2 Samuel 2:8

David’s Army Clashes with the Army of Saul

2:8 Now Abner son of Ner, the general in command of Saul’s army, had taken Saul’s son Ish-bosheth ¹  and had brought him to Mahanaim.

2 Samuel 4:6

4:6 They ²  entered the house under the pretense of getting wheat and mortally wounded him ³  in the stomach. Then Recab and his brother Baanah escaped.

2 Samuel 5:13

5:13 David married more concubines and wives from Jerusalem after he arrived from Hebron. Even more sons and daughters were born to David.

2 Samuel 8:1

David Subjugates Nearby Nations

8:1 Later David defeated the Philistines and subdued them. David took Metheg Ammah ⁴  from the Philistines. ⁵ 

2 Samuel 10:4

10:4 So Hanun seized David’s servants and shaved off half of each one’s beard. He cut the lower part of their robes off so that their buttocks were exposed, ⁶  and then sent them away.

2 Samuel 11:4

11:4 David sent some messengers to get her. ⁷  She came to him and he had sexual relations with her. ⁸  (Now at that time she was in the process of purifying herself from her menstrual uncleanness.) ⁹  Then she returned to her home.

2 Samuel 12:10

12:10 So now the sword will never depart from your house. For you have despised me by taking the wife of Uriah the Hittite as your own!’

2 Samuel 13:8-9

13:8 So Tamar went to the house of Amnon her brother, who was lying down. She took the dough, kneaded it, made some cakes while he watched, ¹⁰  and baked them. ¹¹  13:9 But when she took the pan and set it before him, he refused to eat. Instead Amnon said, “Get everyone out of here!” ¹²  So everyone left. ¹³ 

2 Samuel 13:19

13:19 Then Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the long robe she was wearing. She put her hands on her head and went on her way, wailing as she went.

2 Samuel 17:19

17:19 His wife then took the covering and spread it over the top of the well and scattered some grain over it. No one was aware of what she had done.

2 Samuel 18:14

18:14 Joab replied, “I will not wait around like this for you!” He took three spears in his hand and thrust them into the middle of Absalom while he was still alive in the middle of the oak tree. ¹⁴ 

2 Samuel 19:30

19:30 Mephibosheth said to the king, “Let him have ¹⁵  the whole thing! My lord the king has returned safely ¹⁶  to his house!”

2 Samuel 24:22

24:22 Araunah told David, “My lord the king may take whatever he wishes ¹⁷  and offer it. Look! Here are oxen for burnt offerings, and threshing sledges ¹⁸  and harnesses ¹⁹  for wood.

[2:8]  ¹ sn The name Ish-bosheth means in Hebrew “man of shame.” It presupposes an earlier form such as Ish-baal (“man of the Lord”), with the word “baal” being used of Israel’s God. But because the Canaanite storm god was named “Baal,” that part of the name was later replaced with the word “shame.”

[4:6]  ² tc For the MT’s וְהֵנָּה (vÿhennah, “and they,” feminine) read וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh, “and behold”). See the LXX, Syriac Peshitta, and Targum.

[4:6]  ³ tn Heb “and they struck him down.”

[8:1]  ³ tn Heb “the bridle of one cubit.” Many English versions treat this as a place name because the parallel text in 1 Chr 18:1 reads “Gath” (which is used by NLT here). It is possible that “the bridle of one cubit” is to be understood as “the token of surrender,” referring to the Philistine’s defeat rather than a specific place (cf. TEV, CEV).

[8:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “from the hand [i.e., control] of the Philistines.”

[10:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he cut their robes in the middle unto their buttocks.”

[11:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “and David sent messengers and he took her.”

[11:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “he lay with her” (so NASB, NRSV); TEV “he made love to her”; NIV, CEV, NLT “he slept with her.”

[11:4]  ⁷ tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause further heightens the tension by letting the reader know that Bathsheba, having just completed her menstrual cycle, is ripe for conception. See P. K. McCarter, II Samuel (AB), 286. Since she just had her period, it will also be obvious to those close to the scene that Uriah, who has been away fighting, cannot be the father of the child.

[13:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “in his sight.”

[13:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “the cakes.”

[13:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “from upon me.”

[13:9]  ⁸ tc A few medieval Hebrew mss have “and they removed everyone” (Hiphil preterite with vav consecutive 3cp, rather than Qal preterite with vav consecutive 3cp).

[18:14]  ⁸ tn There is a play on the word “heart” here that is difficult to reproduce in English. Literally the Hebrew text says “he took three spears in his hand and thrust them into the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the heart of the oak tree.” This figure of speech involves the use of the same word in different senses and is known as antanaclasis. It is illustrated in the familiar saying from the time of the American Revolution: “If we don’t hang together, we will all hang separately.” The present translation understands “heart” to be used somewhat figuratively for “chest” (cf. TEV, CEV), which explains why Joab’s armor bearers could still “kill” Absalom after he had been stabbed with three spears through the “heart.” Since trees do not have “chests” either, the translation uses “middle.”

[19:30]  ⁹ tn Heb “take.”

[19:30]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “in peace.”

[24:22]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “what is good in his eyes.”

[24:22]  ¹¹ sn Threshing sledges were heavy boards used in ancient times for loosening grain from husks. On the bottom sides of these boards sharp stones were embedded, and the boards were then dragged across the grain on a threshing floor by an ox or donkey.

[24:22]  ¹² tn Heb “the equipment of the oxen.”