The Meaning of 1 Kings 20:20 Explained

1 Kings 20:20

KJV: And they slew every one his man: and the Syrians fled; and Israel pursued them: and Benhadad the king of Syria escaped on an horse with the horsemen.

YLT: and smite each his man, and Aram fleeth, and Israel pursueth them, and Ben-Hadad king of Aram escapeth on a horse, and the horsemen;

Darby: And they slew every one his man; and the Syrians fled, and Israel pursued them; and Ben-Hadad the king of Syria escaped on a horse with the horsemen.

ASV: And they slew every one his man; and the Syrians fled, and Israel pursued them: and Ben-hadad the king of Syria escaped on a horse with horsemen.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And they slew  every one  his man:  and the Syrians  fled;  and Israel  pursued  them: and Benhadad  the king  of Syria  escaped  on an horse  with the horsemen. 

What does 1 Kings 20:20 Mean?

Context Summary

1 Kings 20:16-30 - The God Both Of Hills And Valleys
What is God to us? Is He only the God of the hills? We expect religion to serve us when we come to the great summits of experience. There are times of rapture and of vision when we seem naturally to stand with God on the holy mountains. We have our Moriah, our Pisgah, our Tabor, our Hermon. But is that all?
No! God is with us in the valleys. When we descend into the valley of weeping, Psalms 84:6, r.v., the valley of the shadow of death, the valley of obscurity and loneliness, the valley of conflict, we can say with the psalmist, "Thou art with me," Psalms 23:4. Most of us, perhaps, spend the larger part of life in the valleys, walking among commonplace duties. Let us see to it that in these shadowed days we walk in close companionship with the Divine Friend; that, when the path ascends and the mountain-breeze is on our faces and the view widens, we may stand with God on our high places as with hinds' feet. See Habakkuk 3:19.
1 Kings 20:1-43 - A Prosperous Nation
What a picture is here given of national contentment and prosperity! We can almost hear the gladsome voice of the myriad-peopled land, teeming with young life and laden with golden harvests. It was the summer of their national existence. The sacred scribe enumerates first the high officials of the court, then the daily provision of the king, his studies, and his fame. Abundant proof was yielded by all these circumstances to the manner in which God kept the pledges which had been made to David, his father.
Here is Solomon "in all his glory," but as we turn from him to the lowly Carpenter of Nazareth, who had nowhere to lay His head; who found His friends among the poor; and who ultimately laid down His life a ransom for many, we realize that, even apart from His divine nature, His was the nobler ideal and the richer existence. "A greater than Solomon is here." Who can measure His empire or resources? What tongue can recount His wisdom? Happy and safe are they that sit at His table, hear His words, and are joint-heirs with Him in His Kingdom! Romans 8:17. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Kings 20

1  Ben-Hadad, not content with Ahab's homage, besieges Samaria
13  By the direction of a prophet, the Syrians are slain
22  As the prophet forewarned Ahab, the Syrians come against him in Aphek
28  By the word of the prophet, and God's judgment, the Syrians are smitten again
31  The Syrians submit; Ahab sends Ben-Hadad away with a covenant
35  The prophet, under the parable of a prisoner,
39  making Ahab judge himself, denounces God's judgment against him

What do the individual words in 1 Kings 20:20 mean?

And killed each one his man so fled Syria and pursued them Israel and escaped in Ben-hadad the king of Syria on a horse and with the cavalry
וַיַּכּוּ֙ אִ֣ישׁ אִישׁ֔וֹ וַיָּנֻ֣סוּ אֲרָ֔ם וַֽיִּרְדְּפֵ֖ם יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וַיִּמָּלֵ֗ט בֶּן־ הֲדַד֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ אֲרָ֔ם עַל־ ס֖וּס וּפָרָשִֽׁים

וַיַּכּוּ֙  And  killed 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: נָכָה  
Sense: to strike, smite, hit, beat, slay, kill.
אִ֣ישׁ  each  one 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
אִישׁ֔וֹ  his  man 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
וַיָּנֻ֣סוּ  so  fled 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: נוּס  
Sense: to flee, escape.
אֲרָ֔ם  Syria 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֲרָם 
Sense: Aram or Syria the nation.
וַֽיִּרְדְּפֵ֖ם  and  pursued  them 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular, third person masculine plural
Root: רָדַף  
Sense: to be behind, follow after, pursue, persecute, run after.
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
וַיִּמָּלֵ֗ט  and  escaped 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Nifal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: מָלַט 
Sense: to slip away, escape, deliver, save, be delivered.
הֲדַד֙  Ben-hadad 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: בֶּן־הֲדַד  
Sense: the king of Syria, contemporary with Asa of Judah.
מֶ֣לֶךְ  the  king 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
אֲרָ֔ם  of  Syria 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֲרָם 
Sense: Aram or Syria the nation.
ס֖וּס  a  horse 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: סוּס 
Sense: swallow, swift.
וּפָרָשִֽׁים  and  with  the  cavalry 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine plural
Root: פָּרָשׁ 
Sense: horse, steed, warhorse.