1 Kings 20:27
in 1 Kings 20The Israelites also mobilized, gathered supplies, and marched out to meet them. The Israelites camped before them like two small flocks of goats, while the Arameans covered the countryside.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the children of Israel were mustered, and were victualled, and went against them: and the children of Israel encamped before them like two little flocks of kids; but the Syrians filled the country.
KJV
And the children of Israel were numbered, and were all present, and went against them: and the children of Israel pitched before them like two little flocks of kids; but the Syrians filled the country.
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This verse in 1 Kings 20
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Were all present - The marginal rendering is adopted by almost all critics. Like two little flocks of kids - The word translated “little flocks” does not occur elsewhere in Scripture. It seems to mean simply “flocks.” Compare the Septuagint, who render ὡσεί δύο ποίμνια αἰγῶν hōsei duo poimnia aigōn.
This site's exposition
went up to Aphek
on 1 Kings 20:26-27
Ben-hadad musters Syria again and marches to Aphek to force the fight onto ground his servants judged favorable to their gods. Israel's whole muster, the same two hundred and thirty two and seven thousand, is described as two little flocks of kids pitched against a countryside filled with the Syrian host. The disproportion is stated plainly rather than softened, so the outcome cannot be read as a matter of numbers.
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
And the children of Israel were numbered, and were all present,.... The same as before; the two hundred and thirty two young men of the princes of the provinces, and 7000 of the people, not one was missing: and went against them; out of Samaria, towards Aphek: and the children of Israel pitched before them like two little flocks of kids: being few and weak, the two hundred and thirty two young men in one body, and the 7000 in another: but the Syrians filled the country: with their men, their horses, and their chariots.
The disproportion of numbers was very remarkable. The children of Israel, who were cantoned in two battalions, looked like two little flocks of kids, their numbers small, their equipage mean, and the figure they made contemptible; but the Syrians filled the country with their numbers, their noise, their chariots, their carriages, and their baggage.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּבְנֵ֣י | uvenei | and [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| הָתְפָּקְדוּ֙ | hatepakedu | they were mustered | H6485 → | 303 times |
| וְכָלְכְּל֔וּ | vekhalkelu | and they were supplied | H3557 → | 38 times |
| וַיֵּלְכ֖וּ | vaiyelekhu | and they went | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| לִקְרָאתָ֑ם | likratam | to meet them | H7122 → | 139 times |
| וַיַּחֲנ֨וּ | vaiyachanu | and they encamped | H2583 → | 143 times |
| בְנֵֽי־ | venei- | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| נֶגְדָּ֗ם | negdam | before them | H5048 → | 151 times |
| כִּשְׁנֵי֙ | kishnei | like two | H8147 → | 768 times |
| חֲשִׂפֵ֣י | chasifei | little flocks of | H2835 → | |
| עִזִּ֔ים | ʾizim | goats | H5795 → | |
| וַאֲרָ֖ם | vaaram | and Aram | H758 → | 143 times |
| מִלְא֥וּ | milu | they filled | H4390 → | 249 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָאָֽרֶץ׃ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
וּבְנֵ֣יand [the] people of
uveneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֗לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
הָתְפָּקְדוּ֙they were mustered
hatepakeduH6485 →303 times
וְכָלְכְּל֔וּand they were supplied
vekhalkeluH3557 →38 times
וַיֵּלְכ֖וּand they went
vaiyelekhuH1980 →1546 times
לִקְרָאתָ֑םto meet them
likratamH7122 →139 times
וַיַּחֲנ֨וּand they encamped
vaiyachanuH2583 →143 times
בְנֵֽי־[the] people of
venei-H1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֜לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
נֶגְדָּ֗םbefore them
negdamH5048 →151 times
כִּשְׁנֵי֙like two
kishneiH8147 →768 times
חֲשִׂפֵ֣יlittle flocks of
chasifeiH2835 →
עִזִּ֔יםgoats
ʾizimH5795 →
וַאֲרָ֖םand Aram
vaaramH758 →143 times
מִלְא֥וּthey filled
miluH4390 →249 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָאָֽרֶץ׃the land
haaretzH776 →2504 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
Joshua 1:11“Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Prepare your provisions, for within three days you will cross the Jordan to go in and take possession of the land that the LORD your God…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 9:1
Hear, O Israel: Today you are about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities fortified to the heavens.
- 2 Kings 20:5
“Go back and tell Hezekiah the leader of My people that this is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: ‘I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. I…
- Hosea 6:2
After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His presence.
- Deuteronomy 11:31
For you are about to cross the Jordan to enter and possess the land that the LORD your God is giving you. When you take possession of it and settle in it,
- Joshua 3:2
After three days the officers went through the camp
- Deuteronomy 9:1
Through
Judges 6:5For the Midianites came with their livestock and their tents like a great swarm of locusts. They and their camels were innumerable, and they entered the land to ravage it.
it leads to
- Judges 7:12
Now the Midianites, Amalekites, and all the other people of the east had settled in the valley like a swarm of locusts, and their camels were as countless as the sand on the seashore.
- Judges 8:10
Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their army of about fifteen thousand men—all that were left of the armies of the people of the east. A hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had…
- Isaiah 60:6
Caravans of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah, and all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and frankincense and proclaiming the praises of the LORD.
- Judges 7:12
About 1 Kings
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS 20:1; 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.