translation_id: net-engnet

label: NET translator note

text: Heb “at the end of years.”


text: The word “visit” is supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.


text: For location see Map2-B1 ; Map4-D3 ; Map5-E2 ; Map6-A4 ; Map7-C1 .


text: Heb “and Ahab slaughtered for him sheep and cattle in abundance, and for the people who were with him.”


text: Heb “to go up.”


text: Heb “Like me, like you; and like your people, my people; and with you in battle.”


text: Heb “and Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel.”


text: Heb “the word of the Lord .” Jehoshaphat is requesting a prophetic oracle revealing the Lord’s will in the matter and their prospects for success. For examples of such oracles, see 2 Sam 5:19, 23-24 .


text: Heb “Should we go against Ramoth Gilead for war or should I refrain?”


text: Though Jehoshaphat had requested an oracle from “the Lord ” ( יְהוָה , yÿhvah , “Yahweh”), the Israelite prophets stop short of actually using this name and substitute the title הָאֱלֹהִים ( ha ’ elohim , “the God”). This ambiguity may explain in part Jehoshaphat’s hesitancy and caution (vv. 7-8 ). He seems to doubt that the 400 are genuine prophets of the Lord .


text: Heb “to seek the Lord from him.”


text: Or “hate.”


text: Heb “all his days.”


text: Heb “at,” which in this case probably means “near.”


text: Heb “the words of the prophets are [with] one mouth good for the king.”


text: Heb “let your words be like one of them and speak good.”


text: Heb “he”; the referent (Micaiah) has been specified in the translation both for clarity and for stylistic reasons.


text: Or “swear an oath by.”


text: Heb “he”; the referent (Micaiah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


text: Heb “the spirit.” The significance of the article prefixed to רוּחַ ( ruakh ) is uncertain, but it could contain a clue as to this spirit’s identity, especially when interpreted in light of verse 23 . It is certainly possible, and probably even likely, that the article is used in a generic or dramatic sense and should be translated, “a spirit.” In the latter case it would show that this spirit was vivid and definite in the mind of Micaiah the storyteller. However, if one insists that the article indicates a well-known or universally known spirit, the following context provides a likely referent. Verse 23 tells how Zedekiah slapped Micaiah in the face and then asked sarcastically, “Which way did the spirit from the Lord ( רוּחַ־יְהוָה , ruakh-yÿhvah ) go when he went from me to speak to you?” When the phrase “the spirit of the Lord ” refers to the divine spirit (rather than the divine breath or mind, as in Isa 40:7, 13 ) elsewhere, the spirit energizes an individual or group for special tasks or moves one to prophesy. This raises the possibility that the deceiving spirit of vv. 20-22 is the same as the divine spirit mentioned by Zedekiah in v. 23 . This would explain why the article is used on רוּחַ ( ruakh ); he can be called “the spirit” because he is the well-known spirit who energizes the prophets.


text: Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord ) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


text: The Hebrew text has two imperfects connected by וְגַם ( vÿgam ). These verbs could be translated as specific futures, “you will deceive and also you will prevail,” in which case the Lord is assuring the spirit of success on his mission. However, in a commissioning context (note the following imperatives) such as this, it is more likely that the imperfects are injunctive, in which case one could translate, “Deceive, and also overpower.”


text: Heb “the bread of affliction and the water of affliction.”


text: Heb “Listen.”


text: The Hebrew verbal forms could be imperatives (“Disguise yourself and enter”), but this would make no sense in light of the immediately following context. The forms are better interpreted as infinitives absolute functioning as cohortatives (see IBHS 594 §35.5.2a). Some prefer to emend the forms to imperfects.


text: Heb “small or great.”


text: Heb “now a man drew a bow in his innocence” (i.e., with no specific target in mind, or at least without realizing his target was the king of Israel).


text: Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.


text: Heb “camp.”