2 Samuel 1-8

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. 2 Samuel 1:1 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.
2. 2 Samuel 1:1 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).
3. 2 Samuel 1:1 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.
4. 2 Samuel 1:2 sn Tearing one’s clothing and throwing dirt on one’s head were outward expressions of grief in the ancient Near East, where such demonstrable reactions were a common response to tragic news.
5. 2 Samuel 1:2 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man mentioned at the beginning of v. 2) has been specified in the translation to avoid confusion as to who fell to the ground.
6. 2 Samuel 1:2 tn Heb “he fell to the ground and did obeisance.”
7. 2 Samuel 1:4 tn Heb “What was the word?”
8. 2 Samuel 1:4 tn Heb “from the people.”
9. 2 Samuel 1:4 tn Heb “fell and died.”
10. 2 Samuel 1:5 tn In v. 2 he is called simply a “man.” The word used here in v. 5 (so also in vv. 6, 13, 15), though usually referring to a young man or servant, may in this context designate a “fighting” man, i.e., a soldier.
11. 2 Samuel 1:5 tc Instead of the MT “who was recounting this to him, ‘How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?’” the Syriac Peshitta reads “declare to me how Saul and his son Jonathan died.”
12. 2 Samuel 1:6 tc The translation follows the Syriac Peshitta and one ms of the LXX; MT adds “who was telling him this.”
13. 2 Samuel 1:8 tc The present translation reads with the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss “and I said,” rather than the Kethib which has “and he said.” See the LXX, Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate, all of which have the first person.
14. 2 Samuel 1:9 tn As P. K. McCarter (II Samuel [AB], 59) points out, the Polel of the verb מוּת (mut, “to die”) “refers to dispatching or ‘finishing off’ someone already wounded and near death.” Cf. NLT “put me out of my misery.”
15. 2 Samuel 1:9 tn Heb “the dizziness has seized me.” On the meaning of the Hebrew noun translated “dizziness,” see P. K. McCarter, II Samuel (AB), 59-60. The point seems to be that he is unable to kill himself because he is weak and disoriented.
16. 2 Samuel 1:9 tn The Hebrew text here is grammatically very awkward (Heb “because all still my life in me”). Whether the broken construct phrase is due to the fact that the alleged speaker is in a confused state of mind as he is on the verge of dying, or whether the MT has sustained a defect in the transmission process, is not entirely clear. The former seems likely, although P. K. McCarter understands the MT to be the result of conflation of two shorter forms of text (P. K. McCarter, II Samuel [AB], 57, n. 9). Early translators also struggled with the verse, apparently choosing to leave part of the Hebrew text untranslated. For example, the Lucianic recension of the LXX lacks “all,” while other witnesses (namely, one medieval Hebrew ms, codices A and B of the LXX, and the Syriac Peshitta) lack “still.”
17. 2 Samuel 1:10 tn Heb “after his falling”; NAB “could not survive his wound”; CEV “was too badly wounded to live much longer.”
18. 2 Samuel 1:10 tc The MT lacks the definite article, but this is may be due to textual transmission error. It is preferable to read the א (alef) of אֶצְעָדָה (ʾetsʿadah) as a ה (he) giving הַצְּעָדָה (hats^eʿadah). There is no reason to think that the soldier confiscated from Saul’s dead body only one of two or more bracelets that he was wearing (cf. NLT “one of his bracelets”).
19. 2 Samuel 1:10 sn The claims that the soldier is making here seem to contradict the story of Saul’s death as presented in 1 Sam 31:3-5. In that passage it appears that Saul took his own life, not that he was slain by a passerby who happened on the scene. Some scholars account for the discrepancy by supposing that conflicting accounts have been brought together in the MT. However, it is likely that the young man is here fabricating the account in a self-serving way so as to gain favor with David, or so he supposes. He probably had come across Saul’s corpse, stolen the crown and bracelet from the body, and now hopes to curry favor with David by handing over to him these emblems of Saul’s royalty. But in so doing the Amalekite greatly miscalculated David’s response to this alleged participation in Saul’s death. The consequence of his lies will instead be his own death.
20. 2 Samuel 1:11 tc The present translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading “his garments,” rather than “his garment,” the reading of the Kethib.
21. 2 Samuel 1:13 sn Hebrew has more than one word for foreigners. Since the Amalekites were obviously not Israelites and were “inhabitants of the land” (1 Sam 27:8), adding the description ger (גֵּר) must carry more significance than just “foreigner” and “resident.” In Mosaic Law the ger (גֵּר) could join the covenant, be circumcised, offer sacrifices to the Lord, celebrate the festivals with Israel, were given equal protection under the law, and received some social welfare along with the Levites. (See notes at Exod 12:19 and Deut 29:11.) These ger (גֵּר) appear to be converts or naturalized citizens with minimally different rights (they could not own land, just houses). The young man is probably positioning himself as someone loyal to Israel, consistent the description that he came from the camp of Saul/Israel (vss 2-3). He certainly would not want to be considered one of the Amalekites that David had just fought against (vs 1). This may also explain David’s expectation that he should know better than to slay the Lord’s anointed (as Saul’s armor-bearer would not do in the true account in 1 Sam 31:4).
22. 2 Samuel 1:15 tn Heb “young men.”
23. 2 Samuel 1:18 tn Heb “be taught the bow.” The reference to “the bow” is very difficult here. Some interpreters (e.g., S. R. Driver, P. K. McCarter, Jr.) suggest deleting the word from the text (cf. NAB, TEV), but there does not seem to be sufficient evidence for doing so. Others (cf. KJV) understand the reference to be elliptical, meaning “the use of the bow.” The verse would then imply that with the deaths of Saul and Jonathan having occurred, a period of trying warfare is about to begin, requiring adequate preparation for war on the part of the younger generation. Various other views may also be found in the secondary literature. However, it seems best to understand the word here to be a reference to the name of a song (i.e., “The Bow”), most likely the poem that follows in vv. 19-27 (cf. ASV, NASB, NRSV, CEV, NLT); NIV “this lament of the bow.”
24. 2 Samuel 1:18 sn The Scroll of the Upright One (or The Book of Yashar) is a noncanonical writing which has not been preserved. Mentioned here and in Josh 10:12-13, it apparently was “a collection of ancient national poetry” (so BDB 449 s.v. יָשָׁר).
25. 2 Samuel 1:19 sn The word beauty is used figuratively here to refer to Saul and Jonathan.
26. 2 Samuel 1:20 sn The cities of Gath and Ashkelon are mentioned here by synecdoche of part for the whole. As major Philistine cities they in fact represent all of Philistia. The point is that when the sad news of fallen Israelite leadership reaches the Philistines, it will be for these enemies of Israel the occasion of great joy rather than grief.
27. 2 Samuel 1:21 tc Instead of the MT’s “fields of grain offerings” the Lucianic recension of the LXX reads “your high places are mountains of death.” Cf. the Old Latin montes mortis (“mountains of death”).
28. 2 Samuel 1:21 tn This is the only biblical occurrence of the Niphal of the verb גָּעַל (gaʿal). This verb usually has the sense of “to abhor” or “loathe.” But here it seems to refer to the now dirty and unprotected condition of a previously well-maintained instrument of battle.
29. 2 Samuel 1:21 tc It is preferable to read here Hebrew מָשׁוּחַ (mashuakh) with many Hebrew mss, rather than מָשִׁיחַ (mashiakh) of the MT. Although the Syriac Peshitta understands the statement to pertain to Saul, the point here is not that Saul is not anointed. Rather, it is the shield of Saul that lies discarded and is no longer anointed. In ancient Near Eastern practice a warrior’s shield that was in normal use would have to be anointed regularly in order to ensure that the leather did not become dry and brittle. Like other warriors of his day Saul would have carefully maintained his tools of trade. But now that he is dead, the once-cared-for shield of the mighty warrior lies sadly discarded and woefully neglected, a silent but eloquent commentary on how different things are now compared to the way they were during Saul’s lifetime.
30. 2 Samuel 1:22 tn The Hebrew imperfect verbal form is used here to indicate repeated past action.
31. 2 Samuel 1:23 tn Heb “beloved and dear.”
32. 2 Samuel 1:24 sn Clothing of scarlet was expensive and beyond the financial reach of most people.
33. 2 Samuel 1:27 sn The expression weapons of war may here be a figurative way of referring to Saul and Jonathan.
34. 2 Samuel 2:1 tn Heb “he said.” The referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
35. 2 Samuel 2:3 tc The expression “the cities of Hebron” is odd; we would expect the noun to be in the singular, if used at all. Although the Syriac Peshitta has the expected reading “in Hebron,” the MT is clearly the more difficult reading and should probably be retained here.
36. 2 Samuel 2:4 tn Heb “house.”
37. 2 Samuel 2:4 tn Heb “and they told David.” The subject appears to be indefinite, allowing one to translate the verb as passive with David as subject.
38. 2 Samuel 2:4 tn Heb “men.”
39. 2 Samuel 2:5 tn Or “loyalty.”
40. 2 Samuel 2:6 tn Or “loyalty and devotion.”
41. 2 Samuel 2:6 tn Heb “will do with you this good.”
42. 2 Samuel 2:7 tn Heb “let your hands be strong.”
43. 2 Samuel 2:8 sn The name Ish Bosheth means in Hebrew “man of shame.” It presupposes an earlier form such as Ish Baal (“man of the Lord”), with the word “baal” being used of Israel’s God. But because the Canaanite storm god was named “Baal,” that part of the name was later replaced with the word “shame.”
44. 2 Samuel 2:9 tc The MT here reads “the Ashurite,” but this is problematic if it is taken to mean “the Assyrian.” Ish Bosheth’s kingdom obviously was not of such proportions as to extend to Assyria. The Syriac Peshitta and the Vulgate render the word as “the Geshurite,” while the Targum has “of the house of Ashur.” We should probably emend the Hebrew text to read “the Geshurite.” The Geshurites lived in the northeastern part of the land of Palestine.
45. 2 Samuel 2:10 tn Heb “house.”
46. 2 Samuel 2:11 tn Heb “And the number of the days in which David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.”
47. 2 Samuel 2:14 tn Heb “play.” What is in view here is a gladiatorial contest in which representative groups of soldiers engage in mortal combat before the watching armies. Cf. NAB “perform for us”; NASB “hold (have NRSV) a contest before us”; NLT “put on an exhibition of hand-to-hand combat.”
48. 2 Samuel 2:14 tn Heb “let them arise.”
49. 2 Samuel 2:16 tn Heb “and they grabbed each one the head of his neighbor with his sword in the side of his neighbor and they fell together.”
50. 2 Samuel 2:16 tn The meaning of the name “Helkath Hazzurim” (so NIV; KJV, NASB, NRSV similar) is not clear. BHK relates the name to the Hebrew term for “side,” and this is reflected in NAB “the Field of the Sides”; the Greek OT revocalizes the Hebrew to mean something like “Field of Adversaries.” Cf. also TEV, NLT “Field of Swords”; CEV “Field of Daggers.”
51. 2 Samuel 2:17 tn Heb “servants.” So also elsewhere.
52. 2 Samuel 2:21 tn Heb “young men.” So also elsewhere.
53. 2 Samuel 2:22 tn Heb “Why should I strike you to the ground?”
54. 2 Samuel 2:22 tn Heb “lift.”
55. 2 Samuel 2:23 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Asahel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
56. 2 Samuel 2:23 tn Heb “the.” The article functions here as a possessive pronoun.
57. 2 Samuel 2:23 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Asahel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
58. 2 Samuel 2:23 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abner) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
59. 2 Samuel 2:23 tn Heb “and they stand.”
60. 2 Samuel 2:25 tn Heb “were gathered together.”
61. 2 Samuel 2:27 tn The Hebrew verb נַעֲלָה (naʿalah) used here is the Niphal perfect third person masculine singular of עָלָה (ʿalah, “to go up”). In the Niphal this verb “is used idiomatically, of getting away from so as to abandon…especially of an army raising a siege…” (see S. R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text and the Topography of the Books of Samuel, 244).
62. 2 Samuel 2:28 tn Heb “stood.”
63. 2 Samuel 2:28 tn Heb “they no longer chased after Israel and they no longer fought.”
64. 2 Samuel 2:29 sn The rift valley is a large geographic feature extending from Galilee to the Gulf of Aqaba. Here only a section of the Jordan Valley is in view.
65. 2 Samuel 2:29 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
66. 2 Samuel 2:29 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 and HALOT 167 s.v. In this case one could translate “and they traveled all morning long.”
67. 2 Samuel 3:3 tn The Hebrew text does not have the word “son.” So also in vv. 3-5.
68. 2 Samuel 3:3 tn Heb “wife.”
69. 2 Samuel 3:5 tn The Hebrew text does not have “sons.”
70. 2 Samuel 3:6 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.
71. 2 Samuel 3:7 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 mss, Aquila, Symmachus, Theodotion, and Vulgate. Perhaps the name was accidentally omitted by homoioarcton. Note that both the name Ish Bosheth and the following preposition אֶל (ʾel) begin with the letter alef.
72. 2 Samuel 3:7 tn The expression בּוֹא אֶל (boʾ ʾel) means “come to” or “approach,” but is also used as a euphemism for sexual relations.
73. 2 Samuel 3:7 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.
74. 2 Samuel 3:8 tn Heb “I do.”
75. 2 Samuel 3:8 tn Heb “brothers.”
76. 2 Samuel 3:8 tn Heb “and you have laid upon me the guilt of the woman today.”
77. 2 Samuel 3:9 tn Heb “So will God do to Abner and so he will add to him.”
78. 2 Samuel 3:9 tc Heb “has sworn to David.” The LXX, with the exception of the recension of Origen, adds “in this day.”
79. 2 Samuel 3:11 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Ish Bosheth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
80. 2 Samuel 3:12 tn The Hebrew text adds here, “on his behalf.”
81. 2 Samuel 3:12 tn Heb “cut a covenant.” So also in vv. 13, 21.
82. 2 Samuel 3:12 tn Heb “and behold, my hand is with you.”
83. 2 Samuel 3:13 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.
84. 2 Samuel 3:14 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.”
85. 2 Samuel 3:14 tn Heb “whom I betrothed to myself.”
86. 2 Samuel 3:15 tn Heb “sent and took her.”
87. 2 Samuel 3:15 tn In 1 Sam 25:44 this name appears as “Palti.”
88. 2 Samuel 3:16 tn Heb “Go, return.”
89. 2 Samuel 3:17 tn Heb “the word of Abner was with.”
90. 2 Samuel 3:17 tn Heb “you were seeking David to be king over you.”
91. 2 Samuel 3:18 tc The present translation follows the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate in reading “I will save,” rather than the MT “he saved” or “to save." The context calls for the first person common singular imperfect of the verb rather than the third person masculine singular perfect or the infinitive construct.
92. 2 Samuel 3:18 tn Heb “from the hand of.”
93. 2 Samuel 3:19 tn Heb “into the ears of.”
94. 2 Samuel 3:19 tn Heb “also Abner went to speak into the ears of David in Hebron.”
95. 2 Samuel 3:19 tn Heb “all which was good in the eyes of Israel and in the eyes of all the house of Benjamin.”
96. 2 Samuel 3:21 tn After the cohortatives, the prefixed verbal form with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
97. 2 Samuel 3:22 tn Heb “And look, the servants of David.”
98. 2 Samuel 3:22 tn Heb “he”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
99. 2 Samuel 3:24 tn Heb “Look, Abner.”
100. 2 Samuel 3:24 tc The LXX adds “in peace.”
101. 2 Samuel 3:25 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.
102. 2 Samuel 3:27 tn Heb “and he struck him down there [in] the stomach.”
103. 2 Samuel 3:27 tn Heb “and he [i.e., Abner] died on account of the blood of Asahel his [i.e., Joab’s] brother.”
104. 2 Samuel 3:29 tn Heb “and may they whirl over.” In the Hebrew text the subject of the plural verb is unexpressed. The most likely subject is Abner’s “shed blood” (v. 28), which is a masculine plural form in Hebrew. The verb חוּל (khul, “whirl”) is used with the preposition עַל (ʿal) only here and in Jer 23:19; 30:23.
105. 2 Samuel 3:29 tc 4QSam^a has “of Joab” rather than “of his father” read by the MT.
106. 2 Samuel 3:29 tn Heb “the house of Joab.” However, it is necessary to specify that David’s curse is aimed at Joab’s male descendants; otherwise it would not be clear that “one who works at the spindle” refers to a man doing woman’s work rather than a woman.
107. 2 Samuel 3:29 tn Heb “and may there not be cut off from the house of Joab.”
108. 2 Samuel 3:29 tn The expression used here is difficult. The translation “one who works at the spindle” follows a suggestion of S. R. Driver that the expression pejoratively describes an effeminate man who, rather than being a mighty warrior, is occupied with tasks that are normally fulfilled by women (S. R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text and the Topography of the Books of Samuel, 250-51; cf. NAB “one unmanly”; TEV “fit only to do a woman’s work”; CEV “cowards”). But P. K. McCarter, following an alleged Phoenician usage of the noun to refer to “crutches,” adopts a different view. He translates the phrase “clings to a crutch,” seeing here a further description of physical lameness (II Samuel [AB], 118). Such an idea fits the present context well and is followed by NIV, NCV, and NLT, although the evidence for this meaning is questionable. According to DNWSI 2:915-16, the noun consistently refers to a spindle in Phoenician, as it does in Ugaritic (see UT 468).
109. 2 Samuel 3:31 tn Heb “was walking.”
110. 2 Samuel 3:31 tn A ‫מִטָּה‬ (mittah) is typically bed with a frame (which can be ornate and covered with blankets and pillows). Here, like a stretcher, it is a portable frame for carrying a body, technically a bier.
111. 2 Samuel 3:32 tn Heb “lifted up his voice and wept.” The expression is a verbal hendiadys.
112. 2 Samuel 3:34 tc The translation follows many medieval Hebrew manuscripts and several ancient versions in reading “your hands,” rather than “your hand.”
113. 2 Samuel 3:34 tc 4QSam^a lacks the words “all the people.”
114. 2 Samuel 3:35 tn Heb “Thus God will do to me and thus he will add.”
115. 2 Samuel 3:36 tn Heb “it was good in their eyes.”
116. 2 Samuel 3:37 tn Heb “from the king.”
117. 2 Samuel 3:38 tn Heb “a leader and a great one.” The expression is a hendiadys.
118. 2 Samuel 3:39 tn Heb “are hard from me.”
119. 2 Samuel 3:39 tn Heb “May the Lord repay the doer of the evil according to his evil” (NASB similar).
120. 2 Samuel 4:1 tn The MT does not specify the subject of the verb here, but the reference is to Ish Bosheth, so the name has been supplied in the translation for clarity. 4QSam^a and the LXX mistakenly read “Mephibosheth.”
121. 2 Samuel 4:1 tn Heb “his hands went slack.”
122. 2 Samuel 4:2 tc The present translation, “Saul’s son had two men,” is based on the reading “to the son of Saul,” rather than the MT’s “the son of Saul.” The context requires the preposition to indicate the family relationship.
123. 2 Samuel 4:3 tn Heb “until this day.”
124. 2 Samuel 4:4 tn Heb “and was lame.”
125. 2 Samuel 4:6 tc For the MT’s וְהֵנָּה (v^ehennah, “and they,” feminine) read וְהִנֵּה (v^ehinneh, “and behold”). See the LXX, Syriac Peshitta, and Targum.
126. 2 Samuel 4:6 tc The LXX (followed by NLT) reads, “behold the house doorkeeper was cleaning wheat and became drowsy and fell asleep and the brothers Rekcha and Baana avoided notice.” Josephus refers to the LXX with a slight expansion on the tradition in Ant. 7:48. The last sentence appears to follow the Hebrew MT, although understanding the final verb נִמְלָטוּ (nimlatu; Niphal of מָלַט, malat) “to escape” as “escaping notice” is without parallel. The beginning of the verse in the LXX shares at least the words “midst of house” and “wheat” with the Hebrew MT. What sort of textual corruption through common scribal copying errors could lead to the different texts is unclear.tn Heb “taking wheat.” The reference to getting wheat is obscure and traditionally inferred to mean that they came under the pretense of obtaining wheat (KJV, ESV, NASB, NIV, Holman). However the plausibility of this scenario is not culturally certain.
127. 2 Samuel 4:6 tn Heb “and they struck him down.”
128. 2 Samuel 4:7 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.
129. 2 Samuel 4:7 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Ish Bosheth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
130. 2 Samuel 4:7 tn Heb “they struck him down and killed him.” The expression is a verbal hendiadys.
131. 2 Samuel 4:7 tn Heb “and they removed his head.” The Syriac Peshitta and Vulgate lack these words.
132. 2 Samuel 4:7 tc The Lucianic Greek recension lacks the words “his head.”
133. 2 Samuel 4:7 sn The rift valley is a large geographic feature extending form Galilee to the gulf of Aqaba. The portion in view here runs along the west of the Dead Sea.
134. 2 Samuel 4:8 tn Heb “from.”
135. 2 Samuel 4:10 tn Heb “and he was like a bearer of good news in his eyes.”
136. 2 Samuel 4:11 tn Heb “on his bed.”
137. 2 Samuel 4:11 tn See HALOT 146 s.v. II בער. Some derive the verb from a homonym meaning “to burn; to consume.”
138. 2 Samuel 4:12 tn The antecedent of the pronoun “them” (which is not present in the Hebrew text, but implied) is not entirely clear. Presumably it is the corpses that were hung and not merely the detached hands and feet; cf. NIV “hung the (their NRSV, NLT) bodies”; the alternative is represented by TEV “cut off their hands and feet, which they hung up.”
139. 2 Samuel 4:12 tc 4QSam^a mistakenly reads “Mephibosheth” here.
140. 2 Samuel 4:12 tc The LXX adds “the son of Ner” by conformity with common phraseology elsewhere.
141. 2 Samuel 4:12 tc Some mss of the LXX lack the phrase “in Hebron.”
142. 2 Samuel 5:1 tn Heb “look we are your bone and your flesh.”
143. 2 Samuel 5:2 tn Heb “you were the one leading out and the one leading in Israel.”
144. 2 Samuel 5:3 tn Heb “elders.”
145. 2 Samuel 5:3 tn Heb “and the king, David, cut for them a covenant.”
146. 2 Samuel 5:3 tn Heb “anointed.”
147. 2 Samuel 5:6 tn The Hebrew text has “he” rather than “the Jebusites.” The referent has been specified in the translation for clarity. In the Syriac Peshitta and some mss of the Targum the verb is plural rather than singular.
148. 2 Samuel 5:8 tc There is some confusion among the witnesses concerning this word. The Kethib is the Qal perfect third common plural שָׂנְאוּ (san^eʾu, “they hated”), referring to the Jebusites’ attitude toward David. The Qere is the Qal passive participle construct plural שְׂנֻאֵי (s^enuʾe, “hated”), referring to David’s attitude toward the Jebusites. 4QSam^a has the Qal perfect third person feminine singular שָׂנְאָה (san^eʾah, “hated”), the subject of which would be “the soul of David.” The difference is minor and the translation adopted above works for either the Kethib or the Qere.
149. 2 Samuel 5:8 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term has been debated. For a survey of various views, see P. K. McCarter, II Samuel (AB), 139-40. sn If a water tunnel is in view here, it is probably the so-called Warren’s Shaft that extends up from Hezekiah’s tunnel. It would have provided a means for surprise attack against the occupants of the City of David. The LXX seems not to understand the reference here, translating “by the water shaft” as “with a small knife.”
150. 2 Samuel 5:8 tn Heb “the house.” TEV takes this as a reference to the temple (“the Lord’s house”).
151. 2 Samuel 5:10 tc 4QSam^a and the LXX lack the word “God,” probably due to harmonization with the more common biblical phrase “the Lord of hosts.”
152. 2 Samuel 5:10 tn Traditionally, “the Lord God of hosts” (KJV, NASB); NIV, NLT “the Lord God Almighty”; CEV “the Lord (+ God NCV) All-Powerful.”
153. 2 Samuel 5:10 tn The translation assumes that the disjunctive clause is circumstantial-causal, giving the reason for David’s success.
154. 2 Samuel 5:11 tn Heb “a house.”
155. 2 Samuel 5:17 tn Heb “anointed.”
156. 2 Samuel 5:17 tn Heb “all the Philistines.”
157. 2 Samuel 5:19 tn The infinitive absolute lends emphasis to the following verb.
158. 2 Samuel 5:20 tn The name means “Lord of the outbursts.”
159. 2 Samuel 5:21 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Philistines) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
160. 2 Samuel 5:21 tc For “idols” the LXX and Vulgate have “gods.”
161. 2 Samuel 5:23 tn The words “what to do” are not in the Hebrew text.
162. 2 Samuel 5:23 tn The words “this time” are not in the Hebrew text.
163. 2 Samuel 5:23 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
164. 2 Samuel 5:23 tn Some translate as “balsam trees” (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV, NJB, NLT); cf. KJV, NKJV, ASV “mulberry trees”; NAB “mastic trees”; NEB, REB “aspens.” The exact identification of the type of tree or plant is uncertain.
165. 2 Samuel 5:24 tn Heb “camp” (so NAB).
166. 2 Samuel 5:25 tn Heb “from Gibeon until you enter Gezer.”
167. 2 Samuel 6:1 tn The translation understands the verb to be a defective spelling of וַיֶּאֱסֹף (vayy^eʾesof) due to quiescence of the letter א (alef). The root therefore is אָסַף (ʾasaf, “to gather”). The Masoretes, however, pointed the verb as וַיֹּסֶף (vayyosef), understanding it to be a form of יָסַף (yasaf, “to add”). This does not fit the context, which calls for a verb of gathering.
168. 2 Samuel 6:1 tn Or “chosen.”
169. 2 Samuel 6:2 tn Heb “arose and went.”
170. 2 Samuel 6:2 tn Heb “from,” but the following context indicates they traveled to this location.
171. 2 Samuel 6:2 tn This is another name for Kiriath Jearim (see 1 Chr 13:6).
172. 2 Samuel 6:2 tc The MT has here a double reference to the name (שֵׁם שֵׁם, shem shem). Many medieval Hebrew mss in the first occurrence point the word differently and read the adverb שָׁם (sham, “there”). This is also the understanding of the Syriac Peshitta (Syr., taman). While this yields an acceptable understanding to the text, it is more likely that the MT reading results from dittography. If the word did occur twice, one might have expected the first occurrence to have the article. The present translation therefore reads שֵׁם only once.
173. 2 Samuel 6:4 tn Heb “lifted.”
174. 2 Samuel 6:5 tn Heb “all the house of Israel.”
175. 2 Samuel 6:5 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.”
176. 2 Samuel 6:5 tn Heb “with zithers [?] and with harps.”
177. 2 Samuel 6:5 tn That is, “sistrums” (so NAB, NIV); ASV, NASB, NRSV, CEV, NLT “castanets.”
178. 2 Samuel 6:6 tn 1 Chr 13:9 has “Kidon.”
179. 2 Samuel 6:6 tn Or “steadied.”
180. 2 Samuel 6:6 tn Heb “and Uzzah reached out toward the ark of God and grabbed it.”
181. 2 Samuel 6:7 tn Heb “and the anger of the Lord burned against Uzzah.”
182. 2 Samuel 6:7 tn Heb “God.”
183. 2 Samuel 6:7 tc Heb “there.” Since this same term occurs later in the verse it is translated “on the spot” here for stylistic reasons.
184. 2 Samuel 6:7 tc The phrase “his negligence” is absent from the LXX.
185. 2 Samuel 6:8 tn Heb “because the Lord broke out [with] a breaking out [i.e., an outburst] against Uzzah.”
186. 2 Samuel 6:8 sn The name Perez Uzzah means in Hebrew “the outburst [against] Uzzah.”
187. 2 Samuel 6:11 tn Heb “house,” both here and in v. 12.
188. 2 Samuel 6:12 tn Heb “and it was told to King David, saying.”
189. 2 Samuel 6:13 tn Heb “he”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
190. 2 Samuel 6:14 tn Heb “and David was dancing with all his strength before the Lord, and David was girded with a linen ephod.”
191. 2 Samuel 6:15 tc Heb “all the house of Israel.” A few medieval Hebrew mss and the Syriac Peshitta lack the words “the house.”
192. 2 Samuel 6:15 tn Heb “the shofar” (the ram’s horn trumpet).
193. 2 Samuel 6:16 tn The Hebrew text adds “in her heart.” Cf. CEV “she was disgusted (+ with him TEV)”; NLT “was filled with contempt for him”; NCV “she hated him.”
194. 2 Samuel 6:17 tc The Syriac Peshitta lacks “in its place.”
195. 2 Samuel 6:19 tn Heb “to all the people, to all the throng of Israel.”
196. 2 Samuel 6:19 tn The Hebrew word used here אֶשְׁפָּר (ʾespar) is found in the OT only here and in the parallel passage found in 1 Chr 16:3. Its exact meaning is uncertain, although the context indicates that it was a food of some sort (cf. KJV “a good piece of flesh”; NRSV “a portion of meat”). The translation adopted here (“date cake”) follows the lead of the Greek translations of the LXX, Aquila, and Symmachus (cf. NASB, NIV, NLT).
197. 2 Samuel 6:19 tn Heb “and all the people went, each to his house.”
198. 2 Samuel 6:20 tn Heb “and David returned to bless his house.”
199. 2 Samuel 6:20 tn Heb “David.” The name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
200. 2 Samuel 6:20 tn Heb “honored.”
201. 2 Samuel 6:20 tn Heb “one of the foolish ones.”
202. 2 Samuel 6:21 tn Heb “all his house”; CEV “anyone else in your family.”
203. 2 Samuel 6:22 tn Heb “and I will shame myself still more than this and I will be lowly in my eyes.”
204. 2 Samuel 7:1 tn Heb “house” (also in the following verse).
205. 2 Samuel 7:1 tn Or “rest.”
206. 2 Samuel 7:1 tn The translation understands the disjunctive clause in v. 1b as circumstantial-causal.
207. 2 Samuel 7:3 tc Several medieval Hebrew mss and the Syriac Peshitta lack this word.
208. 2 Samuel 7:3 tn Heb “all that is in your heart.”
209. 2 Samuel 7:6 tn Heb “in a tent and in a dwelling.” The expression is a hendiadys, using two terms to express one idea.
210. 2 Samuel 7:7 tn Heb “Did I speak a word?” In the Hebrew text the statement is phrased as a rhetorical question.
211. 2 Samuel 7:7 tn Heb “tribes of Israel” (so KJV, NASB, NCV), but the parallel passage in 1 Chr 17:6 has “judges of Israel.”
212. 2 Samuel 7:7 tn Heb “whom I commanded to shepherd” (so NIV, NRSV).
213. 2 Samuel 7:8 tn Heb “and from after the sheep.”
214. 2 Samuel 7:9 tn Heb “cut off.”
215. 2 Samuel 7:9 tn Heb “and I will make for you a great name like the name of the great ones who are in the earth.”
216. 2 Samuel 7:10 tn Heb “plant.”
217. 2 Samuel 7:10 tn Heb “shaken.”
218. 2 Samuel 7:10 tn Heb “the sons of violence.”
219. 2 Samuel 7:11 tn Or “rest.”
220. 2 Samuel 7:11 tn In the Hebrew text the verb is apparently perfect with vav consecutive, which would normally suggest a future sense (“he will declare”; so the LXX, ἀπαγγελεῖ [apangelei]). But the context seems instead to call for a present or past nuance (“he declares” or “he has declared”). The synoptic passage in 1 Chr 17:10 has וָאַגִּד (vaʾaggid, “and I declared”). The construction used in 2 Sam 7:11 highlights this important statement.
221. 2 Samuel 7:11 tn Heb “the Lord.”
222. 2 Samuel 7:11 tn Heb “house,” but used here in a metaphorical sense, referring to a royal dynasty. Here the Lord’s use of the word plays off the literal sense that David had in mind as he contemplated building a temple for the Lord. To reflect this in the English translation the adjective “dynastic” has been supplied.
223. 2 Samuel 7:12 tn Heb, “when your days are full and you lie down with your ancestors.”
224. 2 Samuel 7:12 tn Heb “your seed after you who comes out from your insides.”
225. 2 Samuel 7:13 tn Heb “and I will establish the throne of his kingdom permanently.”
226. 2 Samuel 7:16 tc Heb “before you.” A few medieval Hebrew mss read instead “before me,” which makes better sense contextually. (See also the LXX and the Syriac Peshitta.) The MT reading is probably the result of dittography (note the כ [kaf] at the beginning of the next form), with the extra כ then being interpreted as a pronominal suffix.
227. 2 Samuel 7:16 tn Heb “throne.”
228. 2 Samuel 7:17 tn Heb “according to all these words and according to all this revelation, so Nathan said to David.”
229. 2 Samuel 7:18 tn Heb “house.”
230. 2 Samuel 7:19 tn Heb “and this was small in your eyes, O Lord God, so you spoke concerning the house of your servant for a distance.”
231. 2 Samuel 7:19 tn Heb “and this [is] the law of man”; KJV “is this the manner of man, O Lord God?”; NAB “this too you have shown to man”; NRSV “May this be instruction for the people, O Lord God!” This part of the verse is very enigmatic; no completely satisfying solution has yet been suggested. The present translation tries to make sense of the MT by understanding the phrase as a question that underscores the uniqueness of God’s dealings with David as described here. The parallel passage in 1 Chr 17:17 reads differently (see the note there).
232. 2 Samuel 7:20 tn Heb “and you know your servant.” The verb here refers to recognizing another in a special way and giving them special treatment (see 1 Chr 17:18). Some English versions take this to refer to the Lord’s knowledge of David himself: CEV “you know my thoughts”; NLT “know what I am really like.”
233. 2 Samuel 7:21 tn Heb “for the sake of your word and according to your heart.”
234. 2 Samuel 7:21 tn Heb “to make known, your servant.”
235. 2 Samuel 7:22 tn Heb “in all which we heard with our ears.” The phrase translated “in all” בְּכֹל (b^ekhol) should probably be emended to “according to all” כְּכֹל (k^ekhol).
236. 2 Samuel 7:23 tn Heb “a nation, one.”
237. 2 Samuel 7:23 tn Heb “whose God” or “because God.” In the Hebrew text this clause is subordinated to what precedes. The clauses are separated in the translation for stylistic reasons.
238. 2 Samuel 7:23 tn The verb is plural in Hebrew, agreeing grammatically with the divine name, which is a plural of degree.
239. 2 Samuel 7:23 tn Heb “redeem.”
240. 2 Samuel 7:23 tn Heb “and to do for you [plural form] the great [thing] and awesome [things] for your land.”
241. 2 Samuel 7:23 tn Heb “from Egypt, nations and their gods.” The LXX has “nations and tents,” which reflects a mistaken metathesis of letters in אֶלֹהָיו (ʾelohayv, “its gods”) and אֹהָלָיו (ʾohalayv, “its tents”).
242. 2 Samuel 7:24 tn Heb “and you established for yourself your people Israel for yourself for a people permanently.”
243. 2 Samuel 7:25 tn Heb “and now, O Lord God, the word which you spoke concerning your servant and concerning his house, establish permanently.”
244. 2 Samuel 7:25 tn Heb “as you have spoken.”
245. 2 Samuel 7:26 tn Heb “and your name might be great permanently.” Following the imperative in v. 23b, the prefixed verbal form with vav conjunctive indicates purpose/result.
246. 2 Samuel 7:26 tn Heb “saying.” The words “as people” are supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic reasons.
247. 2 Samuel 7:26 tn Heb “the house.” See the note on “dynastic house” in the following verse.
248. 2 Samuel 7:27 tn Heb “have uncovered the ear of.”
249. 2 Samuel 7:27 tn Heb “a house.” This maintains the wordplay from v. 11 (see the note on the word “house” there) and is continued in v. 29.
250. 2 Samuel 7:27 tn Heb “has found his heart.”
251. 2 Samuel 7:28 tn Heb “the God.” The article indicates uniqueness here.
252. 2 Samuel 7:28 tn The translation understands the prefixed verb form as a jussive, indicating David’s wish/prayer. Another option is to take the form as an imperfect and translate “your words are true.”
253. 2 Samuel 7:28 tn Heb “and you have spoken to your servant this good thing.”
254. 2 Samuel 7:29 tn Heb “house” (again later in this verse). See the note on “dynastic house” in v. 27.
255. 2 Samuel 7:29 tn Or “permanently”; cf. NLT “it is an eternal blessing.”
256. 2 Samuel 8:1 tn Heb “the bridle of one cubit.” Many English versions treat this as a place name because the parallel text in 1 Chr 18:1 reads “Gath” (which is used by NLT here). It is possible that “the bridle of one cubit” is to be understood as “the token of surrender,” referring to the Philistine’s defeat rather than a specific place (cf. TEV, CEV).
257. 2 Samuel 8:1 tn Heb “from the hand [i.e., control] of the Philistines.”
258. 2 Samuel 8:2 tn Heb “and he measured [with] two [lengths] of rope to put to death and [with] the fullness of the rope to keep alive.”
259. 2 Samuel 8:2 tn Heb “and the Moabites were servants of David, carriers of tribute.”
260. 2 Samuel 8:3 tc The LXX has ἐπιστῆσαι (epistēsai, “cause to stand”). See the parallel text in 1 Chr 18:3.
261. 2 Samuel 8:3 tn Heb “hand.”
262. 2 Samuel 8:3 tn The MT does not have the name “Euphrates” in the text. It is supplied in the margin (Qere) as one of ten places where the Masoretes believed that something was “to be read although it was not written” in the text as they had received it. The ancient versions (LXX, Syriac Peshitta, Vulgate) include the word. See also the parallel text in 1 Chr 18:3.
263. 2 Samuel 8:4 tc The LXX has “1,000 chariots and 7,000 charioteers,” a reading adopted in the text of the NIV. See the parallel text in 1 Chr 18:4.
264. 2 Samuel 8:4 tn Heb “and David cut the hamstrings of all the chariot horses, and he left from them 100 chariot horses.”
265. 2 Samuel 8:6 tn Or “delivered.”
266. 2 Samuel 8:6 tn Or “wherever he went.”
267. 2 Samuel 8:7 tc The LXX includes seventeen words (in Greek) at the end of v. 7 that are not found in the MT. The LXX addition is as follows: “And Sousakim king of Egypt took them when he came up to Jerusalem in the days of Rehoboam the son of Solomon.” This Greek reading now finds Hebrew support in 4QSam^a. For a reconstruction of this poorly preserved Qumran text see E. C. Ulrich, Jr., The Qumran Text of Samuel and Josephus (HSM), 45-48.
268. 2 Samuel 8:8 tn Heb “Betah” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV), but the name should probably be corrected to “Tebah.” See the parallel text in 1 Chr 18:8.
269. 2 Samuel 8:9 tn The name is spelled “Tou” in the parallel text in 1 Chr 18:9. NIV adopts the spelling “Tou” here.
270. 2 Samuel 8:10 tn Heb “Toi.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun in the translation for stylistic reasons.
271. 2 Samuel 8:10 tn The name appears as “Hadoram” in the parallel text in 1 Chr 18:10.
272. 2 Samuel 8:10 tn Heb “to ask concerning him for peace.”
273. 2 Samuel 8:10 tn Heb “and to bless him because he fought with Hadadezer and defeated him, for Hadadezer was a man of battles with Toi.”
274. 2 Samuel 8:10 tn Heb “and in his hand were items of silver and items of gold and items of bronze.”
275. 2 Samuel 8:11 tn Heb “also them King David made holy to the Lord.”
276. 2 Samuel 8:11 tn Heb “with the silver and the gold that he had dedicated from.”
277. 2 Samuel 8:12 tn Heb “from.”
278. 2 Samuel 8:12 tc Heb “Aram.” A few Hebrew mss along with the LXX and Syriac read “Edom” (cf. 2 Sam 8:14 and 1 Chr 18:11). Aram and Edom are spelled similarly, the difference being a ד (dalet) vs. a ר (resh). Besides the textual witnesses, the geography in v. 13, the Valley of Salt, fits Edom and not Aram.
279. 2 Samuel 8:12 tn Heb “and from the plunder of.”
280. 2 Samuel 8:13 tn Heb “made a name.”
281. 2 Samuel 8:13 tc See the note on “Aram” in v. 12.
282. 2 Samuel 8:13 tn The words “he defeated” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
283. 2 Samuel 8:14 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.
284. 2 Samuel 8:15 tn Heb “and David was doing what is just and fair for all his people.”
285. 2 Samuel 8:16 tn Heb “was over.”
286. 2 Samuel 8:17 tc Here Ahimelech is called “the son of Abiathar,” but NCV, CEV, and REB reverse this to conform with 1 Sam 22:20. Most recent English versions (e.g., NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT) retain the order found in the MT.
287. 2 Samuel 8:18 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.
288. 2 Samuel 8:18 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.