Bible Strands
1 Kings 15:19
“Let there be a treaty between me and you as there was between my father and your father. See, I have sent you a gift of silver and gold. Now go and break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — King Asa of Judah addresses Ben-hadad, king of Aram in Damascus, after emptying the temple and palace treasuries of remaining silver and gold. He proposes a military alliance to force Baasha king of Israel to withdraw his forces.
The words — The proposal hinges on בְּרִית (be.Rit), meaning a covenant or treaty, and בֵּין (bein), meaning between, structuring the request as a reciprocal political agreement. It opens with הִנֵּה (hi.Neh), literally "here!" or "see," directing immediate attention to the tribute being dispatched.
The thread — This exact diplomatic formula is recorded in 2 Chronicles 16:3 as the parallel Chronicler account of the same event. The motif of invoking ancestral treaties to secure immediate military aid recurs in royal correspondence throughout the historical books.
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition that Asa relies on purchased alliance rather than the covenant promises given to Judah. It presents a concrete example of political realpolitik where silver and gold are used to manipulate foreign military withdrawal.
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
There is a league between me and thee, and between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent unto thee a present of silver and gold; come and break thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me.
Cross-references
- Romans 1:31 They are senseless, faithless, heartless, merciless.
- 2 Samuel 21:2 At this, David summoned the Gibeonites and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not Israelites, but a remnant of the Amorites. The Israelites had taken an oath concerning them, but in his zeal for Israel and Judah, Saul had sought to kill them.)
- 2 Chronicles 16:3 “Let there be a treaty between me and you as there was between my father and your father. See, I have sent you silver and gold. Now go and break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.”
- 2 Chronicles 16:7 At that time Hanani the seer came to King Asa of Judah and told him, “Because you have relied on the king of Aram and not on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand.
- 2 Chronicles 19:2 Jehu son of Hanani the seer went out to confront him and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD? Because of this, the wrath of the LORD is upon you.
- Isaiah 31:1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel; they do not seek the LORD.
- Ezekiel 17:13 He took a member of the royal family and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath. Then he carried away the leading men of the land,
- Romans 3:8 Why not say, as some slanderously claim that we say, “Let us do evil that good may result”? Their condemnation is deserved!