1 Kings 15:17

1 Kings 15:17 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not suffer any to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.
• New International Version (NIV)Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and built Ramah, that he might permit no one to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.

Context of 1 Kings 15:17

15He brought into the Lord's temple the things that he and his father had made as gifts to the Lord. They used silver and gold to make some of these things. 16There was always a war between King Asa of Judah and King Baasha of Israel while they ruled. One time, Baasha attacked Judah. He put a group of his soldiers in Ramah and he made it a strong town. As a result, nobody could travel into Judah or out of Judah, where King Asa ruled. 18So Asa took all the silver and gold that they had stored in his palace and in the Lord's temple. He gave it to his servants. He told them to take it to Ben-Hadad, king of Syria, who lived in Damascus. Ben-Hadad's father was Tabrimmon and his grandfather was Hezion. 19Asa sent this message to Ben-Hadad: ‘We should make an agreement to be friends, as our fathers did. I am sending you this gift of silver and gold. Please stop being friends with Baasha, king of Israel. If you no longer help him, he will have to take his soldiers out of my country.’

1 Kings 15:17 word by word

וַיַּ֨עַל בַּעְשָׁ֤א מֶֽלֶךְ־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ עַל־יְהוּדָ֔ה וַיִּ֖בֶן אֶת־הָרָמָ֑ה לְבִלְתִּ֗י תֵּ֚ת יֹצֵ֣א וָבָ֔א לְאָסָ֖א מֶ֥לֶךְ יְהוּדָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Baashaבַּעְשָׁאba‛shâ' · BaashaH1201
• kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• went upעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: riseH5927
• against Judahיְהוּדָהyehûdâh · JudahH3063
• and builtבָּנָהbânâh · to buildH1129
• Ramahרָמָהrâmâh · RamahH7414
• that he might not sufferנָתַןnâthan · to give: allowH5414
• any to go outיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318
• or come inבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• to Asaאָסָא'âsâ' · AsaH609

Cross-references for 1 Kings 15:17

• 1 Kings 15:27Baasha decided to kill King Nadab. Baasha was Ahijah's son and he belonged to Issachar's tribe. This happened while Nadab and Israel's army were attacking Gibbethon, a town of the Philistines.
• 2 Chronicles 16:1After Asa had been king of Judah for 36 years, King Baasha of Israel attacked Judah. He put a group of his soldiers in Ramah and he made it a strong town. As a result, nobody could travel into Judah or out of Judah, where King Asa ruled.
• 1 Kings 15:21When King Baasha heard this news, he stopped the work in Ramah. He left there and he went to live in Tirzah.
• Joshua 18:25Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth,
• 1 Samuel 15:34Then Samuel left Gilgal and he went to his home in Ramah. Saul went to his home in Gibeah.
• Jeremiah 31:15The Lord says, ‘You can hear a sad noise in Ramah. Someone is weeping with a loud voice. It is Rachel, and she is weeping for her children. Nobody can help her to stop weeping, because her children are dead.’
• 1 Kings 12:27The people that I rule will go to the Lord's temple in Jerusalem to offer sacrifices there. Then they may decide to serve Rehoboam, king of Judah, who was their master before. They might kill me and then go back to serve King Rehoboam.’
• 2 Chronicles 11:13The priests and Levites who lived everywhere in Israel agreed to serve Rehoboam.

Commentaries on 1 Kings 15:17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17And Baasha - built Ramah - As the word signifies a high place, what is here termed Ramah was probably a hill, (commanding a defile through which lay the principal road to Jerusalem), which Baasha fortified in order to prevent all intercourse with the kingdom of Judah, lest his subjects should cleave to the house of David. Ramah was about two leagues northward of Jerusalem.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17Ramah (perhaps “Er-Ram;” marginal reference) was situated halfway between Bethel and Jerusalem. Its distance from Jerusalem was no more than five miles so that its occupation was a menace to that capital. Baasha‘s seizure of Ramah implies a previous recovery of the towns taken by Abijam from Jeroboam, namely, Bethel, Jeshanah, and Ephrain 2 Chronicles 13:19, and was a carrying of the war into the enemy‘s country. Could his conquest have been maintained…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-24Verses 9-24 Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. That is right indeed which is so in God's eyes. Asa's times were times of reformation. He removed that which was evil; there reformation begins, and a great deal he found to do. When Asa found idolatry in the court, he rooted it out thence. Reformation must begin at home. Asa honours and respects his mother; he loves her well, but he loves God better. Those that have power are happy when thus…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17Baasha moved south and recaptured towns that Abijam had lost (2 Chronicles 13:19), including Ramah in Judah, about four miles north of Jerusalem. This action closed the border, stopping Israelites from joining Judah and keeping Asa within his territory. Ramah controlled key north-south and east-west routes in Canaan (Judges 4:5; Isaiah 10:29; Jeremiah 31:15; 40:1).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 16-1716-17. there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days--Asa enjoyed a ten years' peace after Jeroboam's defeat by Abijam, and this interval was wisely and energetically spent in making internal reforms, as well as increasing the means of national defense (2Ch 14:1-7). In the fifteenth year of his reign, however, the king of Israel commenced hostilities against him, and, invading his kingdom, erected a strong fortress at Ramah, which was…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Kings 15:17

• Asa
• Baasha
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning
• Ramah

In the dictionaries

• Asa
• Baasha
• Israel
• Judah
• Ramah
• Proclamation
• Rama
• Abishag
• Judah, Territory of
• Palestine

Commentaries on 1 Kings 15

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings