Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
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.
Vulgate Text: 3 Kings 20:1-43
1. Now Ben-hadad king of Syria gathered all his army together, and thirty-two kings with him, and horses and chariots; and going up he fought against Samaria and besieged it. 2. And sending messengers to Ahab king of Israel in the city, 3. he said: Thus says Ben-hadad: Your silver and your gold are mine; and your wives and your best sons are mine. 4. And the king of Israel answered: According to your word, my lord the king, I am yours, and all that I have. 5. And the messengers returned and said: Thus says Ben-hadad who sent us to you: Your silver and your gold, and your wives, and your sons you shall give to me. 6. Tomorrow therefore at this same hour I will send my servants to you, and they will search your house and the houses of your servants; and whatever pleases them they will take in their hands and carry away. 7. Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land and said: Consider and see that he is laying snares for us; for he sent to me for my wives and sons, and for silver and gold, and I did not refuse. 8. And all the elders and all the people said to him: Do not listen to him, nor consent. 9. So he answered the messengers of Ben-hadad: Say to my lord the king: All that you sent for to your servant at first, I will do; but this thing I cannot do. 10. And the messengers returned and reported to him. And he sent again and said: 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. 11. And the king of Israel answered and said: Tell him: Let not him who puts on armor boast as he who takes it off. 12. And it came to pass, when Ben-hadad heard this word, he was drinking, he and the kings, in the pavilions, and he said to his servants: Surround the city. And they surrounded it. 13. And behold, a certain prophet came to Ahab king of Israel and said to him: Thus says the Lord: Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, I will deliver it into your hand today, that you may know that I am the Lord. 14. And Ahab said: By whom? And he said to him: Thus says the Lord: By the young men of the princes of the provinces. And he said: Who shall begin the battle? And he said: You. 15. So he mustered the young men of the princes of the provinces, and found their number to be two hundred and thirty-two; and after them he mustered the people, all the children of Israel, seven thousand; 16. and they went out at noon. Now Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in his pavilion, and the thirty-two kings with him who had come to help him. 17. And the young men of the princes of the provinces went out first. And Ben-hadad sent out. And they reported to him, saying: Men have come out of Samaria. 18. And he said: Whether they come for peace, take them alive; or whether they come to fight, take them alive. 19. So the young men of the princes of the provinces went out, and the rest of the army followed. 20. And each one struck the man who came against him; and the Syrians fled, and Israel pursued them. Ben-hadad the king of Syria also fled on a horse with his horsemen. 21. And the king of Israel went out and struck the horses and chariots, and struck Syria with a great slaughter. 22. (And the prophet came to the king of Israel and said to him: Go, strengthen yourself, and observe, and see what you must do; for next year the king of Syria will come up against you.) 23. But the servants of the king of Syria said to him: Their gods are gods of the mountains, therefore they overcame us; but let us fight against them in the plains, and we will prevail over them. 24. Therefore do this: remove each king from his army and put captains in their places; 25. and restore the number of soldiers who have fallen from your forces, and horses for horses, and chariots for chariots that you had before; and we will fight against them in the plains, and you will see that we will prevail over them. He took their counsel and did so. 26. So when the year had passed, Ben-hadad mustered the Syrians and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel. 27. And the children of Israel were mustered, and having received provisions, they went out against them and encamped opposite them like two small flocks of goats; but the Syrians filled the land. (28. And a man of God came and said to the king of Israel: Thus says the Lord: Because the Syrians have said, the Lord is a God of the mountains, and not a God of the valleys, I will deliver all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.) 29. And they camped opposite each other for seven days, and on the seventh day the battle was joined; and the children of Israel struck down a hundred thousand foot soldiers of the Syrians in one day. 30. And those who remained fled to the city of Aphek, and the wall fell upon twenty-seven thousand men who remained. Now Ben-hadad fled and entered the city, into an inner chamber. 31. And his servants said to him: Behold, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful; let us therefore put sackcloth on our loins and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he will spare our lives. 32. So they girded sackcloth on their loins and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel and said to him: Your servant Ben-hadad says: Let my life live, I pray you. And he said: If he still lives, he is my brother. 33. The men took this as a good omen, and quickly seized the word from his mouth, and said: Your brother Ben-hadad. And he said to them: Go and bring him to me. So Ben-hadad came out to him, and he took him up into his chariot. 34. And he said to him: The cities which my father took from your father, I will restore, and you may set up marketplaces for yourself in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria, and I will depart from you with a treaty. So he made a treaty with him and let him go. 35. Then a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his companion by the word of the Lord: Strike me. But he would not strike him. 36. Then he said to him: Because you would not obey the voice of the Lord, behold, as soon as you depart from me, a lion will strike you. And when he had departed a little from him, a lion found him and struck him. 37. Then he found another man and said: Strike me. And the man struck him and wounded him. 38. So the prophet went and met the king on the road, and disguised himself with dust over his face and eyes. 39. And as the king passed by, he cried out to the king and said: Your servant went out into the midst of the battle, and when a man had turned aside, someone brought him to me and said: Guard this man; if he escapes, your life shall be for his life, or you shall pay a talent of silver. 40. And while your servant was busy here and there, he suddenly disappeared. And the king of Israel said to him: So shall your judgment be; you yourself have decided it. 41. And he immediately wiped the dust from his face, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. 42. And he said to him: Thus says the Lord: Because you have let go out of your hand a man whom I appointed for destruction, your life shall be for his life, and your people for his people. 43. So the king of Israel went to his home sullen and displeased, and came to Samaria.
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.