1 Kings 20
20
Ben Hadad Invades Israel
1 Now King Ben Hadad of Syria assembled all his army, along with thirty-two other kings with their horses and chariots. He marched against Samaria#map For location see Map2-B1; Map4-D3; Map5-E2; Map6-A4; Map7-C1. and besieged and attacked it.#tn Heb “and he went up and besieged Samaria and fought against it.” 2 He sent messengers to King Ahab of Israel, who was in the city.#tn Heb “to the city.” 3 He said to him, “This is what Ben Hadad says, ‘Your silver and your gold are mine, as well as the best of your wives and sons.’” 4 The king of Israel replied, “It is just as you say, my master, O king. I and all I own belong to you.”
5 The messengers came again and said, “This is what Ben Hadad says, ‘I sent this message to you, “You must give me your silver, gold, wives, and sons.” 6 But now at this time tomorrow I will send my servants to you and they will search through your palace and your servants’ houses. They will carry away all your valuables.”#tn Heb “all that is desirable to your eyes they will put in their hand and take.” 7 The king of Israel summoned all the leaders#tn Heb “elders.” of the land and said, “Notice how this man is looking for trouble.#tn Heb “Know and see that this [man] is seeking trouble.” Indeed, he demanded my wives, sons, silver, and gold, and I did not resist him.” 8 All the leaders and people said to him, “Do not give in or agree to his demands.”#tn Heb “Do not listen and do not be willing.” 9 So he said to the messengers of Ben Hadad, “Say this to my master, the king, ‘I will give you everything you demanded at first from your servant, but I am unable to agree to this latest demand.’”#tn Heb “all which you sent to your servant in the beginning I will do, but this thing I am unable to do.” So the messengers went back and gave their report.
10 Ben Hadad sent another message to him, “May the gods judge me severely#tn Heb “So may the gods do to me, and so may they add.” if there is enough dirt left in Samaria for my soldiers to scoop up in their hands.”#tn Heb “if the dirt of Samaria suffices for the handfuls of all the people who are at my feet.” 11 The king of Israel replied, “Tell him the one who puts on his battle gear should not boast like one who is taking it off.”#sn The point of the saying is that someone who is still preparing for a battle should not boast as if he has already won the battle. A modern parallel would be, “Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched.” 12 When Ben Hadad received this reply,#tn Heb “When he heard this word.” he and the other kings were drinking in their quarters.#tn Heb “in the temporary shelters.” This is probably referring to tents. He ordered his servants, “Get ready to attack!” So they got ready to attack the city.
The Lord Delivers Israel
13 Now a prophet visited King Ahab of Israel and said, “This is what the Lord says, ‘Do you see this huge army?#tn Heb “this great horde.” Look, I am going to hand it over to you this very day. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’” 14 Ahab asked, “By whom will this be accomplished?”#tn The words “will this be accomplished” are supplied in the translation for clarification. He answered, “This is what the Lord says, ‘By the servants of the district governors.’” Ahab#tn Heb “he”; the referent (Ahab) has been specified in the translation for clarity. asked, “Who will launch the attack?” He answered, “You will.”
15 So Ahab#tn Heb “he”; the referent (Ahab) has been specified in the translation for clarity. assembled the 232 servants of the district governors. After that he assembled all the Israelite army, numbering 7,000.#tn Heb “after them he assembled all the people, all the sons of Israel, seven thousand.” 16 They marched out at noon, while Ben Hadad and the thirty-two kings allied with him were drinking heavily#tn Heb “drinking and drunken.” in their quarters.#tn Heb “in the temporary shelters.” This is probably referring to tents. 17 The servants of the district governors led the march. When Ben Hadad sent messengers, they reported back to him, “Men are marching out of Samaria.”#map For location see Map2-B1; Map4-D3; Map5-E2; Map6-A4; Map7-C1. 18 He ordered, “Whether they come in peace or to do battle, take them alive.”#tn Heb “if they come in peace, take them alive; if they come for battle, take them alive.” 19 They marched out of the city with the servants of the district governors in the lead and the army behind them. 20 Each one struck down an enemy soldier;#tn Heb “each struck down his man.” the Syrians fled and Israel chased them. King Ben Hadad of Syria escaped on horseback with some horsemen. 21 Then the king of Israel marched out and struck down the horses and chariots; he thoroughly defeated#tn Heb “struck down Aram with a great striking down.” Syria.
The Lord Gives Israel Another Victory
22 The prophet#tn The definite article indicates previous reference, that is, “the prophet mentioned earlier” (see v. 13). visited the king of Israel and instructed him, “Go, fortify your defenses.#tn Heb “strengthen yourself.” Determine#tn Heb “know and see.” what you must do, for in the spring#tn Heb “at the turning of the year.” the king of Syria will attack#tn Heb “go up against.” you.” 23 Now the advisers#tn Or “servants.” of the king of Syria said to him: “Their God is a god of the mountains. That’s why they overpowered us. But if we fight them in the plains, we will certainly overpower them. 24 So do this: Dismiss the kings from their command, and replace them with military commanders. 25 Muster an army like the one you lost, with the same number of horses and chariots.#tn Heb “And you, you muster an army like the one that fell from you, horse like horse and chariot like chariot.” Then we will fight them in the plains; we will certainly overpower them.” He approved their plan and did as they advised.#tn Heb “he listened to their voice and did so.”
26 In the spring#tn Heb “at the turning of the year.” Ben Hadad mustered the Syrian army#tn Heb “mustered Aram.” and marched to Aphek to fight Israel.#tn Heb “and went up to Aphek for battle with Israel.” 27 When the Israelites had mustered and had received their supplies, they marched out to face them in battle. When the Israelites deployed opposite them, they were like two small flocks#tn The noun translated “small flocks” occurs only here. The common interpretation derives the word from the verbal root חשׂף, “to strip off; to make bare.” In this case the noun refers to something “stripped off” or “made bare.” HALOT 359 s.v. II חשׂף derives the noun from a proposed homonymic verbal root (which occurs only in Ps 29:9) meaning “cause a premature birth.” In this case the derived noun could refer to goats that are undersized because they are born prematurely. of goats, but the Syrians filled the land. 28 The prophet#tn Heb “the man of God.” visited the king of Israel and said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Because the Syrians said, “The Lord is a god of the mountains and not a god of the valleys,” I will hand over to you this entire huge army.#tn Heb “I will place all this great horde in your hand.” Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
29 The armies were deployed opposite each other for seven days. On the seventh day the battle began, and the Israelites killed 100,000 Syrian foot soldiers in one day. 30 The remaining 27,000 ran to Aphek and went into the city, but the wall fell on them.#tn Heb “and the remaining ones fled to Aphek to the city and the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand men, the ones who remained.” Now Ben Hadad ran into the city and hid in an inner room.#tn Heb “and Ben Hadad fled and went into the city, [into] an inner room in an inner room.” 31 His advisers#tn Or “servants.” said to him, “Look, we have heard that the kings of the Israelite dynasty are kind.#tn Or “merciful.” The word used here often means “devoted” or “loyal.” Perhaps the idea is that the Israelite kings are willing to make treaties with other kings. Allow us to put sackcloth around our waists and ropes on our heads#sn Sackcloth was worn as a sign of sorrow and repentance. The precise significance of the ropes on the head is uncertain, but it probably was a sign of submission. These actions were comparable to raising a white flag on the battlefield or throwing in the towel in a boxing match. and surrender#tn Heb “go out.” to the king of Israel. Maybe he will spare our lives.” 32 So they put sackcloth around their waists and ropes on their heads and went to the king of Israel. They said, “Your servant#sn Your servant. By referring to Ben Hadad as Ahab’s servant, they are suggesting that Ahab make him a subject in a vassal treaty arrangement. Ben Hadad says, ‘Please let me live!’” Ahab#tn Heb “he”; the referent (Ahab) has been specified in the translation for clarity. replied, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.”#sn He is my brother. Ahab’s response indicates that he wants to make a parity treaty and treat Ben Hadad as an equal partner. 33 The men took this as a good omen and quickly accepted his offer, saying, “Ben Hadad is your brother.” Ahab#tn Heb “he”; the referent (Ahab) has been specified in the translation for clarity. then said, “Go, get him.” So Ben Hadad came out to him, and Ahab pulled him up into his chariot. 34 Ben Hadad#tn Heb “he”; the referent (Ben Hadad) has been specified in the translation for clarity. said, “I will return the cities my father took from your father. You may set up markets#tn Heb “streets,” but this must refer to streets set up with stalls for merchants to sell their goods. See HALOT 299 s.v. חוּץ. in Damascus, just as my father did in Samaria.”#map For location see Map2-B1; Map4-D3; Map5-E2; Map6-A4; Map7-C1. Ahab then said, “I want to make a treaty with you before I dismiss you.”#tn Heb “I will send you away with a treaty.” The words “Ahab then said” are supplied in the translation. There is nothing in the Hebrew text to indicate that the speaker has changed from Ben Hadad to Ahab. Some suggest adding “and he said” before “I will send you away.” Others prefer to maintain Ben Hadad as the speaker and change the statement to, “Please send me away with a treaty.” So he made a treaty with him and then dismissed him.
A Prophet Denounces Ahab’s Actions
35 One of the members of the prophetic guild, speaking with divine authority, ordered his companion, “Wound me!”#tn Heb “Now a man from the sons of the prophets said to his companion by the word of the Lord, ‘Wound me.’” But the man refused to wound him. 36 So the prophet#tn Heb “he”; the referent (the prophet) has been specified in the translation for clarity. said to him, “Because you have disobeyed the Lord, as soon as you leave me a lion will kill you.” When he left him, a lion attacked and killed him. 37 He found another man and said, “Wound me!” So the man wounded him severely.#tn Heb “and the man wounded him, wounding and bruising.” 38 The prophet then went and stood by the road, waiting for the king. He also disguised himself by putting a bandage down over his eyes. 39 When the king passed by, he called out to the king, “Your servant went out into the heat#tn Heb “middle.” of the battle, and then a man turned aside and brought me a prisoner.#tn Heb “man” (also a second time later in this verse). He told me, ‘Guard this prisoner. If he ends up missing for any reason,#tn Heb “if being missed, he is missed.” The emphatic infinitive absolute before the finite verbal form lends solemnity to the warning. you will pay with your life or with a talent#tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 75 pounds of silver. of silver.’#tn Heb “your life will be in place of his life, or a unit of silver you will pay.” 40 Well, it just so happened that while your servant was doing this and that, he disappeared.” The king of Israel said to him, “Your punishment is already determined by your own testimony.”#tn Heb “so [i.e., in accordance with his testimony] is your judgment, you have determined [it].” 41 The prophet#tn Heb “he”; the referent (the prophet) has been specified in the translation for clarity. quickly removed the bandage from his eyes and the king of Israel recognized he was one of the prophets. 42 The prophet#tn Heb “he”; the referent (the prophet) has been specified in the translation for clarity. then said to him, “This is what the Lord says, ‘Because you released a man I had determined should die, you will pay with your life and your people will suffer instead of his people.’”#tn Heb “Because you sent away the man of my destruction [i.e., that I determined should be destroyed] from [my/your?] hand, your life will be in place of his life, and your people in place of his people.” 43 The king of Israel went home to Samaria#map For location see Map2-B1; Map4-D3; Map5-E2; Map6-A4; Map7-C1. bitter and angry.
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1 Kings 20
20
Syrian-Israeli Conflicts: Ben-Hadad vs. Ahab of Israel
1Ben-Hadad king of Aram gathered all of his army, and thirty-two kings were with him, and horses and chariots. He went up and laid siege against Samaria and fought with it. 2He sent messengers to the city to Ahab king of Israel. 3He said to him, “Thus says Ben-Hadad: ‘Your silver and your gold are mine, and your women and your best sons are mine.’ ” 4Then the king of Israel answered and said, “As your word, my master the king; I am yours, and all that is mine is yours.” 5The messengers returned and said, “Thus says Ben-Hadad, saying, ‘I sent to you saying, “Your silver and gold are mine, and your women and your best sons you must give to me.” 6So at this time tomorrow, I will send my servants to you that they might search your house and the houses of your servants. All the desire of your eyes they will lay hands on#Literally “they will put in their hands” and take it away.’ ”
7Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land and said, “Please know and realize that this man is seeking trouble, for he sent to me for my women, my sons, my silver, and my gold, and I did not withhold anything from him.” 8All of the elders and all of the people said to him, “Do not listen and do not consent.” 9So he said to the messengers of Ben-Hadad, “Say to my lord the king, ‘All that you demanded from your servant at the first, I will do, but this thing I am not able to do.’ ” Then the messengers went and made a report to him.#Literally “returned him a word” 10Then Ben-Hadad sent to him and said, “Thus may the gods do to me and thus may they add if the dust of Samaria is sufficient for the hollow of a hand for all of the people who are at my feet.” 11The king of Israel answered and said, “Tell him, ‘Let not him who girds on his armor boast as one who takes off his armor.’ ” 12It happened at the moment he heard this word, he and the kings were drinking in the tents.#Literally “booths” He said to his servants, “Get ready to attack.” So they got ready to attack the city.
13Suddenly a certain prophet approached Ahab king of Israel and said, “Thus says Yahweh: ‘Have you seen all this great crowd? Behold, I am giving it into your hand today, that you may know that I am Yahweh.’ ” 14Ahab said, “By whom?” And he said, “Thus says Yahweh: ‘By the servants of the commanders of the provinces.’ ” He asked, “Who will begin the battle?” And he said, “You.” 15So he mustered the servants of the commanders of the provinces, and there were two hundred and thirty-two. After them he mustered all of the army, all the sons of Israel, seven thousand.
16They went out at noon while Ben-Hadad was drinking himself drunk in the tents, he and the thirty-two kings helping him. 17Then the servants of the commanders of the provinces went out first, and Ben-Hadad sent, and they reported to him, saying, “Men have come out from Samaria.” 18Then he said, “If they have come out for peace, seize them alive; and if they have come out for war, seize them alive.” 19But these had come out from the city, the servants of the commanders of the provinces, and the army that was after them. 20Each man killed his man, and the Arameans fled, so Israel pursued them, but Ben-Hadad king of Aram escaped on a horse with cavalry. 21The king of Israel went out and attacked the horses and the chariots and defeated Aram with a great blow.
22Then the prophet came near to the king of Israel, and he said to him, “Go, strengthen yourself; consider well#Literally “know and see” what you should do, for the king of Aram is coming against you at the turn of the year.”
23The servants of the king of Aram said to him, “Their gods are gods of the mountains, therefore they were stronger than we.#Hebrew “he” Let us fight with them in the plain; surely we will be stronger than they. 24Do this thing: remove the kings each from his post, and put a governor in their place. 25You must muster an army for yourself as the army you have lost,#Literally “as the army which fell from with you” and horses and chariots as the horses and chariots you lost, then we will fight them in the plain. Surely we will be stronger than they.” So he listened to their voice and did so.
26It happened at the turning of the year that Ben-Hadad mustered Aram and went up to Aphek for the war with Israel. 27The Israelites#Literally “sons/children of Israel” had been mustered and provisioned, and they went to engage them. The Israelites#Literally “sons/children of Israel” encamped opposite them as two flocks of goats, but the Arameans filled the land. 28Then the man of God approached, and he spoke to the king of Israel, and he said, “Thus says Yahweh: ‘Because Aram has said, “Yahweh is a god of the mountains and not a god of the valleys,” ’ I will give all this great crowd into your hand that you may know that I am Yahweh.” 29These encamped opposite for seven days, and it happened on the seventh day that the battle began,#Literally “the battle drew near” and the Israelites#Literally “sons/children of Israel” killed the Arameans, one hundred thousand infantry in one day. 30Then those who remained fled to Aphek, to the city, and the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand men who had remained, so Ben-Hadad fled and went to the innermost rooms of the city.
31Then his servants said to him, “Please now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are kings of mercy. Let us now put sackcloth on around our waists and ropes on our heads. Then let us go out to the king of Israel. Perhaps he will let you live.”#Literally “he may let your life live” 32So they tied sackcloth around their waists and ropes on their heads. Then they went to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant Ben-Hadad says, ‘Please let me live.’ ” And he said, “Is my brother still alive?” 33The men took this as a good omen and they quickly accepted it as true from him, and they said, “Your brother Ben-Hadad lives.” So he said, “Go, get him.” Ben-Hadad came out to him, and Ahab pulled him up on the chariot. 34Ben-Hadad said to him, “The cities which my father took from your father I shall return. You may set up streets with stalls for yourself in Damascus just as my father set up in Samaria.” Then Ahab said, “On these terms#Literally “In covenant” I will let you go,” So he made a covenant with him and let him go.
35A certain man from the sons of the prophets said to his fellow countryman, “By the word of Yahweh, please strike me.” But the man refused to strike him.
36He said to him, “Because you have not obeyed the voice of Yahweh, look, as you now are going from me, a lion will kill you.” When he went from beside him, the lion found him and killed him. 37Then he found another man and said, “Strike me, please,” so the man struck him sharply and wounded him. 38Then the prophet went and waited#Literally “stood” for the king along the road and disguised himself with a#Hebrew “the” headband over his eyes. 39As the king was passing by, he called to the king and said, “Your servant went out in the thick of the battle, and suddenly a man turned and brought a man to me and said, ‘Guard this man. If by any means he should be missed, it will be your life in his place, or you shall pay a talent of silver.’ 40It happened that your servant was busy here and there,#Literally “was doing here and here” and he disappeared.”#Literally “and he was not” Then the king said to him, “Your own judgment has been determined.” 41He quickly removed the headband from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him, that he was from the prophets. 42He said to him, “Thus says Yahweh: ‘Because you have let the man I devoted for destruction go from your hand, your life shall be in place of his life and your people in place of his people.’ ” 43Then the king of Israel went to his house, sullen and angry, and he came to Samaria.
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