1 Kings 22:11

11 Tzidkiyah the son of Kena'anah had made himself some horns out of iron and said, "This is what ADONAI says: 'With these you will gore Aram until they are destroyed.'"

1 Kings 22:11 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 22:11

And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron
Horns are emblems of power and might, and iron ones of greater strength still; the prophets sometimes made use of visible signs, to represent the things they prophesied of should come to pass, see ( Isaiah 20:2 Isaiah 20:3 ) ( Jeremiah 27:2 ) , and the same method this prophet took:

and he saith, thus saith the Lord; imitating the true prophets: with
these shall thou push the Syrians until thou hast consumed them:
Abarbinel thinks he had in view the blessing of Joseph by Moses, ( Deuteronomy 33:17 ) where he is compared to a bullock with horns; and these said to be the ten thousands of Ephraim, and the thousands of Manasseh; and Ahab being of the tribe of Joseph, and ruling in Ephraim and Manasseh, the prophet chose to make use of this emblem for his encouragement.

1 Kings 22:11 In-Context

9 Then the king of Isra'el called an officer and said, "Quickly! Bring Mikhay'hu the son of Yimlah."
10 Now the king of Isra'el and Y'hoshafat the king of Y'hudah were each sitting on his throne, dressed in their royal robes, on a threshing-floor at the entrance to the gate of Shomron; and all the prophets were there, prophesying in their presence.
11 Tzidkiyah the son of Kena'anah had made himself some horns out of iron and said, "This is what ADONAI says: 'With these you will gore Aram until they are destroyed.'"
12 All the prophets prophesied the same thing: "Go up and attack Ramot-Gil'ad. You will succeed, for ADONAI will hand it over to the king."
13 The messenger who had gone to call Mikhay'hu said to him, "Here, now, the prophets are unanimously predicting success for the king. Please let your word be like the word of one of them - say something good."
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.