2 Samuel 1:4

1:4 David inquired, “How were things going? ¹  Tell me!” He replied, “The people fled from the battle and many of them ²  fell dead. ³  Even Saul and his son Jonathan are dead!”

2 Samuel 2:4-5

2:4 The men of Judah came and there they anointed David as king over the people ⁴  of Judah.

David was told, ⁵  “The people ⁶  of Jabesh Gilead are the ones who buried Saul.” 2:5 So David sent messengers to the people of Jabesh Gilead and told them, “May you be blessed by the Lord because you have shown this kindness ⁷  to your lord Saul by burying him.

2 Samuel 2:23-24

2:23 But Asahel ⁸  refused to turn aside. So Abner struck him in the abdomen with the back end of his ⁹  spear. The spear came out his back; Asahel ¹⁰  collapsed on the spot and died there right before Abner. ¹¹  Everyone who now comes to the place where Asahel fell dead pauses in respect. ¹² 

2:24 So Joab and Abishai chased Abner. At sunset they came to the hill of Ammah near Giah on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon.

2 Samuel 3:14

3:14 David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth son of Saul with this demand: ¹³  “Give me my wife Michal whom I acquired ¹⁴  for a hundred Philistine foreskins.”

2 Samuel 3:19

3:19 Then Abner spoke privately ¹⁵  with the Benjaminites. Abner also went to Hebron to inform David privately ¹⁶  of all that Israel and the entire house of Benjamin had agreed to. ¹⁷ 

2 Samuel 3:21

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 ¹⁸  with you. Then you will rule over all that you desire.” So David sent Abner away, and he left in peace.

2 Samuel 3:25

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 ¹⁹  and to discover everything that you are doing!”

2 Samuel 3:31

3:31 David instructed Joab and all the people who were with him, “Tear your clothes! Put on sackcloth! Lament before Abner!” Now King David followed ²⁰  behind the funeral bier.

2 Samuel 4:9-10

4:9 David replied to Recab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As surely as the Lord lives, who has delivered my life from all adversity, 4:10 when someone told me that Saul was dead – even though he thought he was bringing good news ²¹  – I seized him and killed him in Ziklag. That was the good news I gave to him!

2 Samuel 6:3

6:3 They loaded the ark of God on a new cart and carried it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart.

2 Samuel 6:12

6:12 David was told, ²²  “The Lord has blessed the family of Obed-Edom and everything he owns because of the ark of God.” So David went and joyfully brought the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David.

2 Samuel 6:17

6:17 They brought the ark of the Lord and put it in its place ²³  in the middle of the tent that David had pitched for it. Then David offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings before the Lord.

2 Samuel 6:20-21

6:20 When David went home to pronounce a blessing on his own house, ²⁴  Michal, Saul’s daughter, came out to meet him. ²⁵  She said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished ²⁶  himself this day! He has exposed himself today before his servants’ slave girls the way a vulgar fool ²⁷  might do!”

6:21 David replied to Michal, “It was before the Lord! I was celebrating before the Lord, who chose me over your father and his entire family ²⁸  and appointed me as leader over the Lord’s people Israel.

2 Samuel 7:11

7:11 and during the time when I appointed judges to lead my people Israel. Instead, I will give you relief ²⁹  from all your enemies. The Lord declares ³⁰  to you that he himself ³¹  will build a dynastic house ³²  for you.

2 Samuel 8:14

8:14 He placed garrisons throughout Edom, ³³  and all the Edomites became David’s subjects. The Lord protected David wherever he campaigned.

2 Samuel 9:11

9:11 Ziba said to the king, “Your servant will do everything that my lord the king has instructed his servant to do.” So Mephibosheth was a regular guest ³⁴  at David’s table, ³⁵  just as though he were one of the king’s sons.

2 Samuel 11:20

11:20 if the king becomes angry and asks you, ‘Why did you go so close to the city to fight? Didn’t you realize they would shoot from the wall?

2 Samuel 11:27

11:27 When the time of mourning passed, David had her brought to his palace. ³⁶  She became his wife and she bore him a son. But what David had done upset the Lord. ³⁷ 

2 Samuel 12:3

12:3 But the poor man had nothing except for a little lamb he had acquired. He raised it, and it grew up alongside him and his children. ³⁸  It used to ³⁹  eat his food, ⁴⁰  drink from his cup, and sleep in his arms. ⁴¹  It was just like a daughter to him.

2 Samuel 12:21

12:21 His servants said to him, “What is this that you have done? While ⁴²  the child was still alive, you fasted and wept. Once the child was dead you got up and ate food!”

2 Samuel 12:31

12:31 He removed ⁴³  the people who were in it and made them do hard labor with saws, iron picks, and iron axes, putting them to work at the brick kiln. This was his policy ⁴⁴  with all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all the army returned to Jerusalem. ⁴⁵ 

2 Samuel 13:5

13:5 Jonadab replied to him, “Lie down on your bed and pretend to be sick. ⁴⁶  When your father comes in to see you, say to him, ‘Please let my sister Tamar come in so she can fix some food for me. Let her prepare the food in my sight so I can watch. Then I will eat from her hand.’”

2 Samuel 13:10

13:10 Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the cakes into the bedroom; then I will eat from your hand.” So Tamar took the cakes that she had prepared and brought them to her brother Amnon in the bedroom.

2 Samuel 13:22

13:22 But Absalom said nothing to Amnon, either bad or good, yet Absalom hated Amnon because he had humiliated his sister Tamar.

2 Samuel 14:14-15

14:14 Certainly we must die, and are like water spilled on the ground that cannot be gathered up again. But God does not take away life; instead he devises ways for the banished to be restored. ⁴⁷  14:15 I have now come to speak with my lord the king about this matter, because the people have made me fearful. ⁴⁸  But your servant said, ‘I will speak to the king! Perhaps the king will do what his female servant ⁴⁹  asks.

2 Samuel 14:18

14:18 Then the king replied to the woman, “Don’t hide any information from me when I question you.” The woman said, “Let my lord the king speak!”

2 Samuel 14:20

14:20 Your servant Joab did this so as to change this situation. But my lord has wisdom like that of the angel of God, and knows everything that is happening in the land.” ⁵⁰ 

2 Samuel 14:22

14:22 Then Joab bowed down with his face toward the ground and thanked ⁵¹  the king. Joab said, “Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your sight, my lord the king, because the king has granted the request of your ⁵²  servant!”

2 Samuel 14:26

14:26 When he would shave his head – at the end of every year he used to shave his head, for it grew too long ⁵³  and he would shave it – he used to weigh the hair of his head at three pounds ⁵⁴  according to the king’s weight.

2 Samuel 15:14

15:14 So David said to all his servants who were with him in Jerusalem, ⁵⁵  “Come on! ⁵⁶  Let’s escape! ⁵⁷  Otherwise no one will be delivered from Absalom! Go immediately, or else he will quickly overtake us and bring ⁵⁸  disaster on us and kill the city’s residents with the sword.” ⁵⁹ 

2 Samuel 15:18

15:18 All his servants were leaving with him, ⁶⁰  along with all the Kerethites, all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites – some six hundred men who had come on foot from Gath. They were leaving with ⁶¹  the king.

2 Samuel 15:20-21

15:20 It seems like you arrived just yesterday. Today should I make you wander around by going with us? I go where I must go. But as for you, go back and take your men ⁶²  with you. May genuine loyal love ⁶³  protect ⁶⁴  you!”

15:21 But Ittai replied to the king, “As surely as the Lord lives and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king is, whether dead or alive, ⁶⁵  there I ⁶⁶  will be as well!”

2 Samuel 15:30

15:30 As David was going up the Mount of Olives, he was weeping as he went; his head was covered and his feet were bare. All the people who were with him also had their heads covered and were weeping as they went up.

2 Samuel 16:8

16:8 The Lord has punished you for ⁶⁷  all the spilled blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you rule. Now the Lord has given the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. Disaster has overtaken you, for you are a man of bloodshed!”

2 Samuel 16:11

16:11 Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “My own son, my very own flesh and blood, ⁶⁸  is trying to take my life. So also now this Benjaminite! Leave him alone so that he can curse, for the Lord has spoken to him.

2 Samuel 16:23

16:23 In those days Ahithophel’s advice was considered as valuable as a prophetic revelation. ⁶⁹  Both David and Absalom highly regarded the advice of Ahithophel. ⁷⁰ 

2 Samuel 17:9

17:9 At this very moment he is hiding out in one of the caves or in some other similar place. If it should turn out that he attacks our troops first, ⁷¹  whoever hears about it will say, ‘Absalom’s army has been slaughtered!’

2 Samuel 17:11

17:11 My advice therefore is this: Let all Israel from Dan to Beer Sheba – in number like the sand by the sea! – be mustered to you, and you lead them personally into battle.

2 Samuel 17:13

17:13 If he regroups in a city, all Israel will take up ropes to that city and drag it down to the valley, so that not a single pebble will be left there!”

2 Samuel 17:16

17:16 Now send word quickly to David and warn him, ⁷²  “Don’t spend the night at the fords of the desert ⁷³  tonight. Instead, be sure you cross over, ⁷⁴  or else the king and everyone who is with him may be overwhelmed.” ⁷⁵ 

2 Samuel 17:25

17:25 Absalom had made Amasa general in command of the army in place of Joab. (Now Amasa was the son of an Israelite man named Jether, who had married ⁷⁶  Abigail the daughter of Nahash and sister of Zeruiah, Joab’s mother.)

2 Samuel 18:9

18:9 Then Absalom happened to come across David’s men. Now as Absalom was riding on his ⁷⁷  mule, it ⁷⁸  went under the branches of a large oak tree. His head got caught in the oak and he was suspended in midair, ⁷⁹  while the mule he had been riding kept going.

2 Samuel 18:18

18:18 Prior to this ⁸⁰  Absalom had set up a monument ⁸¹  and dedicated it to himself in the King’s Valley, reasoning “I have no son who will carry on my name.” He named the monument after himself, and to this day it is known as Absalom’s Memorial.

2 Samuel 18:32

18:32 The king asked the Cushite, “How is the young man Absalom?” The Cushite replied, “May the enemies of my lord the king and all who have plotted against you ⁸²  be like that young man!”

2 Samuel 19:24

19:24 Now Mephibosheth, Saul’s grandson, ⁸³  came down to meet the king. From the day the king had left until the day he safely ⁸⁴  returned, Mephibosheth ⁸⁵  had not cared for his feet ⁸⁶  nor trimmed ⁸⁷  his mustache nor washed his clothes.

2 Samuel 19:37

19:37 Let me ⁸⁸  return so that I may die in my own city near the grave of my father and my mother. But look, here is your servant Kimham. Let him cross over with my lord the king. Do for him whatever seems appropriate to you.”

2 Samuel 20:3

20:3 Then David went to his palace ⁸⁹  in Jerusalem. The king took the ten concubines he had left to care for the palace and placed them under confinement. ⁹⁰  Though he provided for their needs, he did not have sexual relations with them. ⁹¹  They remained in confinement until the day they died, living out the rest of their lives as widows.

2 Samuel 20:8

20:8 When they were near the big rock that is in Gibeon, Amasa came to them. Now Joab was dressed in military attire and had a dagger in its sheath belted to his waist. When he advanced, it fell out. ⁹² 

2 Samuel 20:10

20:10 Amasa did not protect himself from the knife in Joab’s other hand, and Joab ⁹³  stabbed him in the abdomen, causing Amasa’s ⁹⁴  intestines to spill out on the ground. There was no need to stab him again; the first blow was fatal. ⁹⁵  Then Joab and his brother Abishai pursued Sheba son of Bicri.

2 Samuel 20:15

20:15 So Joab’s men ⁹⁶  came and laid siege against him in Abel of Beth Maacah. They prepared a siege ramp outside the city which stood against its outer rampart. As all of Joab’s soldiers were trying to break through ⁹⁷  the wall so that it would collapse,

2 Samuel 21:1

The Gibeonites Demand Revenge

21:1 During David’s reign there was a famine for three consecutive years. So David inquired of the Lord. ⁹⁸  The Lord said, “It is because of Saul and his bloodstained family, ⁹⁹  because he murdered the Gibeonites.”

2 Samuel 21:7

21:7 The king had mercy on Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, in light of the Lord’s oath that had been taken between David and Jonathan son of Saul.

2 Samuel 21:14

21:14 They buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in the land of Benjamin at Zela in the grave of his father Kish. After they had done everything ¹⁰⁰  that the king had commanded, God responded to their prayers ¹⁰¹  for the land.

2 Samuel 23:8

David’s Warriors

23:8 These are the names of David’s warriors:

Josheb-Basshebeth, a Tahkemonite, was head of the officers. ¹⁰²  He killed eight hundred men with his spear in one battle. ¹⁰³ 

2 Samuel 23:16

23:16 So the three elite warriors broke through the Philistine forces and drew some water from the cistern in Bethlehem near the gate. They carried it back to David, but he refused to drink it. He poured it out as a drink offering to the Lord

2 Samuel 23:21

23:21 He also killed an impressive-looking Egyptian. ¹⁰⁴  The Egyptian wielded a spear, while Benaiah attacked ¹⁰⁵  him with a club. He grabbed the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear.

2 Samuel 24:2

24:2 The king told Joab, the general in command of his army, “Go through all the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beer Sheba and muster the army, so I may know the size of the army.”

2 Samuel 24:10

24:10 David felt guilty ¹⁰⁶  after he had numbered the army. David said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly by doing this! Now, O Lord, please remove the guilt of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.”

[1:4]  ¹ tn Heb “What was the word?”

[1:4]  ² tn Heb “from the people.”

[1:4]  ³ tn Heb “fell and died.”

[2:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “house.”

[2:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “and they told David.” The subject appears to be indefinite, allowing one to translate the verb as passive with David as subject.

[2:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “men.”

[2:5]  ⁷ tn Or “loyalty.”

[2:23]  ⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Asahel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:23]  ⁹ tn Heb “the.” The article functions here as a possessive pronoun.

[2:23]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Asahel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:23]  ¹¹ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abner) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:23]  ¹² tn Heb “and they stand.”

[3:14]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “whom I betrothed to myself.”

[3:19]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “into the ears of.”

[3:19]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “also Abner went to speak into the ears of David in Hebron.”

[3:19]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “all which was good in the eyes of Israel and in the eyes of all the house of Benjamin.”

[3:21]  ¹⁸ tn After the cohortatives, the prefixed verbal form with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[3:25]  ¹⁹ 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.

[3:31]  ²⁰ tn Heb “was walking.”

[4:10]  ²¹ tn Heb “and he was like a bearer of good news in his eyes.”

[6:12]  ²² tn Heb “and it was told to David, saying.”

[6:17]  ²³ tc The Syriac Peshitta lacks “in its place.”

[6:20]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and David returned to bless his house.”

[6:20]  ²⁵ tn Heb “David.” The name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[6:20]  ²⁶ tn Heb “honored.”

[6:20]  ²⁷ tn Heb “one of the foolish ones.”

[6:21]  ²⁸ tn Heb “all his house”; CEV “anyone else in your family.”

[7:11]  ²⁹ tn Or “rest.”

[7:11]  ³⁰ 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 (va’aggid, “and I declared”). The construction used in 2 Sam 7:11 highlights this important statement.

[7:11]  ³¹ tn Heb “the Lord.”

[7:11]  ³² 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.

[8:14]  ³³ 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.

[9:11]  ³⁴ tn Heb “eating.”

[9:11]  ³⁵ tc Heb “my table.” But the first person reference to David is awkward here since the quotation of David’s words has already been concluded in v. 10; nor does the “my” refer to Ziba, since the latter part of v. 11 does not seem to be part of Ziba’s response to the king. The ancient versions are not unanimous in the way that they render the phrase. The LXX has “the table of David” (τῆς τραπέζης Δαυιδ, th" trapezh" Dauid); the Syriac Peshitta has “the table of the king” (patureh demalka’); the Vulgate has “your table” (mensam tuam). The present translation follows the LXX.

[11:27]  ³⁶ tn Heb “David sent and gathered her to his house.”

[11:27]  ³⁷ tn Heb “and the thing which David had done was evil in the eyes of the Lord.” Note the verbal connection with v. 25. Though David did not regard the matter as evil, the Lord certainly did.

[12:3]  ³⁸ tn Heb “his sons.”

[12:3]  ³⁹ tn The three Hebrew imperfect verbal forms in this sentence have a customary nuance; they describe past actions that were repeated or typical.

[12:3]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “from his morsel.”

[12:3]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “and on his chest [or perhaps, “lap”] it would lay.”

[12:21]  ⁴² tc For the MT בַּעֲבוּר (ba’avur, “for the sake of”) we should probably read בְּעוֹד (bÿ’od, “while”). See the Lucianic Greek recension, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Targum.

[12:31]  ⁴³ tn Heb “brought out.”

[12:31]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “and so he would do.”

[12:31]  ⁴⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[13:5]  ⁴⁶ tn This verb is used in the Hitpael stem only in this chapter of the Hebrew Bible. With the exception of v. 2 it describes not a real sickness but one pretended in order to entrap Tamar. The Hitpael sometimes, as here, describes the subject making oneself appear to be of a certain character. On this use of the stem, see GKC 149-50 §54.e.

[14:14]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “he devises plans for the one banished from him not to be banished.”

[14:15]  ⁴⁸ tc The LXX (ὄψεταί με, opsetai me) has misunderstood the Hebrew יֵרְאֻנִי (yerÿ’uni, Piel perfect, “they have made me fearful”), taking the verb to be a form of the verb רָאָה (ra’ah, “to see”) rather than the verb יָרֵא (yare’, “to fear”). The fact that the Greek translators were working with an unvocalized Hebrew text (i.e., consonants only) made them very susceptible to this type of error.

[14:15]  ⁴⁹ tn Here and in v. 16 the woman refers to herself as the king’s אָמָה (’amah), a term that refers to a higher level female servant toward whom the master might have some obligation. Like the other term, this word expresses her humility, but it also suggests that the king might have some obligation to treat her in accordance with the principles of justice.

[14:20]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “to know all that is in the land.”

[14:22]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “blessed.”

[14:22]  ⁵² tc The present translation reads with the Qere “your” rather than the MT “his.”

[14:26]  ⁵³ tn Heb “for it was heavy upon him.”

[14:26]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “two hundred shekels.” The modern equivalent would be about three pounds (1.4 kg).

[15:14]  ⁵⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[15:14]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “Arise!”

[15:14]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “let’s flee.”

[15:14]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “thrust.”

[15:14]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “and strike the city with the edge of the sword.”

[15:18]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “crossing over near his hand.”

[15:18]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “crossing over near the face of.”

[15:20]  ⁶² tn Heb “brothers,” but see v. 22.

[15:20]  ⁶³ tn Heb “loyal love and truth.” The expression is a hendiadys.

[15:20]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “be with.”

[15:21]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “whether for death or for life.”

[15:21]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “your servant.”

[16:8]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “has brought back upon you.”

[16:11]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “who came out from my entrails.” David’s point is that is his own son, his child whom he himself had fathered, was now wanting to kill him.

[16:23]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “And the advice of Ahithophel which he advised in those days was as when one inquires of the word of God.”

[16:23]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “So was all the advice of Ahithophel, also to David, also to Absalom.”

[17:9]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “that he falls on them [i.e., Absalom’s troops] at the first [encounter]; or “that some of them [i.e., Absalom’s troops] fall at the first [encounter].”

[17:16]  ⁷² tn Heb “send quickly and tell David saying.”

[17:16]  ⁷³ tn Or “wilderness” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV, TEV).

[17:16]  ⁷⁴ tn That is, “cross over the Jordan River.”

[17:16]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “swallowed up.”

[17:25]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “come to.”

[18:9]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “the.”

[18:9]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “the donkey.”

[18:9]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “between the sky and the ground.”

[18:18]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “and.” This disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) describes an occurrence that preceded the events just narrated.

[18:18]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “a pillar.”

[18:32]  ⁸² tn Heb “and all those rising against you for evil.”

[19:24]  ⁸³ tn Heb “son.”

[19:24]  ⁸⁴ tn Heb “in peace.” So also in v. 31.

[19:24]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Mephibosheth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:24]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “done his feet.”

[19:24]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “done.”

[19:37]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “your servant.”

[20:3]  ⁸⁹ tn Heb “house.”

[20:3]  ⁹⁰ tn Heb “and he placed them in a guarded house.”

[20:3]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “he did not come to them”; NAB “has no further relations with them”; NIV “did not lie with them”; TEV “did not have intercourse with them”; NLT “would no longer sleep with them.”

[20:8]  ⁹² sn The significance of the statement it fell out here is unclear. If the dagger fell out of its sheath before Joab got to Amasa, how then did he kill him? Josephus, Ant. 7.11.7 (7.284), suggested that as Joab approached Amasa he deliberately caused the dagger to fall to the ground at an opportune moment as though by accident. When he bent over and picked it up, he then stabbed Amasa with it. Others have tried to make a case for thinking that two swords are referred to – the one that fell out and another that Joab kept concealed until the last moment. But nothing in the text clearly supports this view. Perhaps Josephus’ understanding is best, but it is by no means obvious in the text either.

[20:10]  ⁹³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Joab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:10]  ⁹⁴ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Amasa) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:10]  ⁹⁵ tn Heb “and he did not repeat concerning him, and he died.”

[20:15]  ⁹⁶ tn Heb “they.” The following context makes it clear that this refers to Joab and his army.

[20:15]  ⁹⁷ tc The LXX has here ἐνοοῦσαν (enoousan, “were devising”), which apparently presupposes the Hebrew word מַחֲשָׁבִים (makhashavim) rather than the MT מַשְׁחִיתִם (mashkhitim, “were destroying”). With a number of other scholars Driver thinks that the Greek variant may preserve the original reading, but this seems to be an unnecessary conclusion (but see S. R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text and the Topography of the Books of Samuel, 346).

[21:1]  ⁹⁸ tn Heb “sought the face of the Lord.”

[21:1]  ⁹⁹ tn Heb “and the house of bloodshed.”

[21:14]  ¹⁰⁰ tc Many medieval Hebrew mss have here כְּכֹל (kÿkhol, “according to all”).

[21:14]  ¹⁰¹ tn Heb “was entreated.” The verb is an example of the so-called niphal tolerativum, with the sense that God allowed himself to be supplicated through prayer (cf. GKC 137 §51.c).

[23:8]  ¹⁰² tn The Hebrew word is sometimes rendered as “the three,” but BDB is probably correct in taking it to refer to military officers (BDB 1026 s.v. שְׁלִישִׁי). In that case the etymological connection of this word to the Hebrew numerical adjective for “three” can be explained as originating with a designation for the third warrior in a chariot.

[23:8]  ¹⁰³ tc The translation follows some LXX mss (see 1 Chr 11:11 as well) in reading הוּא עוֹרֵר אֶת־חֲנִיתוֹ (hu’ ’orer ’et khanito, “he raised up his spear”) rather than the MT’s הוּא עֲדִינוֹ הָעֶצְנִי (hu’ ’adino ha’etsni [Kethib = הָעֶצְנוֹ, ha’etsno]; “Adino the Ezenite”). The emended text reads literally “he was wielding his spear against eight hundred, [who were] slain at one time.”

[23:21]  ¹⁰⁴ tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading אִישׁ (’ish, “man”) rather than the Kethib of the MT, אֲשֶׁר (’asher, “who”).

[23:21]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Heb “and he went down to.”

[24:10]  ¹⁰⁶ tn Heb “and the heart of David struck him.”