Ben Hadad sent to him, and said, “The gods do so to me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria will be enough for handfuls for all the people who follow me.”
Parallel translations
- KJV And Benhadad sent unto him, and said, The gods do so unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me.
- BSB Then Ben-hadad sent another message to Ahab: “May the gods deal with me, and ever so severely, if enough dust remains of Samaria for each of my men to have a handful.”
- NKJV Then Ben-Hadad sent to him and said, “The gods do so to me, and more also, if enough dust is left of Samaria for a handful for each of the people who follow me.”
- NASB Ben-hadad sent word to him and said, “May the gods do so to me and more so, if the dust of Samaria will be enough for handfuls for all the people who follow me.”
- NLT Then Ben-hadad sent this message to Ahab: “May the gods strike me and even kill me if there remains enough dust from Samaria to provide even a handful for each of my soldiers.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Ben-Hadad swears a boastful oath that his army is so vast it could carry away Samaria in handfuls of dust. It matters as a picture of human pride that sets itself against God's people.
Overview
Having besieged Samaria, the Syrian king Ben-Hadad responds to Ahab's defiance with an arrogant oath, claiming his troops are too numerous even to gather a handful of the city's rubble each. Such swaggering boasts before battle were common, but Scripture exposes them as empty pride that the Lord will soon humble. The episode anticipates the biblical pattern that God resists the proud and brings down those who exalt themselves against Him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 1 Kgs 19:2Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I don’t make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time!”
- Exod 11:8All these servants of yours will come down to me, and bow down themselves to me, saying, “Get out, with all the people who follow you”; and after that I will go out.’” He went out from Pharaoh in hot anger.
- 2 Sam 17:12–13So shall we come on him in some place where he shall be found, and we will light on him as the dew falls on the ground; and of him and of all the men who are with him we will not leave so much as one.
- Acts 23:12When it was day, some of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul.
- 2 Kgs 19:23–24By your messengers, you have defied the Lord, and have said, “With the multitude of my chariots, I have come up to the height of the mountains, to the innermost parts of Lebanon, and I will cut down its tall cedars and its choice cypress trees; and I will enter into his farthest lodging place, the forest of his fruitful field.
- Isa 37:24–25By your servants, have you defied the Lord, and have said, “With the multitude of my chariots I have come up to the height of the mountains, to the innermost parts of Lebanon. I will cut down its tall cedars and its choice cypress trees. I will enter into its farthest height, the forest of its fruitful field.
- Judg 4:10Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali together to Kedesh; and ten thousand men followed him; and Deborah went up with him.
- Isa 10:13–14For he has said, “By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I have understanding: and I have removed the boundaries of the peoples, and have robbed their treasures. Like a valiant man I have brought down their rulers.
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Christ at the center
Solomon's glory, wisdom, and temple where God's presence dwells are a shadow of the greater Son of David — 'one greater than Solomon is here' — and of the true Temple, Christ himself.
How 1 Kings 20:10 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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