Ben‑hadad Besieges Samaria; Israel's Defiant Response
1 Kings 20:1-12
1 K.20.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ובן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הדד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מלך: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- ארם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- קבץ: VERB,qal,imp,2,ms
- את: PRT,acc
- כל: DET
- חילו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+pr3ms
- ושלשים: NUM,m,pl,abs
- ושנים: CONJ+NUM,m,pl,abs
- מלך: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- אתו: PRON,3,m,sg,acc
- וסוס: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ורכב: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ויעל: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- ויצר: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- על: PREP
- שמרון: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- וילחם: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- בה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
Parallels
- 2 Kings 6:24–7:2 (thematic): Narrates an Aramean siege of Samaria (same theatre and enemy tradition); parallels the military threat and the prophetically‑framed deliverance of the city.
- 2 Kings 19:32–36 (thematic): Sennacherib’s siege of Jerusalem (Isaiah 37 parallels) — another instance of a foreign king with military force (chariots/horsemen) threatening an Israelite/Judahite capital and divine intervention.
- Exodus 14:7–9 (verbal): Pharaoh 'took six hundred chosen chariots' and 'horsemen' — shares the motif and language of kings assembling horses and chariots for large-scale pursuit/assault.
- Genesis 14:1–11 (structural): Account of a coalition of kings who gather and wage war together — parallels Ben‑Hadad’s assembling of many allied kings to mount a campaign against an Israelite city.
Alternative generated candidates
- Ben‑Hadad king of Aram gathered all his host—thirty-two kings with him—and horses and chariots; he went up, laid siege to Samaria, and made war against it.
- Ben‑Hadad king of Aram gathered all his host—thirty‑two kings with him, with horses and chariots—and he went up, laid siege to Samaria, and fought against it.
1 K.20.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וישלח: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- מלאכים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- אל: NEG
- אחאב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מלך: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- העירה: NOUN,f,sg,def
Parallels
- 1 Kgs 20:3 (structural): Immediate continuation of the same episode: the messengers sent to Ahab deliver Ben‑Hadad's demands; shows the full content and purpose of the envoy mentioned in v.2.
- 2 Sam 10:2-4 (thematic): Example of interstate diplomacy: David sends messengers to Hanun (and later receives an insult), illustrating the common biblical motif of rulers sending envoys to other rulers with political or consolatory messages.
- 2 Kgs 5:5 (thematic): Naaman's servants bring a letter from the king of Aram to the king of Israel; parallels the motif of a foreign commander sending written demands or messages to the Israelite monarch.
- 2 Kgs 18:17 (allusion): The king of Assyria sends high officials (Tartan, Rabsaris, Rabshakeh) to Jerusalem to speak to Hezekiah; a parallel instance of powerful foreign rulers dispatching envoys to an Israelite king to press political/military demands.
- Esth 3:12 (thematic): Royal couriers are sent throughout the empire with an official proclamation; thematically similar as an example of rulers dispatching messengers to communicate and enforce political decisions across borders.
Alternative generated candidates
- He sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel in the city.
- He sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel in the city.
1 K.20.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- כה: ADV
- אמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- בן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הדד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כספך: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וזהבך: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs,2,m,sg
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- הוא: PRON,3,m,sg
- ונשיך: CONJ+NOUN,f,pl,abs,2,m,sg
- ובניך: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs,suff:2,ms
- הטובים: ADJ,m,pl,def
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- הם: PRON,personal,3,m,pl
Parallels
- 1 Samuel 8:11-17 (thematic): The warning about an Israelite king who will seize sons, daughters, fields, and goods as tribute parallels Ben‑Hadad’s demand to take silver, gold, wives and children.
- 2 Samuel 12:11-12 (verbal): Nathan’s oracle against David declares that David’s wives will be given to another—a close verbal/thematic parallel in the motif of a ruler or victor taking wives.
- Deuteronomy 28:32-33 (thematic): The curses include ‘‘your sons and daughters shall be given to another people,’’ echoing the idea of families and persons being seized or handed over by conquerors.
- Genesis 12:17-20 (thematic): Pharaoh’s seizure of Sarai (Abraham’s wife) by a foreign ruler reflects the same motif of a sovereign claiming another man’s wife and possessions.
Alternative generated candidates
- They said to him, “Thus says Ben‑Hadad: ‘Your silver and your gold are mine; your wives and your children—the choice of them—are mine.’”
- They said to him, “Thus says Ben‑Hadad: Your silver and your gold are mine; your wives and your best sons are mine.”
1 K.20.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויען: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- מלך: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- כדברך: PREP+NOUN+PRON,2,m,sg
- אדני: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1,sg
- המלך: NOUN,m,sg,def
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- וכל: CONJ+PRON,indef
- אשר: PRON,rel
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
Parallels
- 1 Samuel 24:10 (verbal): David uses the oath formula “As the LORD lives” while refusing to harm Saul — parallels Ahab’s use of a divine oath to state what he will not do toward an enemy/demanding party.
- 1 Samuel 26:11 (verbal): Again David invokes “As the LORD lives” to insist he will not stretch out his hand against the LORD’s anointed; similar oath-language and refusal to comply with violent or compromising action.
- Genesis 14:22–24 (thematic): Abram refuses the king of Sodom’s offer and invokes his loyalty before God (“I will not take…”) — thematically similar diplomatic refusal grounded in a principled oath to YHWH.
- Joshua 24:15 (structural): “As for me and my house…” expresses a formula of personal plus household commitment (“I and all that is mine”), echoing the structural idea of pledging the speaker and his household in a declaration.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the king of Israel answered, “As you say, my lord the king; I am yours, and all that I have.”
- The king of Israel answered, “As you say, my lord the king; I am yours, and all that I have.”
1 K.20.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וישבו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- המלאכים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- ויאמרו: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,pl
- כה: ADV
- אמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- בן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הדד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לאמר: INF,qal,infc
- כי: CONJ
- שלחתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,?,sg
- אליך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- לאמר: INF,qal,infc
- כספך: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וזהבך: NOUN,m,sg,suff,2,m,sg
- ונשיך: NOUN,f,pl,suff,2,m,pl
- ובניך: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs,suff:2,ms
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- תתן: VERB,qal,imprf,2,_,sg
Parallels
- 1 Samuel 30:3-4 (thematic): Enemies raid and carry off peoples' wives, sons and daughters (Ziklag incident), paralleling Ben‑hadad's demand to take Ahab's family and possessions.
- 2 Samuel 12:11-12 (allusion): Nathan's oracle against David promises that enemies will take his wives and children — a theological precedent for enemies claiming families as spoil.
- 2 Kings 18:14-16 (verbal): Hezekiah is forced to hand over the silver and gold treasures to the Assyrian king — close parallel in the demand/transfer of silver and gold to a foreign ruler.
- 2 Chronicles 28:20-21 (thematic): Menahem pays a large silver tribute to Pul (Tiglath‑pileser) to secure his reign — example of a king compelled to deliver silver to a foreign power.
- Isaiah 39:6-7 (allusion): Isaiah prophesies that Babylon will seize the treasures of the king's house and some of his offspring — prophetic echo of foreign demands for wealth and children.
Alternative generated candidates
- Then the messengers returned and said, “Thus says Ben‑Hadad: ‘Because I sent to you, saying, “Give me your silver, your gold, your wives, and your children,” you did not give them to me.’”
- The messengers returned and said, “Thus says Ben‑Hadad: Because I sent to you, saying, ‘Give me your silver and your gold, your wives and your sons,’”
1 K.20.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- אם: CONJ
- כעת: ADV
- מחר: ADV
- אשלח: VERB,qal,imperf,1,_,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- עבדי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- אליך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- וחפשו: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- ביתך: NOUN,m,sg,abs+2ms
- ואת: CONJ
- בתי: NOUN,f,sg,abs,1cs
- עבדיך: NOUN,m,pl,abs,2ms
- והיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- כל: DET
- מחמד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עיניך: NOUN,f,pl,abs+2ms
- ישימו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- בידם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- ולקחו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
Parallels
- 1 Kings 20:8 (verbal): Immediate parallel within the same speech — Ben‑Hadad repeats the threat to search Ahab’s house and the houses of his servants and seize desirable goods.
- 1 Kings 20:10 (thematic): Continuation of the episode showing Ahab’s response to the plunder threat; part of the same negotiation over taking valuables from the king’s household.
- 2 Kings 24:13 (thematic): Nebuchadnezzar’s plundering of Jerusalem: a royal enemy seizes the treasures of the king’s house and carries them off, paralleling the threat to search and take desirable goods.
- Jeremiah 52:17-23 (quotation): Same event as 2 Kings 24:13 narrated in Jeremiah — explicit description of Babylon’s removal of the temple and palace treasures, echoing the motif of enemies searching out and seizing valuables.
- Deuteronomy 20:14 (structural): Legal context for wartime plunder in Israel’s law code — regulation about taking the spoil of conquered cities provides a background for threats to search houses and appropriate desirable property.
Alternative generated candidates
- “Now then,” he said, “tomorrow I will send my servants to you; they shall search your house and the houses of your servants. Whatever is precious to your eye they will put their hand on, and take away.”
- “now—tomorrow I will send my servants to you, and they will search your house and the houses of your servants, and whatever is pleasing to your eyes they will put into their hands and take it away.”
1 K.20.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויקרא: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- מלך: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לכל: PREP
- זקני: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- דעו: VERB,qal,imp,2,pl
- נא: PART
- וראו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- כי: CONJ
- רעה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- זה: PRON,dem,m,sg
- מבקש: VERB,qal,ptc,ms,sg
- כי: CONJ
- שלח: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אלי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- לנשי: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,cs+PRON,1,sg
- ולבני: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,pl,cons
- ולכספי: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,cs+PRON,1,sg
- ולזהבי: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,cs+PRON,1,sg
- ולא: CONJ
- מנעתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,sg
- ממנו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- 1 Kgs 20:5 (structural): Immediate context: Ben‑Hadad’s envoy spells out demands for Ahab’s wives, children, silver and gold—the message to which the king summons the elders in v.7.
- 1 Sam 30:1-2 (thematic): Report of raiders carrying off David’s wives, sons and daughters and plundering Ziklag—parallel theme of an enemy seizing family and possessions.
- 2 Sam 12:11-12 (thematic): Nathan’s oracle that enemies will take David’s wives, children and wealth as judgment—similar motif of loss of family and property to an adversary.
- Deut 28:30,32 (allusion): Part of the covenant curses predicting that sons and daughters and household goods will be given to others—thematically parallels the threatened seizure of family and possessions in 1 Kgs 20:7.
Alternative generated candidates
- The king of Israel called together all the elders of the land and said, “Please know and see: this is a distress that seeks me; for he sent to me to take my wives, my sons, my silver, and my gold—and I did not withhold them.”
- Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land and said, “Please know and see: this is an evil thing he asks. He sent to demand my wives and my sons and my silver and my gold, and I would not withhold him.”
1 K.20.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמרו: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,pl
- אליו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- כל: DET
- הזקנים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- וכל: CONJ+PRON,indef
- העם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אל: NEG
- תשמע: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- ולוא: CONJ_NEG
- תאבה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
Parallels
- 1 Samuel 8:4-5 (structural): ‘All the elders of Israel’ come together to give a collective petition/counsel to the ruler — similar communal/elderly representation and collective voice as in 1 Kgs 20:8.
- 1 Kings 12:6-7 (thematic): The king solicits and receives counsel from the elders about a political decision; parallels the dynamic of elders and people advising a monarch (contrast in outcomes highlights the role of popular counsel).
- Proverbs 1:10 (verbal): Uses the same imperative structure — ‘do not consent/listen’ (Hebrew imperatives parallel the语 ‘אַל־תִּתְּנָה/אַל־תִּשְׁמַע’) — echoing the warning/negative command found in 1 Kgs 20:8.
- Jeremiah 23:16 (thematic): An authoritative injunction not to listen to certain speakers (false prophets); thematically resonates with the formulaic admonition ‘do not listen’ and communal instruction about whom to heed.
Alternative generated candidates
- All the elders and all the people said to him, “Do not listen; do not consent.”
- All the elders and all the people said to him, “Do not listen to him; do not consent.”
1 K.20.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- למלאכי: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,cons
- בן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הדד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אמרו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- לאדני: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,m,poss1s
- המלך: NOUN,m,sg,def
- כל: DET
- אשר: PRON,rel
- שלחת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- עבדך: NOUN,m,sg,abs,2,ms
- בראשנה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אעשה: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- והדבר: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,def
- הזה: DEM,m,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- אוכל: VERB,qal,part,1,m,sg
- לעשות: VERB,qal,inf
- וילכו: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,pl
- המלאכים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- וישבהו: VERB,qal,perf,3,pl
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- 1Kgs.20.10-11 (structural): Immediate narrative continuation: Ben‑Hadad’s further demands and the back‑and‑forth with Ahab — same episode, showing the diplomatic exchange and the messengers’ return.
- 1Sam.11.1-11 (thematic): A foreign ruler (Nahash the Ammonite) issues humiliating demands to Israel; the episode similarly features royal demands that provoke a decisive response rather than full compliance.
- 2Sam.10.3-5 (thematic): Diplomatic envoy episode: David’s messengers to Hanun are insulted and their treatment escalates to war — parallels the motif of royal messengers, diplomatic communication, and the consequences of hostile demands.
- Josh.9.14-15 (structural): Treaty/treaty‑making involving envoys and an agreement (‘all that you said we will do’): provides a literary contrast to Ahab’s partial acceptance/refusal of the enemy’s demands in 1 Kgs 20.
- 2Kgs.5.5-7 (thematic): A foreign king’s communication to Israel (Naaman’s letter to the king of Israel) and the sending/receiving of envoys — another instance of royal correspondence and the political implications of such demands.
Alternative generated candidates
- Then the king said to the messengers of Ben‑Hadad, “Say to my lord the king: ‘All that you sent to your servant at first I will do; but this thing I cannot do.’ ” The messengers went and returned and told him.
- He said to the messengers of Ben‑Hadad, “Say to my lord the king: ‘All that you sent to your servant at first I will do’; but this thing I cannot do.” The messengers went and reported the matter.
1 K.20.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וישלח: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- אליו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- בן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הדד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- כה: ADV
- יעשון: VERB,qal,impf,3,pl
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- אלהים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- וכה: CONJ+ADV
- יוספו: VERB,qal,imf,3,mp
- אם: CONJ
- ישפק: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- עפר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שמרון: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לשעלים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- לכל: PREP
- העם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- ברגלי: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,cs
Parallels
- Matthew 10:14 (verbal): Jesus instructs disciples to 'shake off the dust of your feet' against towns that reject them — a verbal and cultural parallel to Ben‑Hadad's threat about the dust of Samaria and the gesture of repudiation.
- Luke 10:11 (verbal): Parallel Lukan form of the 'shake the dust off your feet' saying (addressing rejected missions); connects verbally and thematically with the image of rejecting a city’s dust in 1 Kgs 20:10.
- 1 Kings 21:23 (thematic): Elijah's prophecy that 'dogs will eat' members of Ahab's house uses dogs as a motif of disgrace and humiliation, echoing Ben‑Hadad’s derisive reference to Samaria's dust being for dogs.
- 2 Kings 9:36-37 (structural): Narrative description of Jezebel’s body being eaten by dogs — a concrete fulfillment of prophetic/dishonoring imagery that parallels the insulting use of 'dogs' in 1 Kgs 20:10.
Alternative generated candidates
- Ben‑Hadad sent this word: “Thus may the gods do to me—and more—if the dust of Samaria is enough for handfuls for all the people who follow me.”
- Ben‑Hadad sent to him again: “Thus may the gods do to me and more also, if the dust of Samaria is enough for the sieves for all the people who follow me.”
1 K.20.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויען: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- מלך: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- דברו: INF,qal,inf+3ms
- אל: NEG
- יתהלל: VERB,hithpael,juss,3,m,sg
- חגר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כמפתח: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Eph.6:14 (verbal): Uses the image of fastening the belt ('having fastened on the belt of truth'); parallels the 'gird... as a belt' imagery in 1 Kgs 20:11 about readiness and strength.
- 1 Pet.1:13 (verbal): Commands believers to 'gird up the loins of your mind'—a similar verb/imagery of girding oneself for action, echoing the girding motif in 1 Kgs 20:11.
- Prov.27:2 (thematic): Advises against self-praise ('Let another praise you, and not your own mouth'); thematically related to the issue of boasting addressed (and mocked) in 1 Kgs 20:11.
- Jer.9:23 (thematic): Warns that the wise, mighty, and rich should not boast in their attributes—connects to the motif of condemning or mocking boastfulness found in 1 Kgs 20:11.
- Isa.2:11 (thematic): Speaks of the humbling of human pride ('the haughtiness of men shall be abased'); parallels the taunting tone and expectation that boastful foes will be brought low.
Alternative generated candidates
- The king of Israel answered, “Tell him: ‘Let not him who girds himself boast as he who arms himself.’ ”
- The king of Israel answered, “Say to him, ‘Let not him who girds on his harness boast as he who puts it off.’ ”
1 K.20.12 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויהי: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- כשמע: CONJ
- את: PRT,acc
- הדבר: NOUN,m,sg,def
- הזה: DEM,m,sg
- והוא: CONJ+PRON,3,m,sg
- שתה: VERB,qal,impv,2,sg
- הוא: PRON,3,m,sg
- והמלכים: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,def
- בסכות: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- עבדיו: NOUN,m,pl,abs+3ms
- שימו: VERB,qal,impv,2,pl
- וישימו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- על: PREP
- העיר: NOUN,f,sg,def
Parallels
- 2 Kings 6:24 (thematic): Same actor (king of Aram/Ben‑hadad) besieging Samaria; parallels the wider context of Aramean aggression against Israel and siege warfare in which the drinking/command in 1 Kgs 20 occurs.
- 1 Kings 20:22 (structural): Immediate narrative continuation in the same episode: the king’s orders and dispositions lead to the ensuing battle in which Israel defeats the Arameans — links this verse to the military outcome of the scene.
- Proverbs 31:4–5 (thematic): Advises that kings should not drink wine because it can cloud judgment; thematically contrasts the image of a king drinking (as in 1 Kgs 20:12) with wisdom literature’s warning about rulers’ intoxication and poor decision‑making.
- 1 Samuel 25:36–37 (thematic): Scene of a feast/drinking occasion connected with a leader’s folly and near disaster (Nabal’s drunken behavior and its consequences) — parallels the motif of rulers drinking during moments tied to conflict and judgment.
Alternative generated candidates
- When he heard these words—while he was drinking, he and the kings, in their booths—he said to his servants, “Set yourselves,” and they set themselves against the city.
- When he heard this—he himself and the kings were drinking in their booths—he said to his servants, “Set ambushes,” and they set them against the city.
And Ben-hadad king of Aram gathered all his host, thirty-two kings with him, and horses and chariots; and he went up and besieged Samaria, and fought against it. And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel in the city. And they said to him, Thus says Ben-hadad: Your silver and your gold are mine; your wives and your best sons are mine. And Ahab king of Israel answered and said, It is as you say, my lord the king; I am yours, and all that is mine. And the messengers returned and said, Thus says Ben-hadad: Because I sent to you, saying, 'Give me your silver, your gold, your wives, and your children,' and you would not give them—
therefore now I will send my servants to you; they shall search your house and the houses of your servants; and every desirable thing in your eyes they will put their hand on and take away. And the king of Israel called all the elders of the land and said, Know and see that this is a wicked thing he seeks; for he has sent to me for my wives and my children and my silver and my gold, and I did not withhold them from him. And all the elders and all the people said to him, Do not listen to him, and do not consent. And he said to the messengers of Ben-hadad, Say to my lord the king, 'All that you sent to your servant at first I will do; but this thing I cannot do.' And the messengers went and reported these words. And Ben-hadad sent to him and said, As the gods live, and as you live, surely I will do this thing; if the dust of Samaria is enough for the handfuls of all the people who follow me. And the king of Israel answered and said, Say to him, 'Let not him who girds on his sword boast as he who puts it off.' And it came to pass, when he heard these words—he was drinking, and the kings were in their tents—that he said to his servants, 'Lay siege,' and they laid siege against the city.