1 Kings 20:33

33 Now the men observed diligently, and hurried to catch whether it were his mind; and they said, Your brother Ben-Hadad. Then he said, Go you, bring him. Then Ben-Hadad came forth to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot.

1 Kings 20:33 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 20:33

Now the men did diligently observe whether anything would
come from him
That would be a good omen to them, and encourage them to hope for success; they observed him as diligently by his words and behaviour as soothsayers do when they look out for a lucky sign; for the word is sometimes used of divining F19:

and did hastily catch it;
as soon as it was out of his mouth, and laid hold on it to improve it to advantage, being wiser than him:

and they said, thy brother Benhadad;
him whom thou callest thy brother; he is thy brother, and is alive; this they caught, and expressed it, to observe whether it was a slip of his tongue, and whether he spoke it heartily, and would abide by it, or whether he would retract it:

then he said, go ye, bring him;
meaning from the city to the place where he was:

then Benhadad came forth to him;
out of his chamber, upon the report of his servants:

and he caused him to come up into the chariot;
to sit and converse with him there.


FOOTNOTES:

F19 (wvxny) "augurati sunt", Pagninus, Montanus, Munster, Vatablus.

1 Kings 20:33 In-Context

31 His servants said to him, See now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Yisra'el are merciful kings: let us, we pray you, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Yisra'el: peradventure he will save your life.
32 So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and [put] ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Yisra'el, and said, Your servant Ben-Hadad says, please let me live. He said, Is he yet alive? he is my brother.
33 Now the men observed diligently, and hurried to catch whether it were his mind; and they said, Your brother Ben-Hadad. Then he said, Go you, bring him. Then Ben-Hadad came forth to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot.
34 [Ben-Hadad] said to him, The cities which my father took from your father I will restore; and you shall make streets for you in Dammesek, as my father made in Shomron. I, [said Ach'av], will let you go with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and let him go.
35 A certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his fellow by the word of the LORD, Please strike me. The man refused to strike him.
The Hebrew Names Version is in the public domain.