Albert Barnes Commentary 1 Kings 20

Ben-hadad, the king of Syria - This was probably the son of the Ben-hadad who assisted Asa against Baasha (1 Kings 15:18).

Thirty-two kings with him - These were not allies, but subordinate rulers (1 Kings 20:24). During the reign of this Ben-hadad, Damascus had become the center of a significant monarchy, which likely extended from the Euphrates to the northern border of Israel. The Assyrian inscriptions show that around this time, the region was divided into numerous small kingdoms, with the primary tribes being the Hittites, the Hamathites, and the Syrians of Damascus.

Horses and chariots - The Assyrian inscriptions show how vital the chariot force was considered as a branch of the military by the Syrians. A king, who has been identified with this Ben-hadad, brought nearly four thousand chariots into the field against Assyria.

It is likely that a considerable time had passed in the siege, that the city had been reduced to a desperate situation, and that ambassadors had been sent by Ahab to ask for terms of peace short of absolute surrender, before Ben-hadad would make such a demand. He would expect and intend his demand to be rejected, and this would have left him free to plunder the town, which was evidently what he desired and intended.

Ben-hadad, disappointed by Ahab’s consent to an indignity that he thought no monarch could endure, proceeds to reinterpret his former demands.

The political institution of a Council of elders (Exodus 3:16, for example), which had belonged to the undivided nation since the sojourn in Egypt, was therefore continued among the ten tribes after their separation and still held an important place in the system of Government. The Council was not merely called together when the king needed it but held its regular meetings at the seat of government; for this reason, “all the elders of the land” were now present in Samaria. On the “elders of towns,” see 1 Kings 21:8–14.

Apparently, the king had not thought it necessary to summon the Council when the first terms were announced to him, since they affected only him. The new demands affected the people at large, and it became necessary, or at any rate fitting, that “the elders” should be consulted.

“The people” had no distinct place in the ordinary Jewish or Israelite constitution, but they were accustomed to signify their approval or disapproval of the elders’ decisions by acclamations or complaints (Joshua 9:18; Judges 11:11, and elsewhere).