2 Samuel 17:27-29

17:27 When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi the son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites, Makir the son of Ammiel from Lo Debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim 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, ¹  17:29 honey, curds, flocks, and cheese. ²  For they said, “The people are no doubt hungry, tired, and thirsty there in the desert.” ³ 

2 Samuel 19:32

19:32 But Barzillai was very old – eighty years old, in fact – and he had taken care of the king when he stayed in Mahanaim, for he was a very rich ⁴  man.

2 Samuel 19:1

19:1 (19:2) Joab was told, “The king is weeping and mourning over Absalom.”

1 Samuel 17:17-18

17:17 Jesse said to his son David, “Take your brothers this ephah of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread; go quickly ⁵  to the camp to your brothers. 17:18 Also take these ten portions of cheese to their commanding officer. ⁶  Find out how your brothers are doing ⁷  and bring back their pledge that they received the goods. ⁸ 

1 Samuel 25:18

25:18 So Abigail quickly took two hundred loaves of bread, two containers ⁹  of wine, five prepared sheep, five seahs ¹⁰  of roasted grain, a hundred bunches of raisins, and two hundred lumps of pressed figs. She loaded them on donkeys

1 Samuel 25:1

The Death of Samuel

25:1 Samuel died, and all Israel assembled and mourned him. They buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David left and went down to the desert of Paran. ¹¹ 

1 Samuel 12:1

12:1 Samuel said to all Israel, “I have done ¹²  everything you requested. ¹³  I have given you a king. ¹⁴ 

Amsal 18:16

18:16 A person’s gift ¹⁵  makes room for him,

and leads him ¹⁶  before important people.

Amsal 29:4-5

29:4 A king brings stability ¹⁷  to a land ¹⁸  by justice,

but one who exacts tribute ¹⁹  tears it down.

29:5 The one ²⁰  who flatters ²¹  his neighbor

spreads a net ²²  for his steps. ²³ 

[17:28]  ¹ 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.

[17:29]  ² tn Heb “cheese of the herd,” probably referring to cheese from cow’s milk (rather than goat’s milk).

[17:29]  ³ tn Or “wilderness” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV, TEV, NLT).

[19:32]  ⁴ tn Heb “great.”

[17:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “run.”

[17:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “officer of the thousand.”

[17:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “and your brothers, observe with respect to welfare.”

[17:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “and their pledge take.” This probably refers to some type of confirmation that the goods arrived safely. See R. W. Klein, 1 Samuel (WBC), 177. Cf. NIV “bring back some assurance”; NCV “some proof to show me they are all right”; NLT “bring me back a letter from them.”

[25:18]  ⁹ tn Heb “skins.”

[25:18]  ¹⁰ sn The seah was a dry measure equal to one-third of an ephah, or not quite eleven quarts.

[25:1]  ¹¹ tc The LXX reads “Maon” here instead of “Paran,” perhaps because the following account of Nabal is said to be in Maon (v. 2). This reading is followed by a number of English versions (e.g., NAB, NIV, NCV, NLT). The MT, however, reads “Paran,” a location which would parallel this portion of David’s life with that of the nation Israel which also spent time in Paran (Num 10:12). Also, the desert of Paran was on the southern border of Judah’s territory and would be the most isolated location for hiding from Saul.

[12:1]  ¹² tn Heb “Look, I have listened to your voice.”

[12:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “to all which you said to me.”

[12:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and I have installed a king over you.”

[18:16]  ¹⁵ sn The Hebrew term translated “gift” is a more general term than “bribe” (שֹׁחַד, shokhad), used in 17:8, 23. But it also has danger (e.g., 15:27; 21:14), for by giving gifts one might learn how influential they are and use them for bribes. The proverb simply states that a gift can expedite matters.

[18:16]  ¹⁶ sn The two verbs here show a progression, helping to form the synthetic parallelism. The gift first “makes room” (יַרְחִיב, yarkhiv) for the person, that is, extending a place for him, and then “ushers him in” (יַנְחֵנּוּ, yakhenu) among the greats.

[29:4]  ¹⁷ tn The form is the Hiphil imperfect of the verb עָמַד (’amad, “to stand”), hence, “to cause to stand.” It means that the king makes the nation “stand firm,” with “standing firm” being a figure for strength, security, and stability. Cf. NCV “makes his country (the nation CEV) strong.”

[29:4]  ¹⁸ tn Or “country.” This term functions as a metonymy of subject for the people in the land.

[29:4]  ¹⁹ tn The Hebrew text reads אִישׁ תְּרוּמוֹת (’ish tÿrumot, “a man of offerings”), which could refer to a man who “receives gifts” or “gives gifts.” Because of its destructive nature on the country, here the phrase must mean that he receives or “exacts” the money (cf. NRSV “makes heavy exactions”). This seems to go beyond the ordinary taxation for two reasons: (1) this ruler is a “man of offerings,” indicating that it is in his nature to do this, and (2) it tears down the country. The word “offerings” has been taken to refer to gifts or bribes (cf. NASB, NIV, CEV, NLT), but the word itself suggests more the idea of tribute or taxes that are demanded; this Hebrew word was used in Leviticus for offerings given to the priests, and in Ezek 45:16 for taxes. The point seems to be that this ruler or administrator is breaking the backs of the people with heavy taxes or tribute (e.g., 1 Sam 8:11-18), and this causes division and strife.

[29:5]  ²⁰ tn Heb “a man,” but the context here does not suggest that the proverb refers to males only.

[29:5]  ²¹ tn The form is the Hiphil participle, literally “deals smoothly,” i.e., smoothing over things that should be brought to one’s attention.

[29:5]  sn The flatterer is too smooth; his words are intended to gratify. In this proverb some malice is attached to the flattery, for the words prove to be destructive.

[29:5]  ²² sn The image of “spreading a net” for someone’s steps is an implied comparison (a figure of speech known as hypocatastasis): As one would literally spread a net, this individual’s flattery will come back to destroy him. A net would be spread to catch the prey, and so the idea is one of being caught and destroyed.

[29:5]  ²³ tn There is some ambiguity concerning the referent of “his steps.” The net could be spread for the one flattered (cf. NRSV, “a net for the neighbor’s feet”; NLT, “their feet,” referring to others), or for the flatterer himself (cf. TEV “you set a trap for yourself”). The latter idea would make the verse more powerful: In flattering someone the flatterer is getting himself into a trap (e.g., 2:16; 7:5; 26:28; 28:23).