tween Ahab and the king of Syria, which had lasted three years from the time he had taken him captive till that day.

So Ahab called his own prophets, being in number about four hundred, and bade them inquire of God whether he would grant him the victory, if he made an expedition against Benhadad, and enable him to overthrow that city, for whose sake it was that he was going to war. Now these prophets gave their counsel for making this expedition; and said, that he would defeat the king of Syria, and, as formerly, would reduce him under his power. But Jehoshaphat, understanding by their words that they were false prophets, asked Ahab, whether there were not some other prophets belonging to the true God? that they might have surer information concerning futurities. Ahab said, there was indeed such a one, but that he hated him, as having prophesied evil to him; and having foretold that he should be overcome, and slain by the king of Syria; and that for this cause he had him now in prison; and that his name was Micaiah, the son of Imlah. But upon Jehoshaphat's desire that he might be produced, Ahab sent an eunuch, who brought Micaiah to him. Now the eunuch had informed him by the way, that all the other prophets had foretold that the king should gain the victory. But he said, it was not lawful for him to lie against God; but that he must speak what he should say to him about the king, whatsoever it were. When he came to Ahab, and he adjured him upon oath, to speak the truth to him he said that God had shewn to him the Israelites running away, and pursued by the Syrians, and dispersed upon the mountains by them, as are flocks of sheep dispersed when their shepherd is slain. He said farther, that God signified to him,† that those

* 1 Kings xxii. 6.

↑ Micaiah's answer to Ahab, inquiring of him the success of his intended expedition, is, Go, and prosper; for the Lord shall deliver the city into the hands of the king, 1 Kings xxii. 15, which does not at all contradict the other prophets, had it been spoken in earnest ; but we have good reason to believe, that the words were spoken ironically, and in mockery to the promises which the other prophets made Ahab. Accordingly, we may observe by Ahab's reply, that he suspected Micaiah's sincerity, and, either by his gesture or manner of speaking, gathered, that his meaning was to traduce these false prophets for their answers, so that Micaiah's answer is in effect as if he had said," Since thou dost not seek to know the truth, but only to please thyself, go to the battle, as all thy prophets advise thee;

Israelites should return in peace to their own home, and that he only should fall in the battle. When Micaiah had thus spoken, Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, "I told thee a little while ago the disposition of the man with regard to me, and that he uses to prophesy evil to me." Upon which Micaiah replied, that he ought to hear all, whatsoever it be that God foretells; and that in particular, they were false prophets who encouraged him to make this war, in hope of victory; whereas he must fight and be killed. But Zedekiah, one of those false prophets, came near, and exhorted him not to hearken to Micaiah, for he did not at all speak truth. As a demonstration of which, he instanced in what Elijah had said, who was a better prophet in foretelling futurities than Micaiah; for he foretold that the dogs should lick his blood in the city Jezreel, in the field of Naboth; as they licked the blood of Naboth, who by his means was there stoned to death by the multitude;† that therefore it was plain that this Micaiah was a liar, as contradicting a greater prophet than himself; and saying, that he should be slain at three days' journey distance. "And," said he, "you shall soon know whether he be a true prophet, and hath the power of the Divine Spirit; for I will smite him, and let him then hurt my hand, as Jadon caused the hand of Jeroboam the king to wither, when he would have caught him; for I suppose thou hast certainly heard of that accident." So when, upon his smiting Micaiah, no harm happened to him, Ahab took courage, and readily led his army against the king of Syria. For,

expect the success which they promise thee, and try the truth of their predictions by thy dear bought experience. Pool's Annotations. B.

These reasonings of Zedekiah, the false prophet, in order to persuade Ahab not to believe Micaiah the true prophet, are plausible: but, being omitted in our other copies, we cannot now tell whence Josephus had them; whether from his own temple copy, from some other original author, or from certain ancient notes. That some such plausible objection was now raised against Micaiah, is very likely; otherwise Jehoshaphat, who used to disbelieve all such false prophets, could never have been induced to accompany Ahab in these desperate circumstances.

There is a great dispute among the learned, as to the accomplishment of this prophecy. At first, it was, no doubt, intended to be literally fulfilled; but upon Ahab's repentance, as we find below, the punishment was transferred from him to his son Joram, in whom it was actually accomplished; for his dead body was cast into the portion of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite, for the dogs to devour, 2 Kings ix. 25. Since Ahab's blood therefore was licked by dogs, not at Jezreel, but

as I suppose, fate was too hard for him; and made him believe that the false prophets spake truer than the true one; that it might take an occasion of bringing him to his end. However, Zedekiah made horns of Iron, and said to Ahab, that God made those horns signals; that by them he should overthrow all Syria. But Micaiah replied, that Zedekiah, in a few days, should go from one secret chamber to another, to hide himself, that he might escape the punishment of his lying. Then did the king give order that they should take Micaiah away, and guard him to Amon, the governor of the city; and give him nothing but bread and water.†

Then Ahab and Jehoshaphat the king of Jerusalem took their forces, and marched to Ramoth, a city of Gilead. And when the king of Syria heard of this expedition, he brought out his army to oppose them; and pitched his camp not far from Ramoth. Now Ahab and Jehoshaphat had agreed, that Ahab should lay aside his royal robes; but that the king of Jerusalem should put on his (Ahab's) proper habit, and stand before the army, in order to disprove, by this artifice, what Micaialr had foretold. But Ahab's fate found him out, without his robes. For Benhadad, the king of Assyria, had charged his army, by the means of their commanders, to kill nobody else; but only the king of Israel. So when the Syrians, upon their joining battle with the Israelites, saw Jehoshaphat stand before the army, and conjectured that he was Ahab, they fell violent

at Samaria, it seems necessary that we should understand the Hebrew word which our translation renders in the place where, not as denoting the place, but the manner in which the thing was done; and so the sense of the passage will be-That as dogs licked, or in like manner as dogs licked Naboth's blood; even so shall they lick thine; observe what I say, even thine. Pool's Annotations. B.

* Or Divine Providence

+1 Kings xxii. 27.

This reading of Josephus's, and of the Septuagint, that Jehoshaphat put on, not his own, but Ahab's robes, in order to appear to be Ahab, while Ahab was without any robes at all, and hoped thereby to escape his own evil fate, and disprove Micaiah's prophecy against him, is exceeding probable. It gives great light also to this whole history; and shews, that although Ahab hoped Jehoshaphat would be mistaken for him, and run the only risk of being slain in the battle, yet was he entirely disappointed; while still the escape of the good man, Jehoshaphat, and the slaughter of the bad man, Abab, demonstrated the great distinction that, Divine Providence made betwixt them.