2 Samuel 3:6

Abner Defects to David’s Camp

3:6 As the war continued between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner was becoming more influential ¹  in the house of Saul.

2 Samuel 6:5

6:5 while David and all Israel ²  were energetically celebrating before the Lord, singing ³  and playing various stringed instruments, ⁴  tambourines, rattles, ⁵  and cymbals.

2 Samuel 14:16

14:16 Yes! ⁶  The king may ⁷  listen and deliver his female servant ⁸  from the hand of the man who seeks to remove ⁹  both me and my son from the inheritance God has given us!’ ¹⁰ 

2 Samuel 18:19

David Learns of Absalom’s Death

18:19 Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said, “Let me run and give the king the good news that the Lord has vindicated him before his enemies.” ¹¹ 

2 Samuel 22:1

David Sings to the Lord

22:1 ¹² David sang ¹³  to the Lord the words of this song when ¹⁴  the Lord rescued him from the power ¹⁵  of all his enemies, including Saul. ¹⁶ 

2 Samuel 22:16

22:16 The depths ¹⁷  of the sea were exposed;

the inner regions ¹⁸  of the world were uncovered

by the Lord’s battle cry, ¹⁹ 

by the powerful breath from his nose. ²⁰ 

[3:6]  ¹ tn Heb “was strengthening himself.” The statement may have a negative sense here, perhaps suggesting that Abner was overstepping the bounds of political propriety in a self-serving way.

[6:5]  ² tn Heb “all the house of Israel.”

[6:5]  ³ tc Heb “were celebrating before the Lord with all woods of fir” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB). If the text is retained, the last expression must be elliptical, referring to musical instruments made from fir wood. But it is preferable to emend the text in light of 1 Chr 13:8, which reads “were celebrating before the Lord with all strength and with songs.”

[6:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “with zithers [?] and with harps.”

[6:5]  ⁵ tn That is, “sistrums” (so NAB, NIV); ASV, NASB, NRSV, CEV, NLT “castanets.”

[14:16]  ³ tn Or “for.”

[14:16]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Heb “in order to deliver his maid.”

[14:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “destroy.”

[14:16]  ⁷ 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.

[18:19]  ⁴ tn Heb “that the Lord has vindicated him from the hand of his enemies.”

[22:1]  ⁵ sn In this long song of thanks, David affirms that God is his faithful protector. He recalls in highly poetic fashion how God intervened in awesome power and delivered him from death. His experience demonstrates that God vindicates those who are blameless and remain loyal to him. True to his promises, God gives the king victory on the battlefield and enables him to subdue nations. A parallel version of the song appears in Ps 18.

[22:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “spoke.”

[22:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “in the day,” or “at the time.”

[22:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “hand.”

[22:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “and from the hand of Saul.”

[22:16]  ⁶ tn Or “channels.”

[22:16]  ⁷ tn Or “foundations.”

[22:16]  ⁸ tn The noun is derived from the verb גָעַר (nag’ar) which is often understood to mean “rebuke.” In some cases it is apparent that scolding or threatening is in view (see Gen 37:10; Ruth 2:16; Zech 3:2). However, in militaristic contexts this translation is inadequate, for the verb refers in this setting to the warrior’s battle cry, which terrifies and paralyzes the enemy. See A. Caquot, TDOT 3:53, and note the use of the verb in Pss 68:30; 106:9; and Nah 1:4, as well as the related noun in Job 26:11; Pss 9:5; 76:6; 104:7; Isa 50:2; 51:20; 66:15.

[22:16]  ⁹ tn Heb “blast of the breath” (literally, “breath of breath”) employs an appositional genitive. Synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the single idea. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971): 17-81.