Melakhim I Chapter 13 | The Word of God

The story of the man of God who prophesied against the altar in Beit-El is unusual and puzzling: the prohibition against eating and drinking remains unclear, the motives of the prophet from Beit-El for lying are unexplained, and it is not evident why the man of God deserves his severe punishment. Additionally, the sudden prophecy of the Beit-El prophet is surprising, and the narrative about the grave seems out of context.

In his book "Literary Reading of the Bible: Stories of the Prophets", Professor Uriel Simon analyzes this chapter, explaining that the story's central theme is "the supremacy of the word of God over its bearers and its triumph over its opponents" (p. 158).

In many places in the Tanakh, a sign accompanies the word of God, symbolically representing the fulfillment of the prophecy. For example, this is the meaning behind Achiya the Shilonite tearing a robe or Shmuel tearing Sha'ul’s robe as a symbol of the kingdom being torn away. Sometimes, listeners attempt to act against the sign, thinking this will cancel the prophecy as well: Chananya son of Azur breaks the bar on Yirmeya’s shoulders, claiming the Babylonian domination will end (Yirmeya 28), and King Yehoyakim burns the scroll containing prophecies of doom (Yirmeya 36). In each case, God replaces the sign with a stronger one, demonstrating that the divine word cannot be opposed. Even though the word of God is delivered through mortal humans who can be harmed or manipulated, the word of God remains eternal and victorious.

This is the central idea of our story: The man of God is commanded not to eat or drink — a sign symbolizing rejection and severance from Beit-El, beginning on the day of the prophecy. He is also commanded not to return by the same route, as returning symbolizes a nullification of the journey and a restoration of the previous state (see Devarim 28:68; Yeshaya 37:34; 1 Shmuel 25:12). Therefore, the prohibition against returning by the same route serves as a sign affirming the enduring validity of the divine word—it will be fulfilled and cannot be undone or nullified.

The man of God avoids eating with Yerovam, but after the prophet’s lie, he eats in Beit-El, thereby violating the prophetic sign. As a result, the original sign is replaced by a new one: the prophet declares that the man of God will die, and he indeed dies in an extraordinary manner. Both the one who intentionally tried to undermine the word of God — the lying prophet, and the one who accidently violated it — the man of God, together produce a unique sign that asserts the dominance of the divine word.

The final chapter of this story unfolds not here but 300 years later during King Yoshiyahu’s reign, in Melakhim II, Chapter 23. Yoshiyahu fulfills the long-awaited prophecy: "Yoshiyahu then turned to see the graves that were there on the hillside. He had the bones dug out the graves, and he burned them on the altar to defile it, fulfilling the word of the Lord that was pronounced by the man of God who foretold these events" (Melakhim II 23:16). Yoshiyahu destroys the altar and the graves but spares the grave of the man of God and, consequently, the grave of the prophet: "When he asks, "What is that marker that I see over here?". The townspeople told him, "It is the grave of the man of God who came from Yehuda and foretold the very things you just did upon the altar of Beit-El. "Leave him be," he said. "Let no one disturb his bones together with the bones of the prophet who came from Shomron." (Melakhim II 23:17-18).

The word of God surpasses all human limitations, persisting despite opposition or attempts to evade it — "But it is the Lord's plan that will prevail".