The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Kings — Section 520

oh. :ui. 42] ; for he doth not prophesy good sition ; ei.mply MJ:lf which would be more concerning me, but ev1L [The chronicler correctly rendered " at the entrance." The adds ,1~~-,f; i.e., persistently, through- town gate we.a the great place of concourse (2 Kings Ti.i. 1). Here, too, justice was dis- out his whole career. Ahe.b insinuates the.t pensed. See Ruth iv. 1 ; 2 Sam. xv. 2; Mico.iah is actuated by personal dislike. xix. 8 ; Pss. lxix. 12; cxxvii. 6 ; Deut. xxi. The co=entators refer to Homer. II. iv., 19; Gen. xix. 1; xxiii. 10; Amos v. 12, 15, 106-108.] And Jehoshaphat ea.id, Let not &c.] of the ga.te of samarta; and all the the king say so. [He does not mee.n prophets prophesied before them. [They tho.t the prophet cannot se.y just whe.t he continued their prophesyings even whilst will, but suggests that Ahe.b is prej ad.iced Micah we.a being summoned. Or the refer- against him. Perhaps he suspected the.t ence me.y be to tho prophcsyings of ver. 6. there might be a very different reason for Micaiah's sinister predictions.] Ver. 11.-A.nd Zedeldah [This name = "Justice of Jehova.h," is one of the proofs Ver. 9.-Then the king of Israel called the.t these ce.nnot he.ve been prophets of an officer [Heb. one eunuch. So the L~., Be.a.I, e.s Sta.nley and others suppose] the a'ivoiixov lva. So tha.t Samuel'.~. forebodings son ofChenaa.nah [= "Cane.e.nitess." But have been realized (1 Se.m. Vlll. 15, 1:1ar~.) we gather from 1 Chron. vii. 10 tha.t this, Probably, like Ebed Melech 1 the Eth1op_1an like Shelomith, we.s a man's name. The (Jer. xxxviii. 7), he we.a e. for~~~er; p~ss1bly Benja.mite there mentioned may be identical a prisoner of war (Herod. w. 49 ; vi. 32). with the father (or ancestor) of Zedekie.h] Dent. xxiii. 1 suggests tha.t even such e. made him [Rawlinson would translate " had king a.a Ahe.b would hardly inflict this made him." He says the.t the horns must humiliation upon a.n Iara.elite. From 1 he.ve "been made previously, in expectation Chron. xxviii. 1, Heb., we gather tha.t even of some snoh occasion e.s that now e.:f!orded David's court he.d its eunuchs, a.nd we ma.y him." But it is quite conceivable the.t be sure the.t Solomon's enormous he.rem during the prophesyings, which clearly could not be maintained without them. In lasted some time, the idea. occurred to le.ter de.ye we find them prominent in the Zedekie.h, and it would not ta.ke long to history, a.nd occupying important positions put it into execution] horns of Iron under the king (2 Kings viii. 6 ; ix. 32 ; [Thenius understands the.t these were iron xxiii. 11; xxv. 19; Jer. xxix. 2; xxxiv. 19; spikes held on the forehead. But the lii 25, &c. Cf. Gen. xxxvii. 36)] , and reference is olee.rly to the horns of a ae.1d, Hasten hither Mica.lah the son of bullook, and the appropriateness of the Imla.h. prophetio aot is only manifest when we Ver. 10.-A.nd the king of Israel and remember the.t Ephraim is compo.red to o. Jehoshaphat the king of Judah aa.t ea.eh bullock (Dent. xxxiii. 17), e.nd more, that on his thfone [" Oriental kings ha.d port- Moses spa.ke beforehand of the strength of able thrones, which they took with them his home, e.nd predicted that with them ho upon their journeys" (Herod. vii. 212. should "push the people together to the Le.yard, "Nineveh e.nd Babylon," p. 160) onds of the eo.rth." Not only, tho.t is to Ro.wlinson], having put on their robes any, we.a the horn o. fa.milio.r Oriental [As e. council of state we.a to be held, the symbol of power (1 Sam. ii. 1, 10 ; 2 Se.m. kings put on their officio.I vestments. tl 11r\l xxii. 3 ; Pas. lxxxix. 24; xcii. 10; Do.n. ei.mply meo.ns "coverings," " clothes," but vii. 21; viii. 8, &o.), but it wo.s identified tho.t the speoia.l royo.l dress is here intended in e. peoulio.r manner with the powerful is olee.r, a.a Biihr observes, from Levit. tribe of Ephraim ; in other words, with the xxi. 10. This gathering of prophets e.nd kingdom of Israel. This symbolico.l act oounsellors seems to ho.ve followed the we.s not necosse.rily e.n imito.tion of the bo.nquet. When Jehoshaphat expressed e.otion of Ahija.h (eh. xi. 30). Suoh aoted his reo.diness to go to wo.r, Ahab nppco.rs pa.rabies were not uncommon o.mong the to ho.ve forthwith convened this nsscmbly, p~~phets (2 Rings xii~: 15; Ian. xx,. 2; Jer. in order tho.t the matter might be put in Xlll. 1 ; XlX. 10; XXXll. !l sqq. ; Ezek. lV., tro.in at once. Ewe.Id BBys e. review of the v. ; Acts xxi. 11)] : and he said, Thus sa.ith troops we.s designed, but of this the text the Lord [Heb. Jehovah. Ho now uses tho knows nothing] 1n a void place [Heb. a sacred no.me; no doubt beco.uso of Jehosha- threshing-floor. See note on eh. xxi. 1. The pha.t's dema.nd, ver. 7], With these she.It "floor" implies not only e. va.cnnt spa.co, thou push [the word of Deut. x:xxiii. 17] but o.n exalted position. Ordinarily, it the Syrians, until thou have consumed would not be enclosed within the oity them. wo.11s, nor does it a.ppee.r that this fioor we.s] Ver. 12.-And all the prophets prophe- Ill the entrance [The Hebrew he.a no prepo- • sled [Heb. were yrophesyi119] so, sa.ytng,  634 THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS. [err. xxn. 1-58.