John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 20:4
And the king of Israel answered and said, my lord, O king ,.... So he said to Benhadad's messengers, representing him, as acknowledging his sovereignty over him: according to thy saying, I am thine, and all that I have : which he understood of holding all that he had of him, by giving him homage, and paying him tribute; not that he was to deliver all his substance, and especially his wives and children, into his hands. read more
Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Kings 20:1-11
Here is, I. The threatening descent which Ben-hadad made upon Ahab's kingdom, and the siege he laid to Samaria, his royal city, 1 Kgs. 20:1. What the ground of the quarrel was we are not told; covetousness and ambition were the principle, which would never want some pretence or other. David in his time had quite subdued the Syrians and made them tributaries to Israel, but Israel's apostasy from God makes them formidable again. Asa had tempted the Syrians to invade Israel once (1 Kgs.... read more