2 Samuel 8:6
Context8:6 David placed garrisons in the territory of the Arameans of Damascus; the Arameans became David’s subjects and brought tribute. The Lord protected 1 David wherever he campaigned. 2
2 Samuel 8:12-14
Context8:12 including 3 Aram, 4 Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and Amelek. This also included some of the plunder taken from 5 King Hadadezer son of Rehob of Zobah.
8:13 David became famous 6 when he returned from defeating the Arameans 7 in the Valley of Salt, he defeated 8 18,000 in all. 8:14 He placed garrisons throughout Edom, 9 and all the Edomites became David’s subjects. The Lord protected David wherever he campaigned.
2 Samuel 8:2
Context8:2 He defeated the Moabites. He made them lie on the ground and then used a rope to measure them off. He put two-thirds of them to death and spared the other third. 10 The Moabites became David’s subjects and brought tribute. 11
2 Samuel 1:1
Context1:1 After the death of Saul, 12 when David had returned from defeating the Amalekites, 13 he stayed at Ziklag 14 for two days.
2 Samuel 3:4-27
Context3:4 His fourth son was Adonijah, the son of Haggith. His fifth son was Shephatiah, the son of Abitail. 3:5 His sixth son was Ithream, born to David’s wife Eglah. These sons 15 were all born to David in Hebron.
3:6 As the war continued between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner was becoming more influential 16 in the house of Saul. 3:7 Now Saul had a concubine named Rizpah daughter of Aiah. Ish-bosheth 17 said to Abner, “Why did you have sexual relations with 18 my father’s concubine?” 19
3:8 These words of Ish-bosheth really angered Abner and he said, “Am I the head of a dog that belongs to Judah? This very day I am demonstrating 20 loyalty to the house of Saul your father and to his relatives 21 and his friends! I have not betrayed you into the hand of David. Yet you have accused me of sinning with this woman today! 22 3:9 God will severely judge Abner 23 if I do not do for David exactly what the Lord has promised him, 24 3:10 namely, to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and to establish the throne of David over Israel and over Judah all the way from Dan to Beer Sheba!” 3:11 Ish-bosheth 25 was unable to answer Abner with even a single word because he was afraid of him.
3:12 Then Abner sent messengers 26 to David saying, “To whom does the land belong? Make an agreement 27 with me, and I will do whatever I can 28 to cause all Israel to turn to you.” 3:13 So David said, “Good! I will make an agreement with you. I ask only one thing from you. You will not see my face unless you bring Saul’s daughter Michal when you come to visit me.” 29
3:14 David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth son of Saul with this demand: 30 “Give me my wife Michal whom I acquired 31 for a hundred Philistine foreskins.” 3:15 So Ish-bosheth took her 32 from her husband Paltiel 33 son of Laish. 3:16 Her husband went along behind her, weeping all the way to Bahurim. Finally Abner said to him, “Go back!” 34 So he returned home.
3:17 Abner advised 35 the elders of Israel, “Previously you were wanting David to be your king. 36 3:18 Act now! For the Lord has said to David, ‘By the hand of my servant David I will save 37 my people Israel from 38 the Philistines and from all their enemies.’”
3:19 Then Abner spoke privately 39 with the Benjaminites. Abner also went to Hebron to inform David privately 40 of all that Israel and the entire house of Benjamin had agreed to. 41 3:20 When Abner, accompanied by twenty men, came to David in Hebron, David prepared a banquet for Abner and the men who were with him. 3:21 Abner said to David, “Let me leave so that I may go and gather all Israel to my lord the king so that they may make an agreement 42 with you. Then you will rule over all that you desire.” So David sent Abner away, and he left in peace.
3:22 Now David’s soldiers 43 and Joab were coming back from a raid, bringing a great deal of plunder with them. Abner was no longer with David in Hebron, for David 44 had sent him away and he had left in peace. 3:23 When Joab and all the army that was with him arrived, Joab was told: “Abner the son of Ner came to the king; he sent him away, and he left in peace!”
3:24 So Joab went to the king and said, “What have you done? Abner 45 has come to you! Why would you send him away? Now he’s gone on his way! 46 3:25 You know Abner the son of Ner! Surely he came here to spy on you and to determine when you leave and when you return 47 and to discover everything that you are doing!”
3:26 Then Joab left David and sent messengers after Abner. They brought him back from the well of Sirah. (But David was not aware of it.) 3:27 When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside at the gate as if to speak privately with him. Joab then stabbed him 48 in the abdomen and killed him, avenging the shed blood of his brother Asahel. 49
2 Samuel 3:1
Context3:1 However, the war was prolonged between the house of Saul and the house of David. David was becoming steadily stronger, while the house of Saul was becoming increasingly weaker.
2 Samuel 18:2
Context18:2 David then sent out the army – a third under the leadership of Joab, a third under the leadership of Joab’s brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and a third under the leadership of Ittai the Gittite. The king said to the troops, “I too will indeed march out with you.”
[8:6] 2 tn Or “wherever he went.”
[8:12] 4 tc The present translation follows the MT; a few Hebrew
[8:12] 5 tn Heb “and from the plunder of.”
[8:13] 6 tn Heb “made a name.”
[8:13] 7 tn So NASB, NCV; NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “Edomites” (see the note on “Aram” in v. 12).
[8:13] 8 tn The words “he defeated” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[8:14] 9 tc The MT is repetitious here: “He placed in Edom garrisons; in all Edom he placed garrisons.” The Vulgate lacks “in all Edom”; most of the Greek tradition (with the exception of the Lucianic recension and the recension of Origen) and the Syriac Peshitta lack “he placed garrisons.” The MT reading appears here to be the result of a conflation of variant readings.
[8:2] 10 tn Heb “and he measured [with] two [lengths] of rope to put to death and [with] the fullness of the rope to keep alive.”
[8:2] 11 tn Heb “and the Moabites were servants of David, carriers of tribute.”
[1:1] 12 sn This chapter is closely linked to 1 Sam 31. It should be kept in mind that 1 and 2 Samuel were originally a single book, not separate volumes. Whereas in English Bible tradition the books of Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, and Ezra-Nehemiah are each regarded as two separate books, this was not the practice in ancient Hebrew tradition. Early canonical records, for example, counted them as single books respectively. The division into two books goes back to the Greek translation of the OT and was probably initiated because of the cumbersome length of copies due to the Greek practice (unlike that of Hebrew) of writing vowels. The present division into two books can be a little misleading in terms of perceiving the progression of the argument of the book; in some ways it is preferable to treat the books of 1-2 Samuel in a unified fashion.
[1:1] 13 sn The Amalekites were a nomadic people who inhabited Judah and the Transjordan. They are mentioned in Gen 36:15-16 as descendants of Amalek who in turn descended from Esau. In Exod 17:8-16 they are described as having acted in a hostile fashion toward Israel as the Israelites traveled to Canaan from Egypt. In David’s time the Amalekites were viewed as dangerous enemies who raided, looted, and burned Israelite cities (see 1 Sam 30).
[1:1] 14 sn Ziklag was a city in the Negev which had been given to David by Achish king of Gath. For more than a year David used it as a base from which he conducted military expeditions (see 1 Sam 27:5-12). According to 1 Sam 30:1-19, Ziklag was destroyed by the Amalekites while Saul fought the Philistines.
[3:5] 15 tn The Hebrew text does not have “sons.”
[3:6] 16 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.
[3:7] 17 tc The Hebrew of the MT reads simply “and he said,” with no expressed subject for the verb. It is not likely that the text originally had no expressed subject for this verb, since the antecedent is not immediately clear from the context. We should probably restore to the Hebrew text the name “Ish-bosheth.” See a few medieval Hebrew
[3:7] 18 tn Heb “come to”; KJV, NRSV “gone in to”; NAB “been intimate with”; NIV “sleep with.”
[3:7] 19 sn This accusation against Abner is a very serious one, since an act of sexual infringement on the king’s harem would probably have been understood as a blatant declaration of aspirations to kingship. As such it was not merely a matter of ethical impropriety but an act of grave political significance as well.
[3:8] 22 tn Heb “and you have laid upon me the guilt of the woman today.”
[3:9] 23 tn Heb “So will God do to Abner and so he will add to him.”
[3:9] 24 tc Heb “has sworn to David.” The LXX, with the exception of the recension of Origen, adds “in this day.”
[3:11] 25 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Ish-bosheth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[3:12] 26 tn The Hebrew text adds here, “on his behalf.”
[3:12] 27 tn Heb “cut a covenant.” So also in vv. 13, 21.
[3:12] 28 tn Heb “and behold, my hand is with you.”
[3:13] 29 tn The words “when you come to see my face,” though found in the Hebrew text, are somewhat redundant given the similar expression in the earlier part of the verse. The words are absent from the Syriac Peshitta.
[3:14] 30 tn Heb “to Ish-bosheth son of Saul saying.” To avoid excessive sibilance (especially when read aloud) the translation renders “saying” as “with this demand.”
[3:14] 31 tn Heb “whom I betrothed to myself.”
[3:15] 32 tn Heb “sent and took her.”
[3:15] 33 tn In 1 Sam 25:44 this name appears as “Palti.”
[3:16] 34 tn Heb “Go, return.”
[3:17] 35 tn Heb “the word of Abner was with.”
[3:17] 36 tn Heb “you were seeking David to be king over you.”
[3:18] 37 tc The present translation follows the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate in reading “I will save,” rather than the MT “he saved.” The context calls for the 1st person common singular imperfect of the verb rather than the 3rd person masculine singular perfect.
[3:18] 38 tn Heb “from the hand of.”
[3:19] 39 tn Heb “into the ears of.”
[3:19] 40 tn Heb “also Abner went to speak into the ears of David in Hebron.”
[3:19] 41 tn Heb “all which was good in the eyes of Israel and in the eyes of all the house of Benjamin.”
[3:21] 42 tn After the cohortatives, the prefixed verbal form with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
[3:22] 43 tn Heb “And look, the servants of David.”
[3:22] 44 tn Heb “he”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[3:24] 45 tn Heb “Look, Abner.”
[3:24] 46 tc The LXX adds “in peace.”
[3:25] 47 tn Heb “your going out and your coming in.” The expression is a merism. It specifically mentions the polar extremities of the actions but includes all activity in between the extremities as well, thus encompassing the entirety of one’s activities.
[3:27] 48 tn Heb “and he struck him down there [in] the stomach.”
[3:27] 49 tn Heb “and he [i.e., Abner] died on account of the blood of Asahel his [i.e., Joab’s] brother.”