Text -- 1 Kings 20:31-43 (NET)

20:31 His advisers said to him, “Look, we have heard that the kings of the Israelite dynasty are kind. Allow us to put sackcloth around our waists and ropes on our heads and surrender to the king of Israel. Maybe he will spare our lives.” 20:32 So they put sackcloth around their waists and ropes on their heads and went to the king of Israel. They said, “Your servant Ben Hadad says, ‘Please let me live!’” Ahab replied, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.” 20:33 The men took this as a good omen and quickly accepted his offer, saying, “Ben Hadad is your brother.” Ahab then said, “Go, get him.” So Ben Hadad came out to him, and Ahab pulled him up into his chariot. 20:34 Ben Hadad said, “I will return the cities my father took from your father. You may set up markets in Damascus, just as my father did in Samaria.” Ahab then said, “I want to make a treaty with you before I dismiss you.” So he made a treaty with him and then dismissed him.

A Prophet Denounces Ahab’s Actions

20:35 One of the members of the prophetic guild, speaking with divine authority, ordered his companion, “Wound me!” But the man refused to wound him. 20:36 So the prophet said to him, “Because you have disobeyed the Lord, as soon as you leave me a lion will kill you.” When he left him, a lion attacked and killed him. 20:37 He found another man and said, “Wound me!” So the man wounded him severely. 20:38 The prophet then went and stood by the road, waiting for the king. He also disguised himself by putting a bandage down over his eyes. 20:39 When the king passed by, he called out to the king, “Your servant went out into the heat of the battle, and then a man turned aside and brought me a prisoner. He told me, ‘Guard this prisoner. If he ends up missing for any reason, you will pay with your life or with a talent of silver.’ 20:40 Well, it just so happened that while your servant was doing this and that, he disappeared.” The king of Israel said to him, “Your punishment is already determined by your own testimony.” 20:41 The prophet quickly removed the bandage from his eyes and the king of Israel recognized he was one of the prophets. 20:42 The prophet then said to him, “This is what the Lord says, ‘Because you released a man I had determined should die, you will pay with your life and your people will suffer instead of his people.’” 20:43 The king of Israel went home to Samaria bitter and angry.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 1Ki 20:31

¹ tn Or “servants.”

² tn Or “merciful.” The word used here often means “devoted” or “loyal.” Perhaps the idea is that the Israelite kings are willing to make treaties with other kings.

³ sn Sackcloth was worn as a sign of sorrow and repentance. The precise significance of the ropes on the head is uncertain, but it probably was a sign of submission. These actions were comparable to raising a white flag on the battlefield or throwing in the towel in a boxing match.

⁴ tn Heb “go out.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 20:32

¹ sn Your servant. By referring to Ben Hadad as Ahab’s servant, they are suggesting that Ahab make him a subject in a vassal treaty arrangement.

² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Ahab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ sn He is my brother. Ahab’s response indicates that he wants to make a parity treaty and treat Ben Hadad as an equal partner.

NET Notes: 1Ki 20:33

¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Ahab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

NET Notes: 1Ki 20:34

¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Ben Hadad) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Heb “streets,” but this must refer to streets set up with stalls for merchants to sell their goods. See HALOT 299 s.v. חוּץ.

³ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

⁴ tn Heb “I will send you away with a treaty.” The words “Ahab then said” are supplied in the translation. There is nothing in the Hebrew text to indicate that the speaker has changed from Ben Hadad to Ahab. Some suggest adding “and he said” before “I will send you away.” Others prefer to maintain Ben Hadad as the speaker and change the statement to, “Please send me away with a treaty.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 20:35

¹ tn Heb “Now a man from the sons of the prophets said to his companion by the word of the Lord, ‘Wound me.’”

NET Notes: 1Ki 20:36

¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the prophet) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

NET Notes: 1Ki 20:37

¹ tn Heb “and the man wounded him, wounding and bruising.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 20:39

¹ tn Heb “middle.”

² tn Heb “man” (also a second time later in this verse).

³ tn Heb “if being missed, he is missed.” The emphatic infinitive absolute before the finite verbal form lends solemnity to the warning.

⁴ tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 75 pounds of silver.

⁵ tn Heb “your life will be in place of his life, or a unit of silver you will pay.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 20:40

¹ tn Heb “so [i.e., in accordance with his testimony] is your judgment, you have determined [it].”

NET Notes: 1Ki 20:41

¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the prophet) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

NET Notes: 1Ki 20:42

¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the prophet) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Heb “Because you sent away the man of my destruction [i.e., that I determined should be destroyed] from [my/your?] hand, your life will be in place of his life, and your people in place of his people.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 20:43

¹ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.