2 Samuel 17:16

17:16 Now send word quickly to David and warn him, ¹  “Don’t spend the night at the fords of the desert ²  tonight. Instead, be sure you cross over, ³  or else the king and everyone who is with him may be overwhelmed.” ⁴ 

2 Samuel 17:18

17:18 But a young man saw them on one occasion and informed Absalom. So the two of them quickly departed and went to the house of a man in Bahurim. There was a well in his courtyard, and they got down in it.

2 Samuel 17:21

17:21 After the men had left, Ahimaaz and Jonathan ⁵  climbed out of the well. Then they left and informed King David. They advised David, “Get up and cross the stream ⁶  quickly, for Ahithophel has devised a plan to catch you.” ⁷ 

2 Samuel 19:8

19:8 So the king got up and sat at the city gate. When all the people were informed that the king was sitting at the city gate, they ⁸  all came before him.

David Goes Back to Jerusalem

But the Israelite soldiers ⁹  had all fled to their own homes. ¹⁰ 

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. ¹¹ 

[17:16]  ¹ tn Heb “send quickly and tell David saying.”

[17:16]  ² tn Or “wilderness” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV, TEV).

[17:16]  ³ tn That is, “cross over the Jordan River.”

[17:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “swallowed up.”

[17:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “they”; the referents (Ahimaaz and Jonathan) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:21]  ⁶ tn Heb “the water.”

[17:21]  ⁷ tn Heb “for thus Ahithophel has devised against you.” The expression “thus” is narrative shorthand, referring to the plan outlined by Ahithophel (see vv. 1-3). The men would surely have outlined the plan in as much detail as they had been given by the messenger.

[19:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “all the people.”

[19:8]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew text has simply “Israel” (see 18:16-17).

[19:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “had fled, each to his tent.”

[20:8]  ¹¹ 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.