1 Kings 20:1

1 Ben-Hadad king of Aram gathered together all his army. There were thirty-two kings with their horses and chariots who went with him and surrounded Samaria and attacked it.

1 Kings 20:1 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 20:1

And Benhadad the king of Syria gathered all his host together,
&c.] This was Benhadad the second, the son of that Benhadad, to whom Asa sent to help him against Baasha, ( 1 Kings 15:18 )

and there were thirty and two kings with him;
these were heads of families, so called, and at most governors of cities under Benhadad; petty princes, such as were in the land of Canaan in Joshua's time:

and horses and chariots;
how many is not said:

and he went up and besieged Samaria, and warred against it;
he went up with such an intent, but had not as yet done it in form; what moved him to it cannot be said precisely, whether an ambitious view of enlarging his dominions, or because the king of Israel paid not the tribute his father had imposed upon him, see ( 1 Kings 20:34 ) , however, so it was, through the providence of God, as a scourge to Ahab for his impiety.

1 Kings 20:1 In-Context

1 Ben-Hadad king of Aram gathered together all his army. There were thirty-two kings with their horses and chariots who went with him and surrounded Samaria and attacked it.

2 The king sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel. This was his message: "Ben-Hadad says,

3 'Your silver and gold belong to me, as well as the best of your wives and children.'"

4 Ahab king of Israel answered, "My master and king, I agree to what you say. I and everything I have belong to you."

5 Then the messengers came to Ahab again. They said, "Ben-Hadad says, 'I told you before that you must give me your silver and gold, your wives and your children.