1 Kings 22:11

11 Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron, and said, Thus says Yahweh, With these shall you push the Syrians, until they be consumed.

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 called an officer, and said, Get quickly Micaiah the son of Imlah.

10 Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting each on his throne, arrayed in their robes, in an open place at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets were prophesying before them.

11 Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron, and said, Thus says Yahweh, With these shall you push the Syrians, until they be consumed.

12 All the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramoth-gilead, and prosper; for Yahweh will deliver it into the hand of the king.

13 The messenger who went to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, See now, the words of the prophets [declare] good to the king with one mouth: please let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak you good.