Spirit in 1 Kings 22:21

The NASB translates 1 Kings 22:21 as “then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will entice him.’” But the Hebrew has the definite article with “spirit” (RUACH), and the mentioned in v 23 is explicitly the Spirit of Yahweh. Apparently, it’s THE Spirit that volunteers to be the lying spirit in the mouth of the prophets of Ahab. Ahab’s prophets are inspired, and are inspired by the Spirit of Yahweh, but the words they speak are misleading, equivocal, and intended to seduce.

The Spirit is, as Jim Jordan says, the divine matchmaker, the power of the Husband’s “seduction” of His bride. But here, the Spirit seduces in a different direction, to entice Ahab toward the grave.

Next
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

How the State Failed Noelia Castillo

Itxu Díaz

On March 26, Noelia Castillo, a twenty-five-year-old Spanish woman, was killed by her doctors at her own…

The Mind’s Profane and Sacred Loves

Algis Valiunas

The teachers you have make all the difference in your life. That they happened to come into…

History’s Pro Tips on Iran

Francis X. Maier

Nothing in human experience compares to the wars of the last 120 years. Their scope has grown…