2 Samuel 2:29

2:29 Abner and his men went through the Arabah all that night. They crossed the Jordan River ¹  and went through the whole region of Bitron ²  and came to Mahanaim.

2 Samuel 3:1

3:1 However, the war was prolonged between the house of Saul and the house of David. David was becoming steadily stronger, while the house of Saul was becoming increasingly weaker.

2 Samuel 3:24

3:24 So Joab went to the king and said, “What have you done? Abner ³  has come to you! Why would you send him away? Now he’s gone on his way! ⁴ 

2 Samuel 13:19

13:19 Then Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the long robe she was wearing. She put her hands on her head and went on her way, wailing as she went.

2 Samuel 13:26

13:26 Then Absalom said, “If you will not go, ⁵  then let my brother Amnon go with us.” The king replied to him, “Why should he go with you?”

2 Samuel 15:11

15:11 Now two hundred men had gone with Absalom from Jerusalem. Since they were invited, they went naively and were unaware of what Absalom was planning. ⁶ 

2 Samuel 18:25

18:25 So the watchman called out and informed the king. The king said, “If he is by himself, he brings good news.” ⁷  The runner ⁸  came ever closer.

¹ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

² tn Heb “and they went, all the Bitron.” The meaning of the Hebrew word “Bitron,” which is used only here in the OT, is disputed. The translation above follows BDB 144 s.v. בִּתְרוֹן in taking the word to be a proper name of an area east of the Jordan. A different understanding was advocated by W. R. Arnold, who took the word to refer to the forenoon or morning; a number of modern scholars and translations have adopted this view (cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV, CEV, NLT). See W. R. Arnold, “The Meaning of בתרון,” AJSL 28 (1911-1912): 274-83. In this case one could translate “and they traveled all morning long.”

³ tn Heb “Look, Abner.”

⁴ tc The LXX adds “in peace.”

⁵ tn Heb “and not.”

⁷ tn Heb “being invited and going naively and they did not know anything.”

⁹ tn Heb “good news is in his mouth.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the runner) has been specified in the translation for clarity.