Synopsis of the Chapter
Ben-hadad king of Syria besieges Samaria and Ahab; but is defeated by him with God's help. Hence, in verse 23, saying the God of Israel is a god of the mountains, he renews the war in the valley, where he is again routed under God's leadership; and captured by Ahab, he obtains pardon and his life contrary to God's command, verse 33. Ahab is rebuked by a wounded prophet, and hears that he himself will be similarly wounded, indeed killed, because he set free Ben-hadad who deserved death.
Verse 1: Ben-Hadad King of Syria ¶
1. NOW BEN-HADAD KING OF SYRIA, ETC., FOUGHT AGAINST SAMARIA. — "Ben-hadad" is the same as "Ben Adad," that is, son of Adad, says Josephus, book VIII, chapter VIII, namely of that rebel Edomite who, after David had conquered Edom, fled to Egypt, and from there, returning after David's death, resuming his spirit and kingdom, rebelled against Solomon, chapter XI, verse 25. And therefore, nourishing his father's temperament and hatred against Israel, he gravely and continually afflicted them. Hence in chapter XI, verse 25, it is said and predicted of him: This is the evil of Adad, and the hatred against Israel.
Politically, learn here how dangerous the obstinate rebellion of princes is, and how it is transmitted to their sons through many centuries. The Spanish experience the same thing in Holland. Therefore a rebellion at its beginning must either be cut down or conciliated, according to the saying: "Resist the beginnings."
Verse 3: Thus Says Ben-Hadad ¶
3. THUS SAYS BEN-HADAD (to Ahab and his people Israel): YOUR SILVER AND YOUR GOLD ARE MINE — not by right, but by power and might; because I want it and demand it, I who am more powerful than you so that you cannot resist me. For the affairs of Ahab and Israel were in distress, so much so that into battle Ahab could bring out only seven thousand, verse 15. Here therefore God begins to punish Ahab and the Israelites for the worship of Baal.
Verse 5: The Messengers Returned ¶
5. AND THE MESSENGERS RETURNED (sent by Ben-hadad besieging Samaria, to Ahab besieged within it), AND SAID.
Verse 6: Tomorrow I Will Send My Servants ¶
6. TOMORROW THEREFORE AT THIS SAME HOUR I WILL SEND MY SERVANTS TO YOU, AND THEY WILL SEARCH YOUR HOUSE, ETC. — This is a new demand of Ben-hadad, by which he asks Ahab to allow his men to plunder not only the royal palace, but the entire city of Samaria, says Josephus, namely to despoil the city and carry off whatever is most precious at will.
Verse 10: If the Dust of Samaria Will Suffice ¶
10. MAY THE GODS DO THIS TO ME AND MORE, IF THE DUST OF SAMARIA WILL BE ENOUGH FOR HANDFULS FOR ALL THE PEOPLE WHO FOLLOW ME — as if to say: I swear that I will destroy the entire city of Samaria, and so overturn it that not even a little dust will remain in it, but whatever is in it will be carried away in the handfuls of my most numerous army. Hence the Chaldean translates: If the dust of Samaria (Someron) will suffice to be carried on the soles of the feet of the people who will be with me. So Abulensis. This is a hyperbole and proverbial expression, by which the boastful Ben-hadad, proud of the 32 kings following him and his innumerable forces, boasts and swears that he will overturn, despoil, and raze Samaria so that nothing worthy of plunder will remain in it. For his soldiers were not so meticulous or idle as to carry away all the dust from Samaria, but rather all the treasures and precious things. For they sought gold, not sand.
Verse 11: Let Not Him Who Puts on Armor Boast ¶
11. LET NOT HIM WHO PUTS ON ARMOR BOAST AS HE WHO TAKES IT OFF. — This is a proverb, as if to say: Do not sing the triumph before the victory; for the "armed" soldier goes to battle; but having won the victory, he ungirds himself, puts down his arms, and sits upon the spoils of the enemy. Hence the Chaldean: Let not him who is equipped and going down to battle praise himself, as a man who conquers and ascends (as victor) from it; Vatablus: Let not him who is about to enter battle boast as one who has already conquered.
Verse 23: Their God Is a God of the Mountains ¶
23. BUT THE SERVANTS OF THE KING OF SYRIA (BEN-HADAD) SAID TO HIM: THEIR GODS ARE GODS OF THE MOUNTAINS, THEREFORE THEY OVERCAME US; BUT IT WOULD BE BETTER FOR US TO FIGHT AGAINST THEM IN THE PLAINS, AND WE WILL PREVAIL OVER THEM — as if to say: We were defeated by the mountaineering Samaritans because we fought against Samaria, which is situated on a mountain, and therefore is under the protection of the gods who preside over mountains and mountainous regions; let us therefore go down to the valleys, where the gods of the valleys will be with us, so that we may overcome the mountain-dwellers and the gods of the mountains in the valleys. Thus these fools thought the God of the Hebrews was only a god of the mountains. But whence this error and foolish persuasion of theirs? I respond from many reasons brought together: first, because Moses the leader of the Hebrews conversed with God on Mount Sinai and received the law from Him. Second, because the temple erected by Solomon on Mount Zion was where God dwelt. Third, because the Hebrews worshipped God on the high places, that is, on hills. Fourth and finally, and most relevant to the present defeat, because the Syrians on Mount Samaria had received this defeat from the Israelites. This was the superstition of the Gentiles, to assign mountain goddesses (oreads) to mountains, sylvans to forests, sea gods like Neptune to the sea, etc., about which St. Augustine, book IV of the City of God, chapter VIII, asserts that they assigned the god Jugatinus to mountain ridges, Collatina to hills, and the goddess Vallonia to valleys. Of the same Ovid sings in book I of the Fasti, and introduces them speaking thus:
We are rustic gods, and those who rule on the high Mountains; power over its own dwelling belongs to Jupiter.
Verse 24: Remove the Kings and Put Captains ¶
24. THEREFORE DO THIS: REMOVE EACH KING FROM YOUR ARMY AND PUT CAPTAINS IN THEIR PLACES — who are skilled in war and experienced in military affairs, and not accustomed to ease and luxuries, as kings are, and who will fight more bravely in the hope of obtaining glory and honor from you. So Abulensis. For the Hebrew phachot signifies these, that is, Commanders; the Chaldean, Generals.
Verse 28: Because the Syrians Said: The Lord Is a God of the Mountains ¶
28. BECAUSE THE SYRIANS HAVE SAID: THE LORD (in Hebrew Jehovah, that is, the God of the Israelites) IS A GOD OF THE MOUNTAINS, AND (the same Jehovah) IS NOT A GOD OF THE VALLEYS; I WILL DELIVER ALL THIS GREAT MULTITUDE INTO YOUR HAND. — So that I may show that I am as much a God of the valleys as of the mountains, and that you, O Ahab, may acknowledge and worship Me as the true God, and not Baal.
Verse 30: Ben-Hadad Fled into the City ¶
30. NOW BEN-HADAD, FLEEING, ENTERED THE CITY (Aphek, already mentioned) INTO A ROOM WITHIN A ROOM — that is, into the innermost and most secret chamber, to hide himself there.
Verse 31: Let Us Put Sackcloth on Our Loins ¶
31. LET US THEREFORE PUT SACKCLOTH ON OUR LOINS — as servile garments and signs of mourning and repentance, so that we may thus profess that we repent of what we have done, namely of having made war upon Israel, and surrender ourselves as defeated to Israel as the victor.
AND ROPES ON OUR HEADS — to profess that we are deserving of death, and worthy of a rope and noose to close our throats and strangle us. Hear Josephus: "Clothed in sackcloth and with ropes around their heads, which was an ancient Syrian custom of supplication, they approach Ahab, and declare that Hadad seeks only the grace of safety, and will be his subject forever."
Verse 32: If He Still Lives, He Is My Brother ¶
32. IF HE STILL LIVES, HE IS MY BROTHER. — Ahab thought that Ben-hadad had perished in so great a slaughter of the enemy. Hence, hearing that he had survived the disaster, exulting in so great a victory and having pity on him, he imprudently and rashly burst out with these words: "If he still lives, he is my brother," as if to say: He will be dear to me as a brother, I will treat him as a brother. Kings are accustomed to call one another brothers. This saying of Ahab, Ben-hadad's servants immediately seized upon from his mouth, and took it as an omen or augury, as if that friendly word which had escaped him was a sign of mercy and salvation for Ben-hadad, whom therefore they immediately brought to Ahab, and he received the suppliant, standing by his word, as a brother, and took him up into his chariot; but shortly afterwards he paid the penalty for this rashness, when Ben-hadad renewed the war and Ahab perished in it, as is related in the last chapter.
Symbolically, Ben-hadad is a type of the devil, who always persecutes the faithful and holy, now by force, now by fraud and deceit. Therefore whoever makes peace or a treaty with him, as Ahab did, will most certainly be overthrown by him. So Eucherius.
Verse 34: Set Up Marketplaces in Damascus ¶
34. SET UP MARKETPLACES FOR YOURSELF IN DAMASCUS — in which you may establish law courts and judges, as well as a market for goods and customs duties, as a sign of subjection, as if to say: I will grant you a part of my royal city, namely Damascus, to show that it is subject to you as much as to me, indeed that I am subject to you, and therefore pay this tribute. So Abulensis, Cajetan, and Vatablus.
Verse 35: A Certain Man of the Sons of the Prophets ¶
35. THEN A CERTAIN MAN OF THE SONS OF THE PROPHETS. — Josephus judges this to have been the prophet Micaiah, who in the last chapter predicted Ahab's destruction. Glycas relates the same, as do the Hebrews in the Seder Olam, and it is gathered from the last chapter, verse 26, where for "take him" the Hebrew has vahascibehu, that is, make him return. But the matter is uncertain. Hence Serarius and others judge this to have been a different person from Micaiah, and therefore he is not named.
HE SAID TO HIS COMPANION BY THE WORD OF THE LORD (by God's oracle and command): STRIKE ME — so that by the wound of my own head I might represent to King Ahab his own wound, which he received in his soul by sparing Ben-hadad, and the wound of the people, which the entire people received in King Ahab as their head, and thirdly the wound which both Ahab and the people will receive when they are killed by Ben-hadad renewing the war, as will be evident from the last chapter and book IV, chapter VI, verse 8 and following. So Cajetan. Abulensis adds another reason for this wound, namely that through it the Prophet would not be recognized by Ahab, but would appear to be a soldier, and thus would have access to him and could expound to him this parable of the wound; for if he had been recognized, Ahab the idolater would not have wished to hear him. The third and most important reason for this striking and wound was the example, namely that God, in this prophet both as the one striking and the one struck, might give an example and mirror of perfect obedience. Hence we must believe, says Abulensis, that shortly afterwards God supernaturally healed this wound, so that not even a scar remained, and this in order to show how great is the merit of pure and simple obedience, and how hateful to God is disobedience, since on account of it He exposed the man who had refused to strike the Prophet to be slain by a lion. Hear St. Chrysostom, oration 1 Against the Jews, near the beginning: "He who struck the Prophet escaped unharmed; he who spared him paid the penalty; so that you might understand that in divine commands one ought not to be curious and examine the nature of the things commanded, but simply to obey. For lest the first man should scruple to spare the Prophet, he did not simply say: Strike me, but added: In the word of the Lord, that is, God commands; do not inquire further. It is a King who prescribes this law: Revere the authority of Him who commands, and obey with the utmost readiness of soul. But he could not bring himself to do it, and therefore paid the gravest penalties, and by his example exhorted those who would follow to obey whatever God commands in all things, and to comply in the future."
Finally Rabbi Solomon and Lyranus want the blood of this Prophet to have atoned for the sins of the Israelite people, so that the people would not perish with Ahab in the last chapter; but that people was conquered, and the Prophet could not and did not wish to atone for them by a wound of this kind.
Verse 42: You Have Let Go a Man Worthy of Death ¶
42. BECAUSE YOU HAVE LET GO A MAN WORTHY OF DEATH — Ben-hadad king of Syria, who was guilty of death both on account of his continual hatred and war against the Israelites, and especially on account of his blasphemy, by which he said that I am a God of the mountains, not of the valleys; for this greatly provoked God, as is clear from verse 28. So the Hebrews, Rupert, Lyranus, Dionysius, and others.
YOUR LIFE SHALL BE FOR HIS LIFE. — You shall be killed in place of Ben-hadad whom you should have killed.
AND YOUR PEOPLE FOR HIS PEOPLE — shall be killed in place of the Syrians subject to Ben-hadad, whom he should have killed. And so it actually happened, as we shall hear in the last chapter.
This is an example of neglected justice and just vengeance that should be noted and deeply fixed in the minds of kings and judges: "You are a murderer, because you let the enemy go," says St. Chrysostom, at the passage cited.
Verse 43: The King Returned to His House ¶
43. SO THE KING OF ISRAEL (AHAB) RETURNED TO HIS HOUSE, REFUSING TO LISTEN. — Josephus adds, book VIII of Antiquities, chapter VIII, that he was so indignant that he imprisoned the Prophet, for he thinks it was Micaiah; whom we shall hear was imprisoned by him in the last chapter. So Hugo, Dionysius, and others.