2 Samuel 1:21

1:21 O mountains of Gilboa,

may there be no dew or rain on you, nor fields of grain offerings! ¹ 

For it was there that the shield of warriors was defiled; ² 

the shield of Saul lies neglected without oil. ³ 

2 Samuel 2:4

2:4 The men of Judah came and there they anointed David as king over the people ⁴  of Judah.

David was told, ⁵  “The people ⁶  of Jabesh Gilead are the ones who buried Saul.”

2 Samuel 3:27

3:27 When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside at the gate as if to speak privately with him. Joab then stabbed him ⁷  in the abdomen and killed him, avenging the shed blood of his brother Asahel. ⁸ 

2 Samuel 4:2

4:2 Now Saul’s son ⁹  had two men who were in charge of raiding units; one was named Baanah and the other Recab. They were sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, who was a Benjaminite. (Beeroth is regarded as belonging to Benjamin,

2 Samuel 7:23

7:23 Who is like your people, Israel, a unique nation ¹⁰  on the earth? Their God ¹¹  went ¹²  to claim ¹³  a nation for himself and to make a name for himself! You did great and awesome acts for your land, ¹⁴  before your people whom you delivered for yourself from the Egyptian empire and its gods. ¹⁵ 

2 Samuel 10:18

10:18 The Arameans fled before Israel. David killed 700 Aramean charioteers and 40,000 foot soldiers. ¹⁶  He also struck down Shobach, the general in command of the army, who died there.

2 Samuel 14:30

14:30 So he said to his servants, “Look, Joab has a portion of field adjacent to mine and he has some barley there. Go and set it on fire.” ¹⁷  So Absalom’s servants set Joab’s ¹⁸  portion of the field on fire.

2 Samuel 17:12-13

17:12 We will come against him wherever he happens to be found. We will descend on him like the dew falls on the ground. Neither he nor any of the men who are with him will be spared alive – not one of them! 17:13 If he regroups in a city, all Israel will take up ropes to that city and drag it down to the valley, so that not a single pebble will be left there!”

2 Samuel 18:11

18:11 Joab replied to the man who was telling him this, “What! You saw this? Why didn’t you strike him down right on the spot? ¹⁹  I would have given you ten pieces of silver ²⁰  and a commemorative belt!” ²¹ 

2 Samuel 23:9

23:9 Next in command ²²  was Eleazar son of Dodo, ²³  the son of Ahohi. He was one of the three warriors who were with David when they defied the Philistines who were assembled there for battle. When the men of Israel retreated, ²⁴ 

2 Samuel 23:18

23:18 Abishai son of Zeruiah, the brother of Joab, was head of the three. ²⁵  He killed three hundred men with his spear and gained fame among the three. ²⁶ 

[1:21]  ¹ tc Instead of the MT’s “fields of grain offerings” the Lucianic recension of the LXX reads “your high places are mountains of death.” Cf. the Old Latin montes mortis (“mountains of death”).

[1:21]  ² tn This is the only biblical occurrence of the Niphal of the verb גָּעַל (ga’al). This verb usually has the sense of “to abhor” or “loathe.” But here it seems to refer to the now dirty and unprotected condition of a previously well-maintained instrument of battle.

[1:21]  ³ tc It is preferable to read here Hebrew מָשׁוּחַ (mashuakh) with many Hebrew mss, rather than מָשִׁיחַ (mashiakh) of the MT. Although the Syriac Peshitta understands the statement to pertain to Saul, the point here is not that Saul is not anointed. Rather, it is the shield of Saul that lies discarded and is no longer anointed. In ancient Near Eastern practice a warrior’s shield that was in normal use would have to be anointed regularly in order to ensure that the leather did not become dry and brittle. Like other warriors of his day Saul would have carefully maintained his tools of trade. But now that he is dead, the once-cared-for shield of the mighty warrior lies sadly discarded and woefully neglected, a silent but eloquent commentary on how different things are now compared to the way they were during Saul’s lifetime.

[2:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “house.”

[2:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “and they told David.” The subject appears to be indefinite, allowing one to translate the verb as passive with David as subject.

[2:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “men.”

[3:27]  ⁷ tn Heb “and he struck him down there [in] the stomach.”

[3:27]  ⁸ tn Heb “and he [i.e., Abner] died on account of the blood of Asahel his [i.e., Joab’s] brother.”

[4:2]  ¹⁰ tc The present translation, “Saul’s son had two men,” is based on the reading “to the son of Saul,” rather than the MT’s “the son of Saul.” The context requires the preposition to indicate the family relationship.

[7:23]  ¹³ tn Heb “a nation, one.”

[7:23]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “whose God” or “because God.” In the Hebrew text this clause is subordinated to what precedes. The clauses are separated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:23]  ¹⁵ tn The verb is plural in Hebrew, agreeing grammatically with the divine name, which is a plural of degree.

[7:23]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “redeem.”

[7:23]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and to do for you [plural form] the great [thing] and awesome [things] for your land.”

[7:23]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “from Egypt, nations and their gods.” The LXX has “nations and tents,” which reflects a mistaken metathesis of letters in אֶלֹהָיו (e’lohav, “its gods”) and אֹהָלָיו (’ohalav, “its tents”).

[10:18]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “horsemen” (so KJV, NASB, NCV, NRSV, NLT) but the Lucianic recension of the LXX reads “foot soldiers,” as does the parallel text in 1 Chr 19:18. Cf. NAB, NIV.

[14:30]  ¹⁹ tc The LXX adds here the following words: “And the servants of Absalom burned them up. And the servants of Joab came to him, rending their garments. They said….”

[14:30]  ²⁰ tn The word “Joab’s” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[18:11]  ²² tn Heb “Why did you not strike him down there to the ground.”

[18:11]  ²³ tn Heb “ten [shekels] of silver.” This would have been about 4 ounces (114 grams) of silver by weight.

[18:11]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and a girdle” (so KJV); NIV “a warrior’s belt”; CEV “a special belt”; NLT “a hero’s belt.”

[23:9]  ²⁵ tn Heb “after him.”

[23:9]  ²⁶ tc This follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading דֹּדוֹ (dodo) rather than the Kethib of the MT דֹּדַי (dodai; cf. ASV, NIV, NLT). But see 1 Chr 27:4.

[23:9]  ²⁷ tn Heb “went up.”

[23:18]  ²⁸ tc The translation follows the Qere, many medieval Hebrew mss, the LXX, and Vulgate in reading הַשְּׁלֹשָׁה (hashÿlosa, “the three”) rather than the Kethib of the MT הַשָּׁלִשִׁי (hashalisi, “the third,” or “adjutant”). Two medieval Hebrew mss and the Syriac Peshitta have “thirty.”

[23:18]  ²⁹ tn Heb “and he was wielding his spear against three hundred, [who were] slain, and to him there was a name among the three.”