1 Raja-raja 1:14

1:14 While ¹  you are still there speaking to the king, I will arrive ²  and verify your report.” ³ 

1 Raja-raja 1:24

1:24 Nathan said, “My master, O king, did you announce, ‘Adonijah will be king after me; he will sit on my throne’?

1 Raja-raja 2:38

2:38 Shimei said to the king, “My master the king’s proposal is acceptable. ⁴  Your servant will do as you say.” ⁵  So Shimei lived in Jerusalem for a long time. ⁶ 

1 Raja-raja 18:7

18:7 As Obadiah was traveling along, Elijah met him. ⁷  When he recognized him, he fell facedown to the ground and said, “Is it really you, my master, Elijah?”

1 Raja-raja 22:21

22:21 Then a spirit ⁸  stepped forward and stood before the Lord. He said, ‘I will deceive him.’ The Lord asked him, ‘How?’

[1:14]  ¹ tn In the Hebrew text the sentence is introduced by the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), which here draws attention to Nathan’s concluding word of assurance and support. For this use of the word, see HALOT 252 s.v. הִנֵּה.

[1:14]  ² tc The Hebrew text reads, “I will come after you.”

[1:14]  ³ tn Heb “fill up [i.e., confirm] your words.”

[2:38]  ⁴ tn Heb “Good is the word, as my master the king has spoken.”

[2:38]  ⁵ tn Heb “so your servant will do.”

[2:38]  ⁶ tn Heb “many days.”

[18:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “look, Elijah [came] to meet him.”

[22:21]  ⁸ 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 Lord (רוּחַ־יְהוָה, [ruakh-Yahweh], Heb “the spirit of the Lord”) go when he went from me to speak to you?” When the phrase “the spirit of the Lord” refers to the divine spirit (rather than the divine breath or mind, Isa 40:7, 13) elsewhere, the spirit energizes an individual or group for special tasks or moves one to prophesy. This raises the possibility that the deceiving spirit of vv. 20-23 is the same as the divine spirit mentioned by Zedekiah in v. 24. This would explain why the article is used on רוּחַ; he can be called “the spirit” because he is the well-known spirit who energizes the prophets.