SEV Biblia, Chapter 20:23
Y los siervos del rey de Siria le dijeron: Sus dioses son dioses de los montes, por eso nos han vencido; mas si peleáremos con ellos en la llanura, se verá si no los vencemos.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 20:23
Verse 23. Their gods are gods of the hills] It is very likely that the small Israelitish army availed itself of the heights and uneven ground, that they might fight with greater advantage against the Syrian cavalry, for Ben-hadad came up against Samaria with horses and chariots, ver. 1. These therefore must be soon thrown into confusion when charging in such circumstances; indeed, the chariots must be nearly useless.
Let us fight against them in the plain] There our horses and chariots will all be able to bear on the enemy, and there their gods, whose influence is confined to the hills, will not be able to help them. It was a general belief in the heathen world that each district had its tutelary and protecting deity, who could do nothing out of his own sphere.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 23. And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him , etc.] His ministers of state, his privy counsellors: their gods are gods of the hills, therefore they were stronger than we ; and beat them in the last battle; this notion they might receive from what they had heard of Jehovah delivering the law on Mount Sinai to Moses, and of the miraculous things done lately on Mount Carmel, as well as of their worship being in high places, especially at Jerusalem, the temple there being built on an hill, as was Samaria itself, near to which they had their last defeat; and this notion of topical deities very much obtained among the Heathens in later times, some of which they supposed presided over rivers, others over woods, and others over hills and mountains f425 : so Nemestinus the god of woods, Collina the goddess of hills, and Vallina of valleys f426 ; and Arnobins makes mention of the god Montinus, and Livy of the god Peninus, who had his name from a part of the Alps, so called where he was worshipped; and there also the goddess Penina was worshipped; and Lactantius speaks of the gods of the mountains the mother of Maximilian was a worshipper of; and even Jupiter had names from mountains, as Olympius, Capitolinus, etc. and such was the great god Pan, called mountainous Pan f430 : but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they ; and prevail over them, and conquer them.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 22-30 - Those about Benhadad advised him to change his ground. They take it for granted that it was not Israel, but Israel's gods, that beat them; but they speak very ignorantly of Jehovah. They supposed that Israel ha many gods, to whom they ascribed limited power within a certai district; thus vain were the Gentiles in their imaginations concernin God. The greatest wisdom in worldly concerns is often united with the most contemptible folly in the things of God.
Original Hebrew
ועבדי 5650 מלך 4428 ארם 758 אמרו 559 אליו 413 אלהי 430 הרים 2022 אלהיהם 430 על 5921 כן 3651 חזקו 2388 ממנו 4480 ואולם 199 נלחם 3898 אתם 854 במישׁור 4334 אם 518 לא 3808 נחזק 2388 מהם׃ 1992
