1 Kings 20:21
in 1 Kings 20Then the king of Israel marched out and attacked the horses and chariots, inflicting a great slaughter on the Arameans.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter.
KJV
And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter.
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This verse in 1 Kings 20
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
This glorious victory, won so easily, and with such a paltry force opposed to overwhelming numbers, was granted that Ahab and his people might know (1Ki 20:13) that God is the Lord. But we do not read of this acknowledgment being made, or of any sacrifices being offered in token of their national gratitude.
This site's exposition
the army which followed them
on 1 Kings 20:19-21
The young men and the seven thousand behind them rout an army under thirty and two kings, and Ben-hadad himself escapes on a horse with his cavalry while the king of Israel presses the advantage against the horses and chariots left behind. Matthew Henry asks where the silver and gold and the handfuls of Samaria's dust are now, since the boast of verse 10 has come to nothing. The victory answers the prophet's word of verse 13 without Ahab having supplied so much as a battle plan.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Did not the Lord wish Ben-hadad, king of Syria, whom besides countless thousands of his own people, thirty-two kings and armies of the same number of kings served, to be conquered by a few foot soldiers of the princes in order that he who was …
Here the Scripture relates the two battles of the king of Israel against the Arameans, at which we have already hinted, and the twin slaughters of the Arameans, of which the second caused the death of 127,000 men, as God took his revenge on the …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
28 And there came a man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the L ORD , Because the Syrians have said, The L ORD is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the L ORD .
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:90%@v28
And the king of Israel went out,....
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֵּצֵא֙ | vaiyetze' | and he went out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| מֶ֣לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וַיַּ֥ךְ | vaiyakh | and he struck down | H5221 → | 499 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַסּ֖וּס | hasus | the horse[s] | H5483 → | 140 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָרָ֑כֶב | harakhev | the chariotry | H7393 → | 119 times |
| וְהִכָּ֥ה | vehikah | and he struck down | H5221 → | 499 times |
| בַאֲרָ֖ם | vaaram | among Aram | H758 → | 143 times |
| מַכָּ֥ה | makah | a slaughter | H4347 → | |
| גְדוֹלָֽה׃ | gedolah | great | H1419 → | 526 times |
וַיֵּצֵא֙and he went out
vaiyetze'H3318 →1067 times
מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
וַיַּ֥ךְand he struck down
vaiyakhH5221 →499 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַסּ֖וּסthe horse[s]
hasusH5483 →140 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
הָרָ֑כֶבthe chariotry
harakhevH7393 →119 times
וְהִכָּ֥הand he struck down
vehikahH5221 →499 times
בַאֲרָ֖םamong Aram
vaaramH758 →143 times
מַכָּ֥הa slaughter
makahH4347 →
גְדוֹלָֽה׃great
gedolahH1419 →526 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
Judges 3:28“Follow me,” he told them, “for the LORD has delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” So they followed him down and seized the fords of the Jordan leading to Moab, and did…
it leads to
- Judges 12:5
The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Ephraim, and whenever a fugitive from Ephraim would say, “Let me cross over,” the Gileadites would ask him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he…
- Judges 7:9
That night the LORD said to Gideon, “Get up and go down against the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand.
- 1 Samuel 17:47
And all those assembled here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and He will give all of you into our…
- Joshua 2:7
So the king’s men set out in pursuit of the spies along the road to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as they had gone out, the gate was shut.
- Judges 7:15
When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship. He returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Get up, for the LORD has delivered the camp of Midian into your…
- Judges 12:5
Through
1 Samuel 17:52Then the men of Israel and Judah charged forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines to the entrance of Gath and to the gates of Ekron. And the bodies of the Philistines were…
it leads to
- Joshua 15:11
Then it went out to the northern slope of Ekron, curved toward Shikkeron, proceeded to Mount Baalah, went on to Jabneel, and ended at the Sea.
- Joshua 15:11
Through
2 Kings 3:24But when the Moabites came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and attacked them, and they fled before them. So the Israelites invaded their land and struck down the Moabites.
it leads to
- Judges 20:40–46
But when the column of smoke began to go up from the city, the Benjamites looked behind them and saw the whole city going up in smoke.
- Joshua 8:20–22
When the men of Ai turned and looked back, the smoke of the city was rising into the sky. They could not escape in any direction, and the troops who had fled to the…
- Judges 20:40–46
About 1 Kings
This page draws on Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS 20:1; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Salvian the Presbyter, THE GOVERNANCE OF GOD 7.8.