Discovery Box2 Samuel 15:1
Context15:1 Some time later Absalom managed to acquire 1 a chariot and horses, as well as fifty men to serve as his royal guard. 2
2 Samuel 14:1-33
Context14:1 Now Joab son of Zeruiah realized that the king longed to see 3 Absalom. 14:2 So Joab sent to Tekoa and brought from there a wise woman. He told her, “Pretend to be in mourning 4 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. 5 14:3 Go to the king and speak to him in the following fashion.” Then Joab told her what to say. 6
14:4 So the Tekoan woman went 7 to the king. She bowed down with her face to the ground in deference to him and said, “Please help me, 8 O king!” 14:5 The king replied to her, “What do you want?” 9 She answered, “I am a widow; my husband is dead. 14:6 Your servant 10 has two sons. When the two of them got into a fight in the field, there was no one present who could intervene. One of them struck the other and killed him. 14:7 Now the entire family has risen up against your servant, saying, ‘Turn over the one who struck down his brother, so that we can execute him and avenge the death 11 of his brother whom he killed. In so doing we will also destroy the heir.’ They want to extinguish my remaining coal, 12 leaving no one on the face of the earth to carry on the name of my husband.”
14:8 Then the king told the woman, “Go to your home. I will give instructions concerning your situation.” 13 14:9 The Tekoan woman said to the king, “My lord the king, let any blame fall on me and on the house of my father. But let the king and his throne be innocent!”
14:10 The king said, “Bring to me whoever speaks to you, and he won’t bother you again!” 14:11 She replied, “In that case, 14 let the king invoke the name of 15 the Lord your God so that the avenger of blood may not kill! Then they will not destroy my son!” He replied, “As surely as the Lord lives, not a single hair of your son’s head 16 will fall to the ground.”
14:12 Then the woman said, “Please permit your servant to speak to my lord the king about another matter.” He replied, “Tell me.” 14:13 The woman said, “Why have you devised something like this against God’s people? When the king speaks in this fashion, he makes himself guilty, for the king has not brought back the one he has banished. 14:14 Certainly we must die, and are like water spilled on the ground that cannot be gathered up again. But God does not take away life; instead he devises ways for the banished to be restored. 17 14:15 I have now come to speak with my lord the king about this matter, because the people have made me fearful. 18 But your servant said, ‘I will speak to the king! Perhaps the king will do what his female servant 19 asks. 14:16 Yes! 20 The king may 21 listen and deliver his female servant 22 from the hand of the man who seeks to remove 23 both me and my son from the inheritance God has given us!’ 24 14:17 So your servant said, ‘May the word of my lord the king be my security, for my lord the king is like the angel of God when it comes to deciding between right and wrong! May the Lord your God be with you!’”
14:18 Then the king replied to the woman, “Don’t hide any information from me when I question you.” The woman said, “Let my lord the king speak!” 14:19 The king said, “Did Joab put you up to all of this?” 25 The woman answered, “As surely as you live, my lord the king, there is no deviation to the right or to the left from all that my lord the king has said. For your servant Joab gave me instructions. He has put all these words in your servant’s mouth. 14:20 Your servant Joab did this so as to change this situation. But my lord has wisdom like that of the angel of God, and knows everything that is happening in the land.” 26
14:21 Then the king said to Joab, “All right! I 27 will do this thing! Go and bring back the young man Absalom! 14:22 Then Joab bowed down with his face toward the ground and thanked 28 the king. Joab said, “Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your sight, my lord the king, because the king has granted the request of your 29 servant!”
14:23 So Joab got up and went to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem. 30 14:24 But the king said, “Let him go over 31 to his own house. He may not see my face.” So Absalom went over 32 to his own house; he did not see the king’s face.
14:25 Now in all Israel everyone acknowledged that there was no man as handsome as Absalom. 33 From the sole of his feet to the top of his head he was perfect in appearance. 34 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 35 and he would shave it – he used to weigh the hair of his head at three pounds 36 according to the king’s weight. 14:27 Absalom had 37 three sons and one daughter, whose name was Tamar. She was a very attractive woman. 38
14:28 Absalom lived in Jerusalem for two years without seeing the king’s face. 14:29 Then Absalom sent a message to Joab asking him to send him to the king, but Joab was not willing to come to him. So he sent a second message to him, but he still was not willing to come. 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.” 39 So Absalom’s servants set Joab’s 40 portion of the field on fire.
14:31 Then Joab got up and came to Absalom’s house. He said to him, “Why did your servants set my portion of field on fire?” 14:32 Absalom said to Joab, “Look, I sent a message to you saying, ‘Come here so that I can send you to the king with this message: 41 “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me if I were still there.”’ Let me now see the face of the king. If I am at fault, let him put me to death!”
14:33 So Joab went to the king and informed him. The king 42 summoned Absalom, and he came to the king. Absalom 43 bowed down before the king with his face toward the ground and the king kissed him. 44
2 Samuel 23:1-39
Context23:1 These are the final words of David:
“The oracle of David son of Jesse,
the oracle of the man raised up as
the ruler chosen by the God of Jacob, 45
Israel’s beloved 46 singer of songs:
23:2 The Lord’s spirit spoke through me;
his word was on my tongue.
23:3 The God of Israel spoke,
the protector 47 of Israel spoke to me.
The one who rules fairly among men,
the one who rules in the fear of God,
23:4 is like the light of morning when the sun comes up,
a morning in which there are no clouds.
He is like the brightness after rain
that produces grass from the earth.
23:5 My dynasty is approved by God, 48
for he has made a perpetual covenant with me,
arranged in all its particulars and secured.
He always delivers me,
and brings all I desire to fruition. 49
23:6 But evil people are like thorns –
all of them are tossed away,
for they cannot be held in the hand.
23:7 The one who touches them
must use an iron instrument
or the wooden shaft of a spear.
They are completely burned up right where they lie!” 50
23:8 These are the names of David’s warriors:
Josheb-Basshebeth, a Tahkemonite, was head of the officers. 51 He killed eight hundred men with his spear in one battle. 52 23:9 Next in command 53 was Eleazar son of Dodo, 54 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, 55 23:10 he stood his ground 56 and fought the Philistines until his hand grew so tired that it 57 seemed stuck to his sword. The Lord gave a great victory on that day. When the army returned to him, the only thing left to do was to plunder the corpses.
23:11 Next in command 58 was Shammah son of Agee the Hararite. When the Philistines assembled at Lehi, 59 where there happened to be an area of a field that was full of lentils, the army retreated before the Philistines. 23:12 But he made a stand in the middle of that area. He defended 60 it and defeated the Philistines; the Lord gave them a great victory.
23:13 At the time of 61 the harvest three 62 of the thirty leaders went down to 63 David at the cave of Adullam. A band of Philistines was camped in the valley of Rephaim. 23:14 David was in the stronghold at the time, while a Philistine garrison was in Bethlehem. 64 23:15 David was thirsty and said, “How I wish someone would give me some water to drink from the cistern in Bethlehem near the gate!” 23:16 So the three elite warriors broke through the Philistine forces and drew some water from the cistern in Bethlehem near the gate. They carried it back to David, but he refused to drink it. He poured it out as a drink offering to the Lord 23:17 and said, “O Lord, I will not do this! 65 It is equivalent to the blood of the men who risked their lives by going.” 66 So he refused to drink it. Such were the exploits of the three elite warriors. 67
23:18 Abishai son of Zeruiah, the brother of Joab, was head of the three. 68 He killed three hundred men with his spear and gained fame among the three. 69 23:19 From 70 the three he was given honor and he became their officer, even though he was not one of the three.
23:20 Benaiah son of Jehoida was a brave warrior 71 from Kabzeel who performed great exploits. He struck down the two sons of Ariel of Moab. 72 He also went down and killed a lion in a cistern on a snowy day. 23:21 He also killed an impressive-looking Egyptian. 73 The Egyptian wielded a spear, while Benaiah attacked 74 him with a club. He grabbed the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear. 23:22 Such were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoida, who gained fame among the three elite warriors. 23:23 He received honor from 75 the thirty warriors, though he was not one of the three elite warriors. David put him in charge of his bodyguard.
23:24 Included with the thirty were the following: Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan son of Dodo from Bethlehem, 76 23:25 Shammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite, 23:26 Helez the Paltite, Ira son of Ikkesh from Tekoa, 23:27 Abiezer the Anathothite, Mebunnai the Hushathite, 23:28 Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite, 23:29 Heled 77 son of Baanah the Netophathite, Ittai son of Ribai from Gibeah in Benjamin, 23:30 Benaiah the Pirathonite, Hiddai from the wadis of Gaash, 23:31 Abi-Albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite, 23:32 Eliahba the Shaalbonite, the sons of Jashen, Jonathan 23:33 son of 78 Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam son of Sharar the Hararite, 23:34 Eliphelet son of Ahasbai the Maacathite, Eliam son of Ahithophel the Gilonite, 23:35 Hezrai 79 the Carmelite, Paarai the Arbite, 23:36 Igal son of Nathan from Zobah, Bani the Gadite, 23:37 Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Beerothite (the armor-bearer 80 of Joab son of Zeruiah), 23:38 Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite 23:39 and Uriah the Hittite. Altogether there were thirty-seven.
[15:1] 1 tn Heb “acquired for himself.”
[15:1] 2 tn Heb “to run ahead of him.”
[14:1] 3 tn Heb “the heart of the king was upon.” The Syriac Peshitta adds the verb ’ethre’i (“was reconciled”).
[14:2] 5 tn The Hebrew Hitpael verbal form here indicates pretended rather than genuine action.
[14:2] 6 tn Heb “these many days.”
[14:3] 7 tn Heb “put the words in her mouth” (so NASB, NIV).
[14:4] 9 tc The translation follows many medieval Hebrew
[14:4] 10 tn The word “me” is left to be inferred in the Hebrew text; it is present in the Syriac Peshitta and Vulgate.
[14:5] 11 tn Heb “What to you?”
[14:6] 13 tn Here and elsewhere (vv. 7, 12, 15a, 17, 19) the woman uses a term which suggests a lower level female servant. She uses the term to express her humility before the king. However, she uses a different term in vv. 15b-16. See the note at v. 15 for a discussion of the rhetorical purpose of this switch in terminology.
[14:7] 15 tn Heb “in exchange for the life.” The Hebrew preposition בְּ (bÿ, “in”) here is the so-called bet pretii, or bet (בְּ) of price, defining the value attached to someone or something.
[14:7] 16 sn My remaining coal is here metaphorical language, describing the one remaining son as her only source of lingering hope for continuing the family line.
[14:8] 17 tn Heb “concerning you.”
[14:11] 19 tn The words “in that case” are not in the Hebrew text, but may be inferred from the context. They are supplied in the translation for the sake of clarification.
[14:11] 20 tn Heb “let the king remember.”
[14:11] 21 tn Heb “of your son.”
[14:14] 21 tn Heb “he devises plans for the one banished from him not to be banished.”
[14:15] 23 tc The LXX (ὄψεταί με, opsetai me) has misunderstood the Hebrew יֵרְאֻנִי (yerÿ’uni, Piel perfect, “they have made me fearful”), taking the verb to be a form of the verb רָאָה (ra’ah, “to see”) rather than the verb יָרֵא (yare’, “to fear”). The fact that the Greek translators were working with an unvocalized Hebrew text (i.e., consonants only) made them very susceptible to this type of error.
[14:15] 24 tn Here and in v. 16 the woman refers to herself as the king’s אָמָה (’amah), a term that refers to a higher level female servant toward whom the master might have some obligation. Like the other term, this word expresses her humility, but it also suggests that the king might have some obligation to treat her in accordance with the principles of justice.
[14:16] 26 tn Or “will.” The imperfect verbal form can have either an indicative or modal nuance. The use of “perhaps” in v. 15b suggests the latter here.
[14:16] 27 tn Heb “in order to deliver his maid.”
[14:16] 29 tn Heb “from the inheritance of God.” The expression refers to the property that was granted to her family line in the division of the land authorized by God.
[14:19] 27 tn Heb “Is the hand of Joab with you in all this?”
[14:20] 29 tn Heb “to know all that is in the land.”
[14:21] 31 tc Many medieval Hebrew
[14:22] 34 tc The present translation reads with the Qere “your” rather than the MT “his.”
[14:23] 35 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[14:24] 37 tn Heb “turn aside.”
[14:24] 38 tn Heb “turned aside.”
[14:25] 39 tn Heb “Like Absalom there was not a handsome man in all Israel to boast exceedingly.”
[14:25] 40 tn Heb “there was not in him a blemish.”
[14:26] 41 tn Heb “for it was heavy upon him.”
[14:26] 42 tn Heb “two hundred shekels.” The modern equivalent would be about three pounds (1.4 kg).
[14:27] 43 tn Heb “and there were born.”
[14:27] 44 tc The LXX adds here the following words: “And she became a wife to Rehoboam the son of Solomon and bore to him Abia.”
[14:30] 45 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] 46 tn The word “Joab’s” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[14:33] 49 tn Heb “he.” Joab, acting on behalf of the king, may be the implied subject.
[14:33] 50 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Absalom) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:33] 51 tn Heb “Absalom.” For stylistic reasons the name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation.
[23:1] 51 tn Heb “the anointed one of the God of Jacob.”
[23:3] 53 tn Heb “rock,” used as a metaphor of divine protection.
[23:5] 55 tn Heb “For not thus [is] my house with God?”
[23:5] 56 tn Heb “for all my deliverance and every desire, surely does he not make [it] grow?”
[23:7] 57 tn Heb “and with fire they are completely burned up in [the place where they] remain.” The infinitive absolute is used before the finite verb to emphasize that they are completely consumed by the fire.
[23:8] 59 tn The Hebrew word is sometimes rendered as “the three,” but BDB is probably correct in taking it to refer to military officers (BDB 1026 s.v. שְׁלִישִׁי). In that case the etymological connection of this word to the Hebrew numerical adjective for “three” can be explained as originating with a designation for the third warrior in a chariot.
[23:8] 60 tc The translation follows some LXX
[23:9] 62 tc This follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew
[23:11] 65 tn Heb “after him.”
[23:11] 66 tn The Hebrew text is difficult here. The MT reads לַחַיָּה (lachayyah), which implies a rare use of the word חַיָּה (chayyah). The word normally refers to an animal, but if the MT is accepted it would here have the sense of a troop or community of people. BDB 312 s.v. II. חַיָּה, for example, understands the similar reference in v. 13 to be to “a group of allied families, making a raid together.” But this works better in v. 13 than it does in v. 11, where the context seems to suggest a particular staging location for a military operation. (See 1 Chr 11:15.) It therefore seems best to understand the word in v. 11 as a place name with ה (he) directive. In that case the Masoretes mistook the word for the common term for an animal and then tried to make sense of it in this context.
[23:12] 67 tn Heb “delivered.”
[23:13] 69 tn The meaning of Hebrew אֶל־קָצִיר (’el qatsir) seems here to be “at the time of harvest,” although this is an unusual use of the phrase. As S. R. Driver points out, this preposition does not normally have the temporal sense of “in” or “during” (S. R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text and the Topography of the Books of Samuel, 366).
[23:13] 70 tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew
[23:13] 71 tn Heb “went down…and approached.”
[23:14] 71 map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.
[23:17] 73 tn Heb “Far be it to me, O
[23:17] 74 tn Heb “[Is it not] the blood of the men who were going with their lives?”
[23:17] 75 tn Heb “These things the three warriors did.”
[23:18] 75 tc The translation follows the Qere, many medieval Hebrew
[23:18] 76 tn Heb “and he was wielding his spear against three hundred, [who were] slain, and to him there was a name among the three.”
[23:20] 79 tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew
[23:20] 80 tc Heb “the two of Ariel, Moab.” The precise meaning of אריאל is uncertain; some read “warrior.” The present translation assumes that the word is a proper name and that בני, “sons of,” has accidentally dropped from the text by homoioarcton (note the preceding שׁני).
[23:21] 81 tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew
[23:21] 82 tn Heb “and he went down to.”
[23:24] 85 map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.
[23:29] 87 tc The translation follows many medieval Hebrew
[23:33] 89 tn The Hebrew text does not have “the son of.”
[23:35] 91 tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew
[23:37] 93 tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew
