63 matching verse commentaries
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS 20 This chapter relates the siege of Samaria by the king of Syria, and his insolent demand of Ahab's wives, children, and riches, 1 Kings 20:1, the sally made out upon him, at the direction of the prophet, and the route made of the Syrian army, 1 Kings 20:13, the return of the Syrian army the next year, when there was a...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Benhadad the king of Syria gathered all his host together,.... This was Benhadad the second, the son of that Benhadad, to whom Asa sent to help him against Baasha, 1 Kings 15:18 and there were thirty and two kings with him; these were heads of families, so called, and at most governors of cities under Benhadad; petty princes, such as were in...
Matthew Henry - Complete Commentary - Matthew Henry
This chapter is the history of a war between Ben-hadad king of Syria and Ahab king of Israel, in which Ahab was, once and again, victorious. We read nothing of Elijah or Elishain all this story; Jezebel's rage, it is probable, had abated, and the persecution of the prophets began to cool, which gleam of peace Elijah improved. He appeared not at...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
And Benhadad the king of Syria gathered all his host together: and there were thirty and two kings with him, and horses, and chariots: and he went up and besieged Samaria, and warred against it. And he sent messengers to Ahab, king of Israel, into the city, and said unto him, Thus saith Benhadad, Thy silver and thy gold is mine, thy wives also and...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel, into the city,.... Who there remained, and attempted not to go forth and meet him, and stop his progress, though he must have passed great part of his dominions to come to Samaria: and said unto him, thus saith Benhadad; by them, his messengers, as follows.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Thy silver and thy gold is mine,.... Not of right, but reckoning it as good as in his hands, Ahab not being able to resist him: and thy wives also; for it seems he had more than Jezebel: and thy children; which were many, for he had no less than seventy sons, 2 Kings 10:1, even the goodliest are mine: some aggravate this, as if his view was to...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And the king of Israel answered and said, my lord, O king,.... So he said to Benhadad's messengers, representing him, as acknowledging his sovereignty over him: according to thy saying, I am thine, and all that I have: which he understood of holding all that he had of him, by giving him homage, and paying him tribute; not that he was to deliver...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And the messengers came again,.... From Benhadad: and said, thus speaketh Benhadad, saying, although I have sent unto thee, saying: at the first message: thou shalt deliver me thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children; into his possession, and not as Ahab understood it, that he should be his vassal, and pay a yearly tribute for his...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
And the messengers came again, and said, Thus speaketh Benhadad, saying, although I have sent unto thee, saying, Thou shalt deliver me thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children; Yet I will end my servants unto thee tomorrow about this time, and they shall search thine house, and the houses of thy servants; and it shall be that...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Yet I will send my servants unto thee tomorrow about this time,.... He gave him twenty four hours to consider of it: and they shall search thine house, and the houses of thy servants; the royal palace, and the houses of the noblemen, and even of every of his subjects in Samaria: and it shall be, that whatsoever is pleasant (or desirable) in thine...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Then the King of Israel called all the elders of the land,.... His poor sneaking spirit was a little aroused with the last message, and therefore called a council of the elders of the people upon it, which was a piece of wisdom in him: and said, mark, I pray you, and see how this man seeketh mischief; nothing less than the entire ruin of the...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, Mark, I pray you, and see how this man seeketh mischief: for he sent unto me for my wives, and for my children, and for my silver, and for my gold, and I denied him not. And all the elders and all the people said unto him, Hearken not unto him, nor consent. Wherefore he said unto...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And all the elders and all the people said unto him,.... They were unanimous in their advice: hearken not [unto him], nor consent; promising, no doubt, that they would stand by him.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Wherefore he sent unto the messengers of Benhadad,.... Upon the advice the elders had given him, and encouraged thereby, though in a poor sneaking manner after all: tell my lord the king, all that thou didst send for to thy servant at the first I will do; owning him as his lord, and himself as his servant, and promising to grant his first demand,...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Benhadad sent unto him, and said,.... That is, to Ahab: the gods do so unto me, and more also; bring greater evils upon me than I can think or express: if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me, signifying that he made no doubt of it of reducing it to dust by numbers of men he should bring with him,...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
And Benhadad sent unto him, and said, The gods do so unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me. As much as to say, “I will bring so many against you that all the dust of the city would not be enough to furnish a handful each.”
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Ver. 11 And the king of Israel answered and said,.... Very mildly and very wisely: tell him, let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off; that is, he that prepares for the battle as he that has got the victory; the sense is, let no man triumph before the battle is over and the victory won; the events of war are...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off. That was a sharp shrewd check to the boasting of the Syrian king.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And it came to pass, when Benhadad heard this message (as he was drinking, he and the kings in the pavilions),.... Though it was at noon, or before, 1 Kings 20:16, which shows that he and they were addicted to intemperance: that he said unto his servants; some of the principal officers of his army: set yourselves in array; prepare for battle,...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
And it came to pass, when Benhadad heard this message, as he was drinking, he and the kings in the pavilions, that he said unto his servants, Set yourselves in array. And they set themselves in array against the city. And, behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab king of Israel, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou seen all this great multitude?...