2 Samuel 1:2

1:2 On the third day a man arrived from the camp of Saul with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. ¹  When he approached David, the man ²  threw himself to the ground. ³ 

2 Samuel 2:26

2:26 Then Abner called out to Joab, “Must the sword devour forever? Don’t you realize that this will turn bitter in the end? When will you tell the people to turn aside from pursuing their brothers?”

2 Samuel 6:16

6:16 As the ark of the Lord entered the City of David, Saul’s daughter Michal looked out the window. When she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him. ⁴ 

2 Samuel 11:25

11:25 David said to the messenger, “Tell Joab, ‘Don’t let this thing upset you. ⁵  There is no way to anticipate whom the sword will cut down. ⁶  Press the battle against the city and conquer ⁷  it.’ Encourage him with these words.” ⁸ 

2 Samuel 13:13

13:13 How could I ever be rid of my humiliation? And you would be considered one of the fools ⁹  in Israel! Just ¹⁰  speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you.”

2 Samuel 21:19

21:19 Yet another battle occurred with the Philistines in Gob. On that occasion Elhanan the son of Jair ¹¹  the Bethlehemite killed the brother of Goliath the Gittite, ¹²  the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.

[1:2]  ¹ sn Tearing one’s clothing and throwing dirt on one’s head were outward expressions of grief in the ancient Near East, where such demonstrable reactions were a common response to tragic news.

[1:2]  ² tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man mentioned at the beginning of v. 2) has been specified in the translation to avoid confusion as to who fell to the ground.

[1:2]  ³ tn Heb “he fell to the ground and did obeisance.”

[6:16]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew text adds “in her heart.” Cf. CEV “she was disgusted (+ with him TEV)”; NLT “was filled with contempt for him”; NCV “she hated him.”

[11:25]  ⁷ tn Heb “let not this matter be evil in your eyes.”

[11:25]  ⁸ tn Heb “according to this and according to this the sword devours.”

[11:25]  ⁹ tn Heb “overthrow.”

[11:25]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew text does not have “with these words.” They are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[13:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and you will be like one of the fools.”

[13:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Now.”

[21:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “Jaare-Oregim,” but the second word, which means “weavers,” is probably accidentally included. It appears at the end of the verse. The term is omitted in the parallel account in 1 Chr 20:5, which has simply “Jair.”

[21:19]  ¹⁴ sn The Hebrew text as it stands reads, “Elhanan son of Jaare-Oregim the Bethlehemite killed Goliath the Gittite.” Who killed Goliath the Gittite? According to 1 Sam 17:4-58 it was David who killed Goliath, but according to the MT of 2 Sam 21:19 it was Elhanan who killed him. Many scholars believe that the two passages are hopelessly at variance with one another. Others have proposed various solutions to the difficulty, such as identifying David with Elhanan or positing the existence of two Goliaths. But in all likelihood the problem is the result of difficulties in the textual transmission of the Samuel passage; in fact, from a text-critical point of view the books of Samuel are the most poorly preserved of all the books of the Hebrew Bible. The parallel passage in 1 Chr 20:5 reads, “Elhanan son of Jair killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath.” Both versions are textually corrupt. The Chronicles text has misread “Bethlehemite” (בֵּית הַלַּחְמִי, bet hallakhmi) as the accusative sign followed by a proper name אֶת לַחְמִי (’et lakhmi). (See the note at 1 Chr 20:5.) The Samuel text misread the word for “brother” (אַח, ’akh) as the accusative sign (אֵת, ’et), thereby giving the impression that Elhanan, not David, killed Goliath. Thus in all probability the original text read, “Elhanan son of Jair the Bethlehemite killed the brother of Goliath.”