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Tuesday, December 23rd, 2025
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THE MESSAGE

1 Kings 15:18

Asa took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of The Temple of God and the royal palace, gave it to his servants, and sent them to Ben-Hadad son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus, with this message: "Let's make a treaty like the one between our fathers. I'm showing my good faith with this gift of silver and gold. Break your deal with Baasha king of Israel so he'll quit fighting against me."

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Alliances;   Asa;   Baasha;   Ben-Hadad;   Hezion;   Israel, Prophecies Concerning;   Ramah;   Tabrimon;   Temple;   Thompson Chain Reference - Benhadad;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Covenants;   Kings;   Palaces;   Presents;   Syria;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Ben-Hadad;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Artaxerxes;   Baasha;   Ben-hadad;   Syria;   Temple;   Treaty;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Government;   Kings, First and Second, Theology of;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Ben-Hadad;   Hezion;   Rama;   Tabrimon;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Alliances;   Ben-Hadad;   Hezion;   Kings, the Books of;   Rama;   Tabrimon;   Temple;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Asa;   Ben-Hadad;   Damascus;   Fertility Cult;   Hezion;   Kings, 1 and 2;   Ramah;   Syria;   Tabri(m)mon;   Temple of Jerusalem;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Aram, Aramaeans;   Ben-Hadad;   Hezion;   Maacah;   Rezon;   Tabrimmon;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Baasha ;   Benhadad ;   Damascus;   Hezion ;   Ramah ;   Tabrimon ;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Tabrimon;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Baasha;   Damascus;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Alliances;   A'ram;   Ben-Ha'dad;   He'zion;   Tab'rimon;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Benhadad;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Kingdom of Israel;   Kingdom of Judah;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Alliance;   Asa;   Benhadad;   Damascus;   Hezion;   Rezon;   Tabrimmon;   Temple;   Treasure;   Treasury (of Temple);   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Alliances;   Asa;   Benhadad;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
So Asa withdrew all the silver and gold that remained in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and the treasuries of the royal palace and gave it to his servants. Then King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad son of Tabrimmon son of Hezion king of Aram who lived in Damascus, saying,
Hebrew Names Version
Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants; and king Asa sent them to Ben-Hadad, the son of Tavrimon, the son of Hezyon, king of Aram, who lived at Dammesek, saying,
King James Version
Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the Lord , and the treasures of the king's house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants: and king Asa sent them to Benhadad, the son of Tabrimon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying,
English Standard Version
Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king's house and gave them into the hands of his servants. And King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who lived in Damascus, saying,
New Century Version
Asa took the rest of the silver and gold from the treasuries of the Temple of the Lord and his own palace and gave it to his officers. Then he sent them to Ben-Hadad son of Tabrimmon, who was the son of Hezion. Ben-Hadad was the king of Aram and ruled in the city of Damascus. Asa said,
New English Translation
Asa took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the Lord 's temple and of the royal palace and handed it to his servants. He then told them to deliver it to Ben Hadad son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, ruler in Damascus, along with this message:
Amplified Bible
Then Asa took all the silver and gold left in the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the treasuries of the palace of the king and handed them over to his servants. And King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Aram (Syria), who lived in Damascus, saying,
New American Standard Bible
Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that was left in the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the treasuries of the king's house, and handed it over to his servants. And King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Aram, who lived in Damascus, saying,
Geneva Bible (1587)
Then Asa tooke all the siluer and the gold that was left in the treasures of the house of the Lord, & the treasures of the kings house, and deliuered them into the handes of his seruantes, and King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad the sonne of Tabrimon, the sonne of Hezion king of Aram that dwelt at Damascus, saying,
Legacy Standard Bible
Then Asa took all the silver and the gold which were left in the treasuries of the house of Yahweh and the treasuries of the king's house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants. And King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Aram, who lived in Damascus, saying,
Contemporary English Version
When Asa heard about this, he took the silver and gold from his palace and from the Lord 's temple. He gave it to some of his officials and sent them to Damascus with this message for King Benhadad of Syria:
Complete Jewish Bible
Then Asa took all the silver and gold left among the treasures of the house of Adonai and among the treasures of the royal palace; and, entrusting them to his servants, King Asa sent them to Ben-Hadad the son of Tavrimmon, the son of Hezyon, king of Aram, who lived in Dammesek, with this message:
Darby Translation
And Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of Jehovah, and in the treasures of the king's house, and gave them into the hand of his servants; and king Asa sent them to Ben-Hadad, the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who dwelt at Damascus, saying,
Easy-to-Read Version
So Asa took gold and silver from the treasuries of the Lord 's Temple and the king's palace. He gave it to his officials and sent them to King Ben-Hadad of Aram. Ben-Hadad was the son of Tabrimmon. Tabrimmon was the son of Hezion. Damascus was Ben-Hadad's capital city.
George Lamsa Translation
Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the kings house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants; and Asa king of Judah sent them to Bar-hadad, the son of Tabrimon, the son of Hezion, king of Aram, who dwelt in Damascus, saying,
Good News Translation
So King Asa took all the silver and gold that was left in the Temple and the palace, and sent it by some of his officials to Damascus, to King Benhadad of Syria, the son of Tabrimmon and grandson of Hezion, with this message:
Lexham English Bible
Asa took all of the silver and gold remaining in the storerooms of the house of Yahweh and in the treasury rooms of the house of the king, and he gave them into the hand of his servants; so King Asa sent them to Ben-Hadad the son of Tabrimmon the son of Hezion, the king of Aram, who lived in Damascus, saying,
Literal Translation
And Asa took all the silver and gold that remained in the treasures of the house of Jehovah, and the treasures of the king's house, and gave them into his servants' hand; and King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad, the son of Tabrimon, the son ofHezion, the king of Syria, who lived at Damascus, saying,
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then toke Asa all the syluer and golde that was lefte in the treasure of the house of the LORDE, and in the treasure of the kynges house, and delyuered it in to his seruauntes handes, & sent it vnto Benadab the sonne of Tabrimon the sonne of Hesion kynge of Siria, which dwelt at Damascon, and let saye vnto him:
American Standard Version
Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of Jehovah, and the treasures of the king's house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants; and king Asa sent them to Ben-hadad, the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying,
Bible in Basic English
Then Asa took all the silver and gold which was still stored in the Lord's house, and in the king's house, and sent them, in the care of his servants, to Ben-hadad, son of Tabrimmon, son of Rezon, king of Aram, at Damascus, saying,
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Then Asa toke al the siluer and golde that was left in the treasures of the house of the Lorde, and the treasures of the kinges house, and deliuered them vnto the handes of his seruauntes, and king Asa sent them to Benhadad the sonne of Tabrimon the sonne of Hezion king of Syria that dwelt at Damasco, saying:
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants; and king Asa sent them to Ben-hadad, the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Aram, that dwelt at Damascus, saying:
King James Version (1611)
Then Asa tooke all the siluer and the golde that were left in the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the kings house, and deliuered them into the hand of his seruants: and king Asa sent them to Benhadad the sonne of Tabrimon, the sonne of Hezion king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying,
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Asa took all the silver and the gold that was found in the treasures of the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king’s house, and gave them into the hands of his servants; and king Asa sent them out to the son of Ader, the son of Taberema son of Azin king of Syria, who dwelt in Damascus, saying,
English Revised Version
Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king’s house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants: and king Asa sent them to Ben–hadad, the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying,
Berean Standard Bible
So Asa withdrew all the silver and gold that remained in the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the royal palace. He entrusted it to his servants and sent them with this message to Ben-hadad son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus:
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Therfor Asa took al the siluer and gold, that lefte in the tresouris of the hows of the Lord, and in the tresouris of the kyngis hows, and yaf it in to the hondis of hise seruauntis; and sente to Benadab, sone of Tabrennon, sone of Ozion, the kyng of Sirie, that dwellide in Damask, and seide,
Young's Literal Translation
And Asa taketh all the silver and the gold that are left in the treasures of the house of Jehovah, and the treasures of the house of the king, and giveth them into the hand of his servants, and king Asa sendeth them unto Ben-Hadad, son of Tabrimmon, son of Hezion king of Aram, who is dwelling in Damascus, saying,
Update Bible Version
Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of Yahweh, and the treasures of the king's house, and delivered them into the hand of his slaves; and king Asa sent them to Ben-hadad, the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying,
Webster's Bible Translation
Then Asa took all the silver and the gold [that were] left in the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants: and king Asa sent them to Ben-hadad, the son of Tabrimon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying,
World English Bible
Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of Yahweh, and the treasures of the king's house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants; and king Asa sent them to Ben-hadad, the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who lived at Damascus, saying,
New King James Version
Then Asa took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the treasuries of the king's house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants. And King Asa sent them to Ben-Hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who dwelt in Damascus, saying,
New Living Translation
Asa responded by removing all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the Temple of the Lord and the royal palace. He sent it with some of his officials to Ben-hadad son of Tabrimmon, son of Hezion, the king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus, along with this message:
New Life Bible
Then Asa took all the silver and the gold which were left in the storerooms of the Lord's house and the king's house, and gave them to his servants. King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who lived in Damascus. Asa said,
New Revised Standard
Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king's house, and gave them into the hands of his servants. King Asa sent them to King Ben-hadad son of Tabrimmon son of Hezion of Aram, who resided in Damascus, saying,
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
So Asa took all the silver and the gold, that were left in the treasuries of the house of Yahweh, and the treasures of the house of the king, and delivered them into the hand of his servants, - and King Asa sent them unto Ben-hadad, son of Tabrimmon, son of Hezion, king of Syria, who dwelt in Damascus, saying:
Douay-Rheims Bible
Then Asa took all the silver and gold that remained in the treasures of the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king’s house, and delivered it into the hands of his servants: and sent them to Benadad, son of Tabremon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who dwelt in Damascus, saying:
Revised Standard Version
Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king's house, and gave them into the hands of his servants; and King Asa sent them to Ben-ha'dad the son of Tabrim'mon, the son of He'zi-on, king of Syria, who dwelt in Damascus, saying,
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then Asa took all the silver and the gold which were left in the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the treasuries of the king's house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants. And King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Aram, who lived in Damascus, saying,

Contextual Overview

9In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa began his rule over Judah. He ruled for forty-one years in Jerusalem. His grandmother's name was Maacah. 11Asa conducted himself well before God , reviving the ways of his ancestor David. He cleaned house: He got rid of the sacred prostitutes and threw out all the idols his predecessors had made. Asa spared nothing and no one; he went so far as to remove Queen Maacah from her position because she had built a shockingly obscene memorial to the whore goddess Asherah. Asa tore it down and burned it up in the Kidron Valley. Unfortunately, he didn't get rid of the local sex-and-religion shrines. But he was well-intentioned—his heart was in the right place, in tune with God . All the gold and silver vessels and artifacts that he and his father had consecrated for holy use he installed in The Temple. 16But through much of his reign there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel. Baasha king of Israel started it by building a fort at Ramah and closing the border between Israel and Judah so no one could enter or leave Judah. 18Asa took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of The Temple of God and the royal palace, gave it to his servants, and sent them to Ben-Hadad son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus, with this message: "Let's make a treaty like the one between our fathers. I'm showing my good faith with this gift of silver and gold. Break your deal with Baasha king of Israel so he'll quit fighting against me." 20Ben-Hadad went along with King Asa and sent out his troops against the towns of Israel. He attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel Beth Maacah, and the entire region of Kinnereth, including Naphtali. When Baasha got the report he quit fortifying Ramah and pulled back to Tirzah. 22 Then King Asa issued orders to everyone in Judah—no exemptions—to haul away the logs and stones Baasha had used in the fortification of Ramah and use them to fortify Geba in Benjamin and Mizpah. 23A full account of Asa's life, all the great things he did and the fortifications he constructed, is written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. In his old age he developed severe gout. Then Asa died and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. His son Jehoshaphat became king after him.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Asa: 1 Kings 15:15, 1 Kings 14:26, 2 Kings 12:18, 2 Kings 18:15, 2 Kings 18:16, 2 Chronicles 15:18, 2 Chronicles 16:2-6

Benhadad: 1 Kings 20:1-5, 1 Kings 20:33, 1 Kings 20:34, 2 Kings 8:7-15

Damascus: 1 Kings 11:23, 1 Kings 11:24, Genesis 14:15, Genesis 15:2, Jeremiah 49:27, Amos 1:4

Reciprocal: 2 Kings 14:14 - all the gold 1 Chronicles 26:20 - treasures 1 Chronicles 28:12 - the treasuries 2 Chronicles 12:9 - took away

Cross-References

Genesis 12:7
God appeared to Abram and said, "I will give this land to your children." Abram built an altar at the place God had appeared to him.
Genesis 15:1
After all these things, this word of God came to Abram in a vision: "Don't be afraid, Abram. I'm your shield. Your reward will be grand!"
Genesis 15:2
Abram said, " God , Master, what use are your gifts as long as I'm childless and Eliezer of Damascus is going to inherit everything?" Abram continued, "See, you've given me no children, and now a mere house servant is going to get it all."
Genesis 15:4
Then God 's Message came: "Don't worry, he won't be your heir; a son from your body will be your heir."
Genesis 15:7
God continued, "I'm the same God who brought you from Ur of the Chaldees and gave you this land to own."
Genesis 15:8
Abram said, "Master God , how am I to know this, that it will all be mine?"
Genesis 15:13
God said to Abram, "Know this: your descendants will live as outsiders in a land not theirs; they'll be enslaved and beaten down for 400 years. Then I'll punish their slave masters; your offspring will march out of there loaded with plunder. But not you; you'll have a long and full life and die a good and peaceful death. Not until the fourth generation will your descendants return here; sin is still a thriving business among the Amorites."
Genesis 15:17
When the sun was down and it was dark, a smoking firepot and a flaming torch moved between the split carcasses. That's when God made a covenant with Abram: "I'm giving this land to your children, from the Nile River in Egypt to the River Euphrates in Assyria—the country of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaim, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites."
Genesis 50:24
At the end, Joseph said to his brothers, "I am ready to die. God will most certainly pay you a visit and take you out of this land and back to the land he so solemnly promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."
Deuteronomy 7:1
When God , your God, brings you into the country that you are about to enter and take over, he will clear out the superpowers that were there before you: the Hittite, the Girgashite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. Those seven nations are all bigger and stronger than you are. God , your God, will turn them over to you and you will conquer them. You must completely destroy them, offering them up as a holy destruction to God . Don't make a treaty with them. Don't let them off in any way.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house,.... What was left untaken away by Shishak king of Egypt, 1 Kings 14:26, or what he had put there dedicated by his father and himself, 1 Kings 15:15 and be they either, they were not to be taken, especially the treasures of the house of the Lord, and put to profane use, and particularly to such bad purposes as these were:

and delivered them into the hands of his servants: to be disposed of as next directed:

and King Asa sent them to Benhadad the son of Tabrimon, the son of Hezion king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus; according to some chronologers w, Hezion, the grandfather of this Benhadad, is the same with Rezon the first king of Damascus, 1 Kings 11:23, who was succeeded by Tabrimon, and he by Benhadad:

saying: as follows.

w Usher. Annal. A. M. 3064. Marsham. Canon. Chron. Seculum 13. p. 346.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Left - Or, according to another reading, “found.” The wealthy condition of the temple treasury is sufficiently indicated in 1 Kings 15:15. Compare 2 Chronicles 15:18.

Asa’s conduct in calling Benhadad to his aid, condemned by the seer Hanani 2 Chronicles 16:7, cannot, of course, be justified; but there was much to excuse it. An alliance, it appears, had existed between Abijam and Tabrimon, Benhadad’s father 1 Kings 15:19 - an alliance which may have helped Abijam to gain his great victory over Jeroboam and achieve his subsequent conquests 2 Chronicles 13:17-20. This had been brought to an end by Baasha, who had succeeded in inducing Benhadad to enter into a league with him. It was only natural that Asa should endeavor to break up this league; and, politically speaking, he had a full right to go further, and obtain, if he could, the support of the Syrian troops for himself. The Israelites had set the example of calling in a foreign power, when Jeroboam obtained the aid of Shishak.

To Benhadad - On the probable succession of the Damascene kings, and on the meaning of the name Hadad, see 1 Kings 11:14, 1 Kings 11:23.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Kings 15:18. Asa took all the silver — Shishak, king of Egypt, had not taken the whole, or there had been some treasures brought in since that time.

Ben-hadad — This was the grandson of Rezon, called here Hezion, who founded the kingdom of Damascus. See 1 Kings 11:23-24; and Calmet.


 
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