Keraia
1 Kings 20

1 Kings 20:17

Ahab Defeats Ben-hadad · 1 Kings 20:13–25
Read 1 Kings 20

Translations

Modern
And the young officers of the district governors marched out first. Now Ben-hadad had sent out scouts, who reported to him, “Men are marching out of Samaria.”
Traditional
And the young men of the princes of the provinces went out first; and Ben–hadad sent out, and they told him, saying, There are men come out of Samaria.
Literal
And the young men of the commanders of the provinces went out first. And Ben-hadad sent out, and they reported to him, saying, “Men are coming out of Samaria.”
Latin
Egressi sunt autem pueri principum provinciarum in prima fronte. Misit itaque Benadad: qui nuntiaverunt ei, dicentes: Viri egressi sunt de Samaria.

Original

Hebrew
English
And the young officers of the district governors marched out first. Now Ben-hadad had sent out scouts, who reported to him, “Men are marching out of Samaria.”

Notes

1 Kings 20:17

marched out first: Ahab seems to have sent this small squad to test the enemy. In the ancient Near East, surprise attacks often divided soldiers into groups with special purposes:

  1. To attack from two sides at once (a pincer movement) (Judges 7:16; 1 Samuel 11:11).

  2. To trick the enemy into chasing them into an ambush (Joshua 8:15–22)

  3. To draw the enemy to a place where the attacking army had the advantage (Judges 4:14–16; 5:19–21).

1 Kings 20:13–34

Two separate battles took place, one in Samaria (1 Kings 20:13–25) and another at Aphek (1 Kings 20:26–34). The writer shared similar details for both:

  1. advice before the battle (1 Kings 20:13–14, 23–25),

  2. conditions before the battle (1 Kings 20:15–16, 26–28),

  3. Israel's victory despite being outnumbered (1 Kings 20:17–21, 29–30), and

  4. advice after the battle (1 Kings 20:22, 31).

Theme notes and profiles

Ahab Arameans Jezebel

People

Ben-hadad: King of Aram, contemporary of Asa and Baasha

Places

Samaria: Capital city of the northern kingdom of Israel; Samaritan inhabitants

Glossary

Ahab (King) Kings, Books of First and Second Samaria Warfare

Topics

Ancient Samaria: Samaria the Capital of Deliverance of, Effected Prophecies Concerning Israel: Prophecies Concerning of Captivity, Famine, and Judgments Prophecy: Miscellaneous, Fulfilled: Destruction of Ben-Hadad's Army Syria: The Israelites: Under Ahab Encouraged and Assisted by God, Overcame