1 Kings 20:35-43

Ahab's Death Foretold for Sparing Benhadad. This section reminds us of 1 Samuel 15, Saul's sparing of Agag. It does not appear to be part of the foregoing narrative, but may be of great antiquity. The sin of Ahab, like that of Saul, seems commendable in our eyes, but to the Hebrews it was the most deadly of all the violation of the herem or ban (pp. 99, 114), the sparing of a person devoted to Yahweh (1 Kings 20:42). The sons of the prophets are mentioned here for the first time in the Bible (1 Kings 20:35).