Discovery Box2 Samuel 17:27-29
Context17:27 When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi the son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites, Makir the son of Ammiel from Lo Debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim 17:28 brought bedding, basins, and pottery utensils. They also brought food for David and all who were with him, including wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, beans, lentils, 1 17:29 honey, curds, flocks, and cheese. 2 For they said, “The people are no doubt hungry, tired, and thirsty there in the desert.” 3
2 Samuel 19:31-40
Context19:31 Now when Barzillai the Gileadite had come down from Rogelim, he crossed the Jordan with the king so he could send him on his way from there. 4 19:32 But Barzillai was very old – eighty years old, in fact – and he had taken care of the king when he stayed in Mahanaim, for he was a very rich 5 man. 19:33 So the king said to Barzillai, “Cross over with me, and I will take care of you while you are with me in Jerusalem.”
19:34 Barzillai replied to the king, “How many days do I have left to my life, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem? 19:35 I am presently eighty years old. Am I able to discern good and bad? Can I 6 taste what I eat and drink? Am I still able to hear the voices of male and female singers? Why should I 7 continue to be a burden to my lord the king? 19:36 I will cross the Jordan with the king and go a short distance. 8 Why should the king reward me in this way? 19:37 Let me 9 return so that I may die in my own city near the grave of my father and my mother. But look, here is your servant Kimham. Let him cross over with my lord the king. Do for him whatever seems appropriate to you.”
19:38 The king replied, “Kimham will cross over with me, and I will do for him whatever I deem appropriate. And whatever you choose, I will do for you.”
19:39 So all the people crossed the Jordan, as did the king. After the king had kissed him and blessed him, Barzillai returned to his home. 10 19:40 When the king crossed over to Gilgal, Kimham 11 crossed over with him. Now all the soldiers 12 of Judah along with half of the soldiers of Israel had helped the king cross over. 13
Proverbs 27:10
Context27:10 Do not forsake your friend and your father’s friend,
and do not enter your brother’s house in the day of your disaster;
a neighbor nearby is better than a brother far away. 14
[17:28] 1 tc The MT adds “roasted grain” וְקָלִי (vÿqali) at the end of v. 28, apparently accidentally repeating the word from its earlier occurrence in this verse. With the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and an Old Latin
[17:29] 2 tn Heb “cheese of the herd,” probably referring to cheese from cow’s milk (rather than goat’s milk).
[17:29] 3 tn Or “wilderness” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV, TEV, NLT).
[19:31] 4 tc The MT reading אֶת־בַיַּרְדֵּן (’et-vayyarden, “in the Jordan”) is odd syntactically. The use of the preposition after the object marker אֶת (’et) is difficult to explain. Graphic confusion is likely in the MT; the translation assumes the reading מִיַּרְדֵּן (miyyarden, “from the Jordan”). Another possibility is to read the definite article on the front of “Jordan” (הַיַּרְדֵּן, hayyarden; “the Jordan”).
[19:35] 6 tn Heb “your servant.”
[19:35] 7 tn Heb “your servant.”
[19:36] 8 tn Heb “Like a little your servant will cross the Jordan with the king.”
[19:37] 9 tn Heb “your servant.”
[19:39] 10 tn Heb “to his place.”
[19:40] 11 tn The MT in this instance alone spells the name with final ן (nun, “Kimhan”) rather than as elsewhere with final ם (mem, “Kimham”). As in most other translations, the conventional spelling (with ם) has been used here to avoid confusion.
[19:40] 13 tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew
[27:10] 14 sn The meaning of the verse is very difficult, although the translation is rather straightforward. It may simply be saying that people should retain family relationships but will discover that a friend who is available is better than a relative who is not. But C. H. Toy thinks that the verse is made up of three lines that have no connection: 10a instructs people to maintain relationships, 10b says not to go to a brother’s house [only?] when disaster strikes, and 10c observes that a nearby friend is better than a far-away relative. C. H. Toy suggests a connection may have been there, but has been lost (Proverbs [ICC], 485-86). The conflict between 17:17 and 10b may be another example of presenting two sides of the issue, a fairly frequent occurrence in the book of Proverbs.
