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20:1 Whether this is Ben-hadad I or II is unclear. • thirty-two allied kings: Confederations of kings were common in the ancient Near East. Shalmaneser III recorded Ben-hadad’s name as Hadad-ezer and reported that he was part of a twelve-king coalition that opposed him in the Battle of Qarqar (853 BC).
20:10-11 Ben-hadad’s third delegation delivered an ultimatum: Surrender or die. His caustic threat to thoroughly plunder Samaria was reinforced with a curse, an example of the psychological warfare often practiced in the ancient Near East (see 2 Kgs 18:19-35). • Ahab’s third reply to Ben-hadad contained proverbial wisdom. The outcome of the conflict was not...
20:10-11 Ben-hadad’s third delegation delivered an ultimatum: Surrender or die. His caustic threat to thoroughly plunder Samaria was reinforced with a curse, an example of the psychological warfare often practiced in the ancient Near East (see 2 Kgs 18:19-35). • Ahab’s third reply to Ben-hadad contained proverbial wisdom. The outcome of the conflict was not yet sealed.
20:12 Ben-hadad and the other kings . . . were drinking in their tents in anticipation of Ahab’s capitulation. Ahab’s reply constituted a challenge, and the Aramean officers prepared to attack.
20:13-16 Ahab’s forces attacked about noontime after receiving assurance of victory from an unknown prophet. The Jewish historian Josephus suggested that the prophet was Micaiah (cp. 22:8). The timing of the Israelite attack, during the heat of the day (see Josh 8:14), took the enemy by surprise. Ben-hadad and the . . . allied kings were still drinking, demo...
20:13-16 Ahab’s forces attacked about noontime after receiving assurance of victory from an unknown prophet. The Jewish historian Josephus suggested that the prophet was Micaiah (cp. 22:8). The timing of the Israelite attack, during the heat of the day (see Josh 8:14), took the enemy by surprise. Ben-hadad and the . . . allied kings were still drinking, demonstrating their disdain for Ahab’s military capability.
Arameans
Arameans The Arameans were a Semitic group, descendants of Shem (Gen 10:22-23; cp. Gen 22:20-21). Bethuel and Laban were known as Arameans (Gen 25:20; 28:1-7). Jacob lived for some twenty years with them in Aramean territory (Gen 28–31; Hos 12:12), and the people of Israel remembered that their forefathers were (at least culturally) Arameans (Deut 26:5). When the Arameans emerged into history around the time of Abraham, they were settled around the central Euphrates, from which they spread out to the east, west, and north. By around 1100 BC, Aramean tribes had spread throughout Syria and had expanded into northern Transjordan. They set up a number of powerful Aramean city-states, including Zobah and Damascus, that came into conflict with the Israelites beginning in the time of David (see 2 Sam 8:3-8; 10:6-25). After Solomon’s death and the division of Israel into northern and southern kingdoms, Aramean Damascus became a powerful and opportunistic player in the political struggles between the two states. When war broke out between Israel and Judah in the years 890–880 BC, King Asa of Israel sought aid from Ben-hadad I of Damascus (1 Kgs 15:18-19). Roughly thirty years later...
genesis 10:22-23
genesis 22:20-21
genesis 25:20
genesis 28:1-55
genesis 28:1-7
exodus 19:1-3
exodus 19:16-18
deuteronomy 26:5