Discovery Box1 Kings 13:1-10 
Context13:1 Just then 1 a prophet 2 from Judah, sent by the Lord, arrived in Bethel, 3 as Jeroboam was standing near the altar ready to offer a sacrifice. 13:2 With the authority of the Lord 4 he cried out against the altar, “O altar, altar! This is what the Lord says, ‘Look, a son named Josiah will be born to the Davidic dynasty. He will sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who offer sacrifices on you. Human bones will be burned on you.’” 5 13:3 That day he also announced 6 a sign, “This is the sign the Lord has predetermined: 7 The altar will be split open and the ashes 8 on it will fall to the ground.” 9 13:4 When the king heard what the prophet 10 cried out against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam, standing at the altar, extended his hand 11 and ordered, 12 “Seize him!” The hand he had extended shriveled up 13 and he could not pull it back. 13:5 The altar split open and the ashes 14 fell from the altar to the ground, 15 in fulfillment of the sign the prophet had announced with the Lord’s authority. 16 13:6 The king pled with 17 the prophet, 18 “Seek the favor of 19 the Lord your God and pray for me, so that my hand may be restored.” So the prophet sought the Lord’s favor 20 and the king’s hand was restored to its former condition. 21 13:7 The king then said to the prophet, “Come home with me and have something to eat. I’d like to give a present.” 13:8 But the prophet said to the king, “Even if you were to give me half your possessions, 22 I could not go with you and eat and drink 23 in this place. 13:9 For the Lord gave me strict orders, 24 ‘Do not eat or drink 25 there and do not go home the way you came.’” 13:10 So he started back on another road; he did not travel back on the same road he had taken to Bethel.
1 tn Heb “Look.” The Hebrew particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) is a rhetorical device by which the author invites the reader to visualize the scene for dramatic effect.
2 tn Heb “the man of God.”
3 tn Heb “came by the word of the
4 tn Heb “by the word of the
5 sn ‘Look…you.’ For the fulfillment of this prophecy see 2 Kgs 23:15-20.
6 tn Heb “gave.”
7 tn Heb “spoken.”
8 tn Heb “the fat.” Reference is made to burnt wood mixed with fat. See HALOT 234 s.v. דשׁן.
9 tn Heb “will be poured out.”
10 tn Heb “the man of God.”
11 tn Heb “Jeroboam extended his hand from the altar.”
12 tn Heb “saying.”
13 tn Heb “dried up” or “withered.” TEV and NLT interpret this as “became paralyzed.”
14 tn Heb “the fat.” Reference is made to burnt wood mixed with fat. See HALOT 234 s.v. דשׁן.
15 tn Heb “were poured out from the altar.”
16 tn Heb “according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the
17 tn Heb “The king answered and said to.”
18 tn Heb “the man of God” (a second time later in this verse, and once in v. 7 and v. 8).
19 tn Heb “appease the face of.”
20 tn Heb “appeased the face of the
21 tn Heb “and it was as in the beginning.”
22 tn Heb “house.”
23 tn Heb “eat food and drink water.”
24 tn Heb “for this he commanded me by the word of the
25 tn Heb “eat food and drink water.”
