1 Kings 22:24
in 1 Kings 22Then Zedekiah son of Chenaanah went up, struck Micaiah in the face, and demanded, “Which way did the Spirit of the LORD go when He departed from me to speak with you?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of Jehovah from me to speak unto thee?
KJV
But Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of the Lord from me to speak unto thee?
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This verse in 1 Kings 22
Commentary
6 notes on this verseWhich way went the Spirit of the Lord from me - This is an expression of as great insolence as the act was of brutal aggression. “Did the Spirit of the Lord, who rests solely upon me, condescend to inspire thee? Was it at this ear [where he smote him] that it entered, in order to hold communion with thee?” Josephus tells an idle rabbinical tale about this business, which is as unworthy of repetition as it is of credit. See his Antiq. of the Jews, book viii., c. 10.
This site's exposition
smote Micaiah on the cheek
on 1 Kings 22:24-25
Zedekiah's blow and his taunt, Which way went the Spirit of the Lord from me to speak unto thee, assumes his own prophesying carried the Spirit and Micaiah's could not. Micaiah does not argue the point; he points forward instead, Behold, thou shalt see in that day, when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself, a private reckoning promised for a public lie.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Zedekiah - The chief of the false prophets, who was much in the king's favour. Which way - In what manner went it? Forasmuch as I and my brethren have consulted the Lord, and have the same spirit which thou pretendest to have.
But Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near,....
To strike within the verge of the court, especially in the king's presence, is looked upon by our law as a high misdemeanour; yet this wicked prophet gives this abuse to a prophet of the Lord, and is not reprimanded nor bound to his good behaviour for it.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Smote Micaiah on the cheek - As Micaiah had been brought from prison 1Ki 22:26, it is probable that his hands were bound. The prophet, thus standing before the great ones of the earth, bound and helpless, bearing testimony to the truth, and for his testimony smitten on the face by an underling, whose blow he receives without either shame or anger, is a notable type of our Lord before Caiaphas suffering the same indignity. Which way ... - Zedekiah’s meaning may perhaps be expounded as follows: “The Spirit of Yahweh certainly came to me, and inspired me with the answer which I gave. If He afterward went to thee, as thou sayest that He did, perhaps thou canst tell us - as all the secrets of the invisible world are, thou pretendest, open to thee - which way He took.”
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּגַּשׁ֙ | vaiyigash | and he drew near | H5066 → | 125 times |
| צִדְקִיָּ֣הוּ | tzidkiyahu | Zedekiah | H6667 → | |
| בֶֽן־ | ven- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| כְּנַעֲנָ֔ה | kenaanah | Kenaanah | H3668 → | |
| וַיַּכֶּ֥ה | vaiyakeh | and he struck | H5221 → | 499 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מִיכָ֖יְהוּ | mikhayehu | Micaiah | H4321 → | 21 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַלֶּ֑חִי | halechi | the cheek | H3895 → | |
| וַיֹּ֕אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵי־ | ʾei- | where? | H335 → | |
| זֶ֨ה | zeh | this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| עָבַ֧ר | ʾavar | did it pass on | H5674 → | 556 times |
| רֽוּחַ־ | ruach- | [the] spirit of | H7307 → | 378 times |
| יְהוָ֛ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| מֵאִתִּ֖י | meiti | from with me | H854 → | 929 times |
| לְדַבֵּ֥ר | ledaber | to speak | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| אוֹתָֽךְ׃ | ʾotakh | with you | H854 → | 929 times |
וַיִּגַּשׁ֙and he drew near
vaiyigashH5066 →125 times
צִדְקִיָּ֣הוּZedekiah
tzidkiyahuH6667 →
בֶֽן־[the] son of
ven-H1121 →4930 times
כְּנַעֲנָ֔הKenaanah
kenaanahH3668 →
וַיַּכֶּ֥הand he struck
vaiyakehH5221 →499 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
מִיכָ֖יְהוּMicaiah
mikhayehuH4321 →21 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הַלֶּ֑חִיthe cheek
halechiH3895 →
וַיֹּ֕אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֵי־where?
ʾei-H335 →
זֶ֨הthis
zehH2088 →1180 times
עָבַ֧רdid it pass on
ʾavarH5674 →556 times
רֽוּחַ־[the] spirit of
ruach-H7307 →378 times
יְהוָ֛הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
מֵאִתִּ֖יfrom with me
meitiH854 →929 times
לְדַבֵּ֥רto speak
ledaberH1696 →1141 times
אוֹתָֽךְ׃with you
ʾotakhH854 →929 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
John 15:18If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me first.
it leads to
- 1 John 3:13
So do not be surprised, brothers, if the world hates you.
- John 7:7
The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me, because I testify that its works are evil.
- Luke 6:22
Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil because of the Son of Man.
- Mark 13:13
You will be hated by everyone because of My name, but the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.
- John 3:20
Everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come into the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
- 1 John 3:13
Through
Lamentations 3:30Let him offer his cheek to the one who would strike him; let him be filled with reproach.
it leads to
- Isaiah 50:6
I offered My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who tore out My beard. I did not hide My face from scorn and spittle.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 26:67
Then they spit in His face and struck Him. Others slapped Him
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 50:6
Through
Acts 23:2At this, the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth.
it leads to
- John 18:22
When Jesus had said this, one of the officers standing nearby slapped Him in the face and said, “Is this how You answer the high priest?”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- John 18:22
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); F. W. Farrar, The First Book of Kings (Expositor's Bible); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; 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.