1 Kings 20:22

22 Afterward the prophet said to King Ahab, “Get ready for another attack. Begin making plans now, for the king of Aram will come back next spring. ”

1 Kings 20:22 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 20:22

And the prophet came to the king of Israel
The same that came to him before:

and said unto him, go, strengthen thyself;
exhorted him to fortify his cities, especially Samaria, and increase his army, that he might be able to oppose the king of Syria:

and mark, and see what thou doest:
observe his moral and religious actions, and take heed that he did not offend the Lord by them, as well as make military preparations:

for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against
thee;
about the same time in the next year, at the spring of the year, when kings go out to war, see ( 2 Samuel 11:1 ) .

1 Kings 20:22 In-Context

20 Each Israelite soldier killed his Aramean opponent, and suddenly the entire Aramean army panicked and fled. The Israelites chased them, but King Ben-hadad and a few of his charioteers escaped on horses.

21 However, the king of Israel destroyed the other horses and chariots and slaughtered the Arameans.

22 Afterward the prophet said to King Ahab, “Get ready for another attack. Begin making plans now, for the king of Aram will come back next spring. ”

23 After their defeat, Ben-hadad’s officers said to him, “The Israelite gods are gods of the hills; that is why they won. But we can beat them easily on the plains.

24 Only this time replace the kings with field commanders!

Footnotes

• [a]. Hebrew at the turn of the year; similarly in 20:26 . The first day of the year in the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred in March or April.