, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle; and, behold,
a man turned aside, and brought a man unto me, and said, Keep this man:
if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or
else thou shalt pay a talent of silver. And as thy servant was busy here
and there, he was gone. And the King of Israel said unto him, So shall
thy judgment be; thyself has decided it. Then he hasted, and took the
headband away from his eyes, and the King of Israel discerned him that
he was one of the prophets. And he said unto him, Thus saith the Lord,
Because thou hast let go out of thy hand the man whom I had devoted to
destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people
for his people. And the King of Israel went to his house heavy and
displeased, and came to Samaria." This story was in accordance with the
popular feeling, and Ahab certainly ought not to have paused till he had
exterminated his enemy, could he have done so; but was this actually in
his power?

We have no reason to contest the leading facts in this account, or to
doubt that Benhadad suffered some reverses before Samaria; but we may
perhaps ask whether the check was as serious as we are led to believe,
and whether imagination and national vanity did not exaggerate its
extent and results. The fortresses of Persea which, according to the
treaty, ought to have been restored to Israel, remained in the hands of
the people of Damascus, and the loss of Ramoth-gilead continued to be a
source of vexation to such of the tribes of Gad and Reuben as followed
the fortunes of the house of Omri:* yet these places formed the most
important part of Benhadad's ransom.

* "And the King of Israel said unto his servants, Know ye
that Ramoth-gilead is ours, and we be still, and take it not
out of the hand of the King of Syria?"

The sole effect of Ahab's success was to procure for him more lenient
treatment; he lost no territory, and perhaps gained a few towns, but he
had to sign conditions of peace which made him an acknowledged vassal to
the King of Syria.*

* No document as yet proves directly that Ahab was vassal to
Benhadad II. The fact seems to follow clearly enough from
the account of the battle of Karkar against Shalmaneser II.,
where the contingent of Ahab of Israel figures among those
of the kings who fought for Benhadad II. against the
Assyrians.

Damascus still remained the foremost state