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Text -- 2 Samuel 21:20-22 (NET)

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Context
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:
 · David a son of Jesse of Judah; king of Israel,son of Jesse of Judah; king of Israel
 · Gath a town of the Anakim and Philistines in Judah 12 km south. of Ekron
 · 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
 · 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


Dictionary Themes and Topics: Shammah | SHIMEI | SHIMEAH | SAMUEL, BOOKS OF | Rapha | RIZPAH | RAPHA, RAPHAH | Philistines | PSALMS, BOOK OF | JONATHAN (1) | JEHONADAB | ISHBI-BENOB | HEREDITY | Goliath | GIANTS | GATH | David | 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

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

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Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

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 21:20 - -- 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 21:22 - -- 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 21:20 - -- 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 21:22 - -- 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 21:20 - -- 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 21:20 - -- 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 21:20 - -- 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 21:20 Heb “a man of stature.”

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

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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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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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