> Who having hid himſelf before, now ventures to come to Ahad, having this welcome Meflage in his Mouth. q God» though forſaken and negleQed by Ahas, prevents him with his gracious Promite of Help 3 partly, That 4þab and the Idolatrous 1aelites, might hereby be fully convinced and won to God, or left without all Excule : and partly, that Benhadads intolerable Pride, and Contempt of God, and of his people, might be repreſſed and puniſhed - and partly, that the remnant .of his Prophets and people who were involved in the ſame Calamity with thereſt ofthe 1#-aelites, might be preſerved and delivered. r And not Baal, becauſe 1 wiil deliver thee, which he cannot do.
114 And Ahab faid, By whom ? And he ſaid, Thus faichthe LORD, Even by the || young men of the princes of the provinces s. Then he ſaid, Who ſhall + order the battel « And he anſwered, Thou z.
| 5sNot by old and experienced Soldiers, but by thoſe young Men ; citner the ſons of the Princes, and great Men of the Land, who were gene:ally fled thither for Safety : or their Pages, or Servants that uſed ro attznd upon them ; who are bred up delicately, and ſcem unfit for the buſineſs. # Partly to encourage the young Men to Fight couragiouſly, as being in the preſence of rheir Prince : and partly, thar it might appear, that the Vitory was wholly due to Gods gracious and powerful Providence, and not to the Valour or Worthi- neſs of the Inſtrument.
15 Then he numbred the young men of the princes of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty two: and after them he numbred all the people, even all the children of 1frael , being ſeven thouſand x.
vs Either, 1, All the Men ; for they only went our ro Battel; and the reſt of the Men might be conſumed with the Sword or Famine, or other Ju igments : Or rather, 2. All the Men of War, or all that were fit to go out to War; all, except thoſe whom their Age, r Infirmity, or other ſufficient Cauſes excuſed. x Which number may poſlibiy be noted with reſpe& unto thoſe 5000, commended chap; 19:18. for whoſe ſakes principally God gave this deliverance,
16 And they went out at noon y : but Benhadad was drinking himſelf drunk in the pavilions,he and the kings, che thirty and two kings that helped him.
y When they were eating, and drinking, and ſecure from all fear and expeQarion of an Aflault. ,
17 And the young men of the princes of the provin- ces went out firſt, and Benhadad ſent out, and they told him, ſaying, There are men come out of Samaria.
18 And he ſaid, Whether they be come out for peace, rake them alive ; or whether they be come ouc for war, take them alivez. .'
z He bids them not Fight, for he thought they needed not to ſtrike one ſtroke 3 and that the Jreelites could not ſtand the firſt brunt.
19 Sotheſe young men of the princes of the provinces came out of the city, and the army which followed
them.
20 And they ſlew every one his mans : and the Syrians fled b, and Iſrael purſued them : and Benhadad the king of Syria eſcaped on an horſe, with the horſemen.
a1. e, Him who came to Fight with him, or to ſeize upon him, as Benhadad had 'commanded; b Being amazed at the unexpetted and undaunted Courage of the 1/raelires, and being ſtruck with a Divine Terror.
21 And the king of Ifrael went out ec, and ſmote the horſes and chariors 4, andſlew the Syrians with a great Slaughter.
c 1.e. Proceeded further in his March, and Fought againſt them. d i:e. The men thar fought from them, or belonged to them : for ſo Horſes and Charzots are ſometimes taken. See on 1 Sam: 13: 5.
22 T And the prophet came to the king of Iſrael, and ſaid unto him, Go, ſtrengthen thy ſelf, and mark, and
the king of Syria will come up againſt thee.
e Conſider what is fit and neceflary for thee to do by way of Preparation, or Prevention. f Next Year about this time, when the Seaſon comes of going forth to Battel ; of which ſee 2 Sam; 11:13 1 Obron: 20: 1; 2 Chron: 36 10.
23 And the ſervants of the king of Syria ſaid unto him g, Their gods «re gods of the hills, therefore they were {trongerthan we: but let us fight againft them 1n the plain h, and ſurely we ſhall be ſtronger than they.
g They
Chap. XX
{ meſſage ( as he was drinking, he,and the kings in the + Heb,
[| pavilions ) that he ſaid unto his ſervants, || Set your __
(Ur, Tents, Or \Place,
the city, the En. o Put your ſelves and Engines in order, to make the Aſſault. GINCs. And
13 4 Andbehold, theie | came a prophet p unto *hey plas Ahab king of Iſrael, ſaying, Thus ſaich che LORD gq, Engines,
Heb. ads
proachea,
|| Or, Servants, T Heb: bind, & tye,
ſee what thou doeſbe : for at the return of the year f *
(ha
+ Heb that W, fallen,
+ Heb the Wa 21th [{r
| Or, # V.uadl,
[0;, fro; wamber t Wmber. ? Heb. amber, it hin F1 Camber,
'",
(hap. X X+ l.
g They ſuppoſe that their gods were no better than the Syrian gods ( which the Idolatry of the Iſraelites had given them too great Cauſe to imagine ; ) and that there were many gods who had each his particular Charge and Juriſdition ; which was the Opinion of all Heathen Nations, That ſome were gods of the Woods, others of the Rivers, and others of the Mountains ; and they fancied rheſe to be the latter, becauſe the Land of Canaw was a mountainous Land, Deut: 12: 2 And the great Temple of their God ar Jeruſalem ſtood upon an Hill, and ſo did Samaris, where they had received their laſt Blow : or becauſe the Jſraelites did generaily chuſe High places for the Worſhip of their gods. It is obſervable, that they do not impute their ill Succeſs to their Negligence, and Drunkenneſs, aad bad Condu&, or Cowardize, of which they were really guilty ; nor to the Valour of the Iſraelites ; but to a Divine power, which indeed was viſible init. þ Wherein there was not only Superſtition but Policy ; becauſe the Syrians moſt excelled the Iſraelites in Horſes, which are moſt ſerviceable in plain Ground.
24 Anddo this thing, Take the kings away every man out of his place 3, and put captains & in theirrooms.