Verse Lens · Context pointer
1 Kings 20:26 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 26. 26And it came to pass at the return of the year, that Ben-hadad numbered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek, to fight against Israel.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Role in This Section
At 1 Kings 20:26, the narrator returns Ben-hadad's rebuilt force to Aphek the following year.
Read It With
- 1 Kings 20:22–20:27
Read 1 Kings 20:26 with 1 Kings 20:22–20:27, titled “Aram prepares to fight the supposed god of the hills on the plain.” Returns Ben-hadad's rebuilt force to Aphek the following year.
Why It Needs Context
1 Kings 20:26 returns Ben-hadad's rebuilt force to Aphek the following year; its significance depends on the whole movement of 1 Kings 20:22–20:27 and should not be taught as an independent conclusion.
Read 1 Kings 20:22–27 together
Why these verses belong together: Aram prepares to fight the supposed god of the hills on the plain is the complete reviewed scene, prayer, oracle, list, or regnal notice bounded at 20:22–20:27.
Verse 22. 22 And the prophet came to the king of Israel, and said unto him, Go, strengthen thyself, and mark, and see what thou doest: for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee.
Verse 23. 23 And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their gods are gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.
Verse 24. 24 And do this thing, Take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their rooms:
Verse 25. 25 And number thee an army, like the army that thou hast lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot: and we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. And he hearkened unto their voice, and did so.
Verse 26. 26 And it came to pass at the return of the year, that Ben-hadad numbered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek, to fight against Israel.
Verse 27. 27 And the children of Israel were numbered, and were all present, and went against them: and the children of Israel pitched before them like two little flocks of kids; but the Syrians filled the country.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read 1 Kings 20:22–20:27 — Aram prepares to fight the supposed god of the hills on the plainSources used for this context pointer
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: 1 Kings 20:22–20:27, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 1 Kings
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording and morphology used for lexical, grammatical, name, clause, and older-English checks; this is not a critical apparatus or historical proof.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/1Kgs.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 20:22–20:27
Open source ↗