1 Kings 22:19 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
1 Kings 22:19
And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.
to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Hear
שְׁמַ֣עshe.Ma'
H8085
to hear intelligently (often with implication of attent… · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
word
דְּבַרde.var-
H1697
a word · noun, common masculine singular construct
LORD
יְהוָ֑הYah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
saw
רָאִ֤יתִיra.'I.ti
H7200
to see · verb, qal perfect, 1st person common singular
LORD
יְהוָה֙Yah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
sitting
יֹשֵׁ֣בyo.Shev
H3427
properly · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
throne
כִּסְא֔וֹkis.'O
H3678
properly · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
host
צְבָ֤אtze.Va'
H6635
a mass of persons (or figuratively · noun, common masculine singular construct
heaven
הַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙ha.sha.Ma.yim
H8064
the sky (as aloft · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
standing
עֹמֵ֣ד'o.Med
H5975
to stand · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
hand
מִימִינ֖וֹmi.mi.No
H3225
the right hand or side (leg · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
left
וּמִשְּׂמֹאלֽוֹu.mi.se.mo.Lo
H8040
properly · conjunction + preposition + noun, common masculine singular 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
Job 2:1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself bef…
Job 1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.
Daniel 7:9-10 I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like th…
Isaiah 6:1-3 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
Psalms 103:20-21 Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.
Matthew 18:10 Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Fath…
2 Chronicles 18:18-22 Again he said, Therefore hear the word of the LORD; I saw the LORD sitting upon his throne, and all the host of heaven standing on his right…
Ezekiel 1:26-28 And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 1 Kings 22:15-28
Here Micaiah does well, but, as is common, suffers ill for so doing.
I. We are told how faithfully he delivered his message, as one that was more solicitous to please God than to humour either the great or the many. In three ways he delivers his message, and all displeasing to Ahab: -
1. He spoke as the rest of the prophets had spoken, but ironically: Go, and prosper, Kg1 22:15. Ahab put the same question to him that he had put to his own prophets (Shall we go, or shall we forbear?) seeming desirous to know God's mind, when, like Balaam, he was strongly bent to do his own, which Micaiah plainly took notice of when he bade him go, but with such an air and pronunciation as plainly showed he s…
Did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil?--Since Ahab was disposed to trace this unwelcome truth to personal enmity, Micaiah proceeded fearlessly to tell the incensed monarch in full detail what had been revealed to him. The Hebrew prophets, borrowing their symbolic pictures from earthly scenes, described God in heaven as a king in His kingdom. And as earthly princes do nothing of importance without asking the advice of their counsellors, God is represented as consulting about the fate of Ahab. This prophetic language must not be interpreted literally, and the command must be viewed as only a permission to the lying spirit (Rom 11:34) [CALMET].
Adam Clarke on 1 Kings 22:19
I saw the Lord sitting on his throne - This is a mere parable, and only tells in figurative language, what was in the womb of providence, the events which were shortly to take place, the agents employed in them, and the permission on the part of God for these agents to act. Micaiah did not choose to say before this angry and impious king, "Thy prophets are all liars; and the devil, the father of lies, dwells in them;" but he represents the whole by this parable, and says the same truths in language as forcible, but less offensive.
John Gill on 1 Kings 22:19
The Church Fathers
How should we interpret the "throne of God" but as the angelic powers over whose minds the Lord presides from on high while he arranges everything below? And what does the "host of heaven" signify but the multitude of the attending angels? And what does the text mean when it asserts that the host of heaven is to the right and to the left of him? Indeed God, who is within everything as he is also outside everything, is not enclosed to the right or the left, and therefore the right of God indicates the elect portion of the angels, whereas the left designates the evil portion of the angels. In fact, not only the good ones who help God serve him, but so do those who are distressed because they do not want to return [to be helpful].… Therefore the host of the angels is to the right and to the left, because the will of the elect spirit agrees with the divine sense of justice. Therefore the mind of the evil ones, who serve their own malice is forced to fulfill the orders [of the Lord].
Tell me, John, what do you mean when you say, "No one has ever seen God"? What shall we think about the prophets who say that they saw God? Isaiah said, "I saw the Lord sitting on a high and exalted throne." And, again, Daniel said, "I saw until the thrones were set, and the ancient of days sat." And Micah said, "I saw the God of Israel sitting on his throne." And, again, another prophet said, "I saw the Lord standing on the altar, and he said to me, 'strike the mercy seat.' " And I can gather together many similar passages to show you as witnesses of what I say. How is it, then, that John says, "No one has ever seen God"? He says this so that you may know that he is speaking of a clear knowledge and perfect comprehension of God. All the cases cited were instances of God's condescension and accommodation. That no one of those prophets saw God's essence in its pure state is clear from the fact that each one saw him in a different way. God is a simple being; he is not composed of parts; he is without form or figure. But all these prophets saw different forms and figures.
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
Angels — By the word “angels” (i.e. “messengers” of God) we ordinarily understand a race of spiritual beings of a nature exalted far above that of man, although infinitely removed from that of God—whose…
Jehoshaphat — Jehovah-judged. (1.) One of David’s body-guard (1 Chr. 11:43). (2.) One of the priests who accompanied the removal of the ark to Jerusalem (1 Chr. 15:24). (3.) Son of Ahilud, “recorder” or annalist…
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,…
Ramoth-gilead — Heights of Gilead, a city of refuge on the east of Jordan; called “Ramoth in Gilead” (Deut. 4:43; Josh. 20:8; 21:38). Here Ahab, who joined Jehoshaphat in an endeavour to rescue it from the hands of…
Zedekiah — Righteousness of Jehovah. (1.) The last king of Judah. He was the third son of Josiah, and his mother’s name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah, and hence he was the brother of Jehoahaz…
Ahab · .Prophecies against — .Prophecies against
Armies · Illustrative of: Multitudes of angels — Illustrative of: Multitudes of angels
Armies Of Israel, The · Often led by the king in person — Often led by the king in person
Micaiah · A prophet who reproved King Ahab — A prophet who reproved King Ahab
Reproof · .Mi — .Mi
Syria · The Israelites: Under Ahab sought to recover Ramoth-gilead from — The Israelites: Under Ahab sought to recover Ramoth-gilead from
And he saith, hear thou therefore the word of the Lord,.... Since he had represented what he had said as proceeding from hatred to him, he would make it clear and plain that what he had said was the word of the Lord, and according to his mind; and that what the other prophets had said was owing to a lying spirit in them, which the Lord suffered for his ruin; all which are represented as in a vision, in which things are brought down to the capacities of men, and not as really transacted:
I saw the Lord sitting on his throne; so it was represented to his mind, as if he had seen with his bodily eyes the divine Being in a glorious form, as a king sitting on his throne, to do justice and judgmen…
Allied Campaign of Ahab and Jehoshaphat against the Syrians at Ramoth, and Death of Ahab (compare 2 Chron 18:2-34). - Kg1 22:1. "And they rested three years; there was no war between Aram and Israel," ישׁב here is to keep quiet, to undertake nothing, as in Jdg 5:17, etc. The subject to ויּשׁבוּ is Aram and Israel mentioned in the second clause. The length of time given here points back to the end of the war described in 1 Kings 20.
Kg1 22:2-4
In the third year (not necessarily "towards the end of it," as Thenius supposes, for Jehoshaphat's visit preceded the renewal of the war) Jehoshaphat visited the king of Israel, with whom he had already formed a marriage alliance by marrying his son to…
Micaiah explained that God had allowed a lying spirit of prophecy to mislead Ahab to bring about his death. In his sovereignty, God used the counsel of Ahab’s false prophets to accomplish his will.
Rashi on 1 Kings 22:19
To His right and to His left. Is there “left” in Heaven? Is it not stated, “The right hand of Adonoy’s is exalted, the right hand of Adonoy performs deeds of valor,”10Tehillim 118:16. [and,] “Your right hand, Adonoy, is adorned with power; Your right hand, Adonoy, crushes the enemy”11Shemos 15:6.? But rather, these are on the right and these are on the left. Those on the right present the case for the defense and those on the left present the case for the prosecution.
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).
