Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Kings 20:5
And the messengers came again, and said, Thus speaketh Ben-hadad, saying, Although I have sent unto thee, saying, Thou shalt deliver me thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children;
5. Although I have sent unto thee ] The R.V. translates I sent indeed unto thee, and begins the 6th verse with But instead of yet. This brings out the arrogancy of Ben-hadad more fully. It is as though he said ‘You submitted to my first demand, but in spite of that I am not satisfied.’ Now not only Ahab’s houses and treasures are threatened but those of all his subjects. Hence the summoning of a council to discuss the position.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Although I did before demand not only the dominion of thy treasures, and wives, and children, as thou mayest seem to understand me, but also the propriety and actual possession of them, wherewith I would then have been contented;
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And the messengers came again,…. From Benhadad:
and said, thus speaketh Benhadad, saying, although I have sent unto thee, saying: at the first message:
thou shalt deliver me thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children; into his possession, and not as Ahab understood it, that he should be his vassal, and pay a yearly tribute for his quiet enjoyment of them; yet even this he would not now abide by, growing still more haughty upon the mean submission of Ahab, as by what follows.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
5. The messengers came again Either Ahab has misunderstood the meaning of his former message, or else the king of Syria is emboldened by the pusillanimity of Ahab to make a stronger demand.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
(5) And the messengers came again, and said, Thus speaketh Benhadad, saying, Although I have sent unto thee, saying, Thou shalt deliver me thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children; (6) Yet I will send my servants unto thee tomorrow about this time, and they shall search thine house, and the houses of thy servants; and it shall be, that whatsoever is pleasant in thine eyes, they shall put it in their hand, and take it away.
Reader! And is not this the language of the enemy of souls to his vassals? is not the man that committeth sin, the servant and slave of sin? And if we have yielded ourselves servants to such a tyrant, and such a master; can we expect anything but rigor in his treatment?
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
1Ki 20:5 And the messengers came again, and said, Thus speaketh Benhadad, saying, Although I have sent unto thee, saying, Thou shalt deliver me thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children;
Ver. 5. And the messengers came again ] Ita fere fit, ut veterem fereudo iniuriam invites novam. Insolency is unreasonable: “the unjust knoweth no shame.” Zep 3:5
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
1Ki 20:5-6. Thus speaketh Ben-hadad, saying, &c. Although I before demanded not only the dominion of thy treasures, and wives, and children, as thou mayest seem to understand me; but also the actual possession of them, wherewith I would then have been contented: yet now I will not accept of those terms, but, together with thy royal treasures, I expect all the treasures of thy servants or subjects; nor will I wait till thou deliver them to me; but I will send my servants into the city, and they shall search out and take away all thou art fond of, and this to prevent fraud and delay; and then I will grant thee a peace.