Bible Verses About Ancient Samaria

Then Y'hoshua said to the house of Yosef, to both Efrayim and M'nasheh, "You are a great people with much power; you will not have only one lot,

but the hills too will be yours. Although it is a forest, you will clear it, and the resulting open land will be yours. You will drive out the Kena'ani, even though they have iron chariots and are strong."

For the thing he cried by the word of ADONAI against the altar in Beit-El and against all the temples on the high places near the cities of Shomron will surely happen."

It was in the thirty-first year of Asa king of Y'hudah that 'Omri began his reign over Isra'el, and he ruled for twelve years, six of them in Tirtzah.

He bought Mount Shomron from Shemer for 132 pounds of silver. On the mountain he built a city, which he named Shomron after Shemer, who had owned the mountain.

Then 'Omri slept with his ancestors and was buried in Shomron, and Ach'av his son became king in his place.

It was in the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Y'hudah that Ach'av the son of 'Omri began his rule over Isra'el; Ach'av the son of 'Omri ruled twenty-two years over Isra'el in Shomron.

Now Ben-Hadad the king of Aram rallied his whole army; with him were thirty-two kings, besides horses and chariots. Then he marched on Shomron and laid siege to it.

He sent messengers inside the city to Ach'av king of Isra'el

to say to him, "Here is the message from Ben-Hadad: 'Your silver and gold are mine, also your wives and your best children are mine.'"

The king of Isra'el answered, "Just as you say, my lord, king; I am yours, along with everything I own."

The messengers returned and said, "Here is Ben-Hadad's response: 'I sent you a message to hand over your silver, gold, wives and children to me.

But I am going to send my servants to you tomorrow around this time; they will ransack your house and the houses of your servants; and whatever they see that they like they will seize and remove.'"

Then the king of Isra'el summoned all the leaders of the land and said, "Please take notice! Do you see how this man is trying to make trouble? First he demanded my wives, children, silver and gold; and I denied him nothing."

All the leaders and all the people said to him, "Don't listen, and don't agree."

So he said to Ben-Hadad's messengers, "Tell my lord the king, 'I will do all that you asked of me the first time, but this I cannot do." The messengers left and brought word back to him.

Ben-Hadad then sent this message to him: "May the gods do terrible things to me and worse ones as well if there's enough dust in Shomron to give each of my followers a handful!"

The king of Isra'el answered, "Tell him: 'He who is putting on his armor shouldn't boast as if he were taking it off!'"

It happened that Ben-Hadad received this message when he was drinking, he and his kings, in the field-barracks. He ordered his servants: "Take up your battle positions!" So they got ready to attack the city.

At that moment a prophet approached Ach'av king of Isra'el and said, "Here is what ADONAI says: 'Have you seen this vast army? I am going to give you victory over them today. Then you will know that I am ADONAI!'"

Ach'av asked, "Who will defeat them?" He answered, "This is what ADONAI says: 'The young men who serve the district governors.'" He asked, "Who will start the fighting?" and he answered, "You will."

He counted the district governors' young men; there were 232. After that, he counted all the people, all the people of Isra'el; there were 7,000.

They set out at noon. Ben-Hadad was drinking himself senseless in the field-barracks, he and the kings, the thirty-two kings who were his allies.

The district governors' men went out first. Ben-Hadad sent for information, and they reported, "Men have come out from Shomron."

He said, "Whether they have come out for peace or for war, take them alive."