“King Ben-hadad sent to him and said. ‘The gods do so to me and more also, if the dust of Samaria will provide a handful for each of the people who follow me.’ King Ahab of Israel answered. ‘Tell him. One who puts on armor should not brag like one takes it off.’ When King Ben-hadad heard this message as he now had been drinking with the other kings in the tent booths, he said to his men. ‘Take your positions.’ They took their positions against the city.”
The war of words got more heated with the various messengers bringing messages back and forth. First King Ben-hadad said that the dust of Samaria would be scattered. Then King Ahab told him he did not know the difference between putting on and taking off armor. Anyway, the last message reached King Ben-hadad as he was having a drinking party with his other 32 kings. He then declared that there should be a siege of the city of Samaria. Everyone was to take their positions.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 