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1 Kings 20:5

in 1 Kings 20

The messengers came back and said, “This is what Ben-hadad says: ‘I have sent to you to demand your silver, your gold, your wives, and your children.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And the messengers came again, and said, Thus speaketh Ben-hadad, saying, I sent indeed unto thee, saying, Thou shalt deliver me thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children;

KJV

And the messengers came again, and said, Thus speaketh Ben–hadad, saying, Although I have sent unto thee, saying, Thou shalt deliver me thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children;

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This verse in 1 Kings 20

Commentary

5 notes on this verse
And the messengers came again,.... From Benhadad: and said, thus speaketh Benhadad, saying, although I have sent unto thee, saying: at the first message: thou shalt deliver me thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children; into his possession, and not as Ahab understood it, that he should be his vassal, and pay a yearly tribute for his quiet enjoyment of them; yet even this he would not now abide by, growing still more haughty upon the mean submission of Ahab, as by what follows.

This site's exposition

I am thine, and all that I have

on 1 Kings 20:4-6

Ahab surrenders outright, hoping total submission will buy peace, but Ben-hadad's second message shows that yielding to an unjust demand only invites a larger one. The first request asked for what Ahab might have handed over as tribute; the second sends servants to search every house in the city and carry off whatever pleases them. The king's poor spirit stands in contrast to the elders he is about to consult, who see the trap for what it is.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

proposed

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

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

(3.) He is as unreasonable as he is unjust, and will construe the surrender Ahab made for himself as made for all his subjects too, and will have them also to lie at his mercy: "They shall search, not only thy house, but the houses of thy servants too, and plunder them at discretion." Blessed be God for peace and property, and that what we have we can call our own.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

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.

The words behind it

18 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.

  • וַיָּשֻׁ֙בוּ֙and they returned

    vaiyashuvuH7725 →1056 times

  • הַמַּלְאָכִ֔יםthe messengers

    hamalakhimH4397 →213 times

  • וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּand they said

    vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times

  • כֹּֽה־thus

    koh-H3541 →577 times

  • אָמַ֥רhe says

    ʾamarH559 →5305 times

  • בֶּן־Ben

    ben-H1130 →50 times

  • הֲדַ֖דHadad

    hadadH1130 →50 times

  • לֵאמֹ֑ר<to> saying

    lemorH559 →5305 times

  • כִּֽי־that

    ki-H3588 →4482 times

  • שָׁלַ֤חְתִּיI sent

    shalachtiH7971 →845 times

  • אֵלֶ֙יךָ֙to you

    ʾeleikhaH413 →5510 times

  • לֵאמֹ֔ר<to> saying

    lemorH559 →5305 times

  • כַּסְפְּךָ֧silver your

    kaspekhaH3701 →403 times

  • וּזְהָבְךָ֛and gold your

    uzehavekhaH2091 →389 times

  • וְנָשֶׁ֥יךָand wives your

    venasheikhaH802 →781 times

  • וּבָנֶ֖יךָand children your

    uvaneikhaH1121 →4930 times

  • לִ֥יto me

    li

  • תִתֵּֽן׃you will give

    titenH5414 →2011 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

About 1 Kings

The Israelites Slaughter the Syrians — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
The Israelites Slaughter the Syrians — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
1 Kings: the study guide →Read 1 Kings 20 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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.

Read on in 1 Kings 20 →