1 Kings 20:1-22:54

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 20:1-43

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

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - 1 Kings 20:1

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

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - 1 Kings 20:1

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

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - 1 Kings 20:1

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

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - 1 Kings 20:1-25

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

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Kings 20:1-43

War between Israel and SyriaThe Syrians besiege Samaria, but a sally being made from the city by the direction of a prophet, they are driven off, and the next year are beaten at Aphek. Ahab, having spared Benhadad the Syrian king, is rebuked by a prophet in the name of the Lord.1. Ben-hadad] probably the son of the Benhadad mentioned, in 1 Kings 15:18. In the Assyrian inscription he is termed Dad-idri, i.e. Hadadezer. The history here reverts to the Syrian attacks upon Israel made originally at... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - 1 Kings 20:1

(1) Ben-hadad.—This is the inherited title of the Syrian kings. (See Amos 1:4; Jeremiah 49:27.) From the allusion in 1 Kings 20:34 it appears that this Ben-hadad was the son of a king who had been victorious against Omri—possibly pushing still further the advantage gained in the time of Baasha. It is evident that he assumed, perhaps by inheritance, a sovereignty over Israel.Thirty and two kings.—All the notices of Syria show it as divided into small kingdoms, confederated from time to time... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - 1 Kings 20:1-43

The Partial Exclusion of God 1 Kings 20:28 I. There are scenes with which we naturally associate God; and how true that was of the Syrians a glance will show us. It was among the hills that Israel fought them; it was on the rough hillside that Israel conquered. For us no less than for the Syrians there is a suggestion of God about the hills. It was on a hill that our Saviour blessed the world with the priceless preaching of the Sermon on the Mount. And on a hill-top having said farewell He... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 20:1-30

AHAB AND BENHADAD1 Kings 20:1-30IN the Septuagint and in Josephus the events narrated in the twentieth chapter of the Book of Kings are placed after the meeting of Elijah with Ahab at the door of Naboth’s vineyard, which occupies the twenty-first chapter in our version. This order of events seems the more probable, but no chronological data are given us in the long but fragmentary details of Ahab’s reign. They are, in fact, composed of different sets of records, partly historical, partly... read more

Arno Clemens Gaebelein

Arno Gaebelein's Annotated Bible - 1 Kings 20:1-43

4. King Ahab: His Wicked Reign and End CHAPTER 20 Ahab’s War with the Syrians and His Victory 1. The siege and relief of Samaria (1 Kings 20:1-21 ) 2. The victory at Aphek (1 Kings 20:22-34 ) 3. A prophet’s symbolical action and his message (1 Kings 20:35-43 ) Two expeditions of Ben-hadad (son of the Sun) against Israel are recorded in this chapter. When Ben-hadad forced the war and insulted the King of Israel, Ahab prepared for the battle. Then a prophet came to Ahab, most likely one... read more

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