1 Kings 15:17
in 1 Kings 15Baasha king of Israel went to war against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not suffer any one to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.
KJV
And Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not suffer any to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.
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This verse in 1 Kings 15
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Ramah (perhaps “Er-Ram;” marginal reference) was situated halfway between Bethel and Jerusalem. Its distance from Jerusalem was no more than five miles so that its occupation was a menace to that capital. Baasha’s seizure of Ramah implies a previous recovery of the towns taken by Abijam from Jeroboam, namely, Bethel, Jeshanah, and Ephrain 2Ch 13:19, and was a carrying of the war into the enemy’s country. Could his conquest have been maintained, it would have crippled Judah seriously, and have almost compelled a transfer of the capital to Hebron.
This site's exposition
war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel
on 1 Kings 15:16-19
Asa sends Ben-hadad of Damascus “all the silver and gold that remained in the treasuries of the house of the LORD”. He had refilled that treasury at verse 15, and he spends it to break the treaty with Baasha. Kings states the deed, and 2 Chronicles 16:7-9 gives Hanani's rebuke.
This site's exposition
fortified Ramah to prevent anyone
Albert Barnes places Ramah halfway between Bethel and Jerusalem, no more than five miles from the capital. He also notes that Baasha must first have won back the towns Abijam took, Bethel among them, at 2 Chronicles 13:19. The war had turned.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
And Baasha - built Ramah - As the word signifies a high place, what is here termed Ramah was probably a hill, (commanding a defile through which lay the principal road to Jerusalem), which Baasha fortified in order to prevent all intercourse with the kingdom of Judah, lest his subjects should cleave to the house of David. Ramah was about two leagues northward of Jerusalem.
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּ֨עַל | vaiyaal | and he came up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| בַּעְשָׁ֤א | ba'sha' | Baasha | H1201 → | 28 times |
| מֶֽלֶךְ־ | melekh- | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| יְהוּדָ֔ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| וַיִּ֖בֶן | vaiyiven | and he built | H1129 → | 376 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָרָמָ֑ה | haramah | <the> Ramah | H7414 → | 36 times |
| לְבִלְתִּ֗י | levilti | to not | H1115 → | 112 times |
| תֵּ֚ת | tet | [surely] permitting | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| יֹצֵ֣א | yotze' | [any] escaping | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| וָבָ֔א | vava' | and <he> coming | H935 → | 2568 times |
| לְאָסָ֖א | leasa' | to Asa | H609 → | 57 times |
| מֶ֥לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| יְהוּדָֽה׃ | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
וַיַּ֨עַלand he came up
vaiyaalH5927 →890 times
בַּעְשָׁ֤אBaasha
ba'sha'H1201 →28 times
מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of
melekh-H4428 →2525 times
יִשְׂרָאֵל֙Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
יְהוּדָ֔הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
וַיִּ֖בֶןand he built
vaiyivenH1129 →376 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָרָמָ֑ה<the> Ramah
haramahH7414 →36 times
לְבִלְתִּ֗יto not
leviltiH1115 →112 times
תֵּ֚ת[surely] permitting
tetH5414 →2011 times
יֹצֵ֣א[any] escaping
yotze'H3318 →1067 times
וָבָ֔אand <he> coming
vava'H935 →2568 times
לְאָסָ֖אto Asa
leasa'H609 →57 times
מֶ֥לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
יְהוּדָֽה׃Judah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 31:15This is what the LORD says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”
it leads to
- Matthew 2:16–18
When Herod saw that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was filled with rage. Sending orders, he put to death all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years…
- Psalms 77:2
In the day of trouble I sought the Lord; through the night my outstretched hands did not grow weary; my soul refused to be comforted.
- Jeremiah 40:1
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD after Nebuzaradan captain of the guard had released him at Ramah, having found him bound in chains among all the captives of Jerusalem…
- Jeremiah 10:20
My tent is destroyed, and all its ropes are snapped. My sons have departed from me and are no more. I have no one left to pitch my tent or set up my curtains.
- Isaiah 22:4
Therefore I said, “Turn away from me, let me weep bitterly! Do not try to console me over the destruction of the daughter of my people.”
- Matthew 2:16–18
Through
1 Kings 12:27If these people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, their hearts will return to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah; then they will kill me and return…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 12:5–7
Instead, you must seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to establish as a dwelling for His Name, and there you must go.
- Deuteronomy 16:6
You must only offer the Passover sacrifice at the place the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for His Name. Do this in the evening as the sun sets, at the same…
- Proverbs 29:25
The fear of man is a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is set securely on high.
- Deuteronomy 12:5–7
Where this verse is studied
About 1 Kings
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Keil, The Books of the Kings.