1 Kings 15:20

1Ki 15:20 So Benhadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of the hosts which he had against the cities of Israel, and smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abelbethmaachah, and all Cinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali.

Ver. 20. So Benhadad hearkened unto king Asa.] Though against his oath. The Turks’ leagues, grounded upon the law of nations, be they with never so strong capitulations concluded, or solemnity of oath confirmed, have with them no longer force than standeth with their own profit. {a}

{a} Turk Hist., pref.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Ki 15:20-21. And smote Ijon and Dan, &c. — He fell upon the northern part of the kingdom of Israel, which was nearest to Damascus; while Baasha was busy at Ramah, which was in the more southern part. And dwelt in Tirzah — Now the royal city of Israel. There he abode to defend his own kingdoms, and durst not return to oppose Asa, lest the Syrian king should make a second invasion. So Asa met with success in this ungodly course, as good men sometimes meet with disappointment in a good cause and course. So there is no judging of causes by events.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15:20-22 As a result of King Asa’s request, the war with Baasha quickly turned to Asa’s advantage. Ben-hadad swiftly captured several sections of northern Israel and secured important northern trade routes, forcing Baasha to cease operations in Ramah in order to meet the emergency on his northern frontier. Asa retook Ramah and used its building materials to fortify other strategic border towns against further moves by Baasha.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 20. Ijon, and Dan, &c.] He appears to have attacked and taken those towns which constituted the principal strength of the kingdom of Israel.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(20) Smote.—The portion smitten now, as hereafter in the Assyrian invasion (2Ki_15:29), is the mountain country near the source of the Jordan, which lay most exposed to the great approach to Israel from the north by “the entering in of Hamath,” through the wide valley between Lebanon and Ante-Lebanon, called by the Greeks Cœle-Syria.

Ijon is only mentioned in these two passages as belonging to the territory of Naphtali. It is supposed to have stood not far from Dan, close to the nearer, but fuller, source of the Jordan, in a position of great natural beauty and some strength, identified with the modern Tel-Dibbin.

Abel-beth-Maachah (see 2Sa_20:14-15) (“the meadow of the house of Maachah”), or (2Ch_16:4) Abel-maim (“the meadow upon the waters”), lay probably in the marshy ground north of the water of Merom.

Cinneroth or Chinneroth, is the name afterwards corrupted into Gennesareth, signifying evidently a region in the neighbourhood of the lake.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

20. So [R.V. And] Ben-hadad hearkened] The conjunction is the simple copulative, and is so rendered in the parallel place in Chronicles.

the captains of the hosts which he had] This is an attempt to represent the Hebrew construction. But it is not nearly so idiomatic as the translation in Chronicles which the R.V. has followed, that the same Hebrew might have in both places the same English rendering: the captains of his armies.

and smote Ijon] This town lay in the north of Palestine and belonged to the tribe of Naphtali. It was attacked and plundered again in later days by Tiglath-pileser (2Ki_15:29).

and Dan] This was the town formerly called Laish, which had been seized in the days of the Judges by some Danites from the south (Jos_19:47; Jdg_18:29). It lay on the extreme north of the country, so that ‘from Dan to Beersheba’ became an expression to describe the whole country from north to south.

and Abel-beth-maachah] This city, like the rest, lay quite in the north, and was early a place of some importance. It is called ‘a city and a mother in Israel’ (2Sa_20:9). In the parallel passage in Chronicles the name is given as ‘Abel-maim,’ i.e. ‘Abel on the waters.’

all Cinneroth] R.V. Chinneroth. From the way in which it is here mentioned this appears to have been a district and not a town. It was probably named from the lake of Gennesareth, or sea of Tiberias, which was in that neighbourhood, and was anciently called ‘the sea of Chinnereth’ (Num_24:11; Jos_13:27).

Naphtali] This tribe lay directly in the way of Syrian and Assyrian invaders.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah,.... Before Baasha did:

and reigned over Israel two years, not two whole years; for he began in the second of Asa, and in the third of that king's reign Baasha slew him, and reigned in his stead, Kg1 15:28.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Ijon is probably marked by the ruins called “Tel-Dibbin,” which are situated a few miles northwest of the site of Dan, in a fertile and beautiful little plain which bears the name of “Merj’ Ayun” or “meadow of fountains.” On Abel-beth-maachah, or Abel-maim (“Abel-on-the waters”) and Dan, see the marginal references

For Cinneroth or Genesareth see Jos 11:2.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ahion, or Ain, remote in the north, whence Theglathphalasar took away captives, (4 Kings xv. 29.) is perhaps the Enan of Ezechiel xlviii. 1., and Numbers xxxiv. 9. --- Maacha. In Paralipomenon, Abel-maim, "Abela of the waters," 2 Kings xx. 14. --- Ceneroth, near the sea of Tiberias, Josue xi. 2. Benadad kept possession of some of these places, and even built streets in Samaria, chap. xx. 34.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The northern parts of Baasha’s kingdom, which were nearest to his own kingdom of Damascus, and most remote from those parts where Baasha was now employed, which were in the most southern parts of his dominions.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

20. Ijon — “At the base of the mountains of Naphtali, a few miles northwest of the city of Dan, is a fertile and beautiful plain called Merj Ayun, (the Arabic word Ayun, though different in meaning, is radically identical with the Hebrew עיון,) and near its northern end is a large mound, called Tell Dibbin. The writer visited it some years ago, and found there the traces of a strong and ancient city. This, in all probability, is the site of the long lost Ijon.” — J.L. Porter. The spot was visited in 1852 by Robinson, who regarded it as the site of the ancient Ijon, and described it as “a noble site for a city, overlooking, as it does, the whole plain of the Merj, and commanding one of the great roads between the seacoast and the interior. Unmistakable traces likewise show that in very ancient times the place was occupied by a city.”

Dan — See on Jdg_18:29. Here Jeroboam had erected one of his golden calves. 1Ki_12:29.

Abel-bethmaachah — See on 2Sa_20:14.

All Chinneroth — This was probably a district lying in the territory of Naphtali, and adjoining the sea of Galilee, which was anciently called the sea of Cinneroth. See at Num_34:11; Jos_12:3. It may have taken its name either from the sea or from some city. See on Jos_11:2.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

So Heb. and Ben-hadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains or princes; same word as in 1Ki_22:31; cf. 20:24 of the hosts which he had against the cities of Israel, and smote Ijon now represented by Tell Dibbin, a mound near the north end of the Merj "Ayun (which probably preserves the name), a "meadow of fountains," a few miles northwest of Daniel This hill would offer a commanding site for a stronghold, and traces are found there of a large and ancient city (Robinson, 3 p. 375; Dict. Bib., 1. p. 863, and Dan, near the northern extremity of Palestine (1Ki_4:25; 1Sa_3:20, etc.) Now certainly identified with Tell el Kadi the "hill of the Judge" (which preserves the meaning of the name), near the main source of the Jordan. The Tell, apparently an extinct crater, is covered with ruins. Stanley, S. and P., p. 395-6. Thomson, "Land and Book," 1. p. 320. Van de Velde, if. p. 420. The situation is described as superb, and the country as extremely fertile. This is the last mention of the place in Scripture. Retribution has soon fallen on one of the centres of Jeroboam"s schism, and Abel-beth-maachah now known as Abil el Kamh (Robinson, 3. p. 372; but see Stanley, S. and P., p. 390, note 6; Thomson, 1. p. 324. Rawlinson argues 2Sa_20:14 that there were originally two towns, but ver. 15 leads us to question the present text of ver. 14. Ver. 19 shows it to have been a place of considerable importance. In 2Ch_16:4. it is called Abel Maim, "the meadow of the waters," not only, it is probable, because of the lake, but of the huge marsh, the Ard el Huleh, which drains into it (see Stanley, l.c. ) All these towns are in the neighbourhood of Lake Huleh (Merom), and all being in the extreme north, bore the brunt of the invasion. The name Maachah is to be noticed in connection with ver. 2, and all Cinneroth in Num_34:11; Deu_3:17, Cinnereth; in the New Testament, Gennesaret." "The expression all Cinneroth" is unusual, and may be compared with "all Bithron," probably like this, a district and not a town" (Grove, Dict. Bib., 1. p. 330). It is the district on the western shore of the lake of Galilee, north of Tiberias, which gave its name to the adjoining sheet of water. A city Chinnereth, perhaps the capital of the district is mentioned, (Jos_19:35) with l" not uncommonly has this meaning. Cf., Gen_32:12 (Hebrews) "the mother with the children;" Exo_35:22, "men with women." all the land of Naphtali Not only were the fortresses of Naphtali just mentioned smitten by the Syrians, but they laid waste all the surrounding district.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

It came about that

This phrase is used here to mark an important event in the story. If your language has a way for doing this, you could consider using it here.

he stopped building up Ramah

King Baasha did this by telling his workers to do this. AT: "he had his workers stop building up Ramah" (See: Metonymy)

Tirzah

This is the name of a city. See how you translated it in 1 Kings 14:17.

No one was exempted

This can also be stated positively. AT: "Every one had to obey King Asa's proclamation"

translationWords

commander

Dan

Naphtali

preach

Benjamin

Mizpah

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.