.

21:25 See Genesis 3:17.

21:29 Ahab briefly hops back over the Jeremiah 18:5-10 line, but it all ends like you’d expect in 1 Kings 22:38 and 2 Kings 9:24-26.

22:2 Jerusalem is south of Samaria. Jerusalem is on a mountain, so the Bible refers to trips to/from Jerusalem as up/down.

22:6 “the lord” they speak of is Baal (which means “lord”; see also 2 Kings 1:3-4) and/or a syncretic version of YHWH that was compatible with their golden calves, etc. The word used here is the generic “Adonai” or “my lord” which could be used as a respectful placeholder for God’s name but which was also appropriate to use for human “lords”/superiors.

22:7 “the LORD” is the true God. The word here in Hebrew is YHWH, the Name of God.

22:8 “The king should not say such a thing” Complaining about the truth led to verses 22-23. As for no good news, Ahab the Baal-Consulter (verse 6) was temporarily repentant (1 Kings 21:29) and got a temporary stay of execution (Ezekiel 18:21-32). Christian believers enjoy a much more secure footing (John 6:37, Hebrews 7:25, 2 Timothy 2:13).

22:14 “what the LORD tells me” to tell to them, which is to say, the lies from verse 22-23. The things God Himself speaks in this passage are true. The Old Testament believers thought God’s Sovereignty meant He was to be credited with all that He allowed to happen. He has been known to give humans their own way in this world (Psalm 115:16), and that comes with consequences (Romans 1 and 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12). We pray for His will to be done because it frequently isn’t. He will set things right eventually. He isn’t sending disasters from the fallen world, other people, demons, etc., to you, but He can use those things for your good (Romans 8:28-29).

22:17 was fulfilled in 1 Kings 22:36. This verse echoes 1 Kings 12:16.

22:19 like Isaiah 6 and Ezekiel 1.

22:22 God gave the world to humans (Psalm 115:16), and humans gave the world to Satan (2 Corinthians 4:4, 1 John 5:19). Man chose lies, God looked away (Deuteronomy 31:16-17), and humanity got lies from lying spirits. Ahab complained about hearing the truth in verse 8, so the devil was close at hand with some lies for him. See Job 1:12 note. Saying that the spirit would succeed and for it to go and do it was as much an endorsement of its actions as was Jesus telling Judas to be quick about his betrayal.

22:24-25 “Which way…?” Micaiah’s answer is effectively “back to Hell”. Ahab and the false prophets were soon to be defeated.

22:28 like Deuteronomy 18:21-22.

22:30 “Be my decoy, vassal!”

22:33 Later, 2 Chronicles 18:31 points out God’s intervention.

22:36 was promised in verse 17.

22:41 resumes a story thread that we left in 1 Kings 15:24. Jehoshaphat’s story in 2 Chronicles 20 could be called “How to Win With Faith”.

22:44 Judah was a vassal to the Kingdom of Israel under the Omrides; Jehoshaphat’s family had a marriage alliance (2 Chronicles 18:1 and 2 Kings 8:18).

22:48 See 2 Chronicles 20:35-37 and the 1 Kings 22:44 note. Don’t eat with the false prophet (1 Kings 13).

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