II Kings 4, Miracles of Elisha

Elisha accomplishes numerous miracles in the northern kingdom. The next four chapters will describe a number of them.

2 Kings 4:1-7, Miracle of oil

The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, "Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the LORD. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves."

Elisha replied to her, "How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?" 

"Your servant has nothing there at all," she said, "except a little oil."

Elisha said, "Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don't ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side."

She left him and afterward shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. When all the jars were full, she said to her son, "Bring me another one." 

But he replied, "There is not a jar left." Then the oil stopped flowing.

She went and told the man of God, and he said, "Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left."

Elisha miraculously provides oil for a woman so that this new wealth allows her to pay off her debts and save her sons from slavery.

2 Kings 4:8-17, A son in her old age

One day Elisha went to Shunem. And a well-to-do woman was there, who urged him to stay for a meal. So whenever he came by, he stopped there to eat. She said to her husband, "I know that this man who often comes our way is a holy man of God. Let's make a small room on the roof and put in it a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp for him. Then he can stay there whenever he comes to us."

One day when Elisha came, he went up to his room and lay down there. He said to his servant Gehazi, "Call the Shunammite." So he called her, and she stood before him. Elisha said to him, "Tell her, `You have gone to all this trouble for us. Now what can be done for you? Can we speak on your behalf to the king or the commander of the army?'" 

She replied, "I have a home among my own people."
 

"What can be done for her?" Elisha asked. 

Gehazi said, "Well, she has no son and her husband is old."
 

Then Elisha said, "Call her." So he called her, and she stood in the doorway. "About this time next year," Elisha said, "you will hold a son in your arms." 

"No, my lord," she objected. "Don't mislead your servant, O man of God!"

But the woman became pregnant, and the next year about that same time she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had told her.

A woman who has provided for Elisha has secretly desired a son, even though she is old.  Elisha promises her that her dream will come true and she delivers a son a year later.

Noticed the ANE custom of using the flat rooftop to sleep on.

2 Kings 4:18-26, Sudden death

The child grew, and one day he went out to his father, who was with the reapers. "My head! My head!" he said to his father. 

His father told a servant, "Carry him to his mother."  After the servant had lifted him up and carried him to his mother, the boy sat on her lap until noon, and then he died. She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, then shut the door and went out.

 She called her husband and said, "Please send me one of the servants and a donkey so I can go to the man of God quickly and return."

 

"Why go to him today?" he asked. "It's not the New Moon or the Sabbath." 

"It's all right," she said.
 

She saddled the donkey and said to her servant, "Lead on; don't slow down for me unless I tell you."  So she set out and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel. 

When he saw her in the distance, the man of God said to his servant Gehazi, "Look! There's the Shunammite! Run to meet her and ask her, `Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is your child all right?'"

"Everything is all right," she said.

The child dies but the woman does not panic. She hurries to find Elisha.

2 Kings 4:27-30, Appeal to Elisha

When she reached the man of God at the mountain, she took hold of his feet. Gehazi came over to push her away, but the man of God said, "Leave her alone! She is in bitter distress, but the LORD has hidden it from me and has not told me why."

"Did I ask you for a son, my lord?" she said. "Didn't I tell you, `Don't raise my hopes'?"

Elisha said to Gehazi, "Tuck your cloak into your belt, take my staff in your hand and run. If you meet anyone, do not greet him, and if anyone greets you, do not answer. Lay my staff on the boy's face."

But the child's mother said, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So he got up and followed her.
 

Elisha is aware that something is wrong and sends Gehazi to see her son. When the woman meets with Elisha, she reminds him that she had said, "Don't raise my hopes!" 

2 Kings 4:31-37,

Gehazi went on ahead and laid the staff on the boy's face, but there was no sound or response. So Gehazi went back to meet Elisha and told him, "The boy has not awakened."
 

When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his couch. He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the LORD. Then he got on the bed and lay upon the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. As he stretched himself out upon him, the boy's body grew warm.

Elisha turned away and walked back and forth in the room and then got on the bed and stretched out upon him once more. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.

Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, "Call the Shunammite." And he did. When she came, he said, "Take your son."

She came in, fell at his feet and bowed to the ground. Then she took her son and went out.

Elisha's intervention and repeated prayer, including spreading his body across the boy's, leads to the warmth returning to the boy's body, the boy sneezing and then waking up.

2 Kings 4:38-41, Poisoned pot

Elisha returned to Gilgal and there was a famine in that region. While the company of the prophets was meeting with him, he said to his servant, "Put on the large pot and cook some stew for these men." One of them went out into the fields to gather herbs and found a wild vine. He gathered some of its gourds and filled the fold of his cloak. When he returned, he cut them up into the pot of stew, though no one knew what they were.

The stew was poured out for the men, but as they began to eat it, they cried out, "O man of God, there is death in the pot!" And they could not eat it.

Elisha said, "Get some flour." He put it into the pot and said, "Serve it to the people to eat." And there was nothing harmful in the pot.

A community of prophets has appeared in the background of our text from time to time.  Here is comes out most clearly. (A Got Questions post on this community is here.) 

A pot of stew is accidentally poisoned. When the men realize it, they cry out to Elisha, who purifies the pot by putting flour in it.

2 Kings 4:42-44, Twenty loaves of bread

A man came from Baal Shalishah, bringing the man of God twenty loaves of barley bread baked from the first ripe grain, along with some heads of new grain. 

"Give it to the people to eat," Elisha said.

"How can I set this before a hundred men?" his servant asked. 

But Elisha answered, "Give it to the people to eat. For this is what the LORD says: `They will eat and have some left over.'"

Then he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the LORD.

Elisha turns twenty loaves of bread into food for a hundred men and when all have eaten there are leftovers.

First published December 12, 2023, updated October 23, 2026

II Kings 3, Three Kings Against Moab

Ahab is dead and his nemesis, the prophet Elijah, has risen into heaven. Now we have a new king of Samaria/Israel and a new prophet.

2 Kings 3:1-3, Next, Joram

Joram son of Ahab became king of Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned twelve years. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, but not as his father and mother had done. He got rid of the sacred stone of Baal that his father had made.

Nevertheless he clung to the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit; he did not turn away from them.

Ahab's son, Joram/Jehoram, becomes king after Ahab's death. He does not worship Baal in the same way but still does evil, presumably promoting idolatry ("the sins of Jeroboam".)

2 Kings 3:4-8, Rebellion

Now Mesha king of Moab raised sheep, and he had to supply the king of Israel with a hundred thousand lambs and with the wool of a hundred thousand rams. But after Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. So at that time King Joram set out from Samaria and mobilized all Israel.

He also sent this message to Jehoshaphat king of Judah: "The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab?" 

"I will go with you," he replied. "I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses."
 

"By what route shall we attack?" he asked. 

"Through the Desert of Edom," he answered.

Moab has been paying tribute to Israel but a new king refuses to pay the tribute. So Joram asks Jehoshaphat to join him in bringing Moab back into compliance.

Few archaeological details of ancient Israelite history have survived the almost three millennia since that time. But this event is described in the  Moabite Stone (Mesha Stele) where a Moabite king complains that Omri "oppressed Moab for many days", but eventually the Moabites fought back, defeating a son of Omri.

2 Kings 3:9-12, Running out of water

So the king of Israel set out with the king of Judah and the king of Edom. After a roundabout march of seven days, the army had no more water for themselves or for the animals with them.

"What!" exclaimed the king of Israel. "Has the LORD called us three kings together only to hand us over to Moab?"

But Jehoshaphat asked, "Is there no prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of the LORD through him?" 

An officer of the king of Israel answered, "Elisha son of Shaphat is here. He used to pour water on the hands of Elijah."

Jehoshaphat said, "The word of the LORD is with him." So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.

The army of the three kings (of Judah, Israel and Edom) are in trouble. They have marched through the desert of Edom and run out of water. They seek a solution through a prophet. Someone suggests that they meet with Elisha. Hubbard notes that this time kings go to Elisha when previously King Ahaziah had order Elijah to come to him.

The phrase "pouring water on Elijah's hands" indicates that Elisha served Elijah as a servant, helping Elijah with ritual washings. This ritual washing provids a parallel to the need for water that Elijah is supposed to resolve.

2 Kings 3:13-15a, "Find me a harpist"

Elisha said to the king of Israel, "What do we have to do with each other? Go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother." 

"No," the king of Israel answered, "because it was the LORD who called us three kings together to hand us over to Moab."

Elisha said, "As surely as the LORD Almighty lives, whom I serve, if I did not have respect for the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you or even notice you. But now bring me a harpist." 

Elisha challenges Joram: Why does Joram come to him? After all, Joram's father had attempted numerous times to kill his master Elijah. Ahab's prophets had worshiped Baal; Jezebel's prophets had worshiped Ashteroth. But out of respect for Jehoshaphat, Elisha asks for a harpist. Apparently the harpist will lead to a word from YHWH.

2 Kings 3:15b-19, A valley of ditches

While the harpist was playing, the hand of the LORD came upon Elisha and he said, "This is what the LORD says: Make this valley full of ditches. For this is what the LORD says: You will see neither wind nor rain, yet this valley will be filled with water, and you, your cattle and your other animals will drink.

This is an easy thing in the eyes of the LORD; he will also hand Moab over to you. You will overthrow every fortified city and every major town. You will cut down every good tree, stop up all the springs, and ruin every good field with stones."
 

The kings are to fill the valley with ditches. Shortly after that, the ditches will be filled with water. And then Moab will be handed over to Israel.

2 Kings 3:20-23, Valley of blood

The next morning, about the time for offering the sacrifice, there it was--water flowing from the direction of Edom! And the land was filled with water.

Now all the Moabites had heard that the kings had come to fight against them; so every man, young and old, who could bear arms was called up and stationed on the border. When they got up early in the morning, the sun was shining on the water. To the Moabites across the way, the water looked red--like blood. "That's blood!" they said. "Those kings must have fought and slaughtered each other. Now to the plunder, Moab!"

The Moabites call up every man "who can bear arms." (The Hebrew for this phase is literally "everyone girding a belt".)  When these soldiers get up in the morning, not only have the dry ditches filled with water, but the optical illusion misleads the Moabites into attacking without preparation.

2 Kings 3:24-27, Moab destroyed

But when the Moabites came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and fought them until they fled. And the Israelites invaded the land and slaughtered the Moabites. They destroyed the towns, and each man threw a stone on every good field until it was covered. They stopped up all the springs and cut down every good tree. Only Kir Hareseth was left with its stones in place, but men armed with slings surrounded it and attacked it as well.

When the king of Moab saw that the battle had gone against him, he took with him seven hundred swordsmen to break through to the king of Edom, but they failed. Then he took his firstborn son, who was to succeed him as king, and offered him as a sacrifice on the city wall. The fury against Israel was great; they withdrew and returned to their own land.

The Moabites are not prepared for a real army and are defeated. The king of Moab even sacrifices, on the city wall, his firstborn son, to no avail.

First published December 11, 2023, updated October 22, 2026

II Kings 2, Chariot of Fire

Elijah has been training his assistant, Elisha. But Elijah's ministry has come to an end.

2 Kings 2:1-6, Elisha follows Elijah

When the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here; the LORD has sent me to Bethel." 

But Elisha said, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel.
 

The company of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, "Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?" 

"Yes, I know," Elisha replied, "but do not speak of it."

Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here, Elisha; the LORD has sent me to Jericho." 

And he replied, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went to Jericho.

 The company of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him, "Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?" "

Yes, I know," he replied, "but do not speak of it."

 Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here; the LORD has sent me to the Jordan." 

And he replied, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So the two of them walked on.

Elisha is somehow aware that YHWH is going to take away Elijah.  He has now been told by two groups and, despite Elijah's plans to move on to three different towns (Gilgal, Bethel, and Jericho), Elisha insists, three times, on staying with Elijah.

Notice the rhythmic, formulaic approach to the story, with actions and conversation repeated three times.

The "company of prophets" is a strange group, not described further. Commentators suspect there was a guild of prophets acting in the background, dating from Samuel's day (1 Samuel 10:9-13 and 1 Samuel 19:20.) They will appear at various times in the time of and Elisha.

2 Kings 2:7-10, A double portion of the Spirit

Fifty men of the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground.

When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?" 

"Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit," Elisha replied.
 

"You have asked a difficult thing," Elijah said, "yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours--otherwise not."

Just as the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry land centuries before, Elijah and Elisha also crossed on dry land.

Elisha asks for a "double-portion" of Elijah's spirit.  Obviously Elisha intends to follow Elijah's examples and wear his mantle.

2 Kings 2:11-12a, Chariot and horses of fire

As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.

Elisha saw this and cried out, "My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!" And Elisha saw him no more. 

Suddenly Elijah is taken away by a chariot and horses, both of fire. Elijah disappears into the heavens in a whirlwind. Elisha seems to identify the chariots and the horses as those of Israel.

2 Kings 2:12b-15, Striking the river

Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them apart. He picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. Then he took the cloak that had fallen from him and struck the water with it. "Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?" he asked. 

When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over. The company of the prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said, "The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha." And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.

Elisha wonders if he has been given the spirit of Elijah. So he imitates Elijah's actions and strikes the waters of the Jordan River. The river parts for him, as it did for Elijah, and so Elisha crosses the river. The prophets from Jericho see this and agree that Elisha is the new leader of prophets.

2 Kings 2:16-18, Search for Elijah

"Look," they said, "we your servants have fifty able men. Let them go and look for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has picked him up and set him down on some mountain or in some valley." 

"No," Elisha replied, "do not send them."
 

But they persisted until he was too ashamed to refuse. So he said, "Send them." And they sent fifty men, who searched for three days but did not find him.

When they returned to Elisha, who was staying in Jericho, he said to them, "Didn't I tell you not to go?"

Elisha knows that Elijah is not returning. But after persistent challenges from the prophets, he allows men to go searching for Elijah. As expected, Elijah is not found.

2 Kings 2:19-22, Bad water

The men of the city said to Elisha, "Look, our lord, this town is well situated, as you can see, but the water is bad and the land is unproductive."

"Bring me a new bowl," he said, "and put salt in it." 

So they brought it to him.

 Then he went out to the spring and threw the salt into it, saying, "This is what the LORD says: `I have healed this water. Never again will it cause death or make the land unproductive.'"
 

And the water has remained wholesome to this day, according to the word Elisha had spoken.

Throughout the next chapters of 2 Kings we will read a number of miracles attributed to Elisha. In this miracle, Elisha purifies the water of a village. Some of these stories seem unrelated to the history of Israel; others are directly related to a kingdom dispute.

2 Kings 2:23-25, Baldhead

From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some youths came out of the town and jeered at him. "Go on up, you baldhead!" they said. "Go on up, you baldhead!"

He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths.

And he went on to Mount Carmel and from there returned to Samaria.

When harassed by youths, Elisha calls down a curse on them that leads to the boys being mauled by bears. In the ancient Near East, disrespect of the elderly was a serious offense, indeed in Exodus 21:17, cursing one's parents was a capital crime. The ancient reader did not recoil from this episode like the modern reader does.

Hubbard argues, furthermore, that this is event is not mere harassment by wild teenagers, but likely opposition by a band of young men of Bethel devoted to Baal (see 1 Kings 12:28-30) who are harassing  a prophet of YHWH. 

Elisha settles in Samaria, in the northern kingdom of Israel. He will continue to confront the kings of that kingdom.

First published December 9, 2023, updated October 21, 2026

II Kings 1, Elijah and the Death of Ahaziah

Ahaziah has become king in Israel. (The date is around 852 BC.) Earlier Elijah was told to anoint Elisha as his disciple and then to anoint Jehu as king of Israel. The anointment of Jehu has not yet happened. 

2 Kings 1:1-2, Ahaziah's injury

After Ahab's death, Moab rebelled against Israel. Now Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers, saying to them, "Go and consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, to see if I will recover from this injury."

Ahaziah is badly injured and asks an idol if he will recover.

2 Kings 1:3-8, Elijah intercepts

But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, "Go up and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, `Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going off to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?' Therefore this is what the LORD says: `You will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!'" So Elijah went.

When the messengers returned to the king, he asked them, "Why have you come back?"

"A man came to meet us," they replied. "And he said to us, `Go back to the king who sent you and tell him, "This is what the LORD says: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending men to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!"'"

The king asked them, "What kind of man was it who came to meet you and told you this?"

They replied, "He was a man with a garment of hair and with a leather belt around his waist." 

The king said, "That was Elijah the Tishbite."

Elijah intercepts the king's messengers and gives them a message of his own, given him by the angel of YHWH. The message is not a good one for the king, Ahaziah. Ahaziah identifies Elijah by the description "garment of hair and a leather belt." The Hebrew expression translated here "garment of hair" is baal sear , literally "lord of hair." Hubbard argues that there is wordplay here. The messengers were to go see Baal-Zebub (literally "lord of the flies") but instead met Baal-Sear ("lord of hair".)

2 Kings 1:9-14, Fire twice

Then he sent to Elijah a captain with his company of fifty men. The captain went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of a hill, and said to him, "Man of God, the king says, `Come down!'"

Elijah answered the captain, "If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!" Then fire fell from heaven and consumed the captain and his men.

At this the king sent to Elijah another captain with his fifty men. The captain said to him, "Man of God, this is what the king says, `Come down at once!'"

"If I am a man of God," Elijah replied, "may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!" Then the fire of God fell from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.

So the king sent a third captain with his fifty men. This third captain went up and fell on his knees before Elijah. "Man of God," he begged, "please have respect for my life and the lives of these fifty men, your servants! See, fire has fallen from heaven and consumed the first two captains and all their men. But now have respect for my life!"

Three times the king sends a captain and fifty men to Elijah. Twice the troop is destroyed by fire. The third captain is aware of what is going on and begs for mercy.

There is more Hebrew wordplay here (pointed out by Hubbard.) In verse 12 the men of Ahaziah demand that "the man (ish) of God come down" but in response to their demand, "the fire (esh) of God comes down".

2 Kings 1:15-18, "Go with him"

The angel of the LORD said to Elijah, "Go down with him; do not be afraid of him." So Elijah got up and went down with him to the king.

He told the king, "This is what the LORD says: Is it because there is no God in Israel for you to consult that you have sent messengers to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Because you have done this, you will never leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!"

So he died, according to the word of the LORD that Elijah had spoken. Because Ahaziah had no son, Joram succeeded him as king in the second year of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah.

As for all the other events of Ahaziah's reign, and what he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?

Ahaziah dies and is replaced by Joram, his brother. (The Hebrew Jehoram is a variant of Joram.) There are two King Jehoram's who reign; this king reigns in Israel while a different Jehoram will reign in Judah.

First published December 8, 2023, updated October 20, 2026

I Kings 22, Micaiah and Four Hundred Prophets

Chapters 17 to 21 of I Kings have covered the reign of Ahab, king of the northern country of Israel. We now return to the story of the southern kingdom, Judah. The reigns of Rehoboam, Abijah and Asa covered 60 years (approximately 931 BC to 871 BC.) Jehoshaphat, son of Asa, then becomes king of Judah. This chapter describes Jehoshaphat's first interaction with Ahab of Israel.

1 Kings 22:1-5, Truce

For three years there was no war between Aram and Israel. But in the third year Jehoshaphat king of Judah went down to see the king of Israel. 

The king of Israel had said to his officials, "Don't you know that Ramoth Gilead belongs to us and yet we are doing nothing to retake it from the king of Aram?" So he asked Jehoshaphat, "Will you go with me to fight against Ramoth Gilead?" 

Jehoshaphat replied to the king of Israel, "I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses." But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, "First seek the counsel of the LORD."

 

Previously (in 1 Kings 20:34) Ben-Hadad II had agreed to return control of Gilead (just east of the Jordan, southeast of the Sea of Galilee) back to Ahab. Now Ahab (the unnamed king of Israel here) wants to reoccupy that promised region. (Ramoth Gilead means "the heights of Gilead.") So Ahab makes a truce with Jehoshaphat of Judah and asks for help in attacking Aram/Damascus. Jehoshaphat urges the king to first seek counsel from YHWH.

Ahab's daughter, Athaliah, was married to Jehoshaphat's son, Jehoram (see 2 Chronicles 22), so there is reason to believe that there was at least an informal truce between the southern and northern kingdoms at this time.

1 Kings 22:6-8, Four hundred to one

So the king of Israel brought together the prophets--about four hundred men--and asked them, "Shall I go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?" 

"Go," they answered, "for the Lord will give it into the king's hand."

But Jehoshaphat asked, "Is there not a prophet of the LORD here whom we can inquire of?"

The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, "There is still one man through whom we can inquire of the LORD, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah." 

"The king should not say that," Jehoshaphat replied.
 

The king of Israel has four hundred prophets who recommend war. But there is an additional prophet, an unpopular one, who "never says anything good" about the king of Israel.  "Maybe you should listen to him", suggests Jehoshaphat.

1 Kings 22:9-14, Micaiah to be called

So the king of Israel called one of his officials and said, "Bring Micaiah son of Imlah at once." Dressed in their royal robes, the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were sitting on their thrones at the threshing floor by the entrance of the gate of Samaria, with all the prophets prophesying before them.

Now Zedekiah son of Kenaanah had made iron horns and he declared, "This is what the LORD says: `With these you will gore the Arameans until they are destroyed.'"  All the other prophets were prophesying the same thing. "Attack Ramoth Gilead and be victorious," they said, "for the LORD will give it into the king's hand."
 

A prophet named Micaiah is to be called. (Where is Elijah? Elijah is living at this time but apparently unavailable?) Hubbard argues that Micaiah is probably in prison for upsetting the king of Israel as, later in verses 26-27, he will be sent "back" to prison. 

Throughout the Old Testament, animal horns have represented power and so the false prophet Zedekiah claims that Ahab is represented by iron horns. The other prophets make similar claims.

1 Kings 22:13-17, Sarcasm

The messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, "Look, as one man the other prophets are predicting success for the king. Let your word agree with theirs, and speak favorably."

But Micaiah said, "As surely as the LORD lives, I can tell him only what the LORD tells me."
 

When he arrived, the king asked him, "Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?" 

"Attack and be victorious," he answered, "for the LORD will give it into the king's hand."

The king said to him, "How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD?"

Then Micaiah answered, "I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd, and the LORD said, `These people have no master. Let each one go home in peace.'"
 

Micaiah first gives the desired prophecy. But it is clear that his report is sarcastic and when pressed, Micaiah prophesies defeat. 

1 Kings 22:18-23, Lying spirit

The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "Didn't I tell you that he never prophesies anything good about me, but only bad?"

Micaiah continued, "Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne with all the host of heaven standing around him on his right and on his left. And the LORD said, `Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?' 

"One suggested this, and another that. Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the LORD and said, `I will entice him.'

" `By what means?' the LORD asked. " `I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,' he said. 

" `You will succeed in enticing him,' said the LORD. `Go and do it.'

"So now the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours. The LORD has decreed disaster for you."

 

Unbidden, Micaiah continues, explaining that a "lying spirit" in the mouths of the other prophets will entice Ahab to his death.

1 Kings 22:24-27, Slapped

Then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah went up and slapped Micaiah in the face. "Which way did the spirit from the LORD go when he went from me to speak to you?" he asked.

Micaiah replied, "You will find out on the day you go to hide in an inner room."

The king of Israel then ordered, "Take Micaiah and send him back to Amon the ruler of the city and to Joash the king's son and say, `This is what the king says: Put this fellow in prison and give him nothing but bread and water until I return safely.'"

Angered by Micaiah's accusations about the other prophets, one of them slaps Micaiah. The king plans to go to war and orders that Micaiah be imprisoned until the king returns.

1 Kings 22:28-30, Disguise

Micaiah declared, "If you ever return safely, the LORD has not spoken through me." Then he added, "Mark my words, all you people!"

So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead.  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.

 

Micaiah makes it clear that the king will not return and calls on the people to remember his prophecy. 

The king seems to believe some of Micaiah's prophecy but attempts to defeat it by dressing as an ordinary soldier.

1 Kings 22:31-38, Propped up

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."

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, the chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel and stopped pursuing him.

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." 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.

As the sun was setting, a cry spread through the army: "Every man to his town; everyone to his land!"

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

The king of Aram wants to make sure the king of Israel is killed.  Despite the disguise, a random arrow catches the king between two sections of armor and the king is fatally wounded. Propped up to hide his injuries, the king watch the battle while his blood pools in his chariot. Later the blood is washed out in a pool of Samaria where the dogs come and lick it up. (The Septuagint, say Patterson and Austel, includes a phrase about the prostitutes bathing in the blood. Yuk!)

1 Kings 22:39-40, Ahab followed by Ahaziah

As for the other events of Ahab's reign, including all he did, the palace he built and inlaid with ivory, and the cities he fortified, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?

Ahab rested with his fathers. And Ahaziah his son succeeded him as king.

The king of Israel is finally identified here as Ahab.  He is succeeded by his son, Ahaziah.

1 Kings 22:41-46, Update on Jehoshaphat

Jehoshaphat son of Asa became king of Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years. His mother's name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi.

In everything he walked in the ways of his father Asa and did not stray from them; he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD. The high places, however, were not removed, and the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there. Jehoshaphat was also at peace with the king of Israel.

As for the other events of Jehoshaphat's reign, the things he achieved and his military exploits, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? He rid the land of the rest of the male shrine prostitutes who remained there even after the reign of his father Asa.

Now, finally, we have an update on Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat was a "good" king, following YHWH, yet the people still tended towards idolatry.

Jehoshaphat's reign is described in more detail in 2 Chronicles 17-20.

1 Kings 22:47-49, Wreckage of ships

There was then no king in Edom; a deputy ruled. Now Jehoshaphat built a fleet of trading ships to go to Ophir for gold, but they never set sail--they were wrecked at Ezion Geber. At that time Ahaziah son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, "Let my men sail with your men," but Jehoshaphat refused.

We are given a tangential detail about attempts to sail to Ophir, rebuilding the trading dynasty of Solomon from almost three centuries before (1 Kings 10:22.) According to 2 Chronicles 20:36-37, the devastation of Jehoshaphat's fleet is caused by Jehoshaphat's disobedience in creating an alliance with Ahaziah, king of the northern kingdom.

The term "trading ships" is literally "ships of Tarshish". Tarshish was a known center of ocean commerce in that day and so its name was applied to any trading ship (say various commentators.)

1 Kings 22:50, Death of Jehoshaphat

Then Jehoshaphat rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the city of David his father. And Jehoram his son succeeded him. 

Jehoshaphat, like those before him, "rested with his fathers". The next king of Judah is Jehoram.

1 Kings 22:51-53, Ahaziah

Ahaziah son of Ahab became king of Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, because he walked in the ways of his father and mother and in the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin. He served and worshiped Baal and provoked the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger, just as his father had done.

At the death of Ahab, Ahaziah, his son, becomes king. Naturally enough, he follows in the footsteps of his parents.

First published December 2, 2023, updated October 19, 2026

The Fall of Israel, An Introduction to the Second Book of Kings

In the first five books of the Old Testament, a nation arises out of the descendants of Jacob. That nation, Israel, then moves into the land of Canaan and for centuries is loosely ruled by judges. Eventually the tribes anoint a king, Saul, who is followed by the charismatic and powerful king David. The scroll of Samuel describes the reigns of these two kings. David unites the twelve tribes and builds a capital in Jerusalem. The scroll of 1 & 2 Kings begins with the glorious characteristics of the kingdom of Israel in 970 BC, at the beginning of the reign of the third king, Solomon, and ends with the captivity in Babylon, in 586 BC. The final verses describe the existence of a deposed Judean king now residing in Babylon, c. 550 BC. (This Wikipedia page on the Kings of Israel and Judah is useful for keeping the kings organized, along with providing tentative dates for their reigns.) 

The scroll of Kings was long ago divided into two pieces. The first half, 1 Kings, covers the period from 970 BC until about 850 BC, as Solomon's kingdom breaks in two, with the rebellious northern kingdom undergoing several dynasties. The second half, 2 Kings, covers three centuries, from about 850 BC to about 560 BC, at which point neither kingdom exists anymore.

Outline

Commentator's Patterson and Austel organize 1 & 2 Kings in terms of the dynasties of the northern kingdom, Israel. The southern kingdom, Judah, continues the line of David but the northern kingdom, which began in civil war, continues with dynasties being overthrown by a new one. The Omri dynasty includes first Omri and then his son Ahab. Although Omri's reign is recorded externally by the Moabites, the cruel monarchy of Ahab, and his wife Jezebel, receives the Old Testament attention. Ahab is confronted by the prophet Elijah and the actions of Ahab and his contemporaries finish of 1 Kings. The reign of Ahab's son, Jehoram and the ministry of Elijah's disciple, Elisha, carry us through chapter 9 of 2 Kings. About 842 BC Jehu kills Jehoram and starts a new dynasty in the northern kingdom. That dynasty lasts for 90 years, through five kings. After that, in a span of 30 years, five kings rise and quickly fall in Israel/Samaria and then Assyria moves in and finishes off the kingdom.

Here is a simple outline:

• 2 Kings 1:1 – 17,           The death of Ahaziah (c. 850 BC.)
• 2 Kings 2:1 – 9:37,        Elisha, Jehoram, and contemporaries (c. 850 – 840 BC)
• 2 Kings 10 :1 – 15:12,    House of Jehu (c. 840 – 750 BC)
• 2 Kings 15:13 – 17:41,  Downfall of the Northern Kingdom (c. 750 – 722 BC)
• 2 Kings 18:1 – 25:21,    The Downfall of the Southern Kingdom (722 – 586 BC)
• 2 Kings 25:22 – 30,         Final Remarks on the Exile (c. 586 – 561 BC)

Author

The last event in the scroll of Kings is the release of Jehoiachin (2 Kings 25:27-30.) That event occurs about 561 BC. The scroll emphasizes the punishment of Israel and Judah due to their persistent denial of the covenantal agreement with YHWH, as described in Deuteronomy, yet the scroll does not cover the return of exiles to Judah in 538 BC and so scholars believe that 1 & 2 Kings was completed sometime between 561 BC and 538 BC. (Hubbard suggests 550 BC.)  

The scroll not only emphasizes devotion to YHWH, as required in Deuteronomy, but also emphasizes the roll of prophets in confronting the kings. Rabbinical tradition gives the author as the prophet Jeremiah. Indeed, at one point (2 Kings 10:15-16) the author briefly mentions, without explanation, Jehonadab, a son of Rekab and then the story moves on. Jehonadab does not show up again. The descendants of Rekab return to the Old Testament in Jeremiah 35, when Jeremiah addresses the descendants in Jerusalem. Does Jehonadab briefly show up in 2 Kings because the author is Jeremiah, who records there the early involvement of the Rechabites?

There are good arguments for identifying Jeremiah as the author of 1 & 2 Kings. His knowledge of the various kingdoms, along with prophesies against idolatry, are consistent with the book of Jeremiah itself, which also includes some historical information. Robert L. Hubbard, Jr.  dates the beginning of Jeremiah's ministry to 627 BC and so suggests that Jeremiah wrote most of 1 & 2 Kings but the last few events, occurring 90 years later, may have been recorded by an editor, preparing the scroll for the exiles in Babylon.

Questions about Dates

The events of 1 & 2 Kings are close enough to known external events of the ancient Near East, events in Egypt, Assyria and Babylon, that we can provide rough dates to the events in Kings. In addition, the scroll of Kings itself provides quite a number of internal dates. The scroll covers the division of Israel into two kingdoms, the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. The accession of a king in one kingdom is dated by the year of reign of the king in the other kingdom. However, with these internal dates, certain questions arise. 

If one king reigns 20 years and his son reigns 30 years, what are the total years of their reigns? 

This simple question may have a number of different answers, depending on how accession is recorded and whether or not there is a coregency, a time in which the son reigned while the father was still alive. There were two different practices in the ancient Middle East and both were apparently used at one time or another during this period in Israel. In one case, if a king took power during the middle of a year, that year counted as Year #1 in his reign.  In other cases, that year did not count and Year #1 was the first full year of reign. This means that the a reign of 20 years followed by a reign of 30 years might duplicate a year common to both monarchs or exclude a year in the count, leading to totalities of 49 or 51 years between the two kings. And if there was a coregency of 5 years, we might need to subtract 5 years from the total. Add in the fact that traditionally the year began in the spring but apparently, under the influence of outsiders (Babylon), the year began in the fall, and we then have a fair amount of confusion about the internal dating. Without an awareness of these issues, the internal dating is inconsistent (say commentators) and this inconsistency does not seem to bother the author. There are some commentators who are very concerned about these issues but I have ignored the issues in my own reading.

Resources and References

My practice is to read through the text from the New International Version (NIV), copied into the blog and italicized in blue.  At the head of each blue paragraph of text I place a short title; after the text I place my thoughts or comments in black.  I begin this process with my own reactions and thoughts and then supplement these comments with gleanings from a commentary or two.

The real goal of this blog is to force me to read every verse thoughtfully. I hope that you, too, read the passages thoughtfully! Feel free to disagree -- or to react in other ways! (I place hyperlinks in pink, created so that one can click on a link and see the linked site open in another window... and go down a rabbit hole if you wish!)

For the book of 2 Kings, I have found two commentaries especially helpful. 

• Robert L. Hubbard, Jr.. has a commentary First & Second Kings, in the Everyman's Bible Commentary Series, from Moody Press.
• I have also used a commentary by R. D. Patterson and Hermann J. Austel found in the fourth volume of the Expositor's Bible Commentary.

Both of these sources cover both 1 and 2 Kings. In addition to the two commentaries above, there are also:

• Amongst the online commentaries provided by EasyEnglishBible, is an online commentary on 2 Kings.  (The Easy English Bible commentaries are easy to read, with deliberately simple language intended for those for whom English is a second language. The Old Testament text is included in the commentary.) 
• The Gospel Coalition now has a set of online commentaries. Here is their commentary on 2 Kings.
• I have also used A Synoptic Harmony of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles: With Related Passages from Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezra, edited by James Newsome. Another harmony of those books is available as an online pdf here.
• A Bible Project video on 1 & 2 Kings is here.

Once we have finished studying 2 Kings, although we are ready for the scroll of Chronicles, in this blog we will digress to look at Book I of Psalms, worship songs written during this time.

First published December 3, 2023; updated October 18, 2026

I Kings 21, Jezebel and a Vineyard

Ahab remains king of Israel, despite the instructions, by God, for Elijah to anoint Jehu.

1 Kings 21:1-4, Ahab wants a garden

Some time later there was an incident involving a vineyard belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite. The vineyard was in Jezreel, close to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. Ahab said to Naboth, "Let me have your vineyard to use for a vegetable garden, since it is close to my palace. In exchange I will give you a better vineyard or, if you prefer, I will pay you whatever it is worth."

But Naboth replied, "The LORD forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers."

So Ahab went home, sullen and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite had said, "I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers." He lay on his bed sulking and refused to eat.

In verse 1 the northern kingdom is here called Samaria. The king of Samaria, Ahab, wants Naboth's garden, a vineyard close to his Jezreel palace. But Naboth does not want to sell, as the vineyard is part of his family heritage. (See Leviticus 23: 25-28 and Numbers 36: 7-9 for the emphasis on keeping one's family land.) So Ahab returns to the palace and sulks.

1 Kings 21:5-10, Jezebel has a solution

His wife Jezebel came in and asked him, "Why are you so sullen? Why won't you eat?"

He answered her, "Because I said to Naboth the Jezreelite, `Sell me your vineyard; or if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard in its place.' But he said, `I will not give you my vineyard.'"

Jezebel his wife said, "Is this how you act as king over Israel? Get up and eat! Cheer up. I'll get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite."

So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, placed his seal on them, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth's city with him. In those letters she wrote: "Proclaim a day of fasting and seat Naboth in a prominent place among the people. But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them testify that he has cursed both God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death."

Jezebel's solution is that of any dictator -- take the garden by force.  Here, as in many places that have blasphemy laws, the easy solution is to accuse one's opponent of blasphemy. The blasphemy laws will be applied against Naboth.

1 Kings 21:11-16, Murder

So the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth's city did as Jezebel directed in the letters she had written to them. They proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth in a prominent place among the people. Then two scoundrels came and sat opposite him and brought charges against Naboth before the people, saying, "Naboth has cursed both God and the king." So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death.

Then they sent word to Jezebel: "Naboth has been stoned and is dead."

As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, "Get up and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite that he refused to sell you. He is no longer alive, but dead." 

When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to take possession of Naboth's vineyard.

Jezebel's plan works. With false witnesses, Jezebel has Naboth accused of blasphemy and stoned. 2 Kings 9:26 implies that even Naboth's sons were killed, so no one inherits the property. With the land freed by the murders, Ahab takes over. 

1 Kings 21:17-19, YHWH's response

Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite: "Go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He is now in Naboth's vineyard, where he has gone to take possession of it. Say to him, `This is what the LORD says: Have you not murdered a man and seized his property?' Then say to him, `This is what the LORD says: In the place where dogs licked up Naboth's blood, dogs will lick up your blood--yes, yours!'"

Like David's murder of Uriah, a response from YHWH comes quickly. This time the response comes via Elijah. In the place where Naboth was stoned and the dogs licked up his blood, the dogs will lick up the blood of Ahab.

1 Kings 21: 20-24, Elijah's prophecy

Ahab said to Elijah, "So you have found me, my enemy!" 

"I have found you," he answered, "because you have sold yourself to do evil in the eyes of the LORD. `I am going to bring disaster on you. I will consume your descendants and cut off from Ahab every last male in Israel--slave or free.  I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat and that of Baasha son of Ahijah, because you have provoked me to anger and have caused Israel to sin.'

"And also concerning Jezebel the LORD says: `Dogs will devour Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.'

 Dogs will eat those belonging to Ahab who die in the city, and the birds of the air will feed on those who die in the country."

Ahab correctly views Elijah as an enemy. Elijah's prophecy continues: Jezebel will also die and her body will be devoured by the dogs! The predicted events will occur in 2 Kings 9:14-10:17.

The phrase "every last male" in verse 22 is one of six places in the Old Testament, noted earlier, where the term for males is "one who pisseth against the wall" (KJV.)

(NIV footnotes: There are differences among the ancient texts as to where Jezebel will die.)

1 Kings 21:25-26, Evil

(There was never a man like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the LORD, urged on by Jezebel his wife. He behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols, like the Amorites the LORD drove out before Israel.)

A parenthetical comment makes it clear that Ahab is the epitome of evil. His wife, Jezebel, is also evil and urged Ahab on to greater depths of wickedness.

1 Kings 21:27-29, Disaster postponed

When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted. He lay in sackcloth and went around meekly.

Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite: "Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself, I will not bring this disaster in his day, but I will bring it on his house in the days of his son."

After Ahab humbles himself, God tells Elijah that the coming disaster will be postponed.

Ahab is really a person of mixed character -- he abuses power, flirts with Baal and Ashterah, follows his wicked queen, yet at times wakes up for a moment and recognizes his danger.

Some Random Thoughts

In 2 Samuel 12, the arrogant king David was confronted by Naaman for his conspiracy to murde Uriah. Here the arrogant king Ahab is confronted by Elijah for his conspiracy to murder Naboth. In both cases, justice is indeed served, but it comes too late for either victim

First published December 2, 2023, updated October 17, 2026