2 Chronicles 18:5
18:5 So the king of Israel assembled 400 prophets and asked them, “Should we attack Ramoth Gilead or not?” 1 They said, “Attack! God 2 will hand it over to the king.”
2 Chronicles 18:14
18:14 Micaiah 3 came before the king and the king asked him, “Micaiah, should we attack Ramoth Gilead or not?” He answered him, “Attack! You will succeed; they will be handed over to you.” 4
2 Chronicles 18:16
18:16 Micaiah 5 replied, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains like sheep that have no shepherd. Then the Lord said, ‘They have no master. They should go home in peace.’”
2 Chronicles 20:12
20:12 Our God, will you not judge them? For we are powerless against this huge army that attacks us! We don’t know what we should do; we look to you for help.” 6
2 Chronicles 23:6
23:6 No one must enter the Lord’s temple except the priests and Levites who are on duty. They may enter because they are ceremonially pure. All the others should carry out their assigned service to the Lord.
2 Chronicles 25:9
25:9 Amaziah asked the prophet: 7 “But what should I do about the hundred talents of silver I paid the Israelite troops?” The prophet 8 replied, “The Lord is capable of giving you more than that.”
2 Chronicles 32:4
32:4 A large number of people gathered together and stopped up all the springs and the stream that flowed through the district. 9 They reasoned, 10 “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find plenty of water?”
1 tn Heb “Should we go against Ramoth Gilead for war or should I refrain?”
2 tn 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.
3 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Micaiah) has been specified in the translation both for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
4 sn One does not expect Micaiah, having just vowed to speak only what the Lord tells him, to agree with the other prophets and give the king an inaccurate prophecy. Micaiah’s actions became understandable later, when we discover that the Lord desires to deceive the king and lead him to his demise. The Lord even dispatches a lying spirit to deceive Ahab’s prophets. Micaiah can lie to the king because he realizes this lie is from the Lord. It is important to note that in v. 13 Micaiah only vows to speak the word of his God; he does not necessarily say he will tell the truth. In this case the Lord’s word is deliberately deceptive. Only when the king adjures him to tell the truth (v. 15), does Micaiah do so.
5 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Micaiah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 tn Heb “for [or “indeed”] upon you are our eyes.”
7 tn Heb “said to the man of God.”
8 tn Heb “man of God.”
9 tn Heb “and they closed up all the springs and the stream that flows in the midst of the land.” Here אָרֶץ (’arets, “land”) does not refer to the entire land, but to a smaller region like a district.
10 tn Heb “land, saying.”