18:3 David defeated King Hadadezer of Zobah as far as Hamath, when he went to extend his authority 1 to the Euphrates River. 2
27:21 Iddo son of Zechariah led the half-tribe of Manasseh in Gilead,
Jaasiel son of Abner led Benjamin,
1 tn Heb “hand.”
2 tn Heb “when he went to set up his hand at the Euphrates River.” The Hebrew word יָד (yad, “hand”) is usually understood to mean “control” or “dominion” here. However, since יָד does occasionally refer to a monument, perhaps one could translate, “to set up his monument at the Euphrates River” (i.e., as a visible marker of the limits of his dominion). For another example of the Hiphil of נָצַב (natsav) used with יָד (“monument”), see 1 Sam 15:12.
3 tn Or “to steady.”
5 tn Heb “and the anger of the
6 tn Heb “because he stretched out his hand over the ark.”
7 sn The modern reader might think God seemed to overreact here, but Israel needed a vivid object lesson of God’s holiness. By loading the ark on a cart, David had violated the instructions in God’s law (Exod 25:12-14; Num 4:5-6, 15). Uzzah’s action, however innocent it may seem, betrayed a certain lack of reverence for God’s presence. God had to remind his people that his holiness could not under any circumstances be violated.