What Does 1 Kings 22:10 Mean?
And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah each settled on his throne, having put on their robes, on the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets prophesied before them.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah sat each on his throne, having put on their robes, in a void place in the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them.THE KEY
The Hebrew word for the kings’ robes, begadim, shares the root בגד with bagad, “to act treacherously,” letting visible covering echo the hidden betrayal of the prophetic chorus.
THE MEANING
Rank and agreement can make a claim look settled, but neither reveals where the words come from. The scene speaks now whenever polished display and a unanimous chorus make certainty seem complete before its source is tested.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A chorus speaking before power is not proof of truth; the story later exposes a lying spirit behind the prophets’ unanimous words.
THE ROOT
בְּגָדִים
begadim
GROWS FROM
בגד
b-g-d
To cover; by extension, to act covertly or treacherously.
“robes” in this verse is begadim. The word for a garment, beged, and the verb bagad, “to act treacherously,” belong to the same root family. The visible royal covering thus echoes the concealed betrayal that the prophetic chorus will later reveal.
ALSO GROWS
beged: Garment or covering.
בֶּגֶד
This is the singular form behind the robes in the verse, bringing the root’s sense of covering into the royal scene.
bagad: To act treacherously or deal falsely.
בָּגַד
This branch makes the garments’ shared consonants resonate with the deceit later disclosed behind the prophets’ words.
יְהוֹשָׁפָט
Yehoshaphat
GROWS FROM
שפט
sh-p-t
To judge or render a verdict; the name means “YHWH judges.”
Jehoshaphat’s name carries the judgment of YHWH into a scene filled with thrones and prophetic voices. The arrangement looks as if the verdict is already settled, while his name points beyond the court’s visible authority.
ALSO GROWS
shāphaṭ: To judge or govern.
שָׁפַט
This verb supplies the judgment element in Jehoshaphat’s name.
mishpāṭ: Judgment or justice.
מִשְׁפָּט
This related noun gives the name’s root a concrete connection to the verdict implied by the court scene.
מִתְנַבְּאִים
mitnabbe’im
GROWS FROM
נבא
n-b-ʾ
To speak as a prophet; to utter prophetic speech.
“prophesied” in this verse is mitnabbe’im. The noun “prophet” and the verb “prophesy” grow from the same Hebrew root, joining identity and action in one word-family. The root names the kind of speech, while the chapter goes on to test the source behind it.
ALSO GROWS
navi: Prophet.
נָבִיא
The prophets before the kings bear the noun from the same root as their act of prophesying.
nevu’ah: Prophecy.
נְבוּאָה
This noun names the prophetic message itself, linking the speakers in the scene to the words they deliver.
THE PATTERN
Publicly staged certainty can conceal speech whose source is compromised.
And the LORD said to him, By what? And he said, I will go forth and be a lying breath in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, You will coax him and also prevail; go forth and do so.Thus says the LORD of hosts, Do not hear and respond to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you; they make you vapor. They speak a sight of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD.For a time will come when they will not bear healthy teaching, but according to their own desires they will heap up teachers for themselves, having itching ears.THE THREAD
And the LORD said to him, By what? And he said, I will go forth and be a lying breath in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, You will coax him and also prevail; go forth and do so.The Hebrew word for “prophets” here comes from the same נבא root as “prophesied” in verse 10. The next disclosure names a lying spirit in their mouths, exposing the source beneath the chorus’s unanimity.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us