Justice and Deception in 1 Kings 13

Abstract

This essay focuses on the problem of divine justice in the narrative of the “Man of God.” The claim is made that the Man of God, although deceived by the “Old Prophet” was not innocent, given that he could have worked out the reasons for God’s commands, and had he done so, he could have easily penetrated the Old Prophet’s Lies. Additonally, the essay offers an alternative way of reading Hebrew narrative by drawing inferences from available evidence.