6:1 David again assembled 1 all the best 2 men in Israel, thirty thousand in number.
13:7 So David sent Tamar to the house saying, “Please go to the house of Amnon your brother and prepare some food for him.”
15:13 Then a messenger came to David and reported, “The men of Israel are loyal to Absalom!” 3 15:14 So David said to all his servants who were with him in Jerusalem, 4 “Come on! 5 Let’s escape! 6 Otherwise no one will be delivered from Absalom! Go immediately, or else he will quickly overtake us and bring 7 disaster on us and kill the city’s residents with the sword.” 8 15:15 The king’s servants replied to the king, “We will do whatever our lord the king decides.” 9
1 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.
2 tn Or “chosen.”
3 tn Heb “the heart of the men of Israel is with Absalom.”
4 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
5 tn Heb “Arise!”
6 tn Heb “let’s flee.”
7 tn Heb “thrust.”
8 tn Heb “and strike the city with the edge of the sword.”
9 tn Heb “according to all that my lord the king will choose, behold your servants!”