1 Kings 20:23

Contextual Overview

²²The prophet approached the king of Israel and said to him, “Go and strengthen yourself, then consider carefully what you should do, for in the spring the king of Aram will attack you.” ²² The prophet came near to the king of Yisra'el, and said to him, Go, strengthen yourself, and mark, and see what you do; for at the return of the year the king of Aram will come up against you. ²² And the prophet came to the king of Israel, and said unto him, Go, strengthen thyself, and mark, and see what thou doest: for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee. ²² Then the prophet came near to the king of Israel and said to him, "Come, strengthen yourself, and consider well what you have to do, for in the spring the king of Syria will come up against you." ²² Then the prophet went to Ahab king of Israel and said, "The king of Aram will attack you again next spring. So go home now and strengthen your army and see what you need to do." ²² The prophet visited the king of Israel and instructed him, "Go, fortify your defenses. Determine what you must do, for in the spring the king of Syria will attack you." ²²Then the prophet approached the king of Israel and said to him, "Go, strengthen yourself and observe and see what you have to do; for at the first of next year the king of Aram (Syria) will come up against you." ²² Then the prophet approached the king of Israel and said to him, "Go, show yourself courageous and be aware and see what you have to do; for at the turn of the year the king of Aram will march against you." ²² (For there had come a Prophet to the King of Israel, and had sayd vnto him, Goe, be of good courage, and consider, and take heede what thou doest: for when the yeere is gone about, the King of Aram wil come vp against thee) ²²Then the prophet came near to the king of Israel and said to him, "Go, strengthen yourself and know and see what you have to do; for at the turn of the year the king of Aram will come up against you."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Their gods: It was the general belief in the heathen world, that each district had its tutelary and protecting deity, who could do nothing out of his own province. 1 Kings 20:28, 1 Kings 14:23, 1 Samuel 4:8, 2 Kings 19:12, 2 Chronicles 32:13-19, Psalms 50:21, Psalms 50:22, Psalms 121:1, Psalms 121:2, Isaiah 42:8

Reciprocal: Numbers 23:13 - unto 1 Kings 20:31 - his servants 2 Kings 5:13 - his servants 2 Kings 6:8 - took Jeremiah 23:23 - General

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him,.... His ministers of state, his privy counsellors:

their gods are gods of the hills, therefore they were stronger than we; and beat them in the last battle; this notion they might receive from what they had heard of Jehovah delivering the law on Mount Sinai to Moses, and of the miraculous things done lately on Mount Carmel, as well as of their worship being in high places, especially at Jerusalem, the temple there being built on an hill, as was Samaria itself, near to which they had their last defeat; and this notion of topical deities very much obtained among the Heathens in later times, some of which they supposed presided over rivers, others over woods, and others over hills and mountains e: so Nemestinus the god of woods, Collina the goddess of hills, and Vallina of valleys f; and Arnobins g makes mention of the god Montinus, and Livy h of the god Peninus, who had his name from a part of the Alps, so called where he was worshipped; and there also the goddess Penina was worshipped; and Lactantius i speaks of the gods of the mountains the mother of Maximilian was a worshipper of; and even Jupiter had names from mountains, as Olympius, Capitolinus, c. and such was the great god Pan, called mountainous Pan k:

but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they and prevail over them, and conquer them.

e "Dii fumus agrestes, et qui dominemur in altis montibus.----" Ovid. Fast. l. 3. f Vid. D. Herbert de Cherbury de Relig. Gent. c. 12. p. 198, 112. g Adv. Gentes, l. 4. h Hist. l. 21. c. 38. i De Mort. Persecutor. c. 11. p. 22. Vid. Ovid. Metamorph. l. 1. Fab. 8. ver. 320. "Et numina montis adorant". See Ep. 4. ver. 171. k Sophoclis Oedipus Tyr. ver. 1110.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Their gods are gods of the hills - The local power and influence of deities was a fixed principle of the ancient polytheism. Each country was considered to have its own gods; and wars were regarded as being to a great extent struggles between the gods of the nations engaged in them. This is apparent throughout the Assyrian inscriptions. Compare also 2 Kings 18:33-35; 2 Kings 19:12. The present passage gives an unusual modification of this view. The suggestion of the Syrian chiefs may have been a mere politic device - they being really anxious, “an military grounds,” to encounter their enemy on the plain, where alone their chariots would be of much service. In the plain the Israelites had always fought at a disadvantage, and had proved themselves weaker than on the hills (see Judges 1:19, Judges 1:27, Judges 1:34).

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 23. Their gods are gods of the hills — It is very likely that the small Israelitish army availed itself of the heights and uneven ground, that they might fight with greater advantage against the Syrian cavalry, for Ben-hadad came up against Samaria with horses and chariots, 1 Kings 20:1. These therefore must be soon thrown into confusion when charging in such circumstances; indeed, the chariots must be nearly useless.

Let us fight against them in the plain — There our horses and chariots will all be able to bear on the enemy, and there their gods, whose influence is confined to the hills, will not be able to help them. It was a general belief in the heathen world that each district had its tutelary and protecting deity, who could do nothing out of his own sphere.