Melachim Alef 22:22

22 And Hashem said unto him, By what means? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a ruach sheker in the mouth of all his nevi’im. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also; go forth, do so.

Melachim Alef 22:22 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 22:22

And the Lord said unto him, wherewith?
&c.] What way and method did he propose, to persuade Ahab to go up to Ramoth? the Lord is introduced in this visionary narrative as asking this question, not as ignorant of the scheme of the evil spirit, but in order to bring it out, and lead on to the following account:

and he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth
of all his prophets;
put them on encouraging Ahab to go up, and promising him success, as he had in former battles with the king of Syria, and which might both encourage them to give forth such a prediction, and him to believe it to be true; this proposal was quite agreeable to the character of the devil, as the father of lies:

and he said, thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also;
not only make use of this artifice to persuade, but succeed also; the Lord knew that what he should suggest to the prophets, and they should deliver to Ahab, would be agreeable to his inclination, nor would he do anything in the course of his providence to hinder its taking effect:

go forth, and do so;
which was giving leave to try his skill in the art of persuasion, in which he knew he would succeed, and bring on the righteous judgment of God upon Ahab; with this compare ( John 13:27 ) .

Melachim Alef 22:22 In-Context

20 And Hashem said, Who shall persuade Ach’av, that he may go up and fall at Ramot-Gil`ad? And one said one thing, and one said another.

21 And there came forth the ruach, and stood before Hashem, and said, I will persuade him.

22 And Hashem said unto him, By what means? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a ruach sheker in the mouth of all his nevi’im. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also; go forth, do so.

23 Now therefore, hinei, Hashem hath put a ruach sheker in the mouth of all these thy nevi’im, and Hashem hath spoken ra’ah concerning thee.

24 But Tzidkiyah ben Kena’anah went near, and struck Mikhay’hu on the cheek, and said, Which way did the Ruach Hashem go when he went from me to speak to you?