Ben-hadad in the Bible Encyclopedia - ISBE

ben-ha'-dad (ben-hadhadh; Septuagint huios Hader): The Name I. BENHADAD I 1. The Kingdom of Syria Founded 2. Syria and Judah 3. Shortsightedness of Asa II. BENHADAD II 1. Hadad-'idri of the Monuments 2. Expeditions against Israel 3. Alliance with Ahab 4. Biblical History Confirmed by the Monuments 5. Alliance Broken off 6. Benhadad and Elisha 7. Panic of Syrians at Samaria 8. Murder of Benhadad III. BENHADAD III 1. His Contemporaries 2. The Assyrians in the West 3. Downfall of Damascus before Ramman-Nirari III 4. Breathing Space for Israel The Name: The name of three kings of Syria mentioned in the historical books. Hadad is the Syrian god of storms, and is apparently identical with Rimmon (2 Ki 5:18), the Assyrian Rammanu, "the Thunderer," whose temple was in Damascus. The name Benhadad, "son of Hadad," accords with the custom which obtained in Semitic mythology of calling a king or a nation the son of the national god, as we have Mesha`, son of Chemosh, and the Moabites, children of Chemosh. Benhadad seems to have become a general designation for the kings of Syria (Am 1:4; Jer 49:27)...