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1 Kings 15:17

in 1 Kings 15

Baasha 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 verse
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

Baasha's fortification of Ramah, a few miles from Jerusalem, is meant to seal Judah's northern border and choke its traffic, and Asa answers not with the Lord he has just honored but with the very silver and gold verse 15 named as dedicated, sent to buy off Ben-hadad of Damascus and break a standing treaty with Israel. 2 Chronicles 16:7-9 records the prophet Hanani's rebuke for exactly this choice, trusting a Syrian king rather than the Lord who had already given Asa victory over a far larger army; Kings itself states the deed without the rebuke and lets the treasury's history from verse 15 make the point.

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

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

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 words

Every 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.

  • 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.

Related verses

9 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

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 to Rehoboam king of Judah.”5 works2 Chronicles 16:1–6In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign, Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah.4 worksJoshua 18:25Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth,4 works1 Kings 15:21–22When Baasha learned of this, he stopped fortifying Ramah and withdrew to Tirzah.3 worksJeremiah 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.”2 works2 Chronicles 11:13–17Moreover, the priests and Levites from all their districts throughout Israel stood with Rehoboam.2 works
The other 3 cross-references, with their words ▾
1 Samuel 15:34Then Samuel went to Ramah, but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul.2 works1 Kings 15:27Then Baasha son of Ahijah of the house of Issachar conspired against Nadab, and Baasha struck him down at Gibbethon of the Philistines while Nadab and all Israel were besieging the city.2 works1 Kings 12:25Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. And from there he went out and built Penuel.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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 31:15

    This 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.”

  • Through

    1 Kings 12:27

    If 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.

About 1 Kings

The Judgment of Solomon, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Judgment of Solomon, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
1 Kings: the study guide →Read 1 Kings 15 →

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.

Read on in 1 Kings 15 →