1 Kings 22:30

30 Therefore the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Take thou armours, and enter thou into battle, and be thou clothed in thy clothes, that is, in (the) noble signs of the king. Certainly the king of Israel changed his clothing, and entered into battle. (And so the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Take thou up thy arms, or thy weapons, and enter thou into the battle, and be thou clothed in thy clothes, that is, in the noble signs of the king. But the king of Israel changed his own clothes, and only then entered into the battle.)

1 Kings 22:30 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 22:30

And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise
myself, and enter into the battle
Change his clothes, his royal robes, and put on others, perhaps the habit of a common soldier; having, it may be, been informed by some deserters or spies, of the design of Benhadad against him. Abarbinel thinks the meaning is, that he would clothe himself with a coat of mail, and take to him the each of the instruments of war, and so go into the battle secure; this seems probable from ( 1 Kings 22:34 ) and this he might do to elude the prophecy of Micaiah:

but put thou on thy robes;
his royal robes, or rather keep them on, that he might appear to be the chief commander of the army. There seems to be a good deal of insincerity and treachery in this conduct of Ahab's, whatever honour he might pretend to Jehoshaphat, or safety he might promise him in such a situation; his view seems to be to save himself at the hazard of the life of Jehoshaphat, especially if the Septuagint version could be established, "and put on my clothes"; which is natural enough, but would have been too barefaced:

and the king of Israel disguised himself, and went into the battle;
as if he had been a common soldier.

1 Kings 22:30 In-Context

28 And Micaiah said, If thou shalt turn again in peace, the Lord spake not in me (If thou shalt safely return, then the Lord hath not spoken by me). And he said, Hear ye, all peoples.
29 Therefore the king of Israel ascended, and Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, into Ramoth of Gilead. (And so the king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, went up to Ramoth of Gilead.)
30 Therefore the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Take thou armours, and enter thou into battle, and be thou clothed in thy clothes, that is, in (the) noble signs of the king. Certainly the king of Israel changed his clothing, and entered into battle. (And so the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Take thou up thy arms, or thy weapons, and enter thou into the battle, and be thou clothed in thy clothes, that is, in the noble signs of the king. But the king of Israel changed his own clothes, and only then entered into the battle.)
31 Soothly the king of Syria had commanded to [the] two and thirty princes of chariots, and said, Ye shall not fight against any man [the] less, either [the] more, but against the king of Israel only. (And the king of Syria had commanded to the thirty-two leaders of his chariots, and said, Ye shall not fight against any lesser man, or against any greater man, but only against the king of Israel.)
32 Therefore when the princes of (the) chariots had seen Jehoshaphat, they supposed that he was (the) king of Israel, and by fierceness made, they fought against him. And Jehoshaphat cried [out], calling (for) God's help, and declaring his banner;
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.