1 Kings 22:6
in 1 Kings 22So the king of Israel assembled the prophets, about four hundred men, and asked them, “Should I go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should I refrain?” “Go up,” they replied, “and the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king.
KJV
Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramoth–gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king.
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This verse in 1 Kings 22
Commentary
7 notes on this verseAbout four hundred men - These were probably the prophets of Asherah or Venus, maintained by Jezebel, who were not present at the contention on Mount Carmel. See 1Ki 18:19, etc.
This site's exposition
Enquire, I pray thee, at
on 1 Kings 22:5-6
Jehoshaphat asks first for the word of the Lord, and Ahab produces four hundred men who answer as one voice, Go up, for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king. Their unanimity is the tell rather than the proof: court prophets salaried by a king tend to say what the king wants said, the same pattern Elijah's contest at Carmel had already exposed.
This site's exposition
assembled the prophets, about four hundred men
Adam Clarke takes the four hundred as the prophets of Asherah whom Jezebel fed at 18:19, men absent from the contest on Carmel. Their answer uses the title Lord, and in verse 7 Jehoshaphat asks for a prophet of the LORD. The promise leaves the king unnamed.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men,....
But they pretended to speak by prophecy, not by rational conjecture, by divine, not human, foresight: "Thou shalt certainly recover Ramoth-Gilead." Zedekiah, a leading man among these prophets, in imitation of the true prophets, illustrated his false prophecy with a sign,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Jos 21:38), on the site of the present Salt Lake, in the province of Belka. It lay within the territories of the Israelitish monarch, and was unjustly alienated; but whether it was one of the cities usurped by the first Ben-hadad, which his son had promised to restore, or was retained for some other reasons, the sacred historian has not mentioned.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The prophets - i. e., In all probability the prophets attached to the worship of the calves; not real prophets of Yahweh. This seems evident both from Jehoshaphat’s dissatisfaction 1Ki 22:7, and from the strong antagonism apparent between the true Yahweh-prophet Micaiah, and these self-styled “prophets of the Lord” 1Ki 22:22-25. The Lord shall deliver it - In the Hebrew the word here used for “Lord” is אדני 'ǎdonāy. Later (i. e., in 1Ki 22:11-12) Lord or יהוה yehovâh is used. It would seem as if the idolatrous prophets shrank from employing the latter title until they found that Jehoshaphat insisted on learning the will of Yahweh in the matter.
The words behind it
23 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּקְבֹּ֨ץ | vaiyikbotz | and he gathered | H6908 → | 127 times |
| מֶֽלֶךְ־ | melekh- | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֥ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| אֶֽת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַנְּבִיאִים֮ | haneviim | the prophets | H5030 → | 314 times |
| כְּאַרְבַּ֣ע | kearba' | about four | H702 → | 318 times |
| מֵא֣וֹת | meot | hundred<s> | H3967 → | 581 times |
| אִישׁ֒ | ʾish | man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲלֵהֶ֗ם | ʾalehem | to them | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַאֵלֵ֞ךְ | haelekh | ¿ will I go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| רָמֹ֥ת | ramot | Ramoth | H7418 → | 22 times |
| גִּלְעָ֛ד | gilad | Gilead | H1568 → | 134 times |
| לַמִּלְחָמָ֖ה | lamilchamah | for <the> battle | H4421 → | 320 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | or? | H518 → | 1069 times |
| אֶחְדָּ֑ל | ʾechdal | will I refrain | H2308 → | 58 times |
| וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| עֲלֵ֔ה | ʾaleh | go up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| וְיִתֵּ֥ן | veyiten | so he may give [it] | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| אֲדֹנָ֖י | ʾadonai | [the] Lord | H136 → | 440 times |
| בְּיַ֥ד | beyad | in [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
וַיִּקְבֹּ֨ץand he gathered
vaiyikbotzH6908 →127 times
מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of
melekh-H4428 →2525 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֥לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
אֶֽת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַנְּבִיאִים֮the prophets
haneviimH5030 →314 times
כְּאַרְבַּ֣עabout four
kearba'H702 →318 times
מֵא֣וֹתhundred<s>
meotH3967 →581 times
אִישׁ֒man
ʾishH376 →1663 times
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֲלֵהֶ֗םto them
ʾalehemH413 →5510 times
הַאֵלֵ֞ךְ¿ will I go
haelekhH1980 →1546 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
רָמֹ֥תRamoth
ramotH7418 →22 times
גִּלְעָ֛דGilead
giladH1568 →134 times
לַמִּלְחָמָ֖הfor <the> battle
lamilchamahH4421 →320 times
אִם־or?
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
אֶחְדָּ֑לwill I refrain
ʾechdalH2308 →58 times
וַיֹּאמְר֣וּand they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
עֲלֵ֔הgo up
ʾalehH5927 →890 times
וְיִתֵּ֥ןso he may give [it]
veyitenH5414 →2011 times
אֲדֹנָ֖י[the] Lord
ʾadonaiH136 →440 times
בְּיַ֥דin [the] hand of
beyadH3027 →1618 times
הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃the king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 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
Revelation 19:20But the beast was captured along with the false prophet, who on its behalf had performed signs deceiving those who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. Both the beast and…
it leads to
- Revelation 20:10
And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, into which the beast and the false prophet had already been thrown. There they will be tormented day…
- Revelation 21:8
But to the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This…
- Revelation 20:14–15
Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:8–11
And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath of His mouth and annihilate by the majesty of His arrival.
- Daniel 7:7–14
After this, as I watched in my vision in the night, suddenly a fourth beast appeared, and it was terrifying—dreadful and extremely strong—with large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed; then it trampled underfoot…
- Revelation 20:10
Through
Ezekiel 13:22Because you have disheartened the righteous with your lies, even though I have caused them no grief, and because you have encouraged the wicked not to turn from their evil ways to save their…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 23:14
And among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: They commit adultery and walk in lies. They strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns his back on wickedness.…
- Jeremiah 23:14
Through
1 Kings 18:19Now summon all Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel, along with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
it leads to
- 1 Kings 16:33
Then he set up an Asherah pole. Thus Ahab did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel before him.
- Joshua 19:26
Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal. On the west the border touched Carmel and Shihor-libnath,
- 1 Kings 16:33
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 1 Kings

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); Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
