2 Samuel 6:13

6:13 Those who carried the ark of the Lord took six steps and then David ¹  sacrificed an ox and a fatling calf.

2 Samuel 6:17-19

6:17 They brought the ark of the Lord and put it in its place ²  in the middle of the tent that David had pitched for it. Then David offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings before the Lord. 6:18 When David finished offering the burnt sacrifices and peace offerings, he pronounced a blessing over the people in the name of the Lord of hosts. 6:19 He then handed out to each member of the entire assembly of Israel, ³  both men and women, a portion of bread, a date cake, ⁴  and a raisin cake. Then all the people went home. ⁵ 

2 Samuel 6:1

David Brings the Ark to Jerusalem

6:1 David again assembled ⁶  all the best ⁷  men in Israel, thirty thousand in number.

2 Samuel 16:1-3

David Receives Gifts from Ziba

16:1 When David had gone a short way beyond the summit, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth was there to meet him. He had a couple of donkeys that were saddled, and on them were two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred raisin cakes, a hundred baskets of summer fruit, ⁸  and a container of wine.

16:2 The king asked Ziba, “Why did you bring these things?” ⁹  Ziba replied, “The donkeys are for the king’s family to ride on, the loaves of bread ¹⁰  and the summer fruit are for the attendants to eat, and the wine is for those who get exhausted in the desert.” ¹¹  16:3 The king asked, “Where is your master’s grandson?” ¹²  Ziba replied to the king, “He remains in Jerusalem, ¹³  for he said, ‘Today the house of Israel will give back to me my grandfather’s ¹⁴  kingdom.’”

¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tc The Syriac Peshitta lacks “in its place.”

³ tn Heb “to all the people, to all the throng of Israel.”

⁴ 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).

⁵ tn Heb “and all the people went, each to his house.”

⁶ tn The translation understands the verb to be a defective spelling of וַיְּאֱסֹף (vayyÿ’esof) due to quiescence of the letter א (alef). The root therefore is אסף (’sf, “to gather”). The Masoretes, however, pointed the verb as וַיֹּסֶף (vayyosef), understanding it to be a form of יָסַף (yasaf, “to add”). This does not fit the context, which calls for a verb of gathering.

⁷ tn Or “chosen.”

⁸ tn Heb “a hundred summer fruit.”

⁹ tn Heb “What are these to you?”

¹⁰ tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading וְהַלֶּחֶם (vÿhallekhem, “and the bread”) rather than וּלְהַלֶּחֶם (ulÿhallekhem, “and to the bread”) of the Kethib. The syntax of the MT is confused here by the needless repetition of the preposition, probably taken from the preceding word.

¹¹ tn The Hebrew text adds “to drink.”

¹² tn Heb “son.”

¹³ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

¹⁴ tn Heb “my father’s.”