Ben Hadad (king of Syria)
벤하닷 (아람 왕)
Named at 1 Kings 20:1: “Ben Hadad the king of Syria gathered all his army together; and there were thirty-two kings with him, with horses and chariots. He went up and besieged Samaria, and fought against it.” At 20:2–3 he sends messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel, saying, “Ben Hadad says, ‘Your silver and your gold are mine. Your wives also and your children, even the best, are mine’”, and at 20:10 he says, “The gods do so to me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria will be enough for handfuls for all the people who follow me.” At 20:16–20 Ben Hadad is drinking himself drunk in the pavilions with the thirty-two kings who helped him, and Ben Hadad the king of Syria escapes on a horse with horsemen; at 20:23–25 the servants of the king of Syria say to him, “Their god is a god of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we. But let’s fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than they”, and he listens to their voice and does so. At 20:26–30, at the return of the year, Ben Hadad musters the Syrians and goes up to Aphek to fight against Israel, and flees and comes into the city, into an inner room. At 20:32–34 his servants say to the king of Israel, “Your servant Ben Hadad says, ‘Please let me live’”; Ben Hadad says to him, “The cities which my father took from your father I will restore. You shall make streets for yourself in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria”; and the text goes on, “‘I’, said Ahab, ‘will let you go with this covenant.’ So he made a covenant with him and let him go.” Chapter 20 does not name his father. 2 Kings 6:24 says, “After this, Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his army, and went up and besieged Samaria.” At 8:7–15, when Elisha comes to Damascus, Benhadad the king of Syria is sick; the king says to Hazael, “Take a present in your hand, and go meet the man of God, and inquire of the LORD by him, saying, ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’”; and on the next day “he took a thick cloth, dipped it in water, and spread it on the king’s face, so that he died. Then Hazael reigned in his place.” Neither passage names his father. At 8:15 the Korean Revised Version names Hazael as the one who dipped the cloth in water (하사엘이 이불을 물에 적시어).
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- 1KI 20:1–12, engwebp
1Ben Hadad the king of Syria gathered all his army together; and there were thirty-two kings with him, with horses and chariots. He went up and besieged Samaria, and fought against it.
2He sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel and said to him, “Ben Hadad says,
3‘Your silver and your gold are mine. Your wives also and your children, even the best, are mine.’”
4The king of Israel answered, “It is according to your saying, my lord, O king. I am yours, and all that I have.”
5The messengers came again and said, “Ben Hadad says, ‘I sent indeed to you, saying, “You shall deliver me your silver, your gold, your wives, and your children;
6but I will send my servants to you tomorrow about this time, and they will search your house and the houses of your servants. Whatever is pleasant in your eyes, they will put it in their hand, and take it away.”’”
7Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, “Please notice how this man seeks mischief; for he sent to me for my wives, and for my children, and for my silver, and for my gold; and I didn’t deny him.”
8All the elders and all the people said to him, “Don’t listen, and don’t consent.”
9Therefore he said to the messengers of Ben Hadad, “Tell my lord the king, ‘All that you sent for to your servant at the first I will do, but this thing I cannot do.’” The messengers departed and brought him back the message.
10Ben Hadad sent to him, and said, “The gods do so to me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria will be enough for handfuls for all the people who follow me.”
11The king of Israel answered, “Tell him, ‘Don’t let him who puts on his armor brag like he who takes it off.’”
12When Ben Hadad heard this message as he was drinking, he and the kings in the pavilions, he said to his servants, “Prepare to attack!” So they prepared to attack the city.
- 1KI 20:13–21, engwebp
13Behold, a prophet came near to Ahab king of Israel, and said, “The LORD says, ‘Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, I will deliver it into your hand today. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’”
14Ahab said, “By whom?” He said, “The LORD says, ‘By the young men of the princes of the provinces.’” Then he said, “Who shall begin the battle?” He answered, “You.”
15Then he mustered the young men of the princes of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty-two. After them, he mustered all the people, even all the children of Israel, being seven thousand.
16They went out at noon. But Ben Hadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty-two kings who helped him.
17The young men of the princes of the provinces went out first; and Ben Hadad sent out, and they told him, saying, “Men are coming out from Samaria.”
18He said, “If they have come out for peace, take them alive; or if they have come out for war, take them alive.”
19So these went out of the city, the young men of the princes of the provinces, and the army which followed them.
20They each killed his man. The Syrians fled, and Israel pursued them. Ben Hadad the king of Syria escaped on a horse with horsemen.
21The king of Israel went out and struck the horses and chariots, and killed the Syrians with a great slaughter.
- 1KI 20:22, engwebp
22The prophet came near to the king of Israel and said to him, “Go, strengthen yourself, and plan what you must do, for at the return of the year, the king of Syria will come up against you.”
- 1KI 20:23–25, engwebp
23The servants of the king of Syria said to him, “Their god is a god of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we. But let’s fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than they.
24Do this thing: take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their place.
25Muster an army like the army that you have lost, horse for horse and chariot for chariot. We will fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than they are.” He listened to their voice and did so.
- 1KI 20:26–30, engwebp
26At the return of the year, Ben Hadad mustered the Syrians and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel.
27The children of Israel were mustered and given provisions, and went against them. The children of Israel encamped before them like two little flocks of young goats, but the Syrians filled the country.
28A man of God came near and spoke to the king of Israel, and said, “The LORD says, ‘Because the Syrians have said, “The LORD is a god of the hills, but he is not a god of the valleys,” therefore I will deliver all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the LORD.’”
29They encamped opposite each other for seven days. Then on the seventh day the battle was joined; and the children of Israel killed one hundred thousand footmen of the Syrians in one day.
30But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand men who were left. Ben Hadad fled and came into the city, into an inner room.
- 1KI 20:31–34, engwebp
31His servants said to him, “See now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Please let us put sackcloth on our bodies and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel. Maybe he will save your life.”
32So they put sackcloth on their bodies and ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, “Your servant Ben Hadad says, ‘Please let me live.’” He said, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.”
33Now the men observed diligently and hurried to take this phrase; and they said, “Your brother Ben Hadad.” Then he said, “Go, bring him.” Then Ben Hadad came out to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot.
34Ben Hadad said to him, “The cities which my father took from your father I will restore. You shall make streets for yourself in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria.” “I”, said Ahab, “will let you go with this covenant.” So he made a covenant with him and let him go.
- 2KI 6:24–25, engwebp
24After this, Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his army, and went up and besieged Samaria.
25There was a great famine in Samaria. Behold, they besieged it until a donkey’s head was sold for eighty pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a kab of dove’s dung for five pieces of silver.
- 2KI 8:7–15, engwebp
7Elisha came to Damascus; and Benhadad the king of Syria was sick. He was told, “The man of God has come here.”
8The king said to Hazael, “Take a present in your hand, and go meet the man of God, and inquire of the LORD by him, saying, ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’”
9So Hazael went to meet him and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels’ burden, and came and stood before him and said, “Your son Benhadad king of Syria has sent me to you, saying, ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’”
10Elisha said to him, “Go, tell him, ‘You will surely recover;’ however the LORD has shown me that he will surely die.”
11He settled his gaze steadfastly on him, until he was ashamed. Then the man of God wept.
12Hazael said, “Why do you weep, my lord?” He answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the children of Israel. You will set their strongholds on fire, and you will kill their young men with the sword, and will dash their little ones in pieces, and rip up their pregnant women.”
13Hazael said, “But what is your servant, who is but a dog, that he could do this great thing?” Elisha answered, “The LORD has shown me that you will be king over Syria.”
14Then he departed from Elisha, and came to his master, who said to him, “What did Elisha say to you?” He answered, “He told me that you would surely recover.”
15On the next day, he took a thick cloth, dipped it in water, and spread it on the king’s face, so that he died. Then Hazael reigned in his place.
AI-assisted, human review pending, 2026-09-26
Machine comparison on 2026-10-07: the wording raised none of the 3 rules against the passages this entry cites. No person has read it.
Unresolved interpretation: Ben Hadad the son of Tabrimmon at 1 Kings 15:18 and Ben Hadad the king of Syria of chapter 20
- 1 Kings 15:18 says that Asa delivered the silver and the gold into the hand of his servants and sent them to “Ben Hadad, the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who lived at Damascus”, and 15:20 that Ben Hadad listened to King Asa and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel. In both editions the words “king of Syria” can go with Hezion or with Ben Hadad.
Source evidence (1)
AI-assisted comparison with the cited narrative; not independent historical verification.
- 1KI 15:16–22, engwebp
16There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.
17Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not allow anyone to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.
18Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that was left in the treasures of the LORD’s house, and the treasures of the king’s house, and delivered it into the hand of his servants. Then King Asa sent them to Ben Hadad, the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who lived at Damascus, saying,
19“Let there be a treaty between me and you, like that between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent to you a present of silver and gold. Go, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me.”
20Ben Hadad listened to King Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel, and struck Ijon, and Dan, and Abel Beth Maacah, and all Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali.
21When Baasha heard of it, he stopped building Ramah, and lived in Tirzah.
22Then King Asa made a proclamation to all Judah. No one was exempted. They carried away the stones of Ramah, and its timber, with which Baasha had built; and King Asa used it to build Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah.
- 1KI 15:16–22, engwebp
- 1 Kings 20:1 says, “Ben Hadad the king of Syria gathered all his army together; and there were thirty-two kings with him, with horses and chariots”, and that he went up and besieged Samaria. Chapter 20 does not name his father.
Source evidence (1)
AI-assisted comparison with the cited narrative; not independent historical verification.
- 1KI 20:1–12, engwebp
1Ben Hadad the king of Syria gathered all his army together; and there were thirty-two kings with him, with horses and chariots. He went up and besieged Samaria, and fought against it.
2He sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel and said to him, “Ben Hadad says,
3‘Your silver and your gold are mine. Your wives also and your children, even the best, are mine.’”
4The king of Israel answered, “It is according to your saying, my lord, O king. I am yours, and all that I have.”
5The messengers came again and said, “Ben Hadad says, ‘I sent indeed to you, saying, “You shall deliver me your silver, your gold, your wives, and your children;
6but I will send my servants to you tomorrow about this time, and they will search your house and the houses of your servants. Whatever is pleasant in your eyes, they will put it in their hand, and take it away.”’”
7Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, “Please notice how this man seeks mischief; for he sent to me for my wives, and for my children, and for my silver, and for my gold; and I didn’t deny him.”
8All the elders and all the people said to him, “Don’t listen, and don’t consent.”
9Therefore he said to the messengers of Ben Hadad, “Tell my lord the king, ‘All that you sent for to your servant at the first I will do, but this thing I cannot do.’” The messengers departed and brought him back the message.
10Ben Hadad sent to him, and said, “The gods do so to me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria will be enough for handfuls for all the people who follow me.”
11The king of Israel answered, “Tell him, ‘Don’t let him who puts on his armor brag like he who takes it off.’”
12When Ben Hadad heard this message as he was drinking, he and the kings in the pavilions, he said to his servants, “Prepare to attack!” So they prepared to attack the city.
- 1KI 20:1–12, engwebp
- 1 Kings 20:34 has Ben Hadad say, “The cities which my father took from your father I will restore. You shall make streets for yourself in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria.” The verse does not name his father.
Source evidence (1)
AI-assisted comparison with the cited narrative; not independent historical verification.
- 1KI 20:31–34, engwebp
31His servants said to him, “See now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Please let us put sackcloth on our bodies and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel. Maybe he will save your life.”
32So they put sackcloth on their bodies and ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, “Your servant Ben Hadad says, ‘Please let me live.’” He said, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.”
33Now the men observed diligently and hurried to take this phrase; and they said, “Your brother Ben Hadad.” Then he said, “Go, bring him.” Then Ben Hadad came out to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot.
34Ben Hadad said to him, “The cities which my father took from your father I will restore. You shall make streets for yourself in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria.” “I”, said Ahab, “will let you go with this covenant.” So he made a covenant with him and let him go.
- 1KI 20:31–34, engwebp
- 2 Kings 6:24 says, “After this, Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his army, and went up and besieged Samaria”, and 8:7–15 that when Elisha came to Damascus, Benhadad the king of Syria was sick, and that on the next day “he took a thick cloth, dipped it in water, and spread it on the king’s face, so that he died. Then Hazael reigned in his place” (the Korean Revised Version names Hazael as the one who dipped the cloth: 하사엘이 이불을 물에 적시어). Neither passage names his father.
Source evidence (2)
AI-assisted comparison with the cited narrative; not independent historical verification.
- 2KI 6:24–25, engwebp
24After this, Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his army, and went up and besieged Samaria.
25There was a great famine in Samaria. Behold, they besieged it until a donkey’s head was sold for eighty pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a kab of dove’s dung for five pieces of silver.
- 2KI 8:7–15, engwebp
7Elisha came to Damascus; and Benhadad the king of Syria was sick. He was told, “The man of God has come here.”
8The king said to Hazael, “Take a present in your hand, and go meet the man of God, and inquire of the LORD by him, saying, ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’”
9So Hazael went to meet him and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels’ burden, and came and stood before him and said, “Your son Benhadad king of Syria has sent me to you, saying, ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’”
10Elisha said to him, “Go, tell him, ‘You will surely recover;’ however the LORD has shown me that he will surely die.”
11He settled his gaze steadfastly on him, until he was ashamed. Then the man of God wept.
12Hazael said, “Why do you weep, my lord?” He answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the children of Israel. You will set their strongholds on fire, and you will kill their young men with the sword, and will dash their little ones in pieces, and rip up their pregnant women.”
13Hazael said, “But what is your servant, who is but a dog, that he could do this great thing?” Elisha answered, “The LORD has shown me that you will be king over Syria.”
14Then he departed from Elisha, and came to his master, who said to him, “What did Elisha say to you?” He answered, “He told me that you would surely recover.”
15On the next day, he took a thick cloth, dipped it in water, and spread it on the king’s face, so that he died. Then Hazael reigned in his place.
- 2KI 6:24–25, engwebp
1 Kings 15:18 calls the one to whom Asa sent the silver and the gold “Ben Hadad, the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who lived at Damascus”, and in both editions the words “king of Syria” can go with Hezion or with Ben Hadad. 1 Kings 20 calls the one who besieged Samaria “Ben Hadad the king of Syria” and does not name his father, and at 20:34 Ben Hadad speaks of “The cities which my father took from your father” without naming his father. 2 Kings 6:24 calls the one who besieged Samaria, and 8:7–15 the one who was sick when Elisha came to Damascus and died, “Benhadad king of Syria” (the Korean Revised Version 아람 왕 벤하닷), and do not name his father either. The text does not say whether the Ben Hadad of 1 Kings 20, of 2 Kings 6 or of 2 Kings 8 is Ben Hadad the son of Tabrimmon of 1 Kings 15:18, nor who the father of 20:34 is. This collection records the Benhadad of 2 Kings 6:24 and 8:7–15 with the Ben Hadad of 1 Kings 20, who has the same name and title, apart from Ben Hadad the son of Tabrimmon, and does not decide whether this Ben Hadad and Ben Hadad the son of Tabrimmon are one man.
All 7 relationships: AI-assisted, human review pending
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Took part in (7) — Ben Hadad the king of Syria besieges Samaria and sends messengers to Ahab king of Israel, A prophet comes near to Ahab king of Israel, and the king of Israel kills the Syrians with a great slaughter, The servants of the king of Syria counsel him to fight in the plain, and he listens to their voice, Ben Hadad goes up to Aphek, and the children of Israel kill one hundred thousand footmen of the Syrians in one day, Ben Hadad’s servants go to the king of Israel in sackcloth, and Ahab makes a covenant with Ben Hadad and lets him go, Benhadad king of Syria besieges Samaria, and there is a great famine in it, Benhadad king of Syria, being sick, sends Hazael to Elisha, and Hazael reigns in his place
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Verses tagged with this entry
Names in the World English Bible text that carry this entry’s tag. They are carried over from the tags on the Korean Revised Version, which are matched by name inside chapters that already have collected evidence, and a verse where the English says “he” carries none. All await human review. They are a separate list from the source passages above. An empty list does not mean the entry is absent from the text.
Ben Hadad the king of Syria gathered all his army together; and there were thirty-two kings with him, with horses and chariots. He went up and besieged Samaria, and fought against it.
He sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel and said to him, “Ben Hadad says,
The messengers came again and said, “Ben Hadad says, ‘I sent indeed to you, saying, “You shall deliver me your silver, your gold, your wives, and your children;
Therefore he said to the messengers of Ben Hadad, “Tell my lord the king, ‘All that you sent for to your servant at the first I will do, but this thing I cannot do.’” The messengers departed and brought him back the message.
Ben Hadad sent to him, and said, “The gods do so to me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria will be enough for handfuls for all the people who follow me.”
When Ben Hadad heard this message as he was drinking, he and the kings in the pavilions, he said to his servants, “Prepare to attack!” So they prepared to attack the city.
They went out at noon. But Ben Hadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty-two kings who helped him.
The young men of the princes of the provinces went out first; and Ben Hadad sent out, and they told him, saying, “Men are coming out from Samaria.”
They each killed his man. The Syrians fled, and Israel pursued them. Ben Hadad the king of Syria escaped on a horse with horsemen.
At the return of the year, Ben Hadad mustered the Syrians and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel.
But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand men who were left. Ben Hadad fled and came into the city, into an inner room.
So they put sackcloth on their bodies and ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, “Your servant Ben Hadad says, ‘Please let me live.’” He said, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.”
Now the men observed diligently and hurried to take this phrase; and they said, “Your brother Ben Hadad.” Then he said, “Go, bring him.” Then Ben Hadad came out to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot.
Ben Hadad said to him, “The cities which my father took from your father I will restore. You shall make streets for yourself in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria.” “I”, said Ahab, “will let you go with this covenant.” So he made a covenant with him and let him go.
After this, Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his army, and went up and besieged Samaria.
Elisha came to Damascus; and Benhadad the king of Syria was sick. He was told, “The man of God has come here.”
So Hazael went to meet him and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels’ burden, and came and stood before him and said, “Your son Benhadad king of Syria has sent me to you, saying, ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’”
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[Bibliadatum entry report]
Entry: Ben Hadad (king of Syria) (person-ben-hadad-aram)
Address: https://bibliadatum.org/en/wiki/person/ben-hadad-aram
Current wording: Named at 1 Kings 20:1: “Ben Hadad the king of Syria gathered all his army together; and there were thirty-two kings with him, with horses and chariots. He went up and besieged Samaria, and fought against it.” At 20:2–3 he sends messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel, saying, “Ben Hadad says, ‘Your silver and your gold are mine. Your wives also and your children, even the best, are mine’”, and at 20:10 he says, “The gods do so to me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria will be enough for handfuls for all the people who follow me.” At 20:16–20 Ben Hadad is drinking himself drunk in the pavilions with the thirty-two kings who helped him, and Ben Hadad the king of Syria escapes on a horse with horsemen; at 20:23–25 the servants of the king of Syria say to him, “Their god is a god of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we. But let’s fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than they”, and he listens to their voice and does so. At 20:26–30, at the return of the year, Ben Hadad musters the Syrians and goes up to Aphek to fight against Israel, and flees and comes into the city, into an inner room. At 20:32–34 his servants say to the king of Israel, “Your servant Ben Hadad says, ‘Please let me live’”; Ben Hadad says to him, “The cities which my father took from your father I will restore. You shall make streets for yourself in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria”; and the text goes on, “‘I’, said Ahab, ‘will let you go with this covenant.’ So he made a covenant with him and let him go.” Chapter 20 does not name his father. 2 Kings 6:24 says, “After this, Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his army, and went up and besieged Samaria.” At 8:7–15, when Elisha comes to Damascus, Benhadad the king of Syria is sick; the king says to Hazael, “Take a present in your hand, and go meet the man of God, and inquire of the LORD by him, saying, ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’”; and on the next day “he took a thick cloth, dipped it in water, and spread it on the king’s face, so that he died. Then Hazael reigned in his place.” Neither passage names his father. At 8:15 the Korean Revised Version names Hazael as the one who dipped the cloth in water (하사엘이 이불을 물에 적시어).
Cited evidence: 1KI 20:1–12, engwebp / 1KI 20:13–21, engwebp / 1KI 20:22, engwebp / 1KI 20:23–25, engwebp / 1KI 20:26–30, engwebp / 1KI 20:31–34, engwebp / 2KI 6:24–25, engwebp / 2KI 8:7–15, engwebp
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