What Does 1 Kings 22:25 Mean?
And Micaiah said, Behold, you will see on that day, when you go into an inner room to hide yourself.
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 Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see in that day, when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself.THE KEY
The verse places sight and concealment inside the same day: retreat does not prevent the moment from being witnessed.
THE MEANING
You see what is unfolding, then go inward to hide. The concealment happens within the day of seeing, so retreat does not erase what has become visible.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A hidden place cannot make an exposed moment disappear.
THE ROOT
לְהֵחָבֵא
lehechave
GROWS FROM
חבא
ḥ-b-ʾ
To hide or conceal.
“hide” in this verse is lehechave. The root can describe hiding oneself or concealing something else; hiding is an action that creates cover. Here it stands beside ראה, “see,” so retreat and sight coexist instead of concealment erasing what has been seen.
ALSO GROWS
vayyitḥabbēʾ: He hid himself.
וַיִּתְחַבֵּא
The same root describes Adam hiding himself after hearing the LORD’s voice in Genesis 3:8; concealment follows an encounter rather than undoing it.
lehaḥbî: To hide or conceal something.
לְהַחְבִּיא
This causative form shows the root can mean making something hidden, while this verse describes a person entering concealment.
רֹאֶה
ro'eh
GROWS FROM
ראה
r-ʾ-h
To see or perceive.
“see” in this verse is ro'eh. The same root can name a seer and an appearance, keeping the act of seeing connected to what comes into view. In this verse, seeing and going into hiding belong to one unfolding moment.
ALSO GROWS
ro'eh: One who sees; a seer.
רֹאֶה
The verse uses this form for seeing, then places that sight alongside the act of hiding.
mar'eh: An appearance or vision.
מַרְאֶה
This branch names what is seen, drawing attention to the visible event that remains present even as someone retreats.
THE PATTERN
When exposure draws near, concealment becomes a visible response.
And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the breath of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the face of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the aligned are bold as a lion.For everyone who does worthless things hates the light, and does not come to the light, so that their deeds would not be exposed.THE THREAD
And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the breath of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the face of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.Genesis uses the same חבא root for Adam hiding himself after hearing the LORD’s voice. Across both verses, hiding is a response to an encounter; it changes where a person stands, but does not undo what has been seen or heard.
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