20:36 Because you have not obeyed the . . . Lord. This highly unusual incident needs to be understood in the context of the previous story in which Ahab did not obey the dictates of holy war. Aware of Ahab’s treaty with Ben-hadad II, the prophet is dramatizing the consequences of refusing to heed the word of God.

a lion shall strike you. The old prophet from Bethel uttered a similar decree of judgment against the man of God from Judah (13:20–25).