1 Raja-raja 21:1--22:53
Konteks21:1 After this the following episode took place. 1 Naboth the Jezreelite owned a vineyard in Jezreel adjacent to the palace of King Ahab of Samaria. 2 21:2 Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard so I can make a vegetable garden out of it, for it is adjacent to my palace. I will give you an even better vineyard in its place, or if you prefer, 3 I will pay you silver for it.” 4 21:3 But Naboth replied to Ahab, “The Lord forbid that I should sell you my ancestral inheritance.” 5
21:4 So Ahab went into his palace, bitter and angry that Naboth the Jezreelite had said, 6 “I will not sell to you my ancestral inheritance.” 7 He lay down on his bed, pouted, 8 and would not eat. 21:5 Then his wife Jezebel came in and said to him, “Why do you have a bitter attitude and refuse to eat?” 21:6 He answered her, “While I was talking to Naboth the Jezreelite, I said to him, ‘Sell me your vineyard for silver, or if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard in its place.’ But he said, ‘I will not sell you my vineyard.’” 9 21:7 His wife Jezebel said to him, “You are the king of Israel! 10 Get up, eat some food, and have a good time. 11 I will get the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite for you.”
21:8 She wrote out orders, 12 signed Ahab’s name to them, 13 and sealed them with his seal. She then sent the orders 14 to the leaders 15 and to the nobles who lived in Naboth’s city. 16 21:9 This is what she wrote: 17 “Observe a time of fasting and seat Naboth in front of the people. 21:10 Also seat two villains opposite him and have them testify, ‘You cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.”
21:11 The men of the 18 city, the leaders 19 and the nobles who lived there, 20 followed the written orders Jezebel had sent them. 21 21:12 They observed a time of fasting and put Naboth in front of the people. 21:13 The two villains arrived and sat opposite him. Then the villains testified against Naboth right before the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king.” So they dragged him 22 outside the city and stoned him to death. 23 21:14 Then they reported to Jezebel, “Naboth has been stoned to death.” 24
21:15 When Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she 25 said to Ahab, “Get up, take possession of the vineyard Naboth the Jezreelite refused to sell you for silver, for Naboth is no longer alive; he’s dead.” 21:16 When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, 26 he got up and went down to take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.
21:17 The Lord told Elijah the Tishbite: 27 21:18 “Get up, go down and meet King Ahab of Israel who lives in Samaria. He is at the vineyard of Naboth; he has gone down there to take possession of it. 21:19 Say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Haven’t you committed murder and taken possession of the property of the deceased?”’ Then say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: “In the spot where dogs licked up Naboth’s blood they will also lick up your blood – yes, yours!”’”
21:20 When Elijah arrived, Ahab said to him, 28 “So, you have found me, my enemy!” Elijah 29 replied, “I have found you, because you are committed 30 to doing evil in the sight of 31 the Lord. 21:21 The Lord says, 32 ‘Look, I am ready to bring disaster 33 on you. I will destroy you 34 and cut off every last male belonging to Ahab in Israel, including even the weak and incapacitated. 35 21:22 I will make your dynasty 36 like those of Jeroboam son of Nebat and Baasha son of Ahijah because you angered me and made Israel sin.’ 37 21:23 The Lord says this about Jezebel, ‘Dogs will devour Jezebel by the outer wall 38 of Jezreel.’ 21:24 As for Ahab’s family, dogs will eat the ones 39 who die in the city, and the birds of the sky will eat the ones who die in the country.” 21:25 (There had never been anyone like Ahab, who was firmly committed 40 to doing evil in the sight of 41 the Lord, urged on by his wife Jezebel. 42 21:26 He was so wicked he worshiped the disgusting idols, 43 just like the Amorites 44 whom the Lord had driven out from before the Israelites.)
21:27 When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and fasted. He slept in sackcloth and walked around dejected. 21:28 The Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, 45 21:29 “Have you noticed how Ahab shows remorse 46 before me? Because he shows remorse before me, I will not bring disaster on his dynasty during his lifetime, but during the reign of his son.” 47
22:1 There was no war between Syria and Israel for three years. 48 22:2 In the third year King Jehoshaphat of Judah came down to visit 49 the king of Israel. 22:3 The king of Israel said to his servants, “Surely you recognize that Ramoth Gilead belongs to us, though we are hesitant to reclaim it from the king of Syria.” 50 22:4 Then he said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to attack Ramoth Gilead?” Jehoshaphat replied to the king of Israel, “I will support you; my army and horses are at your disposal.” 51 22:5 Then Jehoshaphat added, 52 “First seek an oracle from the Lord.” 53 22:6 So the king of Israel assembled about four hundred prophets and asked them, “Should I attack Ramoth Gilead or not?” 54 They said, “Attack! The sovereign one 55 will hand it over to the king.” 22:7 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there not a prophet of the Lord still here, that we may ask him?” 22:8 The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man through whom we can seek the Lord’s will. 56 But I despise 57 him because he does not prophesy prosperity for me, but disaster. His name is Micaiah son of Imlah. 58 Jehoshaphat said, “The king should not say such things.” 22:9 The king of Israel summoned an official and said, “Quickly bring Micaiah son of Imlah.”
22:10 Now the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah were sitting on their respective thrones, 59 dressed in their robes, at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria. 60 All the prophets were prophesying before them. 22:11 Zedekiah son of Kenaanah made iron horns and said, “This is what the Lord says, ‘With these you will gore Syria until they are destroyed.’” 22:12 All the prophets were prophesying the same, saying, “Attack Ramoth Gilead! You will succeed; the Lord will hand it over to the king.” 22:13 Now the messenger who went to summon Micaiah said to him, “Look, the prophets are in complete agreement that the king will succeed. 61 Your words must agree with theirs; you must predict success.” 62 22:14 But Micaiah said, “As certainly as the Lord lives, I will say what the Lord tells me to say.”
22:15 When he came before the king, the king asked him, “Micaiah, should we attack Ramoth Gilead or not?” He answered him, “Attack! You will succeed; the Lord will hand it over to the king.” 63 22:16 The king said to him, “How many times must I make you solemnly promise in 64 the name of the Lord to tell me only the truth?” 22:17 Micaiah 65 said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains like sheep that have no shepherd. Then the Lord said, ‘They have no master. They should go home in peace.’” 22:18 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Didn’t I tell you he does not prophesy prosperity for me, but disaster?” 22:19 Micaiah 66 said, “That being the case, hear the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, with all the heavenly assembly standing on his right and on his left. 22:20 The Lord said, ‘Who will deceive Ahab, so he will attack Ramoth Gilead and die 67 there?’ One said this and another that. 22:21 Then a spirit 68 stepped forward and stood before the Lord. He said, ‘I will deceive him.’ The Lord asked him, ‘How?’ 22:22 He replied, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’ The Lord 69 said, ‘Deceive and overpower him. 70 Go out and do as you have proposed.’ 22:23 So now, look, the Lord has placed a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours; but the Lord has decreed disaster for you.” 22:24 Zedekiah son of Kenaanah approached, hit Micaiah on the jaw, and said, “Which way did the Lord’s spirit go when he went from me to speak to you?” 22:25 Micaiah replied, “Look, you will see in the day when you go into an inner room to hide.” 22:26 Then the king of Israel said, “Take Micaiah and return him to Amon the city official and Joash the king’s son. 22:27 Say, ‘This is what the king says, “Put this man in prison. Give him only a little bread and water 71 until I safely return.”’” 72 22:28 Micaiah said, “If you really do safely return, then the Lord has not spoken through me.” Then he added, “Take note, 73 all you people.”
22:29 The king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah attacked Ramoth Gilead. 22:30 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and then enter 74 into the battle; but you wear your royal robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and then entered into the battle. 22:31 Now the king of Syria had ordered his thirty-two chariot commanders, “Do not fight common soldiers or high-ranking officers; 75 fight only the king of Israel.” 22:32 When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “He must be the king of Israel.” So they turned and attacked him, but Jehoshaphat cried out. 22:33 When the chariot commanders realized he was not the king of Israel, they turned away from him. 22:34 Now an archer shot an arrow at random, 76 and it struck the king of Israel between the plates of his armor. The king 77 ordered his charioteer, “Turn around and take me from the battle line, 78 because I’m wounded.” 22:35 While the battle raged throughout the day, the king stood propped up in his chariot opposite the Syrians. He died in the evening; the blood from the wound ran down into the bottom of the chariot. 22:36 As the sun was setting, a cry went through the camp, “Each one should return to his city and to his homeland.” 22:37 So the king died and was taken to Samaria, where they buried him. 79 22:38 They washed off the chariot at the pool of Samaria (this was where the prostitutes bathed); 80 dogs licked his blood, just as the Lord had said would happen. 81
22:39 The rest of the events of Ahab’s reign, including a record of his accomplishments and how he built a luxurious palace and various cities, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 82 22:40 Ahab passed away. 83 His son Ahaziah replaced him as king.
22:41 In the fourth year of King Ahab’s reign over Israel, Asa’s son Jehoshaphat became king over Judah. 22:42 Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king and he reigned for twenty-five years in Jerusalem. 84 His mother was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi. 22:43 He followed in his father Asa’s footsteps and was careful to do what the Lord approved. 85 (22:44) 86 However, the high places were not eliminated; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense on the high places. 22:44 (22:45) Jehoshaphat was also at peace with the king of Israel.
22:45 The rest of the events of Jehoshaphat’s reign, including his successes and military exploits, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 87 22:46 He removed from the land any male cultic prostitutes who had managed to survive the reign of his father Asa. 88 22:47 There was no king in Edom at this time; a governor ruled. 22:48 Jehoshaphat built a fleet of large merchant ships 89 to travel to Ophir for gold, but they never made the voyage because they were shipwrecked in Ezion Geber. 22:49 Then Ahaziah son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “Let my sailors join yours in the fleet,” 90 but Jehoshaphat refused.
22:50 Jehoshaphat passed away 91 and was buried with his ancestors in the city of his ancestor 92 David. His son Jehoram replaced him as king.
22:51 In the seventeenth year of King Jehoshaphat’s reign over Judah, Ahab’s son Ahaziah became king over Israel in Samaria. 93 He ruled for two years over Israel. 22:52 He did evil in the sight of 94 the Lord and followed in the footsteps 95 of his father and mother; like Jeroboam son of Nebat, he encouraged Israel to sin. 96 22:53 He worshiped and bowed down to Baal, 97 angering the Lord God of Israel just as his father had done. 98
[21:1] 1 tn Heb “after these things.” The words “the following episode took place” are added for stylistic reasons.
[21:1] 2 sn King Ahab of Samaria. Samaria, as the capital of the northern kingdom, here stands for the nation of Israel.
[21:1] map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[21:2] 3 tn Heb “if it is good in your eyes.”
[21:2] 4 tc The Old Greek translation includes the following words: “And it will be mine as a garden of herbs.”
[21:3] 5 tn Heb “Far be it from me, by the
[21:4] 6 tn Heb “on account of the word that Naboth the Jezreelite spoke to him.”
[21:4] 7 tn Heb “I will not give to you the inheritance of my fathers.”
[21:4] 8 tn Heb “turned away his face.”
[21:6] 9 tn Heb “While I was talking…, I said…, he said….” Ahab’s explanation is one lengthy sentence in the Hebrew text, which is divided in the English translation for stylistic reasons.
[21:7] 10 tn Heb “You, now, you are exercising kingship over Israel.”
[21:7] 11 tn Heb “so your heart [i.e., disposition] might be well.”
[21:8] 13 tn Heb “in the name of Ahab.”
[21:8] 16 tn Heb “to the nobles who were in his city, the ones who lived with Naboth.”
[21:9] 17 tn Heb “she wrote on the scrolls, saying.”
[21:11] 20 tn Heb “and the nobles who were living in his city.”
[21:11] 21 tn Heb “did as Jezebel sent to them, just as was written in the scrolls which she sent to them.”
[21:13] 23 tn Heb “and they stoned him with stones and he died.”
[21:14] 24 tn Heb “Naboth was stoned and he died.” So also in v. 15.
[21:15] 25 tn Heb “Jezebel”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“she”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[21:16] 26 tc The Old Greek translation includes the following words here: “he tore his garments and put on sackcloth. After these things.”
[21:17] 27 tn Heb “the word of the
[21:20] 28 tn Heb “and Ahab said to Elijah.” The narrative is elliptical and streamlined. The words “when Elijah arrived” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[21:20] 29 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[21:20] 30 tn Heb “you have sold yourself.”
[21:20] 31 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[21:21] 32 tn The introductory formula “the
[21:21] 33 sn Disaster. There is a wordplay in the Hebrew text. The word translated “disaster” (רָעָה, ra’ah) is similar to the word translated “evil” (v. 20, הָרַע, hara’). Ahab’s sins would receive an appropriate punishment.
[21:21] 34 tn Heb “I will burn after you.” Some take the verb בָּעַר (ba’ar) to mean here “sweep away.” See the discussion of this verb in the notes at 14:10 and 16:3.
[21:21] 35 tn Heb “and I will cut off from Ahab those who urinate against a wall, [including both those who are] restrained and let free [or “abandoned”] in Israel.” The precise meaning of the idiomatic phrase עָצוּר וְעָזוּב (’atsur vÿ’azuv, translated here “weak and incapacitated”) is uncertain. For various options see HALOT 871 s.v. עצר and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 107. The two terms are usually taken as polar opposites (“slaves and freemen” or “minors and adults”), but Cogan and Tadmor, on the basis of contextual considerations (note the usage with אֶפֶס (’efes), “nothing but”) in Deut 32:36 and 2 Kgs 14:26, argue convincingly that the terms are synonyms, meaning “restrained and abandoned,” and refer to incapable or incapacitated individuals.
[21:22] 37 tn Heb “because of the provocation by which you angered [me], and you caused Israel to sin.”
[21:23] 38 tc A few Hebrew
[21:24] 39 tn “Dogs will eat the ones who belonging to Ahab who die in the city.”
[21:25] 40 tn Heb “who sold himself.”
[21:25] 41 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[21:25] 42 tn Heb “like Ahab…whom his wife Jezebel incited.”
[21:26] 43 tn The Hebrew word used here, גִלּוּלִים (gillulim) is always used as a disdainful reference to idols. It is generally thought to have originally referred to “dung pellets” (cf. KBL 183 s.v. גִלּוּלִים). It is only one of several terms used in this way, such as אֱלִילִים (’elilim, “worthless things”) and הֲבָלִים (havalim, “vanities” or “empty winds”).
[21:26] 44 tn Heb “He acted very abominably by walking after the disgusting idols, according to all which the Amorites had done.”
[21:28] 45 tn Heb “the word of the
[21:29] 46 tn Or “humbles himself.” The expression occurs a second time later in this verse.
[21:29] 47 tn Heb “I will not bring the disaster during his days, [but] in the days of his son I will bring the disaster on his house.”
[22:1] 48 tn Heb “and they lived three years without war between Aram and Israel.”
[22:2] 49 tn The word “visit” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[22:3] 50 tn Heb “Do you know that Ramoth Gilead belongs to us, and we hesitate to take it from the hand of the king of Aram?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course, you must know!”
[22:4] 51 tn Heb “Like me, like you; like my people, like your people; like my horses; like your horses.”
[22:5] 52 tn Heb “and Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel.”
[22:5] 53 tn Heb “the word of the
[22:6] 54 tn Heb “Should I go against Ramoth Gilead for war or should I refrain?”
[22:6] 55 tn Though Jehoshaphat requested an oracle from “the
[22:8] 56 tn Heb “to seek the
[22:8] 58 tn The words “his name is” are supplied for stylistic reasons.
[22:10] 59 tn Heb “were sitting, a man on his throne.”
[22:10] 60 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[22:13] 61 tn Heb “the words of the prophets are [with] one mouth good for the king.”
[22:13] 62 tn Heb “let your words be like the word of each of them and speak good.”
[22:15] 63 sn “Attack! You will succeed; the
[22:16] 64 tn Or “swear an oath by.”
[22:17] 65 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Micaiah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[22:19] 66 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Micaiah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[22:21] 68 tn Heb “the spirit.” The significance of the article prefixed to רוּחַ (ruakh) is uncertain, but it could contain a clue as to this spirit’s identity, especially when interpreted in light of v. 24. It is certainly possible, and probably even likely, that the article is used in a generic or dramatic sense and should be translated, “a spirit.” In the latter case it would show that this spirit was vivid and definite in the mind of Micaiah the storyteller. However, if one insists that the article indicates a well-known or universally known spirit, the following context provides a likely referent. Verse 24 tells how Zedekiah slapped Micaiah in the face and then asked sarcastically, “Which way did the spirit from the
[22:22] 69 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the
[22:22] 70 tn The Hebrew text has two imperfects connected by וְגַם (vÿgam). These verbs could be translated as specific futures, “you will deceive and also you will prevail,” in which case the
[22:27] 71 tn Heb “the bread of affliction and the water of affliction.”
[22:27] 72 tn Heb “come in peace.” So also in v. 28.
[22:30] 74 tn The Hebrew verbal forms could be imperatives (“Disguise yourself and enter”), but this would make no sense in light of the immediately following context. The forms are better interpreted as infinitives absolute functioning as cohortatives. See IBHS 594 §35.5.2a. Some prefer to emend the forms to imperfects.
[22:31] 75 tn Heb “small or great.”
[22:34] 76 tn Heb “now a man drew a bow in his innocence” (i.e., with no specific target in mind, or at least without realizing his target was the king of Israel).
[22:34] 77 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[22:37] 79 tn Heb “and the king died and he came to Samaria, and they buried the king in Samaria.”
[22:38] 80 tn Heb “now the prostitutes bathed.”
[22:38] 81 tn Heb “according to the word of the
[22:39] 82 tn Heb “As for the rest of the acts of Ahab and all that he did, and the house of ivory which he built and all the cities which he built, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?”
[22:40] 83 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
[22:42] 84 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[22:43] 85 tn Heb “he walked in all the way of Asa his father and did not turn from it, doing what is right in the eyes of the
[22:43] 86 sn Beginning with 22:43b, the verse numbers through 22:53 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), because 22:43b in the English Bible = 22:44 in the Hebrew text. The remaining verses in the chapter differ by one, with 22:44-53 ET = 22:45-54 HT.
[22:45] 87 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Jehoshaphat, and his strength that he demonstrated and how he fought, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
[22:46] 88 tn Heb “and the rest of the male cultic prostitutes who were left in the days of Asa his father, he burned from the land.” Some understand the verb בִּעֵר (bi’er) to mean “sweep away” here rather than “burn.” See the note at 1 Kgs 14:10.
[22:46] sn Despite Asa’s opposition to these male cultic prostitutes (see 1 Kgs 15:12) some of them had managed to remain in the land. Jehoshaphat finished what his father had started.
[22:48] 89 tn Heb “a fleet of Tarshish [ships].” This probably refers to large ships either made in or capable of traveling to the distant western port of Tarshish.
[22:49] 90 tn Heb “Let my servants go with your servants in the fleet.”
[22:50] 91 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
[22:50] 92 tn Heb “with his fathers in the city of his father.”
[22:51] 93 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[22:52] 94 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[22:52] 96 tn Heb “and walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother and in the way of Jeroboam son of Nebat who made Israel sin.”
[22:53] 97 tn Heb “he served Baal and bowed down to him.”
[22:53] 98 tn Heb “according to all which his father had done.”
