1 Raja-raja 20:1

Ben Hadad Invades Israel

20:1 Now King Ben Hadad of Syria assembled all his army, along with thirty-two other kings with their horses and chariots. He marched against Samaria ¹  and besieged and attacked it. ² 

1 Raja-raja 20:20-23

20:20 Each one struck down an enemy soldier; ³  the Syrians fled and Israel chased them. King Ben Hadad of Syria escaped on horseback with some horsemen. 20:21 Then the king of Israel marched out and struck down the horses and chariots; he thoroughly defeated ⁴  Syria.

The Lord Gives Israel Another Victory

20:22 The prophet ⁵  visited the king of Israel and instructed him, “Go, fortify your defenses. ⁶  Determine ⁷  what you must do, for in the spring ⁸  the king of Syria will attack ⁹  you.” 20:23 Now the advisers ¹⁰  of the king of Syria said to him: “Their God is a god of the mountains. That’s why they overpowered us. But if we fight them in the plains, we will certainly overpower them.

1 Raja-raja 22:1-3

Ahab Dies in Battle

22:1 There was no war between Syria and Israel for three years. ¹¹  22:2 In the third year King Jehoshaphat of Judah came down to visit ¹²  the king of Israel. 22:3 The king of Israel said to his servants, “Surely you recognize that Ramoth Gilead belongs to us, though we are hesitant to reclaim it from the king of Syria.” ¹³ 

1 Raja-raja 22:31

22:31 Now the king of Syria had ordered his thirty-two chariot commanders, “Do not fight common soldiers or high-ranking officers; ¹⁴  fight only the king of Israel.”

[20:1]  ¹ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[20:1]  ² tn Heb “and he went up and besieged Samaria and fought against it.”

[20:20]  ³ tn Heb “each struck down his man.”

[20:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “struck down Aram with a great striking down.”

[20:22]  ⁵ tn The definite article indicates previous reference, that is, “the prophet mentioned earlier” (see v. 13).

[20:22]  ⁶ tn Heb “strengthen yourself.”

[20:22]  ⁷ tn Heb “know and see.”

[20:22]  ⁸ tn Heb “at the turning of the year.”

[20:22]  ⁹ tn Heb “go up against.”

[20:23]  ¹⁰ tn Or “servants.”

[22:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and they lived three years without war between Aram and Israel.”

[22:2]  ¹² tn The word “visit” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[22:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “Do you know that Ramoth Gilead belongs to us, and we hesitate to take it from the hand of the king of Aram?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course, you must know!”

[22:31]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “small or great.”