What Does 1 Kings 22:9 Mean in the King James?
Then the king of Israel called an officer, and said, Hasten hither Micaiah the son of Imlah.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The king can summon Micaiah into the room, but the summons does not own the words he will speak.
THE MEANING
Urgency can call you into someone else’s presence without owning your answer. Micaiah is summoned in haste, while what he will say remains open until he speaks.
THE ROOT
וַיִּקְרָא
wayyiqraʾ
GROWS FROM
ק־ר־א
q-r-ʾ
to call, proclaim, or name
“called” in this verse is wayyiqraʾ. The same root carries calling, naming, and public proclamation, joining a summons to the act of bringing someone or something into address. The king can call Micaiah into his presence; the root leaves the words Micaiah will speak unclaimed by the summons.
ALSO GROWS
qaraʾ: to call, proclaim, or name
קָרָא
The root verb shows that the king’s act is a summons, while the answer remains a separate act of speech.
miqraʾ: a reading or convocation
מִקְרָא
This related word carries the sense of people or words being called together, extending the root’s link between calling and public address.
מַהֵר
mahēr
GROWS FROM
מ־ה־ר
m-h-r
to hasten or move quickly
“Hasten” in this verse is mahēr. The command places speed on Micaiah’s arrival, not on the truth of his answer. The verse marks the king’s urgency, while Micaiah’s words remain unstated.
ALSO GROWS
mahīr: quick or swift
מָהִיר
This related form carries the root’s sense of speed, showing that the order concerns how quickly Micaiah is brought in.
meherāh: quickly or in haste
מְהֵרָה
This adverbial form makes the root’s urgency explicit: the summons presses for speed of arrival.
THE PATTERN
A summons opens a moment of response; the answer reveals what the call alone cannot determine.
And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee.THE THREAD
And Micaiah said, As the LORD liveth, what the LORD saith unto me, that will I speak.The king’s haste brings Micaiah before him, but Micaiah’s next words show what the summons cannot command: he speaks what the LORD says to him. The distance between controlling someone’s arrival and controlling their answer is the hinge of the scene.
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