And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel into [Heb. to . It is not clear that they entered the city. They may have delivered their message to the king, or to his representatives at the gates or to the people on the walls ( 2 Kings 18:18 , 2 Kings 18:27 )] the city, and said unto him, Thus saith Ben-hadad, read more
Thy silver and thy gold is mine [Heb. mine it is ]; thy wives also and thy children [Nothing reveals Ben-hadad's object more clearly than the mention of Ahab's wives. When we consider how jealously the seraglio of an Eastern prince is guarded, and how the surrender of the harem is a virtual surrender of the throne ( 2 Samuel 16:21 , 2 Samuel 16:22 ; note on 1 Kings 2:22 ), and certainly a surrender of all manhood and self-respect, we see that his aim was to wound Ahab in his... read more
" They silver, … is mine ." A conspicuous instance this of that law of old time— " the simple plan That they should take who have the power, And they should keep who can." But is our modern warfare so very different in principle? Why may kings remove landmarks any more than peasants? Why may a Ben-hadad, an Alexander, a Napoleon cry, "Your lands or your life," without reproach, and yet the footpad who plays at the same game on the highway is hanged for it? Why should what is plain... read more
And the king of Israel answered and said, My lord, O king, according to thy saying, I am thine, and all that I have. [Much has been written about Ahab's pusillanimous acquiescence in these disgraceful terms, etc. But it is not absolutely clear that he ever meant to surrender either wives or children to the invader. All that is certain is that he judged it wise, in the presence of the enormous force arrayed against him, to make every possible concession, to adopt the most subservient tone,... read more
" I am thine ." "Wisely doth Ahab, as a reed in a tempest, stoop to this violent charge." "It is not for the overpowered to capitulate." Besides, who knew what the "soft answer" might effect? If smooth words could do no good, rough ones would certainly do much harm. The meek always have the best of it, and so inherit the earth. read more
And the messengers came again, and said, Thus speaketh Ben-hadad, saying, Although [Heb. כִי . According to some of the grammarians, this is merely the Hebrew equivalent of the ὅτι recitantis . But the כִי אִם of the next verse suggests that there must be a connexion between the two, and that the second emphasizes the first, much as in the A.V.] I have sent unto thee, saying, Thou shalt deliver me thy silver and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children [Our translators... read more
Yet I will send my servants unto thee tomorrow about this time [This proposal was definite and immediate, the first demand was vague and general. "In the first Ahab was to send what he thought fit to give; in the second, Ben-hadad's servants were to take into their own hands whatsoever they thought fit to sieze" (Wordsworth)], and they shall search thine house, and the houses of thy servants; and it shall be, that whatsoever is pleasant in [Heb. the desire of ] thine eyes [The LXX .... read more
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
Ben-hadad, disappointed by Ahab’s consent to an indignity which he had thought no monarch could submit to, proceeds to put a fresh construction on his former demands. read more
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The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 20:1-43
The Purgatory of Nations and Kings. The two invasions of Israel by the armies of Syria, and their defeat by the finger of God, may suggest some lessons as to God's dealings with nations, and with oppressive and tyrannical kings. Two considerations must, however, be borne in mind here. First, that the present age, unlike the Mosaic, is not a dispensation of temporal rewards and punishments. It is true that even now men do receive a rough sort of retribution, according to their... read more