Albert Barnes Commentary


Albert Barnes Commentary
"Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king." — 1 Kings 22:6 (ASV)
The prophets—that is, in all probability, the prophets attached to the worship of the calves, not the true prophets of Yahweh. This seems evident both from Jehoshaphat’s dissatisfaction (1 Kings 22:7) and from the strong antagonism apparent between the true prophet of Yahweh, Micaiah, and these self-styled “prophets of the Lord” (1 Kings 22:22–25).
The Lord shall deliver it. In the Hebrew, the word used here for “Lord” is אדני 'ǎdonāy. Later (that is, in 1 Kings 22:11–12), Lord or יהוה yehovâh is used. It would seem as if the idolatrous prophets shrank from using the latter title until they found that Jehoshaphat insisted on learning the will of Yahweh in the matter.