The Second Book of Samuel, otherwise called the Second Book of the Kings
2 Samuel 23
Chapter XXIII · Vol. II, pp. 711–713
1 David, in his last words, professeth his faith in God's promises to be beyond sense or experience, and the different state of the wicked. 8 A catalogue of David's mighty men.
1 Now these be athe last words1 of David. David the son of Jesse said, and bthe man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the csweet psalmist of Israel, said,
B.C. 1015.
a Ge.49.1,2. De.33.1, &c. Jos.23.1. 2 Pe.1.13. Ps.72.20.
1 Not the last words uttered in life, but the last delivered upon the subject discussed.—C.
b 1 Sa.16.13. ch.5.1,3. Ps.78.70-72; 89.20.
c Am.6.5. 1 Ch.16.4,5. Ps.i.-cl.
3 The eGod of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, fHe that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.3
A.M. 2989. B.C. 1015.
e Ex.20.2; 19.5,6. De.32.4,30. ch.22.2,3. 1 Co.10.4.
f Ps.82.3,4; 45.6,7; 72.2. Ro.13.1-4. Mi.5.1,2. Is.11.4,5; 32.1.
3 'He shall be a just (man or one) ruling over men in the fear of God'—a clear prophecy of Messiah; without which interpretation, the whole psalm degenerates into egotistical bombast; but with which the whole becomes natural, simple, and intelligible.—C.
4 And ghe shall be as the light of the morning when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as hthe tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain.
5 Although my house be inot so with 4God; yet he hath kmade with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure: for lthis is all my salvation and all my desire, although mhe make it not to grow.5
i ver.3,4; ch.7.18.
4 'For shall not my house be so with God?'—that is, so rising, shining, prospering.—C.
k ch.7.12-17. Je.31.31; 33.21. Is.9.6,7. Ps.89.3,4,28,35. Mat.16.18. Ro.4.16.
l Ps.16.5,6; 73.25,26; 142.5. 1 Co.2.2. Ga.6.14. Phi.3.8.
5 'For he is all my salvation and all my desire, though he spring not up speedily,' that is, David 'saw Christ's day afar off, and was glad.'—C.
6 But the nsons of Belial shall be all of them as thorns thrust away, because they cannot be taken with hands:
n De.13.13. 1 Sa.2.12. Lu.19.14,27. Is.27.4. Ps.21.8-10; 68.1,2; 110.2,5,6; 92.7,9; 58.9; 37.17,20,38.
7 But the man that shall touch them must be fenced with iron and the staff of a spear; and they shall be utterly burned with fire in the same place.
8 These be the names of the mighty men whom David had: oThe Tachmonite that sat in the seat,6 chief among the captains; (the same was Adino the Eznite;) he lifted up his spear against eight hundred, whom he slew at one time.
o Or, Joshebbassebet the Tachmonite, head of the three, 1 Ch.11.11. These worthies were typical of the apostles, evangelists, and teachers.
6 Kennicott has shown how the text here has been corrupted, and must be corrected from 1 Ch.11.11. The words 'sat in the seat,' should be the proper name Jashobeam; and 'Adino the Eznite,' should be 'lift up his spear.'—I.
9 And after him was pEleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David, when qthey defied the Philistines that were there gathered together to battle, and the men of Israel were gone away:
p 1 Ch.11.12; 27.4.
10 Her arose, and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave unto the sword: and the LORD wrought a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to spoil.
11 And after him was sShammah the son of Agee the Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered together into a troop, where was a piece of ground full of lentiles: and the people fled from the Philistines.
s 1 Ch.11.27,13,14. Or, Shammoth.
12 But he stood in the midst of the ground, and defended it,6 and slew the Philistines: and thet LORD wrought a great victory.
13 And three of the thirty chief7 went down, and came to David in the harvest time unto theu cave of Adullam: and the troop of the Philistines pitched in the valley of xRephaim.
7 Or, the three captains over the thirty.
x Or, giants, Jos.15.8. ch.5.18,22.
14 And David was then yin an hold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Beth-lehem.
y 1 Sa.22.4,5, or ch.5.9.
15 And David longed,8 and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the zwater of the well of Beth-lehem, which is by the gate!
8 David had been in a disease which sometimes terminates in longing for the water of a particular well. Upon any other supposition than sickness, the fact were discreditable to David. But sickness can bring down the mightiest, that the mighty may learn to be humble.—C.
z Perhaps an emblem of Jesus and his Spirit, Jn.4.10,14. Is.12.3.
16 And the three mighty men brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Beth-lehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: nevertheless he would not drink thereof, but poured ait out unto the LORD:
a 1 Sa.25.32,33. ver.17. 1 Ch.11.18,19. Ps.72.14; 116.15.
17 And he said, Be it far from me, O LORD, that I should do this: is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives? therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mighty men.
18 And bAbishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief among three:9 and he lifted up his spear against three hundred, and slew1 them, and had the name among three.
b 1 Ch.12.20,21; 2.16. 1 Sa.26.6.
9 Probably among the second three, whose feat of daring the historian has just recorded.—P.
1 Heb. slain.
19 Was he not most honourable of three? therefore he was their captain: howbeit he cattained not unto the first three.
20 And dBenaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of eKabzeel, fwho had done many acts, he slew two glion-like men of Moab: he went down also and slew a lion in the midst of a pit in time of snow.
d ch.20.23. 1 Ki.2.35. 1 Ch.11.22,25.
e Jos.15.21.
f Heb. great of acts, Lu.24.19.
g Heb. lions of God, Ex.15.15.
21 And he slew an Egyptian, ha goodly man: and the Egyptian had a spear in his hand; but he went down to him2 with a staff, and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian's hand, and islew him with his own spear.
h Heb. a man of countenance or sight, called 1 Ch.11.23, a man of great stature.
2 Benaiah had been upon a rock or high ground, and was challenged by the Egyptian to come down. This required great courage in Benaiah. But the exploit is by no means improbable; for by dexterously parrying the spear, he would soon turn aside his adversary's point, and beat down or get within his guard, when his staff would become not only a more manageable, but a more efficient, weapon of assault.—Note, Until wars shall cease (which may the Lord hasten) just praise is due to those by whom our families and our country are defended, and our enemies prevented from overrunning and destroying the land.—C.
i 1 Sa.17.51. The names of these mighties are somewhat different here from what they are in 1 Ch.xi. See there.
22 These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and had the name among three mighty men.
23 He was more honourable3 than the thirty, but he attained not to the first three: and David set him over his 4guard.5
3 Or, honourable among the thirty.
4 Or, council.
5 Heb. at his command.
25 Shammahm the Harodite, Elika the Harodite,6
6 This catalogue is full of variations both in the text and in the versions, and differs much from that in Chronicles, which may be partly accounted for by the corruptions that have crept into both. It was the comparison of these texts that led Kennicott to engage in his great work of collating the Hebrew MSS. Perhaps the list here contains the names of the commanders who lived in the early part of David's reign; but it underwent various changes, which are noted in 1 Ch.xi.—I.
26 Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite,
27 Abiezern the Anethothite, Mebunnai the Hushathite,
n 1 Ch.11.29.
28 Zalmon the Ahohite, oMaharai the Netophathite,
o 1 Ch.11.30.
29 Helebp the son of Baanah, a Netophathite, Ittai the son of Ribai out of Gibeah of the children of Benjamin,
32 Eliahba the Shaalbonite, sof the sons of Jashen, Jonathan,8
s 1 Ch.11.34.
8 Instead of 'the sons of Jashen, Jonathan,' the parallel passage in Chronicles has—'the sons of Hashem the Gizonite,' and then joins 'Jonathan' to the next clause. The word rendered 'the sons of Jashen' is unquestionably a proper name, and ought to be read Benejashen. Jonathan also should be connected with Shammah, as in Chronicles. The whole would then read:—'Benejashen; Jonathan the son of Shammah (Ben-shammah) the Hararite.'—P.
33 Shammah the Hararite, tAhiam the son of Sharar the Hararite,
t 1 Ch.11.35.
34 Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai, the son of the Maachathite, uEliam the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite,
u ch.11.3; 15.12.
35 Hezraix the Carmelite, Paarai the Arbite,
x 1 Ch.11.37.
36 Igaly the son of Nathan of Zobah, Bani the Gadite,
y 1 Ch.11.38.
37 Zelekz the Ammonite, Naharai the Beerothite, armour-bearer to Joab the son of Zeruiah,
z 1 Ch.11.39.
38 Ira an aIthrite, Gareb an Ithrite,
a Jos.15.48. 1 Ch.11.40; 2.50,53.
39 Uriahb the Hittite: thirty and seven9 in all.1
b ch.11.3. 1 Ch.11.41. 1 Ki.15.5.
9 As there are thirty-seven enumerated, the word translated thirty, ver.13, should be rendered captains, as it is in ver.8, and Ex.14.7.—C.
1 It is probable that thirty was the original number of this distinguished corps, and that its technical name was The Thirty; but that the number was increased, while the old name was retained.—P.
Notes
[Ver. 1. 'The psalm of thanksgiving in which David praised the Lord for all the deliverances and benefits he had experienced throughout the whole of his life, is followed by the prophetic will and testament of the great king, unfolding the importance of his rule in relation to the sacred history of the future. And whilst the psalm may be regarded as a great hallelujah, with which David passed away from the stage of life, these 'last words' contain the divine seal of all that he has sung and prophesied concerning the eternal dominion of his seed, on the strength of the divine promise which he received through the prophet Nathan—that his throne should be established for ever. These words are not merely a lyrical expansion of that promise, but a prophetic declaration uttered by David at the close of his life, and by divine inspiration, concerning the true King of the kingdom of God' (Delitzsch). P.]
Ver. 4. [He shall be as the light of the morning when the sun riseth. A very valuable MS. collated by Kennicott reads, 'And as the light of the morning shall Jehovah arise, a sun.' Such a change of reading, however, is not to be adopted on such slight authority, nor is it necessary to explain the passage. The whole difficulty vanishes when we rectify the translation of ver. 3 as in marginal note. C.]
Ver. 5. [The meaning of this verse is:—Does not my house stand in such relation to God that the Righteous Ruler—the Messiah—will spring from it? The reason is given in the next clause: 'For he hath made an everlasting covenant with me, ordered in all things, and steadfast.' Upon this David founded his confidence that God would cause to spring forth from it all the salvation promised to him and his house, and all the good pleasure of God expressed in the covenant:—'For all my salvation, and all good pleasure, shall he not cause it to spring forth?' P.]
Ver. 7. [Fenced with iron. The translators, not seeing Messiah in the passage, evidently consider these words as referring to a man attempting to gather the thorns, and requiring to be fenced against injury. But instead of fenced we should translate the word filled, and then it becomes a prophecy of Christ which was literally fulfilled. C.]
Ver. 8. [Eight hundred, whom he slew at one time. There is a seeming discrepancy between this passage and 1 Ch. 11. 11, though they seem to be spoken of the same person. The passages may easily be reconciled thus:—(1) Though 1 Chronicles be placed after 2 Samuel, Chronicles may have been first written. (2) The Tachmonite may have assailed 300 at one time, 500 at another. (3) What the leader began, and his troops completed, may, according to all common usage, be ascribed to the leader. C.——This list of heroes is also given in 1 Ch. 11. 10-47, with the addition of sixteen names not here mentioned. The author of Chronicles has attached the list to his account of the capture of Zion, to show that they had aided David materially in the settlement of the kingdom. The names in the two lists are sometimes slightly different; but this is easily explained, for in the East names are differently spelled in different parts of the country, and at different periods. Observe how different is the spelling of many of our historical names now and a century ago. P.]
Ver. 15. [The cave or hold of Adullam was in the wilderness of Judah, a little to the south-east of Bethlehem. The well to which tradition has given the name of David's Well is on the northern side of the village, close to the road that leads to the plain of Rephaim. If it be the real well, which is not improbable, David's mighty men must have passed round the village, leaving the Philistine garrison between them and their place of refuge. P.]
Reflections.—It is a high honour to be endowed with gifts and invested with offices by the God of Israel, for the benefit of his people: for his gifts and graces are necessary for the faithful discharge of every office in church or state. What a mercy to mankind is Jesus and his compassion! It is pleasant to die in his arms, beholding his glory, resting on his atonement, and cleaving to his promise: but great is the wickedness, and dreadful the end, of those that oppose him and the interests of his church. God distributes, in a most gracious manner, his endowments even in natural things, rendering men weak or strong, cowardly or brave, as is best. And it is sinful for self-indulgence, or to please a superior's humour, to hazard human life: and very necessary to repent bitterly of such conduct. But let me, refreshed with the living water which flows from Jesus the Bethlehemite, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might; so shall I put to flight the heroes and the armies of the aliens. No powers of hell or earth shall be able to withstand me; and with honour shall my deeds be recorded in the Lamb's book of life.