1 Kings 20:13-23

13 And lo! one prophet nighed to Ahab, king of Israel, and said to him, The Lord God saith these things, Certainly thou hast seen all this multitude full great (Certainly thou hast seen all this very great multitude); lo! I shall betake it into thine hand today, that thou know that I am the Lord.
14 And Ahab said, By whom? And he said to Ahab, The Lord saith these things, By the squires, or the footmen, of the princes of (the) provinces. And Ahab said, Who shall begin to fight? And the prophet said, Thou.
15 Therefore he numbered the young men of the princes of [the] provinces, and he found the number of two hundred and two and thirty; and after them he numbered the people, all the sons of Israel, seven thousand. (And so he called for the young men who served the leaders of the provinces, and he found them to number two hundred and thirty-two; and after them he called for the people, yea, all the Israelites/the whole Israelite army, seven thousand of them.)
16 And they went out in midday. Forsooth Benhadad drank, and was drunken in his shadowing place, and (the) two and thirty kings with him, that came to the help of him. (And they went out at midday. And in a shady place in their tents, Benhadad drank, and became drunk, as did the thirty-two kings who were with him, who came to help him.)
17 And the young men of the princes of (the) provinces went out in the first front. Therefore Benhadad sent men, which told to him, and said, Men went out of Samaria (And Benhadad sent out men, who reported back to him, and said, Some men have come out of Samaria).
18 And he said, Whether they come for peace, take ye them quick; whether to fight, take ye them quick. [And he saith, Whether for peace they come, taketh them alive; whether that they fight, taketh them alive.]
19 Therefore the young men of the princes of (the) provinces went out, and the residue host followed (them);
20 and each smote the man that came against him. And (the) men of Syria fled, and Israel pursued them; also Benhadad, the king of Syria, fled on an horse with his knights.
21 Also the king of Israel went out, and smote (the) horses and chariots, and he smote Syria with a full great vengeance. (And the king of Israel went out, and struck down the horses and the chariots, and he struck down the Syrians with a very great slaughter.)
22 Forsooth a prophet nighed to the king of Israel, and said, Go thou, and be strengthened, and know, and see, what thou shalt do; for the king of Syria shall ascend against thee in the year following (for the king of Syria shall also come against thee next year).
23 Soothly the servants of the king of Syria said to him, The Gods of hills be the Gods of the sons of Israel (The gods of the hills be the gods of the Israelites), therefore they overcame us; but it is better that we fight against them in [the] field places, and we shall get them there.

1 Kings 20:13-23 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS 20

This chapter relates the siege of Samaria by the king of Syria, and his insolent demand of Ahab's wives, children, and riches, 1Ki 20:1-12, the sally made out upon him, at the direction of the prophet, and the route made of the Syrian army, 1Ki 20:13-21, the return of the Syrian army the next year, when there was a pitched battle between them and Israel, in which the former were entirely defeated, 1Ki 20:22-30, the peace Ahab made with the king of Syria, 1Ki 20:31-34, and the reproof one of the sons of the prophets gave him for it, which made him very uneasy, 1Ki 20:35-43.

Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.