2 Samuel 2:25

2:25 The Benjaminites formed their ranks ¹  behind Abner and were like a single army, standing at the top of a certain hill.

2 Samuel 6:19

6:19 He then handed out to each member of the entire assembly of Israel, ²  both men and women, a portion of bread, a date cake, ³  and a raisin cake. Then all the people went home. ⁴ 

2 Samuel 14:27

14:27 Absalom had ⁵  three sons and one daughter, whose name was Tamar. She was a very attractive woman. ⁶ 

2 Samuel 24:12

24:12 “Go, tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am offering you three forms of judgment. Pick one of them and I will carry it out against you.’”

2 Samuel 12:1

Nathan the Prophet Confronts David

12:1 So the Lord sent Nathan ⁷  to David. When he came to David, ⁸  Nathan ⁹  said, ¹⁰  “There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor.

2 Samuel 12:3

12:3 But the poor man had nothing except for a little lamb he had acquired. He raised it, and it grew up alongside him and his children. ¹¹  It used to ¹²  eat his food, ¹³  drink from his cup, and sleep in his arms. ¹⁴  It was just like a daughter to him.

2 Samuel 18:11

18:11 Joab replied to the man who was telling him this, “What! You saw this? Why didn’t you strike him down right on the spot? ¹⁵  I would have given you ten pieces of silver ¹⁶  and a commemorative belt!” ¹⁷ 

2 Samuel 23:8

David’s Warriors

23:8 These are the names of David’s warriors:

Josheb-Basshebeth, a Tahkemonite, was head of the officers. ¹⁸  He killed eight hundred men with his spear in one battle. ¹⁹ 

¹ tn Heb “were gathered together.”

² tn Heb “to all the people, to all the throng of Israel.”

³ tn The Hebrew word used here אֶשְׁפָּר (’espar) is found in the OT only here and in the parallel passage found in 1 Chr 16:3. Its exact meaning is uncertain, although the context indicates that it was a food of some sort (cf. KJV “a good piece of flesh”; NRSV “a portion of meat”). The translation adopted here (“date cake”) follows the lead of the Greek translations of the LXX, Aquila, and Symmachus (cf. NASB, NIV, NLT).

⁴ tn Heb “and all the people went, each to his house.”

³ tn Heb “and there were born.”

⁴ tc The LXX adds here the following words: “And she became a wife to Rehoboam the son of Solomon and bore to him Abia.”

⁴ tc A few medieval Hebrew mss, the LXX, and the Syriac Peshitta add “the prophet.” The words are included in a few modern English version (e.g., TEV, CEV, NLT).

⁵ tn Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Nathan) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁷ tn The Hebrew text repeats “to him.”

⁵ tn Heb “his sons.”

⁶ tn The three Hebrew imperfect verbal forms in this sentence have a customary nuance; they describe past actions that were repeated or typical.

⁷ tn Heb “from his morsel.”

⁸ tn Heb “and on his chest [or perhaps, “lap”] it would lay.”

⁶ tn Heb “Why did you not strike him down there to the ground.”

⁷ tn Heb “ten [shekels] of silver.” This would have been about 4 ounces (114 grams) of silver by weight.

⁸ tn Heb “and a girdle” (so KJV); NIV “a warrior’s belt”; CEV “a special belt”; NLT “a hero’s belt.”

⁷ tn The Hebrew word is sometimes rendered as “the three,” but BDB is probably correct in taking it to refer to military officers (BDB 1026 s.v. שְׁלִישִׁי). In that case the etymological connection of this word to the Hebrew numerical adjective for “three” can be explained as originating with a designation for the third warrior in a chariot.

⁸ tc The translation follows some LXX mss (see 1 Chr 11:11 as well) in reading הוּא עוֹרֵר אֶת־חֲנִיתוֹ (hu’ ’orer ’et khanito, “he raised up his spear”) rather than the MT’s הוּא עֲדִינוֹ הָעֶצְנִי (hu’ ’adino ha’etsni [Kethib = הָעֶצְנוֹ, ha’etsno]; “Adino the Ezenite”). The emended text reads literally “he was wielding his spear against eight hundred, [who were] slain at one time.”