2 Samuel 8:18

8:18 Benaiah son of Jehoida supervised ¹  the Kerithites and Pelethites; and David’s sons were priests. ² 

2 Samuel 15:1

Absalom Leads an Insurrection against David

15:1 Some time later Absalom managed to acquire ³  a chariot and horses, as well as fifty men to serve as his royal guard. ⁴ 

2 Samuel 17:28

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, ⁵ 

[8:18]  ¹ tc The translation follows the Syriac Peshitta, Targum, and Vulgate in reading “over,” rather than the simple conjunction that appears in MT. See also the parallel passage in 1 Chr 18:17.

[8:18]  ² sn That David’s sons could have been priests, in light of the fact that they were not of the priestly lineage, is strange. One must assume either (1) that the word “priest” (כֹּהֵן, kohen) during this period of time could be used in a broader sense of “chief ruler” (KJV); “chief minister” (ASV, NASB), or “royal adviser” (NIV), perhaps based on the parallel passage in 1 Chr 18:17 which has “the king’s leading officials”, or (2) that in David’s day members of the king’s family could function as a special category of “priests” (cf. NLT “priestly leaders”). The latter option seems to be the more straightforward way of understanding the word in 2 Sam 8:18.

[15:1]  ³ tn Heb “acquired for himself.”

[15:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “to run ahead of him.”

[17:28]  ⁵ 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 ms the translation deletes this second occurrence of the word.