Chapter 22 is the closing chapter of Sefer Melachim A, and it is the chapter in which the circle of Achav's life comes to a close. The prophet Michayhu ben Yimla stands before the king and reveals to him what has been decreed against him in Heaven, and from here on everything unfolds until the prophecy is fulfilled in its exact detail. We will follow the Malbim through the pesukim in order, and see how every detail of the story is a precise measure for measure.
וַיֹּאמֶר לָכֵן שְׁמַע דְּבַר ה', רָאִיתִי אֶת ה' יֹשֵׁב עַל כִּסְאוֹ וְכָל צְבָא הַשָּׁמַיִם עֹמֵד עָלָיו מִימִינוֹ וּמִשְּׂמֹאלוֹ. - And he said: Therefore hear the word of Hashem, I saw Hashem sitting upon His throne, and all the host of Heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left.
The Malbim first explains according to the plain meaning: Michayhu comes to tell Achav in a parable, know that there is here a decree from Hashem that you will fall at Ramot Gilad. The "host of Heaven" are the agents of Divine providence who stand ready to carry out Hashem's decree, and therefore they are described as standing around Him on His right and on His left. And the "spirit" that went out to entice, according to the plain meaning, is Achav's own desire: you have an aspiration to go out to war, and it is that very aspiration that enticed the prophets to tell you exactly what you wanted to hear. The one who enticed them is your own spirit.
But according to the deeper meaning the Malbim adds a further explanation. When a person sins, the sin itself is what rises up to accuse and prosecute. The transgression ascends to Heaven and demands payment from that person. According to the Mekubalim, a person who sins creates a destructive force, and this destroyer wants to nurse and draw vitality. Now, nothing in the world has vitality except from holiness. The moment a thing has no spark of holiness in it, it is nullified. Even in the most impure and most detestable thing there is a spark of holiness that gives it life, and even in the sitra achra and in Samael himself there is a spark of holiness that gives him life. This is the matter of the slaughtering of the Satan in the future to come: the Holy One, blessed be He, will remove from him the spark of holiness, and consequently the Satan is nullified on its own.
From here comes also the name that the Mekubalim gave to the forces of impurity: "kelipot" (shells), and some say "keli," so as not to give power to the kelipot. Why kelipot? Because they are like a shell to a fruit, wrapping around the fruit and drawing their vitality from it. And so the power of the transgression that Achav committed in killing Navot created an accuser and prosecutor, which ascends to Heaven to demand the blood of Navot the Yizreeli and to seek to nurse from the one who created it, from Achav himself. Therefore Michayhu says: I saw Hashem sitting upon a throne of judgment, sitting now in judgment over you. And what is "on His right and on His left"? The Malbim explains that these are the two modes of conduct: the miraculous, supernatural conduct is attributed to the right ("the right hand of Hashem is exalted" - when Hashem performs a miracle it is, as it were, with the right hand), and the natural conduct is attributed to the left.
וַיֹּאמֶר ה' מִי יְפַתֶּה אֶת אַחְאָב וְיַעַל וְיִפֹּל בְּרָמֹת גִּלְעָד, וַיֹּאמֶר זֶה בְּכֹה וְזֶה אֹמֵר בְּכֹה. - And Hashem said: Who will entice Achav, that he will go up and fall at Ramot Gilad, and one said in this manner and another said in that manner.
"Who will entice" means: Achav has many sins, which of them will cause him to fall at Ramot Gilad? Which sin will itself be the "final hammer blow" that will bring Achav's story to an end? For as we said, the accusers are the sins themselves, and each one demands its due: "one said in this manner and another said in that manner."
וַיֵּצֵא הָרוּחַ וַיַּעֲמֹד לִפְנֵי ה' וַיֹּאמֶר אֲנִי אֲפַתֶּנּוּ, וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֵלָיו בַּמָּה. - And the spirit went out and stood before Hashem and said: I will entice him, and Hashem said to him: With what?
The blood of Navot the Yizreeli cried out from the ground. This was a murder that Achav committed through false testimony, and this transgression, says the Malbim, is the most ready and prepared to destroy him. And therefore the spirit of Navot went out and stood before Hashem to demand the punishment and to exact payment from Achav. This sin prosecuted first, and it is very possible that this was also because it involved robbery, and as is known, "a measure full of transgressions - robbery prosecutes first."
The Chafetz Chaim explains: as we have said, every sin creates a destroying angel. To what may this be compared? To a man who has many creditors and whose financial situation is shaky, yet he still carries himself like a wealthy man. Everyone waits patiently, aware of his liquidity problems and of a market that has crashed, and they hold off. But the moment the first brazen one arrives, the insolent fellow who walks into his house and begins taking things, within a second everyone comes, and not one stone is left upon another; they will even strip the tiles from his bathroom. Each one races to grab whatever he can as fast as possible. Whom do you need? The first brazen one, who will declare, "Gentlemen, this man is bankrupt, there will be nothing left for us here," and once he goes in, everyone streams in after him. I remember a store in Bnei Brak, whose name I will not mention, where once they realized the owner did not intend to pay his debts, meaning he could not, within ten minutes they emptied out the store. Not, God forbid, people helping themselves, but creditors: the moment it is known that a man has no means, all the suppliers come and take what is theirs. But you need the first one to do it.
And so, says the Chafetz Chaim, when the measure of sins is full, you need the first one to go and prosecute, and that is theft. Why specifically theft? Because every transgression creates a destroyer of its own type, and theft is great insolence and brazenness: a man has something, and you come and snatch it from him. It is not yours, you did not work for it, you did not toil, and nonetheless you took it. A transgression of such brazenness creates a brazen destroyer, and when all the destroyers are quiet, it is he who leaps to the front to demand his due, and the moment he leaps, everyone leaps after him. And who is prosecuting here at the head? Navot the Yizreeli. "Have you murdered and also inherited?" - you robbed him and even murdered him.
Therefore Hashem asks him "with what?" - the punishment must come measure for measure. And where is the measure for measure?
וַיֹּאמֶר אֵצֵא וְהָיִיתִי רוּחַ שֶׁקֶר בְּפִי כָּל נְבִיאָיו, וַיֹּאמֶר תְּפַתֶּה וְגַם תּוּכָל צֵא וַעֲשֵׂה כֵן. - And he said: I will go forth and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And He said: You shall entice him and also prevail; go forth and do so.
The spirit of Navot says: I was killed by a lying spirit, by false testimony. They engineered against me an utter lie, and in that way they killed me. If so, that very same method will be the method of Achav's downfall too: we will engineer a lie, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of his prophets, and through that I will succeed in bringing him down. To this Hashem tells him "you shall entice him and also prevail" - this is indeed a punishment fitting for Achav according to his own measure and conduct.
But "go forth and do so" - our Sages say, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: Go out from My abode. "One who speaks falsehoods shall not be established before My eyes." True, Achav deserves a punishment, but to bring the punishment by way of falsehood? The seal of the Holy One, blessed be He, is truth, and therefore it is impossible for you to remain within My abode.
And see what an immense loss Navot took upon himself: he is willing to leave the abode of the Holy One, blessed be He, and for what? In order to exact retribution from Achav. From here we learn that when a person has a certain trait in his life, even after his death he is not freed from it; he remains with that same nature and that same trait. Here too Navot was willing to forfeit dwelling in the abode of the Creator of the world, as long as he could exact his due and take his revenge against Achav.
וְעַתָּה הִנֵּה נָתַן ה' רוּחַ שֶׁקֶר בְּפִי כָּל נְבִיאֶיךָ אֵלֶּה, וַה' דִּבֶּר עָלֶיךָ רָעָה. - And now, behold, Hashem has placed a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours, and Hashem has spoken evil concerning you.
Michayehu says to Achav: Now you will understand that there is no contradiction between my prophecy and theirs. True, they speak in the name of Hashem, and this time they are indeed speaking in His name, but do you not understand that it is Hashem who placed a lying spirit in the mouth of your prophets, in order to mislead them? We find such matters in Scripture: "For Hashem your God is testing you" - a false prophet comes and speaks words in the name of Hashem, and the Holy One, blessed be He, tells you that this is a test, that He, as it were, delivered the words to him in order to test you. Here too, Hashem has spoken evil concerning you in order to punish you for killing Navot through false testimony, and there is no contradiction to what I am telling you, that in the end it will be to your detriment.
וַיִּגַּשׁ צִדְקִיָּהוּ בֶן כְּנַעֲנָה וַיַּכֶּה אֶת מִיכָיְהוּ עַל הַלֶּחִי, וַיֹּאמֶר אֵי זֶה עָבַר רוּחַ ה' מֵאִתִּי לְדַבֵּר אוֹתָךְ. - And Tzidkiyahu ben Kena'ana approached and struck Michayehu on the cheek, and said: Which way did the spirit of Hashem pass from me to speak to you?
The meaning of his question was: by what route did the spirit pass from me to you? We have seen that Tzidkiyahu was the head who opened the channel of prophecy to all four hundred prophets, and so he argues: I am the central channel, so tell me how something reached you that never reached me.
וַיֹּאמֶר מִיכָיְהוּ הִנְּךָ רֹאֶה בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא אֲשֶׁר תָּבֹא חֶדֶר בְּחֶדֶר לְהֵחָבֵה. - And Michayehu said: Behold, you shall see on that day when you go from room to room to hide yourself.
Michayehu says to him: You ask how it is possible that you, who see as I do, did not see what is now taking place above in heaven, and I tell you that you did not see the future either. For in the end you will flee from room to room and hide yourself, out of the great defeat and disgrace that will come upon you. You encouraged me, you told me to go out to war, and see what a searing defeat is coming. You will hide from room to room, and then you will understand that I was right and you were wrong. And this itself is part of the prophecy, which you too are unable to see.
The Radak asks: Why did Michayehu not say to him, "I will punish you, I will strike you"? And he answers: a prophet does not respond to his own disgrace. He does not threaten and does not strike back, but only tells him, "You will see that you were wrong." I will not answer you, I held myself back.
וַיֹּאמֶר מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל קַח אֶת מִיכָיְהוּ וַהֲשִׁיבֵהוּ אֶל אָמֹן שַׂר הָעִיר וְאֶל יוֹאָשׁ בֶּן הַמֶּלֶךְ. - And the king of Yisrael said: Take Michayehu and return him to Amon the governor of the city and to Yoash the king's son.
That is: take him and return him there, to the guard, put him in prison, we want to see how things develop.
וְאָמַרְתָּ כֹּה אָמַר הַמֶּלֶךְ שִׂימוּ אֶת זֶה בֵּית הַכֶּלֶא וְהַאֲכִלֻהוּ לֶחֶם לַחַץ וּמַיִם לַחַץ עַד בֹּאִי בְשָׁלוֹם. - And you shall say: So says the king, put this one in prison and feed him bread of affliction and water of affliction until I come in peace.
"Bread of affliction and water of affliction" means in scarcity. There is the expression in Scripture "bread of scarcity and water of affliction," and someone once explained to me that it means a baguette and soda... but here they brought him even less than that.
וַיֹּאמֶר מִיכָיְהוּ אִם שׁוֹב תָּשׁוּב בְּשָׁלוֹם לֹא דִבֶּר ה' בִּי, וַיֹּאמֶר שִׁמְעוּ עַמִּים כֻּלָּם. - And Michayehu said: If you indeed return in peace, Hashem has not spoken through me. And he said: Hear, all you peoples.
Michayehu says to him: Do you still think that I invented these things on my own? If you return in peace, that is a sign that Hashem did not speak through me, and everything I said was false. Just as Moshe Rabbeinu said: "If these die the death of all men, then Hashem has not sent me." And in simple words: you will yet see how everything comes to pass. "Hear, all you peoples" refers to the tribes, all those who were there: hear all that I have said, and you will be the witnesses.
וַיֹּאמֶר מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל יְהוֹשָׁפָט הִתְחַפֵּשׂ וָבֹא בַמִּלְחָמָה וְאַתָּה לְבַשׁ בְּגָדֶיךָ, וַיִּתְחַפֵּשׂ מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיָּבוֹא בַּמִּלְחָמָה. - And the king of Israel said to Yehoshafat: Disguise yourself and go into the battle, but you wear your garments. And the king of Israel disguised himself and went into the battle.
The king of Israel wants to disguise himself so that he will not be recognized, and he says to Yehoshafat: You may wear your own garments, since there is no evil prophecy against you. But I, against whom there is an evil prophecy, know that if they search, it is my head they are searching for, and therefore I will disguise myself so that their schemes to find me will not succeed.
וּמֶלֶךְ אֲרָם צִוָּה אֶת שָׂרֵי הָרֶכֶב אֲשֶׁר לוֹ שְׁלֹשִׁים וּשְׁנַיִם לֵאמֹר לֹא תִּלָּחֲמוּ אֶת קָטֹן וְאֶת גָּדוֹל כִּי אִם אֶת מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל לְבַדּוֹ. - And the king of Aram commanded the commanders of his chariots, thirty two of them, saying: Do not fight with small or great, but only with the king of Israel alone.
The king of Aram says to his commanders: I want the head. The king alone. The rest of the people do not interest me, and the main thrust of the war will be against the king. And why? The Malbim explains that he had spies who heard the prophet's words and brought them to him. The moment he heard that the prophet was prophesying that the king of Israel would die, he said: If so, why should I invest in long battles? If I kill him, the war is over in a single second. Since I have a prophecy that he will die, I know what to go after: the head of the king of Israel.
And here one can see a hint of the words of the Chatam Sofer. Once there was someone who greatly troubled him, and the Chatam Sofer said: I am amazed why he distresses me, I do not recall ever doing him a favor. In other words, when you do someone a favor, very often he specifically repays you with a greater evil. And the psychology behind it: one to whom you did a favor feels indebted to you and wants to be rid of the debt, it is uncomfortable for him to be beholden, and sometimes a kind of urge to do evil awakens in him. And so it is here as well: after all, the king of Israel released the king of Aram in peace. He was a captive, already considered as good as dead, he pleaded with him, and this one had mercy on him, embraced him, called him "my brother," released him and told him that he did not need all that he was offering. What more could you have than that? You did a favor, get ready for a slap in the face, and it comes.
וַיְהִי כִּרְאוֹת שָׂרֵי הָרֶכֶב אֶת יְהוֹשָׁפָט וְהֵמָּה אָמְרוּ אַךְ מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל הוּא, וַיָּסֻרוּ עָלָיו לְהִלָּחֵם וַיִּזְעַק יְהוֹשָׁפָט. - And it came to pass, when the commanders of the chariots saw Yehoshafat, that they said: Surely this is the king of Israel. And they turned aside to fight against him, and Yehoshafat cried out.
When they saw Yehoshafat, in royal garments and in the king's chariot, they were certain they had reached the king of Israel, and therefore they left everyone else and turned to fight against him. They did not know that he was not the king of Israel but the king of Yehudah. "And Yehoshafat cried out" - and in Divrei HaYamim it says: "And Yehoshafat cried out, and Hashem helped him, and God diverted them from him": he cried out in prayer, and Hashem helped him that they would not kill him. In the meantime they saw and recognized that this was Yehoshafat and not Achav, and Hashem diverted them from him so that they would not kill him.
וַיְהִי כִּרְאוֹת שָׂרֵי הָרֶכֶב כִּי לֹא מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל הוּא וַיָּשׁוּבוּ מֵאַחֲרָיו. - And it came to pass, when the commanders of the chariots saw that he was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him.
They understood that this was not the address they needed to reach: the king of Yehudah would not solve their problem, and they had to search for the king of Israel.
וְאִישׁ מָשַׁךְ בַּקֶּשֶׁת לְתֻמּוֹ וַיַּכֶּה אֶת מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל בֵּין הַדְּבָקִים וּבֵין הַשִּׁרְיָן, וַיֹּאמֶר לְרַכָּבוֹ הֲפֹךְ יָדְךָ וְהוֹצִיאֵנִי מִן הַמַּחֲנֶה כִּי הָחֳלֵיתִי. - And a man drew his bow in his innocence and struck the king of Israel between the joints of the armor and the breastplate. And he said to his charioteer: Turn your hand and take me out of the camp, for I am wounded.
"Innocently" - without intending to strike any particular man; the arrow was simply loosed at random. Yet it was from Hashem that the arrow struck him a direct hit, and not merely a direct hit but exactly "between the joints and the armor." Achav went out clad in armor, something like a ceramic bulletproof vest, and that armor was made of scales: in order to be able to move and fight and not be rigidly fixed, they would make a kind of mesh from which coin-like scales were hung, and when an arrow was shot at it, the arrow would lodge in a coin and not penetrate. But at the point of connection, "between the joints," there had to be a certain gap to allow movement, and there the arrow entered and pierced inward. Naturally this was not supposed to happen at all.
"Turn your hand" - steer the chariot in another direction and take me out of the battlefield, "for I am wounded." He did not want to say that he had been struck, for if so the heart of all Israel would grow faint and everyone would return from the war; therefore he said only "I am wounded," meaning I do not feel so well.
וַתַּעֲלֶה הַמִּלְחָמָה בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא וְהַמֶּלֶךְ הָיָה מָעֳמָד בַּמֶּרְכָּבָה נֹכַח אֲרָם, וַיָּמָת בָּעֶרֶב וַיִּצֶק דַּם הַמַּכָּה אֶל חֵיק הָרָכֶב. - And the battle raged on that day, and the king was propped up in the chariot facing Aram, and he died in the evening, and the blood of the wound poured into the bottom of the chariot.
That man who drew the bow innocently was Naaman, who was also a leper, and in that merit received a promotion and became commander of the army of Aram. And the king continued standing in the chariot facing Aram, for he knew that if they saw that he had fallen and was being removed from there, the battle would be over, since it would put fear into the heart of the people. Therefore he held himself propped up in the chariot. But apparently he was losing blood, and as we will see further on, "and he died in the evening," and the blood flowed into the bottom of the chariot, that is, into the interior of the chariot.
And what is meant by "and the battle raged on that day facing Aram"? The Malbim explains that the battle was rising upward, until the hand of Israel prevailed. That is, if we check who prevailed on that day, the hand of Israel prevailed, because they did not yet know that Achav had been struck. But the moment they knew, their hand grew slack, and this is the next verse.
וַיַּעֲבֹר הָרִנָּה בַּמַּחֲנֶה כְּבֹא הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ לֵאמֹר אִישׁ אֶל עִירוֹ וְאִישׁ אֶל אַרְצוֹ. - And the cry passed through the camp as the sun set, saying: every man to his city and every man to his land.
"Rinah" is an expression of speech, as in "they speak of him" (meranenim alav), meaning people are talking about him. The announcement began to pass through the camp. But Chazal expound: why specifically "rinah"? Because "when the wicked perish there is rejoicing (rinah)," and Chazal say "this is Achav ben Omri" - all Israel had joy when they heard that Achav had died, since he was a great rasha. The prophet could have said this with any other expression, yet he chose specifically a term that connotes both a report and joy, to teach you that there was great joy there. And since this was so, "every man to his city and every man to his land": we have nothing to fight over, the king is already dead, let each return to his place, and at least our lives will be as spoils for us, for at the outset they had prevailed in the battle.
And incidentally, one must know that the very fall of the king is considered a general loss for the people. Notice that the expression "in peace" recurs several times: Achav says "until I come in peace," and Michayahu replies "if you return at all in peace, Hashem has not spoken through me." Now seemingly one who returns alive is said to have returned to peace, whereas "in peace" is said of the dead. But already in his prophecy Michayahu said "let them return each to his house in peace," and he came to say: know that even if you die and all the people return, from the people's standpoint this is not called returning to peace. For what was the prophecy? The people will return in peace and you will die. And indeed, even though the king is wicked and even though he did what he did, the very fact that the shepherd of Israel dies means the people is not considered to have returned to peace. This is not wholeness, but "in peace," with a deficiency, not in completeness.
וַיָּמָת הַמֶּלֶךְ וַיָּבוֹא שֹׁמְרוֹן וַיִּקְבְּרוּ אֶת הַמֶּלֶךְ בְּשֹׁמְרוֹן. וַיִּשְׁטֹף אֶת הָרֶכֶב עַל בְּרֵכַת שֹׁמְרוֹן וַיָּלֹקּוּ הַכְּלָבִים אֶת דָּמוֹ וְהַזֹּנוֹת רָחָצוּ כִּדְבַר ה' אֲשֶׁר דִּבֵּר. - And the king died, and was brought to Shomron, and they buried the king in Shomron. And one washed the chariot at the pool of Shomron, and the dogs licked up his blood, and the harlots bathed, according to the word of Hashem which He spoke.
The dogs licked up his blood, as Eliyahu had prophesied: "In the place where the dogs licked the blood of Navot, the dogs shall lick your blood." And what is meant by "and the harlots bathed"? Rashi explains, and so too Targum Yonatan, that "the harlots" refers to weapons of war. They would wash the weapons of war after the battle, since they became soiled with blood, and the blood congealed. There were even cases where the sword stuck to the hand of the one who slew because so much blood had congealed and he had killed so many, until he could not separate his hand from the sword. Therefore they needed to wash the vessels, and they washed them in those very waters, and everything was fulfilled according to the word of Hashem which He spoke.
Chazal expounded a further interpretation: do not read "hazonot" (the harlots) but "chezyonot" (visions), for the letters vav and chet are often interchanged. Achav had two visions that foresaw his death: the vision of Eliyahu, who said to him "Have you murdered and also inherited... in the place where the dogs licked the blood of Navot," and the vision of Michaihu ben Yimlah, who told him that he would not return in peace from the war. These two visions were now fulfilled. And it is a great disgrace for a king that dogs come to lick his blood.
The Radak raised a difficulty: the chariot was washed in Shomron, whereas Navot was stoned in Yizrael, so how could it be said "in the place where the dogs licked the blood of Navot"? According to Rashi the words are to be taken at face value, that both took place in Yizrael. But the Radak explains that Yizrael was close to Shomron, and the waters from the pool would flow out of Shomron and reach Yizrael, so that in that very place, in Yizrael, the dogs licked those very waters which contained the blood of Achav.
וְיֶתֶר דִּבְרֵי אַחְאָב וְכָל אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה וּבֵית הַשֵּׁן אֲשֶׁר בָּנָה וְכָל הֶעָרִים אֲשֶׁר בָּנָה הֲלוֹא הֵם כְּתוּבִים עַל סֵפֶר דִּבְרֵי הַיָּמִים לְמַלְכֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל. - And the rest of the acts of Achav, and all that he did, and the ivory house which he built, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Yisrael?
"The rest of the acts of Achav, and all that he did" refers to all his conduct, the wars he waged, and everything he went through in matters of kingship, with which the prophet did not concern himself at all. The book of the prophets is not a history book, and therefore the details of the wars and everything that happened with him do not interest us, only what is needed for the generations: here he did evil, here he received what was coming to him. These are the points that Chazal wished to teach us. And if you are interested in history, open history books, it is not the task of the prophet to describe history.
And what is "the ivory house which he built"? "Shen" means ivory, and already then people greatly valued ivory. They would go and bring an elephant's tusk from Africa, and from it they would make an ivory throne and ivory towers, and houses which they overlaid with ivory. It was considered something very precious and of great value, not only in our times but already then, and they would overlay it as an adornment. "And Achav slept with his fathers, and Achazyahu his son reigned in his place" - the king who came after Achav is Achazyahu.
וִיהוֹשָׁפָט בֶּן אָסָא מָלַךְ עַל יְהוּדָה בִּשְׁנַת אַרְבַּע לְאַחְאָב מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל. - And Yehoshafat the son of Asa began to reign over Yehuda in the fourth year of Achav king of Yisrael.
Throughout, the prophet creates a connection between the two kingdoms, and informs you that this reign began in the time of that king, in such and such a year. For the prophet shifts the focus at times to the king of Yisrael and at times to the king of Yehuda, each time according to the matter at hand.
יְהוֹשָׁפָט בֶּן שְׁלֹשִׁים וְחָמֵשׁ שָׁנָה בְּמָלְכוֹ וְעֶשְׂרִים וְחָמֵשׁ שָׁנָה מָלַךְ בִּירוּשָׁלָיִם וְשֵׁם אִמּוֹ עֲזוּבָה בַּת שִׁלְחִי. וַיֵּלֶךְ בְּכָל דֶּרֶךְ אָסָא אָבִיו לֹא סָר מִמֶּנּוּ לַעֲשׂוֹת הַיָּשָׁר בְּעֵינֵי ה'. - Yehoshafat was thirty five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty five years in Yerushalayim, and his mother's name was Azuvah the daughter of Shilchi. And he walked in all the way of Asa his father, he did not turn aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of Hashem.
Yehoshafat was a righteous king, and he followed in the way of Asa his father, who was righteous.
אַךְ הַבָּמוֹת לֹא סָרוּ, עוֹד הָעָם מְזַבְּחִים וּמְקַטְּרִים בַּבָּמוֹת. - However, the high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.
We have spoken about this several times: removing the people from the high places was very difficult. A high place (bamah) was an altar that a person built privately in the courtyard of his home, on which he would offer shelamim, sacrifices, vows and freewill offerings. Otherwise, he would have to go up to the Mishkan, and in the time when the Beit HaMikdash stood, to travel all the way to Yerushalayim, which was no simple matter: a journey of a week or two on the backs of donkeys. And indeed it was permitted to burn incense on the high places until the time of Shmuel, but once the Beit HaMikdash was built the high places were forbidden. The Holy One, blessed be He, says that in the days of the Avot the high place was beloved to Him, but now that the Beit HaMikdash has been built the high places are forbidden. In any case it was very difficult to keep the people away from something they had become accustomed to. This was the one flaw that Yehoshafat had, and the second flaw is right before us.
וַיַּשְׁלֵם יְהוֹשָׁפָט עִם מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל. - And Yehoshafat made peace with the king of Yisrael.
This is the second sin. His father Asa fought with the king of Yisrael, whereas Yehoshafat made peace with him, both with Achav and with Achazyahu, for we saw that he went out with Achav to war over Ramot Gilad. And the Gemara says: when you joined with Achazyahu, Hashem shattered your works. It is forbidden to join with the wicked, and joining with the wicked must have an influence. And especially here, where he even married into his family, which makes the sin even greater. Sometimes there is a tactical alliance, a kind of technical bloc; but here you went and married into his family, you gave him your daughter and your son, and this is an alliance that had no place, as we will soon see.
וְיֶתֶר דִּבְרֵי יְהוֹשָׁפָט וּגְבוּרָתוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה וַאֲשֶׁר נִלְחָם הֲלֹא הֵם כְּתוּבִים עַל סֵפֶר דִּבְרֵי הַיָּמִים לְמַלְכֵי יְהוּדָה. וְיֶתֶר הַקָּדֵשׁ אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁאַר בִּימֵי אָסָא אָבִיו בִּעֵר מִן הָאָרֶץ. - And the rest of the acts of Yehoshafat, and his might that he displayed, and how he waged war, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Yehudah. And the remnant of the male cult prostitutes who remained in the days of Asa his father he purged from the land.
Here the verse adds that there were also good things that he managed to eradicate, and this is the "kadesh." "Kadesh" and "kedeshah" are terms of harlotry, and seemingly the wonder is that the expression comes from the root "kadosh" (holy), which are complete opposites. But the literal meaning of the word "kadosh" is set apart and separated; "to consecrate to Hashem" means to separate something from my possession and set it apart for Hashem. So too "kedeshah": one set apart and separated for the practice of harlotry, and therefore called by this name. And likewise "kadesh," one who was separated and set apart for this thing. This is also the meaning of "sanctify yourselves for tomorrow": separate and set yourselves apart for tomorrow. These people set themselves apart and separated themselves for the business of harlotry. Some say the reference is to women, and some say, since the verse uses the masculine form, that the reference is to men who were set apart and available for lying with anyone who came. The Ralbag says that in the time of Asa they had not yet eradicated them, and only now in the time of Yehoshafat were those set apart for harlotry purged from the land.
וּמֶלֶךְ אֵין בֶּאֱדוֹם נִצָּב מֶלֶךְ. - And there was no king in Edom; a deputy served as king.
In the days of Yehoshafat there was no king in Edom. The Radak explains: Edom was under the rule of Yehudah ever since the time of David, as we saw "and he measured them": he struck them, two lengths of cord to be put to death and one full length to be kept alive, and this was already from the time of David. And the kings of Yehudah would appoint governors there, that is, officials, similar to a military governor who was in Aza during the time it was under our control. The officials on behalf of Yisrael would collect the taxes from Edom, and everything passed through them. Therefore the verse says that there was no king there but rather deputies. And in the days of Yehoram son of Yehoshafat they rebelled and threw off the hand of the kings of Yehudah. As long as Yehoshafat, who was righteous, lived, they were subdued beneath them, but when his son turned wicked he also lost the rule over Edom.
יְהוֹשָׁפָט עָשָׂה אֳנִיּוֹת תַּרְשִׁישׁ לָלֶכֶת אֹפִירָה לַזָּהָב וְלֹא הָלָךְ כִּי נִשְׁבְּרוּ אֳנִיּוֹת בְּעֶצְיוֹן גָּבֶר. - Yehoshafat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ofir for gold, but they did not go, for the ships were wrecked at Etzyon Gaver.
Yehoshafat made ships in the pattern of the ships of Tarshish. Tarshish is the name of a place, and they had there a certain type of ship, and he made his in that style and in that pattern, in order to go to Ofir. And elsewhere it is written "to go to Tarshish," and some say these were two separate voyages: they went to Ofir and they also went to Tarshish. "But they did not go," the ships did not arrive there, because they were wrecked at Etzyon Gaver. And why were they wrecked? Because it is brought there that Yehoshafat sent his men together with Achazyahu. Again he maintains ties: just as he joined with Achav, so he maintains a connection with Achazyahu son of Achav, and goes with him in a joint venture to bring silver and gold and all kinds of treasures from Ofir.
אָז אָמַר אֲחַזְיָהוּ בֶן אַחְאָב אֶל יְהוֹשָׁפָט יֵלְכוּ עֲבָדַי עִם עֲבָדֶיךָ בָּאֳנִיּוֹת, וְלֹא אָבָה יְהוֹשָׁפָט. - Then Achazyahu son of Achav said to Yehoshafat: Let my servants go with your servants in the ships. But Yehoshafat would not.
Achazyahu comes and says: I see that our partnership is not working out. We went together in the ships and they were wrecked. Apparently I bring bad luck, so the ships will be yours and I will only send my men. But "Yehoshafat would not": he said, if a man's fortune is not good, I do not even want his men. Yehoshafat, who was righteous, knew that the connection with Achazyahu did not benefit him. Since he saw this the first time and received a blow when the ships were wrecked, he no longer goes with him, and does not join him even as a technical block, not even for the purpose of bringing gold: your men will go on their own and my men on their own, so that I not be harmed through your men.
וַיִּשְׁכַּב יְהוֹשָׁפָט עִם אֲבֹתָיו וַיִּקָּבֵר עִם אֲבֹתָיו בְּעִיר דָּוִד אָבִיו, וַיִּמְלֹךְ יְהוֹרָם בְּנוֹ תַּחְתָּיו. - And Yehoshafat slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the City of David his father, and Yehoram his son reigned in his place.
And what is meant by "David his father"? David was not his father, but his great great great grandfather. Rather, since he was righteous like him and walked in his ways, he is attributed to him.
אֲחַזְיָהוּ בֶן אַחְאָב מָלַךְ עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּשֹׁמְרוֹן בִּשְׁנַת שְׁבַע עֶשְׂרֵה לִיהוֹשָׁפָט מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה, וַיִּמְלֹךְ עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל שְׁנָתָיִם. וַיַּעַשׂ הָרַע בְּעֵינֵי ה' וַיֵּלֶךְ בְּדֶרֶךְ אָבִיו וּבְדֶרֶךְ אִמּוֹ וּבְדֶרֶךְ יָרָבְעָם בֶּן נְבָט אֲשֶׁר הֶחֱטִיא אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל. וַיַּעֲבֹד אֶת הַבַּעַל וַיִּשְׁתַּחֲוֶה לוֹ, וַיַּכְעֵס אֶת ה' אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה אָבִיו. - Achazyahu son of Achav became king over Israel in Shomron in the seventeenth year of Yehoshafat king of Yehudah, and he reigned over Israel two years. And he did what was evil in the eyes of Hashem, and walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother and in the way of Yeravam son of Nevat who caused Israel to sin. And he served the Baal and bowed down to it, and provoked Hashem, God of Israel, according to all that his father had done.
Achazyahu conducts himself in the way of Achav his father, doing what is evil in the eyes of Hashem, causing Israel to sin, serving the Baal and bowing down to it, and provoking Hashem according to all that his father had done. And with this we have completed Sefer Melachim A.
The chapter reveals the mechanism of divine providence in all its depth: the sin itself is the accuser, and it is the one that goes out to entice and to bring down. The murder of Navot through false testimony is what leaped to the fore - just as robbery accuses first, as a brazen force created by the transgression - and Achav was punished measure for measure, through a false spirit in the mouths of his prophets. And yet, "Go out and do so" - go out from My presence, for falsehood cannot dwell before the One whose seal is truth. Michayhu the prophet does not respond to his humiliation, and does not give up the truth of prophecy even under bread of affliction and water of affliction; the arrow drawn innocently strikes precisely between the joints and the armor; the dogs lick the blood and the visions are fulfilled as the word of Hashem which He spoke. And opposite Achav stands Yehoshafat, a righteous king who walks in the way of his father, whose only shortcoming was in the high places that were not removed and in his joining with the kings of Israel - a joining that caused "Hashem has broken down your works," until he learned the lesson and no longer wished to join his men with the men of Achazyahu.