Bible Strands
1 Kings 15:18
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, the king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus:
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — King Asa acts while Baasha of Israel fortifies Ramah to blockade Judah. Asa gathers remaining temple and palace funds to send to Ben-hadad, king of Aram in Damascus, to dissolve his treaty with Baasha.
The words — וַ/יִּקַּ֣ח (va/i.yi.Kach) translates literally as "and he took," marking Asa's deliberate seizure of resources. הַֽ/נּוֹתָרִ֣ים (ha./no.ta.Rim) means "which remained," specifying that only leftover silver and gold from the treasuries were collected.
The thread — This liquidation of royal and sacred assets parallels the treasure seizure in 1 Kings 14:26 and Joash's removal of dedicated objects in 2 Kings 12:18. The broader pattern of foreign adversaries threatening Judah's stability appears in 1 Kings 11:23.
Why it lands — The text records a monarch redirecting consecrated and royal wealth to fund a diplomatic alliance. It asks the reader to track how political survival dictates the handling of temple and palace resources.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
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 Ben–hadad, the son of Tabrimon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying,
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 14:26 He seized the treasures of the house of the LORD and of the royal palace. He took everything, including all the gold shields that Solomon had made.
- 2 Kings 12:18 So King Joash of Judah took all the sacred objects dedicated by his fathers—Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah, the kings of Judah—along with his own consecrated items and all the gold found in the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the royal palace, and he sent them to Hazael king of Aram. So Hazael withdrew from Jerusalem.
- 1 Kings 11:23 And God raised up against Solomon another adversary, Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from his master, Hadadezer king of Zobah,
- 1 Kings 15:15 And he brought into the house of the LORD the silver and gold and the articles that he and his father had dedicated.
- Genesis 14:15 During the night, Abram divided his forces and routed Chedorlaomer’s army, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus.
- Genesis 15:2 But Abram replied, “O Lord GOD, what can You give me, since I remain childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”
- 1 Kings 20:1 Now Ben-hadad king of Aram assembled his entire army. Accompanied by thirty-two kings with their horses and chariots, he marched up, besieged Samaria, and waged war against it.
- 1 Kings 20:33 Now the men were looking for a sign of hope, and they quickly grasped at this word and replied, “Yes, your brother Ben-hadad.” “Go and get him!” said the king. Then Ben-hadad came out, and Ahab had him come up into his chariot.
- 2 Kings 8:7 Then Elisha came to Damascus while Ben-hadad king of Aram was sick, and the king was told, “The man of God has come here.”
- 2 Kings 18:15 Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the royal palace.