2 Tawarikh 18:2-3

18:2 and after several years ¹  went down to visit ²  Ahab in Samaria. ³  Ahab slaughtered many sheep and cattle to honor Jehoshaphat and those who came with him. ⁴  He persuaded him to join in an attack ⁵  against Ramoth Gilead. 18:3 King Ahab of Israel 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 is at your disposal and will support you in battle.” ⁶ 

2 Tawarikh 18:5

18:5 So the king of Israel assembled 400 prophets and asked them, “Should we attack Ramoth Gilead or not?” ⁷  They said, “Attack! God ⁸  will hand it over to the king.”

2 Tawarikh 18:14

18:14 Micaiah ⁹  came before the king and the king asked him, “Micaiah, should we attack Ramoth Gilead or not?” He answered him, “Attack! You will succeed; they will be handed over to you.” ¹⁰ 

2 Tawarikh 22:5

22:5 He followed their advice and joined Ahab’s son King Joram ¹¹  of Israel in a battle against King Hazael of Syria ¹²  at Ramoth Gilead in which the Syrians defeated Joram.

[18:2]  ¹ tn Heb “at the end of years.”

[18:2]  ² tn The word “visit” is supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[18:2]  ³ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[18:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “and Ahab slaughtered for him sheep and cattle in abundance, and for the people who were with him.”

[18:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “to go up.”

[18:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “Like me, like you; and like your people, my people; and with you in battle.”

[18:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “Should we go against Ramoth Gilead for war or should I refrain?”

[18:5]  ⁸ tn Though Jehoshaphat had requested an oracle from “the Lord” (יְהוָה, yÿhvah, “Yahweh”), the Israelite prophets stop short of actually using this name and substitute the title הָאֱלֹהִים (ha’elohim, “the God”). This ambiguity may explain in part Jehoshaphat’s hesitancy and caution (vv. 7-8). He seems to doubt that the 400 are genuine prophets of the Lord.

[18:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Micaiah) has been specified in the translation both for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[18:14]  ¹⁰ sn One does not expect Micaiah, having just vowed to speak only what the Lord tells him, to agree with the other prophets and give the king an inaccurate prophecy. Micaiah’s actions became understandable later, when we discover that the Lord desires to deceive the king and lead him to his demise. The Lord even dispatches a lying spirit to deceive Ahab’s prophets. Micaiah can lie to the king because he realizes this lie is from the Lord. It is important to note that in v. 13 Micaiah only vows to speak the word of his God; he does not necessarily say he will tell the truth. In this case the Lord’s word is deliberately deceptive. Only when the king adjures him to tell the truth (v. 15), does Micaiah do so.

[22:5]  ¹¹ sn Jehoram and Joram are alternate spellings of the Israelite king’s name (also in vv. 6-7). The shorter form is used in these verse to avoid confusion with King Jehoram of Judah, father of Azariah.

[22:5]  ¹² tn Heb “Aram” (also in v. 6).