Synopsis of the Chapter
Jehoshaphat gives to his son Jehoram the daughter of the impious King Ahab as wife, and goes with him to battle, in which, according to the oracle of Micaiah, Ahab is killed.
Verse 1: Allied by Marriage with Ahab ¶
HE ALLIED HIMSELF BY MARRIAGE WITH AHAB — by giving his daughter Athaliah as wife to his son Jehoram, as is clear from chapter 21, verse 6. This was the one sin of Jehoshaphat, that he entered into alliance and marriage with the impious Ahab. For Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab, introduced idolatry into Judea, and having killed all the king's sons, made herself queen.
Verse 20: A Spirit Came Forward ¶
20. A SPIRIT CAME FORWARD — an evil one, namely the devil. The Rabbis fable that this spirit was the soul of Naboth, who had been unjustly stoned to death by Jezebel, as though he were here avenging himself, and contrived that Ahab be deceived by the false prophets, so that he would go to the battle in which he was to be killed.
Verse 25: Joash the Son of the King ¶
25. AND TO JOASH THE SON OF AMELECH: so also Pagninus. In Hebrew it is ben hammelech, which the Septuagint properly translate as 'the son of the king.' Whence it seems that this Joash was a son of Ahab, who, setting out for war against the Syrians, entrusted the custody of Samaria to this son of his.
Verse 27: Hear, All You Peoples ¶
27. HEAR, ALL YOU PEOPLES — and note every word of my oracle, so that when shortly afterward you see each thing fulfilled, you may know that I was sent by God and foretold these things; and therefore that death befell Ahab not by chance, but by God's avenging justice; so that you may beware of his idols and crimes, and return to the God of Judah.
Verse 34: The King Stood in His Chariot ¶
34. THE KING OF ISRAEL STOOD IN HIS CHARIOT FACING THE SYRIANS UNTIL EVENING — for although Ahab was wounded, he nevertheless stood firm in his chariot, to encourage his men in the battle against the Syrians, until in the evening his breath and life departed from him together with his blood.