1 Kings 22

Three years passed without war: During this time, the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III, who ruled from 858 to 824 BC, repeatedly pushed westward, leading to the Battle of Qarqar in 853 BC. Shalmaneser's records say he fought against both Hadadezer (also known as Ben-hadad) and Ahab at this battle. When the Assyrian king was temporarily stopped, old hostilities between Aram and Israel reignited.

Jehoshaphat and Ahab were related because Ahab’s daughter, Athaliah, married Jehoshaphat’s son, Jehoram (2 Kings 8:25–26). Jehoshaphat intended his visit to be friendly, but he quickly got involved in Ahab’s plan to capture Ramoth-gilead. The threat from Assyria had stopped Ahab from controlling this important area, which was at the eastern end of the Plain of Jezreel. Now, they needed to take it by force, and Jehoshaphat offered his troops and horses to help Ahab.

Following ancient Near Eastern tradition, Jehoshaphat asked the two kings to seek God's will before battle. This tradition appears in Aramean, Moabite, and Assyrian writings, as well as in the Old Testament (1 Samuel 23:2–4; 2 Samuel 5:19–25). Despite Ahab's doubts, Jehoshaphat insisted on calling Micaiah, a true prophet of God.

In the ancient Near East, people often conducted important business at the threshing floor near the city gate. David acquired Araunah's threshing floor and built an altar there (2 Samuel 24:18–25; 1 Chronicles 21:26). This site later became the location for the Temple in Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 3:1).

The messenger told Micaiah to agree with the false prophets. But Micaiah promised to deliver only the Lord's true message (see Numbers 22:38; 24:13).

Micaiah was speaking in a sarcastic way. Some translations, like the New Living Translation, make clear what Ahab sensed in Micaiah’s tone of voice (1 Kings 18:27; Job 12:1–2; 16:2). The BSB leaves the description of tone unstated.

Like God himself (Psalm 23; Isaiah 40:10–11), Israel's kings and leaders were responsible for caring for the people, much like a shepherd cares for sheep (Numbers 27:16–17; Ezekiel 34:2, 11–16). The idea of the shepherd and the sheep, related to the coming Messiah (Ezekiel 34:23–24), was fulfilled in Christ, the Good Shepherd (John 10:1–11). Although he sacrificed his life for the sheep (John 10:14–18; 1 Peter 2:24–25), he still lives (Hebrews 13:20) and will return for them (1 Peter 5:4).

Micaiah said God let a lying spirit mislead Ahab to cause his death. God used Ahab's false prophets to fulfill His plan.

Zedekiah, a false prophet, angrily claimed he and the others were truthful. Like Ahab, they would eventually learn the truth when Jehu's purge of Baal worship came true (2 Kings 10:18–28).

Ahab wanted to avoid direct revenge from Ben-hadad by wearing a disguise. He encouraged Jehoshaphat to wear his royal robes so Ahab could avoid being noticed and try to prevent Micaiah's prophecy from coming true.

An Aramean soldier's random shot fulfilled Micaiah's prophecy about Ahab's death. Ancient armor found in the Near East shows that the arrow likely hit a small unprotected spot between the breastplate and the lower armor's metal pieces. Although badly wounded, Ahab showed courage by staying upright in his chariot during the day's battle before ordering a retreat.

Elijah predicted that dogs would lick Ahab's blood after he died (1 Kings 21:19), and this came true.

Archaeologists have found Ahab's palace and a nearby pool at Samaria. The palace is described as ivory, likely due to its ivory-covered furniture and wall panels. The building's exterior, made of shiny white limestone, also gave it an ivory-like appearance.

This summary gives basic information about Jehoshaphat's 25-year rule as king of Judah. The Chronicler shares more details about Jehoshaphat's strong spiritual character, which led to religious changes and blessings from the Lord (2 Chronicles 17:1–21:1). Including a two-year shared rule with his father, Asa, Jehoshaphat ruled from 872 to 848 BC.

Jehoshaphat is remembered as a king who pleased the Lord. But his record was not perfect. He did not remove all the pagan shrines (see 1 Kings 15:14). He also joined with Ahab (1 Kings 22:4, 29–32; 2 Chronicles 19:1–3) and later with Joram (2 Kings 3:4–27).

Jehoshaphat deserves credit for getting rid of religious prostitutes. His father, Asa, had banned them (1 Kings 15:12), but they still existed. These prostitutes were likely based at pagan shrines that Asa did not remove (1 Kings 15:14).

Edom not having a king might show that Edom relied on Judah during this period.

• Jehoshaphat built a fleet of trading ships with Ahaziah (see 2 Chronicles 20:35–37). Like Solomon, they planned to send ships to Ophir for gold (1 Kings 9:27–28; 10:11). But the plan failed. To fulfill a prophetic warning (2 Chronicles 20:37), the Lord destroyed the fleet before it left port. Jehoshaphat wisely refused to join with Ahaziah again.

• Ezion-geber was Solomon’s port city on the Gulf of Aqaba (1 Kings 9:26).

The sad story of Ahaziah's rule in Israel continues in 2 Kings 1:1–18. He followed the evil ways of his parents, Ahab and Jezebel (1 Kings 21:25–26). He worshiped Baal (2 Kings 1:2, 16) and supported the state religion started by Jeroboam I (1 Kings 12:28–32). Ahaziah’s rise to power and character summary conclude Ahab's story in 1 Kings and smoothly transition to the ongoing story of the divided kingdom in 2 Kings.