And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their gods are gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.
The servants of the Syrian king said to him, 'Their gods are mountain gods, which is why they defeated us there. But if we fight them on flat ground instead, we'll surely be stronger than they are.'
The Syrian advisors mistakenly thought Israel's God was limited to certain locations and could be defeated by changing battle terrain.
📚 Historical Context
This occurs during the reign of King Ahab of Israel, when Ben-hadad king of Syria attacked Israel twice. After losing the first battle in the hills around Samaria, the Syrian advisors wrongly assumed that Israel's God was only powerful in mountainous regions, reflecting the pagan belief that different gods controlled different geographical areas.
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