מלכים א, פרק כ׳, פסוק ו׳

Escalating his demands, Ben-Hadad shifts from asking for a simple surrender to demanding absolute, forced control. The message to Ahab is clear: if he does not hand over his wealth willingly, Ben-Hadad will not wait. Instead, he will act as an absolute master and take whatever he wants by force [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. This ultimatum is set for a highly specific time, given as exactly the same hour on the following day [רד"ק]. If Ahab refuses to hand over his property immediately, he will face a double loss the next day. First, the enemy's search will expand far beyond the royal palace to include the homes of all his servants [מצודת ציון]. Second, the invading messengers will no longer be satisfied with just silver and gold; they will forcefully seize absolutely anything of value [מלבי"ם, מצודת דוד].

The threat specifically targets Ahab's most precious delights. The primary approach among commentators understands this literally, referring to the king's most beloved and valuable physical treasures [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. However, other scholars raise a question: since silver, gold, and wives were already demanded previously, what new threat does this represent? They conclude that this refers to a deeper, spiritual treasure that far exceeds physical wealth, which is the Torah scroll [רש"י, חומת אנך]. According to this perspective, Ahab kept a Torah scroll strictly as part of royal protocol, even though he completely ignored its laws and accumulated wives and wealth against the rules. Ben-Hadad's demand to take this specific scroll was intended as a public sign that Ahab was being completely stripped of his royal authority [מלבי"ם].

This specific demand became a major turning point for Ahab. He realized that the Torah was not his private property to give away, but rather the heritage of the elders of Israel. Because the decision was out of his hands, he was forced to call the elders for consultation. Surprisingly, even though these elders were deeply involved in idol worship, they still held a profound respect for the Torah and absolutely refused to surrender it. Bound by their refusal, Ahab finally replied to Ben-Hadad that he could not fulfill the request [רש"י, חומת אנך].