2 Samuel 22:29-43 – In The Fight

Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church of Manhattan, KS, 1 February 2015, 1 Jan 2022

Introduction

vs. 28-29 The Primacy Of God’s Work In Salvation

In v.30, the picture changes from a lamp burning to warfare

In vs.31-32 David pauses to assert three things about the character of the God who enables him to fight:

  1. God and His ways (that is, His law1) are characterized by “integrity/wholeness/soundness/fault­lessness,” and He shares this character trait out with those who love Him, v. 26 “with a man of integrity, you will show integrity,” so that’s why David could say earlier in v.24, “I have integrity/ blamelessness...” God is characterized by integrity, and God shares His integrity with His people.

  2. Secondly, what God has said and recorded in the Bible is “pure/tried/proven/true/flawless.” The root of the Hebrew word tserufah here is the same as the smelting furnace in Psalm 12:6 that refines gold or silver until it is pure: “The sayings of Yahweh are sayings of purity – silver, smelted in the crucible on the ground, refined seven times.” (NAW) There is no error or untruth in what God says. He has integrity; His way is perfect. That’s why the Holy Bible is so foundational to us!

  3. The third thing that v.31 asserts flows into personal application: Only a God who has no evil in Him – and who sends forth no evil from Him – can truly protect those who take refuge in Him from evil.

Vs. 33-37 & 40-42 – a Dozen more things God does to enable David to fight

  1. God, who Himself (Ps. 65:7, 93:1) is “armed/girded with strength/resources” shares with David that with which He Himself is equipped.

  1. But with the power comes a gift of moral character to use that force blamelessly, with integrity, as a king should, using the power of the sword (which God gives to civil magistrates to punish evil - Rom. 13:4), without abusing people with this power like a despot (Mat. 20:25).

  2. vs. 34 speaks of God making David’s feet like the feet of deer (cf. Hab. 3:19), probably connoting the ability to move quickly to safety. Now, when you come up on a deer or a mountain goat in the wild, they don’t say, “Hey Mr. Human, I’ve got these special hooves that God gave me to be great at climbing rocks, but I’m just going to lie here and let you eat me.” No, they use those hooves and jet up a cliff face and disappear to safety!

  3. God causes David to stand on David’s “high places.”

  1. In v. 35, God “trains [David’s] hands for war”: whether gaining accuracy in target-practice with his slingshot or spear, or learning the moves to parry and strike with a sword. David will use his God-trained hands to fight enemies and kill them.

  2. And we read of him using a “bow of brass/bronze/steel.” The Hebrew word for this kind of metal is frequently used in the Bible to indicate something extraordinarily hard (cf. Job 40:18, Isa. 48:4, Micah 4:13). Whether this is a crossbow or compound bow which actually incorporated a metal leaf-spring, or whether this is a figure of speech for a longbow with a heavy draw, or for a deadly phalanx of enemy archers (Willett), David will use his weapon in battle, trusting in God for victory, and then he will attribute his strength in using it (and the victory) to God.

  3. In v.36, God gives David a shield which is God’s salvation, perhaps referring to Jesus Himself or perhaps to the shield of faith (which Ephesians 6:16 tells Christians to “take up”). David fought using the shield God provided. When we fight against evil, we need a good defense. When we trust Jesus to protect us, His “defense is sure”!

  4. And the end of v.36 has a marvelous statement about the “lowliness/stooping down/gentleness” of God (which is the same root as the word in v.28 for “humble/afflicted/lowly” which describes the kind of people God saves). Here is an Old Testament version of Philippians 2, which describes Jesus humbly “emptying Himself” - descending to earth to commune with His creatures and to provide atonement for us on the cross, then rising from the dead to sit at the right hand of God in heaven. It is Jesus’ “stooping/lowliness” which is the means by which His people who place their trust and hope in Him will be glorified with Him in the heights of heaven.

  5. In v.37, David gives glory to God for “widening the path” and “opening up margin” for him (cf. Ps. 4:1) so that he can walk with longer steps, not having to worry about obstacles that might “sprain his ankles.” Once again we have a picture of David doing something – “striding” (“stepping” down the war-path) – yet doing it with God’s help and blessing.

  6. On into v. 40, David is actively fighting in battle, but then he gives the glory to God for subduing the rebels.

  7. In vs. 41-42 David is annihilating enemies, but says it was God who made them vulnerable through leaving them to their own devices and through giving them over to David.

12. Finally, v.42 implies that David’s enemies lost because God did not make Himself available to help them, even though they asked God to help them.

We see more of David’s Action in vs. 38-39 & 43

Application


Outline:

A. I was saved because:

  1. God intervened when I prayed (vs. 1-18)

  2. God delighted in me being in the right (vs. 21-27)

  3. God enabled me to fight (vs. 28-42)

B. I was saved for good reasons: (vs. 43-50)

  1. I have been called to be a king

  2. I am saved to sing His praises among the nations

  3. Next time I need deliverance I will trust Him

2 Samuel 22:28-43Side-by side comparison of versionsA


PSALM17 LXX

2Sam22

LXX

Brenton (Vaticanus)

Douay
(Vulgate)

KJV

NAW

2SAM22 MT

PSALM 18 MT

27 ὅτι σὺ
λαὸν
ταπεινὸν σώσεις καὶ ὀφθαλμοὺς ὑπερηφάνων ταπεινώσεις.

28 καὶ τὸν λαὸν τὸν πτωχὸν σώσεις καὶ ὀφθαλμοὺς X ἐπὶ μετεώρων ταπεινώσεις.

28 And thou wilt save the poor people, and wilt bring down the eyes of the haughty.

28 And the poor people thou wilt save: and [with] thy eyes thou shalt humble X the haughty.

28 And the afflicted people thou wilt save: but thine eyes are upon the haughty, [that] thou mayest bring them down.

28 {For You} Yourself will cause to save a lowly people. Your eyes are also upon the haughty; You will bring them low.

כח וְאֶתB עַם עָנִי תּוֹשִׁיעַ וְעֵינֶיךָC עַל רָמִים תַּשְׁפִּיל.

כח כִּי אַתָּה עַם עָנִי תוֹשִׁיעַ וְעֵינַיִםX X רָמוֹת תַּשְׁפִּיל.

28 ὅτι σὺ φωτιεῖς λύχνον μου, κύριε· X θεός μου, φωτιεῖς X τὸ σκότος μου.

29 ὅτι σὺ ὁ λύχνος μου, κύριε, καὶ κύριος ἐκλάμψει [μοι] τὸ σκότος μου.

29 For thou, Lord, art my lamp, and the Lord shall shine forth [to me in] my darkness.

29 For thou art my lamp O Lord: and Dthou, O Lord, wilt enlighten my darkness.

29 For thou art my lamp, O LORD: and the LORD will lighten my darkness.

29 For You Yourself are my lamp, Yahweh. Indeed, it is Yahweh who causes my darkness to glimmer.

כט כִּי אַתָּה נֵירִיE יְהוָה וַיהוָה יַגִּיהַּ חָשְׁכִּי.

כט כִּי אַתָּה תָּאִיר נֵרִי יְהוָה xאֱלֹהַי יַגִּיהַּ חָשְׁכִּי.

29 ὅτι ἐν σοὶ ῥυσθή­σομαι ἀπὸ πειρατη­ρίου καὶ ἐν τῷ θεῷ μου ὑπερ­βήσομαι τεῖχος.

30 ὅτι ἐν σοὶ δραμοῦμαι μονόζωνος [καὶ] ἐν τῷ θεῷ μου ὑπερβή­σομαι τεῖχος.

30 For by thee shall I run as a girded man, [andF] by my God shall I leap over a wall.

30 For in thee I will run girded: in my God I will leap over the wall.

30 For by thee I have run through a troop: by my God have I leaped over a wall.

30 For with You I will rush a battalion; with my God I will jump a parapet.

(ל) כִּי בְכָה אָרוּץ גְּדוּד בֵּאלֹהַי אֲדַלֶּג שׁוּרG.

ל כִּי בְךָ אָרֻץ גְּדוּד וּבֵאלֹהַי אֲדַלֶּג שׁוּר.

30 θεός μου, ἄμωμος ὁδὸς αὐτοῦ, τὰ λόγια κυρίου X πεπυρω­μένα, ὑπερασ­πιστής ἐστιν πάντων τῶν ἐλπιζoντων ἐπ᾿ αὐτόν.

31 ἰσχυρός, ἄμωμος ἡ ὁδὸς αὐτοῦ, τὸ ῥῆμα κυρίου [κραταιόν], πεπυρωμένον, ὑπερασπιστής ἐστιν πᾶσιν τοῖς πεποιθ­όσιν ἐπ᾿ αὐτῷ.

31 As for the Mighty One, his way is blameless: the word of the Lord is [strong and] tried in the fire: he is a protectorH to all that put their trust in him.

31 God, his way is immaculate, the word of the Lord is tried by fire: he is the shield of all that trust in him.

31 As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him.

31 This God has integrity in His manner; the speech of Yahweh is pure. He is a shield for all those who take refuge in Him.

לא הָאֵל תָּמִים דַּרְכּוֹ אִמְרַת יְהוָה צְרוּפָה מָגֵן הוּא לְכֹלI הַחֹסִים בּוֹ.

לא הָאֵל תָּמִים דַּרְכּוֹ אִמְרַת יְהוָה צְרוּפָה מָגֵןJ הוּא לְכֹל הַחֹסִים בּוֹ.

31 ὅτι τίς θεὸς πλὴν τοῦ κυρίου; καὶ τίς θεὸς
X πλὴν τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῶν;

32 τίς ἰσχυρὸς πλὴν κυρίου; καὶ τίς κτίστης ἔσται πλὴν τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῶν;

32 Who is strong, but the Lord? and who will be a Creator except our God?

32 Who is God but the Lord: and who is strong but our God?

32 For who is God, save the LORD? and who is a rock, save our God?

32 Because who is God apart from Yahweh alone? And who is a landmark-rock apart from our God alone?

לב כִּי מִי אֵל מִבַּלְעֲדֵי יְהוָהK וּמִי צוּר מִבַּלְעֲדֵי אֱלֹהֵינוּ.

לב כִּי מִי אֱלוֹהַּ מִבַּלְעֲדֵי יְהוָה וּמִי צוּרL זוּלָתִי אֱלֹהֵינוּ.

32 θεὸς περιζωννύων με δύναμιν καὶ ἔθετο ἄμωμον τὴν ὁδόν μου,

33 ὁ ἰσχυρὸς κραταιῶν με δυνάμει, καὶ ἐξετίναξεν ἄμωμον τὴν ὁδόν μου·

33 It is the Mighty One who strengthens me with might, and has pre­pared my way without fault.

33 God who hath girded me with strength, and made my way perfect.

33 God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect.

33 This God is the One who {equips} me with resource[s] and unleashes the integrity of {my} way,

לג הָאֵל Mמָעוּזִּי חָיִל וַיַּתֵּר תָּמִים Nדַּרְכּוֹ.

לג הָאֵל הַמְאַזְּרֵנִי חָיִל וַיִּתֵּן תָּמִים דַּרְכִּי.

33 καταρτιζ­όμενος τοὺς πόδας μου ὡς ἐλάφου καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ ὑψηλὰ X ἱστῶν με,

34 τιθεὶς τοὺς πόδας μου ὡς ἐλάφων καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ ὕψη X ἱστῶν με·

34 He makes my feet like hart's [feet], and sets me upon the high places.

34 Making my feet like the [feet] of harts, and setting me upon my high places.

34 He maketh my feet like hinds' feet: and setteth me upon my high places.

34 who makes my feet like those of deer such that He causes me to stand upon my high places,

לד מְשַׁוֶּה רַגְלָיוO כָּאַיָּלוֹת
וְעַל בָּ
מוֹתַי יַעֲמִדֵנִיP.

לד מְשַׁוֶּה רַגְלַי כָּאַיָּלוֹת וְעַל בָּמֹתַי יַעֲמִידֵנִי.

34 διδάσκων χεῖράς μου εἰς πόλεμον καὶ ἔθου τόξον χαλκοῦν τοὺς X βραχίονάς μου·

35 διδάσκων χεῖράς μου εἰς πόλεμον καὶ κατάξας τόξον χαλκοῦν [ἐν] βραχίον μου.

35 He teaches my hands to war, and has broken a brazen bow by my armX.

35 He teacheth my hands to war: and maketh my arms [like] a bow of brassQ.

35 He teacheth my hands to war; so that a bow of steelR is broken [by] mine arms.

35 the One who trains my hands for the battle, such that a bow of bronze flexes in my arms.

לה מְלַמֵּד יָדַי לַמִּלְחָמָה וְנִחַתS קֶשֶׁת נְחוּשָׁה זְרֹעֹתָי.

לה מְלַמֵּד יָדַי לַמִּלְחָמָה וְנִחֲתָה קֶשֶׁת נְחוּשָׁה זְרוֹעֹתָי.

35 καὶ ἔδωκάς μοι ὑπερασ­πισμὸν σωτηρ­ίας μου, καὶ δεξιά σου ἀντελάβετό μου, καὶ παιδεία σου ἀνώρθωσέν με εἰς τέλος, καὶ παιδεία σου αὐτή με διδάξει.

36 καὶ ἔδωκάς μοι ὑπερασ­πισμὸν σωτηρ­ίας μου, καὶ ἡ ὑπακοή σου ἐπλήθυνέν με

36 And thou hast given me the shield of my salvation, and thy propit­ious dealing has increased me,

36 X Thou hast given me the shield of my salvation: and thyT mildness hath multiplied me.

36 Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy gentle­ness hath made me great.

36 You also gave me the shield of Your salvation, and it is Your lowliness that made me great.

לו וַתִּתֶּן לִי מָגֵן יִשְׁעֶךָU Vוַעֲנֹתְךָ תַּרְבֵּנִי.

לו וַתִּתֶּן לִי מָגֵן יִשְׁעֶךָ וִימִינְךָ תִסְעָדֵנִי וְעַנְוַתְךָ תַרְבֵּנִי.

36 X πλάτυ­νας X τὰ διαβήματά μου ὑποκάτω μου, καὶ οὐκ ἠσθένησαν
τὰ ἴχνη μου.

37 [εἰς] πλατυ­σμὸν [εἰς] τὰ διαβήματά μου ὑποκάτω μου, καὶ οὐκ ἐσαλεύθησαν τὰ σκέλη μου.

37 so as to make room under me for my going, and my legs did not totter.

37 Thou shalt enlarge my step[s] under me: and my ankles shall not fail.

37 Thou hast enlarged my step[s] under me; so that my feet did not slip.

37 You lengthen my stride under me, and my ankles do not sprain.

לז תַּרְחִיב צַעֲדִי תַּחְתֵּנִיW וְלֹא מָעֲדוּ קַרְסֻלָּיX.

לז תַּרְחִיב צַעֲדִי תַחְתָּי וְלֹא מָעֲדוּ קַרְסֻלָּי.

37 καταδιώξω τοὺς ἐχθρούς μου καὶ κατα­λήμψομαι αὐτ­οὺς καὶ οὐκ ποστραφή­σομαι, ἕως ἂν ἐκλίπωσιν·

38 διώξω ἐχθρούς μου καὶ ἀφανιῶ αὐτοὺς καὶ οὐκ ἀναστρέψω, ἕως συντελέσω αὐτούς·

38 I will pursue my enemies, and will utterly destroy them; and I will not turn again till I have consumed them.

38 I will pursue after my enemies, and crush them: and will not return again till I consume them.

38 I have pursued mine enemies, and destroyed them; and turned not again until I had consumed them.

38 I hunted down my enemies and destroyed them. Indeed I did not turn back until their defeat.

לח אֶרְדְּפָהY אֹיְבַי וָאַשְׁמִידֵםZ וְלֹא אָשׁוּב עַד כַּלּוֹתָםAA.

לח אֶרְדּוֹף אוֹיְבַי
וְאַשִּׂxיגֵם וְלֹא אָשׁוּב עַד כַּלּוֹתָם.

38 X X X X ἐκθλίψω αὐτούς, καὶ οὐ μὴ δύνωνται Xστῆναι,
X πεσοῦνται ὑπὸ τοὺς πόδας μου.

39 X X X καθλάσω αὐτούς, καὶ οὐκ ἀναστήσονται καὶ πεσοῦνται ὑπὸ τοὺς πόδας μου.

39 X X X X And I will crush them, and they shall not rise; and they shall fall under my feet.

39 X I will consume them and break them in pieces, so that they shall not rise: X they shall fall under my feet.

39 And I have consumed them, and wounded them, that they [couldAB] not arise: yea, they are fallen under my feet.

39 {} I blasted a hole through them, so that they {could} not rise up again; they will lie-fallen under my feet.

לט ACוָאֲכַלֵּם ADוָאֶמְחָצֵם וְלֹא יְקוּמוּן וַיִּפְּלוּ תַּחַת רַגְלָי.

לט xxx xאֶמְחָצֵם וְלֹא יֻכְלוּ קוּם xיִפְּלוּ תַּחַת רַגְלָי.

39 καὶ περιέζωσάς με δύναμιν εἰς πόλεμον, συνεπόδισας πάντας τοὺς ἐπανιστανο­μένους ἐπ᾿ ἐμὲ ὑπο κάτω μου

40 καἐνισχύσειςAE με δυνάμει εἰς πόλεμον, κάμψεις τοὺς ἐπανισταν­ομένους μοι ὑποκάτω μου·

40 And thou shalt strengthen me with power for the war; thou shalt cause them that rise up against me to bow down under me.

40 Thou hast girded me with strength to battle: thou hast made them that resisted me to bow under me.

40 For thou hast girded me with strength to battle: them that rose up against me hast thou subdued under me.

40 So You really equipped me with resource[s] for the battle; You caused those who rose up against me to kneel under me.

מ וַתַּזְרֵנִי חַיִל לַמִּלְחָמָה תַּכְרִיעַAF קָמַי תַּחְתֵּנִי.

מ וַתְּאַזְּרֵנִיAG חַיִל לַמִּלְחָמָה תַּכְרִיעַ קָמַי תַּחְתָּי.

40 καὶ τοὺς ἐχθρούς μου ἔδωκάς μοι νῶτον καὶ τοὺς μισοῦντάς με X ἐξωλέθρευ­σας X.

41 καὶ τοὺς ἐχθρούς μου ἔδωκάς μοι νῶτον, τοὺς μισοῦντάς με, καὶ ἐθανάτω­σας αὐτούς.

41 And thou hast caused mine enemies to flee before me, [even] them that hated me, and thou hast slain them.

41 X My enemies thou hast made to turn their back to me: them that hated me, and I shall destroy them.

41 Thou hast also given me the neck[s] of mine enemies, that I might destroy them that hate me.

41 And as for my enemies You gave to me [their bowed] neck, and as for those who hated me, I annihilated them.

מא וְאֹיְבַי תַּתָּה לִּי עֹרֶףAH מְשַׂנְאַי AIוָאַצְמִיתֵם.

מא וְאֹיְבַי AJנָתַתָּה לִּי עֹרֶף וּמְשַׂנְאַי אַצְמִיתֵם.

41 ἐκέκραξαν, καὶ οὐκ ἦν σῴζων, πρὸς κύριον, καὶ οὐκ εἰσήκου­σεν αὐτῶν.

42 βοήσονται, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν βοηθός, πρὸς κύριον, καὶ οὐχ ὑπήκουσεν αὐτῶν.

42 They shall cry, and there shall be no helper; to the Lord, but he hearkens not to them.

42 They shall cry, and there shall be none to save: to the Lord, and he shall not hear them.

42 They looked, but there was none to save; even unto the LORD, but he answered them not.

42 They {hollered}, but there was no savior – to Yahweh, but He did not answer them.

מב יִשְׁעוּAK וְאֵין מֹשִׁיעַ אֶל יְהוָה וְלֹא עָנָם.

מב יְשַׁוְּעוּ וְאֵין מוֹשִׁיעַ עַל יְהוָה וְלֹא עָנָם.

42 καὶ λεπτυνῶ αὐτοὺς ὡς χοῦν κατὰ πρόσωπον ἀνέμου, ὡς πηλὸν πλατειῶν λεανῶ αὐτούς.

43 καἐλέανα αὐτοὺς ὡς X χοῦν

γῆς, ὡς
πηλὸν ἐξόδων
ἐλέπτυνα αὐτούς X X.

43 And I ground them as the dust of the earth, I beat them small as [the] mire of the streets X X.

43 X I shall beat them as [small as] the dust of the earth: I shall crush them [andAL] spread them abroad like [the] mire of the streets.

43 Then did I beat them as [small as] the dust of the earth, I did stamp them as [the] mire of the streetX, and did spread them abroad.

43 So I pulverized them like the dust on the ground; like mud on the streets I crushed them {}.

מג וְאֶשְׁחָקֵם כַּעֲפַר אָרֶץAM כְּטִיט חוּצוֹת אֲדִקֵּםAN AOאֶרְקָעֵם.

מג וְאֶשְׁחָקֵם כְּעָפָר עַל פְּנֵי רוּחַ כְּטִיט חוּצוֹת אֲרִיקֵם X.




1See Deut. 11:22 & Josh. 22:5 which define by parallelism God’s ways as God’s commands, the foremost of which is to love God.

2Matthew Henry commented that it denoted “both safety and dignity.” Keil & Delitzsch commented that it meant the places from which David ruled as king. Still others have suggested that they are the “high places” where gods were worshiped (Deut. 33:29, 1 Sam. 9 & 10), but that seems unlikely to me because of the pronoun “my” (instead of “God’s”) and because of the action of “standing” (rather than “bowing in worship”).

AMy original chart includes the NASB, NIV, and ESV, but their copyright restrictions have forced me to remove them from the publicly-available edition of this chart. (NAW is my translation.) When a translation adds words not in the Hebrew text, but does not indicate it has done so by the use of italics or greyed-out text, I put the added words in [square brackets]. When one version chooses a wording which is different from all the other translations, I underline it. When a version chooses a translation which, in my opinion, either departs too far from the root meaning of the Hebrew word or departs too far from the grammar form of the original text, I use strikeout. And when a version omits a word which is in the original text, I insert an X. (I also place an X at the end of a word if the original word is plural but the English translation is singular.) I occasionally use colors to help the reader see correlations between the various editions and versions when there are more than two different translations of a given word. The only known Dead Sea Scrolls containing 2 Samuel 22 are 4Q51 Samuela (containing parts of verses 16-50 and dated between 50-25 BC). Where the DSS is legible and in agreement with the MT, the MT is colored purple. Where the DSS supports the LXX (or Vulgate) with omissions or text not in the MT, I have highlighted with yellow the LXX and its translation into English, and where I have accepted that into my NAW translation, I have marked it with {pointed brackets}.
In the parallel Greek and Hebrew readings from Psalm 18, I have colored orange the words which are spelled differently and colored grey the words that are not in the 2 Samuel text. In most cases, the orange words are synonyms for the words in the 2 Sam. 22 text.

BDSS is obliterated here, but it has too much space for the MT reading, yet just enough extra space for the Psalm 18 reading of the MT (“and you yourself”).

CSyriac & LXX omit the “your” (like it is omitted in the Psalm), but it is in the LXX, Vulgate, & Targums of 2 Sam. 22. cf. Prov. 6:16-17 “These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look…” (KJV)

DThe Greek Lucian Rescription also reads “you” instead of “He.”

EPsalm 18 (followed by the Syriac) reads “you light my lamp” instead of “you are my lamp.” Targums insert “of Israel” instead of “my,” and the DSS is obliterated but has way too much space for the MT text - enough space to insert the extra verb from Psalm 18 (“lights”), the extra prepositional phrase from the LXX (“to me”) and more.

FSyriac also adds an “and” here, but not Targums or Vulgate.

GThe Hebrew word shur seems to involve the concepts of “traveling around” and “looking around,” which are exactly the meaning of a parapet – a place you can walk around to look out. Since a Qal form exists for the following verb, its Piel spelling indicates an intense form of leaping.

HThe implication of this Greek word, according to Liddel & Scott’s lexicon, is that he protects you by holding a shield over you.

IRepeated in Prov. 30:5

Jcf. the same portable shield in v.2 and v. 35

KIf there be any doubt as to the answer of that question, Isaiah 43:11; 44:6,8; and 45:6,21 answer emphatically “there is none!”

Lcf. same word in v.2 & v.46

MInstead of the noun in the MT, the DSS reads with the Piel participle “equipping/arming me” מאזרני as do the Syriac, Vulgate, Greek Lucian Rescription, and Psalm 18. Tsumura (NICOT) was in favor of interpreting it as the Piel participle “one who strengthens.”

NPsalm 18, the Qere of this verse, and the LXX, Syriac, Targums, and Vulgate all read “my” instead of “his.” Both would be true, however.

OMT of 2 Sa. 22 reads “his feet,” but the MT of Ps. 18 reads “my feet.” The Qere of 2 Sa. 22 רַגְלַי supports “my feet.”

PThere is no previous use of this phrase “my high places,” but the one use of it afterward makes it clear that David’s psalm inspired Habakkuk, for it is his capstone quote in the final verse of his book 3:19 “The Lord GOD is my strength, And He has made my feet like hinds' feet, And makes me walk on my high places.” (NASB)

QThe Syriac reads like the Vulgate.

RSteel had been invented by then, and may be referred to as the “iron of the north” (i.e. the iron of the Hittites, who were combining carbon and iron at the time) in Jer. 15:12, which, according to that verse, was harder than regular iron. But NIV, ESV, and NKJV do not follow the KJV in sometimes translating this Hebrew word nehushah as “brass/bronze” and sometimes as “steel.” The NASB & RV only translate one Hebrew word as “steel,” the hapex legomenon peledah in Nah. 2:3, but that word is translated “fire,” “torches,” or “metal” by all the other English versions.

SThe verb here is singular so the subject can’t be “my arms” (plural); the subject must be the feminine singular “bow” or the masculine singular “God.” Lexicographers disagree over whether the gender of this verb is masculine (Beal/Banks, Davidson, OSHB Morphology) or feminine (Groves-Wheeler Westminster Morphology). K&D commented, “נִחַת... on account of the feminine זְרֹועֹתַי, is not the Niphal of חָתַת, to be broken in pieces, but the Piel of נָחַת, to cause to go down, to press down the bow, i.e., to set it.”

TActually, the Vulgate reads mea (“my”), and Douay must have corrected Jerome’s error.

UCuriously, the LXX and Vulgate read “my salvation” instead of “your salvation” like the DSS, MT, Syriac, and most Targums do. Both are true, however.

VDSS instead ועזרתך (“your helps”), but all the other manuscripts and versions support a different reading: LXX = “obedience,” Lucian Rescription of 2 Sam 22 (and LXX of Psalm 18) = “training,” Syriac =‎ מרדות (“gentleness”), Targums = במֵימְרָ (“speech”), Vulgate = mansuetudo (“gentleness”), K&D = “hearkening”

WDSS omits “under me,” but it is in all the ancient versions.

XHapex Legomenon only found in this Psalm.

YK&D commented, “The optative form אֶרְדְּפָה serves to make the future signification of אֶרְדֹּף (in the psalm) the more apparent.” Clearly there are differences of opinion over what parts of this psalm to interpret in the past and what parts to interpret in the future. I believe that v.1 should be a governing principle that the victories referred to in this psalm are in the past, although David speaks with faith in God for future victories.

ZPsalm 18 reads with two letters different, rendering “overtake.”

AAThe Hebrew infinitive form here has no subject, so it allows for a wide range of interpretation from “I defeated” (which the Syriac, Septuagint, and Vulgate used), to “they were defeated” to the substantive “their defeat.”

ABThis word is not in the MT or LXX of 2 Sam. 22, but is in the MT and LXX of the parallel Psalm 18, and it is in the Syriac and Targums of 2 Sam. 22.

ACSyriac, and LXX, as well as the MT of Psalm 18 all omit this first verb along with the conjunction prefixing the second verb. DSS matches, at least in starting the verse with the second verb in the MT without the vav, but the rest of the verse is obliterated in the DSS. If the DSS were to read like the LXX and Syriac, it would make for a line of text shorter than any other line in that DSS manuscript, but if, on the other hand, the DSS happened to switch the order of the verbs and include “I consumed them” after “I blasted a hole in them” there would be room on the line, but it would be an unusually long line. It seems therefore, that the DSS spacing supports the addition of the helping verb “could” found in the Syriac and Targums of this verse as well as in the MT of Psalm 18.

ADThe action is that of an arrow in Num. 24:8, of God’s punitive action against the loins of Levi’s enemies in Deut. 33:11, of Jael’s tent-peg in Judges 5:26, of a foot in blood in Psalm 68:23, and of God laying His enemy open “from thigh to neck” in Hab. 3:13.

AELXX seems to read as though the Hebrew word were עזז instead of אזר.

AFLiterally “cause to bend over,” in answer to the prayer in 17:13 “Please arise, Yahweh; please get in front of his face; bend him over...” and a foreshadowing of the Messianic triumph in Isa. 45:23b “to me every knee will bow; every tongue will swear.” DSS and Syriac add a vav prefix.

AGוַתַּזְרֵנִי for וַתְּאַזְּרֵנִי in the psalm is not a poetical Syriasm, and still less a “careless solecism” (Hupfeld), but a simple contraction” ~K&D Tsumura (NICOT) agreed, calling it “internal vowel sandhi.”

AHLit. “nape [of the neck]” In the first Biblical instance of this word (Gen. 49:8), it is in parallel with bowing down, which bends the neck and exposes the nape to the superior person in submission. I see no use of this word which demands the interpretation of turning one’s back in flight instead of bowing one’s neck, although the Biblical accounts seem to see the former leading inevitably to the latter, and thus some passages could be interpreted either way without harm. In favor of the interpretation of natan oreph as bowing would be the concept of a “stiff-necked” people (Ex. 32:9, 2Chr. 36:13, etc.) who rebelliously refuse bend their neck in a submissive bow. In 2 Chron 29:6 the parallelism requires the interpretation of giving the neck as turning your back in rebellion, another view of the nape of the neck, but with a totally different meaning than that of admission of defeat and submission.

AIDSS seems to omit the vav prefix here, as does the Syriac. The LXX curiously changes the 1st person to 2nd person.

AJThis spelling variant is just a matter of whether or not the first letter of the word should disappear due to its “weakness,” not a matter of a different stem or tense.

AKTsumura suggested that the verb root could be neither “looked” (שיה) nor “cried” (שוי) but rather biconsonantal derivative of “saved” (יש). But the consonantal text before Masoretic pointing could support either “they looked” or “they cried for help,” and, since the spelling of Psalm 18 indicates “cried,” and since the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate all understood it as “cried,” I think we should do the same.

ALThis “and” is not in the Vulgate; it was supplied for the English translation.

AMVulgate, LXX and Targums support the MT here (cf. other uses of “dust of the earth” in Amos 2:7 & Job 14:19), but Syriac and DSS follow the MT of Psalm 18 פְּנֵי רוּחַ “upon the face of the wind” (The DSS פני ארח appears to be a misspelling “upon the face of the length”), but the differences in prepositions and object do not destroy the general idea of scattering.

ANPsalm 18 changes one letter to a very similar-looking letter to get “I emptied them.”

AOThe DSS, Syriac, and LXX follow the MT of Psalm 18 with only one verb instead of two here. The second verb in the MT is a synonym, so no meaning is lost by omitting it, and omitting it would fix the bad grammar of there being no conjunction before it. None of the ancient versions or manuscripts contain a conjunction here, so all the English versions that kept both verbs had to insert a conjunction to make the sentence make sense.

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