1 Kings 22:11

11 And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made for himself ¹horns of iron and said, "Thus says the LORD, 'With these ²you shall push the Syrians 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 Israel summoned an officer and said, "Bring quickly Micaiah the son of Imlah."

10 Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting on their thrones, arrayed in their robes, at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them.

11 And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made for himself horns of iron and said, "Thus says the LORD, 'With these you shall push the Syrians until they are destroyed.'"

12 And all the prophets prophesied so and said, "Go up to Ramoth-gilead and triumph; the LORD will give it into the hand of the king."

13 And the messenger who went to summon Micaiah said to him, "Behold, the words of the prophets with one accord are favorable to the king. Let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably."

Cross References

• 1. [Zechariah 1:18, 19]
• 2. [Deuteronomy 33:17]