8:13 David became famous 1 when he returned from defeating the Arameans 2 in the Valley of Salt, he defeated 3 18,000 in all.
8:1 Later David defeated the Philistines and subdued them. David took Metheg Ammah 4 from the Philistines. 5
18:12 The man replied to Joab, “Even if 6 I were receiving 7 a thousand pieces of silver, 8 I would not strike 9 the king’s son! In our very presence 10 the king gave this order to you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘Protect the young man Absalom for my sake.’ 11
For the music director; according to the shushan-eduth style; 13 a prayer 14 of David written to instruct others. 15 It was written when he fought against Aram Naharaim and Aram-Zobah. That was when Joab turned back and struck down 16 12,000 Edomites 17 in the Valley of Salt. 18
60:1 O God, you have rejected us. 19
You suddenly turned on us in your anger. 20
Please restore us! 21
1 tn Heb “made a name.”
2 tn So NASB, NCV; NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “Edomites” (see the note on “Aram” in v. 12).
3 tn The words “he defeated” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
4 tn Heb “the bridle of one cubit.” Many English versions treat this as a place name because the parallel text in 1 Chr 18:1 reads “Gath” (which is used by NLT here). It is possible that “the bridle of one cubit” is to be understood as “the token of surrender,” referring to the Philistine’s defeat rather than a specific place (cf. TEV, CEV).
5 tn Heb “from the hand [i.e., control] of the Philistines.”
6 tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew
7 tn Heb “weighing out in my hand.”
8 tn Heb “a thousand [shekels] of silver.” This would have been about 25 pounds (11.4 kg) of silver by weight.
9 tn Heb “extend my hand against.”
10 tn Heb “in our ears.”
11 tc The Hebrew text is very difficult here. The MT reads מִי (mi, “who”), apparently yielding the following sense: “Show care, whoever you might be, for the youth Absalom.” The Syriac Peshitta reads li (“for me”), the Hebrew counterpart of which may also lie behind the LXX rendering μοι (moi, “for me”). This reading seems preferable here, since it restores sense to the passage and most easily explains the rise of the variant.
12 sn Psalm 60. The psalmist grieves over Israel’s humiliation, but in response to God’s assuring word, he asks for divine help in battle and expresses his confidence in victory.
13 tn The Hebrew expression means “lily of the testimony.” It may refer to a particular music style or to a tune title.
14 tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew word מִכְתָּם (miktam), which also appears in the heading to Pss 16, 56-59, is uncertain. HALOT 582-83 s.v. defines it as “inscription.”
15 tn Heb “to teach.”
16 tn In Josh 8:21 and Judg 20:48 the two verbs “turn back” and “strike down” are also juxtaposed. There they refer to a military counter-attack.
17 tn Heb “12,000 of Edom.” Perhaps one should read אֲרַם (’aram, “Aram”) here rather than אֱדוֹם (’edom, “Edom”).
18 sn The heading apparently refers to the military campaign recorded in 2 Sam 10 and 1 Chr 19.
19 sn You have rejected us. See Pss 43:2; 44:9, 23.
20 tn Heb “you broke out upon us, you were angry.”
21 tn The imperfect verbal form here expresses the psalmist’s wish or prayer.