1 Kings 20:35

And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his neighbour in the word of the LORD, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
certain	אֶחָ֜ד 'e.Chad	H259	properly · noun, common feminine singular absolute
man	וְאִ֨ישׁ ve.'Ish	H376	a man as an individual or a male person · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular absolute
sons	מִבְּנֵ֣י mi.be.Nei	H1121	a son (as a builder of the family name) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct
prophets	הַנְּבִיאִ֗ים ha.ne.vi.'Im	H5030	a prophet or (generally) inspired man · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
said	אָמַ֧ר 'a.Mar	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
neighbour	רֵעֵ֛הוּ re.'E.hu	H7453	an associate (more or less close) · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
word	בִּדְבַ֥ר bid.Var	H1697	a word · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
LORD	יְהוָ֖ה Yah.weh	H3068	Jehovah · proper noun, a title
Smite	הַכֵּ֣ינִי ha.Kei.ni	H5221	to strike (lightly or severely · verb, hiphil imperative, 2nd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix
man	הָאִ֖ישׁ ha.'Ish	H376	a man as an individual or a male person · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
refused	וַיְמָאֵ֥ן vay.ma.'En	H3985	to refuse · conjunction + verb, piel sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
smite	לְהַכֹּתֽוֹ le.ha.ko.To	H5221	to strike (lightly or severely · preposition + verb, hiphil infinitive construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

1 Kings 13:17-18 For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou came…
2 Kings 2:15 And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came…
2 Kings 4:1 Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowe…
1 Samuel 10:12 And one of the same place answered and said, But who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets?
1 Kings 13:1-2 And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Beth-el: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.
1 Kings 20:37-38 Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, so that in smiting he wounded him.
2 Kings 2:3-7 And the sons of the prophets that were at Beth-el came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy mas…
2 Kings 4:38 And Elisha came again to Gilgal: and there was a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him: and he said unto…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Kings 20:31–end

Here is an account of what followed upon the victory which Israel obtained over the Syrians. I. Ben-hadad's tame and mean submission. Even in his inner chamber he feared, and would, if he could, flee further, though none pursued. His servants, seeing him and themselves reduced to the last extremity, advised that they should surrender at discretion, and make themselves prisoners and petitioners to Ahab for their lives, Kg1 20:31. The servants will put their lives in their hands, and venture first, and their master will act according as they speed. Their inducement to take this course is the great reputation the kings of Israel had for clemency above any of their neighbours: "We have heard tha…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Kings 20:35

A PROPHET REPROVES HIM. (Kg1 20:35-42) Smite me--This prophet is supposed (Kg1 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 [Kg1 20:36], as a beacon to warn others (see on 1Ki. 13:2-24). The prophet found a willing assistant, and then, waiting for Ahab, leads the king unconsciously, in the parabolic manner of Nathan (Sa2 12:1-4), to pronounce his own doom; and this consequent punishment was forthwith announced by a prophet (see on Kg1 21:17).

Adam Clarke on 1 Kings 20:35

In the word of the Lord - By the word or command of the Lord; that is, God has commanded thee to smite me. Refusing to do it, this man forfeited his life, as we are informed in the next verse. By this emblematical action he intended to inform Ahab that, as the man forfeited his life who refused to smite him when he had the Lord's command to do it; so he (Ahab) had forfeited his life, because he did not smite Ben-hadad when he had him in his power.

John Gill on 1 Kings 20:35

And a certain man of the sons of the prophets,.... Which the Jews take to be Micaiah, and so Josephus (u), which is probable; the same that had been with Ahab more than once; and, whoever he was, it is not unlikely that he was the same, since Ahab knew him when his disguise was off, 1 Kings 20:41, said unto his neighbour, in the word of the Lord, smite me, I pray thee; told his neighbour, that by the command of God he was ordered to bid him smite him, so as to wound him: and the man refused to smite him; being his neighbour, and perhaps a fellow prophet, and having an affection for him. (u) Antiqu. l. 8. c. 14. sect, 5.

The Church Fathers

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.
— John Chrysostom, DISCOURSE AGAINST JUDAIZING CHRISTIANS 4.2.1-2

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Micaiah — Who is like Jehovah?, the son of Imlah, a faithful prophet of Samaria (1 Kings 22:8-28). Three years after the great battle with Ben-hadad (20:29-34), Ahab proposed to Jehoshaphat, king of Judah,…
Prophets · Schools of — Schools of
Students · In the schools of the prophets — In the schools of the prophets
Syria · The Israelites: Craftily drawn into a league with — The Israelites: Craftily drawn into a league with

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

1 Kings 20:35

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Kings 20:31–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Kings 20:35

Adam Clarke on 1 Kings 20:35

John Gill on 1 Kings 20:35

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

1 Kings 20:35

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Kings 20:31–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Kings 20:35

Adam Clarke on 1 Kings 20:35

John Gill on 1 Kings 20:35

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on 1 Kings 20:35-36

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 Kings 20:35-43

Rashi on 1 Kings 20:35