2 Samuel 5:18

5:18 Now the Philistines had arrived and spread out in the valley of Rephaim.

2 Samuel 5:22

5:22 The Philistines again came up and spread out in the valley of Rephaim.

2 Samuel 8:13

8:13 David became famous ¹  when he returned from defeating the Arameans ²  in the Valley of Salt, he defeated ³  18,000 in all.

2 Samuel 23:13

23:13 At the time of ⁴  the harvest three ⁵  of the thirty leaders went down to ⁶  David at the cave of Adullam. A band of Philistines was camped in the valley of Rephaim.

2 Samuel 24:5

24:5 They crossed the Jordan and camped at Aroer, on the south side of the city, at ⁷  the wadi of Gad, near Jazer.

2 Samuel 23:30

23:30 Benaiah the Pirathonite, Hiddai from the wadis of Gaash,

2 Samuel 17:13

17:13 If he regroups in a city, all Israel will take up ropes to that city and drag it down to the valley, so that not a single pebble will be left there!”

2 Samuel 18:18

18:18 Prior to this ⁸  Absalom had set up a monument ⁹  and dedicated it to himself in the King’s Valley, reasoning “I have no son who will carry on my name.” He named the monument after himself, and to this day it is known as Absalom’s Memorial.

2 Samuel 15:23

15:23 All the land was weeping loudly ¹⁰  as all these people were leaving. ¹¹  As the king was crossing over the Kidron Valley, all the people were leaving ¹²  on the road that leads to the desert.

2 Samuel 2:29

2:29 Abner and his men went through the Arabah all that night. They crossed the Jordan River ¹³  and went through the whole region of Bitron ¹⁴  and came to Mahanaim.

2 Samuel 22:16

22:16 The depths ¹⁵  of the sea were exposed;

the inner regions ¹⁶  of the world were uncovered

by the Lord’s battle cry, ¹⁷ 

by the powerful breath from his nose. ¹⁸ 

2 Samuel 4:7

4:7 They had entered ¹⁹  the house while Ish-bosheth ²⁰  was resting on his bed in his bedroom. They mortally wounded him ²¹  and then cut off his head. ²²  Taking his head, ²³  they traveled on the way of the Arabah all that night.

[8:13]  ¹ tn Heb “made a name.”

[8:13]  ² tn So NASB, NCV; NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “Edomites” (see the note on “Aram” in v. 12).

[8:13]  ³ tn The words “he defeated” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[23:13]  ¹ 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]  ² tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading שְׁלֹשָׁה (shÿloshah, “three”) rather than the Kethib of the MT שְׁלֹשִׁים (shÿloshim, “thirty”). “Thirty” is due to dittography of the following word and makes no sense in the context.

[23:13]  ³ tn Heb “went down…and approached.”

[24:5]  ¹ tn Heb “in the middle of.”

[18:18]  ¹ tn Heb “and.” This disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) describes an occurrence that preceded the events just narrated.

[18:18]  ² tn Heb “a pillar.”

[15:23]  ¹ tn Heb “with a great voice.”

[15:23]  ² tn Heb “crossing over.”

[15:23]  ³ tn Heb “crossing near the face of.”

[2:29]  ¹ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[2:29]  ² tn Heb “and they went, all the Bitron.” The meaning of the Hebrew word “Bitron,” which is used only here in the OT, is disputed. The translation above follows BDB 144 s.v. בִּתְרוֹן in taking the word to be a proper name of an area east of the Jordan. A different understanding was advocated by W. R. Arnold, who took the word to refer to the forenoon or morning; a number of modern scholars and translations have adopted this view (cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV, CEV, NLT). See W. R. Arnold, “The Meaning of בתרון,” AJSL 28 (1911-1912): 274-83. In this case one could translate “and they traveled all morning long.”

[22:16]  ¹ tn Or “channels.”

[22:16]  ² tn Or “foundations.”

[22:16]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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.

[4:7]  ¹ tn After the concluding disjunctive clause at the end of v. 6, the author now begins a more detailed account of the murder and its aftermath.

[4:7]  ² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Ish-bosheth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:7]  ³ tn Heb “they struck him down and killed him.” The expression is a verbal hendiadys.

[4:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “and they removed his head.” The Syriac Peshitta and Vulgate lack these words.

[4:7]  ⁵ tc The Lucianic Greek recension lacks the words “his head.”