1 Kings 20:37
in 1 Kings 20Then the prophet found another man and said, “Strike me, please!” So the man struck him and wounded him,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, smiting and wounding him.
KJV
Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, so that in smiting he wounded him.
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This verse in 1 Kings 20
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Smite me--This prophet is supposed (1Ki 20:8) to have been Micaiah. The refusal of his neighbor to smite the prophet was manifestly wrong, as it was a withholding of necessary aid to a prophet in the discharge of a duty to which he had been called by God, and it was severely punished [1Ki 20:36], as a beacon to warn others (see on 1Ki 13:2-24).
This site's exposition
Then he found another man
on 1 Kings 20:37-38
A second man is willing to strike, and this time the blow wounds him enough to draw blood, the physical proof the sign requires. The wounded prophet then waits for the king by the road, disguised with ashes so Ahab will not recognize him until the parable has done its work. Wesley notes the wound is meant to be visible, since the whole device depends on Ahab seeing a beaten, anonymous soldier rather than a known prophet.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
A commentator
John ChrysostomDISCOURSE AGAINST JUDAIZING CHRISTIANS 4.2.1-2 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
Ahab once captured a king of Syria and, contrary to God's decree, saved his life. He had the Syrian king enjoy a seat by his side and sent him off with great honor. About that time a prophet came to his companion and said to him, "In the word of the Lord, strike me." But his companion was not willing to strike him. And the prophet said to him, "Because you would not listen to the word of the Lord, behold, you will depart from me, and a lion will strike you." And he departed from him, and the lion found him and struck him. Then the prophet found another man and said, "Strike me." And the man did strike him and wounded him, and the prophet bandaged up his own face.What greater paradox than this could there be? The man who struck the prophet was saved; the one who spared the prophet was punished. Why? That you may learn that when God commands, you must not question too much the nature of the action; you have only to obey. So that the first man might not spare him out of reverence, the prophet did not simply say "strike me" but said "strike me, in the word of God." That is, God commands it; seek no further. It is the King who ordains it; reverence the rank of him who commands and with all eagerness heed his word. But the man lacked the courage to strike him and, on this account, he paid the ultimate penalty. But by the punishment he subsequently suffered, he encourages us to yield and obey God's every command.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
He fetched blood with the blow, probably in his face. Wounded as he was, and disguised with ashes that he might not be known to be a prophet, he made his application to the king in a story wherein he charged himself with such a crime as the king was now guilty of in sparing Ben-hadad, and waited for the king's judgment upon it.
2 And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel into the city, and said unto him, Thus saith Benhadad, 3 Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, even the goodliest, are mine.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:97%@v2-3
Then he found another man, and said, smite me, I pray thee,....
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּמְצָא֙ | vaiyimtza' | and he found | H4672 → | 455 times |
| אִ֣ישׁ | ʾish | a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אַחֵ֔ר | ʾacher | another | H312 → | 166 times |
| וַיֹּ֖אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הַכֵּ֣ינִי | hakeini | strike me | H5221 → | 499 times |
| נָ֑א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| וַיַּכֵּ֥הוּ | vaiyakehu | and he struck him | H5221 → | 499 times |
| הָאִ֖ישׁ | haish | the man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| הַכֵּ֥ה | hakeh | completely <to strike> | H5221 → | 499 times |
| וּפָצֹֽעַ׃ | ufatzoa' | and wounded | H6481 → |
וַיִּמְצָא֙and he found
vaiyimtza'H4672 →455 times
אִ֣ישׁa man
ʾishH376 →1663 times
אַחֵ֔רanother
ʾacherH312 →166 times
וַיֹּ֖אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
הַכֵּ֣ינִיstrike me
hakeiniH5221 →499 times
נָ֑אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
וַיַּכֵּ֥הוּand he struck him
vaiyakehuH5221 →499 times
הָאִ֖ישׁthe man
haishH376 →1663 times
הַכֵּ֥הcompletely <to strike>
hakehH5221 →499 times
וּפָצֹֽעַ׃and wounded
ufatzoa'H6481 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Exodus 21:12Whoever strikes and kills a man must surely be put to death.
it leads to
- Genesis 9:6
Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man his blood will be shed; for in His own image God has made mankind.
- Matthew 26:52
“Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him. “For all who draw the sword will die by the sword.
- Leviticus 24:17
And if a man takes the life of anyone else, he must surely be put to death.
- Numbers 35:30–31
If anyone kills a person, the murderer is to be put to death on the testimony of the witnesses. But no one is to be put to death based on the testimony of a…
- Numbers 35:16–24
If, however, anyone strikes a person with an iron object and kills him, he is a murderer; the murderer must surely be put to death.
- Genesis 9:6
Through
1 Kings 20:35Meanwhile, by the word of the LORD, one of the sons of the prophets said to his companion, “Strike me, please!” But the man refused to strike him.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 2:15
When the sons of the prophets who were facing him from Jericho saw what had happened, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they went to meet him and bowed down…
- 1 Kings 13:17–18
For I have been told by the word of the LORD: ‘You must not eat bread or drink water there or return by the way you came.’”
- 2 Kings 4:1
Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant, my husband, is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD. And now his creditor…
- 2 Kings 2:15
About 1 Kings
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, DISCOURSE AGAINST JUDAIZING CHRISTIANS 4.2.1-2; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.