1-12 Ben-hadad, not content with Ahab's homage, besieges Samaria 13-21 By the direction of a prophet, the Syrians are slain 22-27 As the prophet forewarned Ahab, the Syrians, trusting in the valleys, come against him in Aphek 28-30 By the word of the prophet, and God's judgment, the Syrians are smitten again 31-34 The Syrians submitting themselves, Ahab sends Ben-hadad away with a covenant 35-43 The prophet, under the parable of a prisoner, making Ahab judge himself, denounces God's judgment against him

A.M. 3103 B.C. 901
Ben-hadad 1Ki 15:18,20 2Ki 8:7-10 2Ch 16:2-4 Jer 49:27 Am 1:4

Thirty and two 1Ki 20:16,24 Ge 14:1-5 Jud 1:7 Ezr 7:12 Isa 10:8 Eze 26:7 Da 2:37

and horses Ex 14:7 De 20:1 Jud 4:3 1Sa 13:5 Isa 37:24

besieged Le 26:25 De 28:52 2Ki 6:24-29 17:5,6

2 And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel into the city, and said unto him, Thus saith Benhadad,

2Ki 19:9 Isa 36:2 37:9,10

3 Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, even the goodliest, are mine.

Ex 15:9 Isa 10:13,14

4 And the king of Israel answered and said, My lord, O king, according to thy saying, I am thine, and all that I have.

I am thine Le 26:36 De 28:48 Jer 15:11-13 1Sa 13:6,7 2Ki 18:14-16

5 And the messengers came again, and said, Thus speaketh Benhadad, saying, Although I have sent unto thee, saying, Thou shalt deliver me thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children;

6 Yet I will send my servants unto thee to morrow about this time, and they shall search thine house, and the houses of thy servants; and it shall be, that whatsoever is pleasant in thine eyes, they shall put it in their hand, and take it away.

and they shall search 1Sa 13:19-21 2Sa 24:14 2Ki 18:31,32

pleasant [heb] desirable Ge 27:15 Ezr 8:27 Isa 44:9 Jer 25:34 La 1:7,10 Ho 13:15 Joe 3:5

7 Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, Mark, I pray you, and see how this man seeketh mischief: for he sent unto me for my wives, and for my children, and for my silver, and for my gold; and I denied him not.

all the elders 1Ki 8:1 2Ki 5:7 1Ch 13:1 28:1 Pr 11:14
Mark 2Ki 5:7

seeketh mischief Job 15:35 Ps 7:14 36:4 62:3 140:2 Pr 6:14 11:27 24:2 Da 11:27 Ro 3:13-18

denied him not [heb] kept not back from him 1Ki 20:4

8 And all the elders and all the people said unto him, Hearken not unto him, nor consent.

The gods 1Ki 19:2 Ac 23:12

if the dust 2Sa 17:12,13 2Ki 19:23,24 Isa 10:13,14 37:24,25

follow me [heb] are at my feet Ex 11:8 Jud 4:10

9 Wherefore he said unto the messengers of Benhadad, Tell my lord the king, All that thou didst send for to thy servant at the first I will do: but this thing I may not do. And the messengers departed, and brought him word again.

Let not him, etc. This was no doubt a proverbial mode of expression. Jonathan renders it: `Let not him who girds himself, and goes down to battle, boast as one who has conquered and returned from it.' 1Sa 14:6,12,13 17:44-47 Pr 27:1 Ec 9:11 Isa 10:15,16 Mt 26:33-35 26:75

harness The word harness is an obsolete word for armour, derived from the French harnois Ex 13:18

10 And Benhadad sent unto him, and said, The gods do so unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me.

message [heb] word
drinking 1Ki 20:16 16:9 1Sa 25:36 2Sa 13:28 Pr 31:4,5 Da 5:2,30 Lu 21:34 Eph 5:18

pavilions. or, tents That persons of regal dignity regaled themselves in this manner we may learn from Dr. Chandler, who, when he went to visit the Aga of Suki, after his return from hawking, found him vexed and tired; and `a couch was prepared from him beneath a shed made against a cottage, and covered with green boughs to keep off the sun. He entered as we were standing by, and fell down on it to sleep, without taking any notice of us.' Jer 43:10

Set yourselves in array
And they set, etc. or, Place the engines
And they placed engines

11 And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off.

came [heb] approached
Hast thou 2Ki 6:8-12 7:1 13:23 Isa 7:1-9 Eze 20:14,22

and thou shalt 1Ki 20:28 18:37 Ex 14:18 16:12 Ps 83:18 Isa 37:20 Eze 6:7 Joe 3:17

12 And it came to pass, when Ben-hadad heard this message, as he was drinking, he and the kings in the pavilions, that he said unto his servants, Set yourselves in array. And they set themselves in array against the city.

young men. or, servants Ge 14:14-16 Jud 7:16-20 1Sa 17:50 1Co 1:27-29

order [heb] bind, or tie 1Ki 18:44

13 And, behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab king of Israel, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into thine hand this day; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.

two hundred Jud 7:7,16 1Sa 14:6 2Ch 14:11

seven thousand 1Ki 19:18 1Sa 14:2 2Ki 13:7 Ps 106:40-43

14 And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus saith the LORD, Even by the young men of the princes of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall order the battle? And he answered, Thou.

Ben-hadad 1Ki 20:11,12 16:7 Pr 23:29-32 Ec 10:16,17 Ho 4:11

the thirty Isa 54:15

The Syrians, the besiegers, had their directions from a drunken king, who gave orders over his cups, while he was drinking at noon. Drunkenness is a sin which is most detestable in all, but more so in a king than in a private individual, inasmuch as the greater weight a man's situation carries, whether from accumulated riches, family connections, hereditary authority, or invested command, so is the influence which his vices must have on those around him. Perhaps it may be said, from past experience, that drunkenness, which is a most heinous sin in the sight of God, may be charged on those who indulge {only now and then} in that which may eventually lead them into drunkenness; for they shut their eyes against the most palpable facts, and rather than give up the paltry gratification of a debach, involve thousands by their example to positive harm. Ben-hadad's drunkenness was the forerunner of his fall. Belshazzar also, we read, drank wine with his princes, his wives, and his concubines, and praised the gods of gold, silver, brass, iron, wood, and stone: and in the {same hour} came forth the finger of a man's hand and wrote his doom on the plaster of the wall. Those who fancy themselves perfectly secure, and above the possibility of falling, are commonly nearest their destruction: there is always an Ahab read to take advantage of and improve the self-imposed imbecility.

15 Then he numbered the young men of the princes of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty two: and after them he numbered all the people, even all the children of Israel, being seven thousand.

1Ki 20:14,15,19

16 And they went out at noon. But Benhadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty and two kings that helped him.

1Sa 2:3,4 14:11,12 17:44 2Ki 14:8-12 Pr 18:12

17 And the young men of the princes of the provinces went out first; and Benhadad sent out, and they told him, saying, There are men come out of Samaria.

18 And he said, Whether they be come out for peace, take them alive; or whether they be come out for war, take them alive.

they slew 2Sa 2:16 Ec 9:11

the Syrians Le 26:8 Jud 7:20-22 1Sa 14:13-15 2Ki 7:6,7 Ps 33:16 46:6

escaped 1Sa 30:16,17 2Ki 19:36

19 So these young men of the princes of the provinces came out of the city, and the army which followed them.

went out Jud 3:28 7:23-25 1Sa 14:20-22 17:52 2Ki 3:18,24

20 And they slew every one his man: and the Syrians fled; and Israel pursued them: and Benhadad the king of Syria escaped on an horse with the horsemen.

the prophet 1Ki 20:13,38 19:10 22:8 2Ki 6:12

strengthen 2Ch 25:8,11 Ps 27:14 Pr 18:10 20:18 Isa 8:9 Joe 3:9,10 Eph 6:10

at the return 1Ki 20:26 2Sa 11:1 1Ch 20:1 Ps 115:2,3 Isa 26:11 42:8

21 And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter.

Their gods It was the general belief in the heathen world, that each district had its tutelary and protecting deity, who could do nothing out his own province. 1Ki 20:28 14:23 1Sa 4:8 2Ki 19:12 2Ch 32:13-19 Ps 50:21,22 121:1,2 Isa 42:8

22 And the prophet came to the king of Israel, and said unto him, Go, strengthen thyself, and mark, and see what thou doest: for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee.

Take the 1Ki 20:1,16 22:31 Pr 21:30

23 And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their gods are gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.

thou hast lost [heb] was fallen
and surely Ps 10:3

24 And do this thing, Take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their rooms:

Aphek Supposed to the Aphek near the river Adonis, between Heliopolis and Biblos, and probably the same place that Paul Luca mentions in his Voyage to the Levant. It was swallowed up by an earthquake, and formed a lake about nine miles in circumference, in which he says there were several houses still to be seen entire, under the water. 1Ki 20:30 Jos 13:4 19:30 Jud 1:31

Aphik 1Sa 4:1 29:1 2Ki 13:17

to fight against Israel [heb] to war with Israel

25 And number thee an army, like the army that thou hast lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot: and we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. And he hearkened unto their voice, and did so.

were all present. or, were victualled. Jos 1:11 Jud 7:8

like two De 32:30 Jud 6:5 1Sa 13:5-8 14:2 2Ch 32:7,8 Ec 9:11

26 And it came to pass at the return of the year, that Benhadad numbered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek, to fight against Israel.

there came 1Ki 20:13,22 13:1 17:18 2Ch 20:14-20

Because 1Ki 20:23 Isa 37:29-37

therefore will 1Ki 20:13 De 32:27 Jos 7:8,9 Job 12:16-19 Ps 58:10,11 79:10 Isa 37:29,35 Jer 14:7 Eze 20:9,14 36:21-23,32

ye shall know 1Ki 20:13 Ex 6:7 7:5 8:22 De 29:6 Eze 6:14 11:12 12:16 36:22 39:7

27 And the children of Israel were numbered, and were all present, and went against them: and the children of Israel pitched before them like two little flocks of kids; but the Syrians filled the country.

seven days Jos 6:15 1Sa 17:16 Ps 10:16

an hundred thousand 2Sa 10:18 2Ch 13:17 20:23-25 28:6 Isa 37:36

28 And there came a man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the LORD, Because the Syrians have said, The LORD is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

the rest Ps 18:25

a wall Isa 24:18 Jer 48:44 Am 2:14,15 5:19 9:3 Lu 13:4

fled 1Ki 20:10,20 Da 4:37

into an inner chamber. or, from chamber to chamber [heb] into a chamber within a chamber. 1Ki 22:25 2Ch 18:24

29 And they pitched one over against the other seven days. And so it was, that in the seventh day the battle was joined: and the children of Israel slew of the Syrians an hundred thousand footmen in one day.

his servants 1Ki 20:23 2Ki 5:13

merciful kings Pr 20:28 Isa 16:5 Eph 1:7,8

let us, I pray thee Six of the citizens of Calais are reported to have acted nearly in the same manner, when they surrendered their city to Edward the Third, king of England, in 1346. See the whole story circumstantially related by Sir John Froissart, (who lived in that time,) with that simplicity and detail that give it every appearance of truth.

put sackcloth 1Ki 21:27-29 Ge 37:34 2Sa 3:31 14:2 2Ki 19:1,2 Es 4:1-3 Isa 22:12 37:1 Jon 3:5,6 Re 11:3

peradventure 2Ki 7:4 Es 4:16 Job 2:4 Mt 10:28

30 But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and there a wall fell upon twenty and seven thousand of the men that were left. And Benhadad fled, and came into the city, into an inner chamber.

Thy servant 1Ki 20:3-6 Job 12:17,18 40:11,12 Isa 2:11,12 10:12 Da 5:20-23 Ob 3:4

he is my brother 1Ki 20:42 1Sa 15:8-20

31 And his servants said unto him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings: let us, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and go out to the king of Israel: peradventure he will save thy life.

the men Pr 25:13 Lu 16:8

and he caused 2Ki 10:15 Ac 8:31

32 So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Thy servant Benhadad saith, I pray thee, let me live. And he said, Is he yet alive? he is my brother.

The cities 1Ki 15:20 2Ch 16:4

So he made a covenant One of the conditions of this covenant, we learn, was, that Ahab should have `streets (chutzoth) in Damascus;' a proposal better relished by Ahab then understood by the generality of commentators. This, however, is well illustrated by Mr. Harmer, from William of Tyre, the great historian of the Crusades; from whom it appears that it was customary to give those nations which were engaged in them, churches, streets, and great jurisdiction therein, in those places which they assisted to conquer. The Genoese and Venetians had each a street in Acon, or Acre, in which they had their own jurisdiction, with liberty to have an oven, mill, baths, weights, and measures, 1Ki 20:42 22:31 2Ch 18:30 Isa 8:12 26:10

33 Now the men did diligently observe whether any thing would come from him, and did hastily catch it: and they said, Thy brother Benhadad. Then he said, Go ye, bring him. Then Benhadad came forth to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot.

of the sons 1Ki 20:38 1Sa 10:12 2Ki 2:3,5,7,15 4:1,38 Am 7:14

in the word 1Ki 13:1,2 17:18

Smite me 1Ki 20:37 Isa 8:18 20:2,3 Jer 27:2,3 Eze 4:3 Mt 16:24

34 And Ben-hadad said unto him, The cities, which my father took from thy father, I will restore; and thou shalt make streets for thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. Then said Ahab, I will send thee away with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and sent him away.

1Ki 13:21-24,26 1Sa 15:22,23

35 And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his neighbor in the word of the LORD, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him.

Smite me 1Ki 20:35 Ex 21:12

so that [heb} smiting and wounding

36 Then said he unto him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of the LORD, behold, as soon as thou art departed from me, a lion shall slay thee. And as soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him, and slew him.

disguised 1Ki 14:2 22:30 2Sa 14:2 Mt 6:16

37 Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, so that in smiting he wounded him.

Thy servant Jud 9:7-20 2Sa 12:1-7 14:5-7 Mr 12:1-12

thy life 1Ki 20:42 2Ki 10:24

or else Ex 21:30 Job 36:18 Ps 49:7 Pr 6:35 13:8 1Pe 1:18,19

pay [heb] weigh

38 So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with ashes upon his face.

he was gone [heb] he was not
So shall they judgment be 2Sa 12:5-7 Job 15:6 Mt 21:41-43 25:24-27 Lu 19:22

39 And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king: and he said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle; and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man unto me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver.

the ashes away 1Ki 20:38 2Sa 13:19 Job 2:8 Jer 6:26

40 And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said unto him, So shall thy judgment be; thyself hast decided it.

Because 1Ki 20:34 22:31-37 1Sa 15:9-11

thy life shall go 1Ki 22:31-37 2Ki 6:24 8:12 2Ch 18:33,34

41 And he hasted, and took the ashes away from his face; and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets.

went 1Ki 21:4 22:8 Es 5:13 6:12,13 Job 5:2 Pr 19:3

42 And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people.

43 And the king of Israel went to his house heavy and displeased, and came to Samaria.