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2 Samuel
Chapter Ten
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO SECOND SAMUEL 10
This
chapter gives an account of the ill treatment of David's messengers to the king
of Ammon, who were sent to condole the death of his father, and were basely
used by him, which David resented, 2 Samuel 10:1;
which the Ammonites perceiving prepared for war, and got the Syrians to be
confederates with them; of which David being informed, sent Joab and Abishai
into their country, 2 Samuel 10:6; who
divided the army between them, and attacked the Ammonites and Syrians with
great courage, and routed them both, and returned to Jerusalem, 2 Samuel 10:9;
after which the Syrians gathered together again to fight with David, who went
out to meet them, and got an entire conquest over them, and made them servants
to him, 2 Samuel 10:15.
2 Samuel 10:1 It
happened after this that the king of the people of Ammon died, and Hanun his
son reigned in his place.
YLT
1And it cometh to pass
afterwards, that the king of the Bene-Ammon dieth, and Hanun his son reigneth
in his stead,
And it came to pass after this,.... After the wars with
the Moabites, Syrians, and Edomites, being friendly with the children of Ammon,
David sent an embassy to their king, after related; by which it appears what is
said concerning the spoils of the children of Ammon, 2 Samuel 8:12, is
by anticipation; for these spoils were not taken until the following war with
them, the occasion of which is here told:
that the king of the children of Ammon died; whose name
was Nahash, as is clear from 2 Samuel 10:2, and
probably might be the same that came against Jabeshgilead, from whom Saul
delivered the inhabitants of that place, 1 Samuel 11:1,
and Hanun his son reigned in his stead; who, being
his son, was heir to his crown, and succeeded him in his kingdom.
2 Samuel 10:2 2 Then David said, “I will
show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father showed kindness to me.”
So David sent by the hand of his servants to comfort him concerning his father.
And David’s servants came into the land of the people of Ammon.
YLT
2and David saith, `I do
kindness with Hanun son of Nahash, as his father did with me kindness;' and
David sendeth to comfort him by the hand of his servants concerning his father,
and the servants of David come in to the land of the Bene-Ammon.
Then said David, I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash,.... Send him
a friendly compliment of condolence on the death of his father:
as his father showed kindness unto me; when David
was persecuted by Saul, he sent him aid, and invited him into his country for
protection it may be, and some way or other showed respect unto him; though not
out of real love and friendship to David, but in enmity to Saul, who had
defeated him at Jabeshgilead, and had often wars with him: the Jews sayF15Tanchuma
apud Jarchium in loc. the particular kindness was, that when David left his
father, mother, and brethren, with the king of Moab, he slew all but one, who
fled to the king of the children of Ammon, and was by him saved alive:
and David sent to comfort him by the hand of his servants for his
father; for the death of his father; to condole the loss of him, which
was the custom of kings in friendship and alliance in former times, and still
continues:
and David's servants came into the land of the children of Ammon; even to
Rabbah, the metropolis of the nation, and the royal city, where the king kept
his court.
2 Samuel 10:3 3 And the princes of the
people of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think that David really
honors your father because he has sent comforters to you? Has David not rather
sent his servants to you to search the city, to spy it out, and to overthrow it?”
YLT
3And the heads of the
Bene-Ammon say unto Hanun their lord, `Is David honouring thy father in thine
eyes because he hath sent to thee comforters? for to search the city, and to
spy it, and to overthrow it, hath not David sent his servants unto thee?'
And the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun their lord,.... His
nobles and prime ministers, the courtiers that were about him:
thinkest thou that David doth honour thy father, that he hath sent
comforters unto thee? could he imagine that David was sincere, and that he really
meant to do honour to the memory of his father, and comfort him under the loss
of him, by sending his ambassadors to him on such an errand? there was no
reason, they thought, to believe this, since an Israelite was forbidden to seek
their peace and prosperity, or ask of it, nor might Ammonite enter into their
congregation unto the tenth generation, Deuteronomy 23:3;
and indeed some have thought that David did not do a right thing in sending
this embassy, and was justly requited; but it is certain he acted according to
the laws of friendship, and was cordial and sincere in what he did, though
these courtiers of Hanun put an ill construction on his conduct, their minds
being filled with enmity against the Israelites:
hath not David rather sent his servants unto thee to search
the city,
and to spy it out, and to overthrow it? to
reconnoitre the place, to observe, as they walked about in it, which were the
weakest and most defenceless parts of it, and what avenues there were to it,
and which were most accessible, that they might the better know how to attack
it, and destroy it; these surmises and suspicions they endeavoured to fill the
king's head with, to set him against them, and treat them ill.
2 Samuel 10:4 4 Therefore Hanun took
David’s servants, shaved off half of their beards, cut off their garments in
the middle, at their buttocks, and sent them away.
YLT
4And Hanun taketh the
servants of David, and shaveth off the half of their beard, and cutteth off
their long robes in the midst -- unto their buttocks, and sendeth them away;
Wherefore Hanun took David's servants,.... His
ambassadors:
and shaved off one half of their beards; that is, he
ordered them to be shaved off; than which a greater indignity could not have
been well done to them and to David, whom they represented, since the
Israelites shaved not their beards, and were very careful of preserving them;
for had it been the custom to shave, they might have shaved off the other half,
and then they would not have appeared so ridiculous; and with other people it
has been reckoned a very great punishment as well could be inflicted, and as
great an affront as could well be offered, to mar a man's beard, or shave it
off in whole or in partF16Apollon. Vit. Philostrat. l. 7. c. 14. .
The Lacedemonians, as PlutarchF17In Agesitao. relates, when any fled
from battle, used, by way of reproach, to shave off part of their beards, and
let the other part grow long; and with the Indians, as Bishop Patrick observes
from an ancient writer, the king used to order the greatest offenders to be
shaven, as the heaviest punishment he could inflict upon them; but what comes
nearest to the case here is what the same learned commentator quotes from
Tavernier, who in his Indian Travels tells us, that the sophi of Persia caused
an ambassador of Aurengzeb to have his beard shaved off, telling him he was not
worthy to wear a beard, and thereupon commanded it should be shaved off; which
affront offered him in the person of his ambassador was most highly resented by
Aurengzeb, as this was by David:
and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their
buttocks; and as they wore long garments in those countries, without any
breeches or drawers under them, those parts by these means were exposed to view
which modesty requires should be concealedF18"Dimidiasque nates
Gallica palla tegit". Martial. ; so that they must be put to the utmost
shame and confusion:
and sent them away; in this ridiculous manner, scoffing and
leering at them no doubt; that since they came with compliments of condolence,
it was proper they should appear in the habit of mourners, with their beards
shaved, and their garments rent; cutting of garments, and standing in them from
morning tonight, was a punishment of soldiers with the Romans, when they
offendedF19Valer. Maxim. l. 2. c. 2. .
2 Samuel 10:5 5 When they told David, he
sent to meet them, because the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said,
“Wait at Jericho until your beards have grown, and then return.”
YLT
5and they declare [it] to
David, and he sendeth to meet them, for the men have been greatly ashamed, and
the king saith, `Abide in Jericho till your beard doth spring up -- then ye
have returned.'
When they told it unto David,.... Not the ambassadors,
for they were not yet arrived, but some of their servants, perhaps, they sent
before them to acquaint David of the usage they had met with:
he sent to meet them: he sent men to meet them
with proper garments to put on, and to assure them how much he resented the
indignity done to them and him, and would avenge it in due and proper time, and
to direct them where to go for the present, as follows:
because the men were greatly ashamed: to proceed on
their journey, and come to court in the condition they were:
and the king said; gave orders by the messengers he sent to
them:
tarry at Jericho until your beards be grown, or
"bud"F20יצמח
"germinet", Pagninus, Montanus. :
and then return; that is, to Jerusalem;
Jericho, though not yet built, might have some cottages at or near the spot on
which it had stood, for the convenience of shepherds, and gatherers of fruit,
in the plains of it; here the ambassadors were directed to go, it being the
first place they came to when they had passed over Jordan, from the country of
Ammon; and being a place where there were scarcely any inhabitants, or very
few, was very proper for them in their present circumstances; and this confirms
what is before observed, that it was now the custom of the Israelites not to
shave their whole beards; or otherwise it was but shaving off the other half,
and being now provided with other clothes, they would have had no need to have
stayed at Jericho, but might have proceeded on in their journey.
2 Samuel 10:6 6 When the people of Ammon
saw that they had made themselves repulsive to David, the people of Ammon sent
and hired the Syrians of Beth Rehob and the Syrians of Zoba, twenty thousand
foot soldiers; and from the king of Maacah one thousand men, and from Ish-Tob
twelve thousand men.
YLT
6And the Bene-Ammon see that
they have been abhorred by David, and the Bene-Ammon send and hire Aram of
Beth-Rehob, and Aram of Zoba, twenty thousand footmen, and the king of Maacah
[with] a thousand men, and Ish-Tob [with] twelve thousand men;
And when the children of Ammon saw that they stank before David,.... Or had
made themselves odious to him, as it is rendered in 1 Chronicles 19:6;
were abominable to him, that he was incensed against them, and enraged at them,
and was determined to be avenged on them for the affront given, of which they
had certain information: but instead of seeking to appease him, and give him
satisfaction for the affront:
the children of Ammon sent, and hired the Syrians of Bethrehob; a place near
Hamath, Numbers 13:21;
there was a city of this name in the tribe of Asher, out of which the
Canaanites could not be driven, and perhaps now inhabited by Syrians, or by a
people so called, Joshua 19:28,
and the Syrians of Zoba, twenty thousand footmen: that is, out
of both places; this place Hadadezer was king of, with whom David had fought
before, and beat, and who owed him a grudge on that account, and was ready to
assist the Ammonites against him, 2 Samuel 8:3,
and of King Maacah a thousand men; that is, of the king of
Maacah, which was a place in the tribe off Manasseh, from whence the
inhabitants could not be expelled, Joshua 13:11; and
seems now to have been inhabited by Syrians, and therefore is called
Syriamaachah, 1 Chronicles 19:6,
and of Ishtob twelve thousand men; which is thought to be
the same with the land of Tob, whither Jephthah fled, and dwelt in it, when ill
used by his brethren, Judges 11:3; these
mercenary soldiers were in all thirty three thousand men; 1 Chronicles 19:6,
it is said, chariots and horsemen, even thirty two thousand; these were hired
with a thousand talents of silver.
2 Samuel 10:7 7 Now when David heard of
it, he sent Joab and all the army of the mighty men.
YLT
7and David heareth, and
sendeth Joab, and all the host -- the mighty men.
And when David heard of it,.... Of the preparation
made by the Ammonites to fight with him:
he sent Joab and all the host of the mighty men: he sent out
Joab his general, and an army under his command, consisting of men of strength,
valour, and courage; or all the host and the mighty men, as Kimchi and Ben
Melech, the famous mighty men mentioned in 2 Samuel 23:8; he
did not think it advisable to wait for the Ammonites, but carried the war into
their own country, and, instead of suffering them to invade his dominions, he
invaded theirs.
2 Samuel 10:8 8 Then the people of Ammon
came out and put themselves in battle array at the entrance of the gate. And
the Syrians of Zoba, Beth Rehob, Ish-Tob, and Maacah were by themselves
in the field.
YLT
8And the Bene-Ammon come
out, and set battle in array, at the opening of the gate, and Aram of Zoba, and
Rehob, and Ish-Tob, and Maacah, [are] by themselves in the field;
And the children of Ammon came out,.... Either out of Rabbah
their metropolis, as JosephusF21Antiqu. l. 7. c. 6. sect. 2. ; or
rather out of Medeba, as it seems from 1 Chronicles 19:7;
a city that lay on the borders of their country, and was a frontier town, see Numbers 21:30;
and put the battle in array, at the entering in of the gate; of the city
of Medeba; they were first within the city, but, upon the approach of Joab and
his army, they came out and drew up in a line of battle at the gate of it:
and the Syrians of Zoba, and of Rehob, and Ishtob, and Maacah, were
by themselves in the field; at some distance from the city, the
Ammonites not choosing to trust: mercenaries in it; and perhaps they placed
these ambush in the field, to get Joab between two fires, as we now express it.
2 Samuel 10:9 9 When Joab saw that the
battle line was against him before and behind, he chose some of Israel’s best
and put them in battle array against the Syrians.
YLT
9and Joab seeth that the
front of the battle hath been unto him before and behind, and he chooseth of
all the chosen in Israel, and setteth in array to meet Aram,
When Joab saw that the front of the battle was against him before and
behind,.... Or "the face" of itF23פני "facies", Pagninus, Montanus. ; armies
appeared both before and behind, about to attack him both in front and rear;
the Targum is,"and Joab saw that the warriors, or those that made war,
were strong against him before and behind:"
he chose of all the choice men of Israel; the most
eminent for strength, and valour, and military skill, who had been tried, and
were famous for warlike exploits, the flower of the army:
and put them in array against the Syrians; who might be
the strongest party, and the best soldiers; though being but mercenaries, if
hard beset, would sooner give way, as he might suppose, upon which the
Ammonites would do the same.
2 Samuel 10:10 10 And the rest of the people
he put under the command of Abishai his brother, that he might set them
in battle array against the people of Ammon.
YLT
10and the rest of the people
he hath given into the hand of Abishai his brother, and setteth in array to
meet the Bene-Ammon.
And the rest of the people he delivered into the hands of Abishai
his brother,.... Who was a commander under him, and a very valiant man; and
thus, as his enemy had two armies, he divided his into two parts, that he might
the better attack them:
that he might put them in array against the children of
Ammon: draw them up in a line, place them rank and file to meet the
children of Ammon, and give them battle.
2 Samuel 10:11 11 Then he said, “If the
Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the people of
Ammon are too strong for you, then I will come and help you.
YLT
11And he saith, `If Aram be
stronger than I, then thou hast been to me for salvation, and if the Bene-Ammon
be stronger than thou, then I have come to give salvation to thee;
And he said, if the Syrians be too strong for me,.... Which he
might perceive by Joab's forces giving way, or by some signal agreed on between
them
then thou shall help me; detach a part of his
army to his support and assistance:
but if the children of Ammon be too strong for thee, then I will
come and help thee; in the same manner.
2 Samuel 10:12 12 Be of good courage, and
let us be strong for our people and for the cities of our God. And may the Lord do what is
good in His sight.”
YLT
12be strong and strengthen
thyself for our people, and for the cities of our God, and Jehovah doth that
which is good in His eyes.'
Be of good courage, and let us play the men,.... This Joab
said, not only to encourage Abishai and himself, but in the hearing of the rest
of the officers of the army, and of many of the people, to hearten them to the
battle; who might be somewhat intimidated with the number of their enemies, and
the position they were in, being before and behind them; and therefore he
thought proper to make such a speech to them to animate them to light:
for our people, and for the cities of our God; that the
people of Israel might not be carried captive, and their cities spoiled and
plundered; and instead of being cities where the people of God dwelt, and he
was worshipped, would, if taken, become the habitations of idolatrous Heathens,
and where temples would be erected to idols, and the worship of them; these
were the arguments he used to engage them to fight manfully for their country,
the liberties and religion of it:
and the Lord do that which seemeth him good: tacitly
suggesting that victory was of the Lord, and that it became them to do their
part in fighting courageously, and leave the issue to the Lord, on whom alone
success depended.
2 Samuel 10:13 13 So Joab and the people who
were with him drew near for the battle against the Syrians, and they
fled before him.
YLT
13And Joab draweth nigh, and
the people who [are] with him, to battle against Aram, and they flee from his
presence;
And Joab drew nigh, and the people that were with him, unto the
battle against the Syrians,.... Fell upon them; attacked them first,
began the battle with them; rightly judging, that if they, being hired
soldiers, were closely pressed, they would give way, which would discourage the
Ammonites, who depended much upon them; and the fight, according to JosephusF24Ut
supra. (Antiqu. l. 7. c. 6. sect. 2.) , lasted some little time, who says, that
Joab killed many of them, and obliged the rest to turn their backs and flee, as
follows:
and they fled before him: the Syriac and Arabic
versions in this verse, and in all others in this chapter where the word
"Syrians" is used, have "Edomites", reading
"Edom" instead of "Aram", the letters ר
"R" and ד "D" in the Hebrew
tongue being very similar.
2 Samuel 10:14 14 When the people of Ammon
saw that the Syrians were fleeing, they also fled before Abishai, and entered
the city. So Joab returned from the people of Ammon and went to Jerusalem.
YLT
14and the Bene-Ammon have
seen that Aram hath fled, and they flee from the presence of Abishai, and go in
to the city; and Joab turneth back from the Bene-Ammon, and cometh in to
Jerusalem.
And when the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians were fled,.... In whom
they put great confidence:
then they fled also before Abishai; without engaging at all
with him, as it seems:
and entered into the city; out of which they came,
either Rabbah or Medeba, for their safety:
so Joab returned from the children of Ammon; did not stay
to lay siege to their city, the season of the year not being proper for it,
winter drawing near; see 2 Samuel 11:1,
and came to Jerusalem; in triumph, to report to
David the victory he had obtained.
2 Samuel 10:15 15 When the Syrians saw that
they had been defeated by Israel, they gathered together.
YLT
15And Aram seeth that it is
smitten before Israel, and they are gathered together;
And when the Syrians saw that they were smitten before Israel,....
Considered it in their minds, and conversed with one another about it, and
fearing what would be the consequence of it:
they gathered themselves together; not only the forces got
together again, that fled before Joab, but all the kings of Syria united their
forces together, as appears from 2 Samuel 10:19;
supposing that David would avenge himself on them for assisting the Ammonites
against him; and therefore judged it advisable to raise a large army, that they
might be in a condition to receive him.
2 Samuel 10:16 16 Then Hadadezer[a] sent and
brought out the Syrians who were beyond the River,[b] and they
came to Helam. And Shobach the commander of Hadadezer’s army went before
them.
YLT
16and Hadadezer sendeth, and
bringeth out Aram which [is] beyond the River, and they come in to Helam, and
Shobach head of the host of Hadadezer [is] before them.
And Hadarezer sent,.... The same with Hadadezer, 2 Samuel 8:3, who
was at the head of this confederacy, and to whom the rest of the kings of Syria
were servants, 2 Samuel 10:19,
and brought out the Syrians that were beyond the river; the river
Phrat or Euphrates, as the Targum; so the Arabic version and JosephusF25Ut
supra, (Antiqu. l. 7. c. 6.) sect. 3. , who says, that he hired them:
and they came to Helam; which, according to the
same writer, was king of the Syrians beyond Euphrates; but it seems to be the
name of a place, where was the general rendezvous of the Syrian army. Junius
conjectures that it is the same with the Alamatha of PtolemyF26Geograph.
l. 5. c. 15. , which he places with the Trachonite Arabs near the Euphrates:
and Shobach the captain of the host of Hadarezer went
before them: before the whole combined army, which according to JosephusF1Ut
supra. (Antiqu. l. 7. c. 6. sect. 3.) , consisted of eighty thousand foot, and
ten thousand horse: this general is called Shophach, 1 Chronicles 19:16 the
letters "B" and "P" being of the same pronunciation in the
Hebrew tongue, as Kimchi observes, though it is there read "Shobach",
in the Syriac and Arabic versions; he was no doubt a very able, valiant, and
skilful general, since he is particularly mentioned by name, and whose name was
then famous; the Arabic version calls him a spear bearer of Hadarezer.
2 Samuel 10:17 17 When it was told David, he
gathered all Israel, crossed over the Jordan, and came to Helam. And the
Syrians set themselves in battle array against David and fought with him.
YLT
17And it is declared to
David, and he gathereth all Israel, and passeth over the Jordan, and cometh in
to Helam, and Aram setteth itself in array to meet David, and they fight with
him;
And when it was told David,.... What preparations
the Syrians were making to fight him, and where they were:
he gathered all Israel together; all the fighting men in
the country:
and passed over Jordan, and came to Helam: which,
according to BuntingF2Travels, &c. p. 140,141. , was twenty
miles from Jerusalem. David seems to have gone himself in person to this war:
and the Syrians set themselves in array against David, and fought
with him; they formed themselves in a line of battle, and attacked him
first, being eager to fight, and perhaps confident of victory, because of their
numbers.
2 Samuel 10:18 18 Then the Syrians fled
before Israel; and David killed seven hundred charioteers and forty thousand
horsemen of the Syrians, and struck Shobach the commander of their army, who
died there.
YLT
18and Aram fleeth from the
presence of Israel, and David slayeth of Aram seven hundred charioteers, and
forty thousand horsemen, and Shobach head of its host he hath smitten, and he
dieth there.
And the Syrians fled before Israel,.... After an obstinate
and bloody fight between them:
and David slew the men of seven hundred chariots of the
Syrians; the word "men" is rightly supplied, for chariots could
not be said to be slain, but the men in them; in 1 Chronicles 19:17,
they are said to be seven thousand, here seven hundred; which may be reconciled
by observing, that here the chariots that held the men are numbered, there the
number of the men that were in the chariots given, and reckoning ten men in a
chariot, seven hundred chariots held just seven thousand men; though Kimchi
takes another way of reconciling the two places, by observing that here only
the choicest chariots are mentioned, there all of them, but the former way
seems best:
and forty thousand horsemen; in 1 Chronicles 19:17;
it is forty thousand "footmen", and so JosephusF3Ut supra.
(Antiqu. l. 7. c. 6. sect. 3.) ; and the same may be called both horse and
foot, be cause though they might come into the field of battle on horseback,
yet might dismount and fight on foot; and so one historian calls them horsemen,
and the other footmen; or the whole number of the slain, horse and foot mixed
together, were forty thousand; Kimchi makes use of another way of removing this
difficulty, and which perhaps is the best, that here only the horsemen are
numbered that were slain, and there the footmen only, and both true; an equal
number of each being slain, in all eighty thousand, besides the seven thousand
in the chariots:
and smote Shobach the captain of their host, who died there; of his wounds
upon the spot.
2 Samuel 10:19 19 And when all the kings who
were servants to Hadadezer[c] saw that
they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and served them. So
the Syrians were afraid to help the people of Ammon anymore.
YLT
19And all the kings --
servants of Hadadezer -- see that they have been smitten before Israel, and
make peace with Israel, and serve them; and Aram is afraid to help any more the
Bene-Ammon.
And when all the kings that were servants to Hadarezer,.... That were
subject to him, and at his beck and command, at least were hired by him into
his service:
saw that they were smitten before Israel; could not
stand their ground against them, being too powerful for them:
they made peace with Israel, and served them; became
tributaries to them, whereby the promise of the land of Canaan made to Abraham
and his seed, as reaching to the river Euphrates, had its accomplishment, Genesis 15:18,
so the Syrians feared to help the children of Ammon any more; who standing
by themselves, they were soon and easily conquered by David's forces, as
recorded in the following chapters.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
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