1 Kings 20:30

30 The rest of the men of Aram escaped to the city of Aphek. Its wall fell down on 27,000 of them. Ben-Hadad ran to the city. He hid in a secret room.

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.

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FOOTNOTES:

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

1 Kings 20:30 In-Context

28 The man of God came up to the king of Israel again. He told him, "The LORD says, 'The men of Aram think I am a god of the hills. They do not think I am a god of the valleys. So I will hand their huge army over to you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.' "

29 For seven days the two armies camped across from each other. On the seventh day the battle began. The men of Israel wounded or killed 100,000 Aramean soldiers on foot. That happened in a single day.

30 The rest of the men of Aram escaped to the city of Aphek. Its wall fell down on 27,000 of them. Ben-Hadad ran to the city. He hid in a secret room.

31 His officials said to him, "Look, we've heard that the kings of Israel's royal house often show mercy. So let's go to the king of Israel. Let's wear black clothes. Let's tie ropes around our heads. Perhaps Ahab will spare your life."

32 So they wore black clothes. They tied ropes around their heads. Then they went to the king of Israel. They told him, "Your servant Ben-Hadad says, 'Please let me live.' " The king answered, "Is he still alive? He used to be my friend."