1 Kings 20:13

13 Then a prophet came to King Ahab of Israel and said, "This is what the LORD says: Have you seen this large army? I will hand it over to you today. Then you will know that I am the LORD."

1 Kings 20:13 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 20:13

And, behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab king of Israel,
&c.] Supposed by the Jewish writers to be Micaiah the son of Imlah, ( 1 Kings 22:9 ) one of those perhaps that Obadiah hid in the cave, and now is sent out publicly on an errand to Ahab:

saying, thus saith the Lord, hast thou seen all this great multitude?
considered what a vast number Benhadad's army consisted of:

behold, I will deliver it into thine hand this day;
as great as it is:

and thou shalt know that I am the Lord;
and not Baal, who can save by few as well as by many, and from a great multitude.

1 Kings 20:13 In-Context

11 The king of Israel answered, "The saying goes, 'Don't brag about a victory before you have even dressed for battle.'"

12 Benhadad heard this as he and his allies were drinking in their tents. He told his officers to get ready. So they got ready [to attack] the city.

13 Then a prophet came to King Ahab of Israel and said, "This is what the LORD says: Have you seen this large army? I will hand it over to you today. Then you will know that I am the LORD."

14 Ahab asked, "How [will this be done]?" The prophet answered, "This is what the LORD says: by using the young officers of the district governors." "Who will start the battle?" Ahab asked. "You will," the prophet answered.

15 Ahab counted the young officers of the district governors. There were 232. After counting them, he counted all the Israelite soldiers. There were 7,000.