Micaiah son of Imlah

Holy Prophet Micaiah son of Imlah (Imlai), lived in the ninth century before Christ and was of the tribe of Ephraim, a contemporary of the Holy Prophet Elijah. He rebuked the king of Israel, Ahab, for falling away from God into the worship of idols, and foretold his death in war with the Assyrians. For this he was cast into prison, where he was fed only bread and water. King Ahab went to war and was killed, as Saint Micaiah had prophesied (3 Kings 22:8-35).

Holy Scripture says nothing of the end of the prophet Micaiah. It is very possible that he died as a martyr, for Jezebel, the widow of Ahab, their son Ahaziah, who took the kingdom after his father, and Ahab's son-⁠in-⁠law, the king of Jerusalem Jehoram, could not have felt goodwill toward one who had foretold the death of Ahab. Other sources say that the prophet Micaiah was killed for rebuking lawlessness and thrown into a chasm, and those close to him drew his body out of there and buried it in their own land. He reposed in the ninth century before the Nativity of Christ. He is commemorated on 18 January, in the new style.