1Ki 22:30-36 | Clarke | STEP | Verse 30 I will disguise myself - Probably he had heard of the orders given by Ben-hadad to his thirty-two captains, to fight with the king of Israel only; that is, to make their most powerful attack where he commanded, in order to take him prisoner, that he might lead him captive whose captive he formerly was; and therefore he disguised himself that he might not be known. But put thou on thy robes - What is meant by this? He could not mean, "Appear as the king of Judah, for they will not molest thee, as the matter of contention lies between them and me;" this is Jarchi's turn. For if Jehoshaphat aided Ahab, is it to be supposed that the Syrians would spare him in battle? A general in the civil wars of England, when he had brought his army in sight of their foes, thus addressed them: "Yonder are your enemies; if you do not kill them, they will kill you." So it might be said in the case of Jehoshaphat and the Syrians. The Septuagint gives the clause a different and more intelligible turn: "I will cover (conceal) myself, and enter into the battle; και συ ενδυσαι τον ἱματισμον μου, but put thou on My robes." And does it not appear that he did put on Ahab's robes? And was it not this that caused the Syrians to mistake him for the king of Israel? .

‏ 1 Kings 22:30-36

Verse 30

I will disguise myself - Probably he had heard of the orders given by Ben-hadad to his thirty-two captains, to fight with the king of Israel only; that is, to make their most powerful attack where he commanded, in order to take him prisoner, that he might lead him captive whose captive he formerly was; and therefore he disguised himself that he might not be known.

But put thou on thy robes - What is meant by this? He could not mean, "Appear as the king of Judah, for they will not molest thee, as the matter of contention lies between them and me;" this is Jarchi's turn. For if Jehoshaphat aided Ahab, is it to be supposed that the Syrians would spare him in battle? A general in the civil wars of England, when he had brought his army in sight of their foes, thus addressed them: "Yonder are your enemies; if you do not kill them, they will kill you." So it might be said in the case of Jehoshaphat and the Syrians.

The Septuagint gives the clause a different and more intelligible turn: "I will cover (conceal) myself, and enter into the battle; και συ ενδυσαι τον ἱματισμον μου, but put thou on My robes." And does it not appear that he did put on Ahab's robes? And was it not this that caused the Syrians to mistake him for the king of Israel? 1Kgs 22:32. Verse 34

Drew a bow at a venture - It is supposed that he shot, as the archers in general did, not aiming at any person in particular.

The word לתמו lethummo, which we translate in his simplicity, has been variously understood; in his integrity, his uprightness; in his perfection; i.e., to the utmost of his skill and strength. This is most probably the meaning; and may imply both aim and power, having his butt full in view.

In cases where the archers wished to do the greatest execution, they bent their bows, and pulled till the subtending string drew back the arrow up to its head. This they could not do always, because it required their whole strength; and they could not put forth their utmost effort each time and continue to discharge many shots. Our old national ballad of the Chevy-chace mentions the slaying of Sir Hugh Montgomery, who had slain Earl Percy, in nearly the same way that Ahab appears to have been shot: - "And thus did both these nobles die,

Whose courage none could stain:

An English archer then perceived

His noble lord was slain,

Who had a bow bent in his hand

Made of a trusty tree;

An arrow, of a cloth-yard long,

Up to the head drew he; Against

Sir Hugh Montgomery then

So right his shaft he set,

The gray goose wing that was thereon

In his heart's blood was wet."

Between the joints of the harness - "Between the cuirass and the lower part of the helmet;" and then the arrow must pass through the neck, just above the breast: or "between the cuirass and the cuissarts;" and then the arrow must pass through the abdomen, or just where the armor of the thighs joins to that which covers the breast and belly.

The Vulgate has Inter pulmonem et stomachum; "Between the lungs and the stomach;" consequently, in the region of the heart. Verse 35

The king was stayed up - He did not wish his misfortune should be known, lest his troops should be discouraged. Verse 36

Every man to his city - It appears that the Israelites and Jews maintained the fight the whole of the day; but when at evening the king died, and this was known, there was a proclamation made, probably with the consent of both Syrians and Israelites, that the war was over. Ahab being dead, his subjects did not choose to contend for Ramoth-gilead; so the Israelites went to their own cities, and the Syrians to their own country.