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2 Samuel
Chapter Twenty-one
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO SECOND SAMUEL 21
A
famine being in the land three years, the Lord was inquired of, to know the
reason of it; and it being answered, that it was on account of Saul's slaughter
of the Gibeonites, they were summoned by David to know what satisfaction they
required for the cruel usage of them, 2 Samuel 21:1; to
which they replied, that they only desired seven of Saul's sons to be delivered
up to them, to be hanged by them, which was granted, 2 Samuel 21:4;
whose bones, with those of Saul and Jonathan, David buried in the sepulchre of
their fathers, 2 Samuel 21:10; and
the chapter is closed with an account of the various battles fought with the
Philistines, in which four of their generals were slain, 2 Samuel 21:15.
2 Samuel 21:1 Now there was a
famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David
inquired of the Lord.
And the Lord
answered, “It is because of Saul and his bloodthirsty house,
because he killed the Gibeonites.”
YLT
1And there is a famine in
the days of David three years, year after year, and David seeketh the face of
Jehovah, and Jehovah saith, `For Saul and for the bloody house, because that he
put to death the Gibeonites.'
Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year
after year,.... That is, three years running, one after another; some think
this, though here related, was before the rebellions of Absalom and Sheba, and
not after, and there are several things which may incline to it, as that the
sin of Saul should otherwise be so long unpunished, and that the bones of Saul
and Jonathan were not sooner removed, here related; and that there should be so
many battles the Philistines after they were subdued, as recorded in this
chapter; and in one of the JewishF5Pirke Eliezer, c. 17. writings it
is said, that this was the year after Saul was slain; though, in other copies
of the same book, it is said to be thirty years after; and so in that Abarbinel
used, and who is of the mind that what is here related stands in the order in
which it was, and of the same opinion are some of our best chronologersF6Usser.
Annal. Vet. Test. p. 55. Bedford's Scripture Chronology, p. 558. :
and David inquired of the Lord; before the high priest
by Urim and Thummim, what should be the cause of the famine perhaps suspecting
it was some sins of his; the first year he might take no notice of it, hoping
for a more fruitful season the next year, it arising, as he might suppose, from
some natural cause; the second year he might begin to think it was for some
national sins, but might be remiss in his inquiry into them; but the third year
he was alarmed, and concluded there was something extraordinary and special,
and feared it was on his account, and this put him on making inquiry:
and the Lord answered, it is for Saul, and for his
bloody house; on account of the blood shed by him and his family; which answer
must in a good measure relieve the mind of David, if he was fearful it was for
his sins:
because he slew the Gibeonites: which was contrary to
the oath that Joshua and all Israel had given them not to slay them, but save
them alive, Joshua 9:15. When
this was done is not certain; the Jews commonly sayF7T. Bab. Bava
Kama, fol. 119. 1. that he slew them when he slew the priests at Nob, they
being hewers of wood and drawers of water to them, and were slain with them; or
because their maintenance depended on the priests, they being slain, it was in
effect slaying them; but rather this refers to another time, and to other
action or actions of Saul, who sought by various means to destroy these people,
and root them out of the land. The Heathens had a notion that barrenness,
unfruitfulness, and famine, were inflicted by God for murder. PhilostratusF8Vita
Apollon. Tyanei, l. 3. c. 6. reports of the Ethiopian Indians, that for the
murder of their king, Ganges, their ground was unfruitful, their cattle
starved, their wives abortive, and their cities and houses fell to ruin, until
the murderers were destroyed.
2 Samuel 21:2 2 So
the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were
not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; the children
of Israel had sworn protection to them, but Saul had sought to kill them in his
zeal for the children of Israel and Judah.
YLT
2And the king calleth for
the Gibeonites, and saith unto them -- as to the Gibeonites, they [are] not of
the sons of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorite, and the sons of Israel
had sworn to them, and Saul seeketh to smite them in his zeal for the sons of
Israel and Judah –
And the king called the Gibeonites,.... Sent messengers unto
them, and summoned them to come to him:
and said unto them; what is expressed in 2 Samuel 21:3; for
what follows is in a parenthesis:
(now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel; originally,
though they were proselyted to the Jewish religion, and were employed in the
menial services of the sanctuary:
but of the remnant of the Amorites; they were the remains of
the old Canaanites, who sometimes in general were called Amorites, otherwise
the Gibeonites were called Hivites; see Joshua 9:7,
and the children of Israel had sworn unto them; by their
princes, as Joshua; yet:
and Saul, contrary to this oath, sought to slay them in his zeal
to the children of Israel and Judah); pretending a great
concern for them, for their honour and profit; that these men ought not to live
in their cities, and take the bread out of their mouths, and be employed in the
service of the sanctuary; but that they ought to be expelled, and even cut off,
being the old inhabitants of the land, the Lord ordered to be destroyed; and
that though the Israelites had given an oath to the contrary, they were drawn
into it by guile and deceit, and therefore not binding upon them; hence he
sought by all means to harass and oppress them, and slew many of them, and
destroyed them out of their cities, that they might be possessed by Judah and
Benjamin; see 2 Samuel 4:2,
compared with Joshua 9:17.
2 Samuel 21:3 3 Therefore David said to
the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? And with what shall I make atonement,
that you may bless the inheritance of the Lord?”
YLT
3yea, David saith unto the
Gibeonites, `What do I do for you? and with what do I make atonement? and bless
ye the inheritance of Jehovah.'
Wherefore David said unto the Gibeonites, what shall I do for you,.... By way of
satisfaction for the injuries done them:
and wherewith shall I make the atonement; for the
offences committed, that so the wrath that was gone forth against the land in a
famine might be appeased:
that ye may bless the inheritance of the Lord? pray for a
blessing upon the land which the Lord had chosen for his inheritance, and given
as such to the people of Israel, that rain might descend upon it, and make it
fruitful.
2 Samuel 21:4 4 And the Gibeonites said to
him, “We will have no silver or gold from Saul or from his house, nor shall you
kill any man in Israel for us.” So he said, “Whatever you say, I will do for
you.”
YLT
4And the Gibeonites say to
him, `We have no silver and gold by Saul and by his house, and we have no man
to put to death in Israel;' and he saith, `What ye are saying I do to you.'
And, the Gibeonites said unto him,.... In reply to his
motion:
we will have no silver nor gold of Saul, nor of his house; this shall
not be the ransom or atonement; it was not silver and gold Saul took from them,
but the lives of their brethren, and therefore they insist upon life for life:
neither for us shall thou kill any man in Israel; who were not
of the house of Saul; they did not desire any man should die, but who were of
that family by whom they had suffered:
and he said, what you shall say, that will I do for you; whether by
inflicting pecuniary fines, or punishing with death, which latter seems to be
what they suggested, and afterwards insisted on; whatever, according to law and
justice, was required, he was ready to do it for them.
2 Samuel 21:5 5 Then they answered the
king, “As for the man who consumed us and plotted against us, that we
should be destroyed from remaining in any of the territories of Israel,
YLT
5And they say unto the king,
`The man who consumed us, and who devised against us -- we have been destroyed
from stationing ourselves in all the border of Israel –
And they answered the king,.... Declaring expressly
what they would have done: the man that consumed us; meaning Saul, who lessened
their number by cruel oppressions of some, and by taking away the lives of
others:
and that devised against us, that we should be destroyed
from remaining in any of the coasts of Israel; who had formed schemes,
and published edicts, for banishing them out of the land; perhaps at the same
time that he put away wizards and those that had familiar spirits out of the
land, under the same pretence for zeal for the glory of God, and the good of
the people of the land, 1 Samuel 28:3.
2 Samuel 21:6 6 let seven men of his
descendants be delivered to us, and we will hang them before the Lord in Gibeah of
Saul, whom the Lord
chose.” And the king said, “I will give them.”
YLT
6let there be given to us
seven men of his sons, and we have hanged them before Jehovah, in the height of
Saul, the chosen of Jehovah.' And the king saith, `I do give;'
Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us,.... They
settled upon this number, either because they were seven, and no more of the
Gibeonites, whom Saul slew, as the Jew sayF9T. Hieros. Kiddushin,
fol. 65. 2. ; two hewers of wood, two drawers of water, a keeper (of a
synagogue), a scribe, and a servant; but perhaps the true reason was, they knew
there were no more besides Mephibosheth, for whom David had a great respect,
and therefore required no more:
and we will hang them up unto the Lord; not to
gratify a revengeful spirit of theirs, but in honour to the justice of God, and
to appease his wrath:
in Gibeah of Saul, whom the Lord did choose; which was
Saul's native place, and where he always lived; so that to hang them there was
to the greater disgrace of him and his family; and he being chosen of the Lord
to be a king of Israel, was an aggravation of his crime in violating the oath
made to the Gibeonites
and the king said, I will give them; for though he
had sworn to Saul that he would not cut off his seed, yet as he had a divine
direction in this case, as appears by the Lord's being pleased with it, and was
entreated for the land by it, this oath of his was dispensed with; nor did he
cut them off himself but delivered them to others, according to the will of
God.
2 Samuel 21:7 7 But the king spared
Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the Lord’s oath that was
between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.
YLT
7and the king hath pity on
Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, son of Saul, because of the oath of Jehovah that
[is] between them, between David and Jonathan son of Saul;
But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of
Saul,.... As they did not name particular persons, only required seven
sons, it was at the option of the king what sons to deliver to them, and
therefore kept back Mephibosheth, who is thus described, to distinguish him
from a son of Saul's of the same name, after mentioned:
because of the Lord's oath that was between them, between
David and Jonathan the son of Saul; not merely or only out
of affection to Mephibosheth, but because of the oath, that he might not be
guilty of the same crime Saul was in slaying the Gibeonites.
2 Samuel 21:8 8 So the king took Armoni
and Mephibosheth, the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to
Saul, and the five sons of Michal[a] the
daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the
Meholathite;
YLT
8and the king taketh the two
sons of Rizpah daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, Armoni and
Mephibosheth, and the five sons of Michal daughter of Saul whom she bare to
Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite,
But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah,.... Saul's
concubine, 2 Samuel 3:7,
whom she bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; of whom we
read nowhere else; after the name of the latter, it is probable, Jonathan's son
was called, before mentioned:
and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought
up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite; Michal had no
children to the day of her death, nor was she the wife of Adriel, but Merab her
sister, 1 Samuel 18:19;
wherefore these sons were not whom she "bare", as the word used
signifies, but, as we rightly render it, whom she "brought up" or
educated, so the Targum, her sister being dead; and so the Jews sayF11T.
Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 19. 2. , Merab brought them forth, and Michal brought them
up, therefore they were called by her name; or the words may be supplied thus,
"and the five sons of the sister of Michal", and, as in 2 Samuel 21:19, is
supplied, "the brother of Goliath". Barzillai is here called
the Meholathite, to distinguish him from Barzillai the Gileadite, spoken of in
a former chapter, see 2 Samuel 17:27.
2 Samuel 21:9 9 and he delivered them into
the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the hill before the Lord. So they fell,
all seven together, and were put to death in the days of harvest, in the
first days, in the beginning of barley harvest.
YLT
9and giveth them into the
hand of the Gibeonites, and they hang them in the hill before Jehovah; and the
seven fall together, and they have been put to death in the days of harvest, in
the first [days], the commencement of barley-harvest.
And he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites,.... The two
sons of Rizpah and the five sons of Merab, two sons of Saul and five grandsons:
and they hanged them in the hill before the Lord; in the hill
at Gibeah, that they might be seen by all that passed by, and serve to deter
from such evils, which brought on them that punishment; gibbetings or
crucifixions were commonly made on hills and mountainsF12Vid.
Lipsium de Cruce, l. 3. c. 13. : the phrase, "before the Lord", is
either the same as "unto the Lord", 2 Samuel 21:6; to
make atonement to the Lord, and in his sight; or it denotes that it was done
publicly before the sun, and in the sight of it; for it cannot mean before the
ark, the symbol of the divine Presence, for that was not there:
and they fell all seven together; they were
hanged together, and died at one and the same time:
and were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days,
in the beginning of barley harvest; which began at the
passover, the morrow after the first day of the feast, Leviticus 23:10;
which was the sixteenth of Nisan, on which day, the Jews sayF13Bemidbar
Rabba, fol. 190. 1. , these men were hanged, and which must be about the
beginning of our April.
2 Samuel 21:10 10 Now Rizpah the daughter of
Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock, from the beginning
of harvest until the late rains poured on them from heaven. And she did not
allow the birds of the air to rest on them by day nor the beasts of the field
by night.
YLT
10And Rizpah daughter of Aiah
taketh the sackcloth, and stretcheth it out for herself on the rock, from the
commencement of harvest till water hath been poured out upon them from the
heavens, and hath not suffered a fowl of the heavens to rest upon them by day,
or the beast of the field by night.
And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth,.... Both as a
token of mourning for her sons, and as fittest to defend from the weather, the
heat by day of cold by night:
and spread it for her upon the rock; the hill on which her
sons were hanged; this she spread as a canopy or tent to sit under, and be
covered with it; not to cover the bodies with it, but herself, and where she
sat to mourn the loss of her sons, and to watch their bodies, that they might
not be devoured by birds and breasts of prey, as after observed: and here she
sat
from the beginning of harvest until water dropped on them out of
heaven; that is, as the Jews sayF14Bemidbar Rabba, fol. 190.
1. , from the sixteenth of Nisan, when barley harvest began, to the seventeenth
of Marchesvan, when the former rain fell; that is, from the beginning of April
to the beginning of October: but it is not likely that she continued so long
watching the bodies, nor would there be any need of it to keep the birds and
beasts from them; for after they had hung so many months, there would be
nothing left for them; but rather the meaning is, that she continued there
until it pleased God to send rain from heaven, which had been restrained, and a
famine came upon it, because of the ill usage of the Gibeonites: and very
probably the order from the king was, that the bodies should hang till rain
came, that it might be observed what was the reason of their suffering; and no
doubt Rizpah sat there praying that rain might come, and which, as Abarbinel
thinks, came in a few days after, though not usual in summertime; but this was
an extraordinary case, as in 1 Samuel 12:17; and
was done to show the Lord was entreated for the land; and so Josephus saysF15Antiqu.
l. 7. c. 12. sect. 1. , that upon the hanging up of these men, God caused it to
rain immediately, and restored the earth to its former fruitfulness. According
to the law in Deuteronomy 21:22,
the bodies should have been taken down and buried the same day: but these men
suffered not for their own personal, sins, but for the sins of others, and to
avert a public calamity, and therefore must hang till that was removed; nor
were they executed by men bound by that law; and besides their continuing on
the tree was according to the will of God, till he was entreated, who could
dispense with this law; to which may be added, the ceremonial and judicial
laws, of which this was one, gave place to those of a moral natureF16See
Stillingfleet's Origines Sacr. p. 140. , as this did to that of sanctifying the
name of God in a public manner; hence the saying of one of the Rabbins upon
thisF17T. Bab. Yebamot, fol. 79. 1. , which is by many wrongly
expressed,"it is better that one letter should be rooted out of the law,
than that the name of God should not be sanctified openly;'that is, a lesser
precept give way to a greater, or a ceremonial precept to a moral one, such as
the sanctification of the name of God is:
and suffered neither the birds of the air to rest on them by day; as it is
usual for crowsF18"---- non pasces in cruce corvos",
Horat. Epist, l. 1. Epist. 16. ver. 48. and ravens, and such sort of birds, to
light on bodies thus hung up, and pick their flesh:
nor the beasts of the field by night; for it seems
it was usual to make the gibbets, and so in some other nations the crosses, so
low, that wild beasts could easily come at the bodies and devour them; so
Blandina was hung upon a tree so low, that she might be exposed to the wild
beasts to feed upon her, but not one of them would touch her bodyF19Euseb.
Eccl. Hist. l. 5. c. 1. Vid. Lipsium de Cruce, l. 3. c. 11. & l. 3. c. 13.
; now Rizpah, by her servants, had ways and means to frighten away the birds,
and beasts from doing any injury to the carcasses.
2 Samuel 21:11 11 And David was told what
Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done.
YLT
11And it is declared to David
that which Rizpah daughter of Aiah, concubine of Saul, hath done,
And it was told David what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the
concubine of Saul, had done. Whether this was told out of good will or
ill will is not certain; however, it was not disagreeable to David, but served
to move pity and compassion in him to the woman, and to stir him up to give an
honourable interment to Saul and his sons; and which would show that this fact
was not done out of personal pique and revenge to his family, but in obedience
to the will of God, and the honour of his name.
2 Samuel 21:12 12 Then David went and took
the bones of Saul, and the bones of Jonathan his son, from the men of Jabesh
Gilead who had stolen them from the street of Beth Shan,[b] where the
Philistines had hung them up, after the Philistines had struck down Saul in
Gilboa.
YLT
12and David goeth and taketh
the bones of Saul, and the bones of Jonathan his son, from the possessors of
Jabesh-Gilead, who had stolen them from the broad place of Beth-Shan, where the
Philistines hanged them, in the day of the Philistines smiting Saul in Gilboa;
And David went and took the bones of Saul, and the bones of
Jonathan his son, from the men of Jabeshgilead,.... Which, according to
BuntingF20Travels, &c. p. 122, 143. , was fifty two miles from
Jerusalem; though perhaps David did not go thither in person to fetch them, but
by his messengers, see 2 Samuel 21:14,
which had stolen them from the street of Bethshan, where the
Philistines had hanged them, when the Philistines had slain Saul in Gilboa; the history
of all which see in 1 Samuel 31:8.
2 Samuel 21:13 13 So he brought up the bones
of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from there; and they gathered the
bones of those who had been hanged.
YLT
13and he bringeth up thence
the bones of Saul, and the bones of Jonathan his son, and they gather the bones
of those hanged,
And he brought up from thence the bones of Saul, and the bones of
Jonathan his son,.... Which had been buried there under an oak, 1 Chronicles 10:12,
and they gathered the bones of them that were hanged; the seven
sons of Saul, who had been lately hanged; who either had hung so long that
their flesh was consumed, and the bones dropped upon the ground, from whence
they gathered them; or they took them down and burnt the flesh off of them, and
took the bones to bury them, which was not usually doneF21Lipsins de
Cruce, l. 2. c. 16. .
2 Samuel 21:14 14 They buried the bones of
Saul and Jonathan his son in the country of Benjamin in Zelah, in the tomb of
Kish his father. So they performed all that the king commanded. And after that
God heeded the prayer for the land.
YLT
14and bury the bones of Saul
and of Jonathan his son in the land of Benjamin, in Zelah, in the burying-place
of Kish his father, and do all that the king commanded, and God is entreated
for the land afterwards.
And the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son,.... Together
with those who had been hanged:
buried they in the country of Benjamin in Zelah; a city in the
tribe of Benjamin, Joshua 18:28,
in the sepulchre of Kish his father; the father of Saul, 1 Samuel 9:1; and
which, according to FullerF23Pisgah-Sight, B. 2. c. 12. p. 258. ,
and the position of it in his map, was not far from the hill on which the seven
sons of Saul were hanged:
and they performed all that the king commanded; that is,
David's messengers and servants did; they fetched the bones of Saul and
Jonathan from Jabeshgilead, and buried them with those of his seven sons
hanged, in the burying place of his father Kish, and made a general mourning
for them; for the Jews sayF24Bemidbar Rabba, ut supra. (fol. 190.
1.) , that by David's order Saul's coffin was carried through every tribe, and
men, women, and children, came out and expressed concern:
and after that God was entreated for the land; not after the
burial of the said persons, but after the seven men were hanged up; by this the
wrath of God was appeased, which was seen by his sending rain and fruitful
seasons, so that the famine ceased.
2 Samuel 21:15 15 When the Philistines were
at war again with Israel, David and his servants with him went down and fought
against the Philistines; and David grew faint.
YLT
15And again have the
Philistines war with Israel, and David goeth down, and his servants with him,
and they fight with the Philistines; and David is weary,
Moreover the Philistines had yet war again with Israel,.... Besides
what is before recorded in this and the preceding book; being animated to it
partly by the number of giants among them, and partly by the decline of David's
life, and it may be chiefly by the insurrections and rebellions in Israel;
though some think that these battles were not after the rebellions of Absalom
and Sheba, and the affair of the Gibeonites, though here recorded; but before,
and quickly after the war with the Ammonites, next to which they are placed in 1 Chronicles 20:1;
but they seem to be placed here in their proper order:
and David went down, and his servants with him; to the borders
of the Philistines, perceiving they were preparing to make war against him:
and fought against the Philistines; engaged in a battle with
them:
and David waxed faint; in the battle, not able
to bear the fatigues of war, and wield his armour as he had used, being in the
decline of life; after he had been engaged a while, his spirits began to fail,
not through fear, but through feebleness; but, according to Josephus, it was
through weariness in pursuing the enemy put to flight, which the following
person perceived, and turned upon himF25Antiqu. l. 7. c. 12. sect.
1. .
2 Samuel 21:16 16 Then Ishbi-Benob, who was
one of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose bronze spear was three
hundred shekels, who was bearing a new sword, thought he could
kill David.
YLT
16and Ishbi-Benob, who [is]
among the children of the giant -- the weight of his spear [is] three hundred
[shekels] weight of brass, and he is girded with a new one -- speaketh of
smiting David,
And Ishbibenob, which was of the sons of the giant,.... Of
Goliath, or of a giant, of the race of them:
the weight of whose spear weighed three hundred shekels
of brass in weight; which must be understood either of the wood of it, or of the
head of it, the flaming point of it, as many interpret it; and if so, it was
but half the weight of Goliath's spear, unless there was any difference of the
weight of iron and of brass, see 1 Samuel 17:7,
he being girded with a new sword; or rather
with a new girdle, as the Targum; and so Jarchi, which might be given him as a
mark of honour, or as a token of his having a commission in the army:
thought to have slain David; his aim was at him, and
perceiving him faint and feeble, thought to take the advantage of it, and
dispatch him.
2 Samuel 21:17 17 But Abishai the son of
Zeruiah came to his aid, and struck the Philistine and killed him. Then the men
of David swore to him, saying, “You shall go out no more with us to battle,
lest you quench the lamp of Israel.”
YLT
17and Abishai son of Zeruiah
giveth help to him, and smiteth the Philistine, and putteth him to death; then
swear the men of David to him, saying, `Thou dost not go out again with us to
battle, nor quench the lamp of Israel.'
But Abishai the son of Zeruiah succoured him,.... Observing
him in danger, made haste to his relief:
and smote the Philistine, and killed him; it seems as
if Abishai engaged with the Philistine, and killed him; but inasmuch as it will
bear to be interpreted of David, and since the four giants here and hereafter
mentioned are said to fall by the hand of David and his servants, 2 Samuel 21:22, it
may be thought that this man fell by his hand; seeing it is clear that all the
rest fell by the hands of his servants:
then the men of David sware unto him; after they
had observed the danger he was exposed unto, and how narrowly he escaped with
his life:
saying, thou shalt go no more with us to battle; they had
persuaded him not to go to the battle with Absalom; they had suffered him to go
with them now, he being, no doubt, forward and pressing to it; but now they
were resolute, and determined he should never go more:
that thou quench not the light of Israel; signifying
that their glory and prosperity depended on his life, and that, should he be
taken away, they should be in affliction and adversity, their honour and their
happiness would be at an end; the Targum is,"thou mayest not extinguish
the kingdom of Israel,'the light and glory of it.
2 Samuel 21:18 18 Now it happened afterward
that there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob. Then Sibbechai the
Hushathite killed Saph,[c] who was
one of the sons of the giant.
YLT
18And it cometh to pass
afterwards, that the battle is again in Gob with the Philistines, then hath
Sibbechai the Hushathite smitten Saph, who [is] among the children of the
giant.
And it came to pass after this,.... After the former
battle:
that there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob; in 1 Chronicles 20:4
it is called Gezer; either the place had two names, or these two places were
near each other; so that the battle may be said to be fought both at the one
and at the other, being fought equally near to both:
then Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Saph, which was of the
sons of the giant; who is called Sippai, 1 Chronicles 20:4;
he had his name from the lintel of a door, being as high as one, so tall that
he could scarce go under one. Sibbechai was one of David's worthies, 1 Chronicles 11:29;
perhaps a descendant of Hushah, who sprung from Judah, 1 Chronicles 4:4.
2 Samuel 21:19 19 Again there was war at Gob
with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaare-Oregim[d] the
Bethlehemite killed the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of
whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.
YLT
19And the battle is again in
Gob with the Philistines, and Elhanan son of Jaare-Oregim, the Beth-Lehemite,
smiteth [a brother of] Goliath the Gittite, and the wood of his spear [is] like
a beam of weavers.
And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines,.... Another
battle with them in the same place:
where Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim, a Bethlehemite, slew the
brother of Goliath the Gittite; the word
"brother" is rightly supplied from 1 Chronicles 20:5;
where his name is said to be Lahmi, for not Goliath himself was slain, though
some so interpret it, and take Elhanan to be David; so Jarchi, and with which
agrees the Targum; but he was slain not at Gob, but in the valley of Elah, nor
had David any such name as Elhanan; he was one of David's worthies, 2 Samuel 23:24;
where he is called the son of Dodo, and in 1 Chronicles 20:5,
the son of Jair; and Lahmi there may not be the name of Goliath's brother, but,
as here, the country name of Elhanan; for the wordsF26Vid. Buxtorf.
Anticritic. par. 2. c. 2. p. 421. there may be rendered,"and Elhanan the
son of Jair, the Lehemite (i.e. the Bethlehemite), slew the brother of Goliath
the Gittite,'and so perfectly agrees, with this:
the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam; not of
Goliath's brother, but of Goliath himself, 1 Samuel 17:7.
2 Samuel 21:20 20 Yet again there was war at
Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had six fingers on
each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number; and he also was
born to the giant.
YLT
20And the battle is again in
Gath, and there is a man of stature, and the fingers of his hands [are] six,
and the toes of his feet [are] six, twenty and four in number, and he also hath
been born to the giant,
And there was yet a battle in Gath,.... Besides the battles
in the above place or places; for this does not necessarily suppose that one of
the said battles had been there, only that this, which was another battle, had
been there:
where was a man of great stature; for so the
sense of the word appears to be from 1 Chronicles 20:6;
though here it signifies a man of strife and contention, a man of war, and both
were true of him:
that had on every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes,
four and twenty in number; twelve fingers on his two hands, and twelve
toes on his two feet. PlinyF1Nat. Hist. l. 11. c. 43. speaks of one
M. Curiatius, a patrician, who had two daughters that had six fingers on an
hand, and were called "Sedigitae", six-fingered; and of Volcatius, a
famous poet, called "Sedigitus", or six-fingered, for the same
reason; and elsewhere, from other writersF2Megasthenes apud ib. l.
7. c. 2. he makes mention of a people that had eight toes each foot; so CtesiasF3In
Indicis, c. 31. speaks of a people in the mountains of India, which have eight
fingers on each hand, and eight toes on each foot, both men and women:
and he also was born to the giant; a son of a giant.
2 Samuel 21:21 21 So when he defied Israel,
Jonathan the son of Shimea,[e] David’s
brother, killed him.
YLT
21and he reproacheth Israel,
and smite him doth Jonathan son of Shimeah, brother of David;
And when he defied Israel,.... The armies of
Israel, as Goliath had done some years ago, 1 Samuel 17:10,
Jonathan the son of Shimea the brother of David slew him; this brother
of David is called Shammah, 1 Samuel 16:9; and
Shimma, 1 Chronicles 2:13;
this son of his is another man from Jonadab his son, who was famous for his
subtlety as this was for his valour, 2 Samuel 13:3. The
Jews sayF4Hieron. Trad. Heb. fol. 76. D. this was Nathan the
prophet, a son of Shammah.
2 Samuel 21:22 22 These four were born to
the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his
servants.
YLT
22these four have been born
to the giant in Gath, and they fall by the hand of David, and by the hand of
his servants.
These four were born to the giant in Gath,.... Not to
Goliath, for one of them was his brother, but to some giant or another of that
place, for which it was famous; they were all of them of the race of the
giants; and so the Septuagint version, they were"the offspring of the
giants in Gath, whose family was Repha;'and this Repha, or Arepha, as the
Vulgate Latin version, according to Abarbinel, was a woman of the daughters of
the giants; the TalmudistsF5T. Bab. Sotah. fol. 42. 2. make her to
be the same with Orpah, 1:4. These giants, it is
highly probable, were the descendants of the Anakim which remained in Gath
after they were cut off by Joshua in other places, Joshua 11:22,
and fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants; the first,
Ishbibenob, fell by the hand of David assisted by Abishai, and the other three
by the persons mentioned.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)