1 Kings 20:9

Wherefore he said unto the messengers of Benhadad, Tell my lord the king, All that thou didst send for to thy servant at the first I will do: but this thing I may not do. And the messengers departed, and brought him word again.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
said	וַיֹּ֜אמֶר vai.Yo.mer	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
messengers	לְמַלְאֲכֵ֣י le.mal.'a.Khei	H4397	a messenger · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct
Ben-hadad	בֶן ven-	H1130	Ben-Hadad · proper noun, a man's name
Tell	אִמְר֞וּ 'im.Ru	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine plural
lord	לַֽאדֹנִ֤י la.do.Ni	H113	sovereign · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
king	הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ ha.Me.lekh	H4428	a king · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
send	שָׁלַ֨חְתָּ sha.Lach.ta	H7971	to send away · verb, qal perfect, 2nd person masculine singular
servant	עַבְדְּךָ֤ 'av.de.Kha	H5650	a servant · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
first	בָרִֽאשֹׁנָה֙ va.ri.sho.Nah	H7223	first · preposition with the article + ordinal number, feminine singular absolute
do	אֶעֱשֶׂ֔ה 'e.'e.Seh	H6213	to do or make · verb, qal imperfect, 1st person common singular
thing	וְהַדָּבָ֣ר ve.ha.da.Var	H1697	a word · conjunction + definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
may	אוּכַ֖ל 'u.Khal	H3201	to be able · verb, qal imperfect, 1st person common singular
do	לַעֲשׂ֑וֹת la.'a.Sot	H6213	to do or make · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
messengers	הַמַּלְאָכִ֔ים ha.mal.'a.Khim	H4397	a messenger · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
departed	יָלַךְ yâlak	H3212	to walk (literally or figuratively)
brought	וַיְשִׁבֻ֖הוּ vay.shi.Vu.hu	H7725	to turn back (hence · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
word	דָּבָֽר da.Var	H1697	a word · noun, common masculine singular absolute
again	שׁוּב shûwb	H7725	to turn back (hence

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).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Kings 20:1-11

Here is, I. The threatening descent which Ben-hadad made upon Ahab's kingdom, and the siege he laid to Samaria, his royal city, Kg1 20:1. What the ground of the quarrel was we are not told; covetousness and ambition were the principle, which would never want some pretence or other. David in his time had quite subdued the Syrians and made them tributaries to Israel, but Israel's apostasy from God makes them formidable again. Asa had tempted the Syrians to invade Israel once (Kg1 15:18-20), and now they did it of their own accord. It is dangerous bringing a foreign force into the country: posterity may pay dearly for it. Ben-hadad had with him thirty-two kings, who were either tributaries to h…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Kings 20:2

Thus said Ben-hadad, Thy silver and thy gold is mine--To this message sent him during the siege, Ahab returned a tame and submissive answer, probably thinking it meant no more than an exaction of tribute. But the demand was repeated with greater insolence; and yet, from the abject character of Ahab, there is reason to believe he would have yielded to this arrogant claim also, had not the voice of his subjects been raised against it. Ben-hadad's object in these and other boastful menaces was to intimidate Ahab. But the weak sovereign began to show a little more spirit, as appears in his abandoning "my lord the king" for the single "tell him," and giving him a dry but sarcastic hint to glory n…

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Adam Clarke on 1 Kings 20:8

Hearken not unto him - The elders had every thing at stake, and they chose rather to make a desperate defense than tamely to yield to such degrading and ruinous conditions.

John Gill on 1 Kings 20:9

Wherefore he sent unto the messengers of Benhadad,.... Upon the advice the elders had given him, and encouraged thereby, though in a poor sneaking manner after all: tell my lord the king, all that thou didst send for to thy servant at the first I will do; owning him as his lord, and himself as his servant, and promising to grant his first demand, though so insolent, in the sense he understood him, of paying tribute to him for it: but this thing I may not do; to have not only all put into his hands, but his and his servant's houses to be searched and pillaged, because the elders of his people would not agree; and yet he seems to speak as if he himself would have submitted to it, but was res…

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…
Samaria — A watch-mountain or a watch-tower. In the heart of the mountains of Israel, a few miles north-west of Shechem, stands the “hill of Shomeron,” a solitary mountain, a great “mamelon.” It is an oblong…
Samaria, Ancient · Samaria the capital of: Besieged by Benhadad — Samaria the capital of: Besieged by Benhadad
Syria · Benhadad king of, besieged Samaria — Benhadad king of, besieged Samaria

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 20:9

Word by word — the Hebrew

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Kings 20:1-11

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Kings 20:2

Adam Clarke on 1 Kings 20:8

John Gill on 1 Kings 20:9

Dictionary and topics

1 Kings 20:9

Word by word — the Hebrew

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Kings 20:1-11

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Kings 20:2

Adam Clarke on 1 Kings 20:8

John Gill on 1 Kings 20:9

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on 1 Kings 20:1-22

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 Kings 20:7-9

Rashi on 1 Kings 20:6