2 others in the registry answer to the name Ben-hadad. Every Ben-hadad in the Bible
- verses
- 17
- first named
- 1 Kings 15:18
- last named
- Jeremiah 49:27
- period
- Divided Monarchy
- tribe
- Syria
Description
Who was Ben-hadad?
Ben-hadad I was the king of Aram (Syria) during the reigns of Asa, king of Judah, and Baasha, king of Israel. He is first mentioned in 1Ki.15.18-20 and 2Ch.16.2-4, where Asa sends him a gift of silver and gold from the temple treasuries to persuade him to break his treaty with Baasha and attack Israel. Ben-hadad I agrees and conquers several cities in northern Israel, forcing Baasha to abandon his fortification project at Ramah. Later, in 1Kings 20, Ben-hadad I leads a coalition of thirty-two kings against Ahab, king of Israel. Despite his initial confidence, Ben-hadad I is defeated twice by Ahab, who is guided by prophetic advice. After his second defeat, Ben-hadad I humbles himself before Ahab, who spares his life and makes a treaty with him. The prophet condemns Ahab for this decision, as Ben-hadad I was to be destroyed. Jer.49.27 mentions the "wall of Damascus," likely referring to Ben-hadad's capital city, in a prophecy of judgment against Aram. Ben-hadad I's reign was marked by his military campaigns against Israel and his diplomatic interactions with Judah, shaping the political landscape of the region.
Relations
Direct connections
Every entity the graph places in a stated relation with this one, grouped by the kind of link. Each relation is authored once and its inverse derived, so both ends always agree. Rows marked “registry” come from the identity spine rather than from a verse, and a row marked “which bearer is the source’s decision” is one where the name could have meant more than one person. The last group is not a relation at all — it counts the events two entities stand in together.
The 10 best-attested of 13 are drawn. All 13 are listed below.
Places
Where this happens
The places the claims about this person reach, drawn where the gazetteer locates them. A point is where a row puts them and never where tradition does; no line joins two points, because the rows state where and not in what order.
The pattern
Where Ben-hadad is named
Every book of the corpus in the order it is read, each as wide as the chapters it holds. A bar is the verses of that book which write the name, and the flat stretches are as much of the answer as the bars.
17 verses across 3 of 66 books; 63 write the name nowhere. Named in 1 Kings (14), 2 Chronicles (2) and Jeremiah (1).
Read it
Where to read it
Every verse of the text carried here that names this entity — 17, across 3 books. The name is written 18 times in them.
Onward
Where this page goes
Not the direct relations above — these are one hop further out, ranked so that a rare shared connection outweighs a common one. Descriptions by STEPBible TIPNR.
Where they appear
Chapter by chapter
Atlas's reading of each chapter this person appears in, in canonical order. One line per chapter, and each leads to the whole of it.
- 1 Kings 15Ben-hadad accepted Asa’s silver and gold and sent his army against the cities of Israel.
- 1 Kings 20Ben-hadad besieged Samaria, threatened its people, fled the battle, hid in Aphek, and secured his release by treaty.
- 2 Chronicles 16Ben-hadad accepted Asa’s silver and gold and sent his army against the cities of Israel.
Sources