And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter.
The verse belongs to the conflict with the Syrian king Ben-hadad while his army was attacking Samaria. It records one of the two occasions on which that besieging Syrian army was put to flight. More specifically, it records Israel's victory in the battle after the Syrians returned the following year.
In that battle the king of Israel went out at the head of his forces and defeated the Syrians, striking their horses and chariots and killing many soldiers with a great slaughter. The victory was given by Jehovah, who enabled the king of Israel to inflict it. The wider account adds that 100,000 Syrian footmen fell and that Ben-hadad fled before surrendering to Israel's king. That triumph followed a prophet's warning and was meant to show the king that it came from Jehovah. In this way it formed part of God's effort to win the weak Ahab.
The verse belongs to the conflict with the Syrian king Ben-hadad while his army was attacking Samaria. It records one of the two occasions on which that besieging Syrian army was put to flight. More specifically, it records Israel's victory in the battle after the Syrians returned the following year.
In that battle the king of Israel went out at the head of his forces and defeated the Syrians, striking their horses and chariots and killing many soldiers with a great slaughter. The victory was given by Jehovah, who enabled the king of Israel to inflict it. The wider account adds that 100,000 Syrian footmen fell and that Ben-hadad fled before surrendering to Israel's king. That triumph followed a prophet's warning and was meant to show the king that it came from Jehovah. In this way it formed part of God's effort to win the weak Ahab.