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20:24 So do <06213> this <02088>: Dismiss <05493> the kings <04428> from their command <01697>, and replace <07760> <04725> them with military commanders <06346>. 20:25 Muster <04487> an army <02428> like the one <02428> you <0859> lost <05307>, with the same number <07393> <05483> of horses <05483> and chariots <07393>. Then we will fight <03898> them in the plains <04334>; we will certainly <03808> <0518> overpower <02388> them <01992>.” He approved <08085> their plan <06963> and did <06213> as they advised <03651>. 20:26 In the spring <08141> <08666> Ben Hadad <01130> mustered <06485> the Syrian <0758> army and marched <05927> to Aphek <0663> to fight <04421> Israel <03478>. 20:27 When the Israelites <03478> <01121> had mustered <06485> and had received their supplies <03557>, they marched out <01980> to face <07125> them in battle <02583>. When the Israelites <03478> <01121> deployed opposite <05048> them, they were like two <08147> small flocks <02835> of goats <05795>, but the Syrians <0758> filled <04390> the land <0776>. 20:28 The prophet <0430> <0376> visited <05066> the king <04428> of Israel <03478> and said <0559>, “This is what <03541> the Lord <03068> says <0559>: ‘Because <0834> <03282> the Syrians <0758> said <0559>, “The Lord <03068> is a god <0430> of the mountains <02022> and not <03808> a god <0430> of the valleys <06010>,” I <01931> will hand over <03027> <05414> to you this <02088> entire <03605> huge <01419> army <01995>. Then you will know <03045> that <03588> I <0589> am the Lord <03068>.’” 20:29 The armies were deployed <02583> opposite <05227> each other <0428> <0428> for seven <07651> days <03117>. On the seventh <07637> day <03117> the battle <04421> began <07126>, and the Israelites <03478> <01121> killed <05221> 100,000 <0505> <03967> Syrian <0758> foot soldiers <07273> in one <0259> day <03117>. 20:30 The remaining <03498> 27,000 <0505> <07651> <06242> ran <05127> to Aphek <0663> and went into <0413> the city <05892>, but the wall <02346> fell <05307> on <05921> them <0376>. Now Ben Hadad <01130> ran <05127> into <0413> the city <05892> and hid <0935> in an inner room <02315> <02315>. 20:31 His advisers <05650> said <0559> to <0413> him, “Look <02009>, we have heard <08085> that <03588> the kings <04428> of the Israelite <03478> dynasty <01004> are kind <02617>. Allow us to put <07760> sackcloth <08242> around our waists <04975> and ropes <02256> on our heads <07218> and surrender <03318> to <0413> the king <04428> of Israel <03478>. Maybe <0194> he will spare <02421> our lives <05315>.” 20:32 So they put <02296> sackcloth <08242> around <02296> their waists <04975> and ropes <02256> on their heads <07218> and went <0935> to <0413> the king <04428> of Israel <03478>. They said <0559>, “Your servant <05650> Ben Hadad <01130> says <0559>, ‘Please <04994> let me live <05315> <02421>!’” Ahab replied <0559>, “Is he still <05750> alive <02416>? He <01931> is my brother <0251>.” 20:33 The men <0376> took <05172> this as a good omen <05172> and quickly <04116> accepted <02480> his offer, saying <0559>, “Ben Hadad <01130> is your brother <0251>.” Ahab then said <0559>, “Go <0935>, get <03947> him.” So Ben Hadad <01130> came out <03318> to <0413> him, and Ahab pulled <05927> him up <05927> into <05921> his chariot <04818>. 20:34 Ben Hadad said <0559>, “I will return <07725> the cities <05892> my father <01> took <03947> from your father <01>. You may set up <07760> markets <02351> in Damascus <01834>, just <0834> as my father <01> did <07760> in Samaria <08111>.” Ahab then said, “I <0589> want to make a treaty <01285> with you before I dismiss <07971> you.” So he made <03772> a treaty <01285> with him and then dismissed <07971> him. 20:35 One <0259> of the members <01121> of the prophetic guild <05030>, speaking <0559> with <0413> divine <03068> authority <01697>, ordered his companion <07453>, “Wound <05221> me!” But the man <0376> refused <03985> to wound <05221> him. 20:36 So the prophet said <0559> to him, “Because <0834> <03282> you have disobeyed <06963> <08085> <03808> the Lord <03068>, as soon as you leave <01980> me a lion <0738> will kill <05221> you.” When he left <0681> <01980> him, a lion <0738> attacked <04672> and killed <05221> him. 20:37 He found <04672> another <0312> man <0376> and said <0559>, “Wound <05221> me!” So the man <0376> wounded <05221> him severely <06481> <05221>. 20:38 The prophet <05030> then went <01980> and stood <05975> by the road <01870>, waiting for <05921> the king <04428>. He also disguised <02664> himself by putting a bandage <0666> down over <05921> his eyes <05869>. 20:39 When <01961> the king <04428> passed by <05674>, he <01931> called out <06817> to <0413> the king <04428>, “Your servant <05650> went out <03318> into the heat <07130> of the battle <04421>, and then a man <0376> turned aside <05493> and brought <0935> me a prisoner <0376>. He told <0559> me, ‘Guard <08104> this <02088> prisoner <0376>. If <0518> he ends up missing <06485> <06485> for <08478> any reason, you will pay <01961> with your life <05315> or <0176> with a talent <03603> of silver <03701>.’ 20:40 Well, it just so happened <01961> that while your servant <05650> was doing <06213> this <02008> and that <02008>, he <01931> disappeared <0369>.” The king <04428> of Israel <03478> said <0559> to <0413> him, “Your punishment <04941> is already determined <02782> by your <0859> own testimony.” 20:41 The prophet quickly <04116> removed <05493> the bandage <0666> from <05921> his eyes <05869> and the king <04428> of Israel <03478> recognized <05234> he <01931> was one of the prophets <05030>. 20:42 The prophet then said <0559> to <0413> him, “This is what <03541> the Lord <03068> says <0559>, ‘Because <03282> you released <07971> a man <0376> I had determined should die <02764>, you will pay with <08478> your life <05315> and your people <05971> will suffer instead <08478> of his people <05971>.’” 20:43 The king <04428> of Israel <03478> went <01980> home <01004> to Samaria <08111> bitter <05620> and angry <02198>.

• 1Ki 20:35-43 -- A Prophet Denounces Ahab's Actions

• Wall

  [ebd] Cities were surrounded by walls, as distinguished from "unwalled villages" (Ezek. 38:11; Lev. 25:29-34). They were made thick and strong (Num. 13:28; Deut. 3:5). Among the Jews walls were built of stone, some of those in the...
  

• WAR; WARFARE

  [isbe] WAR; WARFARE - wor, wor'-far (milchamah, 'anshe m., "men of war," "soldiers"; polemos, polemein, strateuesthai, stratia): 1. Religious Significance 2. Preliminaries 3. Operations of War 4. Strategy 5. Important Requisites 6....
  

• Tatnai

  [ebd] gift, a Persian governor (Heb. pehah, i.e., "satrap;" modern "pasha") "on this side the river", i.e., of the whole tract on the west of the Euphrates. This Hebrew title pehah is given to governors of provinces generally. It ...
  

• Samaria

  [ebd] a watch-mountain or a watch-tower. In the heart of the mountains of Israel, a few miles north-west of Shechem, stands the "hill of Shomeron," a solitary mountain, a great "mamelon." It is an oblong hill, with steep but not i...
  [nave] SAMARIA 1. City of, built by Omri, 1 Kin. 16:24. Capital of the kingdom of the ten tribes, 1 Kin. 16:29; 22:51; 2 Kin. 13:1, 10; 15:8. Besieged by Ben-hadad, 1 Kin. 20; 2 Kin. 6:24-33; 7. The king of Syria is led into, by...
  

• PROPHECY; PROPHETS, 2

  [isbe] PROPHECY; PROPHETS, 2 - II. Historical Development of the Prophetic Office. 1. Abraham: It is a characteristic peculiarity of the religion of the Old Testament that its very elementary beginnings are of a prophetical nature....
  

• Micaiah

  [ebd] who is like Jehovah?, the son of Imlah, a faithful prophet of Samaria (1 Kings 22:8-28). Three years after the great battle with Ben-hadad (20:29-34), Ahab proposed to Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, that they should go up again...
  

• JOASH

  [smith] (to whom Jehovah hastens, i.e. to help), contracted from JEHOASH. Son of Ahaziah king of Judah (B.C. 884), and the only one of his children who escaped the murderous hand of Athaliah. After his father?s sister Jehoshabeath, ...
  

• ISRAEL, KINGDOM OF

  [isbe] ISRAEL, KINGDOM OF - || I. THE FIRST PERIOD 1. The Two Kingdoms 2. The Ist Dynasty 3. The IInd Dynasty 4. Civil War II. PERIOD OF THE SYRIAN WARS 1. The IIIrd Dynasty 2. World-Politics 3. Battle of Karkar 4. Loss of Territor...
  

• Captive

  [ebd] one taken in war. Captives were often treated with great cruelty and indignity (1 Kings 20:32; Josh. 10:24; Judg. 1:7; 2 Sam. 4:12; Judg. 8:7; 2 Sam. 12:31; 1 Chr. 20:3). When a city was taken by assault, all the men were sl...
  

• COMMERCE

  [isbe] COMMERCE - kom'-ers (emporia): I. Old Testament Times. 1. Early Overland Commerce: There were forces in early Hebrew life not favorable to the development of commerce. Intercourse with foreigners was not encouraged by Israel...
  

• CHILD; CHILDREN

  [isbe] CHILD; CHILDREN - child, chil'-dren (ben, "son," yeledh, "child" na`ar, "lad"; teknon, paidion): The Hebrews regarded the presence of children in the family as a mark of Divine favor and greatly to be desired (Gen 15:2; 30:1...
  

• CATTLE

  [isbe] CATTLE - kat'-'-l (behemah, "a dumb beast"; miqneh, "a possession" from qanah, "to acquire" (compare Arabic qana', "to acquire," and Greek kienos, "beast," and plural ktenea, "flocks," from ktaomai, "to acquire," flocks bein...
  

• CAPTIVITY

  [isbe] CAPTIVITY - kap-tiv'-i-ti (galah, galuth, shebhuth, shibhyah; metoikesia): I. OF THE NORTHERN KINGDOM (THE WORK OF ASSYRIA) 1. Western Campaigns of Shalmaneser II, 860-825 BC 2. Of Rimmon-nirari III, 810-781 BC 3. Of Tiglath...
  

• CAPTAIN

  [isbe] CAPTAIN - kap'-tin: In the King James Version there are no fewer than 13 Hebrew words, and 4 different Greek words, which are rendered by this one English word. In the Revised Version (British and American) some of these are...
  

• BENHADAD

  [isbe] BENHADAD - ben-ha'-dad (ben-hadhadh; Septuagint huios Hader): The Name I. BENHADAD I 1. The Kingdom of Syria Founded 2. Syria and Judah 3. Shortsightedness of Asa II. BENHADAD II 1. Hadad-'idri of the Monuments 2. Expedition...
  

• Armies

  [nave] ARMIES Who of the Israelites were subject to service in, Num. 1:2, 3; 26:2; 2 Chr. 25:5; who were exempt from service in, Num. 1:47-50; 2:33; Deut. 20:5-9; Judg. 7:3. Enumeration of Israel's military forces, Num. 1:2, 3; 26...
  

• Aphik

  [ebd] (Judg. 1:31); Aphek (Josh. 13:4; 19:30), stronghold. (1.) A city of the tribe of Asher. It was the scene of the licentious worship of the Syrian Aphrodite. The ruins of the temple, "magnificent ruins" in a "spot of strange w...
  

• Ahab

  [ebd] father's brother. (1.) The son of Omri, whom he succeeded as the seventh king of Israel. His history is recorded in 1 Kings 16-22. His wife was Jezebel (q.v.), who exercised a very evil influence over him. To the calf-worshi...
  [isbe] AHAB - a'-hab ('ach'abh, Assyrian a-cha-ab-bu; Septuagint Achaab, but Jer 29:21 f, Achiab, which, in analogy with '-h-y-m-l-k, (')-h-y-'-l, etc., indicates an original 'achi'abh, meaning "the father is my brother"): The comp...
  [smith] (uncle). Son of Omri, seventh king of Israel, reigned B.C. 919-896. He married Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal king of Tyre; and in obedience to her wishes, caused temple to be built to Baal in Samaria itself; and an oracular g...
  [nave] AHAB 1. King of Israel, 1 Kin. 16:29. Marries Jezebel, 1 Kin. 16:31. Idolatry of, 1 Kin. 16:30-33; 18:18, 19; 21:25, 26; other wickedness of, 2 Kin. 3:2; 2 Chr. 21:6; 22:3, 4; Mic. 6:16. Reproved by Elijah; assembles the ...
  

• ALLIANCE

  [isbe] ALLIANCE - a-li'-ans. 1. In the Patriarchal Stories: Frequent references are made to alliances between the patriarchs and foreigners. Abraham is reported to have had "confederates" among the chiefs of the Canaanites (Gen 14:...
  

• ACCURSED

  [isbe] ACCURSED - a-kurs'-ed, a-kurst': In the Book of Josh (6:17,18; 7:1,11,12,13,15) and 1 Ch (2:7) "accursed" (or "accursed thing" or "thing accursed") is the King James Version rendering of the Hebrew word, cherem. The the Revi...
  

• Ahab Fights the Arameans

  

• A Prophecy about Ahab's Death

  

• What is the nature of Christs sonship?
  Concerning the eternal Sonship of Christ, Ryrie has this to say: I agree with Buswell (A Systematic Theology of the Christian Religion, pp. 105-12) that generation is not an exegetically based doctrine. The concept it tri...
• How Can Christians Justify War?
  How do you think Joshua, Gideon, David and other Old Testament saints felt about it? Do you suppose they did not know of the commandment "Thou shalt not kill"? They do not appear to have found any difficulty in reconciling th...

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