1And Ben-Hadad king of Aram gathered all his forces, and thirty-two kings were with him, and horses and chariots, and he came up and besieged Samaria and battled against it. 2And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel in the town and said to him, 3“Thus says Ben-Hadad: ‘Your silver and your gold are mine and your wives and your goodly sons are mine.’” 4And the king of Israel answered and said, “As you have spoken, my lord the king. Yours am I and all I have.” 5And the messengers came back and said, “Thus says Ben-Hadad, saying: ‘As I sent to you, saying, “Your silver and your gold and your wives and your sons are mine,” give them over. 6For at this time tomorrow I will send my servants to you and they will search your house and your servants’ houses, and it shall be that whatever is precious in their eyes they will put in their hand and take.’” 7And the king of Israel called in all the elders of Israel and said, “Mark, pray, and see that he intends this harm, for he has sent to me for my wives and for my sons and for my silver and for my gold, and I did not withhold them from him.” 8And the elders and all the people said to him, “Do not listen, nor should you agree.” 9And he said to the messengers of Ben-Hadad, “Everything concerning which you sent at first to your servant I will do, but this thing I cannot do.” And the messengers went off, and brought him the response. 10And Ben-Hadad sent to him and said, “So may the gods do to me and even more, if the ground of Samaria will be enough for the footsteps of all the troops that are at my heels.” 11And the king of Israel answered and said, “Let not the buckler of armor boast like the unfastener.”
12And it happened when he heard this thing he was drinking, he and the kings, at Succoth—that he said to his servants, “Set forth,” and they set forth against the town. 13And, look, a certain prophet approached Ahab king of Israel and said, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Have you seen all this great throng? I am about to give it into your hand today, and you shall know that I am the LORD.’” 14And Ahab said, “Through whom?” And he said, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Through the aides of the provincial commanders.’ “And he said, “Who will join battle?” And he said, “You.” 15And he mustered the aides of the provincial commanders, and they came to two hundred and thirty. And after them he mustered all the troops, all the Israelites, seven thousand. 16And they sallied forth at noon while Ben-Hadad was in a drunken stupor at Succoth, he and the thirty-two kings aiding him. 17And the aides of the provincial commanders sallied forth first. And they sent to Ben-Hadad and told him, saying, “Men have sallied forth from Samaria.” 18And he said, “If in peace they have come forth, seize them alive, and if for war they have come forth, alive seize them.” 19And these had sallied forth from the town, the aides of the provincial commanders and the forces that were behind them. 20And each man struck down his man, and the Arameans fled and Israel pursued them, and Ben-Hadad escaped on a horse with horsemen. 21And the king of Israel sallied forth and struck down the horses and the chariots, and struck a great blow against Aram. 22And the prophet approached the king of Israel and said, “Go, summon strength, and mark and see what you should do, for at the turn of the year the king of Aram will be coming up against you.” 23And the servants of the king of Aram said to him, “Their god is a mountain god. Therefore they prevailed over us. But when we do battle with them on the plain, we will surely prevail over them. 24And this thing do: remove the kings each from his place and set governors in their stead. 25And as for you, assemble a force like your force that fell, and horses like the horses and chariots like the chariots, that we may do battle against them on the plain. We will surely prevail over them.” And he heeded their voice and thus he did. 26And it happened at the turn of the year, that Ben-Hadad mustered Aram and went up to Aphek for battle with Israel. 27And the Israelites had been mustered and had been provisioned. And they went to meet them, and the Israelites encamped opposite them like two little flocks of goats, but the Arameans filled the land. 28And the man of God approached and said to the king of Israel, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Inasmuch as the Arameans have said, The LORD is a mountain god and not a valley god, I will give all this great throng into your hand and you shall know that I am the LORD.’” 29And they encamped each opposite the other seven days. And it happened on the seventh day that the battle was joined, and the Israelites struck down a hundred thousand Aramean foot soldiers in a single day. 30And the remaining ones fled to Aphek to the town, and the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand men of those remaining, and Ben-Hadad fled and came into the town, to an inner chamber. 31And his servants said to him, “Look, pray, we have heard that the kings of Israel are merciful kings. Let us, pray, put sackcloth on our loins and ropes on our heads and go out to the king of Israel. Perhaps he will let us live.” 32And they bound sackcloth on their loins and ropes on their heads and came to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant Ben-Hadad has said, ‘Let me, pray, live.’” And he said, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.” 33And the men divined and quickly and firmly said, “Ben-Hadad is your brother!” And he said, “Come, fetch him.” And Ben-Hadad came out to him, and he put him up on a chariot. 34And he said, “The towns that my father took from your father I will give back, and you may place markets for yourself in Damascus as my father placed in Samaria, and as for me, I will send you off with a pact,” and he sealed a pact with him and sent him off. 35And a certain man among the followers of the prophets had said to his companion by the word of the LORD, “Strike me, pray,” but the man had refused to strike him. 36And he said to him, “Inasmuch as you did not heed the voice of the LORD, you are now about to go away from me, and a lion will strike you.” And he went away from him and a lion encountered him and struck him down. 37And he encountered another man and said, “Strike me, pray,” and he struck him, hitting and wounding him. 38And the prophet went and stood before the king on the road and disguised himself with a scarf over his eyes. 39And as the king was passing by, he cried out to the king and said, “Your servant sallied forth in the midst of the battle, and, look, a man turned aside and brought me a man and said, ‘Guard this man. If he should indeed be missing, it is your life instead of his, or you will weigh out a talent of silver.’ 40And it happened, as your servant was doing one thing and another that, look, he was not there.” And the king of Israel said to him, “So be your judgment. You yourself have decreed it.” 41And he hastened to remove the scarf from over his eyes, and the king recognized him, that he was of the prophets. 42And he said to him, “Thus says the LORD. ‘Inasmuch as you set free from My hand the man I condemned, it will be your life instead of his and your people instead of his people.’” 43And the king of Israel went off to his house sullen and morose and came to Samaria.
CHAPTER 20 NOTES
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1. thirty-two kings were with him. This large number suggests that these “kings” may have been no more than local warlords.
4. the king of Israel. From this point on in the story, he will be referred to only by this title and not as “Ahab.” It may be that the writer made this choice because in this entire episode of the conflict with Aram, Ahab plays a very different role from the one in which he has been seen up to now as Elijah’s adversary. It is also possible that this entire episode, editorially set in the Ahab story, was originally about a different king.
As you have spoken, my lord the king. Ahab’s absolute submission to Ben-Hadad’s imperious demands is surprising. After all, the Aramaen king has asked him to hand over not only his treasure but his sons (presumably to be slaves) and his wives, including Jezebel (presumably to become Ben-Hadad’s consorts). Perhaps he feels that the overwhelming numerical superiority of the Aramean forces leaves him no alternative.
6. whatever is precious in their eyes. The received text reads “your eyes.” The translation here reflects the reading of the Septuagint. The added demand of Ben-Hadad that becomes a deal breaker is that the prized possessions of the king’s servants—that is, his courtiers—are also to be expropriated. Ahab had been willing to sacrifice what was his own, but now everyone around him is asked to submit to the same exorbitant demands of the Aramean king.
9. but this thing I cannot do. Ahab will not agree to the confiscation of his courtiers’ possessions. Surrendering what is his own would reduce him to a vassal king; surrendering the treasures of those around him might make him the object of a palace coup.
10. if the ground of Samaria will be enough for the footsteps of all the troops that are at my heels. English translations since the seventeenth century have rendered this as “if the dust of Samaria will suffice for handfuls.” But the Hebrew word that means “handfuls” is shoʿalim, whereas the word here is sheʿalim, “footsteps.” This actually yields a more coherent image: the troops commanded by Ben-Hadad are so numerous that there will scarcely be enough space on the soil of Samaria for all of them to stand. The use of “at my heels” (literally, “at my feet”) reinforces this focus on feet.
11. Let not the buckler of armor boast like the unfastener. The Hebrew has a terrific compactness that, alas, is impossible in English: just four weighted words, ʾal-yithalel ḥoger kemefateaḥ. A very different side of Ahab is manifested here. In the face of Ben-Hadad’s intimidating threat, he responds coolly with a pithy proverb: do not arrogantly presume before the battle is joined to know who will be the victor when the fighting is done.
12. he was drinking, he and the kings. The fact that Ben-Hadad is drinking with his allies just before the battle is a vivid expression of his overconfidence. In verse 16, we learn that he is in fact dead drunk when the Israelite forces attack.
17. And they sent to Ben-Hadad. The implied referent of “they” is presumably Aramean scouts.
18. If in peace they have come forth. This is the same verb, “to go out,” which is rendered above as “sally forth,” its technical sense in military contexts. But since Ben-Hadad is unsure whether they are coming out to surrender or to fight, the unambiguous “sally forth” would not make sense here. In either case, he unquestionably assumes he can take them as prisoners.
22. for at the turn of the year the king of Aram will be coming up against you. The same phrase is used in 2 Samuel 11:1 for the time of year when kings go forth to do battle. This would be the spring—the spring month Nissan is the first month in the biblical calendar—when the winter rains are over.
23. Their god is a mountain god. Their remark reflects the pagan view that different gods have jurisdiction over different realms of nature. But they are also making a strategic calculation: the Aramean chariots and cavalry will give them an advantage in fighting on the plain that they would lose on mountainous terrain.
24. remove the kings . . . and set governors in their stead. The governors might be military officials more directly answerable to Ben-Hadad as their commander than the kings.
26. Aphek. Located near the Jordan, this would be on more level land than Mount Samaria and in keeping with the courtiers’ counsel.
27. like two little flocks of goats. The unusual Hebrew locution is a little uncertain in meaning (at least the “little flocks” component), though it clearly expresses the small size of the Israelite forces in relation to Aram, a theme throughout this story.
30. Ben-Hadad fled and came into the town, to an inner chamber. The boastful Ben-Hadad tries to hide in an inner chamber within a town that has already fallen to the Israelites.
32. Is he still alive? He is my brother. This expression of concern and solidarity is surely odd after Ben-Hadad has demanded Ahab to hand over all his treasure and his wives and children, and then promised to destroy him. Ahab appears to act out of political calculation—which will prove misguided. He may think that the Arameans are too numerous for him to hold them under long-term subjugation by occupying Aram, and that therefore he is better off showing generosity to Ben-Hadad while obliging him to relinquish the towns his father had taken from Israel.
34. you may place markets for yourself in Damascus. These would be something like trade missions. The implication is that in such a peace agreement the superior power is allowed to conduct trade on favorable terms in the territory of the other kingdom.
35. Strike me, pray. This bizarre exchange between two members of a guild of prophets, beney haneviʾim, proposes a rather loose analogy for Ahab vis-à-vis Ben-Hadad. If the word of the LORD prompts you to strike someone, even if you are disinclined, you must do it or face dire consequences.
36. a lion will strike you. Although “strike” is not a verb one would expect to be attached to a lion, it is used here to convey the idea of a quid pro quo: he who failed to strike will be struck down. Though the Hebrew verb does have the primary sense of delivering a blow, it has an extended meaning of “to kill.”
37. he struck him, hitting and wounding him. The second person obeys the word of the LORD, but it may go against his better instincts.
38. a scarf. The Hebrew noun occurs only here, but it is clearly some sort of head cloth or scarf (perhaps the sort that Bedouins use in a sandstorm) that can be pulled down over the eyes.
39. brought me a man. The context would indicate that this is an enemy captive, which brings the parable close to the situation of Ahab and Ben-Hadad.
or you will weigh out a talent of silver. This is an enormous amount, far more than the value of a captive slave. The silver is “weighed out” because this is an era before coinage, when payment is made in weights of silver and gold.
40. So be your judgment. You yourself have decreed it. The story of the captured enemy whom the man allows to escape functions quite like Nathan’s parable of the poor man’s ewe in 2 Samuel 12: the king, having condemned the reported act, does not realize until the prophet tells him that the tale is about his own malfeasance.
41. the king recognized him. Ahab evidently has had some personal acquaintance with the members of this group of prophets. It is even possible that they are the hundred prophets whom Obadiah hid in the caves.
42. you set free from My hand the man I condemned. The Masoretic Text reads “from a hand,” but two ancient versions and a Hebrew manuscript have “My hand,” which is more plausible. It is God Who has granted the victory to Ahab, and so the defeated king is in God’s hand. It must be said that there has been no direct indication in the story until now that God has condemned Ben-Hadad to death or told Ahab he must kill him, though the prophet assumes that Ahab should have known this. Behind the theological reasoning lies a political calculation: allowing Ben-Hadad to go free will lead to a new attack on Israel.