Thematic Bible
Thematic Bible
Armies » Enumeration of israel's military forces
Take a census of all the males of the congregation of Israel by families and households. List every man by name who is at least twenty years old. You and Aaron must register everyone in Israel who is eligible for military duty. List them by divisions.
Take a census of the entire congregation of Israel by households. List those who are at least twenty years old and eligible for military duty.
Verse Concepts
When Saul counted them at Bezek, there were three hundred thousand troops from Israel and thirty thousand troops from Judah.
Verse Concepts
David called the troops that were with him. He appointed commanders in charge of regiments and battalions. David assigned a third of the troops under Joab's command. He put another third under Joab's brother Abishai son of Zeruiah. Then he placed the last third under Ittai from Gath. I am going into battle with you, the king said to the troops.
Jehovah became angry at Israel again. He provoked David to turn against Israel. He said: Go count the people of Israel and Judah. King David said to Joab the commander of the army: Go throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and count the people. That way I will know how many there are. Joab answered reluctantly: Your Majesty, may Jehovah your God make the people of Israel a hundred times more numerous than they are now. May you live to see him do it. But why does Your Majesty want to do this? read more.
The king made Joab and his officers obey his order. They left his presence and went out to count the people of Israel. They crossed the Jordan and camped south of Aroer, the city in the middle of the valley, in the territory of Gad. Then they went north to Jazer. They went to Gilead and to Kadesh in Syria. Then they went to Dan (Dan-jaan), Ijon, and on toward Sidon. They came to the fortress of Tyre. They went through every town of the Hivites and the Canaanites. Finally, they went to Beersheba in the Southern Desert of Judah. After they went through the whole land, they went back to Jerusalem. It took them nine months and twenty days. Joab told David: In Israel there is eight hundred thousand who can serve in the army. In Judah there are five hundred thousand.
The king made Joab and his officers obey his order. They left his presence and went out to count the people of Israel. They crossed the Jordan and camped south of Aroer, the city in the middle of the valley, in the territory of Gad. Then they went north to Jazer. They went to Gilead and to Kadesh in Syria. Then they went to Dan (Dan-jaan), Ijon, and on toward Sidon. They came to the fortress of Tyre. They went through every town of the Hivites and the Canaanites. Finally, they went to Beersheba in the Southern Desert of Judah. After they went through the whole land, they went back to Jerusalem. It took them nine months and twenty days. Joab told David: In Israel there is eight hundred thousand who can serve in the army. In Judah there are five hundred thousand.
Ahab mustered the young officers of the district governors. There were two hundred and thirty-two. After counting them, he counted all the Israelite soldiers. There were seven thousand.
Verse Concepts
Amaziah called the people of Judah together and assigned them by families to regiment and battalion commanders for all of Judah and Benjamin. He organized those who were at least twenty years old. He had three hundred thousand of the best men for the army, those who could handle a spear and a shield.
Verse Concepts
Kings » Who reigned over israel » Ahab
In the thirty-eighth year that Asa was king of Judah, Ahab, the son of Omri, became king over Israel. Ahab was king in Samaria for twenty-two years. Ahab, the son of Omri, did evil in the eyes of Jehovah, even worse than all who went before him! It was as if he copied the evil ways of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. He took as his wife Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal, king of Zidon, and became a servant and worshipper of Baal. read more.
He built an altar for Baal in the house of Baal that he built in Samaria. Ahab made an image of Asherah. He did more than all the kings of Israel before him to make Jehovah, the God of Israel, angry. In his days Hiel rebuilt Jericho. He laid its foundation at the price of Abiram, his oldest son, and he put its doors in place at the price of his youngest son Segub. This was according to the word of Jehovah spoken through Joshua, the son of Nun. Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab: By the living Jehovah, the God of Israel, whose servant I am, there will be no dew or rain in these years, but only at my word. Then the word of Jehovah came to him, saying: Go east from here and hide by the Cherith Brook, east of Jordan. You will drink from the brook. I have ordered the ravens to feed you there. So he did as Jehovah said, living by the Cherith Brook, east of Jordan. The ravens took him bread in the morning and meat in the evening. And he drank water from the brook. Now after a time the brook became dry, because there was no rain in the land. Then the word of Jehovah came to him, saying: Go now to Zarephath, in Zidon, and live there. I have given orders to a widow woman there to see that you have food. He went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the town, he saw a widow woman gathering sticks. He said to her: Will you give me a little water in a vessel for my drink? As she was going to get it, he said: And get me some bread. Then she said: By the life of Jehovah your God, I have nothing but a little meal, and a drop of oil in the bottle; and now I am getting two sticks together so that I may go in and make it ready for me and my son, so that we may have a meal before our death. Elijah said to her: Have no fear. Go and do as you said, but first make me a little cake of it and come and give it to me. Then make something for yourself and your son. For this is the word of Jehovah, the God of Israel: 'Your supply of meal will not come to an end. The bottle will never be without oil, till the day when Jehovah sends rain on the earth.' She did as Elijah told her and they all had food for a long time. The store of meal did not come to an end. The bottle was never without oil. This was just as Jehovah said through the mouth of Elijah. After this the son of the woman of the house became ill. He was so ill that there was no breath in him. She said to Elijah: What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to put God in mind of my sin, and to put my son to death? He said: Give your son to me. And lifting him out of her arms, he took him up to his room and put him down on his bed. Crying to Jehovah he said: O Jehovah my God, have you sent evil even on the widow I now visit, by causing her son's death? Stretching himself out on the child three times, he made his prayer to Jehovah. He said: O Jehovah my God, be pleased to let this child's life come back to him again. Jehovah listened to the voice of Elijah. The child began to breath and came back to life. Elijah took the child down from his room into the house and gave him to his mother. See, your son is alive. He said. Then the woman said to Elijah: Now I am certain that you are a man of God, and that the word of Jehovah in your mouth is truth. After a long time, the word of Jehovah came to Elijah. In the third year he said: Go and let Ahab see you. I will send rain on the earth. So Elijah went to let Ahab see him. There was no food to be had in Samaria. Ahab sent for Obadiah, the controller of the king's house. Obadiah had great respect for Jehovah. When Jezebel massacred the prophets of Jehovah, Obadiah took a hundred of them, and hid them secretly in a hole in the rock, fifty at a time, and gave them bread and water. Ahab said to Obadiah: Come! Let us go through all the country, to all the fountains of water and all the rivers. Let us see if there is any grass for the horses and the transport beasts. We must save some of the livestock. They went through all the country by dividing it between them. Ahab went in one direction by himself, and Obadiah went in another by himself. While Obadiah was on his way, he came face to face with Elijah. Seeing who it was, he went down on his face and said: Is it you, my lord Elijah? Elijah answered: It is I. Go tell your lord Elijah is here. He said: What sin have I done that you are delivering your servant into the hand of Ahab to kill him? By the life of Jehovah your God, there is not a nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent in search of you. When they said: He is not here; he made them take an oath that they had not seen you. Now you say: 'Go, say to your lord Elijah is here.' What if the Spirit of Jehovah carries you off to some unknown place as soon as I leave? Then, when I tell Ahab that you are here and he cannot find you, he will put me to death. Remember that I have been a devout worshiper of Jehovah ever since I was a boy. Have you not heard that when Jezebel was killing Jehovah's prophets I hid a hundred of them in caves, in two groups of fifty, and supplied them with food and water? So how can you order me to go and tell the king that you are here? He will kill me! Elijah said: By the life of Jehovah of armies, whose servant I am, I will certainly let him see me today. So Obadiah went to Ahab and gave him the news. Ahab went to see Elijah. Ahab saw Elijah. He said: Is it you, Israel's troublemaker? Then he said in answer: I have not made trouble for Israel. You and your family have. You have disobeyed Jehovah's commands and have gone after the Baals. Now gather all Israel together before me at Mount Carmel. Also gather the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal who get their food at Jezebel's table. So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, and assembled the prophets together at Mount Carmel. Elijah came near to all the people and said: How long will you balance (bounce back and forth) between two opinions? If Jehovah is God, then give worship to him. If Baal is, give worship to him. The people did not answer him. Then Elijah said to the people: I, even I, am the only living prophet of Jehovah but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men. Let them give us two bulls. Let them take one for themselves and have it cut up, and put it on the wood, but put no fire under it. I will get the other bull ready, and put it on the wood, and put no fire under it. You pray to your god and I will pray to Jehovah. The God who answers with fire is God! All the people answered: It is well said. Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal: Take one bull for yourselves and get it ready first, for there are so many of you; and make your prayers to your god, but do not light the fire. So they took the bull that was given them, and made it ready. They cried out to Baal from morning till the middle of the day. They said: O Baal, give ear to us. But there was no voice and no answer. They jumped up and down before the altar they had made. In the middle of the day, Elijah made sport of them, saying: Give louder cries, for he is a god; he may be deep in thought. He may have gone away for some purpose. Perhaps he is on a journey. By chance he is sleeping and must be woke up. So they gave loud cries and they cut themselves with knives and swords till the blood came streaming out all over them. They went on with their prayers from midday till the time of the offering; but there was no voice, or any answer, or any who gave attention to them. Then Elijah said to all the people: Come near to me. Then all the people came near. He repaired the altar of Jehovah that was broken down. Elijah took twelve stones, the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom Jehovah said: Israel will be your name. He used the stones to make an altar to the name of Jehovah. He dug a trench around the altar, large enough to hold two seahs of seed. He put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on there. Then he said: Get four vessels full of water and put it on the burned offering and on the wood. Do it a second time, and they did it a second time. Then he said: Get four vessels full of water and put it on the burned offering and on the wood. Do it a second time They did it a second time. Then he said: Do it a third time and they did it a third time. The water went all round the altar until the drain was full. Then at the time of the offering, Elijah the prophet came near and said, Jehovah, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let it be seen this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things by your order. Give me an answer, O Jehovah. Give me an answer so that this people may see that you are God. That you have made their hearts come back again. Then the fire of Jehovah came down. It burned up the offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and drinking up the water in the drain. When the people saw it, they all went down on their faces. They said: Jehovah is God! Jehovah is God! Elijah said to them: Take the prophets of Baal. Do not let one of them get away. So they took them, and Elijah made them go down to the stream Kishon, and executed them there. Then Elijah said to Ahab: Get up and take food and drink, for there is a sound of much rain. So Ahab went up to have food and drink. Elijah went up to the top of Carmel. He bowed down to the earth and put his face between his knees. He told his servant to look in the direction of the sea. After he looked the servant said: There is nothing. Elijah said: Go again seven times. So he went seven times. The seventh time he said: I see a cloud coming up out of the sea, as small as a man's hand. Then Elijah said: Go up and say to Ahab, Get your carriage ready and go down or the rain will keep you back. After a very little time, the heaven became black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. Ahab went in his carriage to Jezreel. The hand of Jehovah was on Elijah. Jehovah gave special strength to Elijah and he ran ahead of Ahab until they came to Jezreel. King Ahab told his wife Jezebel everything Elijah had done. He told how he put all the prophets of Baal to death. She sent a message to Elijah: May the gods strike me dead if by this time tomorrow I do not do the same thing to you that you did to the prophets. Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He took his servant and went to Beersheba in Judah. He left the servant there. Elijah walked a whole day into the wilderness. He stopped and sat down under a broom plant and wished he would die. It is just too much, Jehovah, he prayed. Take away my life. I could just as well be dead. Stretching himself on the earth, he went to sleep under the broom-plant. An angel touched him and said: Get up and eat some food. Looking up, he saw near his head a cake cooked on coals and a bottle of water. So he ate food and drink water and went to sleep again. The angel of Jehovah came again a second time, and touched him and said: Get up and have some food, or you will not have strength for the journey. So he got up and took food and drink. He was strengthened to go for forty days and forty nights, to Horeb, the mountain of God. He went into a cave and spent the night. The word of Jehovah came to him, saying: What are you doing here, Elijah? He said: I have been zealous for Jehovah, the God of hosts. The children of Israel have not kept your agreement (covenant). They have destroyed your altars. They killed your prophets with the sword. I, even I, am the only one living. Now they seek to take my life too. Then he said: Go out and take your place on the mountain before Jehovah. Jehovah passed by and the force of a great wind parted the mountains. Rocks were broken before Jehovah but Jehovah was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but Jehovah was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake a fire, but Jehovah was not in the fire. And after the fire, the sounds of a soft breathe. Elijah heard it and went out covering his face with his robe. He stood by the entrance of the cave. He heard a voice saying: What are you doing here, Elijah? He replied: I have been very zealous for Jehovah, the God of hosts. The children of Israel have not kept your agreement. They have torn down your altars. They killed your prophets with the sword. I, even I, am the only one living. Now they seek to take my life. Jehovah said to him: Go back on your way through the wasteland to Damascus. When you get there, put holy oil on Hazael to make him king over Aram, And also anoint Jehu, son of Nimshi, making him king over Israel; and Elisha, the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah, to be prophet in your place. Whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will put to death. Whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will put to death. I will leave seven thousand people alive in Israel; all those who are loyal to me and have not bowed to Baal or kissed his idol. Elijah left there and found Elisha plowing with a team of bulls. There were eleven teams ahead of him. He was plowing with the last one. Elijah took off his cloak and put it on Elisha. Elisha then left his bulls and ran after Elijah. He said: Let me kiss my father and mother good-bye and then I will go with you. Elijah answered, All right, go back. I am not stopping you! Then Elisha went to his team of bulls, killed them, and cooked the meat. He used the yoke as fuel for the fire. He gave the meat to the people, and they ate it. Then he followed Elijah as his helper. King Benhadad of Syria mustered his entire army, accompanied by thirty-two other kings with their horses and chariots, he laid siege on Samaria, and launched attacks against it. He sent messengers into the city to King Ahab of Israel to say: King Benhadad demands that you surrender to him your silver and gold, your women and the strongest of your children. Tell my lord, King Benhadad, that I agree; he can have everything I own, Ahab answered. Later the messengers came back to Ahab with another demand from Benhadad: I sent you word that you were to hand over to me your silver and gold, your women and your children. Now I will send my officers to search your palace and the homes of your officials. They will take everything they consider valuable. They will be there about this time tomorrow. Then the king of Israel sent for all the responsible men of the land, and said: Now will you take note and see the evil purpose of this man. He sent for my wives and my children, my silver and my gold, and I did not keep them back. All the responsible men and the people said to him: Do not pay attention to him or do what he says. So he said to the representatives of Benhadad: Say to my lord the king: 'All the orders you sent the first time I will do. But I will not do this thing. The representatives went back with this answer. Benhadad sent Ahab the following message: May the gods strike me dead if there will be enough dust left from Samaria to give a handful to each soldier who follows me. The king of Israel responded: It is said, let not the one who puts on his armor boast like the one who takes it off. Benhadad heard this when he and his allies were drinking in their tents. He told his officers to get ready. So they got prepared to attack the city. A prophet approached King Ahab of Israel and said: This is what Jehovah says: 'Have you seen this large army? I will hand it over to you today. Then you will know that I am Jehovah.' Ahab asked: How will this be done? The prophet answered: This is what Jehovah says: 'By using the young officers of the district governors. Who will start the battle? Ahab asked. You will, the prophet answered. Ahab mustered the young officers of the district governors. There were two hundred and thirty-two. After counting them, he counted all the Israelite soldiers. There were seven thousand. In the middle of the day they went out. But Benhadad was drinking in the tents with the thirty-two kings who were helping him. The servants of the chiefs who were over the divisions of the land went forward first. Benhadad sent out a patrol and they told him: Men have come out from Samaria. He said: If they have come out for peace, take them alive and if they have come out for war, take them alive. So the servants of the chiefs of the divisions of the land went out of the town, with the army following them. Each one killed his opponent. The Syrians (Aramaeans) went in flight with Israel after them. Benhadad the king of Aram got away safely on a horse with his horsemen. The king of Israel took the horses and the war-carriages and caused great destruction among the Syrians. Then the prophet came up to the king of Israel, and said: Now make yourself strong. Be careful what you do. Otherwise a year from now the king of Aram will come up against you again. Then the king of Aram's servants said to him: Their god is a god of the hills. That is why they were stronger than us. If we attack them in the lowlands, we will certainly be stronger than they. This is what you must do: take the kings from their positions, and put captains in their places. Assemble another army like the one that was destroyed. Horse for horse, and carriage for carriage let us make war on them in the lowlands, and certainly we will be stronger than they. He listened and did what was suggested. So, a year later, Benhadad got the Syrians (Aramaeans) together and went to Aphek to make war on Israel. And the children of Israel assembled, and food was made ready and they went against them. The children of Israel camped like two little flocks of goats before them. All the country was full of the Syrians. A man of God came to the king of Israel. He said: Jehovah says, 'Because the Aramaeans have said, Jehovah is a god of the hills and not of the valleys; I will give all this great army into your hands, and you will see that I am Jehovah.' The two armies kept their positions facing one another for seven days. The seventh day the fight was started. The children of Israel put to the sword a hundred thousand Aramaean footmen in one day. The rest went in flight to Aphek, into the town, where a wall came down on the twenty-seven thousand who were still living. Benhadad went in flight into the town, into an inner room. His servants said to him: It is said that the kings of Israel are full of mercy: let us then put on haircloth, and cords on our heads, and go to the king of Israel. Maybe he will give you your life. So they put on haircloth, and cords on their heads, and went to the king of Israel and said: Your servant Benhadad says: 'Let me now keep my life.' And he said: Is he still living? He is my brother. Now the men took it as a sign, and were quick to pick up on his word. They said: Benhadad is your brother. Then he said: Go and get him. So Ben-hadad came out to him and he made him get up into his carriage. Benhadad said: The towns my father took from your father I will give back. You may name streets for yourself in Damascus as my father did in Samaria. As for me, at the price of this agreement you will let me go. So he made an agreement with him and let him go. A man of the sons of the prophets said to his neighbors by the word of Jehovah: Give me a wound. But the man would not. Then he said: Because you have not listened to the voice of Jehovah, immediately after you leave me a lion will kill you. When he went away a lion came rushing at him and killed him. Then he came across another man, and said: Give me a wound. And the man gave him a blow wounding him. So the prophet went away, and pulling his headband over his eyes to keep his face covered. He took his place by the road waiting for the king. When the king went by he cried out to him: Your servant went out into the fight. A man came to me. He brought a man to me and said: 'guard this man. Do not let him get away. Your life is the price of his life or you will have to give a talent of silver in payment.' But while your servant was turning this way and that, he was gone. Then the king of Israel said to him: 'You are responsible; you have given the decision against yourself.' He quickly took the headband from his eyes. The king of Israel saw that he was one of the prophets. He said to him: These are the words of Jehovah: 'Because you have let go from your hands the man whom I had put to the curse, your life will be taken for his life, and your people for his people.' Then the king of Israel went back to his house, bitter and angry, he went to Samaria. Naboth the Jezreelite had a garden in Jezreel, near the house of Ahab, king of Samaria. Ahab said to Naboth: Give me your garden so that I may have it for a garden of sweet plants. Since it is near my house let me give you a better vine-garden in exchange. If it seems good to you, let me give you its value in money. But Naboth said to Ahab, God forbid that I give you the heritage of my fathers. Ahab returned to his house bitter and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite said to him: I will not give you the heritage of my fathers. Stretching himself on the bed with his face turned away, he would not eat. Jezebel his wife came to him and asked: Why is your spirit so bitter that you have no desire for food? He replied: I was talking to Naboth the Jezreelite. I said to him: 'Let me have your garden for money, or, if it pleases you, I will give you another garden for it.' 'But he said: I will not give you my garden.' Then his wife Jezebel said: Are you now the ruler of Israel? Get up, eat and be happy. I will give you the garden of Naboth the Jezreelite. So she sent a letter in Ahab's name, stamped with his stamp, to the elders and nobles who were in authority with Naboth. The letter she wrote is as follows: Let a time of public sorrow be fixed, and put Naboth at the head of the people. Get two good-for-nothing persons to come before him and give witness that he has been cursing God and the king. Then take him out and have him stoned to death. So the elders and nobles in authority in his town did as Jezebel said in the letter she sent them. They gave orders for a day of public sorrow and put Naboth at the head of the people. The two good-for-nothing persons came in and took their seats before him and gave witness against Naboth, in front of the people. They said: Naboth has been cursing God and the king. Then they took him outside the town and had him stoned to death. Then they sent word to Jezebel, saying: Naboth has been stoned and is dead. Jezebel, hearing that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, said to Ahab: Get up and take as your heritage the garden of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he would not give you for money. Naboth is dead. When he heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab went down to the garden of Naboth the Jezreelite to take it as his heritage. And the word of Jehovah came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying: Go to Ahab, king of Israel, in Samaria. He is in the garden of Naboth the Jezreelite. He went there to take it as his heritage. Say to him: 'Jehovah says: Have you put a man to death and taken his heritage?' Then say: 'Jehovah says: Your blood will become the drink of dogs! You will go to the same place where the dogs drink the blood of Naboth.' Ahab said to Elijah: Have you come face to face with me, O my enemy? Elijah said: I have come to you because you have given yourself up to do evil in the eyes of Jehovah. Jehovah says to you: I will bring disaster on you. I will do away with you and get rid of every male in your family, young and old alike. Your family will become like the family of King Jeroboam son of Nebat and like the family of King Baasha son of Ahijah. This is because you have stirred up my anger by leading Israel into sin. Concerning Jezebel, Jehovah says: Dogs will eat her body in the city of Jezreel. Dogs will eat your relatives dying in the city. Vultures will eat your dead relatives in the country. No one else devoted himself so completely to doing wrong in Jehovah's sight as Ahab all at the urging of his wife Jezebel. He committed the most shameful sins by worshiping idols the way the Amorites had done. Jehovah drove the Amorites from the land as the people of Israel advanced. Elijah finished speaking. Ahab tore his clothes and took them off. He dressed in sackcloth. He refused food (fasted) and slept in the sackcloth. He was gloomy and depressed. Jehovah said to the prophet Elijah: Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Since he has done this, I will not bring disaster on him during his lifetime. It will be during his son's lifetime that I will bring disaster on Ahab's family. There was peace between Israel and Syria for the next two years. In the third year King Jehoshaphat of Judah went to see King Ahab of Israel. Ahab asked his officials: Why have we not done anything to get back Ramoth in Gilead from the king of Syria? It is ours! Ahab asked Jehoshaphat: Will you go with me to attack Ramoth? I am ready when you are, Jehoshaphat answered. And so are my soldiers and my cavalry. First let us inquire of Jehovah. So Ahab called in the prophets, about four hundred of them, and asked them: Should I attack Ramoth, or not? They answered: Attack, Jehovah will give you victory. Jehoshaphat asked: Is there another prophet through whom we can consult Jehovah? Ahab answered: There is one more, Micaiah son of Imlah. But I hate him because he never prophesies anything good for me, always something bad. The king should not say such things! Jehoshaphat replied. Then Ahab called a court official and told him to get Micaiah at once. They dressed in their royal robes and sat on their thrones at the threshing place near the gate of Samaria. The two kings listened to all the prophets prophesy in front of them. One of them, Zedekiah son of Chenaanah, made iron horns and said to Ahab: Jehovah says: 'With these you will fight the Syrians and totally defeat them.' All the other prophets said the same thing: March against Ramoth and you will win, they said. Jehovah will give you victory. The messenger who went to get Micaiah said to him: All the other prophets have prophesied success for the king. You had better do the same. Micaiah answered: By the living God Jehovah I promise that I will say what he tells me to say! He appeared before King Ahab. The king asked him: Micaiah, should King Jehoshaphat and I go and attack Ramoth, or not? Attack! Micaiah answered. You will win. Jehovah will give you victory. But Ahab replied: Tell the truth when you speak to me in the name of Jehovah! How many times do I have to tell you that? Micaiah answered: I can see the army of Israel scattered over the hills like sheep without a shepherd. Jehovah said: These men have no leader. Let them go home in peace. Israel's king said to Jehoshaphat: Did I not say to you, He will prophesy about me? It is always something bad! Micaiah continued: Now listen to what Jehovah says! I saw Jehovah sitting on his throne in heaven, with all his angels standing beside him. Jehovah asked: Who will deceive Ahab so that he will go and be killed at Ramoth? Some of the angels said one thing, and others said something else, until a spirit stepped forward, approached Jehovah, and said: I will deceive him. How will you deceive him? Jehovah asked. The spirit replied: I will make all of Ahab's prophets tell lies. Jehovah said: Go and deceive him. You will succeed. Micaiah concluded: This is what has happened. Jehovah made these prophets of yours lie to you. He has decreed that you will meet with disaster! The prophet Zedekiah went to Micaiah and slapped his face. He asked: Since when did Jehovah's spirit leave me and speak to you? You will see when you go into an inner chamber to hide. Micaiah replied. The king of Israel said: Take Micaiah and send him back to Amon, the ruler of the town, and to Joash, the king's son. Tell them: 'It is the king's order that this man is to be put in prison and given prison food till I come again in peace.' Micaiah said: If you come back at all in peace, Jehovah has not sent his word by me. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, went to Ramoth-gilead. The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat: I will change my clothing, so that I do not seem to be the king. Then I will go into the fight. You put on your royal robes. So the king of Israel changed his dress and went into the battle. Now the king of Aram had given orders to the thirty-two captains of his war-carriages, saying: Make no attack on small or great, but only on the king of Israel. So when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said: Truly, this is the king of Israel. They turned against him and surrounded him. Jehoshaphat gave a cry. When the captains of the chariots saw that he was not the king of Israel they withdrew from him. A stray arrow wounded the king of Israel a wound where his breastplate was joined to his clothing. He said to the chariot driver: Go to the side. Take me away from the fight for I am badly wounded. The fight grew more violent as the day went on. The king was propped up in his chariot facing the Syrians (Aramaeans). The floor of the chariot was covered with the blood from his wound. By evening he died. About sundown a cry went up from all parts of the army, saying: Let every man go back to his town and his country, for the king is dead. They traveled to Samaria and buried the king there. The chariot was washed at the pool of Samaria the bathing-place of the loose women. Dogs were drinking his blood there, as Jehovah said. Everything else that King Ahab did, including an account of his palace decorated with ivory and of all the cities he built, is recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel. Ahab's son Ahaziah succeeded him as king.
He built an altar for Baal in the house of Baal that he built in Samaria. Ahab made an image of Asherah. He did more than all the kings of Israel before him to make Jehovah, the God of Israel, angry. In his days Hiel rebuilt Jericho. He laid its foundation at the price of Abiram, his oldest son, and he put its doors in place at the price of his youngest son Segub. This was according to the word of Jehovah spoken through Joshua, the son of Nun. Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab: By the living Jehovah, the God of Israel, whose servant I am, there will be no dew or rain in these years, but only at my word. Then the word of Jehovah came to him, saying: Go east from here and hide by the Cherith Brook, east of Jordan. You will drink from the brook. I have ordered the ravens to feed you there. So he did as Jehovah said, living by the Cherith Brook, east of Jordan. The ravens took him bread in the morning and meat in the evening. And he drank water from the brook. Now after a time the brook became dry, because there was no rain in the land. Then the word of Jehovah came to him, saying: Go now to Zarephath, in Zidon, and live there. I have given orders to a widow woman there to see that you have food. He went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the town, he saw a widow woman gathering sticks. He said to her: Will you give me a little water in a vessel for my drink? As she was going to get it, he said: And get me some bread. Then she said: By the life of Jehovah your God, I have nothing but a little meal, and a drop of oil in the bottle; and now I am getting two sticks together so that I may go in and make it ready for me and my son, so that we may have a meal before our death. Elijah said to her: Have no fear. Go and do as you said, but first make me a little cake of it and come and give it to me. Then make something for yourself and your son. For this is the word of Jehovah, the God of Israel: 'Your supply of meal will not come to an end. The bottle will never be without oil, till the day when Jehovah sends rain on the earth.' She did as Elijah told her and they all had food for a long time. The store of meal did not come to an end. The bottle was never without oil. This was just as Jehovah said through the mouth of Elijah. After this the son of the woman of the house became ill. He was so ill that there was no breath in him. She said to Elijah: What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to put God in mind of my sin, and to put my son to death? He said: Give your son to me. And lifting him out of her arms, he took him up to his room and put him down on his bed. Crying to Jehovah he said: O Jehovah my God, have you sent evil even on the widow I now visit, by causing her son's death? Stretching himself out on the child three times, he made his prayer to Jehovah. He said: O Jehovah my God, be pleased to let this child's life come back to him again. Jehovah listened to the voice of Elijah. The child began to breath and came back to life. Elijah took the child down from his room into the house and gave him to his mother. See, your son is alive. He said. Then the woman said to Elijah: Now I am certain that you are a man of God, and that the word of Jehovah in your mouth is truth. After a long time, the word of Jehovah came to Elijah. In the third year he said: Go and let Ahab see you. I will send rain on the earth. So Elijah went to let Ahab see him. There was no food to be had in Samaria. Ahab sent for Obadiah, the controller of the king's house. Obadiah had great respect for Jehovah. When Jezebel massacred the prophets of Jehovah, Obadiah took a hundred of them, and hid them secretly in a hole in the rock, fifty at a time, and gave them bread and water. Ahab said to Obadiah: Come! Let us go through all the country, to all the fountains of water and all the rivers. Let us see if there is any grass for the horses and the transport beasts. We must save some of the livestock. They went through all the country by dividing it between them. Ahab went in one direction by himself, and Obadiah went in another by himself. While Obadiah was on his way, he came face to face with Elijah. Seeing who it was, he went down on his face and said: Is it you, my lord Elijah? Elijah answered: It is I. Go tell your lord Elijah is here. He said: What sin have I done that you are delivering your servant into the hand of Ahab to kill him? By the life of Jehovah your God, there is not a nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent in search of you. When they said: He is not here; he made them take an oath that they had not seen you. Now you say: 'Go, say to your lord Elijah is here.' What if the Spirit of Jehovah carries you off to some unknown place as soon as I leave? Then, when I tell Ahab that you are here and he cannot find you, he will put me to death. Remember that I have been a devout worshiper of Jehovah ever since I was a boy. Have you not heard that when Jezebel was killing Jehovah's prophets I hid a hundred of them in caves, in two groups of fifty, and supplied them with food and water? So how can you order me to go and tell the king that you are here? He will kill me! Elijah said: By the life of Jehovah of armies, whose servant I am, I will certainly let him see me today. So Obadiah went to Ahab and gave him the news. Ahab went to see Elijah. Ahab saw Elijah. He said: Is it you, Israel's troublemaker? Then he said in answer: I have not made trouble for Israel. You and your family have. You have disobeyed Jehovah's commands and have gone after the Baals. Now gather all Israel together before me at Mount Carmel. Also gather the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal who get their food at Jezebel's table. So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, and assembled the prophets together at Mount Carmel. Elijah came near to all the people and said: How long will you balance (bounce back and forth) between two opinions? If Jehovah is God, then give worship to him. If Baal is, give worship to him. The people did not answer him. Then Elijah said to the people: I, even I, am the only living prophet of Jehovah but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men. Let them give us two bulls. Let them take one for themselves and have it cut up, and put it on the wood, but put no fire under it. I will get the other bull ready, and put it on the wood, and put no fire under it. You pray to your god and I will pray to Jehovah. The God who answers with fire is God! All the people answered: It is well said. Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal: Take one bull for yourselves and get it ready first, for there are so many of you; and make your prayers to your god, but do not light the fire. So they took the bull that was given them, and made it ready. They cried out to Baal from morning till the middle of the day. They said: O Baal, give ear to us. But there was no voice and no answer. They jumped up and down before the altar they had made. In the middle of the day, Elijah made sport of them, saying: Give louder cries, for he is a god; he may be deep in thought. He may have gone away for some purpose. Perhaps he is on a journey. By chance he is sleeping and must be woke up. So they gave loud cries and they cut themselves with knives and swords till the blood came streaming out all over them. They went on with their prayers from midday till the time of the offering; but there was no voice, or any answer, or any who gave attention to them. Then Elijah said to all the people: Come near to me. Then all the people came near. He repaired the altar of Jehovah that was broken down. Elijah took twelve stones, the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom Jehovah said: Israel will be your name. He used the stones to make an altar to the name of Jehovah. He dug a trench around the altar, large enough to hold two seahs of seed. He put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on there. Then he said: Get four vessels full of water and put it on the burned offering and on the wood. Do it a second time, and they did it a second time. Then he said: Get four vessels full of water and put it on the burned offering and on the wood. Do it a second time They did it a second time. Then he said: Do it a third time and they did it a third time. The water went all round the altar until the drain was full. Then at the time of the offering, Elijah the prophet came near and said, Jehovah, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let it be seen this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things by your order. Give me an answer, O Jehovah. Give me an answer so that this people may see that you are God. That you have made their hearts come back again. Then the fire of Jehovah came down. It burned up the offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and drinking up the water in the drain. When the people saw it, they all went down on their faces. They said: Jehovah is God! Jehovah is God! Elijah said to them: Take the prophets of Baal. Do not let one of them get away. So they took them, and Elijah made them go down to the stream Kishon, and executed them there. Then Elijah said to Ahab: Get up and take food and drink, for there is a sound of much rain. So Ahab went up to have food and drink. Elijah went up to the top of Carmel. He bowed down to the earth and put his face between his knees. He told his servant to look in the direction of the sea. After he looked the servant said: There is nothing. Elijah said: Go again seven times. So he went seven times. The seventh time he said: I see a cloud coming up out of the sea, as small as a man's hand. Then Elijah said: Go up and say to Ahab, Get your carriage ready and go down or the rain will keep you back. After a very little time, the heaven became black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. Ahab went in his carriage to Jezreel. The hand of Jehovah was on Elijah. Jehovah gave special strength to Elijah and he ran ahead of Ahab until they came to Jezreel. King Ahab told his wife Jezebel everything Elijah had done. He told how he put all the prophets of Baal to death. She sent a message to Elijah: May the gods strike me dead if by this time tomorrow I do not do the same thing to you that you did to the prophets. Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He took his servant and went to Beersheba in Judah. He left the servant there. Elijah walked a whole day into the wilderness. He stopped and sat down under a broom plant and wished he would die. It is just too much, Jehovah, he prayed. Take away my life. I could just as well be dead. Stretching himself on the earth, he went to sleep under the broom-plant. An angel touched him and said: Get up and eat some food. Looking up, he saw near his head a cake cooked on coals and a bottle of water. So he ate food and drink water and went to sleep again. The angel of Jehovah came again a second time, and touched him and said: Get up and have some food, or you will not have strength for the journey. So he got up and took food and drink. He was strengthened to go for forty days and forty nights, to Horeb, the mountain of God. He went into a cave and spent the night. The word of Jehovah came to him, saying: What are you doing here, Elijah? He said: I have been zealous for Jehovah, the God of hosts. The children of Israel have not kept your agreement (covenant). They have destroyed your altars. They killed your prophets with the sword. I, even I, am the only one living. Now they seek to take my life too. Then he said: Go out and take your place on the mountain before Jehovah. Jehovah passed by and the force of a great wind parted the mountains. Rocks were broken before Jehovah but Jehovah was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but Jehovah was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake a fire, but Jehovah was not in the fire. And after the fire, the sounds of a soft breathe. Elijah heard it and went out covering his face with his robe. He stood by the entrance of the cave. He heard a voice saying: What are you doing here, Elijah? He replied: I have been very zealous for Jehovah, the God of hosts. The children of Israel have not kept your agreement. They have torn down your altars. They killed your prophets with the sword. I, even I, am the only one living. Now they seek to take my life. Jehovah said to him: Go back on your way through the wasteland to Damascus. When you get there, put holy oil on Hazael to make him king over Aram, And also anoint Jehu, son of Nimshi, making him king over Israel; and Elisha, the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah, to be prophet in your place. Whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will put to death. Whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will put to death. I will leave seven thousand people alive in Israel; all those who are loyal to me and have not bowed to Baal or kissed his idol. Elijah left there and found Elisha plowing with a team of bulls. There were eleven teams ahead of him. He was plowing with the last one. Elijah took off his cloak and put it on Elisha. Elisha then left his bulls and ran after Elijah. He said: Let me kiss my father and mother good-bye and then I will go with you. Elijah answered, All right, go back. I am not stopping you! Then Elisha went to his team of bulls, killed them, and cooked the meat. He used the yoke as fuel for the fire. He gave the meat to the people, and they ate it. Then he followed Elijah as his helper. King Benhadad of Syria mustered his entire army, accompanied by thirty-two other kings with their horses and chariots, he laid siege on Samaria, and launched attacks against it. He sent messengers into the city to King Ahab of Israel to say: King Benhadad demands that you surrender to him your silver and gold, your women and the strongest of your children. Tell my lord, King Benhadad, that I agree; he can have everything I own, Ahab answered. Later the messengers came back to Ahab with another demand from Benhadad: I sent you word that you were to hand over to me your silver and gold, your women and your children. Now I will send my officers to search your palace and the homes of your officials. They will take everything they consider valuable. They will be there about this time tomorrow. Then the king of Israel sent for all the responsible men of the land, and said: Now will you take note and see the evil purpose of this man. He sent for my wives and my children, my silver and my gold, and I did not keep them back. All the responsible men and the people said to him: Do not pay attention to him or do what he says. So he said to the representatives of Benhadad: Say to my lord the king: 'All the orders you sent the first time I will do. But I will not do this thing. The representatives went back with this answer. Benhadad sent Ahab the following message: May the gods strike me dead if there will be enough dust left from Samaria to give a handful to each soldier who follows me. The king of Israel responded: It is said, let not the one who puts on his armor boast like the one who takes it off. Benhadad heard this when he and his allies were drinking in their tents. He told his officers to get ready. So they got prepared to attack the city. A prophet approached King Ahab of Israel and said: This is what Jehovah says: 'Have you seen this large army? I will hand it over to you today. Then you will know that I am Jehovah.' Ahab asked: How will this be done? The prophet answered: This is what Jehovah says: 'By using the young officers of the district governors. Who will start the battle? Ahab asked. You will, the prophet answered. Ahab mustered the young officers of the district governors. There were two hundred and thirty-two. After counting them, he counted all the Israelite soldiers. There were seven thousand. In the middle of the day they went out. But Benhadad was drinking in the tents with the thirty-two kings who were helping him. The servants of the chiefs who were over the divisions of the land went forward first. Benhadad sent out a patrol and they told him: Men have come out from Samaria. He said: If they have come out for peace, take them alive and if they have come out for war, take them alive. So the servants of the chiefs of the divisions of the land went out of the town, with the army following them. Each one killed his opponent. The Syrians (Aramaeans) went in flight with Israel after them. Benhadad the king of Aram got away safely on a horse with his horsemen. The king of Israel took the horses and the war-carriages and caused great destruction among the Syrians. Then the prophet came up to the king of Israel, and said: Now make yourself strong. Be careful what you do. Otherwise a year from now the king of Aram will come up against you again. Then the king of Aram's servants said to him: Their god is a god of the hills. That is why they were stronger than us. If we attack them in the lowlands, we will certainly be stronger than they. This is what you must do: take the kings from their positions, and put captains in their places. Assemble another army like the one that was destroyed. Horse for horse, and carriage for carriage let us make war on them in the lowlands, and certainly we will be stronger than they. He listened and did what was suggested. So, a year later, Benhadad got the Syrians (Aramaeans) together and went to Aphek to make war on Israel. And the children of Israel assembled, and food was made ready and they went against them. The children of Israel camped like two little flocks of goats before them. All the country was full of the Syrians. A man of God came to the king of Israel. He said: Jehovah says, 'Because the Aramaeans have said, Jehovah is a god of the hills and not of the valleys; I will give all this great army into your hands, and you will see that I am Jehovah.' The two armies kept their positions facing one another for seven days. The seventh day the fight was started. The children of Israel put to the sword a hundred thousand Aramaean footmen in one day. The rest went in flight to Aphek, into the town, where a wall came down on the twenty-seven thousand who were still living. Benhadad went in flight into the town, into an inner room. His servants said to him: It is said that the kings of Israel are full of mercy: let us then put on haircloth, and cords on our heads, and go to the king of Israel. Maybe he will give you your life. So they put on haircloth, and cords on their heads, and went to the king of Israel and said: Your servant Benhadad says: 'Let me now keep my life.' And he said: Is he still living? He is my brother. Now the men took it as a sign, and were quick to pick up on his word. They said: Benhadad is your brother. Then he said: Go and get him. So Ben-hadad came out to him and he made him get up into his carriage. Benhadad said: The towns my father took from your father I will give back. You may name streets for yourself in Damascus as my father did in Samaria. As for me, at the price of this agreement you will let me go. So he made an agreement with him and let him go. A man of the sons of the prophets said to his neighbors by the word of Jehovah: Give me a wound. But the man would not. Then he said: Because you have not listened to the voice of Jehovah, immediately after you leave me a lion will kill you. When he went away a lion came rushing at him and killed him. Then he came across another man, and said: Give me a wound. And the man gave him a blow wounding him. So the prophet went away, and pulling his headband over his eyes to keep his face covered. He took his place by the road waiting for the king. When the king went by he cried out to him: Your servant went out into the fight. A man came to me. He brought a man to me and said: 'guard this man. Do not let him get away. Your life is the price of his life or you will have to give a talent of silver in payment.' But while your servant was turning this way and that, he was gone. Then the king of Israel said to him: 'You are responsible; you have given the decision against yourself.' He quickly took the headband from his eyes. The king of Israel saw that he was one of the prophets. He said to him: These are the words of Jehovah: 'Because you have let go from your hands the man whom I had put to the curse, your life will be taken for his life, and your people for his people.' Then the king of Israel went back to his house, bitter and angry, he went to Samaria. Naboth the Jezreelite had a garden in Jezreel, near the house of Ahab, king of Samaria. Ahab said to Naboth: Give me your garden so that I may have it for a garden of sweet plants. Since it is near my house let me give you a better vine-garden in exchange. If it seems good to you, let me give you its value in money. But Naboth said to Ahab, God forbid that I give you the heritage of my fathers. Ahab returned to his house bitter and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite said to him: I will not give you the heritage of my fathers. Stretching himself on the bed with his face turned away, he would not eat. Jezebel his wife came to him and asked: Why is your spirit so bitter that you have no desire for food? He replied: I was talking to Naboth the Jezreelite. I said to him: 'Let me have your garden for money, or, if it pleases you, I will give you another garden for it.' 'But he said: I will not give you my garden.' Then his wife Jezebel said: Are you now the ruler of Israel? Get up, eat and be happy. I will give you the garden of Naboth the Jezreelite. So she sent a letter in Ahab's name, stamped with his stamp, to the elders and nobles who were in authority with Naboth. The letter she wrote is as follows: Let a time of public sorrow be fixed, and put Naboth at the head of the people. Get two good-for-nothing persons to come before him and give witness that he has been cursing God and the king. Then take him out and have him stoned to death. So the elders and nobles in authority in his town did as Jezebel said in the letter she sent them. They gave orders for a day of public sorrow and put Naboth at the head of the people. The two good-for-nothing persons came in and took their seats before him and gave witness against Naboth, in front of the people. They said: Naboth has been cursing God and the king. Then they took him outside the town and had him stoned to death. Then they sent word to Jezebel, saying: Naboth has been stoned and is dead. Jezebel, hearing that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, said to Ahab: Get up and take as your heritage the garden of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he would not give you for money. Naboth is dead. When he heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab went down to the garden of Naboth the Jezreelite to take it as his heritage. And the word of Jehovah came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying: Go to Ahab, king of Israel, in Samaria. He is in the garden of Naboth the Jezreelite. He went there to take it as his heritage. Say to him: 'Jehovah says: Have you put a man to death and taken his heritage?' Then say: 'Jehovah says: Your blood will become the drink of dogs! You will go to the same place where the dogs drink the blood of Naboth.' Ahab said to Elijah: Have you come face to face with me, O my enemy? Elijah said: I have come to you because you have given yourself up to do evil in the eyes of Jehovah. Jehovah says to you: I will bring disaster on you. I will do away with you and get rid of every male in your family, young and old alike. Your family will become like the family of King Jeroboam son of Nebat and like the family of King Baasha son of Ahijah. This is because you have stirred up my anger by leading Israel into sin. Concerning Jezebel, Jehovah says: Dogs will eat her body in the city of Jezreel. Dogs will eat your relatives dying in the city. Vultures will eat your dead relatives in the country. No one else devoted himself so completely to doing wrong in Jehovah's sight as Ahab all at the urging of his wife Jezebel. He committed the most shameful sins by worshiping idols the way the Amorites had done. Jehovah drove the Amorites from the land as the people of Israel advanced. Elijah finished speaking. Ahab tore his clothes and took them off. He dressed in sackcloth. He refused food (fasted) and slept in the sackcloth. He was gloomy and depressed. Jehovah said to the prophet Elijah: Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Since he has done this, I will not bring disaster on him during his lifetime. It will be during his son's lifetime that I will bring disaster on Ahab's family. There was peace between Israel and Syria for the next two years. In the third year King Jehoshaphat of Judah went to see King Ahab of Israel. Ahab asked his officials: Why have we not done anything to get back Ramoth in Gilead from the king of Syria? It is ours! Ahab asked Jehoshaphat: Will you go with me to attack Ramoth? I am ready when you are, Jehoshaphat answered. And so are my soldiers and my cavalry. First let us inquire of Jehovah. So Ahab called in the prophets, about four hundred of them, and asked them: Should I attack Ramoth, or not? They answered: Attack, Jehovah will give you victory. Jehoshaphat asked: Is there another prophet through whom we can consult Jehovah? Ahab answered: There is one more, Micaiah son of Imlah. But I hate him because he never prophesies anything good for me, always something bad. The king should not say such things! Jehoshaphat replied. Then Ahab called a court official and told him to get Micaiah at once. They dressed in their royal robes and sat on their thrones at the threshing place near the gate of Samaria. The two kings listened to all the prophets prophesy in front of them. One of them, Zedekiah son of Chenaanah, made iron horns and said to Ahab: Jehovah says: 'With these you will fight the Syrians and totally defeat them.' All the other prophets said the same thing: March against Ramoth and you will win, they said. Jehovah will give you victory. The messenger who went to get Micaiah said to him: All the other prophets have prophesied success for the king. You had better do the same. Micaiah answered: By the living God Jehovah I promise that I will say what he tells me to say! He appeared before King Ahab. The king asked him: Micaiah, should King Jehoshaphat and I go and attack Ramoth, or not? Attack! Micaiah answered. You will win. Jehovah will give you victory. But Ahab replied: Tell the truth when you speak to me in the name of Jehovah! How many times do I have to tell you that? Micaiah answered: I can see the army of Israel scattered over the hills like sheep without a shepherd. Jehovah said: These men have no leader. Let them go home in peace. Israel's king said to Jehoshaphat: Did I not say to you, He will prophesy about me? It is always something bad! Micaiah continued: Now listen to what Jehovah says! I saw Jehovah sitting on his throne in heaven, with all his angels standing beside him. Jehovah asked: Who will deceive Ahab so that he will go and be killed at Ramoth? Some of the angels said one thing, and others said something else, until a spirit stepped forward, approached Jehovah, and said: I will deceive him. How will you deceive him? Jehovah asked. The spirit replied: I will make all of Ahab's prophets tell lies. Jehovah said: Go and deceive him. You will succeed. Micaiah concluded: This is what has happened. Jehovah made these prophets of yours lie to you. He has decreed that you will meet with disaster! The prophet Zedekiah went to Micaiah and slapped his face. He asked: Since when did Jehovah's spirit leave me and speak to you? You will see when you go into an inner chamber to hide. Micaiah replied. The king of Israel said: Take Micaiah and send him back to Amon, the ruler of the town, and to Joash, the king's son. Tell them: 'It is the king's order that this man is to be put in prison and given prison food till I come again in peace.' Micaiah said: If you come back at all in peace, Jehovah has not sent his word by me. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, went to Ramoth-gilead. The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat: I will change my clothing, so that I do not seem to be the king. Then I will go into the fight. You put on your royal robes. So the king of Israel changed his dress and went into the battle. Now the king of Aram had given orders to the thirty-two captains of his war-carriages, saying: Make no attack on small or great, but only on the king of Israel. So when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said: Truly, this is the king of Israel. They turned against him and surrounded him. Jehoshaphat gave a cry. When the captains of the chariots saw that he was not the king of Israel they withdrew from him. A stray arrow wounded the king of Israel a wound where his breastplate was joined to his clothing. He said to the chariot driver: Go to the side. Take me away from the fight for I am badly wounded. The fight grew more violent as the day went on. The king was propped up in his chariot facing the Syrians (Aramaeans). The floor of the chariot was covered with the blood from his wound. By evening he died. About sundown a cry went up from all parts of the army, saying: Let every man go back to his town and his country, for the king is dead. They traveled to Samaria and buried the king there. The chariot was washed at the pool of Samaria the bathing-place of the loose women. Dogs were drinking his blood there, as Jehovah said. Everything else that King Ahab did, including an account of his palace decorated with ivory and of all the cities he built, is recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel. Ahab's son Ahaziah succeeded him as king.
Prophecy » Miscellaneous, fulfilled » Destruction of ben-hadad's army
A prophet approached King Ahab of Israel and said: This is what Jehovah says: 'Have you seen this large army? I will hand it over to you today. Then you will know that I am Jehovah.' Ahab asked: How will this be done? The prophet answered: This is what Jehovah says: 'By using the young officers of the district governors. Who will start the battle? Ahab asked. You will, the prophet answered. Ahab mustered the young officers of the district governors. There were two hundred and thirty-two. After counting them, he counted all the Israelite soldiers. There were seven thousand. read more.
In the middle of the day they went out. But Benhadad was drinking in the tents with the thirty-two kings who were helping him. The servants of the chiefs who were over the divisions of the land went forward first. Benhadad sent out a patrol and they told him: Men have come out from Samaria. He said: If they have come out for peace, take them alive and if they have come out for war, take them alive. So the servants of the chiefs of the divisions of the land went out of the town, with the army following them. Each one killed his opponent. The Syrians (Aramaeans) went in flight with Israel after them. Benhadad the king of Aram got away safely on a horse with his horsemen. The king of Israel took the horses and the war-carriages and caused great destruction among the Syrians. Then the prophet came up to the king of Israel, and said: Now make yourself strong. Be careful what you do. Otherwise a year from now the king of Aram will come up against you again. Then the king of Aram's servants said to him: Their god is a god of the hills. That is why they were stronger than us. If we attack them in the lowlands, we will certainly be stronger than they. This is what you must do: take the kings from their positions, and put captains in their places. Assemble another army like the one that was destroyed. Horse for horse, and carriage for carriage let us make war on them in the lowlands, and certainly we will be stronger than they. He listened and did what was suggested. So, a year later, Benhadad got the Syrians (Aramaeans) together and went to Aphek to make war on Israel. And the children of Israel assembled, and food was made ready and they went against them. The children of Israel camped like two little flocks of goats before them. All the country was full of the Syrians. A man of God came to the king of Israel. He said: Jehovah says, 'Because the Aramaeans have said, Jehovah is a god of the hills and not of the valleys; I will give all this great army into your hands, and you will see that I am Jehovah.' The two armies kept their positions facing one another for seven days. The seventh day the fight was started. The children of Israel put to the sword a hundred thousand Aramaean footmen in one day. The rest went in flight to Aphek, into the town, where a wall came down on the twenty-seven thousand who were still living. Benhadad went in flight into the town, into an inner room.
In the middle of the day they went out. But Benhadad was drinking in the tents with the thirty-two kings who were helping him. The servants of the chiefs who were over the divisions of the land went forward first. Benhadad sent out a patrol and they told him: Men have come out from Samaria. He said: If they have come out for peace, take them alive and if they have come out for war, take them alive. So the servants of the chiefs of the divisions of the land went out of the town, with the army following them. Each one killed his opponent. The Syrians (Aramaeans) went in flight with Israel after them. Benhadad the king of Aram got away safely on a horse with his horsemen. The king of Israel took the horses and the war-carriages and caused great destruction among the Syrians. Then the prophet came up to the king of Israel, and said: Now make yourself strong. Be careful what you do. Otherwise a year from now the king of Aram will come up against you again. Then the king of Aram's servants said to him: Their god is a god of the hills. That is why they were stronger than us. If we attack them in the lowlands, we will certainly be stronger than they. This is what you must do: take the kings from their positions, and put captains in their places. Assemble another army like the one that was destroyed. Horse for horse, and carriage for carriage let us make war on them in the lowlands, and certainly we will be stronger than they. He listened and did what was suggested. So, a year later, Benhadad got the Syrians (Aramaeans) together and went to Aphek to make war on Israel. And the children of Israel assembled, and food was made ready and they went against them. The children of Israel camped like two little flocks of goats before them. All the country was full of the Syrians. A man of God came to the king of Israel. He said: Jehovah says, 'Because the Aramaeans have said, Jehovah is a god of the hills and not of the valleys; I will give all this great army into your hands, and you will see that I am Jehovah.' The two armies kept their positions facing one another for seven days. The seventh day the fight was started. The children of Israel put to the sword a hundred thousand Aramaean footmen in one day. The rest went in flight to Aphek, into the town, where a wall came down on the twenty-seven thousand who were still living. Benhadad went in flight into the town, into an inner room.
ancient Samaria » Samaria the capital of » Deliverance of, effected
Ahab mustered the young officers of the district governors. There were two hundred and thirty-two. After counting them, he counted all the Israelite soldiers. There were seven thousand. In the middle of the day they went out. But Benhadad was drinking in the tents with the thirty-two kings who were helping him. The servants of the chiefs who were over the divisions of the land went forward first. Benhadad sent out a patrol and they told him: Men have come out from Samaria. read more.
He said: If they have come out for peace, take them alive and if they have come out for war, take them alive. So the servants of the chiefs of the divisions of the land went out of the town, with the army following them. Each one killed his opponent. The Syrians (Aramaeans) went in flight with Israel after them. Benhadad the king of Aram got away safely on a horse with his horsemen. The king of Israel took the horses and the war-carriages and caused great destruction among the Syrians.
He said: If they have come out for peace, take them alive and if they have come out for war, take them alive. So the servants of the chiefs of the divisions of the land went out of the town, with the army following them. Each one killed his opponent. The Syrians (Aramaeans) went in flight with Israel after them. Benhadad the king of Aram got away safely on a horse with his horsemen. The king of Israel took the horses and the war-carriages and caused great destruction among the Syrians.
Syria » The israelites » Under ahab encouraged and assisted by God, overcame
A prophet approached King Ahab of Israel and said: This is what Jehovah says: 'Have you seen this large army? I will hand it over to you today. Then you will know that I am Jehovah.' Ahab asked: How will this be done? The prophet answered: This is what Jehovah says: 'By using the young officers of the district governors. Who will start the battle? Ahab asked. You will, the prophet answered. Ahab mustered the young officers of the district governors. There were two hundred and thirty-two. After counting them, he counted all the Israelite soldiers. There were seven thousand. read more.
In the middle of the day they went out. But Benhadad was drinking in the tents with the thirty-two kings who were helping him. The servants of the chiefs who were over the divisions of the land went forward first. Benhadad sent out a patrol and they told him: Men have come out from Samaria. He said: If they have come out for peace, take them alive and if they have come out for war, take them alive. So the servants of the chiefs of the divisions of the land went out of the town, with the army following them. Each one killed his opponent. The Syrians (Aramaeans) went in flight with Israel after them. Benhadad the king of Aram got away safely on a horse with his horsemen.
In the middle of the day they went out. But Benhadad was drinking in the tents with the thirty-two kings who were helping him. The servants of the chiefs who were over the divisions of the land went forward first. Benhadad sent out a patrol and they told him: Men have come out from Samaria. He said: If they have come out for peace, take them alive and if they have come out for war, take them alive. So the servants of the chiefs of the divisions of the land went out of the town, with the army following them. Each one killed his opponent. The Syrians (Aramaeans) went in flight with Israel after them. Benhadad the king of Aram got away safely on a horse with his horsemen.