1 Kings 20:30

30 And the rest fled into the city of 1Aphek, and the wall fell upon 27,000 men who were left. Ben-hadad also fled and entered 2an inner chamber in the city.

1 Kings 20:30 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 20:30

But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city
Which perhaps was in the hands of the Syrians, and was designed for a retreat for them, should they be beaten:

and there a wall fell upon twenty seven thousand of the men that were
left;
not slain in the battle; here again the Lord might be seen, who, as Abarbinel observes, fought from heaven, and either by a violent wind, or an earthquake, threw down the wall upon them just as they had got under it for shelter:

and Benhadad fled, and came into the city into an inner chamber;
or, "into a chamber within a chamber" F17, for greater secrecy.


FOOTNOTES:

F17 (rdxb rdx) "cubiculo in cubiculum", Pagninus, Montanus.

1 Kings 20:30 In-Context

28 And a man of God came near and said to the king of Israel, "Thus says the LORD, 'Because the Syrians have said, "The LORD is a god of the hills 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.'"
29 And they encamped opposite one another seven days. Then on the seventh day the battle was joined. And the people of Israel struck down of the Syrians 100,000 foot soldiers in one day.
30 And the rest fled into the city of Aphek, and the wall fell upon 27,000 men who were left. Ben-hadad also fled and entered an inner chamber in the city.
31 And his servants said to him, "Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Let us put sackcloth around our waists and ropes on our heads and go out to the king of Israel. Perhaps he will spare your life."
32 So they tied sackcloth around their waists and put ropes on their heads and went to the king of Israel and said, "Your servant Ben-hadad says, 'Please, let me live.'" And he said, "Does he still live? He is my brother."

Cross References 2

  • 1. [See ver. 26 above]
  • 2. 1 Kings 22:25; 2 Kings 9:2; 2 Chronicles 18:24
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.