Ashes - Rather, “a bandage” (and in 1 Kings 20:41). The object of the wound and bandage was double. Partly, it was to prevent Ahab from recognizing the prophet’s face; partly, to induce him to believe that the man had really been engaged in the recent war.
Related Commentaries of 1 Kings 20:38
1 Kings 20:38
38 So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with ashes upon his face.