The Meaning of 1 Kings 20:23 Explained

1 Kings 20:23

KJV: And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their gods are gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.

YLT: And the servants of the king of Aram said unto him, 'Gods of hills are their gods, therefore they were stronger than we; and yet, we fight with them in the plain -- are we not stronger than they?

Darby: And the servants of the king of Syria said to him, Their gods are gods of the mountains; therefore they were stronger than we; but if we fight against them on the plateau, shall we not be stronger than they?

ASV: And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their god is a god of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we: but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.

Discover 1 Kings 20:23

CONTEXT: What is the Context of 1 Kings 20:23?

MEANING: What does 1 Kings 20:23 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in 1 Kings 20:23 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in 1 Kings 20:23?

What is the context of 1 Kings 20:23?

The Syrians Again Defeated (1 Kings 20:23-30)
The Arameans are Defeated (1 Kings 20:23-34)
Ben-Hadad’s Second Attack (1 Kings 20:23-34)
Ahab Victorious (1 Kings 20:13-25)
Ahab Defeats Ben-hadad (1 Kings 20:13-34)
Victory over Ben-hadad (1 Kings 20:1-34)
Syrian-Israeli Conflicts: Ben-Hadad vs. Ahab of Israel (1 Kings 20:1-43)

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their gods [are] gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.

What does 1 Kings 20:23 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 20:23 mean?

And the servants of the king of Syria said to him gods of the hills their gods [are] upon thus they were stronger than we but if we fight against them in the plain surely not we will be stronger than they

וְעַבְדֵ֨י מֶֽלֶךְ־ אֲרָ֜ם אָמְר֣וּ אֵלָ֗יו אֱלֹהֵ֤י הָרִים֙ אֱלֹ֣הֵיהֶ֔ם עַל־ כֵּ֖ן חָזְק֣וּ מִמֶּ֑נּוּ וְאוּלָ֗ם נִלָּחֵ֤ם אִתָּם֙ בַּמִּישׁ֔וֹר אִם־ לֹ֥א נֶחֱזַ֖ק מֵהֶֽם

וְעַבְדֵ֨י	And the servants
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine plural construct Root: עֶבֶד Sense: slave, servant.
מֶֽלֶךְ־	of the king
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct Root: מֶלֶךְ Sense: king.
אֲרָ֜ם	of Syria
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular Root: אֲרָם Sense: Aram or Syria the nation.
אָמְר֣וּ	said
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural Root: אָמַר Sense: to say, speak, utter.
אֵלָ֗יו	to him
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular Root: אֶל Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
אֱלֹהֵ֤י	gods
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct Root: אֱלֹהִים Sense: (plural).
הָרִים֙	of the hills
Parse: Noun, masculine plural Root: הַר Sense: hill, mountain, hill country, mount.
אֱלֹ֣הֵיהֶ֔ם	their gods [are]
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine plural Root: אֱלֹהִים Sense: (plural).
עַל־	upon
Parse: Preposition Root: עַל Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
כֵּ֖ן	thus
Parse: Adverb Root: כֵּן Sense: so, therefore, thus.
חָזְק֣וּ	they were stronger
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural Root: חָזַק Sense: to strengthen, prevail, harden, be strong, become strong, be courageous, be firm, grow firm, be resolute, be sore.
מִמֶּ֑נּוּ	than we
Parse: Preposition, first person common plural Root: מִן Sense: from, out of, on account of, off, on the side of, since, above, than, so that not, more than.
וְאוּלָ֗ם	but if
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Conjunction Root: אוּלָם Sense: but, but indeed (a strong adversative).
נִלָּחֵ֤ם	we fight against
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Imperfect, first person common plural Root: לָחַם Sense: to fight, do battle, make war.
בַּמִּישׁ֔וֹר	in the plain
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular Root: מִישֹׁור Sense: level place, uprightness.
אִם־	surely
Parse: Conjunction Root: אִם Sense: if.
נֶחֱזַ֖ק	we will be stronger
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, first person common plural Root: חָזַק Sense: to strengthen, prevail, harden, be strong, become strong, be courageous, be firm, grow firm, be resolute, be sore.
מֵהֶֽם	than they
Parse: Preposition-m, Pronoun, third person masculine plural Root: הֵם Sense: they, these, the same, who.

What are the major concepts related to 1 Kings 20:23?

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Similar Scriptures for 1 Kings 20:23

		1 Kings 14:23 [4]
		Isaiah 42:8 [2]
		2 Kings 19:12 [2]
		Psalms 121:1-2 [2]
		Romans 1:21-23 [2]
		1 Kings 20:28 [2]
		Psalms 50:21-22 [2]
		2 Chronicles 32:13-19 [2]
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