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2 SAMUEL 23

PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects. Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.

1. First paragraph
2. Second paragraph
3. Etc.

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 23:1-7
 ¹Now these are the last words of David.
  David the son of Jesse declares,
  The man who was raised on high declares,
  The anointed of the God of Jacob,
  And the sweet psalmist of Israel,
 ²"The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me,
  And His word was on my tongue.
 ³"The God of Israel said,
  The Rock of Israel spoke to me,
  'He who rules over men righteously,
  Who rules in the fear of God,
 ⁴Is as the light of the morning when the sun rises,
  A morning without clouds,
  When the tender grass springs out of the earth,
  Through sunshine after rain.'
 ⁵"Truly is not my house so with God?
  For He has made an everlasting covenant with me,
  Ordered in all things, and secured;
  For all my salvation and all my desire,
  Will He not indeed make it grow?
 ⁶"But the worthless, every one of them will be thrust away like thorns,
  Because they cannot be taken in hand;
 ⁷But the man who touches them
  Must be armed with iron and the shaft of a spear,
  And they will be completely burned with fire in their place."

23:1-7 In many ways this psalm clearly affirms YHWH's call and promises to David's reign!

23:1 "these are the last words of David" As the first two lines of the appendixed events (i.e., chapter 21) were early in David's life, this hymn is at the end. It is possible "the last" refers to David's writing career and not his life (see UBS Handbook p. 1150).

▣ Notice how David is characterized.

1. the son of Jesse (i.e., 1 Samuel 16)
2. the man who was raised on high (i.e., 2 Sam. 7:8-9; Targums have "God raised up"; the DSS, "whom God exalted")
3. the anointed of the God of Jacob (i.e., 1 Sam. 16:12-13)
4. the sweet psalmist of Israel (see note below)

SPECIAL TOPIC: "ANOINTING" IN THE BIBLE

The MT has the NOUN (BDB 610) "utterance," which usually denotes a revelation through a prophet (cf. Acts 2:30). Only here and Prov. 30:1 is it used of wisdom literature.

It does denote a special sense in which David's songs had an inspired quality.

SPECIAL TOPIC: WISDOM LITERATURE

SPECIAL TOPIC: HEBREW POETRY

The JPSOA reflects the MT. The UBS Text Project does not mention this. The NRSV sees this as a reference to YHWH, not David, following Exod. 15:2. So it could refer to

1. David (string of descriptive phrases)
2. YHWH (the object of the praises)
3. the best of the songs

23:2 Notice the parallelism between "the Spirit of the Lord" and "His word." In the OT the Spirit is the agency of YHWH's desired action in the physical realm but not a separate personal being. Progressive revelation has clarified this point.

SPECIAL TOPIC: THE PERSONHOOD OF THE SPIRIT

SPECIAL TOPIC: SPIRIT IN THE BIBLE

SPECIAL TOPIC: THE TRINITY

▣ The Spirit revealed truth to David and he passed it on (lit. "was on my tongue"). This would deal primarily with

1. David as chief judge of Israel (i.e., v. 3)
2. David as Psalm writer

This expression is often used in Samuel to denote YHWH's empowering for service

1. Saul ‒ 1 Sam. 10:10; 11:6
2. David ‒ 1 Sam. 16:13; 2 Sam. 23:2

23:3 Notice the parallelism. For "rock" see full note at Ps. 18:2 online.

▣ "righteously" See SPECIAL TOPIC: RIGHTEOUSNESS.

▣ "fear" YHWH's chosen king and His Messiah (cf. Isa. 11:2) will rule in awe of YHWH.

SPECIAL TOPIC: FEAR (OT)

23:5 David is acknowledging YHWH's blessing on him. His kingdom is secured and protected by YHWH's promises and personal presence (cf. 2 Samuel 7; 1 Chronicles 17).

▣ "an everlasting covenant" See full note at 2 Sam. 7:12 and Ps. 89:29.

SPECIAL TOPIC: FOREVER ('olam)

SPECIAL TOPIC: COVENANT

▣ "Ordered in all things, and secured" This refers to YHWH's specific revelation and promises to David found in 2 Samuel 7 and 1 Chronicles 17. This Davidic covenant is a major Messianic promise!

23:6-7 These two verses have several textual problems. Remember, context, context, context is the key to biblical interpretation. Even if the last two verses are uncertain, the general meaning of the psalm is clear.

Just a theological comment about these two verses. The "worthless" (Belial; see full note at 2 Sam. 20:1) will be removed. All humans were/are made in God's image (cf. Gen. 1:26-27) for fellowship with Him. But some "will not" (i.e., human choice is a significant aspect of covenant)! After many attempts, finally they will be reluctantly isolated (i.e., Hell), so that God can continue His purposes for humanity! This isolation of humans is a bleeding sore in the heart of God that will never be healed. God wants all humans to know Him (cf. Ezek. 18:23,32; John 3:16; 4:42; 1 Tim. 2:10; 4:10; Titus 2:11; 2 Pet. 3:9; 1 John 2:1; 4:14)!

SPECIAL TOPIC: COVENANT

SPECIAL TOPIC: YHWH'S ETERNAL REDEMPTIVE PLAN

23:6 "the worthless" This (BDB 116) is a common designation of faithless people in Samuel (cf. 1 Sam. 1:16; 2:12; 10:27; 25:17,25; 30:22; 2 Sam. 16:7; 20:1; 22:5; 23:6). See full note at 2 Sam. 20:1.

▣ "like thorns" The imagery of fire and destruction (v. 7c) is based on this. Thorns were not a good firewood for cooking. They burned too fast. So they were useless for any "good" work.

23:7 "completely burned" This is an emphatic construction (an INFINITIVE ABSOLUTE and an IMPERFECT VERB from the same root, BDB 976, KB 1358). Fire was a means of

1. cleansing
2. destruction

SPECIAL TOPIC: FIRE

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 23:8-10
  ⁸These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite, chief of the captains, he was called Adino the Eznite, because of eight hundred slain by him at one time; ⁹and after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there to battle and the men of Israel had withdrawn. ¹⁰He arose and struck the Philistines until his hand was weary and clung to the sword, and the Lord brought about a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to strip the slain.

23:8-39 This literary unit is parallel with 1 Chronicles 11, with several variants in the names. It denotes several groupings of David's mighty men (i.e., mercenaries). See note at 1 Chr. 11:10.

1. three mighty leaders
   1. Josheb-basshebeth ("chief captain," v. 8; in 1 Chr. 11:11 he is called "Jashobeam")
   2. Eleazar (one of the three), vv. 9-10
   3. Shammah, vv. 11-12
      Their exploits are described in vv. 8,9-10,11-12; 1 Chr. 11:12,18,20,24,25,42.
   4. Abishai, Joab's brother is also called "chief of the thirty," vv. 18-19
   5. Benaiah, vv. 20-23, also a leader but not of "the three" (v. 23)
2. the thirty are listed in vv. 24-39 (cf. 1 Chr. 11:11,15,20,25,42)
   1. a second listing of leaders is found in 1 Chr. 11:21
   2. another chief of the thirty in 1 Chr. 11:11,20
3. There is some confusion in the MT between "three" and "thirty," which are very similar in Hebrew. Surprisingly, there are over 30 names.
4. Josephus, Antiq. 7.3.1,2 and 7.12.4, records many exploits of these faithful mercenary soldiers (some foreign; some domestic).

The MT has the ADJECTIVE (BDB 315, NASB) which comes from the root "wise" (BDB 314).

1. a place name
2. a person's name (ABD, vol. 3, pp. 10-11)
3. a family name

The 1 Chronicle parallel (1 Chr. 11:11) has "the son of a Hachmonite."

The UBS Text Project, p. 273, gives "the Hachmonite" a "C" rating (considerable doubt).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 23:11-12
  ¹¹Now after him was Shammah the son of Agee a Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered into a troop where there was a plot of ground full of lentils, and the people fled from the Philistines. ¹²But he took his stand in the midst of the plot, defended it and struck the Philistines; and the Lord brought about a great victory.

23:11 "a Hararite" This ADJECTIVE (BDB 251) is from the NOUN "mountain" (BDB 249). The form implies a person from the hill country of Judah or another hilly region. It occurs only here and the 1 Chronicles 11 parallel.

The LXX takes the root in its normal sense (BDB 312 I) as "living thing," "animal." The BDB 312 II sees it as referring to a group of allied families camping together in order to attack together (BDB 312 II, cf. v. 13).

The UBS Text Project, p. 276, gives the place name Lehi (BDB 534 II) a "B" rating (some doubt).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 23:13-17
  ¹³Then three of the thirty chief men went down and came to David in the harvest time to the cave of Adullam, while the troop of the Philistines was camping in the valley of Rephaim. ¹⁴David was then in the stronghold, while the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. ¹⁵David had a craving and said, "Oh that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem which is by the gate!" ¹⁶So the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines, and drew water from the well of Bethlehem which was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David. Nevertheless he would not drink it, but poured it out to the Lord; ¹⁷and he said, "Be it far from me, O Lord, that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of the men who went in jeopardy of their lives?" Therefore he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.

23:13 "three of the thirty" This is the suggestion of the Masoretic scholars (Qere). The MT has "thirty of the thirty."

The UBS Text Project, p. 276, has two suggestions.

1. "three" not "thirty," "C" rating
   1. "three" ‒ שׁלשׁה
   2. "thirty" ‒ שׁלשׁים
2. "from the heroes" not "from the thirty," "C" rating
   1. from the thirty ‒ מחשׁלשׁים
   2. from the heroes (different vowel points) ‒ מחשׁלשׁים

▣ "the cave of Adullam" This is mentioned in 1 Sam. 22:1. Caves were used for

1. family tombs
2. hiding places

▣ "the valley of Rephaim" This valley was close to Jerusalem and was part of the boundary between the tribal allocation of Judah and Benjamin.

For the name "Rephaim" (BDB 952) see SPECIAL TOPIC: TALL/POWERFUL WARRIORS OR PEOPLE GROUPS, #2.

23:15-17 This shows how much David's men loved him but also his care and concern for them.

23:17 "Be it far from me" This is an exclamation of rejection (cf. 1 Sam. 2:30; 14:45; 20:2,9; 22:15; 24:6). This idiom is similar in meaning to the Apostle Paul's "God forbid!" of the NT.

▣ "Lord" See SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY, D.

▣ "their lives" This is the Hebrew word nephesh (BDB 659, KB 711; NIDOTTE, vol. 3, p. 133), which denotes an air-breathing animal/human on this planet. For a full note, see Lev. 17:11 as well as Gen. 35:18 and Ezek. 18:4.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 23:18-19
  ¹⁸Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief of the thirty. And he swung his spear against three hundred and killed them, and had a name as well as the three. ¹⁹He was most honored of the thirty, therefore he became their commander; however, he did not attain to the three.

23:18 "chief of the thirty" There are two textual issues in this phrase.

1. "chief"
   1. Qere ‒ "of the three"
   2. Ketiv (MT) ‒
      (1) "of the heroes" (UBS gives this a "C" rating)
      (2) "the third"
   3. Peshitta, "thirty"
2. "the thirty"
   1. MT ‒ "thirty" (Peshitta)
   2. LXX ‒ "three" (UBS gives this a "B" rating)

There is some confusion between "3" and "30" throughout this chapter (i.e., vv. 8,13,18,19,23,24). Apparently there was a military leadership of two levels.

1. three main leaders of the elite group of thirty leaders
2. thirty special leaders of military groupings; this is a title and not a number (cf. v. 39)
3. The JPSOA translates this as "another three," implying a third division of the elite military commanders.
   1. the three
   2. another three
   3. the thirty

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 23:20-23
  ²⁰Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of Kabzeel, who had done mighty deeds, killed the two sons of Ariel of Moab. He also went down and killed a lion in the middle of a pit on a snowy day. ²¹He killed an Egyptian, an impressive man. Now the Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but he went down to him with a club and snatched the spear from the Egyptian's hand and killed him with his own spear. ²²These things Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did, and had a name as well as the three mighty men. ²³He was honored among the thirty, but he did not attain to the three. And David appointed him over his guard.

23:20 "Benaiah" He was the captain of David's mercenary men (i.e., Cherethites and Pelethites, cf. 2 Sam. 8:18; 20:23). This was a loyal, long-time supporter of David. He became a supporter of Solomon instead of Adonijah (cf. 1 Kgs. 1:8,26,32-40). He later killed Adonijah on Solomon's orders (cf. 1 Kgs. 2:25-35). He became captain of all Israeli forces (cf. 1 Kgs. 4:4).

The MT has the ADJECTIVE (BDB 311 I, KB 307 I) "alive" or "living," but the Masoretic scholars suggested a change to "active" (BDB 313, KB 311).

1. alive ‒ חי
2. active ‒ חיל

The MT has "Ariel" (BDB 72, KB 82). BDB acknowledges the meaning as uncertain but "guesses" heroes ("brave men," Isa. 33:7). KB suggests "warriors" (Targums). The LXX and NASB see it as a person's name.

There is possibly a play between

1. Ariel (BDB 72)
2. lion (BDB 71, cf. NKJV, RSV footnote)

The MT has the NOUN "sight" or "appearance" (BDB 909, LXX, REB), but the BDB suggests it be read like 1 Chr. 11:23, "a man of stature" (NJB). If this is correct, this is another giant like the Philistines from Gath (i.e., 2 Sam. 21:16-17,18,19,20).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 23:24-39
  ²⁴Asahel the brother of Joab was among the thirty; Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, ²⁵Shammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite, ²⁶Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, ²⁷Abiezer the Anathothite, Mebunnai the Hushathite, ²⁸Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite, ²⁹Heleb the son of Baanah the Netophathite, Ittai the son of Ribai of Gibeah of the sons of Benjamin, ³⁰Benaiah a Pirathonite, Hiddai of the brooks of Gaash, ³¹Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite, ³²Eliahba the Shaalbonite, the sons of Jashen, Jonathan, ³³Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Ararite, ³⁴Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai, the son of the Maacathite, Eliam the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite, ³⁵Hezro the Carmelite, Paarai the Arbite, ³⁶Igal the son of Nathan of Zobah, Bani the Gadite, ³⁷Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Beerothite, armor bearers of Joab the son of Zeruiah, ³⁸Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, ³⁹Uriah the Hittite; thirty-seven in all.

23:39 "Uriah the Hittite" This was the husband of Bathsheba whom David had killed. He was a loyal member of "the thirty."

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.

1. How are 2 Sam. 23:1-7 related to 2 Samuel 7?
2. Was David a prophet?
3. How is "an everlasting covenant" related to a conditional covenant?
4. How does 2 Sam. 23:13-17 reveal David's heart?'

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