1 Kings 22:11
in 1 Kings 22Now Zedekiah son of Chenaanah had made for himself iron horns and declared, “This is what the LORD says: ‘With these you shall gore the Arameans until they are finished off.’”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron, and said, Thus saith Jehovah, With these shalt thou push the Syrians, until they be consumed.
KJV
And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron: and he said, Thus saith the Lord, With these shalt thou push the Syrians, until thou have consumed them.
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This verse in 1 Kings 22
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Horns of iron - The horn in Scripture is the favorite symbol of power; and pushing with the horn is a common metaphor for attacking and conquering enemies (see Deu 33:17; Compare Psa 44:5; Dan 8:4). Zedekiah, in employing a symbolic action, was following the example of a former Israelite prophet 1Ki 11:30. Thus saith the Lord - Or, יהוה yehovâh. Zedekiah lays aside the unmeaningful “Lord” אדני 'ǎdonāy of the general company of Israelite prophets 1Ki 22:6, and professes to have a direct message from Yahweh to Ahab.
This site's exposition
made him horns of iron
on 1 Kings 22:11-12
Zedekiah's sign-act, horns of iron with which thou shalt push the Syrians, borrows Deut 33:17's picture of a bull's horns pushing the peoples, the same kind of enacted prophecy that Jeremiah's yoke and Ezekiel's brick later use. All four hundred prophesy the identical verdict, Go up to Ramoth-gilead, and prosper, a chorus that has already answered the king's question before Micaiah opens his mouth.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Zedekiah, by assuming two horns, personated two heroes, and, pretending to be a prophet, wished in this manner to represent the kings of Israel and Judah in a military triumph. It was a symbolic action, to impart greater force to his language (see De 33:17); but it was little more than a flourish with a spontoon [CALMET, Fragments].
Zedekiah - made him horns of iron - This was in imitation of that sort of prophecy which instructed by significative actions. This was frequent among the prophets of the Lord.
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּ֥עַשׂ | vaiyaas | and he made | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| ל֛וֹ | lo | for himself | ||
| צִדְקִיָּ֥ה | tzidkiyah | Zedekiah | H6667 → | |
| בֶֽן־ | ven- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| כְּנַעֲנָ֖ה | kenaanah | Kenaanah | H3668 → | |
| קַרְנֵ֣י | karnei | horns of | H7161 → | 76 times |
| בַרְזֶ֑ל | varzel | iron | H1270 → | 76 times |
| וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| כֹּֽה־ | koh- | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| אָמַ֣ר | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| בְּאֵ֛לֶּה | beeleh | with these | H428 → | 746 times |
| תְּנַגַּ֥ח | tenagach | you will gore | H5055 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֲרָ֖ם | ʾaram | Aram | H758 → | 143 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| כַּלֹּתָֽם׃ | kalotam | destroy them | H3615 → | 208 times |
וַיַּ֥עַשׂand he made
vaiyaasH6213 →2628 times
ל֛וֹfor himself
lo
צִדְקִיָּ֥הZedekiah
tzidkiyahH6667 →
בֶֽן־[the] son of
ven-H1121 →4930 times
כְּנַעֲנָ֖הKenaanah
kenaanahH3668 →
קַרְנֵ֣יhorns of
karneiH7161 →76 times
בַרְזֶ֑לiron
varzelH1270 →76 times
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙and he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
כֹּֽה־thus
koh-H3541 →577 times
אָמַ֣רhe says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
בְּאֵ֛לֶּהwith these
beelehH428 →746 times
תְּנַגַּ֥חyou will gore
tenagachH5055 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אֲרָ֖םAram
ʾaramH758 →143 times
עַד־until
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
כַּלֹּתָֽם׃destroy them
kalotamH3615 →208 times
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
2 Timothy 3:8Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth. They are depraved in mind and disqualified from the faith.
it leads to
- Revelation 2:20
But I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads My servants to be sexually immoral and to eat food sacrificed to idols.
- Acts 13:8–11
But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith.
- Exodus 7:11
But Pharaoh called the wise men and sorcerers and magicians of Egypt, and they also did the same things by their magic arts.
- 1 Timothy 6:5
and constant friction between men of depraved mind who are devoid of the truth. These men regard godliness as a means of gain.
- 2 Peter 2:14
Their eyes are full of adultery; their desire for sin is never satisfied; they seduce the unstable. They are accursed children with hearts trained in greed.
- Revelation 2:20
Through
Deuteronomy 33:17His majesty is like a firstborn bull, and his horns are like those of a wild ox. With them he will gore the nations, even to the ends of the earth. Such are the…
it leads to
- Numbers 23:22
God brought them out of Egypt with strength like a wild ox.
- Psalms 44:5
Through You we repel our foes; through Your name we trample our enemies.
- Psalms 92:10
But You have exalted my horn like that of a wild ox; with fine oil I have been anointed.
- Numbers 23:22
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 1 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Keil, The Books of the Kings.