1 Kings 15 Study Notes

15:15 The gifts to the Lord’s temple, especially the silver and gold, marked the return of prosperity among the people.

15:16-17 With Baasha, whose formal record comes later (15:33-16:7), the border skirmishes became war. His offensives involved both Judah and the Philistine plain. These military advances were probably possible because of the newly reestablished chariot armies. Apparently, Baasha penetrated Benjamite territory and began building a fortress at Ramah about six miles north of Jerusalem. This could have cut off all trade on that road. There were two locations named Ramah just north of Jerusalem. The one in the middle of Benjamin would have posed the greater threat. This would have been a serious blow to whatever limited benefit Judah was gaining from north-south trade on the road through Jerusalem. Most of the significant trade bypassed Jerusalem by moving up the coastal plain and then inland through passes that opened into the Plain of Esdraelon. From there the trade moved to points west in Phoenician ships or by land to points northeast of Palestine.

15:18-22 This was such a serious threat that Asa purchased an alliance with the Arameans of Damascus. The Chronicler rebukes Asa for not trusting in the Lord instead (2Ch 16:7-10). This alliance must have been particularly humiliating since earlier years had been marked by alliances in which the Hebrews were dominant and collected tribute. Now the king of Judah had to pay the Arameans to deliver him from the threat of Israel. The Arameans’ response was devastating to Israel. The northern regions were plundered, and Baasha, despite a small resurgence of Hebrew strength, had to take refuge in his capital, Tirzah. Asa then used the building materials at Ramah to build his own defenses north of Jerusalem at Geba and Mizpah in Benjamin. Depending on the location selected for Ramah, these fortifications would have formed a defense line just north of Ramah or two miles or so south of the other Ramah.

15:23-24 Asa’s foot disease is mentioned without comment, but it may be a hint that his enlistment of help from Aram was viewed by God as an expression of lack of faith. This is brought out more clearly in 2Ch 16:7-12.

15:25-16:28 This section chronicles the reign of five kings of Israel: Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri, and Omri. Israel had a favorable location for exacting some control over local transit trade. This trade financed a limited revival of Israel’s military strength. Israel’s military capacity had revived sufficiently for aggressive warfare against the Philistines as early as Nadab, the son of Jeroboam. This new military was a local chariot force that included homegrown Hebrew warriors. Thus, eventually, a Hebrew chariot commander, Omri, could become king of Israel (16:16). Despite the civil wars and palace revolutions, this was a time of restoring the military power of Israel.

15:25-26 These two verses follow the typical formula. They tell of the beginning of the rule of Nadab over Israel and pass the usual negative moral judgment. Jeroboam’s example was not only the measure of evil for Nadab, but for almost every other king of Israel.

15:27-30 This campaign against Gibbethon, just south of Gezer, demonstrated the resurgence of Israel’s military strength. Since the most effective arm of any offensive army in that era was typically the chariots (with the exception of David’s), the text is likely referring to a chariot army. Nadab died in a battlefield revolution. Baasha, Nadab’s killer, fulfilled the prophecy that the house of Jeroboam would be exterminated (14:10-11,14).

15:31-32 This closing again calls attention to the more or less continual war between the two kingdoms. The note about war between Asa and Baasha normally would be more at home in the closing section about Baasha.

15:33-34 This introduction reveals nothing distinctive about the rule of Baasha. He was the first of three kings whose beginning and length of rule statements are combined into a single sentence. Translated literally, this formula was: “became king . . . for twenty-four years.” Introductions to two other kings of this group, Elah (16:8) and Omri (16:23), show this unusual wording.