1 Kings 20:23
in 1 Kings 20Meanwhile, the servants of the king of Aram said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hills. That is why they prevailed over us. Instead, we should fight them on the plains; surely then we will prevail.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their god is a god of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we: but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.
KJV
And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their gods are gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.
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This verse in 1 Kings 20
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Their gods are gods of the hills - The local power and influence of deities was a fixed principle of the ancient polytheism. Each country was considered to have its own gods; and wars were regarded as being to a great extent struggles between the gods of the nations engaged in them. This is apparent throughout the Assyrian inscriptions. Compare also 2Ki 18:33-35; 2Ki 19:12. The present passage gives an unusual modification of this view.
This site's exposition
strengthen thyself, and mark
on 1 Kings 20:22-23
A prophet, likely the same one, warns Ahab that Syria will return at the turn of the year and tells him to strengthen himself in the meantime. Ben-hadad's own servants read the defeat through the logic of their religion, the Lord is a god of the hills, so a battle fought on the plain will favor Syria's horses and chariots instead. Barnes notes this territorial reading of the gods was a fixed principle of the old polytheism, each people's god bound to its own ground.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
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 …
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 …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
In the plain - Wherein there was not only superstition, but policy; because the Syrians excelled the Israelites in horses, which are most serviceable in plain ground.
1 ), and that his foundation was in the holy mountain ( Ps. lxxxvii. 54 ), and much was said of his holy hill ( Ps. xv. 3 ); supposing him altogether such a one as their imaginary deities, they fancied he was confined to his hills, and could not or would not come down from them, and therefore an army in the valley would be below his cognizance and from under his protection.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him,....
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
It happened as the prophet had forewarned. Brooding over their late disastrous defeat, the attendants of Ben-hadad ascribed the misfortune to two causes--the one arose from the principles of heathenism which led them to consider the gods of Israel as "gods of the hills"; whereas their power to aid the Israelites would be gone if the battle was maintained on the plains.
Their gods are gods of the hills - It is very likely that the small Israelitish army availed itself of the heights and uneven ground, that they might fight with greater advantage against the Syrian cavalry, for Ben-hadad came up against Samaria with horses and chariots, 1Ki 20:1. These therefore must be soon thrown into confusion when charging in such circumstances; indeed, the chariots must be nearly useless. Let us fight against them in the plain - There our horses and chariots will all be able to bear on the enemy, and there their gods, whose influence is confined to the hills, will not be able to help them. It was a general belief in the heathen world that each district had its tutelary and protecting deity, who could do nothing out of his own sphere.
The words behind it
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְעַבְדֵ֨י | veavdei | and [the] servants of | H5650 → | 799 times |
| מֶֽלֶךְ־ | melekh- | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אֲרָ֜ם | ʾaram | Aram | H758 → | 143 times |
| אָמְר֣וּ | ʾameru | they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵלָ֗יו | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֤י | ʾelohei | [is] a god of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| הָרִים֙ | harim | mountains | H2022 → | 546 times |
| אֱלֹ֣הֵיהֶ֔ם | ʾeloheihem | God their | H430 → | 2601 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | there- | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כֵּ֖ן | ken | -fore | H3651 → | 771 times |
| חָזְק֣וּ | chazeku | they were strong | H2388 → | 291 times |
| מִמֶּ֑נּוּ | mimenu | more than us | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| וְאוּלָ֗ם | veulam | and but | H199 → | |
| נִלָּחֵ֤ם | nilachem | let us do battle | H3898 → | 177 times |
| אִתָּם֙ | ʾitam | with them | H854 → | 929 times |
| בַּמִּישׁ֔וֹר | bamishor | on the level ground | H4334 → | |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נֶחֱזַ֖ק | nechezak | we will be strong | H2388 → | 291 times |
| מֵהֶֽם׃ | mehem | more than them |
וְעַבְדֵ֨יand [the] servants of
veavdeiH5650 →799 times
מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of
melekh-H4428 →2525 times
אֲרָ֜םAram
ʾaramH758 →143 times
אָמְר֣וּthey said
ʾameruH559 →5305 times
אֵלָ֗יוto him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
אֱלֹהֵ֤י[is] a god of
ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times
הָרִים֙mountains
harimH2022 →546 times
אֱלֹ֣הֵיהֶ֔םGod their
ʾeloheihemH430 →2601 times
עַל־there-
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
כֵּ֖ן-fore
kenH3651 →771 times
חָזְק֣וּthey were strong
chazekuH2388 →291 times
מִמֶּ֑נּוּmore than us
mimenuH4480 →1188 times
וְאוּלָ֗םand but
veulamH199 →
נִלָּחֵ֤םlet us do battle
nilachemH3898 →177 times
אִתָּם֙with them
ʾitamH854 →929 times
בַּמִּישׁ֔וֹרon the level ground
bamishorH4334 →
אִם־if
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
נֶחֱזַ֖קwe will be strong
nechezakH2388 →291 times
מֵהֶֽם׃more than them
mehem
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
1 Kings 14:23They also built for themselves high places, sacred pillars, and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 12:2
Destroy completely all the places where the nations you are dispossessing have served their gods—atop the high mountains, on the hills, and under every green tree.
- Isaiah 57:5
who burn with lust among the oaks, under every luxuriant tree, who slaughter your children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks?
- Deuteronomy 12:2
Through
1 Kings 20:28Then the man of God approached the king of Israel and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Because the Arameans think the LORD is a god of the hills and not of the…
it leads to
- 1 Kings 20:13
Meanwhile a prophet approached Ahab king of Israel and declared, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Do you see this entire great army? Behold, I will deliver it into your hand this very day,…
- 1 Kings 17:18
“O man of God,” said the woman to Elijah, “what have you done to me? Have you come to remind me of my iniquity and cause the death of my son?”
- 1 Kings 20:13
Through
2 Kings 19:12Did the gods of the nations destroyed by my fathers rescue those nations—the gods of Gozan, Haran, and Rezeph, and of the people of Eden in Telassar?
it leads to
- 2 Kings 17:6
In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and carried away the Israelites to Assyria, where he settled them in Halah, in Gozan by the Habor River, and in the…
- Ezekiel 27:23
Haran, Canneh, and Eden traded with you, and so did the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad.
- Genesis 11:31
And Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai the wife of Abram, and they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans for the land of Canaan.…
- 2 Kings 17:6
Through
1 Samuel 4:8Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness.
it leads to
- Psalms 78:43–51
when He performed His signs in Egypt and His wonders in the fields of Zoan.
- Psalms 78:43–51
About 1 Kings
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
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; 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 (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Salvian the Presbyter, THE GOVERNANCE OF GOD 7.8.