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1 KINGS 20

PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects. Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.

1. First paragraph
2. Second paragraph
3. Etc.

CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS

1. The Prophets Elijah and Elisha are not named in this chapter but the guild of prophets is very involved in communicating YHWH's message to Ahab.
   
   
2. This chapter (i.e., vv. 1-34) is surprisingly positive towards Ahab, who is so vilified in earlier chapters. It might be another literary source from this period.
   
   
3. Notice that the negative view of Ahab returns in vv. 35-43.
   
   
4. There is much discussion among commentators about the date of these military incursions.
   1. early in Ahab's reign
   2. late in Ahab's reign

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 20:1-6
  ¹Now Ben-hadad king of Aram gathered all his army, and there were thirty-two kings with him, and horses and chariots. And he went up and besieged Samaria and fought against it. ²Then he sent messengers to the city to Ahab king of Israel and said to him, "Thus says Ben-hadad, ³'Your silver and your gold are mine; your most beautiful wives and children are also mine.'" ⁴The king of Israel replied, "It is according to your word, my lord, O king; I am yours, and all that I have." ⁵Then the messengers returned and said, "Thus says Ben-hadad, 'Surely, I sent to you saying, "You shall give me your silver and your gold and your wives and your children," ⁶but about this time tomorrow I will send my servants to you, and they will search your house and the houses of your servants; and whatever is desirable in your eyes, they will take in their hand and carry away.'"

20:1 "Ben-hadad king of Aram" This king's name means "son of Hadad" (BDB 122). It seems to be a title like Pharaoh or Caesar. Hadad was a storm god (i.e., fertility god) of both Edom and Syria. The name is related to the Arabic root "make a loud rise," such as falling rain.

There are several Ben-hadads mentioned in the Bible.

1. in the time of Asa, King of Judah, 1 Kgs. 15:18,20; 2 Chr. 10:2,4
2. in the time of Ahab, King of Israel, 1 Kings 20; 2 Kgs. 6:24; 8:7,9
3. in the time of Amaziah, King of Judah and Jehoahaz, King of Israel, 2 Kgs. 13:3,24-25

▣ "thirty-two kings with him" Apparently these were rulers or chieftains of small nations close to Syria that were connected to Ben-hadad by

1. covenant alliance
2. military defeat
3. royal marriages
4. tribal unity

▣ "chariots" See SPECIAL TOPIC: CHARIOTS.

▣ "besieged Samaria" This new capital of Israel was located on a high ridge with only one easy access point. It had its own water supply and, therefore, was very difficult to besiege.

One wonders if this siege was because of Ahab's shutting down Syrian trade rights in Samaria, which were given to Syria by Ahab's father, Omri (cf. v. 34 and Jewish Study Bible, p. 718).

20:2-7 It is uncertain what the "desirable in your eyes" referred to. Was there some special treasure Ahab had hidden in his house or is this an idiom for every valuable thing?

Ahab agreed to the terms of v. 5, but hesitated at the terms of v. 6.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 20:7-12
  ⁷Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land and said, "Please observe and see how this man is looking for trouble; for he sent to me for my wives and my children and my silver and my gold, and I did not refuse him." ⁸All the elders and all the people said to him, "Do not listen or consent." ⁹So he said to the messengers of Ben-hadad, "Tell my lord the king, 'All that you sent for to your servant at the first I will do, but this thing I cannot do.'" And the messengers departed and brought him word again. ¹⁰Ben-hadad sent to him and said, "May the gods do so to me and more also, if the dust of Samaria will suffice for handfuls for all the people who follow me." ¹¹Then the king of Israel replied, "Tell him, 'Let not him who girds on his armor boast like him who takes it off.'" ¹²When Ben-hadad heard this message, as he was drinking with the kings in the temporary shelters, he said to his servants, "Station yourselves." So they stationed themselves against the city.

20:7-12 When Ahab sought the advice of his tribal elders, they rejected Ben-hadad's demand!

SPECIAL TOPIC: ELDER

20:10 "May the gods do so to me and more also, if. . ." This was a typical curse formula (cf. 1 Kgs. 19:2; 2 Kgs. 6:31). The gods referred to were the fertility gods of Syria.

SPECIAL TOPIC: FERTILITY WORSHIP OF THE ANE

20:11 This must have been a well known proverb. We might say, "don't count your chickens before they hatch."

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 20:13-15
  ¹³Now behold, a prophet approached Ahab king of Israel and said, "Thus says the Lord, 'Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, I will deliver them into your hand today, and you shall know that I am the Lord.'" ¹⁴Ahab said, "By whom?" So he said, "Thus says the Lord, 'By the young men of the rulers of the provinces.'" Then he said, "Who shall begin the battle?" And he answered, "You." ¹⁵Then he mustered the young men of the rulers of the provinces, and there were 232; and after them he mustered all the people, even all the sons of Israel, 7,000.

20:13 There is a series of prophets mentioned in this chapter who brought YHWH's message to Ahab. YHWH still cares for His wayward, idolatrous covenant people.

1. "a prophet" ‒ 1 Kgs. 20:13
2. "the prophet" ‒ 1 Kgs. 20:22
3. "a man of god" ‒ 1 Kgs. 20:28
4. "a certain man of the sons of the prophets"

They all seem to refer to the same person.

SPECIAL TOPIC: PROPHECY (OT)

▣ "and you shall know that I am the Lord" YHWH wanted the northern kingdom to survive and prosper (vv. 13,25), but they must obey the covenant of Moses.

This phrase first occurred in Exodus.

1. of Israel knowing YHWH ‒ Exod. 6:7; 16:6; 29:46
2. of Egypt knowing YHWH ‒ Exod. 7:5

YHWH wants all the world to know Him. See SPECIAL TOPIC: KNOW.

There is a word play between the VERB "to be" and the name for the God of Syria (BDB 217).

SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY, D.

20:14 The prophet even specified who would bring the unexpected victory! YHWH knows and controls history for His purposes (cf. v. 22). In some ways, this surprising victory by such a small number of soldiers, parallels Gideon's victory in Judges 7.

The MT used the MASCULINE NOUN "lad" (BDB 654). Roland deVaux, Ancient Israel, p. 220, suggests it denotes young cadets in training. YHWH will demonstrate His power by allowing these inexperienced soldiers to win the battle (like Gideon's men in Judges 7).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 20:16-18
  ¹⁶They went out at noon, while Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the temporary shelters with the thirty-two kings who helped him. ¹⁷The young men of the rulers of the provinces went out first; and Ben-hadad sent out and they told him, saying, "Men have come out from Samaria." ¹⁸Then he said, "If they have come out for peace, take them alive; or if they have come out for war, take them alive."

20:16 "drinking himself drunk" See NIDOTTE, vol. 4, pp. 113-114 and SPECIAL TOPIC: ALCOHOL ‒ ALCOHOLISM.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 20:19-21
  ¹⁹So these went out from the city, the young men of the rulers of the provinces, and the army which followed them. ²⁰They killed each his man; and the Arameans fled and Israel pursued them, and Ben-hadad king of Aram escaped on a horse with horsemen. ²¹The king of Israel went out and struck the horses and chariots, and killed the Arameans with a great slaughter.

20:20 This is a strange verse. It may suggest

1. a surprise attack by a small group of non-professional soldiers
2. a type of individual combat, like David and Goliath

20:21 Syria's military power was

1. struck ‒ MT, NKJV, NRSV, JPSOA, Peshitta
2. captured ‒ LXX, TEV, NJB, REB

The UBS Text Project, p. 328, gives the first option a "C" rating (considerable doubt).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 20:22
  ²²Then the prophet came near to the king of Israel and said to him, "Go, strengthen yourself and observe and see what you have to do; for at the turn of the year the king of Aram will come up against you."

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 20:23-25
  ²³Now the servants of the king of Aram said to him, "Their gods are gods of the mountains, therefore they were stronger than we; but rather let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than they. ²⁴Do this thing: remove the kings, each from his place, and put captains in their place, ²⁵and muster an army like the army that you have lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot. Then we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than they." And he listened to their voice and did so.

20:23 In the ANE, gods were limited to the region in which they were worshiped. The servants of Ben-hadad assumed YHWH was a regional fertility god (i.e., storm god of the mountains).

1. Mt. Moriah
2. Sinai/Horeb
3. Mt. Ser
4. Mt. Zion
5. the mountain in the far north (i.e., Isa. 14:13)

SPECIAL TOPIC: MONOTHEISM

20:24 This implies that

1. the thirty-two kings of v. 1 no longer fully supported Ben-hadad
2. the separate small kingdoms united into one Syrian kingdom (NIDOTTE, vol. 4, p. 410, #3)

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 20:26-30
  ²⁶At the turn of the year, Ben-hadad mustered the Arameans and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel. ²⁷The sons of Israel were mustered and were provisioned and went to meet them; and the sons of Israel camped before them like two little flocks of goats, but the Arameans filled the country. ²⁸Then a man of God came near and spoke to the king of Israel and said, "Thus says the Lord, 'Because the Arameans have said, "The Lord is a god of the mountains, but He is not a god of the valleys," therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.'" ²⁹So they camped one over against the other seven days. And on the seventh day the battle was joined, and the sons of Israel killed of the Arameans 100,000 foot soldiers in one day. ³⁰But the rest fled to Aphek into the city, and the wall fell on 27,000 men who were left. And Ben-hadad fled and came into the city into an inner chamber.

20:26 "Aphek" There were several cities/forts by this name (BDB 67). The root may denote a strong fort. This one must be in the north located on a plain where Syria could use her chariots (cf. vv. 23-26). Probably this is

1. the Aphek east of the Sea of Galilee, located on the main highway going north to Damascus
2. on the Jezreel plain

The NOUN (BDB 362; NIDOTTE, vol. 2, p. 303) occurs only here and its meaning is uncertain. Many commentators try to link it to the VERB (BDB 362) which means "to strip," but this does not make sense in this context. KB suggests that another root (i.e., Arabic) of the same three consonants means "to cause a premature birth" (KB 359 II, NEB, REB, Living Bible). Therefore, two undersized goats (i.e., looked weak and anemic).

Again, the odds were on the enemies' side but YHWH was on Israel's side.

20:28 "into Your hand" This is a Hebrew idiom.

SPECIAL TOPIC: HAND

20:29 "100,000 foot soldiers" This is an incredible number. Again, it is possibly a confusion of the term "thousand" (eleph).

SPECIAL TOPIC: THOUSAND (eleph)

20:30 There has been speculation on what v. 30b means.

1. Ben-hadad entered his inner chamber or private sanctuary (NIDOTTE, vol. 3, p. 398, #5)
2. he ran from room to room
3. he went underground (Josephus, Antiq. 8.14.3)

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 20:31-34
  ³¹His servants said to him, "Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings, please let us put sackcloth on our loins and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he will save your life." ³²So they girded sackcloth on their loins and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel and said, "Your servant Ben-hadad says, 'Please let me live.'" And he said, "Is he still alive? He is my brother." ³³Now the men took this as an omen, and quickly catching his word said, "Your brother Ben-hadad." Then he said, "Go, bring him." Then Ben-hadad came out to him, and he took him up into the chariot. ³⁴Ben-hadad said to him, "The cities which my father took from your father I will restore, and you shall make streets for yourself in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria." Ahab said, "And I will let you go with this covenant." So he made a covenant with him and let him go.

20:31 "sackcloth. . .ropes" Usually these were signs of mourning but here of surrender. The "ropes on heads" is unique to this passage. Its meaning is uncertain but is surely parallel to the symbolism of wearing sackcloth. It is possible that "around the neck" is meant as a means of taking prisoners into custody or exile (i.e., Assyrian and Egyptian wall art).

SPECIAL TOPIC: GRIEVING RITES

20:32-33 Ahab spared Ben-hadad against YHWH's orders (cf. v. 42). Ahab even went so far as to make a covenant with Ben-hadad, which surely involved the Syrian deities.

"Brothers" is an idiomatic reference to a covenant partner, not a kin issue (cf. 1 Kgs. 9:13).

The MT has the VERB (BDB 638 II, KB 690, Piel IMPERFECT; NIDOTTE, vol. 3, p. 84) which denotes some type of divination by observing signs (cf. Gen. 30:27).

▣ "and quickly catching his word" This VERB (BDB 319, KB 318, Hiphil IMPERFECT with waw) is found only here and its meaning is uncertain.

1. Most translations assume an emendation from חלט to חלץ (BDB 322 I), which means "to snatch away."
2. Some suggest a VERB from diplomatic Aramaic which means "to mix" (see Expositor's Bible Commentary, vol. 4, p. 156). The servants "mixed" Ahab's designation of Ben-hadad with the sense that he would show mercy (i.e., brought him up into his chariot, v. 33).

Those hearing King Ahab call Ben-hadad a "brother" caught the meaning of the word and knew he was not to be killed but become a covenant partner.

20:34 "covenant" This need for a covenant with Syria may have been related to Assyrian advance. Ahab wanted a buffer state.

SPECIAL TOPIC: COVENANT

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 20:35-43
  ³⁵Now a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to another by the word of the Lord, "Please strike me." But the man refused to strike him. ³⁶Then he said to him, "Because you have not listened to the voice of the Lord, behold, as soon as you have departed from me, a lion will kill you." And as soon as he had departed from him a lion found him and killed him. ³⁷Then he found another man and said, "Please strike me." And the man struck him, wounding him. ³⁸So the prophet departed and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with a bandage over his eyes. ³⁹As the king passed by, he cried to the king and said, "Your servant went out into the midst of the battle; and behold, a man turned aside and brought a man to me and said, 'Guard this man; if for any reason he is missing, then your life shall be for his life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver.' ⁴⁰While your servant was busy here and there, he was gone." And the king of Israel said to him, "So shall your judgment be; you yourself have decided it." ⁴¹Then he hastily took the bandage away from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him that he was of the prophets. ⁴²He said to him, "Thus says the Lord, 'Because you have let go out of your hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore your life shall go for his life, and your people for his people.'" ⁴³So the king of Israel went to his house sullen and vexed, and came to Samaria.

20:35-43 This involves prophetic symbolism of the prophet as a wounded soldier. The first person the prophet addressed would not strike the prophet even though it was "by the word of the Lord." This resulted in his death by a lion. Obedience is crucial!

The type of a prophetic use of a parable to elicit judgment is similar to Nathan and David in 2 Sam. 12:1-12.

20:35 "the sons of the prophets" The earliest form of the prophet was an ecstatic community group (i.e., 1 Sam. 19:20; 2 Kgs. 2:3-6,7,15; 4:1,38; 5:33; 6:1; 9:1). Josephus (Antiq. 8.14.5) identifies him as Micaiah (cf 1 Kings 22).

▣ "said to another" The MT has "said to his neighbor or fellow prophet" (BDB 945 II). The context implies one prophet spoke to another in YHWH's name.

20:36 The use of a lion as a means of YHWH's judgment for disobeying His word is also found in 1 Kgs. 13:24-25.

SPECIAL TOPIC: LIONS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

20:37 This verse has the VERB "smite" (BDB 645, KB 697) in three forms.

1. Hiphil IMPERATIVE
2. Hiphil IMPERFECT with waw
3. Hiphil INFINITIVE ABSOLUTE

20:39 "if for any reason he is missing" This is an intensified grammatical form (i.e., an INFINITIVE ABSOLUTE and an IMPERFECT VERB of the same root and stem [i.e., BDB 823, KB 955, Niphal]).

▣ "your life shall be for his life or else you shall pay. . ." This seems to imply that the death penalty could be redeemed with money.

This amount of redemption money is extravagant, since slaves could be purchased for about 30 shekels (i.e., Exod. 21:32). This highlights the parable context. Parables often use hyperbolic language to make a point (possibly like 7,000 in v. 15 and 100,000 in v. 29).

▣ "talent" See SPECIAL TOPIC: ANE WEIGHTS AND VOLUMES, II. A. 1.

20:42 "devoted to destruction" This is the Hebrew term herem (BDB 356) used in the sense of that which is devoted/given to YHWH cannot be used by humans (i.e., Jericho, Joshua 7 and 1 Samuel 15). This is Holy War theology and terminology.

SPECIAL TOPIC: CURSE

20:43 Ahab was unrepentant. He had seen YHWH work in marvelous victories twice but his heart was still hard (see NIDOTTE, vol. 3, p. 299, #5). Ahab represented all Israel. Their hard heartedness, even after the displays of YHWH's mercy and power, will bring a Divine response. YHWH will break His covenant with the northern tribes. They will go into exile by Assyria.

These same two ADJECTIVES (BDB 71 and BDB 277) also appear in 1 Kgs. 21:4. Ahab was very moody if he did not get his way.

SPECIAL TOPIC: KINGS OF THE DIVIDED MONARCHY

SPECIAL TOPIC: KINGS OF ASSYRIA

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.

1. When did these events take place?
2. How are Elijah and Elisha related to "the sons of the prophets"?
3. Why was YHWH so angry at Syria?
4. What does "ropes around the head" mean?
5. Why is Ahab judged (v. 42)?

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