1. thirty-two kings were with him. This large number suggests that these “kings” may have been no more than local warlords.

4. the king of Israel. From this point on in the story, he will be referred to only by this title and not as “Ahab.” It may be that the writer made this choice because in this entire episode of the conflict with Aram, Ahab plays a very different role from the one in which he has been seen up to now as Elijah’s adversary. It is also possible that this entire episode, editorially set in the Ahab story, was originally about a different king.

As you have spoken, my lord the king. Ahab’s absolute submission to Ben-Hadad’s imperious demands is surprising. After all, the Aramaen king has asked him to hand over not only his treasure but his sons (presumably to be slaves) and his wives, including Jezebel (presumably to become Ben-Hadad’s consorts). Perhaps he feels that the overwhelming numerical superiority of the Aramean forces leaves him no alternative.

6. whatever is precious in their eyes. The received text reads “your eyes.” The translation here reflects the reading of the Septuagint. The added demand of Ben-Hadad that becomes a deal breaker is that the prized possessions of the king’s servants—that is, his courtiers—are also to be expropriated. Ahab had been willing to sacrifice what was his own, but now everyone around him is asked to submit to the same exorbitant demands of the Aramean king.

9. but this thing I cannot do. Ahab will not agree to the confiscation of his courtiers’ possessions. Surrendering what is his own would reduce him to a vassal king; surrendering the treasures of those around him might make him the object of a palace coup.

10. if the ground of Samaria will be enough for the footsteps of all the troops that are at my heels. English translations since the seventeenth century have rendered this as “if the dust of Samaria will suffice for handfuls.” But the Hebrew word that means “handfuls” is shoʿalim, whereas the word here is sheʿalim, “footsteps.” This actually yields a more coherent image: the troops commanded by Ben-Hadad are so numerous that there will scarcely be enough space on the soil of Samaria for all of them to stand. The use of “at my heels” (literally, “at my feet”) reinforces this focus on feet.

11. Let not the buckler of armor boast like the unfastener. The Hebrew has a terrific compactness that, alas, is impossible in English: just four weighted words, ʾal-yithalel ḥoger kemefateaḥ. A very different side of Ahab is manifested here. In the face of Ben-Hadad’s intimidating threat, he responds coolly with a pithy proverb: do not arrogantly presume before the battle is joined to know who will be the victor when the fighting is done.

12. he was drinking, he and the kings. The fact that Ben-Hadad is drinking with his allies just before the battle is a vivid expression of his overconfidence. In verse 16, we learn that he is in fact dead drunk when the Israelite forces attack.

17. And they sent to Ben-Hadad. The implied referent of “they” is presumably Aramean scouts.

18. If in peace they have come forth. This is the same verb, “to go out,” which is rendered above as “sally forth,” its technical sense in military contexts. But since Ben-Hadad is unsure whether they are coming out to surrender or to fight, the unambiguous “sally forth” would not make sense here. In either case, he unquestionably assumes he can take them as prisoners.

22. for at the turn of the year the king of Aram will be coming up against you. The same phrase is used in 2 Samuel 11:1 for the time of year when kings go forth to do battle. This would be the spring—the spring month Nissan is the first month in the biblical calendar—when the winter rains are over.

23. Their god is a mountain god. Their remark reflects the pagan view that different gods have jurisdiction over different realms of nature. But they are also making a strategic calculation: the Aramean chariots and cavalry will give them an advantage in fighting on the plain that they would lose on mountainous terrain.

24. remove the kings . . . and set governors in their stead. The governors might be military officials more directly answerable to Ben-Hadad as their commander than the kings.

26. Aphek. Located near the Jordan, this would be on more level land than Mount Samaria and in keeping with the courtiers’ counsel.

27. like two little flocks of goats. The unusual Hebrew locution is a little uncertain in meaning (at least the “little flocks” component), though it clearly expresses the small size of the Israelite forces in relation to Aram, a theme throughout this story.

30. Ben-Hadad fled and came into the town, to an inner chamber. The boastful Ben-Hadad tries to hide in an inner chamber within a town that has already fallen to the Israelites.

32. Is he still alive? He is my brother. This expression of concern and solidarity is surely odd after Ben-Hadad has demanded Ahab to hand over all his treasure and his wives and children, and then promised to destroy him. Ahab appears to act out of political calculation—which will prove misguided. He may think that the Arameans are too numerous for him to hold them under long-term subjugation by occupying Aram, and that therefore he is better off showing generosity to Ben-Hadad while obliging him to relinquish the towns his father had taken from Israel.

34. you may place markets for yourself in Damascus. These would be something like trade missions. The implication is that in such a peace agreement the superior power is allowed to conduct trade on favorable terms in the territory of the other kingdom.

35. Strike me, pray. This bizarre exchange between two members of a guild of prophets, beney haneviʾim, proposes a rather loose analogy for Ahab vis-à-vis Ben-Hadad. If the word of the LORD prompts you to strike someone, even if you are disinclined, you must do it or face dire consequences.

36. a lion will strike you. Although “strike” is not a verb one would expect to be attached to a lion, it is used here to convey the idea of a quid pro quo: he who failed to strike will be struck down. Though the Hebrew verb does have the primary sense of delivering a blow, it has an extended meaning of “to kill.”

37. he struck him, hitting and wounding him. The second person obeys the word of the LORD, but it may go against his better instincts.

38. a scarf. The Hebrew noun occurs only here, but it is clearly some sort of head cloth or scarf (perhaps the sort that Bedouins use in a sandstorm) that can be pulled down over the eyes.

39. brought me a man. The context would indicate that this is an enemy captive, which brings the parable close to the situation of Ahab and Ben-Hadad.

or you will weigh out a talent of silver. This is an enormous amount, far more than the value of a captive slave. The silver is “weighed out” because this is an era before coinage, when payment is made in weights of silver and gold.

40. So be your judgment. You yourself have decreed it. The story of the captured enemy whom the man allows to escape functions quite like Nathan’s parable of the poor man’s ewe in 2 Samuel 12: the king, having condemned the reported act, does not realize until the prophet tells him that the tale is about his own malfeasance.

41. the king recognized him. Ahab evidently has had some personal acquaintance with the members of this group of prophets. It is even possible that they are the hundred prophets whom Obadiah hid in the caves.

42. you set free from My hand the man I condemned. The Masoretic Text reads “from a hand,” but two ancient versions and a Hebrew manuscript have “My hand,” which is more plausible. It is God Who has granted the victory to Ahab, and so the defeated king is in God’s hand. It must be said that there has been no direct indication in the story until now that God has condemned Ben-Hadad to death or told Ahab he must kill him, though the prophet assumes that Ahab should have known this. Behind the theological reasoning lies a political calculation: allowing Ben-Hadad to go free will lead to a new attack on Israel.