The Prophet from Beit El/2

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The Prophet from Beit El

Exegetical Approaches

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Political Agenda

The Prophet from Beit El hoped that by having the Man of God disobey his own words and prophetic sign, he could undo the prophecy against Beit El and restore legitimacy to the worship taking place there.

Sources:modern scholars1
Yerovam's invitation to eat and drink – R"E Samet suggests that Yerovam was hoping that if the prophet acquiesced to eat by him, it would be taken as a sign that, despite the devastating prophecy, the Man of God did not view the city of Beit El and its king as reprehensible.  As the invitation was issued in public,2 had the man of God responded positively, it would have been viewed by the masses as a legitimization of Yerovam's religious innovations.
Prohibition of eating and drinking in Beit El – It was for this very reason that Hashem prohibited the Man of God from eating or drinking in Beit El.  The refusal to partake in a meal in the city symbolized the total rejection of the city, and moreover, that such rejection began already in the present (even if the full prophecy was only to be fulfilled far in the future).3
Prohibition of returning via the same path – Prof. Simon suggests that returning to one's point of departure and retracing one's footsteps signify a cancelling of one's original journey.4  Thus, had the prophet returned the way he had come it would have been viewed as a reversal of his mission and decree.5 R. Samet adds that going via a new path simultaneously represents that the original decree is irreversible: "דבר ה' אחור לא ישוב ריקם".‎6
הנביא מבית אל: True or false  prophet? According to this approach, the prophet from Beit El was a false prophet.7  R. Samet suggests, moreover, that he was closely connected to Yerovam's new religious enterprise and served to give it a prophetic stamp of approval.8  It is possible that the different titles given to the prophets reflect their different statuses.  "נביא" is a generic term which could refer to any prophet, be he true or false, while "אִישׁ אֱלֹהִים" is limited to those who speak the word of Hashem.
Why wasn't the נביא at the ceremony? T. Verdiger9 questions, if the prophet from Beit El was so central to the religious upheaval, why was he not present at the ceremony during  the holiday?  R. Samet does not address the question directly but implies that the prophet intentionally absented himself so as not to directly witness any miraculous signs which might "force" him to recognize the truth of the Man of God's prophecies.10
The invitation of the prophet from Beit El – Prof. Simon and R. Samet agree that the prophet's motivation was to undo certain aspects of the Man of God's prophecy, but disagree regarding the specifics:
  • Reaffirm status of Beit El – According to R. Samet, after the Man of God cast doubt on the legitimacy of the new worship during the dedication ceremony, the prophet from Beit El realized he needed to reaffirm his prophetic position and thereby restore Beit El's religious status.  By getting the Man of God to accept his word, he could assert himself as the more senior prophet, and prove that his stance towards the new worship was the correct one.
  • Reverse the prophetic sign and its content – Prof. Simon, in contrast, assumes that the fate of the new religious system was less troubling to the old prophet than the prophecy regarding the burial plots, and it was mainly this which he wanted to prevent coming to fruition.  He suggests that the act of undoing a prophetic sign11 was believed to actively affect the word of God that lay behind the sign.12  Thus, the prophet believed that if he could reverse the decrees against eating he could also undo the prophecy which they symbolized.
How was the Man of God duped? According to R. Samet, it was the Man of God's status as true prophet and his sincere desire that the people repent that led him to believe the old prophet.  When the prophet from Beit El told him that he had received word from Hashem allowing eating and drinking, he concluded that the people must have repented leading Hashem to rescind his decree against the city as a whole.13  As such, he saw no problem in accompanying the prophet from Beit El, and likely did so happily.
Harsh punishment – Though the Man of God did not transgress his word intentionally, his actions deserved punishment since they served to undermine his entire prophecy and had the potential to cause a huge desecration of Hashem's name. The supernatural nature of his death was needed to ensure that the people knew he was punished for his transgression.14  It sent a message that his eating and drinking in Beit El was not sanctioned by God and did not mean that Beit El was once again in God's favor.
Who gets the prophecy regarding the Man of God's punishment? Both Prof. Simon and R. Samet assume that "הַנָּבִיא אֲשֶׁר הֱשִׁיבוֹ" who received the prophecy regarding the fate of the Man of God is the false prophet who had caused the other to veer from his path. This is supported by the fact that throughout the chapter it is he who is referred to as "נביא"‎15 and by the fact that in verse 26 when the same term is used it clearly refers to the old prophet as the other has already died.16
Why does the נביא מבית אל get the prophecy?
  • Corrective– It was imperative for the prophet from Beit El to get the prophecy so that after the Man of God died, he could confirm to the city that this happened by the word of Hashem for his transgression.17  In so doing he was able to reverse some of the damage done by his deception of the Man of God. 
  • Test – R. Samet adds that the prophecy was also a test to the false prophet.  Would he change in the aftermath of hearing the word of God, recognize the truth of the original prophecy, and help spread it, or would he remain mired in his old ways?
Shared burial – Prof. Simon points out that the damage done via the false prophet is only totally reversed with his request to his sons that they bury him with the Man of God, and his accompanying explanation, "כִּי הָיֹה יִהְיֶה הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר קָרָא בִּדְבַר י"י..."  In so doing, the false prophet created a new prophetic sign to replace the one he had foiled, and reaffirmed the original prophecy. While Prof. Simon sees this as the byproduct of selfish motives (that his bones be saved), R. Samet goes further to suggest that the formerly false prophet had actually totally repented of his ways, and the main goal of his request was actually to relay the truth of the prophecy.18
חוטא נשכר? According to R. Samet, the prophet from Beit El is rewarded rather than punished, because in the end he repented of his ways, took responsibility for his deeds and tried to correct what he had done.
Message of the story

Religious Motives

The Prophet from Beit El did not know if the Man of God was a legitimate prophet or an emissary sent by Rechovam to attack Beit El for political reasons. His invitation was intended to discover whether or not he truly spoke the word of Hashem.

Sources:modern scholars19
Prohibition of eating and drinking in Beit El – Nili Samet20 points out that in Tanakh when a prophet "eats by a king" it means that they are being being financially supported by him, and, as such, are expected to express a certain political opinion or religious agenda. As evidence, she points to the Baal prophets who were "אֹכְלֵי שֻׁלְחַן אִיזָבֶל" and to Amos 7 where Amaziah says to Amos, "חֹזֶה לֵךְ בְּרַח לְךָ אֶל אֶרֶץ יְהוּדָה וֶאֱכׇל שָׁם לֶחֶם וְשָׁם תִּנָּבֵא"‎.21 If so, the Man of God was prohibited from eating to demonstrate that he was not for hire, but was a true prophet, expressing the message of Hashem, and not the king.22
Yerovam's Invitation – Yerovam's invitation stemmed from the desire to commission the Man of God to represent his interests.
הנביא מבית אל: True or false prophet? According to these sources, the prophet from Beit El was a true prophet, but one who had not received prophecy in a long while.23  The verse tells us that he lied to the Man of God to teach that it was only in this specific case that he veered from the truth; normally he did not.
Why wasn't the נביא at the ceremony? T. Verdiger points out that since the prophet was actually a true prophet, and knew that only Yerushalayim, not Beit El is the holy city, he was uncomfortable with Yerovam's religious innovations and thus hesitant to attend the dedication of the altar.
Doubts – Despite the prophet's discomfort with Yerovam's reformation, however, he was not certain that it was illegitimate.  After all, if Yerovam had been chosen by God to establish a new monarchy, perhaps his cultic reforms were also Divinely sanctioned.  The fact that Yerushalayim was filled with idolatrous shrines only increased the prophet's confusion, making him wonder whether perhaps it was not just the Davidic dynasty, but also Yerushalayim that was being rejected.
The invitation of the prophet from Beit El – It was this confusion that led the prophet to wonder how he should view the Man of God.  Was he an emissary of Rechovam, only claiming to speak the Divine word for political gain, or was he a true prophet, declaring the reformation in Beit El problematic? Filled with uncertainty, the prophet decided to test the Man of God, assuming that if he were willing to go against his own word, he must be a false prophet.
How was the Man of God duped? It is possible that the Man of God was duped because he thought that it was really only eating by the king himself that was problematic. As there was no reason that eating by a true prophet should lead people to view him as a prophet-for-hire or political emissary, when the older prophet told him that he had received word from God allowing a meal, he was not suspicious.24
Why does the נביא מבית אל get the prophecy? Since the prophet from Beit El was a true prophet it is not odd that he should receive prophecy. Moreover, since his intentions in deceiving the Man of God were sincere, but had nonetheless produced the wrong conclusions, Hashem wanted to correct his misconception.
Harsh punishment
Miraculous circumstances of death – The fact that the Man of God died a supernatural death in retribution for transgressing his own word proved to the nation as a whole that he was not an imposter with a political agenda, but a true messenger of God.
חוטא נשכר? The
Larger message of the incident – Alex Israel suggests that the uncertainty which gripped the old prophet was likely shared by the entire nation. They, too, wondered if Yerovam's Divine selection served to legitimize his actions, despite their appearing to defy Hashem's Torah. The death of the Man of God provided an answer to their dilemma.  He, too, was chosen by God, but then transgressed Hashem's word.  His punishment sent a clear message: even if your mission is Divinely mandated, when you fail to comply with Hashem's laws, you lose your Divine legitimacy.

Act of Altruism

The prophet's motives were misguided, but altruistic. He simply wanted to prevent the Man of God from going home hungry.

Sources:Abarbanel
Yerovam's invitation to eat and drink – When Yerovam saw that treating the Man of God harshly resulted in punishment he changed tactics, hoping that if he honored him, Hashem's anger would be appeased.
Prohibition against eating and drinking – Abarbanel suggests that Beit El had the status of an עיר נדחת from which it is prohibited to benefit.  In addition, as it is prohibited to enter a city of idolators except to rebuke them, it was imperative that the Man of God did not stay to socialize, thereby clarifying that he viewed the city in such a manner.
Prohibition of returning via the same path – Abarbanel suggests that this prohibition was symbolic of teh fact that Biet El was to be destroyed, and, thus, all paths to it erased.25
הנביא מבית אל: True or false prophet? Abarbanel claims that the prophet from Beit El was a true prophet, claiming that he would not be granted the title "נביא" otherwise, but rather נביא הבעל or the equivalent.
The invitation of the prophet from Beit El – Abarbanel suggests that the prophet from Beit El had no evil intentions when he invited the Man of God to his home, and simply wanted to provide him with a meal so he would not need to go home hungry.  The prophet had not realized that the Man of God was truly Divinely prohibited from eating in the city and assumed that he had simply fabricated an excuse which would allow him to refuse the king.
Can a true prophet lie?
How was the Man of God duped?

Personal Gain

The prophet from Beit El was looking after his personal interests, and doing what he thought would be best for his prophetic business.

Sources:Josephus, modern scholars