Daily Tanach Thursday Sefer Melachim 1 Chapter 20 Part 3: The 2nd Battle of Achav and Ben Hadad

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1.      The second battle:

  • The prophet warned to be second battle: The prophet approached Achav, the king of Israel, and warned him, that he should go strengthen his army and prepares a strategy for the next war as at the end of the year, the king of Aram will once again come up against you in war.
  • Ben Hadad prepares for a second battle in the planes: The servants of the king of Aram said to him: “Their G-d is the G-d of mountains and that is why we lost the war to them. Therefore, let us now fight them in the plains, and you will see that we will overpower them. Now you should do the following: Remove all the kings from their positions in the Army, and rather place regular officers in their place. You should gather for yourself an army, with soldiers and horses and chariots, of the same numbers as the original army that fell in the first battle and we will fight against the Jewish people in the plains, and you will see that indeed we will overpower them.” Ben Hadad heeded listen to the words of the servants and prepared for the second battle as they suggested.
  • The armies of both sides set up for the second battle: At the end of the year, Ben-Hadad counted the Arameans, and he went up to Aphek to wage war against Israel. The people of Israel were properly armed, and they went to meet the Arameans in battle. They encamped against them like two flocks of goats, whereas the Arameans filled the land.
  • Achav is told that he will be victorious: A prophet of Hashem approached Achav, the king of Israel, and told him: “Thus said Hashem, Because the Arameans said that the G-d of the mountains your G-d and He is not the G-d over the valleys, therefore I will deliver all this great multitude into your hand in order so you will know that I am G-d.”
  • The seven day wait: They were encamped opposite each other for seven days.
  • The battle and Israel’s victory: On the seventh day, the men draw close to battle and the children of Israel killed of Aram, one hundred thousand footmen in one day. The survivors fled to the city of Aphek, however, the wall fell onto them, and twenty-seven thousand survivors [were killed].

About The Author

Rabbi Yaakov Goldstein is a 6th generation descendent of the famous Chief Rabbi of Izhmir, Rav Yehoshua Avraham Krispin, who authored a number of Sefarim, and was a colleague of Rav Chaim Falagi, and father in-law of the Pesach Hadvir. He currently lives with his wife Shayna, and twelve children K”H, in Tzfas, Israel. Rabbi Goldstein received Semicha from Rabbi Schneur Zalman Labkowski of the Tomchei Temimim headquarters in 2005 and served as a chaplain in the Lotar/Kalatz and K9 unit of the IDF from years 2005-2008. He is also a certified Shochet, and has performed Hashgacha work in slaughterhouses. Rabbi Goldstein is the director of Shulchanaruchharav.com, the world’s leading web-based Halacha database, and is the director of the Home Study Semicha Program, a self-study web-based Semicha program. He is a prolific author of over 50 Sefarim studied by a wide range of readers throughout the world, which is used regularly in Semicha programs around the globe. He is a world renowned Posek, answering questions to a web-based market, and serves as a local Posek, Rav, and Lecturer, in the Tzemach Tzedek community Shul in Tzefas, Israel. His many classes can be heard both from his website, Vimeo and YouTube channel. Students can join live to classes given in the Tzemach Tzedek Shul, through the “בית חבד צפת Chabad Tsfat” YouTube channel.

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