1 Kings 20:32

So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Thy servant Benhadad saith, I pray thee, let me live. And he said, Is he yet alive? he is my brother.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
girded	וַיַּחְגְּרוּ֩ vai.yach.ge.Ru	H2296	to gird on (as a belt · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
sackcloth	שַׂקִּ֨ים sa.Kim	H8242	properly · noun, common masculine plural absolute
loins	בְּמָתְנֵיהֶ֜ם be.ma.te.nei.Hem	H4975	properly · preposition + noun, common masculine dual construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
ropes	וַחֲבָלִ֣ים va.cha.va.Lim	H2256	a rope (as twisted) · conjunction + noun, common both genders plural absolute
heads	בְּרָאשֵׁיהֶ֗ם be.ra.shei.Hem	H7218	the head (as most easily shaken) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
came	וַיָּבֹ֙אוּ֙ vai.ya.Vo.'u	H935	to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
king	מֶ֣לֶךְ Me.lekh	H4428	a king · noun, common masculine singular construct
Israel	יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל Yis.ra.'El	H3478	Jisrael · proper noun, a place name
said	וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ vai.Yo.me.Ru	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
servant	עַבְדְּךָ֧ 'av.de.Kha	H5650	a servant · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
Ben-hadad	בֶן ven-	H1130	Ben-Hadad · proper noun, a man's name
saith	אָמַ֖ר 'a.Mar	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
live	תְּחִֽי te.chi-	H2421	to live · verb, qal jussive, 3rd person feminine singular
said	וַיֹּ֛אמֶר vai.Yo.mer	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
alive	חַ֖י chai	H2416	alive · adjective, masculine singular absolute
brother	אָחִ֥י 'a.Chi	H251	a brother (used in the widest sense of literal relation… · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

1 Kings 20:3-6 Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, even the goodliest, are mine.
1 Samuel 15:8-20 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
1 Kings 20:31 And his servants said unto him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings: let us, I pray thee, put…
1 Kings 20:42 And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore t…
Job 12:17-18 He leadeth counsellors away spoiled, and maketh the judges fools.
Job 40:11-12 Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath: and behold every one that is proud, and abase him.
Isaiah 2:11-12 The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.
Isaiah 10:12 Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Kings 20:31–end

Here is an account of what followed upon the victory which Israel obtained over the Syrians. I. Ben-hadad's tame and mean submission. Even in his inner chamber he feared, and would, if he could, flee further, though none pursued. His servants, seeing him and themselves reduced to the last extremity, advised that they should surrender at discretion, and make themselves prisoners and petitioners to Ahab for their lives, Kg1 20:31. The servants will put their lives in their hands, and venture first, and their master will act according as they speed. Their inducement to take this course is the great reputation the kings of Israel had for clemency above any of their neighbours: "We have heard tha…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Kings 20:32

put ropes on their heads--Captives were dragged by ropes round their necks in companies, as is depicted on the monuments of Egypt. Their voluntary attitude and language of submission flattered the pride of Ahab, who, little concerned about the dishonor done to the God of Israel by the Syrian king, and thinking of nothing but victory, paraded his clemency, called the vanquished king "his brother," invited him to sit in the royal chariot, and dismissed him with a covenant of peace.

Adam Clarke on 1 Kings 20:32

Thy servant Ben-hadad - See the vicissitude of human affairs! A little before he was the haughtiest of all tyrants, and Ahab calls him his lord; now, so much is he humbled, that he will be glad to be reputed Ahab's slave!

John Gill on 1 Kings 20:32

So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and put ropes on their heads,.... Signifying they came to surrender themselves to him as his captives and prisoners, and he might do with them as seemed good to him, hang them up if he pleased, for which they brought ropes with them, as a token that they deserved it, see Isaiah 20:2, and came to the king of Israel, and said, thy servant Benhadad saith, I pray thee let me live: he that a little while ago insolently demanded his wives, and children, and silver, and gold, as his property, now is his humble servant, and begs, not for his crown and kingdom, but for his life: and he said, is he yet alive? he is my brother; which was intimating at once, th…

Dictionary and topics

Ahab — Father’s brother. (1.) The son of Omri, whom he succeeded as the seventh king of Israel. His history is recorded in 1 Kings 16-22. His wife was Jezebel (q.v.), who exercised a very evil influence…
Captive — One taken in war. Captives were often treated with great cruelty and indignity (1 Kings 20:32; Josh. 10:24; Judg. 1:7; 2 Sam. 4:12; Judg. 8:7; 2 Sam. 12:31; 1 Chr. 20:3). When a city was taken by…
Cord · .Token in mourning — .Token in mourning
Diplomacy · .Ambassadors from Ben-hadad to Ahab — .Ambassadors from Ben-hadad to Ahab
Kindness · .Ahab to Ben-hadad — .Ahab to Ben-hadad
Magnanimity · .Ahab to Benhadad — .Ahab to Benhadad
Rope · Worn on the head as an emblem of servitu — Worn on the head as an emblem of servitu
Sackcloth · A symbol of mourning — A symbol of mourning
Servants · The term often used to express humility — The term often used to express humility
Syria · The Israelites: Craftily drawn into a league with — The Israelites: Craftily drawn into a league with

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

1 Kings 20:32

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Kings 20:31–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Kings 20:32

Adam Clarke on 1 Kings 20:32

John Gill on 1 Kings 20:32

Dictionary and topics

1 Kings 20:32

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Kings 20:31–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Kings 20:32

Adam Clarke on 1 Kings 20:32

John Gill on 1 Kings 20:32

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on 1 Kings 20:31-32

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 Kings 20:32-33

Rashi on 1 Kings 20:28