2 Sa. 10 – Lessons In World Missions From David’s Foreign Policy

Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 24 Apr. 2022

Introduction

Read NAW translation of 2 Sam. 10: Now, it happened after this that the king of the descendents of Ammon died, and his son Hanun became king after him. So David said, “I will enact lovingkindness with Hanun son of Nachash, according to the lovingkindness which his father enacted with me. So David sent a commission to comfort him - by the agency of his servants - concerning his father. And David’s servants went {to} the land of the descendents of Ammon. But the officers of the descendents of Ammon said to Hanun their master, “Is David honoring your father in your eyes because he sent comforters to you? Isn’t it in actuality to survey our city and to spy it out and to overthrow it that David sent his servants to you?” So Hanun seized David’s servants and shaved half the beard of each of them and cut their robes up the middle - up to their bottoms - then dismissed them. Now, when they communicated to David {about the men}, he sent a commission to call upon them, for the men had been terribly humiliated, and the king said, “Sit tight {at} Jericho until the beard of each of y’all grows out, then y’all come back.” Now, when the descendents of Ammon saw that they had become obnoxious with David, the descendents of Ammon sent a commission and hired the Syrians of Beth-Rehob and the Syrians of Tsoba - 20,000 infantry, and the king of Maacah - 1,000 men, and {Ishtob} - 12,000 men. Now, when David heard, he commissioned Joab and all the host of the mighty-men. And the descendents of Ammon deployed and formed battle ranks at the entrance of their gate, while the Syrians of Tsoba and Rechob, with Ishtob and Maacah, were off to themselves in the field. Now, when Joab saw that the fronts of the battle were against him from in-front and from behind, he made selections from all the select men in Israel, and formed ranks to engage the Syrians, and the rest of the people he gave to the control of Abishai his brother, who also formed ranks to engage the descendents of Ammon. And he said, “If Syria is too strong for me, then you can be there for my aid, and if the descendents of Ammon are too strong for you, then I can come to bring aid for you. Be strong and let’s strengthen ourselves in behalf of our people and in behalf of the cities of our God, and Yahweh will do what is good in His eyes.” Then Joab (and the people who were with him) approached for the battle with the Syrians, but they fled from his face! When the descendents of Ammon saw that Syria had fled, they also fled from Abishai’s front and went into their city. Then Joab turned back from being against the descendents of Ammon, and he went to Jerusalem. Now, when Syria saw that it had been routed before Israel, they assembled themselves together, and Hadadezer sent a commission and brought out the Syrians who were from across the [Euphrates] River, and they went to Helam, and Shobac (the general of the army of Hadadezer) was at their front. Presently this was communicated to David, so he mobilized all of Israel, and he went across the Jordan and came to Helam. Then the Syrians formed ranks to engage David, and they fought with him. But Syria fled from the front of Israel, and David slaughtered 700 cavalrymen and 40,000 infantrymen of Syria, plus he struck down Shobac, the general of its army, such that he died there. So all the kings – the vassals of Hadadezer – became respectful, because they had been routed in front of Israel, so they made peace with the Israelites and became vassals of them. Furthermore, the Syrians were afraid to bring aid to the descendants of Ammon again.

vs. 1-6 The setting

It is surprising that David would feel favorably disposed to a king of Ammon. Ammon was one of the nations descended from Lot’s daughters (Gen. 19), and because of Lot’s relationship with Abraham, God forbade the Israelites from harming the Ammonites, but He also forbade them from having any positive relationship with them as well. This meant that as long as the Ammonites left well enough alone, they could be peaceable neighbours with Israel, but during the time of the judges, the Ammonites tried to conquer Israel, so God raised up Jephtha to defeat them (Judges 10-11). Later, during David’s time, Nahash, king of Ammon, had attacked the Israelite town of Jabesh Gilead,
yet it was this same Nahash that David says showed kindness to him. Perhaps Nahash was the unnamed king of Moab in 1 Sam. 22:3-4 who provided assylum for David’s parents, at David’s request, when Saul was trying to kill David and his family. There is also a Jewish legend which may or may not be true that the king of Moab killed David’s parents, but David’s brother escaped and found assylum with Nahash (Willett, Goldman).
So David’s act of kindness was to send professional mourners to share condolences with Hanun, the new king of the Ammonites, over the death of his father Nahash. So David’s emmisaries headed down from Jerusalem to Jericho and east across the Jordan River to the capitol city of the Ammonites, known as Rabbah or Raboth-Ammon. (The same city today is called Aman, the capitol of the country of Jordan.)
Now, if Hanun had been merely suspicious and didn’t want spies, he could have come up with some kind of excuse to send David’s men home quickly, but instead he perpetrated some extremely provocative insults against them, so it seems he (or perhaps his advisors) actually wanted to start a war with Israel. Perhaps they were feeling threatened by a united Israel under a strong king who was bringing so much of the region under his control.
Yahweh had told His people not to “cut around the top of your head or shave the top of your beard” (Lev. 19:27, NAW). The book of Isaiah indicates that shaving was a symbol of a grieviouos loss (Isaiah 15:2) and particularly of being a slave (Isa. 7:20 & 20:4), so when Hanun had David’s emmisaries’ beards shaved, he was proclaiming that he thought of these Israelite noblemen as his slaves, and furthermore, shaving only half of their beards made them look ridiculously funny. He wanted his people to laugh at the Israelite dignitaries.

Then he had their long, stately robes cut apart, from the ground up, right up to the crotch (according to the parallel passage in 1 Chronicles 19). And since only priests wore underwear in those days, Hanun indecently exposed these Israelite noblemen.
This was “an outrage to the rules of diplomatic immunity” (Goldman). Nothing could have been more insulting in that day and age. It was too embarassing for them to even come home to Jerusalem, so they stayed in Jericho, just inside the border of Israel until their beards could grow out.
Hanun knew that once he had done that, the Israelite army would come after him in short order, but he had a plan. He would hire mercenary soldiers from Syria (which is called “Aram” in the Hebrew text, but “Aram” is basically the same as “Syria”) and use them to trounce the Israelite army when they showed up. The parallel passage in 1 Chronicles tells us that Hanun paid the handsome sum of a thousand talents of silver. A talent was a round ingot weighing from 75 to 100 pounds. Where he got 75,000 pounds of silver, I don’t know, but it hired him a formidable army from multiple Syrian settlements between Israel and Damascus: namely Beth Rehob, Tsoba, Maacah, and Tob.

vs. 7-14 The Syrio-Ammonite War

Although God had forbidden the Israelites from conquering the Ammonites because they were a “cousin” nation, they were mobilizing an army to invade Israel, so Israel had to respond to defend itself.
It is odd, though, that David did not go himself to this battle but “sent Joab.” Skipping out on “fighting the battles of the Lord” set the stage for David to violate the integrity of his family and the integrity of his kingdom, which is the story of the next chapter.
For Joab and his mighty men, it was a 15+ mile march from Jerusalem to the border of Israel at the Jordan River, where it flows into the Dead Sea, then another 15 miles East to Rabboth-Amman to meet the enemy forces.
The parallel passage in 1 Chron. tells us that the Syrians assembled at the city of Medeba some¹ miles south of Rabboth-Ammon. This would put them out of sight behind Mt. Nebo so that they could close in from behind when the Israelite army stopped in front of Rabboth-Ammon.
The Ammonites, meanwhile, formed ranks in front of their capitol city of Rabbath-Ammon to receive the Israelite army, then the Syrians advanced, forcing the Israelite army into a confined position inbetween the two armies of Ammon and of Syria.
Armies in that culture had infantry and cavalry divisions. The cavalry would operate horse-drawn chariots, and the infantry would run along on foot. v.6 mentions the infantry, and v.18 mentions both. The parallel passage to v.6 in 1 Chronicles 19:6-7 also mentions both along with a total of the enemy force being 32,000 plus the from Maacah, which matches the numbers in 2 Samuel 10:6 of 20 + 12 thousand plus the thousand from Maacah.
In a desperate and brilliant maneuver, Joab divided the Israelite army in half and put the second half under his brother Abishai’s command so that they could fight both armies simultaneously.
It appears that Joab saw the mercenary soldiers from Syria as a greater technical threat, so he picked the best Israelite soldiers to engage the Syrian front with him, but he told everybody that if either half of the Israelite army needed help, some the other half should turn to help them.
then he gave them all a pep talk. He reminded the Israelites that they were representatives of their people and of Godly civilization, and that they were all that stood between the deadly forces of pagan chaos and the Godly continuation of their families. They must give their best in human strength in this contest, but at the same time, because they are the people of God and representatives of God’s cities, they could also depend confidently upon God’s action on their behalf to preserve these good things.
And with that, Joab and his soldiers marched toward the Syrians. The battle itself is scarcely mentioned; it’s as though the Syrians just ran away without even putting up a fight.
Perhaps the earlier description of a battle against Syria in chapter 8 v.5 is speaking of this battle, where “the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, and David killed twenty-two thousand of the Syrians,” but it’s hard to tell for sure.
Meanwhile, when the Ammonites saw that their hired mercenaries were useless, they turned tail and locked themselves inside the walls of their city, hotly pursued by Abishai and his soldiers.
With no remaining threat, Joab decided to leave for Jerusalem, apparently without fighting the Ammonites, although it’s possible he left Abishai to carry out seige operations (Tsumura). (Joab did come back later though, to finish the conquest of the city, according to 2 Sam. 12:26.)

vs. 15-19 The Second Syrian War and its results

Syria, however, even though they had lost the lives of a lot of soldiers, did not have their cities under seige, and they were pretty upset about their mercenaries being beat by the Israelite army, so they decided to muster all their forces, including soldiers from Syrian settlements on the east side of the Euphrates River and destroy the Israelite army with an overwhelming show of force. Josephus, who wrote around the year 100 AD stated that the Syrians recruited eighty thousand soldiers, and ten thousand horses.
The Syrian’s rendezvous point was, according to most English Bibles, Helam (or, in Hebrew, Chiylam). It is believed that Helam was on the East side of the Jordan River somewhere – nobody knows where² – between Damascus and Rabboth-Ammon. (The directional he attached as a suffix to the word “Helam” when it occurs in v. 17 would weigh in favor of it being a place name.)
On the other hand, the Hebrew word Chiyl-am means “the army of them,” and that’s the way the Latin Vulgate translated it, and that could also make sense too, in terms of rendezvousing with an enemy somewhere in no-man’s-land.
David led his army against Shobab’s army and, once again, the Syrians fled, and David’s troops tallied a massive body-count of 40,000 infantrymen and 700 cavalry-men, and the death of the Syrian general Shobac.
This second encounter may be the same event referred to in 2 Samuel 8:3-5 “David also made a strike against Hadadezer, son of Rekhob, king of Tsobah while he was going to {establish} his control at the {Euphrates} River. Then David selected from him 1,000 {chariot-horses} and 700 cavalrymen and 20,000 foot soldiers, then David hamstrung every chariot-horse, except he left 100 chariot-horses from that [number]. However, Damascus Syria came to the aid of Hadadezer King of Tsobah, so David struck down 22,000 men in Syria.” (NAW) The numbers come out pretty close with 700 cavalrymen and a total of 42,000 infantry, which could be easily rounded to the nearest 10,000 in chapter 10.
So all these Syrian city-states gained a healthy respect for David and switched their allegience from Hadadadezer to David and refused to enter into political alliances against Israel. “Serving” or “becoming subject” to David would have meant conditions like those described in 2 Samuel 8:6 “Then David placed garrisons in Damascus Syria, so Syria belonged to David to be his servants who raised up a food-offering...” (NAW) and paid some kind of regular tribute-taxes.

Application

This story is interesting in-and-of-itself, but we need to find what difference it should make in our lives, and, as Christ-followers, we need to ask ourselves, “Where is Christ in the story?” As I pondered on this, I read Matthew Henry’s commentary from early 1700’s and was intrigued with the direction he took the story. He noted that we can learn lessons from David’s foreign and domestic policy displayed in this story and apply them to the Great Commission that Jesus gave us to make disciples of all nations. The political wars of David have a parallel in the spiritual warfare of the Christian. Let me pick up on just a few threads of this as we conclude our study of this passage.
David begins with a heart of gratitude, wanting to extend kindness internationally and comfort mourners. He risked hostility and being misunderstood, and comforted his ambassadors when they were humiliated in the attempt. David then sent his army to defend the cities of God when the wicked mobilized for war against them. God’s people helped each other and trusted God’s providence. The result is that David received tribute from foreign nations, and prophecy was fulfilled. Let’s look at how we can cross-apply these particular things:
David, as a type of Christ, showed kindness. We are recipients of Christ’s “Kindness” and therefore are to show kindness to others much like David sought to do, even internationally:
- Romans 2:4 “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?”
- Titus 3:3-7 “For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (NKJV)
- Col. 3:12 “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience”
- Gal. 5:22-23 “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control...”
- 2 Peter 1:5-8 “...add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (NKJV)
David, as a type of Christ comforted mourners, also setting us an example to Comfort those who mourn:
- 2 Cor. 1:3-4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” (NASB)
- Romans 12:15 “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another…” (NKJV)
David, as a type of Christ, commissioned message-bearers who risked being misunderstood and mistreated in hopes that the hearers would receive the good news. Indeed, many missionaries throughout history have been falsely accused of being spies. We likewise must expect to be misunderstood and mistreated as we bear the gospel.
- Matthew 5:10-12 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (NKJV)
- Matthew 10:16-23 "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues. You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. "Now brother will deliver up 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 will be saved. When they persecute you in this city, flee to another...” (NKJV)
- Luke 21:10-19 Then He said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven. But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name's sake. But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony. Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer; for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But not a hair of your head shall be lost. By your patience possess your souls.” (NKJV)
Also, David, as a type of Christ, comforted his ambassadors when they were humiliated, defend the cities of God when the wicked mobilized for war against them, and fielded soldiers who would encourage each other’s faith and help each other when aid was needed. Likewise, we are called to defend, encourage, and help our fellow believers.
- Romans 12:6-8 “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.” (NKJV)
- 1 Thessalonians 5:11 & 14 “...comfort each other and edify one another… warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all.” (NKJV)
- Hebrews 10:24-25 “Let us also take cognizance of one another towards the provocation of love and of good works, not leaving out the gathering together of ourselves (as the custom is with certain persons), but instead being encouraging - and so much the more while you are seeing The Day getting close.” (NAW)
- Galatians 6:2 “Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (NKJV)
- 1 Peter 3:15 “...sanctify in your hearts Christ as Lord, ready always for a defense toward every one who asks of you a word concerning the hope in you…” (NAW)
Finally, David, as a type of Christ received tribute from the nations in fulfillment of prophecy, and we too can give tribute to Christ with generosity and service to Him, looking forward to the ultimate fulfillment of prophecy when every knee will bow to Jesus:
- Romans 12:1 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” (NKJV)
- Revelation 5:8-14 Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying: "You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth." Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice: "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!" And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: "Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!" Then the four living creatures said, "Amen!" And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.” (NKJV)
- Revelation 7:9-10 “After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” (NKJV)

2 Samuel 10 – Side-by side comparison of versions^{^A}

LXX	Brenton	DRB	KJV	NAW	MT	MT 1Chr.^B	NAW
1 Καὶ ἐγένετο μετὰ ταῦτα καὶ ἀπέθανεν βασιλεὺς υἱῶν Αμμων, καὶ ἐβασίλευσεν Αννων υἱὸς αὐτοῦ ἀντ᾿ αὐτοῦ.	1 And it came to pass after this that the king of the children of Ammon died, and Annon his son reigned in his stead.	1 And it came to pass after this, that the king of the children of Ammon died, and Hanon his son reigned in his stead.	1 And it came to pass after this, that the king of the children of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his stead.	1 Now, it happened after this that the king of the descendents of Ammon died, and his son Hanun became king after him.	1 וַיְהִי אַחֲרֵי- כֵן וַיָּמָת מֶלֶךְ בְּנֵי עַמּוֹן וַיִּמְלֹךְ חָנוּן בְּנוֹ תַּחְתָּיו:	^19:1וַיְהִי אַחֲרֵי- כֵן וַיָּמָת נָחָשׁ מֶלֶךְ בְּנֵי- עַמּוֹן וַיִּמְלֹךְ X בְּנוֹ תַּחְתָּיו:	1 Now, it happened after this that Nahash, king of the descendents of Ammon, died, and his son became king after him.
2 καὶ εἶπεν Δαυιδ Ποιήσω ἔλεος μετὰ Αννων υἱοῦ Ναας, ὃν ~~τρόπον~~ ἐποίησεν ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ ἔλεος· καὶ ἀπέστειλεν Δαυιδ παρακαλέσαι αὐτὸν ἐν χειρὶ τῶν δούλων αὐτοῦ περὶ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ. καὶ παρεγένοντο οἱ παῖδες Δαυιδ [εἰς] τὴν γῆν υἱῶν Αμμων.	2 And David said, I will shew mercy to Annon the son of Naas, as X his father dealt mercifully with me. And David sent to comfort him concerning his father by the hand of his servants; and the servants of David came [into] the land of the children of Ammon.	2 And David said: I will shew kindness to Hanon the son of Daas, as X his father shewed kindness to me. So David sent X X his servants to comfort him for the death of his father. But when the servants of David were come into the land of the children of Ammon,	2 Then said David, I will shew kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, as X his father shewed kindness unto me. And David sent to comfort him by the hand of his servants for his father. And David's servants came [into] the land of the children of Ammon.	2 So David said, “I will enact lovingkindness with Hanun son of Nachash, according to the lovingkindness which his father enacted with me. So David sent a commission to comfort him - by the agency of his servants - concerning his father. And David’s servants went {to} the land of the descendents of Ammon.	2 וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד אֶעֱשֶׂה- חֶסֶד עִם- חָנוּן בֶּן-נָחָשׁ כַּאֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה אָבִיו עִמָּדִי^C חֶסֶד וַיִּשְׁלַח דָּוִד לְנַחֲמוֹ בְּיַד-עֲבָדָיו אֶל-אָבִיו וַיָּבֹאוּ עַבְדֵי דָוִד אֶרֶץ^D בְּנֵי עַמּוֹן:	^19:2וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִיד אֶעֱשֶׂה- חֶסֶד עִם- חָנוּן בֶּן-נָחָשׁ כִּי-עָשָׂה אָבִיו עִמִּי חֶסֶד וַיִּשְׁלַח דָּוִיד מַלְאָכִים לְנַחֲמוֹ X X עַל-אָבִיו וַיָּבֹאוּ עַבְדֵי דָוִיד אֶל-אֶרֶץ בְּנֵי-עַמּוֹן אֶל- חָנוּן לְנַחֲמוֹ:	2 So David said, “I will enact lovingkindness with Hanun son of Nachash, since his father enacted lovingkindness with me. So David sent messengers to comfort him over his father. And David’s servants went to the land of the descendants of Ammon to Hanun to comfort him.
3 καὶ εἶπον οἱ ἄρχοντες υἱῶν Αμμων πρὸς Αννων τὸν κύριον αὐτῶν Μὴ παρὰ τὸ δοξάζειν Δαυιδ τὸν πατέρα σου ἐνώπιόν σου, ὅτι ἀπέστειλέν σοι παρακαλοῦντας; ἀλλ᾿ οὐχὶ ὅπως ἐρευνήσωσιν τὴν πόλιν καὶ κατασκοπήσωσιν αὐτὴν καὶ τοῦ ~~κατασκέψ~~~~ασθαι^E~~ αὐτὴν ἀπέστειλεν Δαυιδ τοὺς παῖδας αὐτοῦ πρὸς σέ;	3 And the princes of the children of Ammon said to Annon their lord, Is it to honour thy father before thee that David has sent comforters to thee? Has not David rather sent his servants to thee that they should search the city, and spy it out and ~~examine~~ it?	3 X The princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanon their lord: ~~Thinkest~~ thou that for the honour of thy father, David hath sent comforters to thee, and hath not David rather sent his servants to thee to search, and spy into the city, and overthrow it?	3 And the princes of the children of Ammon said unto Hanun their lord, ~~Think~~~~est~~ thou that David doth honour thy father, that he hath sent comforters unto thee? hath not David rather sent his servants unto thee, to search the city, and to spy it out, and to overthrow it?	3 But the officers of the descendents of Ammon said to Hanun their master, “Is David honoring your father in your eyes because he sent comforters to you? Isn’t it in actuality to survey our city and to spy it out and to overthrow it that David sent his servants to you?”	3 וַיֹּאמְרוּ שָׂרֵי בְנֵי-עַמּוֹן אֶל-חָנוּן אֲדֹנֵיהֶם הַמְכַבֵּד דָּוִד אֶת-אָבִיךָ בְּעֵינֶיךָ כִּי-שָׁלַח לְךָ מְנַחֲמִים הֲלוֹא בַּעֲבוּר חֲקוֹר אֶת-הָעִיר וּלְרַגְּלָהּ וּלְהָפְכָהּ שָׁלַח דָּוִד אֶת- עֲבָדָיו אֵלֶיךָ:	^19:3וַיֹּאמְרוּ שָׂרֵי בְנֵי-עַמּוֹן לְחָנוּן X הַמְכַבֵּד דָּוִיד אֶת-אָבִיךָ בְּעֵינֶיךָ כִּי-שָׁלַח לְךָ מְנַחֲמִים הֲלֹא בַּעֲבוּר לַחְקֹר וְלַהֲפֹךְx וּלְרַגֵּלx הָאָרֶץ בָּאוּ X X עֲבָדָיו אֵלֶיךָ: פ	3 But the officers of the descendents of Ammon said to Hanun, “Was David honoring your father in your eyes when he sent comforters to you? Wasn’t it in actuality to survey and to overthrow and to spy out our land that his servants came to you?”
4 καὶ ἔλαβεν Αννων τοὺς παῖδας Δαυιδ καὶ ἐξύρησεν τοὺς X πώγωνας αὐτῶν καὶ ἀπέκοψεν τοὺς μανδύας αὐτῶν ἐν τῷ ἡμίσει ἕως τῶν ἰσχίων αὐτῶν καὶ ἐξαπέστειλεν αὐτούς.	4 And Annon took the servants of David, and shaved X their beard[s], and cut off their garments in the midst as far as their haunches, and sent them away.	4 Wherefore Hanon took the servants of David, and shaved off the one half of their beard[s], and cut away half of their garments even to the buttocks, and sent them away.	4 Wherefore Hanun took David's servants, and shaved off the one half of their beard[s], and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away.	4 So Hanun seized David’s servants and shaved half the beard of each of them and cut their robes up the middle - up to their bottoms - then dismissed them.	4 וַיִּקַּח חָנוּן אֶת-עַבְדֵי דָוִד וַיְגַלַּח אֶת-חֲצִי זְקָנָם וַיִּכְרֹת אֶת- ^Fמַדְוֵיהֶם בַּחֵצִי עַד ^Gשְׁתוֹתֵיהֶם וַיְשַׁלְּחֵם:	^19:4וַיִּקַּח חָנוּן אֶת-עַבְדֵי דָוִיד וַיְגַלְּחֵם X X X וַיִּכְרֹת אֶת- מַדְוֵיהֶם בַּחֵצִי עַד- הַמִּפְשָׂעָה וַיְשַׁלְּחֵם:	4 So Hanun seized David’s servants and shaved them and cut their robes up the middle – up to their crotch, then dismissed them.
5 καὶ ἀνήγγειλαν τῷ Δαυιδ [ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀνδρῶν], καὶ ἀπέστειλεν εἰς ἀπαντὴν αὐτῶν, ὅτι ἦσαν οἱ ἄνδρες ἠτιμασμένοι σφόδρα· καὶ εἶπεν ὁ βασιλεύς Καθίσατε ἐν Ιεριχω ἕως τοῦ ἀνατεῖλαι τοὺς πώγωνας ὑμῶν, καὶ ἐπιστραφήσεσθε. --	5 And they brought David word [concerning the men]; and he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly dishonoured: and the king said, Remain in Jericho till your beard[s] have grown, and then ye shall return.	5 When this was told David, he sent to meet them: for the men were sadly put to confusion, and ~~David~~ [commanded them,] say~~ing~~: Stay at Jericho, till your beard[s] be grown, and then return.	5 When they told it unto David, he sent to meet them, because the men were greatly ashamed: and the king said, Tarry at Jericho until your beard[s] be grown, and then return.	5 Now, when they communicated to David {about the men}, he sent a commission to call upon them, for the men had been terribly humiliated, and the king said, “Sit tight {at} Jericho until the beard of each of y’all grows out, then y’all come back.”	5 וַיַּגִּדוּ לְדָוִד^H וַיִּשְׁלַח לִקְרָאתָם כִּי- הָיוּ הָאֲנָשִׁים נִכְלָמִים מְאֹד וַיֹּאמֶר הַמֶּלֶךְ שְׁבוּ בִירֵחוֹ^I עַד-יְצַמַּח זְקַנְכֶם וְשַׁבְתֶּם:	^19:5וַיֵּלְכוּ וַיַּגִּידוּ לְדָוִיד עַל- הָאֲנָשִׁים וַיִּשְׁלַח לִקְרָאתָם כִּי- הָיוּ הָאֲנָשִׁים נִכְלָמִים מְאֹד וַיֹּאמֶר הַמֶּלֶךְ שְׁבוּ בִירֵחוֹ עַד אֲשֶׁר-יְצַמַּח זְקַנְכֶם וְשַׁבְתֶּם:	5 So they went away. And when they communicated to David about the men, he sent a commission to call upon them, for the men had been terribly humiliated, and the king said, “Sit tight in Jericho until whenever the beard of each of y’all grows out, then y’all come back.
6 καὶ εἶδαν οἱ υἱοὶ Αμμων ὅτι κατῃσχύνθησαν ὁ λαὸς Δαυιδ, καὶ ἀπέστειλαν οἱ υἱοὶ Αμμων καὶ ἐμισθώσαντο τὴν Συρίαν Βαιθροωβ, εἴκοσι χιλιάδας πεζῶν, καὶ τὸν βασιλέα Μααχα, χιλίους ἄνδρας, καὶ Ιστωβ, δώδεκα χιλιάδας ἀνδρῶν.	6 And the children of Ammon saw that the people of David were ashamed; and the children of Ammon sent, and hired the Syrians of Baeth~~raam~~, and the Syrians of Suba, and Roob, twenty thousand footmen, and the king of ~~Amalec~~ [with] a thousand men, and Istob with twelve thousand men.	6 And the children of Ammon seeing that they had done an injury to David, sent and hired the Syrians of Rohob, and the Syrians of Soba, twenty thousand footmen, and of the king of Maacha a thousand men, and of Istob twelve thousand men.	6 And when the children of Ammon saw that they stank before David, the children of Ammon sent and hired the Syrians of Bethrehob, and the Syrians of Zoba, twenty thousand footmen, and of king X Maacah a thousand men, and of ^JIshtob twelve thousand men.	6 Now, when the descendents of Ammon saw that they had become obnoxious with David, the descendents of Ammon sent a commission and hired the Syrians of Beth-Rehob and the Syrians of Tsoba - 20,000 infantry, and the king of Maacah - 1,000 men, and {Ishtob} - 12,000 men.	6 ^Kוַיִּרְאוּ בְּנֵי עַמּוֹן כִּי ^Lנִבְאֲשׁוּ בְּדָוִד וַיִּשְׁלְחוּ בְנֵי-עַמּוֹן וַיִּשְׂכְּרוּ אֶת- אֲרַם בֵּית- רְחוֹב וְאֶת- אֲרַם צוֹבָא עֶשְׂרִים אֶלֶף רַגְלִי וְאֶת- מֶלֶךְ מַעֲכָה אֶלֶף אִישׁ וְאִישׁ טוֹב^M שְׁנֵים-עָשָׂר אֶלֶף אִישׁ:	^19:6וַיִּרְאוּ בְּנֵי עַמּוֹן כִּי הִתְבָּאֲשׁוּ עִם- דָּוִיד וַיִּשְׁלַחx חָנוּן וּבְנֵי עַמּוֹן אֶלֶף כִּכַּר-כֶּסֶף לִשְׂכֹּר לָהֶם מִן-אֲרַם נַהֲרַיִם וּמִן-אֲרַם X X X X X מַעֲכָה וּמִצּוֹבָה ^Nרֶכֶב וּפָרָשִׁים:	6 Now, when the descendents of Ammon saw that they had made themselves obnoxious with David, Hanun and the descendents of Ammon sent a thousand 75-pound-ingots^O of silver to hire servants for themselves from Syria and from Maacah of Syria, as well as cavalry and horsemen from Tsobah.

^19:7וַיִּשְׂכְּרוּ לָהֶם שְׁנַיִם וּשְׁלֹשִׁים אֶלֶף רֶכֶב וְאֶת-מֶלֶךְ מַעֲכָה וְאֶת- עַמּוֹ^P וַיָּבֹאוּ וַיַּחֲנוּ לִפְנֵי מֵידְבָא^Q וּבְנֵי עַמּוֹן נֶאֶסְפוּ מֵעָרֵיהֶם וַיָּבֹאוּ לַמִּלְחָמָה^R:	19:7 They also hired for themselves 32,000 cavalry, along with the king of Maacah and those with him, and they deployed and took up a position in front of Medeba. The descendants of Ammon were also mustered from their cities and came to the battle.
7 καὶ ἤκουσεν Δαυιδ καὶ ἀπέστειλεν τὸν Ιωαβ καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν δύναμιν, τοὺς δυνατούς.	7 And David heard, and sent Joab and all his host, [even] the mighty men.	7 And when David heard this, he sent Joab and the whole army of warriors.	7 And when David heard of it, he sent Joab, and all the host of the mighty men.	7 Now, when David heard, he commissioned Joab and all the host of the mighty-men.	7 וַיִּשְׁמַע^S דָּוִד וַיִּשְׁלַח^T אֶת-יוֹאָב וְאֵת כָּל-הַצָּבָא^U הַגִּבֹּרִים:	^19:8וַיִּשְׁמַע דָּוִיד וַיִּשְׁלַח אֶת-יוֹאָב וְאֵת כָּל-xצָבָא הַגִּבּוֹרִים:	8 Now, when David heard, he commissioned Joab and all the host of the mighty-men.
8 καὶ ἐξῆλθαν οἱ υἱοὶ Αμμων καὶ παρετάξαντο πόλεμον παρὰ τῇ θύρᾳ τῆς πύλης, καὶ Συρία Σουβα καὶ Ροωβ καὶ Ιστωβ καὶ Μααχα μόνοι ἐν ἀγρῷ.	8 And the children of Ammon went forth, and set the battle in array by the door of the gate: those of Syria, Suba, and Roob, and Istob, and ~~Amalec~~, being by themselves in the field.	8 And the children of Ammon came out, and set their ~~men~~ in array at the entering in of the gate: but the Syrians of Soba, and of Rohob, and of Istob, and of Maacha were by themselves in the field.	8 And the children of Ammon came out, and put the battle in array at the entering in of the gate: and the Syrians of Zoba, and of Rehob, and Ishtob, and Maacah, were by themselves in the field.	8 And the descendents of Ammon deployed and formed battle ranks at the entrance of their gate, while the Syrians of Tsoba and Rechob, with Ishtob and Maacah, were off to themselves in the field.	8 וַיֵּצְאוּ בְּנֵי עַמּוֹן וַיַּעַרְכוּ מִלְחָמָה פֶּתַח הַשָּׁעַר ^Vוַאֲרַם צוֹבָא וּרְחוֹב וְאִישׁ-טוֹב וּמַעֲכָה לְבַדָּם בַּשָּׂדֶה:	^19:9וַיֵּצְאוּ בְּנֵי עַמּוֹן וַיַּעַרְכוּ מִלְחָמָה פֶּתַח הָעִיר וְהַמְּלָכִים אֲשֶׁר-בָּאוּ לְבַדָּם בַּשָּׂדֶה:	9 And the descendents of Ammon deployed and formed battle ranks at the entrance to their city, while the kings who had come in were off to themselves in the field.
9 καὶ εἶδεν Ιωαβ ὅτι ἐγενήθη πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀντιπρόσωπον τοῦ πολέμου, ἐκ τοῦ [κατὰ] πρόσωπον [ἐξ ἐναντίας] καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ὄπισθεν, καὶ ἐπέλεξεν ἐκ πάντων τῶν νεανίσκων X Ισραηλ, καὶ παρετάξ~~αντο~~ ἐξ ἐναντίας Συρίας.	9 And Joab saw that the front of the battle was against him from [that which was opposed] in front and from behind, and he chose out some of all the young men of Israel, and ~~they~~ set ~~themselves~~ in array against X Syria.	9 Then Joab seeing that the battle was prepared against him, ~~both~~ before and X behind, X chose of all the choice men [of^W] Israel, and put them in array against X the Syrians:	9 When Joab saw that the front of the battle was against him X before and X behind, X he chose of all the choice men of Israel, and put them in array against X the Syrians:	9 Now, when Joab saw that the fronts of the battle were against him from in-front and from behind, he made selections from all the select men in Israel, and formed ranks to engage the Syrians,	9 וַיַּרְא יוֹאָב כִּי-הָיְתָה אֵלָיו פְּנֵי הַמִּלְחָמָה מִפָּנִים וּמֵאָחוֹר וַיִּבְחַר מִכֹּל בְּחוּרֵי בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל וַיַּעֲרֹךְ לִקְרַאת אֲרָם:	^19:10 וַיַּרְא יוֹאָב כִּי-הָיְתָה פְנֵי- הַמִּלְחָמָה אֵלָיו xפָּנִים וְxאָחוֹר וַיִּבְחַר מִכָּל-בָּחוּרx בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל וַיַּעֲרֹךְ לִקְרַאת אֲרָם:	10 Now, when Joab saw that the fronts of the battle were against him in front and behind, he made selections from all the selectmen in Israel and formed ranks to encounter the Syrians,
10 καὶ τὸ κατάλοιπον τοῦ λαοῦ ἔδωκεν ἐν χειρὶ Αβεσσα τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ, καὶ παρετάξ~~αντο~~ ἐξ ἐναντίας υἱῶν Αμμων.	10 And the rest of the people he gave into the hand of Abessa his brother, and ~~they~~ set [the battle] in array opposite to the children of Ammon.	10 And the rest of the people he delivered to X Abisai his brother, who set [them] in array against X the children of Ammon.	10 And the rest of the people he delivered into the hand of Abishai his brother, that he might put them in array against X the children of Ammon.	10 and the rest of the people he gave to the control of Abishai his brother, who also formed ranks to engage the descendents of Ammon.	10 וְאֵת יֶתֶר הָעָם נָתַן בְּיַד אַבְשַׁי^X אָחִיו וַיַּעֲרֹךְ לִקְרַאת בְּנֵי עַמּוֹן:	^19:11וְאֵת יֶתֶר הָעָם נָתַן בְּיַד אַבְשַׁי אָחִיו וַיַּעַרְכוּ לִקְרַאת בְּנֵי עַמּוֹן:	11 and the rest of the people he gave to the control of Abishai his brother, who also formed ranks to engage the descendents of Ammon.
11 καὶ εἶπεν Ἐὰν κραταιωθῇ Συρία ὑπὲρ ἐμέ, καὶ ἔσεσθέ μοι εἰς σωτηρίαν, καὶ ἐὰν υἱοὶ Αμμων κραταιωθῶσιν ὑπὲρ σέ, καὶ ~~ἐσόμεθα~~ τοῦ σῶσαί σε·	11 And he said, If Syria be too strong for me, then shall ye help X me: and if the children of Ammon be too strong for thee, then will ~~we be ready~~ to help X thee.	11 And [Joab] said: If the Syrians are too strong for me, then thou shalt help X me, but if the children of Ammon are too strong for thee, then I will X X help thee.	11 And he said, If the Syrians be too strong for me, then thou shalt help X me: but if the children of Ammon be too strong for thee, then I will come and help X thee.	11 And he said, “If Syria is too strong for me, then you can be there for my aid, and if the descendents of Ammon are too strong for you, then I can come to bring aid for you.	11 וַיֹּאמֶר אִם-תֶּחֱזַק אֲרָם מִמֶּנִּי וְהָיִתָה לִּי לִישׁוּעָה וְאִם-בְּנֵי עַמּוֹן יֶחֱזְקוּ מִמְּךָ וְהָלַכְתִּי לְהוֹשִׁיעַ לָךְ:	^19:12 וַיֹּאמֶר אִם-תֶּחֱזַק מִמֶּנִּי אֲרָם וְהָיִיתָ לִּי לִתְשׁוּעָה ס וְאִם-בְּנֵי עַמּוֹן יֶחֶזְקוּ מִמְּךָ X וְהוֹשַׁעְתִּיךָ:	12 And he said, “If Syria is too strong for me, then you can be there for my aid, but if the descendents of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will aid you.
12 ~~ἀνδρίζου~~ καὶ κραταιωθῶμεν ὑπὲρ τοῦ λαοῦ ἡμῶν καὶ περὶ τῶν πόλεων τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῶν, καὶ κύριος ποιήσει τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς αὐτοῦ.	12 Be thou courageous, and let us be strong for our people, and for the sake of the cities of our God, and the Lord shall do that which is good in his eyes.	12 Be of good courage, and let us ~~fight~~ for our people, and for the cityx of our God: and the Lord will do what is good in his sight.	12 Be of [good] courage, and let us play the men^Y for our people, and for the cities of our God: and the LORD do that which ~~seemeth~~ X him good.	12 Be strong and let’s strengthen ourselves in behalf of our people and in behalf of the cities of our God, and Yahweh will do what is good in His eyes.”	12 חֲזַק וְנִתְחַזַּק בְּעַד-עַמֵּנוּ וּבְעַד^Z עָרֵי אֱלֹהֵינוּ וַיהוָה יַעֲשֶׂה הַטּוֹב בְּעֵינָיו:	^19:13 חֲזַק וְנִתְחַזְּקָה בְּעַד-עַמֵּנוּ וּבְעַד עָרֵי אֱלֹהֵינוּ וַיהוָה הַטּוֹב בְּעֵינָיו יַעֲשֶׂה:	13 Be strong and let’s strengthen ourselves in behalf of our people and in behalf of the cities of our God, and Yahweh will do what is good in His eyes.”
13 καὶ προσῆλθεν Ιωαβ καὶ ὁ λαὸς αὐτοῦ μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ εἰς X πόλεμον πρὸς Συρίαν, καὶ ἔφυγαν ἀπὸ προσώπου αὐτοῦ.	13 And Joab and his people with him advanced to X battle against Syria, and they fled from before him.	13 And Joab and the people that were with him, ~~began~~ to X fight against the Syrians: & they [immediately] fled before him.	13 And Joab drew nigh, and the people that were with him, unto the battle against the Syrians: and they fled before him.	13 Then Joab (and the people who were with him) approached for the battle with the Syrians, but they fled from his face!	13 וַיִּגַּשׁ יוֹאָב וְהָעָם אֲשֶׁר עִמּוֹ לַמִּלְחָמָה בַּאֲרָם וַיָּנֻסוּ מִפָּנָיו:	^19:14 וַיִּגַּשׁ יוֹאָב וְהָעָם אֲשֶׁר-עִמּוֹ לִפְנֵי אֲרָם לַמִּלְחָמָה וַיָּנוּסוּ מִפָּנָיו:	14 Then Joab (and the people who were with him) approached in front of Syria for the battle, but they fled from his face!
14 καὶ οἱ υἱοὶ Αμμων εἶδαν ὅτι ἔφυγεν Συρία, καὶ ἔφυγαν ἀπὸ προσώπου Αβεσσα καὶ εἰσῆλθαν εἰς τὴν πόλιν. καὶ ἀνέστρεψεν Ιωαβ ἀπὸ τῶν υἱῶν Αμμων καὶ παρεγένοντο [εἰς] Ιερουσαλημ. --	14 And the children of Ammon saw that the Syria[ns] w~~ere~~ fled, and they fled from before Abessa, and entered into the city: and Joab returned from the children of Ammon, and came [to] Jerusalem.	14 And the children of Ammon see~~ing~~ that the Syria[ns] w~~ere~~ fled, they fled also before Abisai, and entered into the city: and Joab returned from the children of Ammon, and came to Jerusalem.	14 And when the children of Ammon saw that the Syria[ns] w~~ere~~ fled, then fled they [also] before Abishai, and entered into the city. So Joab returned from the children of Ammon, and came to Jerusalem.	14 When the descendents of Ammon saw that Syria had fled, they also fled from Abishai’s front and went into their city. Then Joab turned back from being against the descendents of Ammon, and he went to Jerusalem.	14 וּבְנֵי עַמּוֹן רָאוּ כִּי-נָס^AA אֲרָם וַיָּנֻסוּ^AB מִפְּנֵי אֲבִישַׁי וַיָּבֹאוּ הָעִיר וַיָּשָׁב יוֹאָב מֵעַל בְּנֵי עַמּוֹן וַיָּבֹא יְרוּשָׁלִָם:	^19:15 וּבְנֵי עַמּוֹן רָאוּ כִּי-נָס אֲרָם וַיָּנוּסוּ גַם-הֵם מִפְּנֵי אַבְשַׁי אָחִיו וַיָּבֹאוּ הָעִירָה וַיָּבֹא יוֹאָב X X X X יְרוּשָׁלִָם:פ	15 When the descendents of Ammon saw that Syria had fled, they also fled – even they – from the face of Abishai his brother, and they went into their city. Then Joab went to Jerusalem.
15 καὶ εἶδεν Συρία ὅτι ἔπταισεν ἔμπροσθεν Ισραηλ, καὶ συνήχθησαν ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό.	15 And the Syrians saw that they were worsted before Israel, and they gathered themselves together.	15 Then the Syrians seeing that they had fallen before Israel, gathered themselves together.	15 And when the Syrians saw that they were smitten before Israel, they gathered themselves together.	15 Now, when Syria saw that it had been routed before Israel, they assembled themselves together,	15 וַיַּרְא אֲרָם כִּי נִגַּף לִפְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיֵּאָסְפוּ יָחַד:	^19:16 וַיַּרְא אֲרָם כִּי נִגְּפוּ לִפְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל X X וַיִּשְׁלְחוּ מַלְאָכִים וַיּוֹצִיאוּ אֶת- אֲרָם אֲשֶׁר מֵעֵבֶר הַנָּהָר X X וְשׁוֹפַךְ^AC שַׂר- צְבָא הֲדַדְעֶזֶר לִפְנֵיהֶם:	16 Now, when the Syrians saw that they had been routed before Israel, they sent messengers who brought out the Syrians which were from across the river, and Shopak (the general of the army of Hadadezer) was at their front.

16 καὶ ἀπέστειλεν Αδρααζαρ καὶ ~~συν~~~~ήγαγεν~~ τὴν Συρίαν τὴν ἐκ τοῦ πέραν τοῦ ποταμοῦ [Χαλαμακ], καὶ παρεγένοντο Αιλαμ, καὶ Σωβακ ἄρχων τῆς δυνάμεως Αδρααζαρ ἔμπροσθεν αὐτῶν.	16 And Adraazar sent and ~~gathered~~ the Syrians X from the other side of the river [Chalamak], and they came to Ælam; and Sobac the captain of the host of Adraazar was at their ~~head~~.	16 And Adarezer sent and fetched the Syrians, that were beyond the river, and brought over their army^AD: and Sobach, the captain of the host of Adarezer, was their ~~general~~.	16 And Hadarezer sent, and brought out the Syrians that were beyond the river: and they came to Helam; and Shobach the captain of the host of Hadarezer went before them.	16 and Hadadezer sent a commission and brought out the Syrians who were from across the [Euphrates] River, and they went to Helam, and Shobac (the general of the army of Hadadezer) was at their front.	16 וַיִּשְׁלַח הֲדַדְעֶזֶר^AE וַיֹּצֵא אֶת- אֲרָם אֲשֶׁר מֵעֵבֶר הַנָּהָר וַיָּבֹאוּ חֵילָם^AF וְשׁוֹבַךְ שַׂר- צְבָא הֲדַדְעֶזֶר לִפְנֵיהֶם:
17 καὶ ἀνηγγέλη τῷ Δαυιδ, καὶ συνήγαγεν τὸν πάντα Ισραηλ καὶ διέβη τὸν Ιορδάνην καὶ παρεγένοντο εἰς Αιλαμ· καὶ παρετάξατο Συρία ἀπέναντι Δαυιδ καὶ ἐπολέμησαν μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ.	17 And it was reported to David, and he gathered all Israel, and went over Jordan, and came to Ælam: and the Syrians set the battle in array against X David, and fought with him.	17 And when this was told David, he gathered all Israel together, and passed over the Jordan, and came to Helam: and the Syrians set themselves in array against X David, and fought against him.	17 And when it was told David, he gathered all Israel together, and passed over Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Syrians set themselves in array against X David, and fought with him.	17 Presently this was communicated to David, so he mobilized all of Israel, and he went across the Jordan and came to Helam. Then the Syrians formed ranks to engage David, and they fought with him.	17 וַיֻּגַּד לְדָוִד ס וַיֶּאֱסֹף אֶת- כָּל-יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיַּעֲבֹר אֶת- הַיַּרְדֵּן וַיָּבֹא חֵלָאמָה וַיַּעַרְכוּ אֲרָם לִקְרַאת דָּוִד וַיִּלָּחֲמוּ עִמּוֹ:	^19:17וַיֻּגַּד לְדָוִיד וַיֶּאֱסֹף אֶת- כָּל-יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיַּעֲבֹר X הַיַּרְדֵּן וַיָּבֹא אֲלֵהֶם וַיַּעֲרֹךְ אֲלֵהֶם וַיַּעֲרֹךְx דָּוִיד לִקְרַאת אֲרָם מִלְחָמָה וַיִּלָּחֲמוּ עִמּוֹ:	17 Presently this was communicated to David, so he mobilized all of Israel, and he went across the Jordan and came to them. Then he formed ranks against them, and when David had formed ranks to engage Syria in battle, they fought with him.
18 καὶ ἔφυγεν Συρία ἀπὸ προσώπου Ισραηλ, καὶ ἀνεῖλεν Δαυιδ ἐκ τῆς Συρίας ἑπτακόσια ἅρματα καὶ τεσσαράκοντα χιλιάδας ἱππέων· καὶ τὸν Σωβακ τὸν ἄρχοντα τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ ἐπάταξεν, καὶ ἀπέθανεν ἐκεῖ.	18 And Syria fled from before Israel, and David destroyed of Syria seven hundred chariots, and forty thousand horsemen, and he smote Sobac the captain of his host, and he died there.	18 And the Syrians fled before Israel, and David slew of the Syrians [the men of] seven hundred chariots, and forty thousand horsemen: and smote Sobach the captain of ~~the~~ army, who ~~presently~~ died.	18 And the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew the men of seven hundred chariots of the Syrians, and forty thousand horsemen, and smote Shobach the captain of their host, who died there.	18 But Syria fled from the front of Israel, and David slaughtered 700 cavalrymen and 40,000 infantrymen of Syria, plus he struck down Shobac, the general of its army, such that he died there.	18 וַיָּנָס אֲרָם מִפְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיַּהֲרֹג דָּוִד מֵאֲרָם שְׁבַע מֵאוֹת רֶכֶב וְאַרְבָּעִים אֶלֶף פָּרָשִׁים וְאֵת שׁוֹבַךְ שַׂר-צְבָאוֹ הִכָּה וַיָּמָת שָׁם:	^19:18וַיָּנָס אֲרָם מִלִּפְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיַּהֲרֹג דָּוִיד מֵאֲרָם שִׁבְעַת אֲלָפִים^AG רֶכֶב וְאַרְבָּעִים אֶלֶף אִישׁ רַגְלִי וְאֵת שׁוֹפַךְ שַׂר-הַצָּבָאx x Xהֵמִית X:	18 But Syria fled from before Israel, and David slaughtered 7,000 cavalrymen and 40,000 infantry men of Syria, plus he put to death Shofac, the general of their army.
19 καὶ εἶδαν πάντες οἱ βασιλεῖς οἱ δοῦλοι Αδρααζαρ ὅτι ἔπταισαν ἔμπροσθεν Ισραηλ, καὶ ηὐτομόλησαν μετὰ Ισραηλ καὶ ἐδούλευσαν αὐτοῖς. καὶ ἐφοβήθη Συρία τοῦ σῶσαι ἔτι τοὺς υἱοὺς Αμμων.	19 And all the kings the servants of Adraazar saw that they were put to the worse before Israel, and they went over to Israel, and served them: and Syria was afraid to help the children of Ammon any more.	19 And all the kings that were auxiliaries of Adarezer, seeing themselves overcome by Israel, were afraid and fled away, eight and fifty thousand men before Israel. And they made peace with Israel: and served them, and all the Syrians were afraid to help the children of Ammon any more.	19 And when all the kings that were servants to Hadarezer saw that they were smitten before Israel, they made peace with Israel, and served them. So the Syrians feared to help the children of Ammon any more.	19 So all the kings – the vassals of Hadadezer – became respectful, because they had been routed in front of Israel, so they made peace with the Israelites and became vassals of them. Furthermore, the Syrians were afraid to bring aid to the descendants of Ammon again.	19 וַיִּרְאוּ כָל-הַמְּלָכִים עַבְדֵי הֲדַדְעֶזֶר כִּי נִגְּפוּ לִפְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיַּשְׁלִמוּ אֶת-יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיַּעַבְדוּם וַיִּרְאוּ אֲרָם לְהוֹשִׁיעַ עוֹד אֶת-בְּנֵי עַמּוֹן:פ	^19:19 וַיִּרְאוּ X X עַבְדֵי הֲדַדְעֶזֶר כִּי נִגְּפוּ לִפְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיַּשְׁלִימוּ עִם-דָּוִיד וַיַּעַבְדֻהוּ וְלֹא- אָבָה אֲרָם לְהוֹשִׁיעַ אֶת- בְּנֵי-עַמּוֹן עוֹד:פ	19 So the vassals of Hadadezer became respectful, because they had been routed in front of Israel, so they made peace with David and they became vassals of him. Furthermore, Syria was not willing to bring aid to the descendents of Ammon again.

1The Bibleworks map measures about 15 miles. K&D wrote that it was about 4 miles.

2Tsumura suggested Alema (modern ‘Alma) halfway between Rabbah and Damascus.

AMy original chart includes the NASB and NIV, but their copyright restrictions have forced me to remove them from the publicly-available edition of this chart. I have included the ESV in footnotes when it employs a word not already used by the KJV, NASB, or NIV. (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 10 is 4Q51Samuel^a, which contains fragments of vs. 4-7 & 18-19, 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/Syriac) 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}.

BI have marked up the parallel passage in the MT of 1 Chronicles by placing a capital X where a whole word found in the 2Sam text is not found in the 1Chr text, a lower case “x” when a letter of a word is in 2Sam but not 1Chr, grey text to indicate words in the 1Chr text not found in 2Sam, and orange text to indicate words where a synonym was substituted.

CTargums, Syriac, and MT of parallel passage in 1 Chronicles drop the daleth in this word to more clearly denote “with” rather than “faithful.” This spelling change does not change the meaning, however.

DThe LXX, Vulgate, Targums, Syriac, and several Hebrew manuscripts, as well as the parallel passage in 1 Chron. add a preposition here such as la or -l.

ESome Greek manuscripts have a similarly-spelled word καταστρέψαι, which means what the MT’s word means.

FThis word for “robes/garments” is not found in the O.T. outside of this verse and its parallel in 1 Chron. Lange and Keil & Delitzsch explained that it described a long robe that reached to the feet. They also noted that underwear was not a thing in those days, so it was indecent exposure.

GThis word is related to the area upon which an object rests. It is translated “foundation/pillar” in half of the four times it is used in the Bible (Ps. 11:3; Isa. 19:10) and “bottom/buttocks” in the only other instance (Isa. 20:4). The parallel passage in 1 Chron. 19 renders it with a hapex legomena related to the concept of taking a “step/stride.” If Hanun was merely suspicious and didn’t want spies, he could have come up with some kind of excuse to send them home quickly, but these extremely provocative insults seem to indicate that he (or perhaps his advisors) wanted to start a war.

HLXX and DSS and the parallel passage in 1 Chron 19 insert על הָאֲנָשִׁים “to the men” here, preceeding it with a preposition. The Vulgate, Syriac, and Targums support the MT, however.

IDSS and Vulgate omit –ב, but LXX, Targums, and Syriac have it. It doesn’t change the meaning because a preposition is implied, whether or not it is explicit.

JThis is the spelling of the DSS without a space inbetween the Hebrew word for “man” (ish) and the Hebrew word for “Tob/Tov.”

KOnly two words in the DSS match 2 Sam. 10:6; conversely, all but those two words in the DSS match the parallel passage in 1 Chr. 19:6-7 exactly, so the 1 Chron passage to the right will be colored purple to show the legible words in the DSS.

LCf. the only other two niphal forms of this verb: 1 Sam. 13:4 (Jonathan’s raid riled up the Philistines); 2 Sam. 16:21 (Ahithophel advised Absolom to publicly defile his father’s concubines.)

MDSS, LXX, Vulgate, and Syriac (followed by the KJV) read as a one-word proper noun. It doesn’t really make a difference in meaning, though.

NAt this point, all similarity between 2 Sam. 10:6 and 1 Chron. 19:6-7 ceases, so I stopped noting differences here. The numbers mentioned in the two passages, however, do sum the same, with 32,000 plus a thousand with the king of Maacah.

OLange said that a kikker/talent was “100 English pounds,” Easton that it was “94 3/7 lbs. Avoirdupois,” Keil & Delitzsch claimed it was “83 1/2 Dresden,” and Holliday defined it as “about 75 pounds,” a value accepted by McCarter, the NET Bible and the NLT.

PDSS instead reads “the men of Tob” here, which is the only point in the DSS of this verse that follows 2 Sam. 10:6 instead of 1 Chron. 19:7.

QMedeba is some 15 miles south of the Ammonite capitol of Rabboth-Ammon (Aman).

RDSS appears to read “to fight” instead of “to the battle,” but it’s the same basic idea and the same root word.

SThe beginning of this verse is illegible in the DSS, but there is more room there than there are characters in the MT to fill it. However, no other manuscript or version offers an extra word to fill the gap.

TAlthough God had forbidden the Israelites from conquering the Ammonites because they were a “cousin” nation, they were mobilizing an army to invade Israel, so Israel had to respond to defend itself. For the Israelites, it would be a 15+ mile march from Jerusalem to the border of Israel at the Jordan River, where it flows into the Dead Sea, then another 15 miles East to meet the Syrian and Ammonite armies, where the parallel passage in 1 Chronicles tells us they were assembled at the city of Medeba in Ammonite territory. It is odd that David did not go himself to this battle but “sent Joab.” Skipping out on fighting the battles of the Lord set the stage for David to violate the integrity of his family and the integrity of his kingdom.

USyriac and Targums read the synonym ‎ חֵילָ (without the definite article), but it doesn’t really change the meaning. Goldman commented that the “hosts” were different from the “mighty men” and therefore recommended inserting an “and” inbetween the two. K&D argued to the contrary that the two phrases were synonymous.

VThe Ammonites formed ranks in front of their capitol city of Rabbath-Ammon, while the Syrians formed a separate battle front at some distance from the city in the open country. This forced the Israelite army into a confined position inbetween the armies of Ammon and of Syria. A single army could only fight on one front successfully, so Joab had to divide the Israelite army in half and put the second half under his brother Abishai’s command so that they could fight both armies simultaneously. It appears that Joab saw the mercenary soldiers from Syria as a greater technical threat, so he picked the best Israelite soldiers to engage the Syrian front with him.

WLike the LXX and the Qere (margin note in the MT) and the Targums, the Vulgate doesn’t have the word “in” which is in the MT and in the Syriac and in the parallel passage in 1 Chron.

XAlthough the yod in the middle is missing in the MT here and in the parallel passage in 1 Chron, the versions are agreed that this is the same as Abishai.

YThis is a good translation of the first word in the verse of the LXX, but not of the MT.

ZThis word denotes representation (cf. 1 Samuel 12:19 and all the people said to Samuel, "Pray on behalf of your servants to Yahweh your God…” NAW). The soldiers are representatives of their people and of Godly civilization; they are what stands between the deadly forces of pagan chaos and the Godly continuation of their families. They must exhibit human strength in this contest, but at the same time, because they are the people of God and representatives of God’s cities they are also able to depend confidently upon God’s action on their behalf to preserve these good things.

AAThis is a perfect tense verb in the 3^rd masculine singular form, properly translated “he [Syria] had fled.”

ABTargums inserts ‎ אף אינון, Syriac inserts‎ אף הנון, and Vulgate substitutes ipsi for “they fled,” which makes three witnesses to the insert “even they” in the MT of the parallel passage in 1 Chron. There is no known copy of the DSS with this verse. The LXX uncharacteristically matches the MT here.

ACThe Syriac of this verse is spelled the same as it is in the parallel passage in 2 Sam 10, but the LXX, Vulgate, and Targums support the MT spelling. Could the argument Goldman used against “Hadarezer” be used against “Shobac” (which is not a root in use) in favor of “Shaphac” (which at least means something “outpour”)?

ADThis is actually a fair translation of the Hebrew word in the MT. Other versions transliterate it instead as a place name, as does the Vulgate in the next occurance in the subsequent verse.

AEMultiple Hebrew manuscripts, as well as the Septuagint, Syriac, and English KJV & DRB versions (although not the Vulgate) read Hadar- instead of Hadad-ezer here and in the other occurances between here and the end of the chapter. The Hebrew “r” and “d” look very similar, so could have been visually confused by a copy-scribe. Such variance is typical when transliterating proper names into other languages, and it happened before with the same name in chapter 8, but it doesn’t change the story. Goldman suggested that “Hadad” must be correct because Hadad was the name of a Syrian god, so it would make sense of the name for the king to be the “helper of Hadad.” This logic is not unimpeachable, however. Something similar could be said of the variation between the MT spellings of Hadadezer’s army general, although it would seem more likely that the confusion could have come from the similar sound of the letters for “p” and “b” (both bilabial stop phonemes) rather than visual similarity.

AFTsumura and the Moody Atlas concurr that it was in the transjordan area somewhere that hasn’t been identified - but probably about halfway between Rabboth Ammon and Damascus. The Vulgate translation “their army” instead of “Helam” makes sense both here and in the next verse, if you go with the spelling of the MT in 1 Chron. 19:17. Alternately, if we accept the spelling of the MT in 2 Sam. 10:17 with the directional he suffix, that would weigh in favor of it being a place name.

AGGill: “[I]n 1Chon. 19:17, they are said to be seven thousand, here seven hundred; which may be reconciled by observing, that here the chariots that held the men are numbered, there the number of the men that were in the chariots given, and reckoning ten men in a chariot, seven hundred chariots held just seven thousand men; though Kimchi takes another way of reconciling the two places, by observing that here only the choicest chariots are mentioned, there all of them...”