1 Kings 20:23

23Meanwhile, the officials of the king of Aram advised him, “Their gods are gods of the hills. That is why they were too strong for us. But if we fight them on the plains, surely we will be stronger than they.

23Now the servants of the king of Aram said to him, “Their gods are gods of the mountains; for that reason they were stronger than we. But let us fight them in the plain, and we will certainly be stronger than they.

23Now the servants of the king of Aram said to him, “Their gods are gods of the mountains, therefore they were stronger than we; but rather let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than they.

23Now the servants of the king of Aram said to him, “Israel’s 20:23 Or gods are gods.god is a 20:23 In polytheistic religions it was common for gods to be associated with particular topological regions or natural events (like rain or lightning). The thinking evidently was that supernatural beings must control the many aspects of nature, and that man could gain some control over nature by acknowledging and appeasing these beings. The Arameans (Syrians) may have associated the God of Israel with Mt. Sinai; and instead of realizing that they needed to appeal to the one true God who favored Israel, they imagined that God did not control the plains and valleys (cf v 28), and that Israel could be defeated there by superior numbers.god of the hills; that is why they were stronger than we. But let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than they.

23Meanwhile, the servants of the king of Aram said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hills. That is why they prevailed over us. Instead, we should fight them on the plains; surely then we will prevail.

23During that time, the officials of the king of Aram gave him advice. They said, “The gods of Israel are gods of the hills. That’s why they were too strong for us. But suppose we fight them on the plains. Then we’ll certainly be stronger than they are.