1 Kings 20:37

37 Then the prophet found another man and said, “Strike me, please!” So the man struck him and wounded him,

1 Kings 20:37 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 20:37

Then he found another man, and said, smite me, I pray thee,
&c.] This is not said to be his neighbour, nor one of the sons of the prophets, but a rustic man, and so stuck not to take him at his word:

and the man smote him, so that in smiting he wounded him;
in his face; made some incision in his flesh, broke the skin, and fetched blood of him; perhaps somewhere about his eyes, by what follows: this he got done to him, that he might look like a wounded soldier, and thereby get the more easily to the speech of Ahab.

1 Kings 20:37 In-Context

35 Meanwhile, by the word of the LORD, one of the sons of the prophets said to his companion, “Strike me, please!” But the man refused to strike him.

36 Then the prophet said to him, “Because you have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, as soon as you depart from me a lion will kill you.” And when he left, a lion found him and killed him.

37 Then the prophet found another man and said, “Strike me, please!” So the man struck him and wounded him,

38 and the prophet went and waited on the road for the king, disguising himself with a bandage over his eyes.

39 As the king passed by, he cried out to the king: “Your servant had marched out into the middle of the battle, when suddenly a man came over with a captive and told me, ‘Guard this man! If he goes missing for any reason, your life will be exchanged for his life, or you will weigh out a talent of silver. ’