2 Samuel 14:28

14:28 Absalom lived in Jerusalem for two years without seeing the king’s face.

2 Samuel 1:1

David Learns of the Deaths of Saul and Jonathan

1:1 After the death of Saul, ¹  when David had returned from defeating the Amalekites, ²  he stayed at Ziklag ³  for two days.

2 Samuel 13:23

Absalom Has Amnon Put to Death

13:23 Two years later Absalom’s sheepshearers were in Baal Hazor, ⁴  near Ephraim. Absalom invited all the king’s sons.

2 Samuel 20:4

20:4 Then the king said to Amasa, “Call the men of Judah together for me in three days, ⁵  and you be present here with them too.”

2 Samuel 14:2

14:2 So Joab sent to Tekoa and brought from there a wise woman. He told her, “Pretend to be in mourning ⁶  and put on garments for mourning. Don’t anoint yourself with oil. Instead, act like a woman who has been mourning for the dead for some time. ⁷ 

2 Samuel 14:26

14:26 When he would shave his head – at the end of every year he used to shave his head, for it grew too long ⁸  and he would shave it – he used to weigh the hair of his head at three pounds ⁹  according to the king’s weight.

2 Samuel 24:13

24:13 Gad went to David and told him, “Shall seven ¹⁰  years of famine come upon your land? Or shall you flee for three months from your enemy with him in hot pursuit? Or shall there be three days of plague in your land? Now decide ¹¹  what I should tell the one who sent me.”

[1:1]  ¹ sn This chapter is closely linked to 1 Sam 31. It should be kept in mind that 1 and 2 Samuel were originally a single book, not separate volumes. Whereas in English Bible tradition the books of Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, and Ezra-Nehemiah are each regarded as two separate books, this was not the practice in ancient Hebrew tradition. Early canonical records, for example, counted them as single books respectively. The division into two books goes back to the Greek translation of the OT and was probably initiated because of the cumbersome length of copies due to the Greek practice (unlike that of Hebrew) of writing vowels. The present division into two books can be a little misleading in terms of perceiving the progression of the argument of the book; in some ways it is preferable to treat the books of 1-2 Samuel in a unified fashion.

[1:1]  ² sn The Amalekites were a nomadic people who inhabited Judah and the Transjordan. They are mentioned in Gen 36:15-16 as descendants of Amalek who in turn descended from Esau. In Exod 17:8-16 they are described as having acted in a hostile fashion toward Israel as the Israelites traveled to Canaan from Egypt. In David’s time the Amalekites were viewed as dangerous enemies who raided, looted, and burned Israelite cities (see 1 Sam 30).

[1:1]  ³ sn Ziklag was a city in the Negev which had been given to David by Achish king of Gath. For more than a year David used it as a base from which he conducted military expeditions (see 1 Sam 27:5-12). According to 1 Sam 30:1-19, Ziklag was destroyed by the Amalekites while Saul fought the Philistines.

[13:23]  ¹ map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 D3; Map3 A2; Map4 C1.

[20:4]  ¹ tn The present translation follows the Masoretic accentuation, with the major mark of disjunction (i.e., the atnach) placed at the word “days.” However, some scholars have suggested moving the atnach to “Judah” a couple of words earlier. This would yield the following sense: “Three days, and you be present here with them.” The difference in meaning is slight, and the MT is acceptable as it stands.

[14:2]  ¹ tn The Hebrew Hitpael verbal form here indicates pretended rather than genuine action.

[14:2]  ² tn Heb “these many days.”

[14:26]  ¹ tn Heb “for it was heavy upon him.”

[14:26]  ² tn Heb “two hundred shekels.” The modern equivalent would be about three pounds (1.4 kg).

[24:13]  ¹ tc The LXX has here “three” rather than “seven,” and is followed by NAB, NIV, NCV, NRSV, TEV, NLT. See 1 Chr 21:12.

[24:13]  ² tn Heb “now know and see.”