1 Kings 20:3 kjv
Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, even the goodliest, are mine.
1 Kings 20:3 nkjv
'Your silver and your gold are mine; your loveliest wives and children are mine.' "
1 Kings 20:3 niv
'Your silver and gold are mine, and the best of your wives and children are mine.'?"
1 Kings 20:3 esv
'Your silver and your gold are mine; your best wives and children also are mine.'"
1 Kings 20:3 nlt
'Your silver and gold are mine, and so are your wives and the best of your children!'"
1 Kings 20 3 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Demands of Conquest & Plunder | ||
| Deut 20:10-14 | "...If it makes an offer of peace to you and opens to you, then all the people... shall be labor for you... But if it makes no peace... and makes war, then you shall besiege it, and when the Lord your God gives it into your hand, you shall put all its males to the sword, but the women, the little ones, the livestock, and everything else in the city, all its spoil, you shall take as plunder for yourselves." | Rights of conquering armies over spoil. |
| Judg 5:30 | "...Have they not found and divided the spoil? A womb or two for every man; colored garments for Sisera..." | Spoils of war include women. |
| 2 Kgs 8:12 | "...you will make their young men perish by the sword and will dash in pieces their little ones and rip open their pregnant women." | Brutal consequences of conquest. |
| Isa 10:13-14 | "...I have removed the boundaries of peoples, and have plundered their treasures... My hand has found the wealth of the peoples like a nest..." | Boasting of plunder by conquering powers. |
| Ezek 39:10 | "...so that they will not need to take wood out of the field or cut down any out of the forests, for they will make fires of the weapons..." | Utilizing the enemy's resources. |
| Luke 11:21-22 | "When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe... But when someone stronger attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil." | Analogy of plundering the defeated enemy. |
| God's Sovereignty & Ownership | ||
| Ps 24:1 | "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein." | God is ultimate owner of all things. |
| Hag 2:8 | "The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts." | God's absolute ownership, especially over wealth. |
| Exod 19:5 | "...for all the earth is mine." | God's universal claim over all creation. |
| 1 Chr 29:14-16 | "...all that we have belongs to you, and of your own have we given you... all this abundance... is from your hand and all is yours." | Acknowledging God's ownership of all wealth. |
| Human Pride & Arrogance | ||
| Prov 16:18 | "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." | Warning against pride exemplified by Ben-Hadad. |
| Dan 4:30-31 | "...Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?' While the words were still in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven..." | God humbling proud kings who boast. |
| Isa 14:12-15 | "How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn!... You said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high...'" | Example of prideful aspirations leading to fall. |
| Vulnerability & Consequences | ||
| Deut 28:54-57 | Description of famine and dire straits during siege, resorting to cannibalism. | Siege brings ultimate desperation and loss. |
| Joel 2:9 | "They leap upon the city; they run upon the wall; they climb into the houses; they enter through the windows like a thief." | Describes enemy infiltration and total siege. |
| Lam 5:11-12 | "Women are ravished in Zion, young women in the cities of Judah. Princes are hung up by their hands; no respect is shown to the elders." | Capture and defilement of women. |
| Deut 28:32 | "Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, while your eyes look on and fail with longing for them all day long, but you shall be helpless." | Children taken into captivity. |
| Jer 20:5 | "Moreover, I will give all the wealth of this city, all its produce, and all its valuables—all the treasures of the kings of Judah—into the hand of their enemies..." | Prophecy of Jerusalem's plunder and loss. |
| Neh 5:1-5 | Account of people mortgaging fields and selling children due to debt. | Desperate situations can lead to losing possessions and children. |
| Divine Intervention & Rescue | ||
| Ps 44:5 | "Through you we push down our foes; through your name we tread down those who rise up against us." | God's power in defending His people. |
| Zech 4:6 | "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts." | God's means of victory are spiritual, not merely military. |
| 1 Sam 2:7 | "The Lord makes poor and makes rich; he brings low and lifts up." | God's power over status and possessions. |
| Matt 16:25-26 | "For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it... what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?" | Contrast worldly gain/loss with eternal value. |
1 Kings 20 verses
1 Kings 20 3 Meaning
The verse captures the arrogant and escalating demand of King Ben-Hadad of Aram upon King Ahab of Israel, who was besieged in Samaria. Ben-Hadad claims absolute ownership over Ahab's most valuable possessions—his silver and gold—as well as his most intimate and irreplaceable assets: his wives and children. This was not merely a request for tribute but an assertion of complete subjugation and total plunder, indicative of conquest's full rights.
1 Kings 20 3 Context
The immediate context of 1 Kings 20:3 is the siege of Samaria by Ben-Hadad, king of Aram, along with 32 allied kings. Ahab, in a desperate position, initially submits to Ben-Hadad's demands for his silver, gold, wives, and children. This specific verse reveals Ben-Hadad's initial ultimatum, delivered through messengers, to assert his total claim over Ahab and his kingdom as the victor of the siege. This first demand from Ben-Hadad is met with Ahab's acquiescence, expressing that he and all he had were indeed his. This verse sets the stage for Ben-Hadad's subsequent, even more outrageous demand (1 Kgs 20:6-7) that he send his servants to search and take whatever they desire, leading to a crucial shift in the narrative as Ahab then consults with the elders of Israel.
The broader historical context involves the persistent conflict between the kingdom of Israel (under Ahab, a notoriously wicked king who promoted Baal worship) and the neighboring Aramean kingdom. This conflict reflects larger regional power struggles, but within the biblical narrative, it underscores God's sovereignty even over pagan kings and His willingness to act for His people despite their unfaithfulness. The narrative here also foreshadows God's judgment on Ahab, but first demonstrates God's unexpected grace by delivering Israel from Ben-Hadad's oppression through an unnamed prophet's guidance. This episode highlights divine intervention in military affairs and serves as a polemic against the idea that victory or defeat rests solely on human might or the power of pagan gods. Ben-Hadad's exaggerated demands demonstrate the nature of ANE warfare where conquest meant the utter humiliation and taking of spoil from the defeated king.
Word Analysis
- "And he said to him,": Refers to Ben-Hadad's messengers speaking to Ahab's messengers, relaying Ben-Hadad's direct message. It establishes a formal, albeit unilateral, communication of a demand.
- "Your silver" (Hebrew: kĕseph, כֶּסֶף): Precious metal, primarily used as a medium of exchange, a store of wealth, or for luxury items. It represents the material and liquid assets of the king and his kingdom. In ancient times, a large portion of a nation's treasury would be in silver.
- "and your gold" (Hebrew: zâhâḇ, זָהָב): Even more valuable than silver, gold often symbolized royal power, immense wealth, and divine favor or status (in pagan contexts). Demanding both silver and gold signifies the absolute claim over all of Ahab's monetary and movable wealth.
- "are mine;" (Hebrew: lî, לִי): This possessive prepositional phrase, literally "to me" or "for me," strongly conveys absolute ownership and entitlement. It implies not just "give it to me," but "it rightfully belongs to me already." Ben-Hadad sees himself as having already conquered and thus having a claim by right of victory. This is a common claim by conquering kings in the Ancient Near East, treating conquered resources and people as their personal property.
- "your fairest wives" (Hebrew: nišĕḵâ haṭṭôḇîm, נְשֵׁיכָה הַטּוֹבִים): Lit. "your good wives/women." While "fairest" can refer to beauty, ṭôḇîm often denotes quality, value, or excellence. These were likely chief wives or concubines, chosen for status, political alliances, or physical beauty. Taking the wives of a conquered king was the ultimate symbol of humiliation, stripping him of his personal domain, his honor, and the continuity of his household, often to be integrated into the victor's harem.
- "and children" (Hebrew: ûḇānîḵa, וּבָנֶיךָ): Includes both sons and daughters. This demand went beyond material wealth to encompass the very future and lineage of the defeated king. Taking children meant stripping the king of his heritage, denying him heirs, and potentially using them as slaves or hostages. This was the deepest form of subjugation, breaking a royal line and absorbing its future into the victor's dominion.
- "also are mine.": Reiterates and extends the absolute claim of ownership to the king's most intimate family members, emphasizing the totality of the anticipated surrender and the complete subjugation of Ahab and his household under Ben-Hadad's dominion.
1 Kings 20 3 Bonus section
The inclusion of "wives and children" in the demands underscores the extreme vulnerability and devastation associated with ancient warfare. Such demands aimed not just at financial crippling but at a deep, psychological, and generational obliteration of the defeated. In a culture where lineage and family continuity were paramount, this threat struck at the very heart of Ahab's identity and legacy. It serves as a stark contrast to God's covenant with Israel, which prioritized the preservation of family and lineage as integral to the covenant promises. The incident ultimately showcases the grace of God in defending His people from such total annihilation, despite their persistent disobedience.
1 Kings 20 3 Commentary
1 Kings 20:3 encapsulates Ben-Hadad's overreaching pride and his belief in his absolute right to plunder the vanquished. His demands, starting with wealth and escalating to wives and children, were designed not merely for tribute but for total humiliation and the dismantling of Ahab's lineage and power. This represented an Ancient Near Eastern understanding of conquest where the victor assumed complete control over the vanquished king's entire realm, including his personal treasures and family. While Ben-Hadad saw himself as supreme, asserting a dominion akin to divine authority, the narrative serves to show God's ultimate sovereignty. Ahab's initial quick agreement reveals his fear and perceived weakness, setting the stage for Ben-Hadad's further, more extravagant demands which eventually lead to divine intervention on Israel's behalf, humbling the arrogant Aramean king.