2 Tawarikh 18:4-5

18:4 Then Jehoshaphat added, ¹  “First seek an oracle from the Lord.” ²  18:5 So the king of Israel assembled 400 prophets and asked them, “Should we attack Ramoth Gilead or not?” ³  They said, “Attack! God ⁴  will hand it over to the king.”

[18:4]  ¹ tn Heb “and Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel.”

[18:4]  ² tn Heb “the word of the Lord.” Jehoshaphat is requesting a prophetic oracle revealing the Lord’s will in the matter and their prospects for success. For examples of such oracles, see 2 Sam 5:19, 23-24.

[18:5]  ³ tn Heb “Should we go against Ramoth Gilead for war or should I refrain?”

[18:5]  ⁴ 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.