Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 20 Feb 2022
Read my translation of the passage, starting at v.17: Now, when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David to be king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to try to get David, but David heard, and he went down to the stronghold. And when the Philistines came, they spread themselves out in the Valley of Rephaim. Then David enquired with Yahweh, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you give them into my control?” And Yahweh said to David, “Go up, for I have utterly given the Philistines into your control.” So David went to Baal-Perazim, and David made a strike against them there, and he said, “Yahweh burst through my enemies in front of me just like the bursting out of water!” Therefore he called the name of that place Baal Perazim. They, on the other hand, abandoned their idols there, so David and his men picked them up. Presently the Philistines once again went up and spread themselves out in the Valley of Rephaim. So David inquired with Yahweh, and He said, “Don’t go up {toward them}; go around {from} behind them, and then go against them from the direction of the balsam-trees. And when you hear the sound of a cadence in the tops of the balsam-trees, then act decisively, for then Yahweh will go out before you to make a strike against the army-camp of the Philistines.” And David did {} just what Yahweh had commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines from Geba as far as you can go to Gezer.
“The particular service for which David was raised up was ‘to save Israel out of the hand of the Philistines’ (2 Sam. 3:18). This, therefore, divine Providence... gives him an opportunity of accomplishing.” ~Matthew Henry, 1714 AD.
Unlike Hiram, King of Tyre, who responded to the news of David’s ascent to the throne of Israel with a friendly overture of political alliance, the Philistines responded to the news with antagonism.
Most English versions read that they “went up to seek David,” but they weren’t “searching” for David to congratulate him; no, this is the verb used of Saul when he was “seeking the life of David” to kill him. The country filled with Philistine assasins searching for David so that they could get the glory of being the one who killed David.
All five principalities of the Philistines combined together (Gill) and invaded Israel from the East, establishing a position in a valley just south and west of Jerusalem.
The name of the valley was “Repha’im,” which seems to be a word for “giants,” so perhaps there had been a settlement of giants there, once upon a time.
This valley had a three-mile plain where a large army could camp. (Goldman)
The Philistines were probably using their old divide-and-conquer strategy, occupying the middle between Judah and the northern tribes, like they had done before when Saul was king, and cutting off communication between the two halves of Israel. (Tsumura)
The parallel passage in 2 Samuel 23 says that Bethlehem was one of the areas that the spreading troops of the Philistines also occupied at this time. There is some debate as to whether the accounts of 2 Samuel are in strict historical chronology and whether David had conquered Jerusalem or not at this point. If David had not conquered Jerusalem yet and was still headquartered in Hebron, then the Philistine movement south to Bethlehem would indicate they were heading down toward David in Hebron. (Goldman)
This was a very dangerous situation, and David knew that he had to act wisely.
Our passage says that the first thing he did was he “went down into the stronghold.”
Now, earlier in chapter 5, a stronghold in the city of Jerusalem is mentioned,
but the parallel passage in 1 Chronicles 11 says that David was actually in the cave of Adullam in the Judean wilderness, where he had established a stronghold years ago when Saul was hunting him.
Notice that the verb in v.17 here is “went down.” In the Bible, they always “went up” to Jerusalem because of its high elevation, but here they “go down to the stronghold,” so I think he went down in elevation to the Judean wilderness, perhaps because he hadn’t conquered Jerusalem yet, or perhaps because Jerusalem was too new and unfamiliar an acquisition and the cave of Addulum was a tried-and-true stronghold.
Note also in v.19, when God says to attack, He says to “go up” against them. Everything from Jerusalem is downhill, but it would be uphill to go from Adullam up to the Valley of Rephaim1.
The next thing that David did was: he prayed.
Now, David’s job, as king, was to lead the army and defend his country from foreign invaders. There was now a foreign army invading, so it seems like a no-brainer that he should go and fight them. Why take the time to ask God whether to fight them? 1 Chron. 14 says that David did eventually go out to face the Philistines in battle, but before he did that he prayed. And David has prayed like this time and time before:
1 Sam. 23:2 The Philistines were ransacking the town of Keilah, and the people of Keilah were begging David to rescue them, and what does David do? “David therefore inquired of the LORD, saying, ‘Shall I go and attack these Philistines?’”
1 Sam. 30:8 Amalekites had burned David’s city to the ground and stolen all his stuff and captured his wives to sell into slavery, and what does David do? “So David inquired of the LORD, saying, ‘Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?’"
2 Sam. 2:1 King Saul, who had chased David into exile, finally dies in battle, and rather than come home right away, what does David do? “...David inquired of the LORD, saying, ‘Shall I go up to any of the cities of Judah?’”
And later on in this chapter, v.23, after David has become king and God has already told David to defend his nation from an invasion of Philistines, the Philistines swarm in with another invasion, and what does David do? “David inquired of the LORD”!
Now, this had to be done in the right spirit.
It would not be faithful to stop and pray out of a spirit of fear and stalling and wanting to avoid a duty he knew he should do.
On the other hand, it is also not faithful to pridefully assume you are the savior of the world whom God will use every time He needs something done for His kingdom. (That’s a recipe for burnout, and it keeps the church from acting like a body.)
But it is faithful to talk to God about everything rather than acting of your own accord, and that appears to be the spirit in which David prayed.
Are we making time to talk with God about everything?
David sets a great example for us of being in constant communication with God,
and David points us to Jesus, who did the same thing. In John 5:19 Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.” (NKJV)
Does it cross our minds to ask whether it is God’s will for us to do the next thing that seems obvious to us?
Well, God told David, “Go get ‘em!” So David brought his forces to clash against the Philistine army halfway between Bethlehem and the Valley of Rephaim,
and, according to him, it was like watching a dam break. The Israelite troops roared through the breach in the Philistine’s lines like so much water. It was a landslide victory. The Philistines couldn’t hold their position, and they gave way before the army of Israel.
The parallel passage in 1 Chronicles notes that David wasn’t just sitting there doing nothing; it says he was fighting with his “hands.”
Then, when it was over, David said, “Great job, guys! We are the most awesome army on earth!” Wait, no, that’s not what he said, is it? Actually, David said, “This breakthrough came from Yahweh! Let’s forever remember God’s work of deliverance here by naming this place Baal-Perazim2,” which is Hebrew for “The Master of Breakthroughs,” referring to God as the “Lord/Master” who always brings breakthrough salvation and deliverence for His people.
David did his job of fighting to defend his country, but when he won, he gave the glory to God for keeping His people free.
And the fact that this was not just a clash of armies but a clash of the gods – a clash between the God of Israel and the gods of the Philistines – is underscored in the epilogue to this battle, in v. 21, where it says that the Philistines abandoned a bunch of idols of their gods on the battlefield when they ran home.
The Philistines were trusting in their Dagon and Ashtoreth gods, and when their gods failed them and they lost the battle, the Philistines didn’t see any point in lugging those idols around anymore.
But David was not o.k. with leaving those idols lying around, perhaps because Israelites might find them and be tempted to worship the dumb things, so David orders his soldiers to pick up every one of the discarded idols.
Our passage here doesn’t tell us what they did with them, but the parallel passage in 1 Chron. 14 does; it ends the story with David telling his men to burn those idols in a fire.
In doing this, David followed God’s word in Deuteronomy 7, “When Yahweh your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, and clears away many nations before you..., and when Yahweh your God gives them over to you, and you defeat them, then you must devote them to complete destruction… But thus shall you deal with them: you shall break down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and chop down their Asherim and burn their carved images with fire… The carved images of their gods you shall burn with fire [that repeat is actually in there in Deuteronomy 7]. You shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them or take it for yourselves, lest you be ensnared by it, for it is an abomination to Yahweh your God. And you shall not bring an abominable thing into your house and become devoted to destruction like it. You shall utterly detest and abhor it, for it is devoted to destruction.” (NAW)
The enemies are defeated, God gets the glory, and the idols are incinerated. What a day!
But then the Philistines came back (perhaps a year later ~JFB) for another battle. Josephus passes along the tradition that they had three times as many soldiers as the last time. What’s David do?
Once again, David prays for guidance! And this time God tells him to use a different tactic.
You’d think doing the same thing as before would work, because it won the last battle, but David had to trust God that trying something different would be better. God knows everything; we don’t.
This time, God told him to circle around behind the Philistines and attack from a different direction, perhaps using a stand of balsam trees to camoflauge their movement.
(This is the only place in the Bible where this word bakim occurs, so it’s hard to know for certain what it means. Different English versions render it: pear trees, mulberry trees, places of weeping, poplar trees3, byssus4, or balsam trees or shrubs5. Even the designation “balsam” is somewhat non-specific, as there are a number of species of plants which have that name applied to them6.)
At any rate, David was instructed to listen for the sound of some kind of cadence (maybe the sound of an army marching) up in the tree-tops and then attack.
Now, it’s possible that God used this noise, like He did later on against the Syrian army in 2 Kings 6, to throw the enemies into a panic, but what our account actually tells us is that that noise was God’s signal to the Israelite soldiers for when to attack.
God is taking the role of commander-in-chief of the Israelite army as the one who decides the timing of the attack!
Then God said, literally, “act decisively because I’m going to be attacking them.”
God promises to defend David and the people of Israel by attacking the Philistines Himself, and yet He invites David along with Him in attacking the Philistines.
God had told the Israelites earlier in Deuteronomy 3:22 “You must not fear them [that is, the armies of the nations], for the LORD your God Himself fights for you.”
Matthew Henry commented on this, quoting Philippians 2:12, “[But] if God ‘work[s] in us both to will and to do,’ it does not follow that we must sit still, as those that have nothing to do, but we must therefore, ‘work out our own salvation with all possible care and diligence.’”
When you see what God is doing, and you are called by Him to join with him in what He is doing in this world, don’t hesistate. Act decisively. Go all-in with Him.
So this is the battle-plan which the priest conveyed to David. David, however, is the King, so he doesen’t have to obey anybody.
He could have said, “Thanks Abiathar, but, I’m the King, and I’m the one with experience in fighting Philistines, so, just leave the battle plan to me.”
But that’s not what David did. V.25 says that David accepted this message as a “command” from God, and that he meticulously followed God’s command to the letter.
So, David and his men got into position, and then they heard the divine signal, and they came busting through the stand of trees, and they caught the Philistines off guard.
Once again the Philistines got creamed, and they turned tail and retreated, as the Israelite soldiers chased them North out of the valley to Geba7 and East 20 miles across the hills back toward Philistine territory, to Gezer, which was at the border of Israel and Philistia.
The parallel account in 1 Chron. 14 concludes with a little epilogue, “Then David’s fame went out into all the lands, for it was Yahweh who extended dread of him over all the nations.” (NAW)
Once again, David gained a defensive victory over the Philistines.
But it would take more battles to actually wipe them out. Those battles would have to be offensive ones with strikes against the fortified cities in Philistine territory.
But for now, the Philistine army has been driven out of Israel, back to where they came from, and God gets the glory. The way the story is told, God came up with the winning strategy, and God “struck down” the Philistines. It also says that David and his soldiers “struck down” Philistines, but they give God the credit for the victory.
I know it’s a bit risky to get analogical with applications, but I think it is fitting to see in David’s fights against the Philistines an example for our own fights against sin in our lives and against evil in this world.
First off, we must recognize that we are in a battle zone. As a Christian, you should expect there to be enemies coming at you.
Psalm 2 describes the age-old (and continuing) conflict. Some Jewish scholars even think Psalm 2 was penned at this time in David’s reign8: “...Kings of the earth set themselves up, and distinguished men establish unity against Yahweh and against His Anointed One. ‘Let us burst their chains and let us throw their bindings from us.’ The one sitting in the heavens laughs, the Master mocks at them. Then He will speak to them in His anger and in His rage He will make them nervous. ‘But as for me, I anointed my king over Zion, the hill of my holiness...’ You will break them with a rod of iron; like a potter's vessel you will shatter them. So now, O kings, consider wisely. Be disciplined, O judges of earth. Serve Yahweh with fear and rejoice with trembling. Pay homage without hindrance, otherwise He will become angry, and y'all will perish in the way, for His anger rages like a short [fuse]. Oh the blessings of all who take refuge in Him!” (NAW)
Isaiah also wrote of this conflict: “Break, you peoples, and be shattered. Give ear, every distant land; strap on your armor and be shattered. Strap on your armor and be shattered... for God is with us. For Yahweh spoke thus to me... ‘Don't fear its fear, nor be in dread.’ Yahweh of hosts: Him hallow, He your fear, Him dread! Then He will become a sanctuary – as well as a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling…” (Isaiah 8:9-14, NAW)
Also Jesus said, “...brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.” (Mark 13:12-13, NASB)
And Peter wrote, “Loved ones, don't keep being disturbed by the fire coming among y'all to test you, as though it were something strange...” (1 Peter 4:12, NAW)
And John wrote, “Do not marvel, brothers, if the world is hating you.” (1 John 3:13, NAW)
You’re in a spiritual war, so conflict is normal. Stay alert and stay within the “refuge” and “sanctuary” of Christ. Keep asking Him for guidance, and keep obeying Him.
Furthermore, like these attacks of the Philistines, the world the flesh and the Devil don’t leave you alone after you’ve won a battle against them.
They keep coming back, and coming back, so we must stay alert, and persevere, and never give in.
When Jesus defeated Satan’s three temptations in the wilderness, Luke 4:13 “...tells us, that “the devil... departed from him until an opportune time.” Satan was planning to come back and try again later. And he’s still out there:
Peter warns us, “Be alert; be awake! Your opponent, the Devil, [still] goes around like a lion, roaring, seeking for someone he might swallow down.” (1 Peter 5:8, NAW)
We need to seek to win decisive victories with the goal of totally eradicating known sin rather than merely putting up with never-ending battles against it.
In David’s case, a defensive battle – reacting to the Philistine invasion – was not going to put an end to the annual invasions, only an offensive battle taken to the Philistine fortresses in Gath and Ekron and Ashkelton would effectively stamp out this enemy.
Likewise, we’ve got to go beyond mere defensive battles against besetting sin – fought in the moment when the sin rears its ugly head, and fight offensively and strike pre-emptively against the roots of sin and the strongholds of the Devil in our lives. Often that means unearthing and exposing as untrue the lies we’ve been believing which have been feeding that particular sin.
That’s great if you can fend off an anxiety attack or a compulsion to eat (or drink) more than is good for you, or an urge to fly into a rage or a felt need to exaggerate what happened to someone, but until you can peel back what it is that makes you anxious or gluttinous or prone to tell lies, or whatever, they’re just going to keep coming back.
And, like David, don’t face those enemies on your own strength. Ask for God’s guidance and trust Him to deliver you.
David’s first question was one of guidance, “Shall I go up against the Philistines?”
David’s son later wrote, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.” (Prov. 3:5-6)
In the New Testament, the introduction to the book of James tells us, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” (James 1:5, NKJV)
Are you asking God for guidance? He promises to give it to you for the asking!
David’s second question, “Will you give them into my hand?” was not merely asking for a prediction of the future, it was David asking God to intervene in this war and bring deliverance to His people.
Are you calling in the “big guns” through prayer?
Romans 16:20a
“...the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet
shortly…” (NKJV)
We know it’s God’s
will because it’s in God’s word, so will you ask
God to crush Satan under your feet?
In the book of Revelation chapter 20, we read of the nations “going up on the breadth of the earth and surrounding the camp of the saints...” “[B]ut the further they spread themselves, the fairer mark they are to God's arrows!” (Matthew Henry) So “fire comes down from God out of heaven and devours them.”
We have the unstoppable power of God, for the asking. Are you asking for it?
Timing is another part of depending upon God. God told David to hold off the second time and take a different tactic that would synchronize God’s divine power with David’s military skill.
In the New Testament, Jesus “commanded” His disciples after His resurrection to “go and make disciples of all the nations” (Matt. 28:19), but then He commanded them “not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father,” (Acts 1:4), who came like a mighty rushing wind, and then, Divine power combined with faithful human witnesses, and 3,000 persons were converted and added to the church! (Henry)
When I was a teenager, I thought that the way to decisively end the battle for sexual purity was simply to get married. I couldn’t understand why God was making me wait for years before I was old enough to get married. Now I know that if that were my only strategy, I would have been eaten alive by that sin. God, in His wisdom, gave me time and opportunity to learn a different strategy of warfare on that front that I would need to employ even after I got married.
Are you following God’s timing (rather than your own) and using His strategy (rather than your own)?
Finally, in your fights against sin, if you keep using the same tactic and keep getting beaten, you’ve got to get a more effective tactic based on the full counsel of God’s word.
When I was in college, everybody said that the way to fight sin was to have an accountability group, so I enlisted the help of some brothers in Christ, and, time after time, we would confess our, and the other guys in the group would say, “Man, that’s too bad. We understand, but, hey, don’t do it again.” And then in the next meeting we’d be right back confessing the same sin again. Now, I’m not saying to abandon accountability, it’s still an important part of the battle against sin, but if it isn’t getting the battle won, we needed to discover more effective tactics from God!
May God give you grace to wipe out your “Philistines.” “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God [the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit, and prayer], that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” (Eph. 6:12-13, NKJV)
LXX |
Brenton |
DRB |
KJV |
NAW |
MT 2S5 |
MT 1Chr |
NAW |
17
Καὶ ἤκουσαν
ἀλλόφυλοι
ὅτι κέχρ |
17
And the Philistines heard that David |
17
And the Philistines heard that they
had anointed
David to be king over Israel: and
they X
all came
X
to seek David: and [when]
David heard [of
it],
he went down to |
17 But when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David X king over Israel, all the Philistines came up to seek David; and David heard of it, and went down to the hold. |
17 Now, when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David to be king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to try to get David, but David heard, and he went down to the stronghold. |
17 וַיִּשְׁמְעוּ פְלִשְׁתִּים כִּי- מָשְׁחוּ אֶת-B דָּוִד לְמֶלֶךְ עַל-יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיַּעֲלוּ כָל- פְּלִשְׁתִּים לְבַקֵּשׁ אֶת- דָּוִד וַיִּשְׁמַע דָּוִד וַיֵּרֶד אֶל-הַמְּצוּדָ: |
14:8 וַיִּשְׁמְעוּ פְלִשְׁתִּים כִּי- נִמְשַׁחX דָּוִיד לְמֶלֶךְ עַל- כָּל-יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיַּעֲלוּ כָל- פְּלִשְׁתִּים לְבַקֵּשׁ אֶת- דָּוִיד וַיִּשְׁמַע דָּוִיד וַיֵּצֵא x לִפְנֵיהֶם: |
8 Now, when the Philistines heard that David had been anointed to be King over all Israel, all the Philistines went up to try to get David, but David heard, and he went out to face them. |
18 καὶ οἱ ἀλλόφυλοι παραγίνονται καὶ συνέπεσαν εἰς τὴν κοιλάδα τῶν τιτάνων. |
18 And the Philistines came, and assembled in the valley of the giants. |
18 And the Philistines coming spread themselves in the valley of Raphaim. |
18 The Philistines also came and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim. |
18 And when the Philistines came, they spread themselves out in the Valley of Rephaim. |
18 וּפְלִשְׁתִּים בָּאוּ וַיִּנָּטְשׁוּ בְּעֵמֶק רְפָאִים: |
14:9 וּפְלִשְׁתִּים בָּאוּ וַיִּפְשְׁטוּ בְּעֵמֶק רְפָאִים: |
9 And when the Philistines came, they spread themselves out in the Valley of Rephaim. |
19
καὶ ἠρώτησεν
Δαυιδ διὰ κυρίου
λέγων Εἰ ἀναβῶ
πρὸς τοὺς ἀλλοφύλους
[καὶ]
παραδώσεις
αὐτοὺς εἰς
τὰς χεῖρ |
19 And David enquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go up against the Philistines? [and] wilt thou deliver them into my hand[s]? and the Lord said to David, Go up, for I will surely deliver the Philistines into thine hand[s]. |
19 And David consulted the Lord, Saying: Shall I go up to the Philistines? [and] wilt thou deliver them into my hand? And the Lord said to David: Go up, for I will surely deliver the Philistines into thy hand. |
19 And David enquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up to the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? And the LORD said unto David, Go up: for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into thine hand. |
19 Then David enquired with Yahweh, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you give them into my control?” And Yahweh said to David, “Go up, for I have utterly given the Philistines into your control.” |
19 וַיִּשְׁאַל דָּוִד בַּיהוָה לֵאמֹרC הַאֶעֱלֶה אֶל- פְּלִשְׁתִּיםD הֲתִתְּנֵם בְּיָדִי וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל-דָּוִדE עֲלֵה כִּי-נָתֹן אֶתֵּן אֶת-הַפְּלִשְׁתִּים בְּיָדֶךָF: |
14:10 וַיִּשְׁאַל דָּוִיד בֵּאלֹהִים לֵאמֹר הַאֶעֱלֶה עַל-פְּלִשְׁתִּיִּים G וּנְתַתָּם בְּיָדִי וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ יְהוָה עֲלֵה וּנְתַתִּים X X X בְּיָדֶךָ: |
10 Then David enquired with God, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? And will He give them into my control?” And Yahweh said to him, “Go up, and they will be given into your control.” |
20
καὶ ἦλθεν Δαυιδ
|
20
And David came |
20
And David came to Baal Pharisim:
and X
defeated
them there, and he said, The Lord hath divided
my enemies before me, as waters are divided.
Therefore the name of |
20 And David came to Baalperazim, and David smote them there, and said, The LORD hath broken forth upon mine enemies before me, as the breach of waters. Therefore he called the name of that place Baalperazim. |
20 So David went to Baal-Perazim, and David made a strike against them there, and he said, “Yahweh burst through my enemies in front of me just like the bursting out of water!” Therefore he called the name of that place Baal Perazim. |
20 וַיָּבֹא דָוִד בְּבַעַל- פְּרָצִים וַיַּכֵּם שָׁם דָּוִדH וַיֹּאמֶר פָּרַץ יְהוָה אֶת- אֹיְבַי לְפָנַי כְּפֶרֶץ מָיִם עַל-כֵּן קָרָא שֵׁם-הַמָּקוֹם הַהוּא בַּעַלI פְּרָצִים: |
14:11 וַיַּעֲלוּ בְּבַעַל-פְּרָצִים וַיַּכֵּם שָׁם דָּוִיד וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִיד פָּרַץ הָאֱלֹהִים אֶת- אוֹיְבַי בְּיָדִי כְּפֶרֶץ מָיִם עַל-כֵּן קָרְאוּ שֵׁם-הַמָּקוֹם הַהוּא בַּעַל פְּרָצִים: |
11 So they went up to Baal Perazim, and David made a strike there, and David said, “God burst through my enemies by means of my hand just like the bursting out of water!” Therefore they called the name of that place Baal Perazim. |
21
καὶ καταλιμπάνουσιν
ἐκεῖ τοὺς
|
21
And they leave there their |
21 And they left there their idols: which David and his men took away. |
21
And there they left their images, and David and his men |
21 They, on the other hand, abandoned their idols there, so David and his men picked them up. |
21 וַיַּעַזְבוּ- שָׁם אֶת- עֲצַבֵּיהֶם וַיִּשָּׂאֵםK דָּוִד וַאֲנָשָׁיו: פ |
14:12 וַיַּעַזְבוּ- שָׁם אֶת- אֱלֹהֵיהֶם וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִיד וַיִּשָּׂרְפוּ בָּאֵשׁ:פ |
12 They, on the other hand, abandoned their gods there, so David said, “Now let them be burned in the fire!” |
22 καὶ προσέθεντο ἔτι ἀλλόφυλοι τοῦ ἀναβῆναι καὶ συνέπεσαν ἐν τῇ κοιλάδι τῶν τιτάνων. |
22 And the Philistines came up yet again, and assembled in the valley of Giants. |
22 And the Philistines came up again and spread themselves into the valley of Raphaim. |
22 And the Philistines came up yet again, and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim. |
22 Presently the Philistines once again went up and spread themselves out in the Valley of Rephaim. |
22 וַיֹּסִפוּ עוֹד פְּלִשְׁתִּים לַעֲלוֹת וַיִּנָּטְשׁוּ בְּעֵמֶק רְפָאִים: |
14:13 וַיֹּסִיפוּ עוֹד פְּלִשְׁתִּים X וַיִּפְשְׁטוּ בָּעֵמֶק X: |
13 Presently, the Philistines once again spread themselves out in the valley. |
23
καὶ ἐπηρώτησεν
Δαυιδ διὰ κυρίου,
καὶ εἶπεν [κύριος]
Οὐκ ἀναβήσει
[εἰς
συνάντησιν αὐτῶν],
ἀποστρέφου
|
23
And David enquired of the Lord: and the [Lord]
said, Thou shalt not go up [to
meet them]:
turn |
23 And David consulted X the Lord: [Shall I go up against the Philistines, and wilt thou deliver them into my hands?] X He answered: Go not up [against them] [but] fetch a compass behind them, and thou shalt come upon them over against the pear trees. |
23 And when David enquired of the LORD, he said, Thou shalt not go up; but fetch a compass behind them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees. |
23 So David inquired with Yahweh, and He said, “Don’t go up {toward them}; go around {from} behind them, and then go against them from the direction of the balsam-trees. |
23 וַיִּשְׁאַל דָּוִד בַּיהוָה וַיֹּאמֶר לֹא תַעֲלֶה הָסֵב אֶל- אַחֲרֵיהֶםL וּבָאתָ לָהֶם מִמּוּל בְּכָאִיםM: |
14:14 וַיִּשְׁאַל עוֹד דָּוִיד בֵּאלֹהִים וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ הָאֱלֹהִים לֹא תַעֲלֶה אַחֲרֵיהֶם הָסֵב מֵעֲלֵיהֶם וּבָאתָ לָהֶם מִמּוּל הַבְּכָאִים: |
14 So David inquired again with God, and God said to him, “Don’t go up after them; go around from them and then go against them from the direction of the balsam-trees. |
24
καὶ ἔσται ἐν
τῷ ἀκοῦσαί
σε τὴν φωνὴν τοῦ
συγκλεισμοῦ
τοῦ ἄλσους
τοῦ κλαυθμῶνος,
τότε καταβήσει
[πρὸς
αὐτούς],
ὅτι τότε ἐξελεύσεται
κύριος ἔμπροσθέν
σου κόπτειν
ἐν τῷ |
24
And it shall come to pass when thou hearest the sound of a
clashing
together
from the groveN
of weeping,
then thou shalt go
down [to
them],
for then the Lord shall go forth before thee to make havoc
in the |
24 And when thou shalt hear the sound of one going in the tops of the pear trees, then shalt thou join battle: for then will the Lord go out before thy face to strike X the army of the Philistines. |
24 And let it be, when thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt bestir thyself: for then shall the LORD go out before thee, to smite X the host of the Philistines. |
24 And when you hear the sound of a cadence in the tops of the balsam-trees, then act decisively, for then Yahweh will go out before you to make a strike against the army-camp of the Philistines.” |
24 וִיהִי בְּשָׁמְעֲךָO אֶת- קוֹל צְעָדָהP בְּרָאשֵׁי הַבְּכָאִים אָז תֶּחֱרָץQ כִּי אָז יָצָא יְהוָה לְפָנֶיךָ לְהַכּוֹת בְּמַחֲנֵה פְלִשְׁתִּים: |
14:15 וִיהִי כְּשָׁמְעֲךָ אֶת- קוֹל הַצְּעָדָה בְּרָאשֵׁי הַבְּכָאִים אָז תֵּצֵא בַמִּלְחָמָה כִּי X-יָצָא הָאֱלֹהִים לְפָנֶיךָ לְהַכּוֹת אֶת-מַחֲנֵה פְלִשְׁתִּים: |
15 And when you hear the sound of the cadence in the tops of the balsam-trees, then go out into the battle, for your God goes out before you to strike down the army-camp of the Philistines.” |
25
καὶ ἐποίησεν
Δαυιδ X
καθὼς
ἐνετείλατο
αὐτῷ κύριος,
καὶ ἐπάταξεν
τοὺς ἀλλοφύλους
ἀπὸ Γαβαων ἕως
|
25
And David did X
as
the Lord commanded him, and smote the Philistines from Gabaon as
far as |
25 And David did X as the Lord had commanded him, and he smote the Philistines from Gabaa until thou come to Gezer. |
25 And David did so, as the LORD had commanded him; and smote the Philistines from Geba until thou come to Gazer. |
25 And David did {} just what Yahweh had commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines from Geba as far as you can go to Gezer. |
25 וַיַּעַשׂ דָּוִד כֵּןR כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּהוּ יְהוָה וַיַּךְ אֶת- פְּלִשְׁתִּים מִגֶּבַע עַד- בֹּאֲךָ גָזֶר: פ |
14:16 וַיַּעַשׂ דָּוִיד X כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּהוּ הָאֱלֹהִים וַיַּכּוּ אֶת-מַחֲנֵה פְלִשְׁתִּים מִגִּבְעוֹן וְעַד- גָּזְרָה: |
16 So David did according to what God commanded him, and they struck down the army of the Philistines from Gibeon even unto Gezer. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
14:17 ויֵּצֵא שֵׁם־דָּוִיד בְּכָל־ הָאֲרָצוֹת וַיהוָה נָתַן אֶת־פַּחְדּוֹ עַל־כָּל־ הַגּוֹיִם׃ |
17 Then David’s fame went out into all the lands, for it was Yahweh who extended dread of him over all the nations. |
1Gill agreed that it was not Jerusalem but some place below it. Goldman and Keil & Delitzsch agreed that it was David’s old haunt in the Judean wilderness. Willett (and Tsumura), on the other hand, believed this stronghold was the “tower of Sion” (or the old Jebusite citadel) in Jerusalem. Neither Matthew Henry nor Robert Jameison ventured an opinion.
2Gill noted: “Baalperazim... being the hill, to which... the valley [ran], computed to be about three miles from Jerusalem, in the way to Bethlehem, between which places were two hours' travel...”
3thus Robert Jamieson’s commentary, which cites Royle in support.
4Gill cites Pausanias (Eliac. sive, l. 5. p. 294.) translating it as “byssus... as being of a yellow colour.”
5“Baca, according to Abulfadl, is the name given in Arabic to a shrub which grows at Mecca and resembles the balsam, except that it has longer leaves and larger and rounder fruit, and from which, if a leaf be broken off, there flows a white pungent sap, like a white tear, which in all probability gave rise to the name בָּכָא = בָּכָה, to weep.” ~Keil & Delitzsch
6cf. Webster’s Dictionary (1828): “This name is given to a genus of plants called Clusia; to another, called Copaifera, which produces the balsam of Copaiba; and to a third, called Pistacia, turpentine tree or mastich tree.”
7See Keil & Delitzsch for an extensive treatment of the difference between 1 Chron’s “Gibeon” and 2 Sam’s “Geba.”
8Gill cited Kimchi on this.
AMy
original chart includes the NASB, ESV, and NIV, 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 Scroll containing 2 Samuel 5 is
4Q51Samuela, which contains fragments of vs. 1-19, and
which has been dated between 50-25 B.C. 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}.
BMT, Vulgate, Geneva, KJV, RV, LS French, and NASB render “they anointed David,” but LXX, NIV, ESV, NET, NLT and the parallel passage in 1 Chron render it passive “David had been anointed.” DSS is obliterated here. Such synonymous differences between the 2 Sam. and 1 Chron. accounts show the range of what translation and tradition can do without changing the word of God.
CDSS omits “saying,” but it’s in the LXX and Vulgate and the parallel passage. It doesn’t change the meaning, though, for it is just a synonymous verb of speech to “inquired.”
DThe DSS is obliterated here, but there is space for 28-35 Hebrew letters and spaces between here and the את, but the MT has 43. Changing to the 1 Chron text in the MT would be 35 letters and spaces, so that might be the reading of the DSS. However, the LXX and Vulgate match the longer reading of the MT here.
E1 Chron substitutes "to him."
FLXX, Syriac, and 2 Hebrew manuscripts read “hands” (plural), but in this figurative use of the word, it means the same.
GQere corrects the spelling to פְּלִשְׁתִּים by removing the extra yod.
HLXX shifts David’s name as the explicit subject down to the next verb, but the Vulgate and Syriac omit it. This doesn’t change the meaning, however, since the understood subject (“he”) is still David.
IG epanw, L de super, T mjsr
JThe Geneva Bible also reads “burned,” but no other English Bible does, as far as I can tell. Even the NKJV ammends it to “carried them away.”
KTargums read אוֹקֵידִנֻון (“burned”), which is what the parallel passage in 1 Chron. says, and KJV picks up on that.
LSeveral Hebrew manuscripts read “from” instead of “to” here (and in 1 Chron. 14), and that seems to be what the LXX, Vulgate, and Syriac followed.
MThe only place in the Bible outside this story which uses this word is Psalm 84:7, which speaks of a Valley of Baka which seems to refer to “weeping.”
NThe Hebrew “heads/tops” is plural, but the Greek is singular. Kittel claimed that the Vulgate cacumine is singular, but Douay translated it plural. Kittel also claimed that the Syriac (ברישׁה) and Targums (בְרֵישֵׁי) are singular, but I suspect he was only correct about the Syriac. It doesn’t change the story either way.
OQere כְּשָׁמְעֲךָ corrects the initial beth preposition (“in/by/with/during”) to the coph preposition (“like/as/about”), which is the 1 Chronicles reading, and can mean the same thing.
PBased on the idea of a “step.” Perhaps “cadence.” The only other place in the Bible that this word shows up outside of this story is Isa. 3:20 describing an armlet or anklet or chain.
QIn its Qal form this verb is used before Samuel to denote making noise (Exod. 11:7 – dog barking; Jos. 10:21 – people criticizing) and after Samuel it denotes making a judicial decision (1 Ki. 20:40; Job 14:5; Isa. 10:22). The parallel passage in 1 Chronicles substitutes the phrase “go out into battle.”
RThis word is omitted from the LXX, Vulgate, and 1 Chron. accounts. It is redundant to the next word so it is dispensable without changing meaning.