But Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of the LORD from me to speak unto thee?
Zedekiah ... smote Micaiah on the cheek. The insolence of this man, the leader of the false prophets, seems to have been provoked by jealousy at Micaiah's assumed monopoly of the spirit of inspiration. Whether it were with the palm of the hand, the usual way, or with a sandal, scarcely less common, this mode of smiting is both severe and ignominious.
Which way went the Spirit of the Lord from me to speak unto thee? х mee'itiy (H853), from me.] According to the present text, Zedekiah claims to have spoken by the Divine Spirit, and he insinuates that if Micaiah, who gave a directly opposite judgment, had also received it, the Spirit must have passed from the one to the other, and he sarcastically asked what way He went. [But Micaiah had not assumed that Zedekiah and his associates had anything more than a lying spirit in them; and hence, it has been suggested that a long chireq (-iy) has, in the course of transcription, been substituted for a long cholem (-ow), so that the reading should be mee'itow (H854). Which way went the Spirit of God from him? The Septuagint omits the words. Poiou pneuma Kuriou to laleesan en soi?-What kind of Spirit of the Lord (was it) that has spoken in you?] The calm reply of the Lord's prophet consisted in announcing the fate of the false prophets who suffered as the advisers of the disastrous expedition. Had this story been a myth, or a fictitious narrative framed for the purpose of guarding the mind against inlets to error and deception, no contrast could have been drawn more striking than this assembly of ministers of religion. On the one hand we see numbers, venerableness of character (at least in the popular opinion), unanimity of sentiment, consummate assurance, and court favour. On the other side, we see none but Micaiah-singular in his opinions, modest in his declarations, perhaps mean and low in his appearance, and unsupported by anything but conscious integrity. How instructive is the event! This man, though despised and hated, laid open the truth; while they, with all these favourable appearances, became convicted of the most shameful adulation and falsehood.