Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Kings 22:34
And a [certain] man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: wherefore he said unto the driver of his chariot, Turn thine hand, and carry me out of the host; for I am wounded.
34. And a certain man ] Josephus has given him a name. ‘A certain youth of the royal family of Adad [i.e. Ben-hadad] whose name was Aman.’ ‘Fate, the inevitable,’ he says, ‘found Ahab out even without his robes.’
drew a bow [R.V. his bow ] at a venture ] The noun is definite in form in the Hebrew, so that the change is necessary. The word rendered ‘at a venture’ is translated in other places, and on the margin of A.V. and R.V. ‘in his simplicity.’ It is also rendered ‘in his integrity’ (Pro 19:1) and ‘in his uprightness’ (Pro 28:6). The idea appears to be that the man taking aim at some one, was quite unaware at whom he was shooting. He levelled at some enemy and hit him, not knowing how he had contributed to the victory. ‘At a venture’ must therefore not be taken to mean ‘a shot at random.’ The LXX. ‘with good aim’ is a conjecture.
between the joints of the harness ] The margins of R.V. ‘between the lower armour and the breastplate’ and of A.V. ‘between the joints and the breastplate’ help us to understand what is meant. The former word, rendered ‘joints,’ indicates that part where the breastplate terminated and where the lower armour commenced. A part of the body would there necessarily be less securely protected.
wherefore he said unto the driver of his chariot ] He would not wish to spread alarm among his soldiers, and so made his retreat without observation.
I am wounded ] R.V. sore wounded. The literal rendering ‘made sick’ which is given on the margin of A.V. implies more than an ordinary wound. The translation ‘sore wounded’ is from 2Ch 35:23 (A.V.). Perhaps Ahab employed the word, which might have a certain vagueness, that the charioteer should not spread an alarm. For the driver knew of course who it was whom he was carrying.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
At a venture – literally, as in the margin, i. e. without intent to kill the king.
Between the joints of the harness – literally, as in the margin. The joints were probably pieces of armor which attached the breast-plate to the helmet or to the greaves. The arrow entered between the breastplate and one of these joints. breastplates made of metal scales were common both in Egypt and Assyria.
Turn thine hand – literally, turn thy hands. The driver of a chariot, both in Egypt and Assyria, held the reins with his two hands.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
1Ki 22:34
A certain man drew a bow at a venture.
Providence in accidents
I. The lords hand is concerned in those events which have the appearance of being wholly accidental, and of happening by chance or luck. The man who drew the bow by which the King of Israel received his death, drew it, as our text says, at a venture. He took no aim whatever. Men talk of chance, and luck, and fate, and accident, as if there was not a God that ruled the world. And some even pretend to think that it is doing a kind of dishonour to the Lord to suppose that He interferes in the events of life, beyond, perhaps, a mere general oversight or superintendence. But what says the Scripture? What says the Lord Himself of His own doings and appointments? He tells us that His hand is everywhere. He tells us that not a sparrow falleth to the ground without Him–that when the lot is cast into the lap, yet the whole disposal thereof is of Him.
II. God is true to his own threatenings. Look back into the former verses of this chapter, and you will find King Ahab was expressly warned of God that he should fall at Ramoth-Gilead, and that he should not return at all in peace. Men may encourage themselves in an evil matter; they may go on still in evil courses, with a most assured persuasion that their sins shall be unpunished; but true, nevertheless, is that word of the Lord which He hath spoken–The wages of sin is death. God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded.
III. That there is no fencing ourselves against the stroke of God by any efforts or devices of our own. Ahab, seeming, as he did, to hold Gods threatenings cheap, yet had some apprehensions notwithstanding. He who made you can make His weapon to approach unto you, and that all self-defences are in vain! There is a spiritual arrow, very strong and sharp, which may be called the arrow of conviction, and which consists in the bringing home a sense of guilt and danger to the sinners conscience. Let us consider such a case as this–a case where the arrow of conviction has come home to a mans heart through the power of the Holy Ghost. The spiritual wound which this poor sinner has received is grievous. Blessed be God! it is not like that of Ahab, hopeless and incurable. There is balm in Gilead, and there is a Physician there. That very Lord who made the preaching of His law so sharp and piercing–who made the arrow of conviction strike so deep, can heal as well as wound. He hath provided in His gospel a cure for the transgression of His law. To bind up the broken-hearted, to provide a precious remedy for dying sinners, was the errand of the Son of God when He visited our world. (A. Roberts, M. A.)
A bow at a venture
I. Where all is venture men act as if all were certain. Strong probability is not certainty.
1. No parent is certain that his child shall live to need the education he gives it.
2. No working man is certain that he shall require the provision he has made for a rainy day.
3. No merchant is certain of reaching that wealth with honour for which he toils. Yet the parent, the working man, and the merchant act as reasonable and responsible agents. Still, we have no certainty as to the result of any act viewed apart from its moral element. Thus viewed, however, all is certainty.
II. Where all is certain men act as if all were venture.
1. As a man sows morally, so shall he also reap; not necessarily from his fellow-men, but from God, in the harvest field of his own soul, etc. Experience, etc.
2. The most wicked deed ever perpetrated was first a thought. The accumulative force of moral evil is a certainty. Yet men lust as if lust would never bring forth; and covet as if covetousness never issued in actual theft, etc.
3. The Gospel is a certainty alike in its promises and its threatenings.
III. Deduce some practical lessons.
1. Be not afraid to draw a bow at a venture for the sake of Christ.
2. Be careful of all bows at a venture which are not for Christs sake. (The Study.)
Venture in Christian work
There is one recent example, vouched for by Miss Pratt of the Bible School, Yokohama. During the Chino-Japanese war a trainload of soldiers was passing the village of Suzakawa, and one of them tossed a copy of the Japanese gospels into the open window of a house. Through that single book, the owner of the house and his whole family have become Christians. (T. H. Darlow.)
The joints of the harness.—
Joints of the harness
We have here suggested the strength and the weakness of our defensive spiritual armour. We do not now refer to what St. Paul meant by the whole armour of God, so much as to a humanly framed defensive system of rules and principles and habits which is necessary to protect us during this exposed earthly life.
I. We may arm ourselves against the world by placing restrictions upon our intercourse with its social life. If specially susceptible to worldly influences, we may wisely make it a rule to keep absolutely clear from all its pleasant things in which any temptation can lurk; or we may allow ourselves some degree of liberty, which, however, we restrict by some rule or clearly drawn line beyond which we will not go. This is good defensive armour, but it will not make us invulnerable. No formal, outward separation from the world can absolutely shut out the spirit of the world. The armour of our restrictions may keep out the world bodily, so to speak; but the very trust we place in such armour may open the way for some arrow from the bow of the archer.
II. We may arm ourselves against the worldly influences which touch us through our necessary intercourse with the world–as, for instance, in our business relations with men–by joining regularly in religious services and Christian work. In business hours our life is on the open ground, where we are exposed to every temptation. But in the sanctuary of God what can harm us? It is surely from the standpoint of the sanctuary that we get our true ideals of lifes duties and aims, and that all the weak things about us are seen. It is there that faith can see and realise Divine things most clearly, and heaven seems so near, and the things of earth so small and poor. But religious services and activities will not necessarily make us safe. The archer is subtle, and has many devices.
III. We may further defend ourselves by an armour of religious habits. There is great strength and protection in habits as distinguished from fitful, varying acts. Let us keep our armour of defence as perfect as we can. Do not undervalue it because it is dangerous to overvalue it. Let the sense of weakness make us humble and watchful. Let us remember that there are places, books, company, and habits which should be labelled dangerous. The wise man will not court danger, but will flea from it. (Thomas Wilde.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 34. Drew a bow at a venture] It is supposed that he shot, as the archers in general did, not aiming at any person in particular.
The word lethummo, which we translate in his simplicity, has been variously understood; in his integrity, his uprightness; in his perfection; i.e., to the utmost of his skill and strength. This is most probably the meaning; and may imply both aim and power, having his butt full in view. In cases where the archers wished to do the greatest execution, they bent their bows, and pulled till the subtending string drew back the arrow up to its head. This they could not do always, because it required their whole strength; and they could not put forth their utmost effort each time and continue to discharge many shots. Our old national ballad of the Chevy-chace mentions the slaying of Sir Hugh Montgomery, who had slain Earl Percy, in nearly the same way that Ahab appears to have been shot: –
“And thus did both these nobles die,
Whose courage none could stain:
An English archer then perceived
His noble lord was slain,
Who had a bow bent in his hand
Made of a trusty tree;
An arrow, of a cloth-yard long,
Up to the head drew he;
Against Sir Hugh Montgomery then
So right his shaft he set,
The gray goose wing that was thereon
In his heart’s blood was wet.”
Between the joints of the harness] “Between the cuirass and the lower part of the helmet;” and then the arrow must pass through the neck, just above the breast: or “between the cuirass and the cuissarts;” and then the arrow must pass through the abdomen, or just where the armour of the thighs joins to that which covers the breast and belly.
The Vulgate has Inter pulmonem et stomachum; “Between the lungs and the stomach;” consequently, in the region of the heart.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
At a venture, Heb. in simplicity, i.e. ignorantly, without care, or choice, or any design, or thought of reaching Ahab. Or, according to his perfection, i.e. with his perfect or utmost strength; which is mentioned as the reason why it pierced through the joints of his armour.
Between the joints of the harness; where the several parts of his armour are joined together; which possibly were not then joined with so much art and closeness as now they are.
Out of the host; out of the midst of the host, where the heat of the battle was, into a safer part of the army. See 1Ki 22:35.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And a certain man drew a bow at a venture,…. Not aiming at the king of Israel, or knowing whereabout he was. In the Targum on
2Ch 18:33, this man is said to be Naaman, the general of the army of the king of Syria, and so Jarchi here; but though he did this in his simplicity, as the word signifies, without any intention to smite any particular person; yet God directed the arrow to the man he had marked for destruction, and neither his disguise, nor coat of mail, could secure from that:
and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: of which the pieces of armour on him were joined together, the higher and lower parts of it, the breastplate, and what covered the belly; and though these were joined as close as they were capable of joining them in those times, yet the arrow, guided by divine Providence, found its way into his body:
wherefore he said unto the driver of his chariot, turn thine hand; or hands, with which he held the reins, and turn the horses on one side:
and carry me out of the host; where the battle was hottest, to a place more remote and private, that he might have the wound examined, and the blood stopped, and return again, as it seems he did:
for I am wounded; or rather “I am sick” s, or ill, as the Targum; somewhat out of order, and therefore chose to retire a little while; not caring it should be known that he was smitten and wounded, lest his soldiers should be disheartened.
s “aegrotare factus sum”, Vatablus; “aegrotus factus sum”, Junius & Tremellius.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(34) A certain man.Josephus says, a young man named Naaman. (Comp. 2Ki. 5:1 : because by him the Lord had given deliverance to Syria.)
The driver of his chariot.In the Egyptian and Assyrian monuments, as subsequently in the Greek of the Homeric days, the war-chariot holds but two, the warrior and the charioteer. This is the first place where the chariot, introduced by Solomon from Egypt (1Ki. 10:29), is mentioned as actually used in war. (See subsequently, 2Ki. 9:16; 2Ki. 9:21; 2Ki. 23:30; and compare the proverbial expression of this period, The chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof, 2Ki. 2:12; 2Ki. 13:14.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
34. A certain man Josephus says he was a young nobleman whose name was Naaman; the same, perhaps, who afterwards became a leper and was healed by Elisha. See note on 2Ki 5:1.
At a venture This is not a proper rendering. The Hebrew is , in his innocence; in his simplicity; that is, without any evil intent, and not expecting to strike so sacred a mark as the king. The thought is, not that he shot at random, but that he had no thought that the man at whom he aimed was Ahab.
Between the joints of the harness Margin, joints and the breastplate. But to speak of smiting between the joints and a part of the armour is strange, and to render joints of the harness or breastplate is not allowable. The word rendered harness is coat of mail, on which see note at 1Sa 17:5. The word rendered joints, Bahr explains as a hanging skirt, which protected the lower part of the body, and understands that the arrow penetrated between these two parts of the king’s armour, and entered the lower part of the abdomen.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
(34) And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: wherefore he said unto the driver of his chariot, Turn thine hand, and carry me out of the host; for I am wounded.
A certain man is a very decisive expression in the word of God. In this place it was the very man commissioned of the Lord; for the Lord both strung the bow, directed to the mark, and found out Ahab amidst all his disguise, and away to his heart in spite of all his armour. Alas! how could he think to escape when God pronounced his sentence?
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
1Ki 22:34 And a [certain] man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: wherefore he said unto the driver of his chariot, Turn thine hand, and carry me out of the host; for I am wounded.
Ver. 34. Drew a bow at a venture. ] Heb., In his simplicity, or with all his might; as did also that cursed cuirassier heavily armed cavalry soldier , that killed the late gallant king of Sweden, whom yet he knew but too well, saying when he shot him, This is the right bird.
For I am wounded.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
at a venture = in his innocence, or to its full stretch.
harness = coat of mail.
Turn thine hand. This is Ahab’s history; 2Chronicles 18 is Jehoshaphat’s. Hence nothing about Jehovah’s help.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
at a venture: Heb. in his simplicity, 2Sa 15:11
and smote: 1Sa 17:49, 2Ki 9:24
joints of the harness: Heb. joints and the breast-plate, Rev 9:9
wounded: Heb. made sick, 2Ch 18:30, 2Ch 35:23, *marg. Mic 6:13
Reciprocal: 1Sa 28:8 – disguised 1Sa 31:3 – archers hit him 1Ki 22:17 – as sheep 2Ki 1:2 – was sick 2Ki 8:29 – sick 2Ch 18:16 – as sheep 2Ch 18:33 – a certain man 2Ch 35:22 – but disguised Psa 64:7 – shall they be wounded Pro 29:1 – General Ecc 8:12 – a sinner
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
THE LAST ACT OF A TRAGEDY
Carry me out of the host; for I am wounded.
1Ki 22:34
King Ahab appears here in the last act of his career, just as we have seen him always hitherto, devoid of religious or moral character. His penitence had, as we see from the story before us, borne no fruit.
I. His attitude toward Jehovah and His covenant remained the same.There is not a sign of any change of heart. He is now enraged against Ben-hadad, whom, after the battle of Aphek, he called his brother, and suffered to depart out of weakness and vanity. He summons his chief soldiers to a war against Ben-hadad, and calls for Jehoshaphats aid also, in order to make sure of destroying him. He had either forgotten the words of the prophet (chap. 1Ki 20:42), or else he cared nothing about them. As Jehoshaphat desired, before engaging on the expedition, to hear an oracle of Jehovah in regard to it, Ahab summoned only those in regard to whose declarations he could be sure that they would accord with his own wishes, and when Micaiah, being called at the express wish of Jehoshaphat, gives another prophetic declaration, Ahab explains this as the expression of personal malice. He allows Zedekiah to insult and abuse Micaiah, and even orders the latter into close confinement. But then again he becomes alarmed at the prophets words, though before he was passionate and excited. He cannot overcome the impression he has received, and so, contrary to military custom and order, he does not go into the battle like Jehoshaphat, clad in royal robes, but disguised. By this precaution, which testified to anything but heroism, he hoped to escape danger. It did not, however, avail. He was shot without being recognised. His command to be removed from the strife, that his wound might be cared for, could not be executed. He bled to death on his chariot. Some moderns have represented his end as heroic, starting from the erroneous exegesis that he caused his wounds to be bound up and returned to the fight. This view is certainly mistaken, since we may be sure that the author did not intend to glorify Ahab in this account of his death.
II. Ahabs end was truly tragical.It was brought about, not by a blind fate, but by a God Who is just in all His ways, and holy in all His works (Psa 145:17), Whose judgments are unsearchable, and His ways past finding out (Rom 11:33). The conflict which Ahab had sought, and which no warning could induce him to abandon, became his punishment. He fell in battle with that very enemy who had once been delivered into his hands, and whom he had released, out of vanity and weakness, to the harm of Israel, and so he made good just the words of the prophet in
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
1Ki 22:34. A certain man drew a bow at a venture Shot at a venture among the army, without care, or choice, or any design of reaching Ahab, or any particular person; and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness Where the several parts of his armour were joined together; the only place about him where this arrow of death could find entrance. No armour is proof against the darts of divine vengeance. Case the criminal in steel, and it is all one; he that made him can make his sword approach him. And that which to us seems altogether casual, comes by the determined counsel of God.