Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
1 Kings 20:35-43
Ahab Is Seen By The Prophets As Having Disobeyed YHWH By Not Putting Ben-hadad To Death, And Is Warned Of What The Consequences Will Be (1 Kings 20:35).
We have not actually been told that Ben-hadad was ‘devoted to destruction' (as Agag had been in 1 Samuel 15:13) but it may well have been recognised policy in Israel when a captured king fell into their hands, on the grounds that he now ‘belonged to YHWH'. Or it may be that Ahab had been given instructions to that end. Either way his failure to execute Ben-hadad was seen as a gross sin. In those violent days there was good cause to execute such kings, lest they go away and plot revenge for having been humiliated. It will be noted that the prophet goes out of his way to stress the seriousness of Ahab's failure. He emphasises that in the end it will bring destruction on Israel.
Analysis.
a And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his fellow by the word of YHWH, “Smite me, I pray you.” And the man refused to smite him (1 Kings 20:35).
b Then he said to him, “Because you have not obeyed the voice of YHWH, behold, as soon as you have left me, a lion will kill you.” And as soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him, and killed him. Then he found another man, and said, “Smite me, I pray you.” And the man smote him, smiting and wounding him (1 Kings 20:36).
c So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with his headband over his eyes. (1 Kings 20:38).
d And as the king passed by, he cried to the king; and he said, “Your servant went out into the midst of the battle, and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man to me, and said, ‘Guard this man. If by any means he is missing, then shall your life be for his life, or else you will pay a talent of silver” (1 Kings 20:39).
e “And as your servant was busy here and there, he was gone” (1 Kings 20:40 a).
d And the king of Israel said to him, “So shall your judgment be. You yourself have decided it (1 Kings 20:40 b).
c And he hurried, and took the headband away from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognised him that he was of the prophets (1 Kings 20:41).
b And he said to him, “Thus says YHWH, Because you have let go out of your hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore your life will go for his life, and your people for his people” (1 Kings 20:42).
a And the king of Israel went to his house heavy and displeased, and came to Samaria (1 Kings 20:43).
Note that in ‘a' the man of the sons of the prophets was thwarted and displeased and in the parallel the king of Israel was displeased. In ‘b' the man was slain for failing to obey the voice of YHWH, and in the parallel Ahab was to suffer for the same reason. In ‘c' the prophet disguised himself with a headband over his eyes, and in the parallel he removed the headband. In ‘d' the ‘old soldier' lays out his case and in the parallel Ahab declares that he has passed his own judgment. Centrally in ‘e' the failure was due to a careless attitude and being taken up with other things than the will of YHWH.
‘ And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his fellow by the word of YHWH, “Smite me, I pray you.” And the man refused to smite him.'
The point behind this initial incident is the vital importance of obeying the word of YHWH even if we do not understand why it has been given, with the consequence of failure being death. We must presume that the prophet stressed that what he was being asked to do was ‘by the word of YHWH', and the man certainly knew that he was a prophet. The man was thus flagrantly guilty of disobeying YHWH. At a time when Yahwists were suffering persecution it was necessary for the status of their prophets to be soundly upheld. (The death did, however, come about by natural means).
“A certain man of the sons of the prophets.” We are again reminded that there were still many faithful supporters of true Yahwism in Israel.
‘ Then he said to him, “Because you have not obeyed the voice of YHWH, behold, as soon as you have left me, a lion will kill you.” And as soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him, and killed him.'
Because the man refused to obey the word of YHWH he was seen as deserving of death, and the prophet foresaw his death at the paws of a lion. And sure enough as he went on his way a lion killed him. It would appear from this and 1 Kings 13:24 that deaths from a wayward lion were not uncommon (it may even have been considered to be ‘YHWH's executioner').
‘ Then he found another man, and said, “Smite me, I pray you.” And the man smote him, smiting and wounding him.'
Then the prophet moved on to a second man who this time obliged, and hit him hard enough to leave marks.
‘ So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with his headband over his eyes.'
Satisfied with how he looked the prophet then went and waited in a place where he knew that the king would shortly pass. The fact that he did it so openly may suggest that for the time being the persecution of the prophets of YHWH had ceased. Certainly Ahab appears to have become more amenable towards YHWH, something no doubt resulting from what he had seen on Mount Carmel, and from the encouragement that the prophets had given him during his wars.
But the prophet had disguised himself, covering his eyes with a headband. He may well have known that otherwise the king would recognise him.
1 Kings 20:39 a ‘And as the king passed by, he cried to the king; and he said, “Your servant went out into the midst of the battle, and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man to me, and said, ‘Guard this man. If by any means he is missing, then shall your life be for his life, or else you will pay a talent of silver.” And as your servant was busy here and there, he was gone.'
As the king passed by the prophet, pretending to be an old, blind soldier, called on him to give him his judgment. It was quite normal for kings in those days to be called on by individuals to dispense justice, and for them to do so. While it is not mentioned the prophet clearly intended that the kings should notice his injury, and his supposed blindness. As the injury does not play any part in the story that must have been because he was wanting to see if the king would be sympathetic to his case and enquire further.
He described how (theoretically) a fellow soldier on the battlefield had committed to his hands a captured enemy, presumably in return for some payment, and had charged him to keep him safe. If he failed in his duty it would cost him a talent. A talent was a huge amount of money to a common soldier, which both knew would take a lifetime and more to repay. The prophet was trying to arouse the king's sympathy, and possibly wanting him to take into account his wound and his blindness, which could theoretically have been caused by the escaping prisoner.
1 Kings 20:40 b ‘And the king of Israel said to him, “So shall your judgment be You yourself have decided it.'
But the king's judgment was callous. It meant nothing to him that this blind man would be burdened by his debt for life (or possibly he himself was not really aware of the value of a talent to such a person. He possessed many talents). His judgment was casual. The man had explained his own case. Let him abide by what he had said, and take the consequences.
‘ And he hurried, and took the headband away from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognised him that he was of the prophets.'
The prophet then took the headband from his eyes and the king immediately recognised him for a prophet. This was probably because they had met before, although it is possible that prophets in those days bore some identifying mark.
‘ And he said to him, “Thus says YHWH, Because you have let go out of your hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore your life will go for his life, and your people for his people.'
Then the prophet made clear that he had been speaking about the king himself. He in his blindness had let go the very man whom YHWH had devoted to destruction. His judgment thus returned upon himself. He had failed YHWH and he and his people would have to pay the price of his failure.
‘ And the king of Israel went to his house heavy and displeased, and came to Samaria.'
The king, who had probably been very pleased with himself at the treaty that he had made now recognised that he had indeed gone against the custom of YHWH, and became heavy-hearted and displeased. The fact that nothing is said confirms the fact that he was aware that he had done wrong. Benhadad should not have been spared.