Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
Jehoshaphat gives to his son Jehoram the daughter of the impious King Ahab as wife, and goes with him to battle, in which, according to the oracle of Micaiah, Ahab is killed.
Vulgate Text: 2 Paralipomenon 18:1-34
1. Jehoshaphat therefore was rich and very renowned, and he allied himself by marriage with Ahab. 2. And after some years he went down to him in Samaria; and at his arrival Ahab slaughtered many rams and oxen for him and for the people who had come with him, and he persuaded him to go up to Ramoth-Gilead. 3. And Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah: Come with me to Ramoth-Gilead. And he answered: As I am, so are you; as your people, so my people: we will be with you in the war. 4. And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel: Inquire, I beseech you, for the word of the Lord at this time. 5. So the king of Israel gathered four hundred prophets and said to them: Should we go to Ramoth-Gilead to fight, or should we refrain? And they said: Go up, and God will deliver it into the king's hand. 6. And Jehoshaphat said: Is there not here a prophet of the Lord, that we may inquire of him also? 7. And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat: There is one man by whom we can inquire of the Lord's will; but I hate him, because he never prophesies good to me, but always evil: he is Micaiah the son of Imlah. And Jehoshaphat said: Let not the king speak so. 8. So the king of Israel called one of the eunuchs and said: Bring quickly Micaiah the son of Imlah. 9. Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were each sitting on his throne, clothed in royal robes; and they sat in an open area by the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them. 10. And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah had made himself iron horns and said: Thus says the Lord: With these you shall gore Syria until you have destroyed it. 11. And all the prophets likewise prophesied saying: Go up to Ramoth-Gilead and you shall prosper, and the Lord will deliver them into the king's hand. 12. And the messenger who had gone to call Micaiah said to him: Behold, the words of all the prophets with one voice announce good things to the king; I beseech you therefore, let your word agree with theirs and speak favorable things. 13. And Micaiah answered: As the Lord lives, whatever my God shall say to me, that will I speak. 14. So he came to the king. And the king said to him: Micaiah, should we go to Ramoth-Gilead to fight, or should we refrain? And he answered: Go up, for all things will turn out well. 15. And the king said: Again and again I adjure you to tell me nothing but what is true, in the name of the Lord. 16. And he said: I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountains, like sheep without a shepherd; and the Lord said: These have no masters; let every man return to his house in peace. 17. And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat: Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good to me, but only evil? 18. And he said: Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and the whole host of heaven standing by Him on His right hand and on His left. 19. And the Lord said: Who will deceive Ahab king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-Gilead? And when one said this way and another that way, 20. a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, and said: I will deceive him. And the Lord said: By what means will you deceive him? 21. And he answered: I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And the Lord said: You shall deceive him and prevail; go out and do so. 22. Now therefore, behold, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all your prophets, and the Lord has spoken evil against you. 23. Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said: By what way did the Spirit of the Lord pass from me to speak to you? 24. And Micaiah said: You yourself shall see on that day, when you go from room to room to hide yourself. 25. And the king of Israel commanded, saying: Take Micaiah and bring him to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the son of the king. 26. And say: Thus says the king: Put this man in prison and give him only a little bread and a little water until I return in peace. 27. And Micaiah said: If you return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me. And he said: Hear, all you peoples. 28. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth-Gilead. 29. And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat: I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your robes. 30. Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of his cavalry, saying: Fight with no one, small or great, except with the king of Israel alone. 31. So when the captains of the cavalry saw Jehoshaphat, they said: This is the king of Israel. And they surrounded him fighting; but he cried out to the Lord, and He helped him, and turned them away from him. 32. For when the captains of the cavalry saw that he was not the king of Israel, they left him. 33. But it happened that a certain man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel between the neck and the shoulders. 34. And the king of Israel stood in his chariot facing the Syrians until evening, and he died at sunset.
I have explained this chapter in 3 Kings (1 Kings), final chapter.
Verse 1: Allied by Marriage with Ahab
HE ALLIED HIMSELF BY MARRIAGE WITH AHAB — by giving his daughter Athaliah as wife to his son Jehoram, as is clear from chapter 21, verse 6. This was the one sin of Jehoshaphat, that he entered into alliance and marriage with the impious Ahab. For Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab, introduced idolatry into Judea, and having killed all the king's sons, made herself queen.
Verse 20: A Spirit Came Forward
20. A SPIRIT CAME FORWARD — an evil one, namely the devil. The Rabbis fable that this spirit was the soul of Naboth, who had been unjustly stoned to death by Jezebel, as though he were here avenging himself, and contrived that Ahab be deceived by the false prophets, so that he would go to the battle in which he was to be killed.
Verse 25: Joash the Son of the King
25. AND TO JOASH THE SON OF AMELECH: so also Pagninus. In Hebrew it is ben hammelech, which the Septuagint properly translate as 'the son of the king.' Whence it seems that this Joash was a son of Ahab, who, setting out for war against the Syrians, entrusted the custody of Samaria to this son of his.
Verse 27: Hear, All You Peoples
27. HEAR, ALL YOU PEOPLES — and note every word of my oracle, so that when shortly afterward you see each thing fulfilled, you may know that I was sent by God and foretold these things; and therefore that death befell Ahab not by chance, but by God's avenging justice; so that you may beware of his idols and crimes, and return to the God of Judah.
Verse 34: The King Stood in His Chariot
34. THE KING OF ISRAEL STOOD IN HIS CHARIOT FACING THE SYRIANS UNTIL EVENING — for although Ahab was wounded, he nevertheless stood firm in his chariot, to encourage his men in the battle against the Syrians, until in the evening his breath and life departed from him together with his blood.