2 Samuel 5:8

5:8 David said on that day, “Whoever attacks the Jebusites must approach the ‘lame’ and the ‘blind’ who are David’s enemies ¹  by going through the water tunnel.” ²  For this reason it is said, “The blind and the lame cannot enter the palace.” ³ 

2 Samuel 10:6

10:6 When the Ammonites realized that David was disgusted with them, ⁴  they ⁵  sent and hired 20,000 foot soldiers from Aram Beth Rehob and Aram Zobah, ⁶  in addition to 1,000 men from the king of Maacah and 12,000 men from Ish-tob. ⁷ 

2 Samuel 14:15

14:15 I have now come to speak with my lord the king about this matter, because the people have made me fearful. ⁸  But your servant said, ‘I will speak to the king! Perhaps the king will do what his female servant ⁹  asks.

2 Samuel 20:12

20:12 Amasa was squirming in his own blood in the middle of the path, and this man had noticed that all the soldiers stopped. Having noticed that everyone who came across Amasa ¹⁰  stopped, the man ¹¹  pulled him ¹²  away from the path and into the field and threw a garment over him.

[5:8]  ¹ tc There is some confusion among the witnesses concerning this word. The Kethib is the Qal perfect 3cp שָׂנְאוּ (sanÿ’u, “they hated”), referring to the Jebusites’ attitude toward David. The Qere is the Qal passive participle construct plural שְׂנֻאֵי (sÿnu’e, “hated”), referring to David’s attitude toward the Jebusites. 4QSam^a has the Qal perfect 3rd person feminine singular שָׂנְאָה (sanÿ’ah, “hated”), the subject of which would be “the soul of David.” The difference is minor and the translation adopted above works for either the Kethib or the Qere.

[5:8]  ² tn The meaning of the Hebrew term has been debated. For a survey of various views, see P. K. McCarter, II Samuel (AB), 139-40.

[5:8]  sn If a water tunnel is in view here, it is probably the so-called Warren’s Shaft that extends up from Hezekiah’s tunnel. It would have provided a means for surprise attack against the occupants of the city of David. The LXX seems not to understand the reference here, translating “by the water shaft” as “with a small knife.”

[5:8]  ³ tn Heb “the house.” TEV takes this as a reference to the temple (“the Lord’s house”).

[10:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “that they were a stench [i.e., disgusting] with David.”

[10:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “the Ammonites.”

[10:6]  ⁶ tn Or “Arameans of Beth Rehob and Arameans of Zobah.”

[10:6]  ⁷ tn Or perhaps “the men of Tob.” The ancient versions (the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate) understand the name to be “Ish-tob.” It is possible that “Ish” is dittographic and that we should read simply “Tob,” a reading adopted by a number of recent English versions.

[14:15]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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.

[20:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Amasa) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man who spoke up in v. 11) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:12]  ¹² tn Heb “Amasa.” For stylistic reasons the name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation.