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Text -- 2 Samuel 21:18-22 (NET)

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Context
21:18 Later there was another battle with the Philistines, this time in Gob. On that occasion Sibbekai the Hushathite killed Saph, who was one of the descendants of Rapha. 21:19 Yet another battle occurred with the Philistines in Gob. On that occasion Elhanan the son of Jair the Bethlehemite killed the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam. 21:20 Yet another battle occurred in Gath. On that occasion there was a large man who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in all! He too was a descendant of Rapha. 21:21 When he taunted Israel, Jonathan, the son of David’s brother Shimeah, killed him. 21:22 These four were the descendants of Rapha who lived in Gath; they were killed by David and his soldiers.
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Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics

Names, People and Places:
 · Bethlehemite a resident of the town of Bethlehem
 · David a son of Jesse of Judah; king of Israel,son of Jesse of Judah; king of Israel
 · Elhanan son of Jaare-Oregim "the Bethlehemite", or Jair,son of Dodo of Bethlehem; one of David's military elite
 · Gath a town of the Anakim and Philistines in Judah 12 km south. of Ekron
 · Gittite resident(s) of the town of Gath
 · Gob a town of the Philistines 25 km SE of Joppa
 · Goliath a Philistine giant from Gath,a Philistine giant from Gath killed by Elhanan.
 · Hushathite a resident of the town of Hushah
 · Israel a citizen of Israel.,a member of the nation of Israel
 · Jonathan a man who was a descendant of Gershom son of Moses,son of Saul of Benjamin,son of the high priest Abiathar in David's time,the son of Shime-i, David's brother,son of Shammah/Shagee; one of David's military elite,son of Jada of Judah,son of Uzziah; overseer of the country treasuries for King David,a man who was uncle and counselor of King David,father of Ebed who accompanied Ezra leading the clan of Adin back from exile,a man who opposed Ezra's reforms; son of Asahel,a chief priest; son of Joiada,priest and head of the house of Malluchi under High Priest Joiakim in the time of Nehemiah,son of Shemaiah of Asaph of Levi; father of Zechariah,a man who was secretary and dungeon keeper for King Zedekiah; son of Kareah
 · Philistines a sea people coming from Crete in 1200BC to the coast of Canaan
 · Saph a man who was one of the descendants of the Philistine giants
 · Shime-i son of Gershon/Gershom son of Levi,the son of Gera of Benjamin,son of Jesse (Judah); father of Jonathan who killed a giant,a man who was a friend of kings David and Solomon,son of Ela, Moses' land distribution deputy for Benjamin,son of Pedaiah son of King Jehoiachin,son of Zaccur of Simeon,son of Gog of Reuben,son of Libni of Merari of Levi,the head of a clan of Benjamin; son of Elpaal?,a man who was a descendant of Ladan/Libni son of Levi (WZ),son of Jeduthun (Levi); worship leader under Jeduthun and David,a man of Ramoth; David's supervisor of vineyards,son of Heman (David's seer) of Samuel of Kohath of Levi,an officer of the temple store house under King Hezekiah,a Levite who put away his heathen wife,a layman of the Hashum Clan who put away his heathen wife,a layman of the Binnui Clan who put away his heathen wife,son of Kish; founding father of the clan of Shime-i of Benjamin
 · Sibbecai a man who was one of David's military elite from Hushah


Dictionary Themes and Topics: Weaving, weavers | Sibbecai | SAMUEL, BOOKS OF | Rephaim | Rapha | RIZPAH | RAPHA, RAPHAH | PSALMS, BOOK OF | PHILISTINES | ISHBI-BENOB | HEREDITY | Goliath | GOB | GIANTS | GATH | David | Chronicles, Books of | Championship | Armies | Anakim | more
Table of Contents

Word/Phrase Notes
Wesley , JFB , Clarke , Defender , TSK

Word/Phrase Notes
Barnes , Poole , Haydock , Gill

Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes , Geneva Bible

Verse Range Notes
TSK Synopsis , MHCC , Matthew Henry , Keil-Delitzsch , Constable , Guzik

Other
Contradiction , Critics Ask

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Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Wesley: 2Sa 21:18 - -- After the battle last mentioned.

After the battle last mentioned.

Wesley: 2Sa 21:22 - -- These giants were probably the remains of the sons of Anak, who, tho' long feared, fell at last.

These giants were probably the remains of the sons of Anak, who, tho' long feared, fell at last.

JFB: 2Sa 21:15-22 - -- Although the Philistines had completely succumbed to the army of David, yet the appearance of any gigantic champions among them revived their courage ...

Although the Philistines had completely succumbed to the army of David, yet the appearance of any gigantic champions among them revived their courage and stirred them up to renewed inroads on the Hebrew territory. Four successive contests they provoked during the latter period of David's reign, in the first of which the king ran so imminent a risk of his life that he was no longer allowed to encounter the perils of the battlefield.

JFB: 2Sa 21:15-22 - -- Which may be accounted for by the fact that this, the first copy of the poem, was carefully revised and altered by David afterwards, when it was set t...

Which may be accounted for by the fact that this, the first copy of the poem, was carefully revised and altered by David afterwards, when it was set to the music of the tabernacle. This inspired ode was manifestly the effusion of a mind glowing with the highest fervor of piety and gratitude, and it is full of the noblest imagery that is to be found within the range even of sacred poetry. It is David's grand tribute of thanksgiving for deliverance from his numerous and powerful enemies, and establishing him in the power and glory of the kingdom.

Clarke: 2Sa 21:18 - -- A battle - at Gob - Instead of Gob, several editions, and about forty of Kennicott’ s and De Rossi’ s MSS., have Nob; but Gezer is the nam...

A battle - at Gob - Instead of Gob, several editions, and about forty of Kennicott’ s and De Rossi’ s MSS., have Nob; but Gezer is the name in the parallel place, 1Ch 20:4.

Clarke: 2Sa 21:19 - -- Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim - slew - Goliath the Gittite - Here is a most manifest corruption of the text, or gross mistake of the transcriber; ...

Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim - slew - Goliath the Gittite - Here is a most manifest corruption of the text, or gross mistake of the transcriber; David, not Elhanan, slew Goliath. In 1Ch 20:5, the parallel place, it stands thus: "Elhanan, the son of Jair, slew Lahmi, the brother of Goliath the Gittite, whose spear-staff was like a weaver’ s beam."This is plain; and our translators have borrowed some words from Chronicles to make both texts agree. The corruption may be easily accounted for by considering that ארגים oregim , which signifies weavers, has slipped out of one line into the other; and that בית הלחמי beith hallachmi , the Beth-lehemite, is corrupted from את לחמי eth Lachmi ; then the reading will be the same as in Chronicles. Dr. Kennicott has made this appear very plain in his First Dissertation on the Hebrew Text, p. 78, etc.

Clarke: 2Sa 21:20 - -- On every hand six fingers - This is not a solitary instance: Tavernier informs us that the eldest son of the emperor of Java, who reigned in 1648, h...

On every hand six fingers - This is not a solitary instance: Tavernier informs us that the eldest son of the emperor of Java, who reigned in 1648, had six fingers on each hand, and six toes on each foot. And Maupertuis, in his seventeenth letter, says that he met with two families near Berlin, where sedigitism was equally transmitted on both sides of father and mother. I saw once a young girl, in the county of Londonderry, in Ireland, who had six fingers on each hand, and six toes on each foot, but her stature had nothing gigantic in it. The daughters of Caius Horatius, of patrician dignity, were called sedigitae , because they had six fingers on each hand. Volcatius, a poet, was called sedigitus for the same reason. See Pliny’ s Hist. Nat., lib. xi., cap. 43

There are evidently many places in this chapter in which the text has suffered much from the ignorance or carelessness of transcribers; and indeed I suspect the whole has suffered so materially as to distort, if not misrepresent the principal facts. It seems as if a Gibeonite has had something to do with the copies that are come down to us, or that the first fourteen verses have been inserted from a less authentic document than the rest of the book. I shall notice some of the most unaccountable, and apparently exceptionable particulars: -

1.    The famine, 2Sa 21:1, is not spoken of anywhere else, nor at all referred to in the books of Kings or Chronicles; and, being of three years’ duration, it was too remarkable to be omitted in the history of David

2.    The circumstance of Saul’ s attempt to exterminate the Gibeonites is nowhere else mentioned; and, had it taken place, it is not likely it would have been passed over in the history of Saul’ s transgressions. Indeed, it would have been such a breach of the good faith by which the whole nation was bound to this people, that an attempt of the kind could scarcely have failed to raise an insurrection through all Israel

3.    The wish of David that the Gibeonites, little better than a heathenish people, should bless the inheritance of the Lord, is unconstitutional and unlikely

4.    That God should leave the choice of the atonement to such a people, or indeed to any people, seems contrary to his established laws and particular providence

5.    That he should require seven innocent men to be hung up in place of their offending father, in whose iniquity they most likely never had a share, seems inconsistent with justice and mercy

6.    In 2Sa 21:8, there is mention made of five sons of Michal, which she bore ( ילדה yaledah ) unto Adriel. Now

1. Michal was never the wife of Adriel, but of David and Phaltiel

2. She never appears to have had any children, see 2Sa 6:23; this I have been obliged to correct in the preceding notes by putting Merab in the place of Michal

7.    The seven sons of Saul, mentioned here, are represented as a sacrifice required by God, to make an atonement for the sin of Saul. Does God in any case require human blood for sacrifice? And is it not such a sacrifice that is represented here? Dr. Delaney and others imagine that these seven sons were principal agents in the execution of their father’ s purpose; but of this there is no proof. Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, certainly had no hand in this projected massacre, he was ever lame, and could not be so employed; and yet he would have been one of the seven had it not been for the covenant made before with his father: But the king spared Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan - because of the Lord’ s oath that was between them, 2Sa 21:7

8.    The circumstance of Rizpah’ s watching the bodies of those victims, upon a rock, and probably in the open air, both day and night, from March to October, or even for a much less period, is, as it is here related, very extraordinary and improbable

9.    The hanging the bodies so long was against an express law of God, which ordained that those who were hanged on a tree should be taken down before sunset, and buried the same day, lest the land should be defiled, (Deu 21:22, Deu 21:23). Therefore

1. God did not command a breach of his own law

2. David was too exact an observer of that law to require it

3. The people could not have endured it; for, in that sultry season, the land would indeed have been defiled by the putrefaction of the dead bodies; and this would, in all likelihood, have added pestilence to famine

10.    The story of collecting and burying the bones of Saul and Jonathan is not very likely, considering that the men of Jabesh-gilead had burned their bodies, and buried the remaining bones under a tree at Jabesh, 1Sa 31:12, 1Sa 31:13; yet still it is possible

11.    Josephus takes as much of this story as he thinks proper, but says not one word about Rizpah, and her long watching over her slaughtered sons

12.    Even the facts in this chapter, which are mentioned in other places, (see 1Ch 20:4, etc.), are greatly distorted and corrupted; for we have already seen that Elhanan is made here to kill Goliath the Gittite, whom it is well known David slew; and it is only by means of the parallel place above that we can restore this to historical truth

That there have been attempts to remove some of these objections, I know; and I know also that these attempts have been in general without success

Till I get farther light on the subject, I am led to conclude that the whole chapter is not now what it would be, coming from the pen of an inspired writer; and that this part of the Jewish records has suffered much from rabbinical glosses, alterations, and additions. The law, the prophets, and the hagiographa, including Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, etc., have been ever considered as possessing the highest title to Divine inspiration; and therefore have been most carefully preserved and transcribed; but the historical books, especially Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles, have not ranked so high, have been less carefully preserved, and have been the subjects of frequent alteration and corruption. Yet still the great foundation of God standeth sure and is sufficiently attested by his own broad seal of consistency, truth, and holiness.

Defender: 2Sa 21:19 - -- Since the words "the brother of" are not in the original (and, therefore, are italicized in the King James Version), critics have alleged a contradict...

Since the words "the brother of" are not in the original (and, therefore, are italicized in the King James Version), critics have alleged a contradiction here with the story of David and Goliath (1Sa 17:4, 1Sa 17:7, 1Sa 17:50). It is more reasonable, however, to assume an ancient copyist omission here, especially in view of the more complete description given in the parallel passage, as follows: "And there was war again with the Philistines; and Elhanan the son of Jair slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, whose spear staff was like a weaver's beam" (1Ch 20:5). Another less likely resolution would be the possibility that this Goliath was the son of the Goliath slain by David, and that both Goliath (Jr.) and his brother Lahmi were slain by Elhanan. In either case, there is no contradiction."

Defender: 2Sa 21:22 - -- The campaign described in these verses apparently marked the final extermination of the giants of Canaan."

The campaign described in these verses apparently marked the final extermination of the giants of Canaan."

TSK: 2Sa 21:18 - -- Sibbechai : 1Ch 11:29, 1Ch 20:4 Saph : or, Sippai, 1Ch 20:4 the giant : or, Rapha, 2Sa 21:16, 2Sa 21:20 *marg.

Sibbechai : 1Ch 11:29, 1Ch 20:4

Saph : or, Sippai, 1Ch 20:4

the giant : or, Rapha, 2Sa 21:16, 2Sa 21:20 *marg.

TSK: 2Sa 21:19 - -- Elhanan : etc. Instead of את גלית יערי ארגיס בית הלחמי , of the text, we should certainly read, as in the parallel text, ...

Elhanan : etc. Instead of את גלית יערי ארגיס בית הלחמי , of the text, we should certainly read, as in the parallel text, ""and Elhanan the son of Jair, slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath.""1Ch 11:26

Jaareoregim : or, Jair, 1Ch 20:5

Goliath : 1Sa 17:4-11

TSK: 2Sa 21:20 - -- yet a battle : 1Ch 20:6 the giant : or, Rapha, 2Sa 21:16, 2Sa 21:18 *marg.

yet a battle : 1Ch 20:6

the giant : or, Rapha, 2Sa 21:16, 2Sa 21:18 *marg.

TSK: 2Sa 21:21 - -- defied : or, reproached, 1Sa 17:10, 1Sa 17:25, 1Sa 17:26, 1Sa 17:36; 2Ki 19:13 Jonathan : 1Ch 27:32 Shimeah : 1Sa 16:9, 1Sa 17:3, Shammah, 1Ch 2:13, S...

defied : or, reproached, 1Sa 17:10, 1Sa 17:25, 1Sa 17:26, 1Sa 17:36; 2Ki 19:13

Jonathan : 1Ch 27:32

Shimeah : 1Sa 16:9, 1Sa 17:3, Shammah, 1Ch 2:13, Shimma

TSK: 2Sa 21:22 - -- four : 1Ch 20:8 fell by : Jos 14:12; Psa 60:12, Psa 108:13, Psa 118:15; Ecc 9:11; Jer 9:23; Rom 8:31, Rom 8:37

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Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: 2Sa 21:18 - -- A battle in Gob - In the parallel passage (marginal reference), "Gezer"is named as the field of this battle. However, Gath is named 2Sa 21:20, ...

A battle in Gob - In the parallel passage (marginal reference), "Gezer"is named as the field of this battle. However, Gath is named 2Sa 21:20, 2Sa 21:22 in a way to make it probable that Gath was the scene of all the battles. The Septuagint in this verse has "Gath."

Barnes: 2Sa 21:19 - -- The Hebrew text is manifestly very corrupt. First, for "Jaare-oregim,"1Ch 20:5 gives us the reading Jair. "Oregim"has evidently got in by a transcri...

The Hebrew text is manifestly very corrupt. First, for "Jaare-oregim,"1Ch 20:5 gives us the reading Jair. "Oregim"has evidently got in by a transcriber’ s error from the line below, where "oregim"is the Hebrew for "weavers."Again, the word the "Bethlehemite"is very doubtful. It is supported by 2Sa 23:24, but it is not found in the far purer text of 1Ch 20:5, but instead of it we find the name of the Philistine slain by Elhanan, "Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite."It is probable, therefore, that either the words "the Bethlehemite,"are a corruption of "Lahmi,"or that the recurrence of "Lahmi,"and the termination of "Beth-lehemite"has confused the transcriber, and led to the omission of one of the words in each text.

Barnes: 2Sa 21:22 - -- Four - Not necessarily meaning that they were brothers, but that they were all of the race of the Giant, all Rephaim. The word "four"is omitted...

Four - Not necessarily meaning that they were brothers, but that they were all of the race of the Giant, all Rephaim. The word "four"is omitted in the parallel passage, only the three last being mentioned in that chapter.

Poole: 2Sa 21:18 - -- After this after the battle last mentioned. At Gob or, in Gezer , as it is 1Ch 20:4 ; whereby it seems Gob and Gezer were neighbouring places,...

After this after the battle last mentioned.

At Gob or, in Gezer , as it is 1Ch 20:4 ; whereby it seems Gob and Gezer were neighbouring places, and the battle fought in the confines of both.

Sibbechai the Hushathite one of David’ s worthies, 1Ch 11:29 .

Poole: 2Sa 21:19 - -- Elhanan. The brother of Goliath the Gittite: the relative word brother is not in the Hebrew text, but is fitly supplied out of the parallel place, ...

Elhanan. The brother of Goliath the Gittite: the relative word brother is not in the Hebrew text, but is fitly supplied out of the parallel place, 1Ch 20:5 , where it is expressed. And such defects of relatives are not unusual in Scripture. Thus the word wife is understood, Mat 1:6 Joh 19:25 ; and father or mother , Mar 15:40,47 , compared with Mar 16:1 Luk 24:10 ; and son , Mat 4:21 Mar 2:14 Joh 21:15 ; and brother , Luk 6:16 , compared with Jud 1:1 . And such ellipses do also frequently occur in profane authors. Although the place may be and is otherwise rendered, Elhanan, the son of Jaare-oregiro, slew Beth-halachmi , or Lahmi , (as he is called by way of abbreviation, 1Ch 20:5 , which is very frequent in the Hebrew tongue,) who was (which words are frequently understood in the Hebrew text) with (so eth is oft rendered, as hath been noted before) Goliath the Gittite , i.e. in his company, bred up with him to the war, and related to him as his brother. Or, he slew Beth-halachmi , a Goliath (or another Goliath) of Gath, or the Gittite. So the name of the giant was Beth-halachmi , who may be here called Goliath , not only for his near relation to him, being his brother, but for his exact resemblance of him in feature, or in stature and strength, or in courage and military skill; as John the Baptist was called Elias for the like reason. Peradventure also, after the death of the first and famous Goliath the Gittite, 1Sa 17 , that name was either given to him by others, or taken by himself.

Like a weaver’ s beam in thickness. See 1Sa 17:7 .

Poole: 2Sa 21:20 - -- In Gath i. e. in the territory of the city of Gath; which circumstance intimates that this, and consequently the other battles here described, were f...

In Gath i. e. in the territory of the city of Gath; which circumstance intimates that this, and consequently the other battles here described, were fought before David had taken Gath out of the hands of the Philistines, which he did 2Sa 8:1 , compared with 1Ch 18:1 , and therefore not in the last days of David, as some conceive from their mention in this place.

A man of great stature or, a man of Middin or Madon , as the LXX. render it; so called from the place of his birth, as Goliath is said to be of Gath for the same reason.

Poole: 2Sa 21:22 - -- Fell by the hand of David either because they were slain by his conduct, and counsel, or concurrence; for he contributed by his hand to the death of ...

Fell by the hand of David either because they were slain by his conduct, and counsel, or concurrence; for he contributed by his hand to the death of one of them, whilst maintaining a fight with him, he gave Abishai the easier opportunity of killing him, 2Sa 21:16,17 ; or because what is done by the inferior commanders is commonly ascribed to the general, both in sacred and profane writers.

Haydock: 2Sa 21:18 - -- Gob, as Gazer was called by the Philistines; (1 Paralipomenon xx. 4.; Salien) unless (Haydock) the former word be a mistake of the transcriber. (C...

Gob, as Gazer was called by the Philistines; (1 Paralipomenon xx. 4.; Salien) unless (Haydock) the former word be a mistake of the transcriber. (Calmet) ---

Septuagint (Alexandrian) reads, Geth. (Haydock) ---

Sobochai, one of David's valiant men, 1 Paralipomenon xi. 29. ---

Saphai is added in 1 Chron. xx.

Haydock: 2Sa 21:19 - -- Adeodatus, the son of Forrest. So it is rendered in the Latin Vulgate, by giving the interpretation of the Hebrew names, which are Elhanan, the son ...

Adeodatus, the son of Forrest. So it is rendered in the Latin Vulgate, by giving the interpretation of the Hebrew names, which are Elhanan, the son of Jaare. (Challoner) ---

We should translate all the proper names, or none; as the present mode is extremely perplexing. Adeodatus might therefore be rendered, "God given;" ( Dieudonne, as the French have it, though they will not translate Saltus, but leave Jaare ) or, if Adeodatus must remain, as it is sometimes a proper name, why may not Saltus? A mere English reader might suppose that Forrest was a Hebrew name, and , with Swift in jest, maintain the high antiquity of our language. (Haydock) ---

Regularly proper names should be retained. (Calmet) ---

But the learned have often chosen to give the import of foreign names, in the language in which they have been writing. See Du Thou's History. Thus Dubois is styled Sylvius; Newman, Neander; &c. ---

An embroiderer. Protestants make this a part of the man's name, "Jaare-oregim." Septuagint, "the son of Ariorgeim." In 1 Paralipomenon xx, no notice is taken of his profession. (Haydock) ---

That passage will evince that Elhanan is not the same with David, as some would infer from the mention of Goliath's death, but the son of Jair, uncle of Joab, (chap. xxxiii. 24.) who was born at Bethlehem, though the verse in Paralipomenon would insinuate less correctly, that the giant's name was Lechem, thus, "Elehanan....slew Lechem, the brother," &c., as the copyist had written ath instead of bith. (Calmet) ---

Our version has not this mistake: "Adeodatus, the son of Saltus, a Bethlehemite, slew the brother of Goliath, the Gethite," &c., 1 Paralipomenon xx. 5. (Haydock) ---

"It would be difficult to find a passage more disfigured than the present; and, without the help of the Paralipomenon, it would be impossible to make it out." (Calmet) ---

Kennicott makes a similar remark. (Diss. i. and ii.) But he believes that the Book of Chronicles, though the latest, and usually the most corrupt, of the Old Testament, is here perfectly correct; and that the passage before us is strangely corrupted, "Jaare Oregim, a Bethlehemite," being placed instead of , ..."Jaor slew Lahmi," as he thinks that oregim, "weavers," has been inserted from the line below, p. 79. Josephus ([Antiquities?] vii. 10.) relates this transaction as follows, "When the king had sent a fresh army against them, Nephan, his relation, displayed the greatest valour. for engaging in a single combat with the bravest man of the Philistines, and killing his antagonist, he caused the rest to turn their backs, and many of the enemy fell in that battle." Thus he evades all the difficulty, adding much out of his own head; and by Nephan, designating Elehanan, the son of his (Joab's) uncle, (chap. xxiii. 24.) or Dodo, a word which the Vulgate renders patrui ejus, "his paternal uncle," though it hat a wider signification, and denotes other relations. Hence, as Joab was the nephew of David, this brave man might be in the same degree, and born of one of the children of Isai; or, perhaps, Josephus infers that he was a kinsman of David, because he was of the same city. (Haydock) ---

Goliath. He might have the same name as his brother, who had been slain by David forty-three years before; (Salien) or the title of brother may only signify, that this giant resembled the former in size and strength, Proverbs xviii. 9. ---

Beam. See 1 Kings xvii. 7. (Calmet)

Haydock: 2Sa 21:20 - -- Fourth. Josephus says this was the last war with the Philistines; and Tostat supposes, that they wished to retake the city of Geth. (Salien) --- S...

Fourth. Josephus says this was the last war with the Philistines; and Tostat supposes, that they wished to retake the city of Geth. (Salien) ---

Statute, or "of contradiction." (Aquila) ---

Hebrew Madon. Septuagint leave it as the proper name of a place, "Madon," specified [in] Josue xi. 1., and xii. 19. Capel would read, "a man of Madian." ---

Six. Such people were styled Sedigiti, among the Romans. The daughters of Horatius were thus distinguished, as well as the poet Volcatius. (Pliny, [Natural History?] xi. 43.)

Haydock: 2Sa 21:22 - -- Of David, who was present, though it does not appear that he slew any of the four. (Calmet)

Of David, who was present, though it does not appear that he slew any of the four. (Calmet)

Gill: 2Sa 21:18 - -- And it came to pass after this,.... After the former battle: that there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob; in 1Ch 20:4 it is called Ge...

And it came to pass after this,.... After the former battle:

that there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob; in 1Ch 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, 1Ch 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, 1Ch 11:29; perhaps a descendant of Hushah, who sprung from Judah, 1Ch 4:4.

Gill: 2Sa 21:19 - -- 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 B...

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 1Ch 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, 2Sa 23:24; where he is called the son of Dodo, and in 1Ch 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 words z 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, 1Sa 17:7.

Gill: 2Sa 21:20 - -- 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 b...

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 1Ch 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. Pliny a 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 writers b he makes mention of a people that had eight toes each foot; so Ctesias c 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.

Gill: 2Sa 21:21 - -- And when he defied Israel,.... The armies of Israel, as Goliath had done some years ago, 1Sa 17:10, Jonathan the son of Shimea the brother of David...

And when he defied Israel,.... The armies of Israel, as Goliath had done some years ago, 1Sa 17:10,

Jonathan the son of Shimea the brother of David slew him; this brother of David is called Shammah, 1Sa 16:9; and Shimma, 1Ch 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, 2Sa 13:3. The Jews say d this was Nathan the prophet, a son of Shammah.

Gill: 2Sa 21:22 - -- 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 ...

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 Talmudists e make her to be the same with Orpah, Rth 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, Jos 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.

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Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 2Sa 21:19 The Hebrew text as it stands reads, “Elhanan son of Jaare-Oregim the Bethlehemite killed Goliath the Gittite.” Who killed Goliath the Gitt...

NET Notes: 2Sa 21:20 Heb “a man of stature.”

NET Notes: 2Sa 21:22 Heb “his servants.”

Geneva Bible: 2Sa 21:18 And it came to pass after this, that there was again a battle with the Philistines at ( o ) Gob: then Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Saph, which [was] ...

Geneva Bible: 2Sa 21:19 And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim, a Bethlehemite, slew [the brother of] ( p ) Goliath th...

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Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: 2Sa 21:1-22 - --1 The three years' famine for the Gibeonites ceases, by hanging seven of Saul's sons.10 Rizpah's kindness unto the dead.12 David buries the bones of S...

MHCC: 2Sa 21:15-22 - --These events seem to have taken place towards the end of David's reign. David fainted, but he did not flee, and God sent help in the time of need. In ...

Matthew Henry: 2Sa 21:15-22 - -- We have here the story of some conflicts with the Philistines, which happened, as it should seem, in the latter end of David's reign. Though he had ...

Keil-Delitzsch: 2Sa 21:15-22 - -- Heroic Acts Performed in the Wars with the Philistines. - The brief accounts contained in these verses of different heroic feats were probably taken...

Constable: 2Sa 21:1--24:25 - --VII. SUMMARY ILLUSTRATIONS chs. 21--24 The last major section of the Book of Samuel (2 Sam. 21-24) consists of s...

Constable: 2Sa 21:15-22 - --B. Four Giant Killers 21:15-22 This record emphasizes the supernatural character of the victories David ...

Guzik: 2Sa 21:1-22 - --2 Samuel 21 - Avenging the Gibeonites A. David avenges the Gibeonites 1. (1) A three-year famine prompts David to seek God. Now there was a famine...

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Commentary -- Other

Contradiction: 2Sa 21:19 94. Did David (1 Samuel 17:23, 50) or Elhanan (2 Samuel 21:19) kill Goliath? } } (Category: copyist error) The discrepancy as to who killed Goliath ...

Critics Ask: 2Sa 21:19 1 SAMUEL 17:50 —Why does this verse say David killed Goliath when 2 Samuel 21:19 says Elhanan killed Goliath? PROBLEM: In 1 Samuel 17:50-51 , D...

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Introduction / Outline

JFB: 2 Samuel (Book Introduction) THE FIRST AND SECOND BOOKS OF SAMUEL. The two were, by the ancient Jews, conjoined so as to make one book, and in that form could be called the Book o...

JFB: 2 Samuel (Outline) AN AMALEKITE BRINGS TIDINGS OF SAUL'S DEATH. (2Sa. 1:1-16) DAVID LAMENTS SAUL AND JONATHAN. (2Sa 1:17-27) DAVID, BY GOD'S DIRECTION, GOES UP TO HEBRO...

TSK: 2 Samuel 21 (Chapter Introduction) Overview 2Sa 21:1, The three years’ famine for the Gibeonites ceases, by hanging seven of Saul’s sons; 2Sa 21:10, Rizpah’s kindness unto the...

Poole: 2 Samuel 21 (Chapter Introduction) CHAPTER 21 A three years’ famine, declared by God to be for the Gibeonites’ sake, ceaseth by their hanging seven of Saul’ s sons, 2...

MHCC: 2 Samuel (Book Introduction) This book is the history of the reign of king David. It relates his victories, the growth of the prosperity of Israel, and his reformation of the stat...

MHCC: 2 Samuel 21 (Chapter Introduction) (2Sa 21:1-9) The Gibeonites avenged. (2Sa 21:10-14) Rizpah's care for the bodies of Saul's descendants. (2Sa 21:15-22) Battles with the Philistines.

Matthew Henry: 2 Samuel (Book Introduction) An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Second Book of Samuel This book is the history of the reign of king David. We had in the foregoing ...

Matthew Henry: 2 Samuel 21 (Chapter Introduction) The date of the events of this chapter is uncertain. I incline to think that they happened as they are here placed, after Absalom's and Sheba's reb...

Constable: 2 Samuel (Book Introduction) Introduction Second Samuel continues the history begun in 1 Samuel. Please see my comments regarding 2 Samuel's title, d...

Constable: 2 Samuel (Outline) Outline (Continued from notes on 1 Samuel) V. David's triumphs chs. 1-8 ...

Constable: 2 Samuel 2 Samuel Bibliography Achtemeier, Paul J., and Elizabeth Achtemeier. The Old Testament Roots of Our Faith. Phil...

Haydock: 2 Samuel (Book Introduction) THE SECOND BOOK OF SAMUEL; otherwise called, THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS. INTRODUCTION. This Book contains the transactions of David till the end ...

Gill: 2 Samuel (Book Introduction) INTRODUCTION TO 2 SAMUEL This book, in many copies of the Hebrew Bible, is carried on without any new title put unto it; the reason of it is, becau...

Gill: 2 Samuel 21 (Chapter Introduction) 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,...

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