11:20 Abishai the brother of Joab was head of the three 1 elite warriors. He killed three hundred men with his spear 2 and gained fame along with the three elite warriors. 3 11:21 From 4 the three he was given double honor and he became their officer, even though he was not one of them. 5
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; 6 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 7 tall. The Egyptian had a spear as big as the crossbeam of a weaver’s loom; Benaiah attacked 8 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 9 the thirty warriors, though he was not one of the three elite warriors. David put him in charge of his bodyguard.
1 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).
2 tn Heb “he was wielding his spear against three hundred, [who were] slain.”
3 tn Heb “and to him [reading with the Qere] there was a name among the three.”
4 tn Or “more than.”
5 tn Heb “of the three.”
7 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).
10 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.
11 tn Heb “went down to.”
13 tn Or “more than.”