1 Kings 20:12
in 1 Kings 20Ben-hadad received this message while he and the kings were drinking in their tents, and he said to his servants, “Take your positions.” So they stationed themselves against the city.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it came to pass, when Ben-hadad 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.
KJV
And it came to pass, when Ben–hadad 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.
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This verse in 1 Kings 20
Commentary
8 notes on this verseIn the pavilions - This word comes from papilio, a butterfly, because tents, when pitched or spread out, resembled such animals; partly because of the mode of their expansion, and partly because of the manner in which they were painted. Set yourselves in array - The original word, שימו simu, which we translate by this long periphrasis, is probably a military term for Begin the attack, Invest the city, Every man to his post, or some such like expression.
This site's exposition
as he was drinking
on 1 Kings 20:12-13
Ben-hadad orders his army into position while still at his wine, a detail the narrator plants before the battle rather than after it. Into this scene an unnamed prophet comes to Ahab with a promise and its purpose stated together, I will deliver it into thine hand, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord. The same formula, that ye shall know that I am the Lord, runs through the plagues of Exodus, spoken here over a king who has asked for no sign at all.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Ahab, encouraged by a prophet, overthrows him twice, ver. 13-30. Makes a covenant with him, ver. 31-34. Is reproved and threatened by a prophet, ver. 35-43.
quarantine:anchor (2026-07-29) — cites-ver-31/35-anchored-1-12
), but stirs not from his drunken club to see it done. Woe unto thee, O land! when thy king is such a child. When the besieged made a sally (and, by that time, he was far gone) he gave orders to take them alive (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
And it came to pass, when Benhadad heard this message (as he was drinking, he and the kings in the pavilions),....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Ben-hadad's object in these and other boastful menaces was to intimidate Ahab. But the weak sovereign began to show a little more spirit, as appears in his abandoning "my lord the king" for the single "tell him," and giving him a dry but sarcastic hint to glory no more till the victory is won.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
as he was drinking, he and the kings in the pavilions--booths made of branches of trees and brushwood; which were reared for kings in the camp, as they still are for Turkish pashas or agas in their expeditions [KEIL].
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Pavilions - “Booths” (Gen 33:17 margin; Lev 23:42; Jon 4:5). The term seems to be properly applied to a stationary “booth” or “hut,” as distinguished from a moveable “tent.” On military expeditions, and especially in the case of a siege, such “huts” were naturally constructed to shelter the king and his chief officers.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
A certain prophet. That was Michoyhu the son of Yimloh. 9 See below:8.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֗י | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כִּשְׁמֹ֙עַ֙ | kishmoa' | when heard | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַדָּבָ֣ר | hadavar | the word | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| הַזֶּ֔ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| וְה֥וּא | vehu' | and he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| שֹׁתֶ֛ה | shoteh | [was] drinking | H8354 → | 217 times |
| ה֥וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| וְהַמְּלָכִ֖ים | vehamelakhim | and the kings | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| בַּסֻּכּ֑וֹת | basukot | in the booths | H5521 → | |
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| עֲבָדָיו֙ | ʾavadav | servants his | H5650 → | 799 times |
| שִׂ֔ימוּ | simu | set yourselves | H7760 → | 584 times |
| וַיָּשִׂ֖ימוּ | vaiyasimu | and they set themselves | H7760 → | 584 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הָעִֽיר׃ | hair | the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
וַיְהִ֗יand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
כִּשְׁמֹ֙עַ֙when heard
kishmoa'H8085 →1159 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַדָּבָ֣רthe word
hadavarH1697 →1440 times
הַזֶּ֔ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
וְה֥וּאand he
vehu'H1931 →1879 times
שֹׁתֶ֛ה[was] drinking
shotehH8354 →217 times
ה֥וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
וְהַמְּלָכִ֖יםand the kings
vehamelakhimH4428 →2525 times
בַּסֻּכּ֑וֹתin the booths
basukotH5521 →
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
עֲבָדָיו֙servants his
ʾavadavH5650 →799 times
שִׂ֔ימוּset yourselves
simuH7760 →584 times
וַיָּשִׂ֖ימוּand they set themselves
vaiyasimuH7760 →584 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הָעִֽיר׃the city
hairH5892 →1090 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
Ephesians 5:18Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to reckless indiscretion. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
it leads to
- Luke 1:15
for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He shall never take wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb.
- Proverbs 20:1
Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by them is not wise.
- Romans 13:13
Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.
- Galatians 5:21–25
and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
- Acts 11:24
Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.
- Luke 1:15
Through
2 Samuel 13:28Now Absalom had ordered his young men, “Watch Amnon until his heart is merry with wine, and when I order you to strike Amnon down, you are to kill him. Do not be afraid.…
it leads to
- Judges 19:6
So they sat down and the two of them ate and drank together. Then the girl’s father said to the man, “Please agree to stay overnight and let your heart be merry.”
- Judges 19:22
While they were enjoying themselves, suddenly the wicked men of the city surrounded the house. Pounding on the door, they said to the old man who owned the house, “Bring out the man who…
- Judges 19:9
When the man got up to depart with his concubine and his servant, his father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, “Look, the day is drawing to a close. Please spend the night. See,…
- Judges 19:6
About 1 Kings

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
