2 Samuel 5:1

David Is Anointed King Over Israel

5:1 All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron saying, “Look, we are your very flesh and blood! ¹ 

2 Samuel 7:14

7:14 I will become his father and he will become my son. When he sins, I will correct him with the rod of men and with wounds inflicted by human beings.

2 Samuel 15:10

15:10 Then Absalom sent spies through all the tribes of Israel who said, “When you hear the sound of the horn, you may assume ²  that Absalom rules in Hebron.”

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. ³ 

2 Samuel 20:14

20:14 Sheba ⁴  traveled through all the tribes of Israel to Abel of ⁵  Beth Maacah and all the Berite region. When they had assembled, ⁶  they too joined him.

[5:1]  ¹ tn Heb “look we are your bone and your flesh.”

[15:10]  ² tn Heb “say.”

[18:14]  ³ 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.”

[20:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Sheba) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:14]  ⁵ tc In keeping with the form of the name in v. 15, the translation deletes the “and” found in the MT.

[20:14]  ⁶ tc The translation follows the Qere, many medieval Hebrew mss, and the ancient versions in reading וַיִּקָּהֲלוּ (vayyiqqahalu, “and they were gathered together”) rather than the Kethib of the MT וַיִּקְלֻהוּ (vayyiqluhu, “and they cursed him”). The Kethib is the result of metathesis.