2 And he cried H7121 against the altar H4196 in the word H1697 of the LORD, H3068 and said, H559 O altar, H4196 altar, H4196 thus saith H559 the LORD; H3068 Behold, a child H1121 shall be born H3205 unto the house H1004 of David, H1732 Josiah H2977 by name; H8034 and upon thee shall he offer H2076 the priests H3548 of the high places H1116 that burn incense H6999 upon thee, and men's H120 bones H6106 shall be burnt H8313 upon thee.
That confirmeth H6965 the word H1697 of his servant, H5650 and performeth H7999 the counsel H6098 of his messengers; H4397 that saith H559 to Jerusalem, H3389 Thou shalt be inhabited; H3427 and to the cities H5892 of Judah, H3063 Ye shall be built, H1129 and I will raise up H6965 the decayed places H2723 thereof: That saith H559 to the deep, H6683 Be dry, H2717 and I will dry up H3001 thy rivers: H5104 That saith H559 of Cyrus, H3566 He is my shepherd, H7462 and shall perform H7999 all my pleasure: H2656 even saying H559 to Jerusalem, H3389 Thou shalt be built; H1129 and to the temple, H1964 Thy foundation shall be laid. H3245
And G2532 he answered G611 and said G2036 unto them, G846 I tell G3004 you G5213 that, G3754 if G1437 these G3778 should hold their peace, G4623 the stones G3037 would immediately cry out. G2896
And I will turn thee back, H7725 and put H5414 hooks H2397 into thy jaws, H3895 and I will bring thee forth, H3318 and all thine army, H2428 horses H5483 and horsemen, H6571 all of them clothed H3847 with all sorts H4358 of armour, even a great H7227 company H6951 with bucklers H6793 and shields, H4043 all of them handling H8610 swords: H2719
Therefore, ye mountains H2022 of Israel, H3478 hear H8085 the word H1697 of the Lord H136 GOD; H3069 Thus saith H559 the Lord H136 GOD H3069 to the mountains, H2022 and to the hills, H1389 to the rivers, H650 and to the valleys, H1516 to the desolate H8074 wastes, H2723 and to the cities H5892 that are forsaken, H5800 which became a prey H957 and derision H3933 to the residue H7611 of the heathen H1471 that are round about; H5439
Cry H7121 aloud, H1627 spare H2820 not, lift H7311 up thy voice H6963 like a trumpet, H7782 and shew H5046 my people H5971 their transgression, H6588 and the house H1004 of Jacob H3290 their sins. H2403
I have even from the beginning H227 declared H5046 it to thee; before it came to pass H935 I shewed H8085 it thee: lest thou shouldest say, H559 Mine idol H6090 hath done H6213 them, and my graven image, H6459 and my molten image, H5262 hath commanded H6680 them. Thou hast heard, H8085 see H2372 all this; and will not ye declare H5046 it? I have shewed H8085 thee new things H2319 from this time, H6258 even hidden things, H5341 and thou didst not know H3045 them. They are created H1254 now, and not from the beginning; even before H6440 the day H3117 when thou heardest H8085 them not; lest thou shouldest say, H559 Behold, I knew H3045 them.
Give ear, H238 O ye heavens, H8064 and I will speak; H1696 and hear, H8085 O earth, H776 the words H561 of my mouth. H6310
And they brake down H5422 the altars H4196 of Baalim H1168 in his presence; H6440 and the images, H2553 that were on high above them, H4605 he cut down; H1438 and the groves, H842 and the carved images, H6456 and the molten images, H4541 he brake in pieces, H7665 and made dust H1854 of them, and strowed H2236 it upon H6440 the graves H6913 of them that had sacrificed H2076 unto them. And he burnt H8313 the bones H6106 of the priests H3548 upon their altars, H4196 and cleansed H2891 Judah H3063 and Jerusalem. H3389 And so did he in the cities H5892 of Manasseh, H4519 and Ephraim, H669 and Simeon, H8095 even unto Naphtali, H5321 with their mattocks H2719 round about. H5439 And when he had broken down H5422 the altars H4196 and the groves, H842 and had beaten H3807 the graven images H6456 into powder, H1854 and cut down H1438 all the idols H2553 throughout all the land H776 of Israel, H3478 he returned H7725 to Jerusalem. H3389
Josiah H2977 was eight H8083 years H8141 old H1121 when he began to reign, H4427 and he reigned H4427 in Jerusalem H3389 one H259 and thirty H7970 years. H8141
Moreover the altar H4196 that was at Bethel, H1008 and the high place H1116 which Jeroboam H3379 the son H1121 of Nebat, H5028 who made Israel H3478 to sin, H2398 had made, H6213 both that altar H4196 and the high place H1116 he brake down, H5422 and burned H8313 the high place, H1116 and stamped H1854 it small to powder, H6083 and burned H8313 the grove. H842 And as Josiah H2977 turned H6437 himself, he spied H7200 the sepulchres H6913 that were there in the mount, H2022 and sent, H7971 and took H3947 the bones H6106 out of the sepulchres, H6913 and burned H8313 them upon the altar, H4196 and polluted H2930 it, according to the word H1697 of the LORD H3068 which the man H376 of God H430 proclaimed, H7121 who proclaimed H7121 these words. H1697 Then he said, H559 What title H6725 is that H1975 that I see? H7200 And the men H582 of the city H5892 told H559 him, It is the sepulchre H6913 of the man H376 of God, H430 which came H935 from Judah, H3063 and proclaimed H7121 these things H1697 that thou hast done H6213 against the altar H4196 of Bethel. H1008 And he said, H559 Let him alone; H3240 let no man H376 move H5128 his bones. H6106 So they let his bones H6106 alone, H4422 with the bones H6106 of the prophet H5030 that came out H935 of Samaria. H8111
Josiah H2977 was eight H8083 years H8141 old H1121 when he began to reign, H4427 and he reigned H4427 thirty H7970 and one H259 years H8141 in Jerusalem. H3389 And his mother's H517 name H8034 was Jedidah, H3040 the daughter H1323 of Adaiah H5718 of Boscath. H1218 And he did H6213 that which was right H3477 in the sight H5869 of the LORD, H3068 and walked H3212 in all the way H1870 of David H1732 his father, H1 and turned not aside H5493 to the right hand H3225 or to the left. H8040
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on 1 Kings 13
Commentary on 1 Kings 13 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 13
1Ki 13:1-22. Jeroboam's Hand Withers.
1. there came a man of God out of Judah—Who this prophet was cannot be ascertained, He came by divine authority. It could not be either Iddo or Ahijah, for both were alive after the events here related.
Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense—It was at one of the annual festivals. The king, to give interest to the new ritual, was himself the officiating priest. The altar and its accompaniments would, of course, exhibit all the splendor of a new and gorgeously decorated temple. But the prophet foretold its utter destruction [1Ki 13:3].
2-9. he cried against the altar—which is put for the whole system of worship organized in Israel.
Behold, a child shall be born … Josiah by name—This is one of the most remarkable prophecies recorded in the Scriptures; and, in its clearness, circumstantial minuteness, and exact prediction of an event that took place three hundred sixty years later, it stands in striking contrast to the obscure and ambiguous oracles of the heathen. Being publicly uttered, it must have been well known to the people; and every Jew who lived at the accomplishment of the event must have been convinced of the truth of a religion connected with such a prophecy as this. A present sign was given of the remote event predicted, in a visible fissure being miraculously made on the altar. Incensed at the man's license of speech, Jeroboam stretched out his hand and ordered his attendants to seize the bold intruder. That moment the king's arm became stiff and motionless, and the altar split asunder, so that the fire and ashes fell on the floor. Overawed by the effects of his impiety, Jeroboam besought the prophet's prayer. His request was acceded to, and the hand was restored to its healthy state. Jeroboam was artful, and invited the prophet to the royal table, not to do him honor or show his gratitude for the restoration of his hand, but to win, by his courtesy and liberal hospitality, a person whom he could not crush by his power. But the prophet informed him of a divine injunction expressly prohibiting him from all social intercourse with any in the place, as well as from returning the same way. The prohibition not to eat or drink in Beth-el was because all the people had become apostates from the true religion, and the reason he was not allowed to return the same way was lest he should be recognized by any whom he had seen in going.
11. Now there dwelt an old prophet in Beth-el—If this were a true prophet, he was a bad man.
18. an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord—This circuitous mode of speaking, instead of simply saying, "the Lord spake to me," was adopted to hide an equivocation, to conceal a double meaning—an inferior sense given to the word "angel"—to offer a seemingly superior authority to persuade the prophet, while really the authority was secretly known to the speaker to be inferior. The "angel," that is, "messenger," was his own sons, who were worshippers, perhaps priests, at Beth-el. As this man was governed by self-interest, and wished to curry favor with the king (whose purpose to adhere to his religious polity, he feared, might be shaken by the portents that had occurred), his hastening after the prophet of Judah, the deception he practised, and the urgent invitation by which, on the ground of a falsehood, he prevailed on the too facile man of God to accompany him back to his house in Beth-el, were to create an impression in the king's mind that he was an impostor, who acted in opposition to his own statement.
21. he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah—rather, "it cried," that is, the word of the Lord.
1Ki 13:23-32. The Disobedient Prophet Slain by a Lion.
24. a lion met him by the way, and slew him—There was a wood near Beth-el infested with lions (2Ki 2:24). This sad catastrophe was a severe but necessary judgment of God, to attest the truth of the message with which the prophet had been charged. All the circumstances of this tragic occurrence (the undevoured carcass, the untouched ass, the passengers unmolested by the lion, though standing there) were calculated to produce an irresistible impression that the hand of God was in it.
31. bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried—His motive in making this request was either that his remains might not be disturbed when the predicted events took place (see 2Ki 23:18), or he had some superstitious hope of being benefited at the resurrection by being in the same cave with a man of God.