2 Samuel 23

These are the last words of David. This is what David son of Jesse said. This is what the man said who was lifted up high, the man the God of Jacob chose and anointed with oil as king, the man who sang Israel's sweet songs.

1Now these be the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said,

Note"Said" here translates the Hebrew word *ne'um*, the formal term that introduces a prophet's oracle (as in "thus says the LORD"); the poem is being presented as inspired speech rather than ordinary conversation. "Anointed" means having had olive oil poured on the head, the ceremony that installed a king. The last phrase is ambiguous in Hebrew: it can mean "the sweet singer of Israel's songs" or "the favourite of Israel's songs," i.e. the man Israel sings about.

2The Spirit of the LORD spoke through me. His word was on my tongue.

2The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue.

3The God of Israel spoke. The Rock of Israel said to me: the one who rules over people must be fair, ruling with deep respect for God.

3The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.

Note"The Rock" is a standard Hebrew title for God, drawn from a crag or cliff that gives shelter and a footing in war, not from stone as a material. "Fear of God" in older English means awe or reverence, not fright. The Hebrew of the second half has no main verb and can be read either as a rule ("whoever rules must be just") or as a description of the ideal ruler.

4He will be like the light of morning when the sun comes up, a morning with no clouds. He will be like new grass pushing up from the ground, shining after rain.

4And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain.

5My own household is not like that before God. Even so, he has made a lasting agreement with me, spelled out in every part and certain to hold. This is all that saves me and everything I want, even though he does not make it grow.

5Although my house be not so with God; yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure: for this is all my salvation, and all my desire, although he make it not to grow.

NoteThe Hebrew here can be read two ways, and translators are divided: either as a flat statement ("my house is not so with God") or as a question expecting the answer yes ("is not my house so with God?"). The last clause is equally uncertain, "he does not make it grow" or "will he not make it grow?" The "lasting agreement" is the covenant of 2 Samuel 7, a binding grant promising David a permanent dynasty.

6But worthless men are all like thorns that get raked aside, because no one can pick them up bare-handed.

6But the sons of Belial shall be all of them as thorns thrust away, because they cannot be taken with hands:

NoteThe King James "sons of Belial" is a literal rendering of a Hebrew idiom. *Belial* is not a name here but a word meaning worthlessness or ruin; "a son of Belial" is Hebrew for a good-for-nothing or a scoundrel.

7Anyone who handles them has to be armed with iron or the shaft of a spear. They are burned up completely with fire, right where they lie.

7But the man that shall touch them must be fenced with iron and the staff of a spear; and they shall be utterly burned with fire in the same place.

8These are the names of David's mighty men. The Tachmonite who sat in the seat of honor was chief of the captains. He was also called Adino the Eznite. He raised his spear against eight hundred men and killed them all at one time.

8These be the names of the mighty men whom David had: The Tachmonite that sat in the seat, chief among the captains; the same was Adino the Eznite: he lift up his spear against eight hundred, whom he slew at one time.

NoteThe rest of the chapter uses two fixed military ranks: "the Three," an elite trio, and "the Thirty," a larger corps of picked soldiers. Statements about who did or did not "attain to the three" are about promotion between these two units. This verse is among the most damaged in the Hebrew Bible: the man's name appears as Josheb-basshebeth, which the King James translators read as a phrase, "that sat in the seat"; the parallel list at 1 Chronicles 11:11 calls him Jashobeam. "Adino the Eznite" may be a copyist's corruption of the words "he wielded his spear," and Chronicles gives the number he killed as three hundred, not eight hundred.

9Next after him was Eleazar son of Dodo the Ahohite. He was one of the three mighty men with David when they taunted the Philistines who had gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel had pulled back.

9And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David, when they defied the Philistines that were there gathered together to battle, and the men of Israel were gone away:

NoteThe Philistines were a people of the coastal plain to Israel's south-west, holding five main cities; through this period they were Israel's principal military rival. "Defied" in older English means challenged or taunted, shouting insults at the enemy line was a normal opening to battle.

10Eleazar stood his ground and struck down Philistines until his hand was worn out and stuck fast to his sword. The LORD won a great victory that day. The troops came back to him, but only to strip the dead.

10He arose, and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave unto the sword: and the LORD wrought a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to spoil.

11Next after him was Shammah son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines had gathered into a band at a field full of lentils, and the Israelite troops ran away from them.

11And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered together into a troop, where was a piece of ground full of lentiles: and the people fled from the Philistines.

12But Shammah took his stand in the middle of that field, defended it, and struck down the Philistines. So the LORD won a great victory.

12But he stood in the midst of the ground, and defended it, and slew the Philistines: and the LORD wrought a great victory.

13At harvest time, three of the thirty chief men went down to David at the cave of Adullam. A band of Philistines was camped in the Valley of Rephaim.

13And three of the thirty chief went down, and came to David in the harvest time unto the cave of Adullam: and the troop of the Philistines pitched in the valley of Rephaim.

NoteThe cave of Adullam lay in the low hill country of Judah, the refuge David had used as an outlaw while Saul hunted him. The Valley of Rephaim is a broad fertile valley running south-west from Jerusalem, on the natural approach route from Philistine territory. "Harvest time" places this in the dry season, late spring or early summer.

14At that time David was in a stronghold, and a Philistine outpost was in Bethlehem.

14And David was then in an hold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem.

NoteA garrison is an occupying military post. Bethlehem was David's own home town, which is what gives the next few verses their edge: an enemy detachment was sitting in the village where he grew up, and the well he names is one he had drunk from all his life.

15David was longing for water and said, "I wish someone would get me a drink of water from the well by the gate of Bethlehem!"

15And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!

NoteTowns were walled, and the well or cistern often lay just outside the gate, where the enemy post would be. Getting to it meant passing through the Philistine line.

16So the three mighty men broke through the Philistine camp, drew water from the well by the gate of Bethlehem, and carried it back to David. But he would not drink it. Instead he poured it out to the LORD,

16And the three mighty men brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: nevertheless he would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto the LORD.

NotePouring a liquid out on the ground was a recognized form of offering, called a drink offering or libation. David is not throwing the water away; he is handing it over to God as something too costly for him to use himself.

17and he said, "LORD, I could never do this. Isn't this the blood of the men who risked their lives to get it?" So he would not drink it. These are the things the three mighty men did.

17And he said, Be it far from me, O LORD, that I should do this: is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives? therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mighty men.

Note"Is not this the blood of these men" is an idiom: in Hebrew thought blood stands for a person's life, so water bought at the risk of men's lives counts as their blood. Israelite law also forbade consuming blood, which sharpens the refusal.

18Abishai, the brother of Joab and son of Zeruiah, was chief of the three. He raised his spear against three hundred men and killed them, and he made a name for himself among the three.

18And Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief among three. And he lifted up his spear against three hundred, and slew them, and had the name among three.

NoteZeruiah was David's sister; Joab, Abishai and Asahel are consistently named after their mother rather than their father, which is unusual in Hebrew genealogy and may mean their father died early. Some Hebrew manuscripts read "chief of the Thirty" here rather than "chief of the Three," which would fit the following verses better.

19Wasn't he the most respected of the three? He became their commander, but he did not reach the level of the first three.

19Was he not most honourable of three? therefore he was their captain: howbeit he attained not unto the first three.

NoteThe Hebrew of verses 18–23 is hard to line up: Abishai and Benaiah are said to be more honored than their group yet not to belong to "the first three." The likeliest sense is that they headed a second rank of officers, outranking the Thirty but never admitted to the original trio of verses 8–12.

20Benaiah son of Jehoiada, from Kabzeel, was the son of a brave man and had done many great deeds. He killed two of Moab's fiercest fighters. He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion in it.

20And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man, of Kabzeel, who had done many acts, he slew two lionlike men of Moab: he went down also and slew a lion in the midst of a pit in time of snow:

NoteKabzeel was a town in the far south of Judah. "Lionlike men" translates *ari'el*, an obscure Hebrew word that appears to mean something like "lion of God"; it is usually taken as a term for a champion or outstanding warrior, but its meaning is genuinely uncertain. Moab was the kingdom east of the Dead Sea, a frequent enemy. The "pit" is a cistern or water-storage hole; snow falls in the Judean hills only rarely, which is why the detail is recorded.

21He killed an Egyptian too, a fine-looking man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but Benaiah went at him with only a club, yanked the spear out of the Egyptian's hand, and killed him with his own spear.

21And he slew an Egyptian, a goodly man: and the Egyptian had a spear in his hand; but he went down to him with a staff, and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and slew him with his own spear.

Note"Goodly" in 1611 English means impressive or fine-looking rather than morally good; the Hebrew here simply says "a man of appearance," and 1 Chronicles 11:23 specifies that he was five cubits, about seven and a half feet, tall. The "staff" is a herdsman's club, not a walking stick.

22These are the things Benaiah son of Jehoiada did, and he made a name for himself among the three mighty men.

22These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and had the name among three mighty men.

23He was more respected than the thirty, but he did not reach the level of the first three. David put him in charge of his bodyguard.

23He was more honourable than the thirty, but he attained not to the first three. And David set him over his guard.

NoteThe Hebrew word for what David put Benaiah in charge of can mean his bodyguard or, more literally, "those who obey him", his personal staff. Benaiah later commanded Solomon's army.

24Asahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty. Also Elhanan son of Dodo from Bethlehem,

24Asahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty; Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem,

NoteFrom here to the end the chapter is a roll of honor, a fixed list preserved from David's reign. The names ending in *-ite* are place or clan labels meaning "the man from (": a Netophathite is from Netophah, a Tekoite from Tekoa, and so on. Some of these men were long dead by the time of David's last words) Asahel was killed by Abner early in David's reign (2 Samuel 2), so the list records membership over the whole period, not a muster of the living.

25Shammah from Harod, Elika from Harod,

25Shammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite,

26Helez the Paltite, Ira son of Ikkesh from Tekoa,

26Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite,

27Abiezer from Anathoth, Mebunnai from Hushah,

27Abiezer the Anethothite, Mebunnai the Hushathite,

28Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai from Netophah,

28Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite,

29Heleb son of Baanah from Netophah, Ittai son of Ribai from Gibeah, which belongs to the tribe of Benjamin,

29Heleb the son of Baanah, a Netophathite, Ittai the son of Ribai out of Gibeah of the children of Benjamin,

30Benaiah from Pirathon, Hiddai from the streams of Gaash,

30Benaiah the Pirathonite, Hiddai of the brooks of Gaash,

31Abialbon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite,

31Abialbon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite,

32Eliahba from Shaalbon, and of the sons of Jashen, Jonathan,

32Eliahba the Shaalbonite, of the sons of Jashen, Jonathan,

33Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam son of Sharar the Hararite,

33Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Hararite,

34Eliphelet son of Ahasbai, who was the son of the Maachathite, Eliam son of Ahithophel from Giloh,

34Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai, the son of the Maachathite, Eliam the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite,

NoteAhithophel of Giloh was David's own counselor, who went over to Absalom's rebellion (2 Samuel 15–17); his son is here on David's roll of honor. Eliam is also named at 2 Samuel 11:3 as Bathsheba's father.

35Hezrai from Carmel, Paarai the Arbite,

35Hezrai the Carmelite, Paarai the Arbite,

36Igal son of Nathan from Zobah, Bani the Gadite,

36Igal the son of Nathan of Zobah, Bani the Gadite,

37Zelek the Ammonite, Nahari from Beeroth, who carried the weapons of Joab son of Zeruiah,

37Zelek the Ammonite, Nahari the Beerothite, armourbearer to Joab the son of Zeruiah,

38Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite,

38Ira an Ithrite, Gareb an Ithrite,

39and Uriah the Hittite. There were thirty-seven in all.

39Uriah the Hittite: thirty and seven in all.

NoteUriah the Hittite is the officer whose wife was Bathsheba and whose death David arranged (2 Samuel 11); listing him last, among the men honored for loyalty, is pointed. "Hittite" marks him as of foreign descent, from a people of the north, though he bears a Hebrew name and serves in David's army. The total of thirty-seven does not match the number of names actually listed in the Hebrew text, which is a few short; "the Thirty" was a unit title with changing membership, and some names have probably dropped out in copying.