At the return of the year, Ben Hadad mustered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek, to fight against Israel. The children of Israel were mustered and given provisions, and went against them. The children of Israel encamped before them like two little flocks of young goats; but the Syrians filled the country. A man of God came near and spoke to the king of Israel, and said, “Yahweh says, ‘Because the Syrians have said, “Yahweh is a god of the hills, but he is not a god of the valleys;” therefore I will deliver all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am Yahweh.’ ”
They encamped opposite each other for seven days. So it was, that in the seventh day the battle was joined; and the children of Israel killed one hundred thousand footmen of the Syrians in one day. But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand men who were left. Ben Hadad fled, and came into the city, into an inner room.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv27, 28, 30 All they, which were in the battle of the…
All they, which were in the battle of the former year, verse 15.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv26–30 1Ki 20:26 And it came to pass at the…
1Ki 20:26 And it came to pass at the return of the year, that Benhadad numbered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek, to fight against Israel.
Ver. 26. And went up to Aphek.] Which was, saith Lyra, a strong city in Asher, taken from the Israelites by the Syrians, before which lay a great plain of the same name; famous for many great battles there fought. Benhadad chose to fight here, that if he were worsted, he might repair to it for refuge. But how reckless was Pompey, who, when to fight with Caesar, that great soldier and conqueror, never considered into what place he were best to retire if he lost the day, as indeed he did, and no wonder.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv26, 27, 28, 30 Not that Aphek in Judah, of which Jos 13:4;…
Not that Aphek in Judah, of which Jos 13:4; Jos 15:31; but that in Asher, of which Jos 19:30; Jdg 1:31, nigh unto which was the great plain of Galilee. And this seems to be one of those cities which Ben-hadad’s father had taken from Israel, 1Ki 20:34. Here also the Syrians might retreat, if they should be worsted.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv26–30 And it came to pass at the return of…
And it came to pass at the return of the year,.... In the spring, or autumn, as some think; see Gill on Sa2 11:1.
that Benhadad numbered the Syrians; took a muster of his army, to see if he had got the number he had before:
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and went up to Aphek, to fight against Israel; not that in Judah, Jos 15:53, rather that in Asher, Jos 19:30, but it seems to be that which Adrichomius (l) places in Issachar, near to the famous camp of Esdraelon, or valley of Jezreel, where it is probable the king of Syria intended to have fought; the battle; and some travellers, as he observes, say (m), the ruins of that city are still shown in that great camp or plain, not far from Gilboa, to the east of Mount Carmel, and five miles from Tabor; according to Bunting (n), it was fourteen miles from Samaria; but it may be Aphaca near Mount Lebanon, and the river Adonis (o), is meant.
(l) Theatrum Terrae Sanct. p. 35. (m) Brocard. & Breidenbach. in ib. (n) Travels, &c. p. 164. (o) Vid. Sozomen. Hist. l. 2. c. 5.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv27, 30 And went - Being encouraged by the remembrance of…
And went - Being encouraged by the remembrance of their former success, and an expectation of assistance from God again. And pitched - Probably upon some hilly ground, where they might secure themselves, and watch for advantage against their enemies; which may be the reason why the Syrians durst not assault them before the seventh day, ver. 29. Little flocks - Few, and weak, being also for conveniency of fighting, and that they might seem to be more than they were, divided into two bodies.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv26, 28, 29, 30 Verse 26. Ben-hadad numbered the Syrians, and went up…
Verse 26. Ben-hadad numbered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek] There were several towns of this name; see the notes on Jos 12:18. It is supposed that the town mentioned here was situated in Libanus, upon the river Adonis, between Heliopolis and Biblos.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv26, 28, 29, 30 1Ki 20:26-27. Ben-hadad numbered the Syrians, and went up…
1Ki 20:26-27. Ben-hadad numbered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek —
A city in the tribe of Asher; which, it is probable, was one of those that Ben-hadad’s father had taken from the king of Israel, (1Ki 20:34,) not far from which was the plain of Galilee, where he intended to fight. And the children of Israel went against them — Being encouraged by the remembrance of their former success, and an expectation of assistance from God. And pitched before them — Probably upon some hilly ground where they might secure themselves, and watch for advantage against their enemies; which might be the reason why the Syrians durst not assault them before the seventh day, 1Ki 20:29. Like two little flocks of kids — Few and weak; being also, for convenience of fighting, and that they might seem more than they were, divided into two bodies.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv26, 27, 28, 30 Aphek - There were several places of this name…
Aphek - There were several places of this name in Palestine (see the marginal reference). This Aphek has been almost certainly identified with the modern Fik, a large village on the present high road from Damascus to Nablous and Jersalem. The expression “went up to Aphek” is appropriate, for Fik, though in a level country, is at a much higher elevation than Damascus.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv26–30 Aphec, belonging to the tribe of Aser, though it…
Aphec, belonging to the tribe of Aser, though it does not appear that they ever obtained possession of it, Josue xix. 30. A subterraneous fire and earthquake have caused the city to sink; and a lake, nine miles in circumference, now occupies its place. The ruins may still be discerned in its waters. It is about two hours walk from the plains of Balbec, (Paul Lucas. Levant i. 20.) at the foot of Libanus. The waters must be very thick and bituminous, if what is related by the ancients be true; namely, that the presents, offered to the Aphacite goddess, were tried by them, and deemed agreeable to her, if they sunk; as wool would do, while tiles, and often metals, would swim. (Calmet) Adrichomius places this Aphec on the great plain of Esdrelon, not far from Jezrahel. (Menochius)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v27 like two little flocks of kids--Goats are never seen…
like two little flocks of kids--Goats are never seen in large flocks, or scattered, like sheep; and hence the two small but compact divisions of the Israelite force are compared to goats, not sheep. Humanly speaking, that little handful of men would have been overpowered by numbers. But a prophet was sent to the small Israelite army to announce the victory, in order to convince the Syrians that the God of Israel was omnipotent everywhere, in the valley as well as on the hills. And, accordingly, after the two armies had pitched opposite each other for seven days, they came to an open battle. One hundred thousand Syrians lay dead on the field, while the fugitives took refuge in Aphek, and there, crowding on the city walls, they endeavored to make a stand against their pursuers; but the old walls giving way under the incumbent weight, fell and buried twenty-seven thousand in the ruins. Ben-hadad succeeded in extricating himself, and, with his attendants, sought concealment in the city, fleeing from chamber to chamber; or, as some think it, an inner chamber, that is, a harem; but seeing no ultimate means of escape, he was advised to throw himself on the tender mercies of the Israelitish monarch.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv26–30 26. Aphek — Many suppose this to have been…
26. Aphek — Many suppose this to have been at the modern Fik, a little to the east of the Sea of Galilee; but Keil observes: “This Aphek lies not only very high, but has also a very difficult mountain pass, where the Syrians, who feared the hill-gods of the Israelites, would not have come to an engagement with them. If we reflect, besides, that the Syrians had advanced the first time as far as Samaria, we cannot doubt that this time they advanced as far as the Aphek known by the victory over Saul in the plain of Esdraelon.” 1Sa_29:1.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv26–30 26. numbered] R.V. mustered, and so in the next…
26. numbered] R.V. mustered, and so in the next verse. See above on 1Ki_20:15.
up to Aphek] There were several places of this name. One was at the foot of Lebanon, in the tribe of Asher (see Jos_13:4; Jos_19:30). Another was in the hill country on the east of the sea of Galilee. But as Ben-hadad’s policy was to fight in the plain, the Aphek here intended must be the city of that name which lay in the plain of Jezreel. On the fitness of this place for a large encampment cf. 1Sa_29:1.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv26, 27, 28, 30 (26) Aphek.—The name, signifying simply a “fortress,” as applied…
(26) Aphek.—The name, signifying simply a “fortress,” as applied to several different places. There are two places which suit well enough with the Aphek of this passage and 2Ki_13:17, as being a battlefield in the plain country between Israel and Syria. One is the Aphek of 1Sa_29:1, evidently in the plain of Esdraelon; the other a place on the road to Damascus, about six miles east of the Sea of Galilee.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv26–30 And it came to pass at the return of…
And it came to pass at the return of the year, that Benhadad numbered the Syrians Heb. Syria, and went up to Aphek As the word signifies "fortress," it is only natural that several different places should bear this name, and the commentators are not agreed as to which of them is here intended. Keil and Bahr identify it with the Aphek hard by Shunem (1Sa_29:1; cf. 28:4), and therefore in the plain of Esdraelon, while Gesenius and Grove the latter because of its connection with rwOvyMih" the plain, a word applied, kat ejxochn to the plain in the tribe of Reuben (Deu_3:10 Deu_4:43; Jos_13:9, Jos_13:16, Jos_13:17, Jos_13:21, etc.) would see in it the Aphek east of the Jordan, the Apheca of Eusebius, and perhaps the place mentioned. 2Ki_13:17 (where, however, see note) This trans-Jordanic Aphek is new represented by the village of Fik, six miles east of the sea of Galilee, and standing, as Aphek must have then stood, on the high road between Damascus and Jerusalem. On the whole, the balance of probability inclines to the latter. It would follow hence that the Israelites, emboldened by their victory of the preceding year, had crossed the river to meet the enemy, to fight against Israel. Heb. to the war with Israel.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv27–28 And the children of Israel pitched before them like…
1Ki_20:27
And the children of Israel pitched before them like two little flocks of kids.
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--
The coming religion
1. With thirty-three kings intoxicated in one tent this chapter opens. They were allies plotting for the overthrow of the Lords Israel. You know that if a lion roar a flock of kids will shiver and huddle together. One lion could conquer a thousand kids. The fact that throughout Christendom there are hundreds of printing-houses printing the word of God without the omission of a chapter or a verse, proves that the Bible is popular; and the fact that there are more being printed in this decade than any other decade proves that the Bible is increasing in popularity. I go through the courtrooms of the country; wherever I find a judges bench or a clerks desk I find the Bible. By what other book would they take solemn oath? What is very apt to be among the brides presents? The Bible. What is very apt to be put in the trunk of the young man when he starts for city life? The Bible. Voltaire predicted that the Bible during the nineteenth century would become an obsolete book. Well, we are pretty nearly through the nineteenth century, the Bible is not obsolete yet; there is not much prospect of its becoming obsolete; but I have to tell you that the very room in which Voltaire wrote that prediction, some time ago, was crowded from floor to ceiling with Bibles for Switzerland.
2. Our antagonists say that Christianity is falling back in the fact that infidelity is bolder now and more blatant than it ever was. I deny the statement. Infidelity is not near so bold now as it was in the days of our fathers and grandfathers. There were times in this country when men who were openly and above board infidel and antagonistic to Christianity could be elected to high office. Now let some man wishing high position in the State proclaim himself the foe of Christianity and an infidel, how many States of the Union would he carry? How many counties? Infidelity in this day is not half so bold as it used to be. If it comes now it is apt to come under the disguise of rhetoric or moral sentimentality. Do you suppose such things could be enacted now as were enacted in the days of Robespierre, when the wife of one of the prominent citizens was elected to be goddess, and she was carried in a golden chair to a cathedral, and the people bowel down to her as a Divine being, and burned incense before her, she to take the place of the Bible, and of Christianity, and of the Lord Almighty? And while that ceremony was going on in the cathedral, in the chapels, and in the corridors adjoining the cathedral, scenes of drunkenness and debauchery and obscenity were enacted such as the world had never seen. Could such a thing as that transpire now? No, sirs. The police would swoop on it, whether in Paris or New York. Infidelity is not half as bold now as it used to be.
3. But, say our antagonists, Christianity is falling back because science, its chief enemy, is triumphing over it. Now, I deny that there is any war between science and revelation. There is not a fact in science that may not be made to harmonise with the statements of the Bible. Joseph Henry, the leading scientist of America, better known and honoured in the royal societies transatlantic than any other American, lived and died a believer in the religion of Jesus Christ. He knew, Joseph Henry knew, all the facts of geology, and yet believed the Book of Genesis. He knew all the facts of astronomy, and yet believed the Book of Joshua, the sun and moon standing still. Joseph Henry knew all the anatomy of man and fish, and yet believed the Book of Jonah. If the scientists of the day were all agreed, and they came up with solid front to attack our Christianity, perhaps they might make some impression upon it; but they are not agreed. Agassiz saw what we all see, that there are men who talk very wisely who know but very little, and that just as soon as a young scientist finds out the difference between the feelers of a wasp and the horns of a beetle, he begins to patronise the Almighty, and go about talking about culture as though it were spelled c-u-l-c-h-a-r--culchar!
4. But my subject shall no longer be defensive; it must be aggressive. I must show you that instead of Christianity falling back, it is on the march, and that the coming religion of the world is to be the religion of the Lord Jesus Christ ten thousand times intensified. It is to take possession of everything--of all laws, all manners, all customs, all cities, all nations. It is going to be so mighty, as compared with what it has been so much more mighty, that it will seem almost like a new religion. I adopt this theory because Christianity has gone on straight ahead, notwithstanding all the bombardment, and infidelity has not destroyed a church, or crippled a minister, or rooted out one verse of the Bible, and now their ammunition seems to be pretty much exhausted. They cannot get anything new against Christianity, and if Christianity has gone on under the bombardment of centuries, and still continues to advance, may we not conclude that, as the powder and shot of the other side seem to be exhausted, Christianity is going on with more rapid stride? Beside that the rising generation are being saturated with Gospel truth as no other generation by these international series of Sunday-school lessons. Formerly the children were expected to nibble at the little infantile Scripture stories, but now they are taken from Genesis to Revelation, the strongest minds of the country explaining the lessons to the teachers, and the teachers explaining them to the classes, and we are going to have in this country five million youth forestalled for Christianity. Hear it! Hear it! Beside that you must have noticed, if you have talked on these great themes, that they are finding out that while science is grand in secular directions, worldly philosophy grand in secular directions, they cannot give any comfort to a soul in trouble. Talking with men on steamboats and in rail-ears, I find they are coming back to the comfort of the Gospel. They say, Somehow human science dont comfort me when I have any trouble, and I must try something else; and they are trying the Gospel. There is another reason why I believe that the religion of Jesus Christ is going to conquer the world, and that is, the Bible in fifty different places sets forth the idea that Emmanuel is to take possession of this whole world. If He is going to conquer the whole world, that means also this country, the greater including the less. (T. De Witt Talmage, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v30 Heb. "a chamber in a chamber." 1Ki 22:25.
inner
Heb. "a chamber in a chamber." 1Ki 22:25.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv26, 28, 29 This is the name of a city. (See: How…
Aphek
This is the name of a city. (See: How to Translate Names)
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to fight against Israel
"Israel" represents the army of Israel. AT: "to fight against the army of Israel" (See: Synecdoche)
The people of Israel were mustered and supplied
This can be stated in active form. AT: "The Israelite army also gathered together, and the commanders gave the arms that they needed for the battle" (See: Active or Passive)
like two little flocks of goats
This simile compares the Israelite army to two little flocks of goats. AT: "The Israelite army appeared to be small and weak like two flocks of goats" (See: Simile)
translationWords
Aram
kingdom of Israel
people group
flocks
goat
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv26–27 20:26 Aphek was east of the Sea of Galilee…
20:26 Aphek was east of the Sea of Galilee in northern Ramoth-gilead. Ben-hadad’s officers assumed that this location would favor the Aramean chariots and take away the power of Israel’s “gods of the hills.”
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.