Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Kings 22:22
And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade [him], and prevail also: go forth, and do so.
22. and I will be ] The R.V. omits ‘I’ here, and later on inserts ‘shalt’ before ‘prevail,’ to accord with 2 Chronicles, the English being thus as exactly alike in the two passages as the Hebrew is.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The difficulties which attach to this passage are considerable. On the one hand, it is hard to suppose one of the holy Angels a lying spirit; on the other, hard to find Satan, or an evil spirit, included among the host of heaven 1Ki 22:19 and acting as the minister of God. Still, Job 1:6; Job 2:1, lend countenance to the latter point, and 2Th 2:11 to the former. But it may be doubted whether we ought to take literally, and seek to interpret exactly, each statement of the present narrative. Visions of the invisible world can only be a sort of parables; revelations, not of the truth as it actually is, but of so much of the truth as can be shown through such a medium. The details of a vision, therefore, cannot safely be pressed, anymore than the details of a parable. Portions of each must be accommodations to human modes of thought, and may very inadequately express the realities which they are employed to shadow forth to us.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 22. Go forth, and do so.] This is no more than, “God has permitted the spirit of lying to influence the whole of thy prophets; and he now, by my mouth, apprises thee of this, that thou mayest not go and fall at Ramoth-gilead.” Never was a man more circumstantially and fairly warned; he had counsels from the God of truth, and counsels from the spirit of falsity; he obstinately forsook the former and followed the latter. He was shown by this parable how every thing was going on, and that all was under the control and direction of God, and that still it was possible for him to make that God his friend whom by his continual transgressions he had made his enemy; but he would not: his blood was therefore upon his own head.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets; I will inspire a lie into the minds and mouths of his prophets.
Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: I will give them up into thy hands, and blind their minds, and leave them to their own ignorance and wickedness, which will certainly lead them into dreadful mistakes.
Go forth, and do so: this is not a command, but only a permission; which is oft expressed in the imperative mood; as 1Sa 16:10; Mat 8:22; Joh 13:27. I will not hinder thee from tempting them, nor give them grace to withstand their temptation; whereby thou mayest be assured of success.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And the Lord said unto him, wherewith?…. What way and method did he propose, to persuade Ahab to go up to Ramoth? the Lord is introduced in this visionary narrative as asking this question, not as ignorant of the scheme of the evil spirit, but in order to bring it out, and lead on to the following account:
and he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets; put them on encouraging Ahab to go up, and promising him success, as he had in former battles with the king of Syria, and which might both encourage them to give forth such a prediction, and him to believe it to be true; this proposal was quite agreeable to the character of the devil, as the father of lies:
and he said, thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also; not only make use of this artifice to persuade, but succeed also; the Lord knew that what he should suggest to the prophets, and they should deliver to Ahab, would be agreeable to his inclination, nor would he do anything in the course of his providence to hinder its taking effect:
go forth, and do so; which was giving leave to try his skill in the art of persuasion, in which he knew he would succeed, and bring on the righteous judgment of God upon Ahab; with this compare Joh 13:27.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
22. Go forth, and do so Thus the Lord actually sends the lying spirit forth to execute a Divine judgment, just as he sent evil spirits to trouble Saul, (1Sa 16:14,) and work the destruction of Abimelech. Jdg 9:23. Hence it was something more than a bare permission on the part of God. According to the Scriptures, Jehovah often uses the wicked spirits as agents to accomplish certain Divine judgments, and does not merely permit their work as a matter of simple toleration.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“ And YHWH said to him, ‘How?’ And he said, ‘I will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You will entice him, and will also prevail. Go forth, and do so.’ ”
Micaiah had far too high a view of God to actually believe that YHWH needed help and guidance from a spirit of any kind. This is a folksy explanation of false prophecy based on what he saw before him. (It was king Ahab on his throne who was inviting the advice of lying spirits). What was true was that God was allowing these men to prophesy falsely. Did the people really believe that these false prophets had contact with YHWH? Well if so, let them consider that it has simply led them astray into falsehood. History is full of examples of men who outwardly ‘prayed’ and ostensibly ‘sought God’s will’ and then openly committed glaring sins and crimes, and were continually steeped in lies. As in this case God resisted it by raising up true prophets who reveal the truth.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
1Ki 22:22 And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade [him], and prevail also: go forth, and do so.
Ver. 22. And I will be a lying spirit. ] This therefore was not Naboth’s spirit, as R. Solomon vainly conceited; for that was gathered to the rest of the “spirits of just men made perfect”; Heb 12:23 but it was the devil who borrowed the mouths of these false prophets to vent his lies by.
Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Thou shalt, &c. Illustrating 2Th 2:9-12. Compare Eze 14:9, “I have deceived” = I have permitted it. This is quite in harmony with Pro 12:22. That refers to the sphere of God’s grace; this to the sphere of His judgment. We are governed by His Word, not by His ways. Pro 12:22 refers to the world of men. This to the world of spirits,
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
a lying spirit: Job 1:8-11, Job 2:4-6, Joh 8:44, Act 5:3, Act 5:4, 2Th 2:9, 2Th 2:10, 1Ti 4:1, 1Jo 4:6, Rev 12:9, Rev 12:10, Rev 13:14, Rev 16:13, Rev 16:14, Rev 20:3, Rev 20:7, Rev 20:10
Thou shalt: 1Ki 22:20, Jdg 9:23, Job 12:16, Psa 109:17, 2Th 2:10-12, Rev 17:17
Reciprocal: Exo 4:21 – I will harden 1Sa 16:14 – evil spirit 1Sa 26:19 – stirred 1Ki 22:6 – Go up 2Ki 3:13 – the prophets 2Ch 18:21 – General 2Ch 32:15 – persuade Neh 6:14 – on the prophetess Job 2:7 – So went Psa 78:49 – by sending Psa 141:4 – Incline not Pro 19:27 – General Isa 9:15 – the prophet Isa 44:25 – frustrateth Jer 27:14 – they Dan 2:9 – for Hos 9:8 – but Zec 13:2 – cause Mat 8:32 – Go Mar 5:13 – gave Luk 8:32 – he suffered Act 13:6 – a false 2Co 4:4 – blinded 1Ti 4:2 – lies 2Ti 3:8 – resist
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
22:22 And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a {r} lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade [him], and prevail also: go forth, and do so.
(r) I will cause all his prophets to tell lies.