11:1 All Israel joined David at Hebron and said, “Look, we are your very flesh and blood! 1 11:2 In the past, even when Saul was king, you were Israel’s commanding general. 2 The Lord your God said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel; you will rule over my people Israel.’” 11:3 When all the leaders 3 of Israel came to the king at Hebron, David made an agreement 4 with them in Hebron before the Lord. They anointed 5 David king over Israel, just as the Lord had announced through Samuel. 6
11:4 David and the whole Israelite army 7 advanced to Jerusalem (that is, Jebus). 8 (The Jebusites, the land’s original inhabitants, lived there.) 9 11:5 The residents of Jebus said to David, “You cannot invade this place!” But David captured the fortress of Zion (that is, the City of David). 11:6 10 David said, “Whoever attacks 11 the Jebusites first will become commanding general!” 12 So Joab son of Zeruiah attacked 13 first and became commander. 14 11:7 David lived in the fortress; for this reason it is called the City of David. 11:8 He built up the city around it, from the terrace to the surrounding walls; 15 Joab restored the rest of the city. 11:9 David’s power steadily grew, for the Lord who commands armies was with him. 16
11:10 These were the leaders of David’s warriors who helped establish and stabilize his rule over all Israel, in accordance with the Lord’s word. 17 11:11 This is the list of David’s warriors: 18
Jashobeam, a Hacmonite, was head of the officers. 19 He killed three hundred men with his spear in a single battle. 20
11:12 Next in command 21 was Eleazar son of Dodo the Ahohite. He was one of the three elite warriors. 11:13 He was with David in Pas Dammim 22 when the Philistines assembled there for battle. In an area of the field that was full of barley, the army retreated before the Philistines, 11:14 but then they made a stand in the middle of that area. They defended it 23 and defeated the Philistines; the Lord gave them a great victory. 24
11:15 Three of the thirty leaders went down to David at the rocky cliff at the cave of Adullam, while a Philistine force was camped in the Valley of Rephaim. 11:16 David was in the stronghold at the time, while a Philistine garrison was in Bethlehem. 25 11:17 David was thirsty and said, “How I wish someone would give me some water to drink 26 from the cistern in Bethlehem near the city gate!” 11:18 So the three elite warriors 27 broke through the Philistine forces and drew some water from the cistern in Bethlehem near the city gate. They carried it back to David, but David refused to drink it. He poured it out as a drink offering to the Lord 11:19 and said, “God forbid that I should do this! 28 Should I drink the blood of these men who risked their lives?” 29 Because they risked their lives to bring it to him, he refused to drink it. Such were the exploits of the three elite warriors. 30
11:20 Abishai the brother of Joab was head of the three 31 elite warriors. He killed three hundred men with his spear 32 and gained fame along with the three elite warriors. 33 11:21 From 34 the three he was given double honor and he became their officer, even though he was not one of them. 35
11:22 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was a brave warrior from Kabzeel who performed great exploits. He struck down the two sons of Ariel of Moab; 36 he also went down and killed a lion inside a cistern on a snowy day. 11:23 He even killed an Egyptian who was seven and a half feet 37 tall. The Egyptian had a spear as big as the crossbeam of a weaver’s loom; Benaiah attacked 38 him with a club. He grabbed the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear. 11:24 Such were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoiada, who gained fame along with the three elite warriors. 11:25 He received honor from 39 the thirty warriors, though he was not one of the three elite warriors. David put him in charge of his bodyguard.
11:26 The mighty warriors were:
Asahel the brother of Joab,
Elhanan son of Dodo, from Bethlehem, 40
11:27 Shammoth the Harorite, 41
Helez the Pelonite, 42
11:28 Ira son of Ikkesh the Tekoite,
Abiezer the Anathothite,
11:29 Sibbekai 43 the Hushathite,
Ilai 44 the Ahohite,
11:30 Maharai the Netophathite,
Heled son of Baanah the Netophathite,
11:31 Ithai 45 son of Ribai from Gibeah in Benjaminite territory,
Benaiah the Pirathonite,
11:32 Hurai 46 from the valleys of Gaash,
Abiel 47 the Arbathite,
11:33 Azmaveth the Baharumite, 48
Eliahba the Shaalbonite,
11:34 the sons of Hashem 49 the Gizonite,
Jonathan son of Shageh 50 the Hararite,
11:35 Ahiam son of Sakar 51 the Hararite,
Eliphal son of Ur, 52
1 tn Heb “look, your bone and your flesh [are] we.”
2 tn Heb “you were the one who led out and the one who brought in Israel.”
3 tn Heb “elders.”
4 tn Or “covenant.”
5 tn Or “They poured olive oil on David to designate him as king.”
6 tn Heb “according to the word of the
7 tn Heb “all Israel.”
8 sn Jebus was an older name for the city of Jerusalem (cf. Josh 15:8; Judg 1:21).
9 tn Heb “and there [were] the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land.”
10 sn Verse 6 inserts into the narrative parenthetical information about Joab’s role in the conquest of the city. Verse 7 then picks up where v. 5 left off.
11 tn Or perhaps “strikes down.”
12 tn Heb “head and officer.”
13 tn Heb “went up.”
14 tn Heb “head.”
15 tn Heb “to that which surrounds.” On the referent here as “the surrounding walls,” see HALOT 740 s.v. סָבִיב.
16 tn Heb “and David went, going and becoming great, and the
17 tn Heb “and these were the heads of the warriors who were David’s, who held strongly with him in his kingdom and with all Israel to make him king, according to the word of the
18 tn Heb “and these are the number of the warriors who were David’s.”
19 tc The marginal reading (Qere) has “officers;” the consonantal text (Kethib) has “the Thirty” (see v. 15).
20 tn Heb “he was wielding his spear against 300, [who were] slain at one time.”
21 tn Heb “after him.”
22 tc Some read here “Ephes Dammim.” See 1 Sam 17:1.
23 tn Heb “delivered it.”
24 tn Heb “and the
25 map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.
26 tn Heb “Who will give me water to drink?” On the rhetorical use of מִי (mi) here, see BDB 566 s.v. f.
27 tn Heb “the three,” referring to the three elite warriors mentioned in v. 12.
28 tn Heb “Far be it to me from my God from doing this.”
29 tn Heb “with their lives.” The same expression occurs later in this verse.
30 tn Heb “These things the three warriors did.”
31 tc The Syriac reads “thirty” here and at the beginning of v. 21; this reading is followed by some English translations (cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV, NLT).
32 tn Heb “he was wielding his spear against three hundred, [who were] slain.”
33 tn Heb “and to him [reading with the Qere] there was a name among the three.”
34 tn Or “more than.”
35 tn Heb “of the three.”
36 tc Heb “the two of Ariel, Moab.” The precise meaning of אֲרִיאֵל (’ari’el) is uncertain; some read “warrior.” The present translation assumes that the word is a proper name and that בְּנֵי (bÿney, “sons of”) has accidentally dropped from the text by homoioarcton (note the preceding שְׁנֵי, shÿney).
37 tn Heb “five cubits.” Assuming a length of 18 inches for the standard cubit, this individual would be 7.5 feet (2.3 m) tall.
38 tn Heb “went down to.”
39 tn Or “more than.”
40 map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.
41 tn The parallel text of 2 Sam 23:25 has the variant spelling of “Shammah.”
42 tn The parallel text of 2 Sam 23:26 has the variant spelling of “Paltite.”
43 tn In 2 Sam 23:27 this individual’s name is given as “Mebunnai.”
44 tn The parallel text of 2 Sam 23:28 has the variant “Zalmon.”
45 tn The parallel text of 2 Sam 23:29 has the variant spelling “Ittai.”
46 tn The parallel text of 2 Sam 23:28 has the variant spelling “Hiddai.”
47 tn The parallel text of 2 Sam 23:31 has the variant spelling “Abi-Albon.”
48 tn The parallel text of 2 Sam 23:31 has the variant spelling “Barhumite.”
49 tn In 2 Sam 23:32 this individual’s name is given as “Jashen.”
50 tn The parallel text of 2 Sam 23:33 has the variant spelling “Shammah.”
51 tn In 2 Sam 23:33 this individual’s name is given as “Sharar.”
52 tn The parallel text of 2 Sam 23:34 has the variant “Eliphelet son of Ahasbai the Maacathite.”