Prophets I Catholic Bible study Lesson 9

Thus Says the LORD: God Speaks
Through His Servants the Prophets

Volume I: A Kingdom Divided

Lesson 9 Ahab Dies in Battle
the First Book of the Kings 22:1—the Second Book of the Kings 1:18

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)*
New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE)*
Catechism of the Catholic Church
Rosarium Virginis Mariae (Rosary of the Virgin Mary)
ex libris (in our library)
glossary for Thus Says the LORD—Volume I
cross references in Thus Says the LORD—Volume I
next lesson: Elijah’s Fiery Departure

This material coordinates with Lesson 9 on pages 58–63 in Thus Says the LORD: God Speaks Through His Servants the Prophets—Volume I: A Kingdom Divided.

“Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant which they broke, and I showed myself their Master, says the LORD. But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each man teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”—the Book of Jeremiah 31:31–34

welcome to Volume I of our in-depth study of the biblical prophets
We invite you to check out the sample first lesson and video from Volume I of this Turning to God’s Word two-part Catholic Bible study. Our online pages link to the free related lesson videos, a glossary, and cross references in the biblical text, and include maps, additional commentary, and prayers based on the primary Scripture in each lesson. Thus Says the LORD: God Speaks Through His Servants the Prophets—Volume I: A Kingdom Divided contains 28 lessons and has been granted an imprimatur. It may be purchased from our website shop. The companion 23-lesson Volume II: Restoration & Redemption also is available for purchase. If you have a Bible-study question or comment, click on the “ask us your question” or “what do you think” button on any study page.

open with prayer
It’s always wise to begin any Bible study with prayer, whether reading the Scriptures alone or meeting with others in a discussion study group. You can pray using your own words or use one of the opening prayers on our website. We especially like the following:

Lord Jesus, you promised to send your Holy Spirit
to teach us all things.
As we read and study your word today,
allow it to touch our hearts and change our lives. Amen.

let’s review—the First Book of the Kings 20:1—21:29
In Lesson 8 Ahab Humbles Himself Before the LORD, God gives Ahab, ruler in the north, two decisive victories over the Syrians. Ahab, however, fails to destroy the Syrian king Ben-Hadad or any of the Syrian forces who escaped death in the fighting. When Ahab makes a covenant with Ben-Hadad, the LORD sends a prophet to announce that Ahab and his people must give their lives in exchange for sparing the Syrian king. Ahab is unsuccessful in persuading Naboth to sell or trade a vineyard near Ahab’s palace in Jezreel. Ahab’s wife Jezebel has Naboth falsely accused of blasphemy and killed so that Ahab can claim the land. God sends Elijah to announce that Ahab and his entire line are to meet the same fate that befell the houses of Jeroboam and Baasha. Because Ahab accepts this prophecy with humility, the LORD determines that the full extent of the evil won’t occur until after Ahab’s death.

map notes—a dispute over control of Ramoth-Gilead
The First Book of the Kings 20:34 recorded that Ahab, ruler of the northern kingdom of Israel, made a covenant with Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria, who had been attacking Samaria, Israel’s capital city. The twenty-second chapter in the First Book of the Kings discloses that this truce lasts three years before Ahab decides to fight the Syrians to regain control of Ramoth-Gilead, a city east of the Jordan River. Ahab persuades Jehoshaphat, ruler of the southern kingdom, to participate in the attack. Ahab’s court prophets predict a great victory, but the prophet Micaiah prophesies defeat. Micaiah’s prophecy proves true, and Ahab dies in the battle, but Jehoshaphat escapes with his life. The biblical text suggests that the somewhat surprising alliance between the northern and southern kingdoms occurs through the efforts of Jehoshaphat, ruler in the south. The First Book of the Kings 22:48 records that Jehoshaphat’s plan to send ships to Ophir comes to naught when the ships are wrecked at Ezion-Geber. (This introduces several places beyond the scope of the map—Tarshish, Ophir, and Ezion-Geber. The glossary provides more information about where scholars suspect these places were located.) The First Book of the Kings 22:49 records that Jehoshaphat is less trustful when Ahab’s son Ahaziah comes to the throne in the north, and Jehoshaphat refuses to allow any of Ahaziah’s servants on the ill-fated ships. Click on the map (right) to enlarge it. The original map is on page 62 in Thus Says the LORD: God Speaks Through His Servants the Prophets—Volume I: A Kingdom Divided.

what’s Jehoshaphat thinking? (39:35)
It’s one thing for Jehoshaphat to promote peace between his own southern kingdom of Judah and the northern kingdom of Israel. It’s something else again to join Ahab’s fight against Ben-Hadad, the Syrian king, for control of Ramoth-Gilead. In the video overview for Lesson 9, Turning to God’s Word author Matthew Phelps discusses the reasoning behind why the covenant that Ahab made with Ben-Hadad angered the LORD to the extent that God sent a prophet to announce that Ahab’s line was destined to meet the same fate as the houses of Jeroboam and Baasha. The only hint that Jehoshaphat might have an inkling it’s a bad idea to align the southern forces with Ahab’s troops occurs when Jehoshaphat asks to hear an opinion of a prophet who isn’t so closely connected to the court prophets employed by Ahab. That Ahab chooses to disguise himself to go into battle, but asks Jehoshaphat to wear royal robes might be a not-entirely-subtle hint that the peace between north and south is tenuous at best.

The Scripture ranges for the videos that accompany this Catholic Bible study match the ranges for the sets of questions in Thus Says the LORD: God Speaks Through His Servants the Prophets—Volume I: A Kingdom Divided. You can follow along with the video as Turning to God’s Word author Matthew Phelps discusses Lesson 9, “Ahab Dies in Battle,” on pages 58–63 in the study book.

there’s a lot going on in the region
Other political changes are occurring as well. The First Book of the Kings 22:47 discloses that Edom has no king. The Second Book of the Kings 1:1 records that after the death of Ahab, Moab rebels against the northern kingdom. Even more information about upheaval in the region can be found in the twentieth chapter in the Second Book of the Chronicles, which describes the LORD heading off an invasion of the southern kingdom of Judah by the Moabites, Ammonites, and Edomites. The Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study In the Beginning: The Book of Genesis contains more information about the origins of the Moabites, Ammonites, and Edomites and their relationship to the descendants of Jacob.

WHAT DO YOU THINK about the prophets active in Israel at this time?
The First Book of the Kings 22:6 discloses that after Jehoshaphat asks for verification from the LORD concerning the planned attack on the Syrians at Ramoth-Gilead, Ahab calls together 400 prophets of the LORD in Israel. This raises a number of questions.

? In the eighteenth chapter in the First Book of the Kings, Elijah repeatedly says: “I, even I only, am left a prophet to the LORD.” Since Ahab and his wife Jezebel have engaged in wholesale slaughter of the prophets of the LORD in Israel, from where might these 400 court prophets have come?
? Consider how attuned to the word of the LORD it’s likely that these 400 prophets are.
? Why might Jehoshaphat have reason to doubt the word of the court prophets summoned by Ahab?
? What might explain why Ahab sends for Micaiah even though Micaiah’s previous prophecies have not been what Ahab wanted to hear?
? After Micaiah announces that he intends to speak what the LORD tells him, regardless of what other prophets have said, what might explain why Micaiah then lies to Ahab?
? Consider whether the court prophet Zedekiah knows that his own prophecy is false.
? What benefit does Zedekiah stand to gain by discrediting Micaiah?

refer to the glossary to keep track of proper names
If you haven’t yet become acquainted with our online glossary for this Bible study, now would be a good time to check it out. The mention in the First Book of the Kings 22:26 of Joash as a son of Ahab is likely to cause confusion moving forward. This isn’t the same person who later succeeds Jehoahaz as ruler of the northern kingdom of Israel. Beginning with Lesson 16, things threaten to cause even more uncertainty because the Revised Standard Version and some other translations refer to Jehoahaz’s son as both Joash and Jehoash, making it easy to confuse him with the ruler of the southern kingdom of Judah who also is referred to by both names. In commentaries for this study, Jehoash always refers to the ruler of the northern kingdom of Israel and Joash always refers to the ruler of the southern kingdom of Judah. Apparently Ahab also has a son named Joash, although the son who succeeds Ahab as ruler in the north is named Ahaziah.

prophecy—you could look it up in our archives
Prophets and prophecy are essential in salvation history, but there are a number of different ideas about what these terms mean. In Lost in Translation, an online column that can help readers connect with ideas expressed in the original languages of the Scriptures, Turning to God’s Word author Matthew Phelps addresses different ways “prophecy” has been understood in a temporal or a spatial sense. What qualifies as a prophet’s primary mission? Is it likely that ideas about prophecy have been more closely connected to foretelling events or to speaking for God? New Lost in Translation entries are posted on Mondays, and past entries are archived on our website. Contact us if you’d like to receive Lost in Translation by email every week. Information about the role of prophecy in the New Testament is included in Lesson 20 The Voice in the Wilderness through Lesson 23 An Apocalyptic Vision of Christian Tribulation in Volume II: Restoration & Redemption of this Bible study.

biblical vocabulary—Baal-Zebub is a forerunner of Beelzebub
By the time of the New Testament, Baal-Zebub, who shows up in the Second Book of the Kings 1:3, has developed into Beelzebub, another name for the devil. In the Old Testament, Baal-Zebub is a name given by the Philistines to the god Baal. It means “Lord of the High Places,” and the name offers insight into why the worship that has developed on the high places in the north—and to some extent in the south—is so offensive to the LORD, the God of the descendants of Jacob.

Elijah’s connection to fire
In the first chapter in the Second Book of the Kings, the LORD responds to Elijah’s prayers by sending fire to destroy two groups of 50 men sent to escort Elijah to Ahaziah, who has become ill after falling through a lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria. Fire will continue to play a significant role in the biblical account of Elijah’s life as a prophet of the LORD.

a look at the genealogy in Matthew’s Gospel
Readers who compare the line of David in the First and Second Books of the Kings with the genealogy of Jesus in the first chapter in the Gospel According to Matthew will notice discrepancies. First, the ruler who is referred to as Asa in the First Book of the Kings is called Asaphe in the Gospel According to Matthew in some older printings of the Revised Standard Version. Jehoshaphat’s son Jehoram is called Joram, the father of Uzziah, who goes by that name and by the name Azariah in the Second Book of the Kings. The genealogy in the Gospel According to Matthew leaves Ahaziah, Athaliah, Joash, and Amaziah completely out of the listing of the rulers of Judah. Amon, who is the son of Manasseh, is referred to as Amoz in the Gospel According to Matthew. Jehoiakim’s son Jehoiachin in the Second Book of the Kings is referred to as Josiah’s son Jechoniah in the Gospel According to Matthew. The Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study The United Kingdom of Israel: Saul, David & Solomon Foreshadow Christ the King includes an extensive look at the model kingdom of David.

? What might explain why the genealogy in the Gospel According to Matthew doesn’t match the accounts in the First and Second Books of the Kings?
? Compare the genealogy in the Gospel According to Matthew with the ancestry of Jesus listed in the third chapter in the Gospel According to Luke. What might account for the discrepancies between those two genealogies?

Q&A—a related question from our Revelation study
Balaam makes a strange appearance in the book of Numbers, where he’s identified as a prophet. He’s later mentioned in the book of Revelation, but in a way that can seem incompatible with his actions in the book of Numbers. Many who encounter these passages are confused about Balaam’s basic nature, and this adds to confusion about what constitutes a prophet. The twenty-second chapter in the First Book of the Kings can be similarly confusing. The following question came up in connection with our study The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness. The response sheds light on the difference between the prophet Micaiah and the court prophets employed by Ahab, ruler of the northern kingdom. You can learn about about Balaam in Lesson 3 What the Spirit Says to the Churches in the Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness.

Q: Why does Balaam appear to be a bad guy in the book of Revelation but seem OK in the twenty-second chapter in the book of Numbers?

A: The key to unlocking this question is to understand that Balaam only seems OK in the book of Numbers. He’s not really OK, and he’s not righteous. Balaam appears OK in the book of Numbers because in that account it’s easy to focus on the fact that Balaam is able to hear God’s voice, which seems to imply that Balaam has a strong relationship with God. The book of Numbers also emphasizes that when Balaam is asked to curse the Israelites, he speaks only the truth that he’s been given by God. This makes him appear to have much in common with the prophets. Yes, Balaam can hear God’s voice, and yes, Balaam speaks the truth as it’s revealed to him by God. The important thing to notice about Balaam’s relationship with God is that it’s instituted by God and not by Balaam—God is seeking out and talking to Balaam, not Balaam seeking God. Despite hearing God’s voice and even serving God by speaking God’s truth, Balaam has persisted in speaking to his own people about other gods as if these other gods really exist. If Balaam is able to recognize God’s voice, it’s reasonable to assume that he’s aware all other gods are false.

Balaam’s sin is that he’s “playing the field” and worshiping—or pretending to worship—false gods. He presents a stumbling block because anyone looking to Balaam for truth will see a blurred line between true and false. Did God reveal the truth to Balaam? Did Balaam receive this knowledge from some other source, a pagan god perhaps? Or is Balaam so special that he “just knows” secret truths? The answers are unclear unless Balaam takes the next step and professes that his knowledge of the truth comes from the one true God.

Balaam is a prophet in the sense that he speaks God’s truth. His reluctance to give up his more profitable profession of also making false predictions points to the fact that even people with prophetic gifts can be subject to human failings. None of the important biblical prophets, however, would dream of prophesying in the name of any other god.

? In what ways are Zedekiah and the court prophets in the twenty-second chapter in the First Book of the Kings similar to Balaam and how are they different?
? What distinguishes Micaiah as a legitimate prophet sent by the LORD?
? How might it be possible to recognize Micaiah’s legitimacy prior to the battle, which confirms his prophecy?
? What tests can Christians use to determine the authenticity of those who claim to speak in God’s name today?

read the Catechism—look to God for answers
That Balaam seems OK to us points out the danger of desiring to know more about the supernatural than God has chosen to reveal. Of course we long to know more. It’s only when we look away from God for the answers that we get into trouble. Looking away from God always involves putting some other person or thing ahead of God, and that’s idolatry—about which the book of Revelation will have much more to say as we move forward. For the present, it doesn’t hurt to review Church teaching about idolatry found in paragraph 2114 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

2114 Human life finds its unity in the adoration of the one God. The commandment to worship the Lord alone integrates man and saves him from an endless disintegration. Idolatry is a perversion of man’s innate religious sense. An idolater is someone who “transfers his indestructible notion of God to anything other than God.”

what’s happening when & where
Click on the timeline for Lesson 9 to expand it. It also appears on page 63 in the study book.

the best Catholic commentary about Scripture
To find out more about how Church teaching is supported by Scripture passages in Thus Says the LORD: God Speaks Through His Servants the Prophets—Volume I: A Kingdom Divided, check out the Index of Citations in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Links (Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition [RSVCE*]) to the primary Scripture passages in the lesson and relevant paragraphs in the Catechism are provided here. Not every passage in the biblical text for this Catholic Bible study is referenced in a Catechism paragraph, however, including the passage in this lesson from the First Book of the Kings 22:1 through the Second Book of the Kings 1:18.

ways our glossary might prove helpful
In addition to providing information about geographical locations, our glossary also points out persons and places mentioned in the biblical text under multiple names or spellings. If you can remember a name but aren’t sure in which lesson it shows up, you can find it in the glossary, which lists every proper noun in the primary biblical text for Thus Says the LORD: God Speaks Through His Servants the Prophets—Volume I: A Kingdom Divided.

to learn more, read more Scripture
If you’re having difficulty with a particular passage of Scripture, it can be helpful to read the relevant cross references—but looking these up can take time. To make that easier, we’ve compiled the cross references from the Revised Standard Version Second Catholic Edition (RSV2CE)—the translation that we reprint in our study books. That list can be found at the top of every online study page, and it includes links to cross references in the primary biblical text for Thus Says the LORD: God Speaks Through His Servants the Prophets—Volume I: A Kingdom Divided.

don’t forget about our indexes & extra online material
If you’re trying to locate information about a specific Scripture passage, you can look it up in the index at the back of the study book or sample lesson. If you want to find a particular commentary, you can look up its title in the topics index. To learn more about another book of the Bible for which there’s a Turning to God’s Word study, visit the online study directories to read the commentaries and watch any accompanying videos. Finally, if you have a question or would like to make a comment about any of our studies, you can use one of the “ask us your question” or “what do you think” buttons to email our authors.

ex libris—Church documents & books about religious topics
Link to magisterial documents referred to in our Bible studies at ex libris—magisterial documents. This listing includes significant recent encyclicals as well as a number of historical Church documents. Recommended books related to Scripture study can be found at ex libris—main bookshelf

wondering how to pronounce some of these words?
The following link is to a reading from the New International Version (NIV) Bible. To listen, open the link and click on the audio icon above the printed text. Although not taken from the translations used in our study materials, the NIV reading provides an audio guide to pronunciation of words in this lesson’s primary biblical text. A close online version of the translation of the Bible used in Catholic liturgy in the United States as well as an audio guide for daily Mass readings for the current month can be found on the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

the First Book of the Kings 22:1—the Second Book of the Kings 1:18 (NIV)

close with Bible-based prayer related to this lesson
Many of our Catholic study groups like to conclude their discussions with a prayer based on the scriptural focus of their lesson, and some participants include Scripture-specific prayer in their individual study. If you’re uncomfortable composing your own Bible-based prayers, you can follow our four easy steps. If you prefer, you can use the following prayer based on this lesson’s biblical text.

O God, you sent your Son Jesus Christ
as the ultimate prophet.
Help us to recognize and accept your Word
and allow it to change our hearts.
We ask this in the name of Jesus,
whose great love brought sinful humanity
the opportunity to receive eternal life. Amen.

Lesson 10 Elijah’s Fiery Departure—the Second Book of the Kings 2:1—3:27
Lesson 8 Ahab Humbles Himself Before the LORD—the First Book of the Kings 20:1—21:29

you also may like our study of Scripture & the Rosary (digital only)
Scripture & the Rosary: New Testament Mysteries, Old Testament Parallels, a 26-lesson Catholic Bible study with an imprimatur, looks at the biblical foundations of the Rosary. The study includes lessons on Pope St. John Paul II’s Rosarium Virginis Mariae (Rosary of the Virgin Mary), the Apostles’ Creed, and the Luminous Mysteries as well as the original 15 Mysteries of the Rosary. Color photographs of stained glass windows depict key scenes in the lives of Jesus and Mary. Free digital lessons rotate throughout the year on our website.

start a Turning to God’s Word Bible study
Thank you for your interest in Thus Says the LORD: God Speaks Through His Servants the Prophets— Volume I: A Kingdom Divided . Information about beginning this or one of our other Turning to God’s Word Bible studies can be found at start a Bible study. Tami, Matthew, and I always are available to answer your Bible-study questions or concerns. Contact us if you’d like to start one of our studies or have your schedule listed with other TtGW study groups on our website. —Jennifer

*There are seven deuterocanonical books in the Old Testament—the Books of Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, and First and Second Maccabees, as well as some passages in the Books of Esther and Daniel. Protestants usually refer to these works as “apocryphal,” a word that means “outside the (Protestant) canon” because they’re excluded from most Protestant Bibles. The word “deuterocanonical” means “second canon”; Catholics use that word to refer to any section of the Catholic Old Testament for which there are no extant, or existing, Hebrew manuscripts. All of the deuterocanonical books appear in the Septuagint, the earliest remaining versions of which date to the 1st century B.C. This Greek translation of the Old Testament was in common use by Jews at the time of Jesus—but the same books aren’t found in existing Hebrew manuscripts, which aren’t as old as the oldest version of the Septuagint. Learn more by reading How Do Catholic & Protestant Bibles Differ?

Turning to God’s Word printed Bible studies use the 2006 Revised Standard Version Second Catholic Edition (RSV2CE) translation for all Scripture references except those to the Psalms, which are taken from The Abbey Psalms and Canticles, prepared by the Benedictine monks of Conception Abbey and published in 2020 by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Scripture on the online study pages for Thus Says the LORD: God Speaks Through His Servants the Prophets—Volume I: A Kingdom Divided links to the 1966 Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE). The New International Version (NIV) audio recordings follow the same chapter and verse numbering as the RSV Catholic translations, but the NIV translation doesn’t include the deuterocanonical books and passages.

The 1966 RSVCE uses archaic pronouns and verb forms such as “thee,” “thou,” “didst” in the Psalms and in direct quotations attributed to God. The 2006 RSV2CE replaces those with more accessible English. A handful of significant translation changes in the RSV2CE include rendering almah as “virgin” in the Book of Isaiah 7:14 and restoring the term “begotten” in the Gospel According to John 3:16.

Numbering varies for some passages in this Bible study. Turning to God’s Word studies (print and digital) follow the numbering in the Revised Standard Version Catholic translations (RSV2CE and RSVCE). Discrepancies in the New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE) are noted in the Index of Scripture Citations in the study book and the online sample.

You can learn more about the Psalms by viewing a sample lesson from the Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study Sing a New Psalm: Communicating with God Through the Prayers of the Church—Volume I: Lauds & Vespers. The second part of that study, Sing a New Psalm: Communicating with God Through the Prayers of the Church—Volume II: Vigils, Day Prayer & Compline, is scheduled for publication in 2025. Some verse numbers may vary in different translations of the Psalms.