It may be supposed that a considerable time had passed in the siege, that the city had been reduced to an extremity, and that ambassadors had been sent by Ahab to ask terms of peace short of absolute surrender, before Ben-hadad would make such a demand. He would expect and intend his demand to be rejected, and this would have left him free to plunder the town, which was evidently what he desired and purposed. read more
1 Kings 20:1. Gathered all his host To war against Israel: wherein his design was to enlarge the conquest which his father had made; but God’s design was to punish Israel for their apostacy and idolatry. There were thirty and two kings with him Petty kings, such as were in Canaan in Joshua’s time, who indeed were no more than governors of cities or small territories: these were either subject or tributary to Ben-hadad, or hired by him. He were up and besieged Samaria He did not actually... read more
Defeat of Ben-hadad (20:1-43)Ahab appeared to be in serious trouble when a combined army of Syria (Aram) and neighbouring states besieged the Israelite capital Samaria and demanded heavy payments. Ahab at first submitted (20:1-4), but when their demands increased, he changed his mind and decided to fight (5-12).A prophet assured Ahab that God would give Israel victory (13-15). Ahab’s plan, based on the prophet’s advice, was to send a large group of young men ahead to distract the Syrians, then... read more
Ben-hadad. Perhaps the son of the Ben-hadad of 1 Kings 15:18 . host = force. thirty and two. Probably vassal princes. Compare 1 Kings 20:24 . read more
said. A special various reading ( Sevir, App-34 ) reads "they said". read more
THE WAR BETWEEN AHAB AND BEN-HADADIn this chapter, the ministry of Elijah is, for the moment, passed over; and we have the record of God's dealings with Ahab in his struggle against Benhadad. This change of emphasis is seized upon by some critics as "evidence of another source," but that explanation of the change is not correct. The apparent change is only apparent, there being no genuine change whatever. In 1 Kings 20 God is still trying to convince Ahab that Jehovah is the true God (1 Kings... read more
1. Ben-hadad the king of Syria—This monarch was the son of that Ben-hadad who, in the reign of Baasha, made a raid on the northern towns of Galilee ( :-). The thirty-two kings that were confederate with him were probably tributary princes. The ancient kings of Syria and Phoelignicia ruled only over a single city, and were independent of each other, except when one great city, as Damascus, acquired the ascendency, and even then they were allied only in time of war. The Syrian army encamped at... read more
2-12. Thus said Ben-hadad, Thy silver and thy gold is mine—To this message sent him during the siege, Ahab returned a tame and submissive answer, probably thinking it meant no more than an exaction of tribute. But the demand was repeated with greater insolence; and yet, from the abject character of Ahab, there is reason to believe he would have yielded to this arrogant claim also, had not the voice of his subjects been raised against it. Ben-hadad's object in these and other boastful menaces... read more
God’s deliverance of Samaria 20:1-25God dealt gently (cf. 1 Kings 19:12) with the Northern Kingdom at this time in the Divided Monarchy to continue to move His people back to Himself. This pericope records the first of three battles the writer recorded in 1 Kings between Ahab and the kings of Aram, Israel’s antagonistic neighbor to the northeast. The first of these evidently took place early in Ahab’s reign (ca. 874). Ahab’s adversary would have been Ben-Hadad I (900-860 B.C.). [Note: See D. D.... read more
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Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Kings 20:1
Ben-hadad, the king of Syria - Probably the son of the Ben-hadad who assisted Asa against Baasha (1 Kings 15:18 note).Thirty and two kings with him - Not allies, but feudatories 1 Kings 20:24. Damascus had in the reign of this Ben-hadad become the center of an important monarchy, which may not improbably have extended from the Euphrates to the northern border of Israel. The Assyrian inscriptions show that this country was about the period in question parcelled out into a multitude of petty... read more