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 Benhadad, the son of Tabrimon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying,
Then Asa took all the silver and gold that remained in the treasuries of the LORD's temple and the royal palace, and gave them to his servants. King Asa sent them to Ben-Hadad, the son of Tabrimmon and grandson of Hezion, who was king of Syria and lived in Damascus, with this message:
King Asa gathered all the remaining treasure from God's temple and his own palace to send as payment to the Syrian king Ben-Hadad.
📚 Historical Context
In the divided kingdom period after Solomon's death, King Asa ruled Judah and faced ongoing threats from the northern kingdom of Israel under King Baasha. Asa, who had previously promoted religious reforms to honor God, chose to send valuable treasures from the temple and his own palace to Benhadad, the king of Syria, as a bribe to form an alliance against Israel. This reflects the common ancient Near Eastern practice of using wealth to secure political alliances amid regional conflicts.
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