Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 24 Jly 2022
We pick up where we left off in the middle of chapter 15, with Absalom having announced himself king, and King David, his father, evacuating Jerusalem in anticipation of an attack.
David is somewhere near the Eastern gate of the city, where the hill slopes down toward Kidron creek, and he is noting who all is evacuating with him.
Then he crosses the creek at the bottom of the valley and heads away from Jerusalem Eastward up the side of the Mount of Olives and beyond toward Jericho and the flatlands along the Jordan River.
David’s “servants” are mentioned in v.15, his “household” in v. 16, and his 600 veteran soldier bodyguards in v. 18, and, in v. 30 there seem to be a lot more of “the people” of Israel loyally following David into exile, weeping with him as he weeps, and covering their heads as a symbol of sadness as he covers his head.
What a comfort good friends can be when we are going through a stressful time!
During this time, the Bible describes three encounters with good friends that David had. Let’s look together at what God’s word highlights about these friends and learn and grow in our friendships!
READ
passage in NAW:
Then the king said to Ittai the
Gittite, “Why are you also coming with me? Return and settle
down with the king, for you are a foreigner, and you have already
uprooted {from} your place. It was yesterday that you came, and now
today, am I to go move you around with us, when I am going where
ever I am going? Return, and make your brothers return. {And may
Yahweh perform} lovingkindness and faithfulness with you!” But
Ittai answered the king and said, “As long as Yahweh is alive
and my master the king is alive, then {} I will be in the place
where my master the king is there, whether to death or to life, for
that is where your servant will be!” So, David said to Ittai,
“Go on and cross over.” And Ittai the Gittite crossed
over, along with all of his men, and every little one who was with
him. And everybody in the country was weeping with a loud voice
while all the people were crossing over. Then the king crossed over
Kidron creek, and all the people crossed over onto the road facing
the wilderness. And also there was Zadok and all the Levites with
him carrying the ark of the covenant of God. (Abiathar had also come
up.) And they set down the ark of God until all the people had
completed crossing over from the city. Then the king said to Zadok,
“Return the ark of God to the city. If I find grace in the
eyes of Yahweh, then He will cause me to return, and He will cause
me to see it – that is, His home, but if He should say thus,
‘I have not delighted in you,’ here I am, He will do to
me according to what is good in His eyes.” Furthermore, the
king said to Zadok the priest, “Are you a seer? Please return
to the city in peace along with Ahimaaz your son and Jonathan the
son of Abiathar, both of y’all’s sons with y’all.
Y’all keep watch. As for me I will linger in the {plains} of
the wilderness until word comes from among y’all to
communicate with me.” So Zadok (with Abiathar) returned the
ark of God to Jerusalem, and they settled down there. Meanwhile,
David was ascending up the Mount of Olives, going up and weeping
with his head covered, and he was walking barefoot, and all of the
people who were with him, each covered his head, and they went up,
ascending and weeping. Presently {it was} communicated {to} David,
saying, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom,”
so David said, “Please befuddle the counsel of Ahithophel, O
Yahweh.” Then it happened as David arrived at the top, which
was where he would bow down before God, that Hushai the Arkite was
there to call on him. His tunic was ripped up, and dirt was on his
head.” And David said to him, “If you go over with me,
then you would become a burden on me, but if you would return to the
city and say to Absalom, ‘I myself shall be your servant, O
king. A servant of your father I indeed was in the past, but now I
am also your servant!’ Thus you may subvert Ahithophel’s
counsel for me. Now, won’t Zadok and Abiathar the priests be
with you there? So it shall be that every word which you hear out of
the house of the king you shall communicate to Zadok and to Abiathar
the priests. Both of their sons will be there with them: Zadok’s
Achimaaz and Abithar’s Jonathan, so, by the agency of them,
y’all can send to me every word that y’all hear!”
So David’s friend Hushai went into the city, and, as for
Absalom, he entered Jerusalem.
The first of David’s three friends who comes into view in this passage is:
“Gittite” means “from Gath,” so Ittai is probably a Philistine, which would explain why David calls him a “foreigner.” He also seems to be a proselyte who had converted to worship the God of Israel.
It has been suggested that this is King Achish’s son (Osiander) or that he was the captain of the Philistine army whom David had conquered in chapter 8 (Junius, Willett), but that is just speculation.
He seems to have left Gath as political refugee to live with David in Israel, which would explain his status as an “exile” or displaced person.
David had done that very thing in reverse, escaping Saul’s regime in Israel for assylum in Gath some years before, so David understood exactly what that kind of personal upheaval felt like,
and, as a good friend, he wants to spare Ittai from more stress than necessary1. David knows he is going to have to go back to living in the wilderness like a hunted animal, and he doesn’t want his friend to have to share such an unpleasant experience, so he gives his friend a face-saving way out by giving him the command twice to “return” into Jerusalem - “go back and stay with the king!”
“Sleep on a bed, live in a castle, eat at royal dinners. Absalom will treat you like a foreign dignitary; don’t make yourself an enemy of this state too by throwing in your lot with me, the disgraced former-king. Haven’t you had enough stress already with being an exile from Gath?”
David also wants his friend Ittai to experience God’s blessings.
The Enlightenment-era Hebrew manuscript on which the KJV, NAS, and NIV based their translation, doesn’t explicitly say the name of Yahweh or the verb, like the more ancient manuscripts do,
but all the English Bibles at least cite the nature of the blessing, which is “mercy and truth/lovingkindness and faithfulness, chesed v’emet,” and, in the light of the rest of scripture we rightly conclude that these things only come from God.
David wants God’s covenant blessings of God’s love and forgiveness and spiritual presence and guiding word to be in his Philistine friend’s life.
Notice also that Ittai swears by Yahweh. Even though he is not an Israelite, he has been so impacted by his brief time with David that he, at least in some manner, embraces faith in David’s God. True friends share their faith and seek God’s blessings on each other!
Note that David calls Absalom “king,” even though there was not a proper transfer of power. But Ittai doesn’t accept that the kingdom has transferred to Absalom. He calls David “my lord the king.”
Also, because Ittai reciprocates the friendship with David, Ittai doesn’t accept David’s thoughtful idea to stay on in comfort in Jerusalem. He tells David, “Wherever you are, my master and my king, that’s where I want to be. I don’t care if it means I have to die with you, I want to stick with you.”
Proverbs 17:17 “A friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity.” (NKJV)
This is where friendship is proven: in adversity. Do you still want to associate even when they become unpopular, or poor, or sick? Or will you throw them under the bus when they become inconvenient?
True friends stick with you and don’t leave you lonely when the going gets rough.
The second important friend highlighted in this passage is Zadok - and Abiathar comes along beside him. Both were priests.
Abiathar had faithfully served Saul and then David as a priest. He was a descendent of Eli, who was descended from Aaron’s 4th son Ithamar.
Zadok was the first descendant of Aaron’s third son Eleazar to qualify for the office of priest after generations of disqualification.2 Here for the first time we see Zadok beginning to be more prominent in David’s administration than Abithar, in fulfillment of God’s judgment on Eli and his descendants (1 Sam. 2:33).
These priests are looking out for David’s spiritual needs.
They know that David is the one whom God had anointed to be king over Israel, and they are going to be loyal to him and supportive of God’s choice for David’s successor, whenever God reveals that.
In removing the ark from Jerusalem, they are readying themselves for the long, hard work of establishing another capitol city for David in a politically-divided Israel.
And in bringing the ark with them, they are praying for God to bless David in whatever he is about to do.
Some even think that Abiathar went on up to the top of the mount of Olives and offered sacrifices to God to pray for God’s blessings and protection over David and his company.
What dedicated friendship! Good friends pray God’s blessings on you and will help you even when it comes at a cost to them.
But David says that God’s home-base is Jerusalem; it is not appropriate to take the ark back out of the Promised Land into the wilderness. David then tells the priests that if God is gracious to him, then God will return him to Jerusalem and will allow him to enjoy God’s special presence in the ark there in Jerusalem.
He uses an interesting word to describe God’s special presence: it’s the Hebrew word נָוֵה, translated “tabernacle, habitation, tent, dwelling place, beauty, or home” in the various English versions. What is this referring to?
Psalm 79 gives us the key to interpreting this word. Psalm 79 was written a few hundred years later when the Babylonians had conquered Jerusalem and taken the Jews into exile. In verse 1, it says, “O God, the nations have come into Your inheritance; Your holy temple they have defiled; They have laid Jerusalem in heaps…” and then we see a parallel statement in verse 7 “For they have devoured Jacob, And laid waste his נָוֵה.”
What did they lay waste? Jerusalem, the capitol city of Israel. It’s the home where they belonged.
David recognizes that the ark belongs in Jerusalem, the capitol of Israel, rather than with him personally. God’s special presence was not intended to be just for David, but for all of God’s people.
Now we have a broader understanding of the meaning of the ark,
where the blood of the lamb touched God, where the original word of God in the form of the 10 Commandments was stored, where the bread that came down from heaven was preserved –
every one of those symbols pointed to Jesus, the bread which came down from heaven, the word of God, and the God-man whose blood atoned for sin.
The ark disappeared with the Chalean invasion of Jerusalem in the 500’s BC, and it was replaced with the person of Jesus Christ, whose home is now in heaven.
I think that David’s statement that God, in His mercy, might cause David to see His “home” has a double-meaning,
the more-immediate one being that David expects God to bring him back to Jerusalem before long,
but the more eternal meaning being that David expects to be with the LORD God in heaven forever.
David says, in effect, “Thanks for looking out for my spiritual needs, brothers! My faith in God is going to remain strong!”
Now comes David’s request. He knows that Zadok and Abiathar will remain loyal friends, so he asks them to provide reconnaisance for him, to let him know of any impending attacks.
Perhaps David’s question to Zadok, “Are you a seer3?” is a sort of a segueway from talking about his role as priest to taking on a role as a spy who “sees” things and passes along the information from what he’s seen. (Normally, a “seer” was a prophet who saw spiritual visions and spoke of God.) So Zadok (and his son) and Abiathar (and his son) were to return to Jerusalem and be eyes for David.
By the way, if it’s confusing to you that only one son of Zadok is mentioned, but David says to take “both sons,” it’s because the Hebrew word for “your” is plural.
In other words, David didn’t say to Zadok, “You, sir, take two of your own sons,” rather he said to Zadok and Abiathar, “You guys, y’all take the two sons you have between you;” we’ve just lost the ability to distinguish the singular and plural “you” in contemporary English.
Likewise, at the end of the chapter, David uses the plural “you” to include - not only Hushai but also - Zadok and Abiathar in their task of relaying information from Absalom’s palace to David’s hideout.
Now we come to the third friend who met David on his way out of Jerusalem:
1 Chron. 27:33 tells us that “Ahithophel was the king's counselor, and Hushai the Archite was the king's companion.” So both had been confidants of David.
The term “Archite” indicates that Hushai lived along the ridge road between Gibeon and Bethel and thus was of the tribe of Benjamin. (Josh. 16:2)
Hushai is probably an elderly man,
judging from the fact that he could be a rival to the country’s most-prominent adviser,
judging from the respect that people had for him,
and judging from David’s comment that Hushai might be a burden to him. (The only other person thought to be a “burden” to David was 80-year-old Barzillai later on in ch. 19.)
It is unclear where Hushai just came from; perhaps he lived outside of Jerusalem, like Ahithophel also did -
maybe Hushai even had his home on the Mount of Olives.
Or maybe he lived closer to Hebron and heard of Absalom’s revolt and hurried up the mountain to intercept David, knowing that would be the escape route David would take.
Whatever the case, as David crests the hill at the Mount of Olives, there is Hushai to meet him. Hushai has already heard the news of David’s overthrow and has taken the time to rip up the tunic that he was wearing and put dirt on his head as a way to show that he was sad about how David had been mistreated and that he wanted to sympathize with David.
David had been weeping.
Some think that covering the head while weeping, as David and his followers did, was a way to keep others from seeing their tears and their shame and just keep it between you and God (cf. Jer. 14:3).
But a friend sees your tears and enters into the emotions you are feeling.
David is also thinking of Hushai.
He wanted the best for Hushai, as a good friend will, and he figured the safest, most comfortable place Hushai could be would be in the palace, secretly subverting any advice given by Ahithophel that might harm David, and secretly informing David of Absalom’s plans.
Besides, David was thinking he was probably going to have to be scrambling up and down hills trying to get away from an army of enemies pretty soon, and he didn’t want to put an elderly man like Hushai through that.
Hushai was just the man that David needed to be a mole inside Absalom’s court, and Hushai conscientiously followed David’s advice.
David’s suggestion that Hushai tell Absalom that he would be Absalom’s servant was not necessarily asking him to tell a lie, but it was intentionally misleading. As the story plays out, Hushai continues down this path of saying things that could be interpreted as support of Absalom while not necessarily being outright lies4. The result is a bit messy, so this account doesn’t necessarily condone saying misleading things.
Also, David’s suggestion that Hushai could “thwart/frustrate/defeat/subvert” Ahithophel’s political advice to Absalom was taken quite literally by Hushai. The Hebrew verb parar that David used has to do with “dividing loyalties, creating differences of opinion, or splitting relationships up due to a lack of trust,” and that is exactly what Hushai did. Creating factions is a very effective way of bringing down an organization.
Arrangements are also made for Hushai to send news from Absalom’s court out to David through the sympathetic priests, Zadok and Abiathar, whose sons could act as runners.
After Hushai accepts this mission and fulfills it, we don’t hear anything more from him, except that his son Baana became an advisor to Solomon (1 Kgs. 4:16), an indication that he was faithful with raising his children in wisdom.
So there we have three good friends of David during this difficult time in his life:
Ittai the Gittite: whose friendship with David teaches us:
To be there for our friends at all times, even through adversity.
To be considerate and seek the best for our friends, what will be most comfortable for them.
And to share our faith and seek God’s blessings on our friends.
Zadok & Abiathar the priests, whose friendship with David teaches us:
To look out for the spiritual needs of our friends and pray God’s blessings on them.
To remind our friends of the presence of Jesus.
And to change our plans to defer to a friend’s need, even if it comes at a cost to us.
And Hushai the Archite, whose friendship with David teaches us:
To listen and observe carefully and to enter into our friends’ feelings and sympathize with them.
I am reminded of Romans 12:9-16 “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality... Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.” (NKJV)
But there is another friendship which is overarching all three of these friendships, and that is David’s friendship with God. David recognized that the friendship of God is more important than the friendship of even Ittai, Zadok, and Hushai.
Proverbs 18:24 “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” (ESV)
In vs.25-26, David affirms trust in God as his sovereign master – more than just a friend:
David doesn’t say, “I deserve to be back in Jerusalem as king, hosting God’s special presence in the ark. I have earned that right through decades of deprivation, fighting great battles against the Lord’s enemies, and working hard for years to prepare this special place in Jerusalem for the ark.”
Rather he says, “If I find grace/favor in the eyes of Yahweh, then He will cause me to return and He will cause me to see... His home/His habitation/His dwelling-place.”
It is only on the basis of God’s grace that any of us can experience peace with God and eternal life in heaven. In Jesus’ parable, the Pharisee who thought he was better than the average person did not earn a right status with God, but the Tax-collector who humbly prayed, “God have mercy on me a sinner,” was the one whom God blessed.
David’s trust in God is amazing. He tells Zadok that he trusts God so completely that even if God doesn’t bless him, he will submit to whatever God decides is good. “Even if God says, ‘I don’t like you,’ here I stand, let God do to me according to what is good in His eyes.”
Do you trust God enough to say, “You’re more than a friend to me. You’re my sovereign master. Despite what I want, I want You to do whatever You thinks is best. ‘Let Your will be done,’ and I’ll say, ‘Whatever my God ordains is right’?
In v.31, David recognizes that God is that “friend who sticks closer than a brother” through a “flare prayer.”
The instant David learns of the threat of Ahithophel his political advisor turning against him to help Absalom’s rebellion, David requests of God that Ahithophel would become befuddled so as to start giving foolish advice to Absalom.
David doesn’t wait until the next time he can go to church to pray to God.
David doesn’t wait until his daily quiet time to pray. It is instantaneous.
He knows God is right there to be his friend to listen to him pray any time of the day, so he prays the thing that is on his mind at the moment, “Lord befuddle Ahithophel’s advice!”
David prayed that before he formed his plan with Hushai. His friendship with God took precedence over his other friends.
What an awesome privelege to have the all-powerful creator of the universe at our beck and call any time of day you want to have a word with Him! Are you milking that for all it’s worth?
When we hear in the news of some terrible plan by a powerful leader, why not follow David’s example and pray that God would befuddle their evil plans?
Job affirmed in Job chapter 12 that “strength and wisdom belong to God, He is sovereign over both the deceived and the deceiver, He leads counselors away to be plundered, And makes fools of judges. He loosens [or binds] kings… And overthrows the mighty. He deprives the trusted ones of speech, And takes away the discernment of the elders... He makes nations great, and destroys them; He enlarges nations, and guides them.” (Job 12:16-23) This awesome God is your friend. Pray for Him to do these kinds of things in accordance with His word!
Then in v. 32, I see a third way that David expressed the priority of his friendship with God, and that is in the parenthical phrase that the top of the Mount of Olives was “where he bowed down before God.”
Now, most modern versions distance that act of worship from David and say instead that that is where “people” worshipped God (NIV), or that was where “God was worshipped,”
but the Hebrew verb is third person masculine singular “he,” and it is active, “He worshipped God...”
Who worshipped God? I believe the historic versions like the King James and Septuagint and Vulgate are correct that it was David who worshipped God there.
And what did that worship look like? In addition to “bowing” before God in worship and prayer, I think Matthew Henry and John Gill were on to something in their commentaries when they suggested that this was where David wrote Psalm 3, as an act of worship.
Friendship with God takes investment in that friendship. David had a special place where he liked to worship God. It’s intriguing to consider that David’s special place might possibly have been the same Garden of Gethsemane at the top of the Mount of Olives which Jesus also chose as a special place of prayer and worship. David invested time and thought in building his friendship with God. He even wrote out prayers that we now use as psalms.
Are you investing in your friendship with God? Do you have special places you like to spend time with Him? Are you investing thought in building that relationship, maybe finding some creative form to do that? The friendship of God is worth the investment!
By the way, what does it take to become a friend of God and enjoy the blessings of being able to trust Him implicitly as your sovereign master and to pray to Him at any time and to have those special places and forms of worship that David enjoyed? How do you become a friend of God?
James 2:23 "ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS ACCOUNTED TO HIM FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS." And he was called the friend of God.” (NKJV)
Then in John 15:14, Jesus said, “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.” (NKJV)
So how do you become a friend of God and Jesus? Trust in Him and obey Him!
Evangelize
Mark 5:19 However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, "Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you."
Sympathize
Luke 5:34 And He said to them, "Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them?”
Luke 15:9 “And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!'”
Share life, mission, knowledge
John 15:13-15 “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.”
Philemon 1:1 “Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved friend and fellow laborer,”
Support, protect, care for
Acts 19:31 “Then some of the officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent to him pleading that he would not venture into the theater.”
Acts 24:23 “So he [Governor Felix] commanded the centurion to keep Paul and to let him have liberty, and told him not to forbid any of his friends to provide for or visit him.”
Acts 27:3 “...Julius treated Paul kindly and gave him liberty to go to his friends and receive care.”
Trust and side with
Matthew 5:25 "Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison.”
Luke 5:20 Seeing their faith, He said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven you."
James 2:23b "ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS ACCOUNTED TO HIM FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS. And he was called the friend of God.”
James 4:4 “...Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”
LXX |
Brenton |
DRB |
KJV |
NAW |
MT |
19
καὶ εἶπεν ὁ
βασιλεὺς πρὸς
Εθθι τὸν Γεθθαῖον
Ἵνα τί πορεύῃ
καὶ σὺ μεθ᾿
ἡμῶν; ἐπίστρεφε
καὶ οἴκει
μετὰ τοῦ βασιλέως,
ὅτι ξένος εἶ
σὺ καὶ |
19
And the king said to Ethi, the Gittite, Why dost thou also go with
us? return, and dwell
with the king, for thou art a stranger, and X
thou
[has
come
forth as]
a sojourner |
19
And the king said to Ethai the Gethite: Why comest thou X
with us: return and dwell
with the king, for thou art a stranger, and X
X art
come |
19 Then said the king to Ittai the Gittite, Wherefore goest thou also with us? return to thy place, and abide with the king: for thou art a stranger, and X also an exile. |
19 Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, “Why are you also coming with me? Return and settle down with the king, for you are a foreigner, and you have already uprooted {from} your place. |
19 וַיֹּאמֶר הַמֶּלֶךְ אֶל-אִתַּי הַגִּתִּי לָמָּה תֵלֵךְ גַּם-אַתָּה אִתָּנוּ שׁוּב וְשֵׁב עִם- הַמֶּלֶךְ כִּי-נָכְרִי אַתָּה וְגַם-גֹּלֶה אַתָּה Bלִמְקוֹמֶךָ: |
20 [εἰ] ἐχθὲς παραγέγονας, καὶ σήμερον κινήσω σε μεθ᾿ ἡμῶν [καί γε μεταναστήσεις τὸν τόπον σου; ἐχθὲς ἡ ἐξέλευσίς σου, καὶ σήμερον μετακινήσω σε μεθ᾿ ἡμῶν] τοῦ πορευθῆναι; καὶ ἐγὼ πορεύσομαι οὗ ἂν ἐγὼ πορευθῶ. ἐπιστρέφου καὶ ἐπίστρεψον τοὺς ἀδελφούς σου μετὰ σοῦ, [καὶ [κύριος ποιήσει μετὰ σοῦ] ἔλεος καὶ ἀλήθειαν. |
20 [Whereas] thou camest yesterday, shall I to-day cause thee to travel [with us, and shalt thou thus change thy place? thou didst come forth yesterday, and to-day shall I set thee in motion] to go along with us? I indeed will go whithersoever I may go: return [then], and cause thy brethren to return with thee, [and may the Lord deal] mercifully and truly [with thee]. |
20 Yesterday thou camest, and to day shalt thou be forced to go forth with us? but I shall go whither I am going: return thou, and take back thy brethren with thee[, and the Lord will shew thee] mercy, and truth, because thou hast shewn] grace and fidelity. |
20
[Whereas]
thou camest but
yesterday, should I this day make
thee go up and down
with us? X
seeing
I go whither I |
20 It was yesterday that you came, and now today, am I to go move you around with us, when I am going where ever I am going? Return, and make your brothers return. {And may Yahweh perform} lovingkindness and faithfulness with you!” |
20 תְּמוֹל בּוֹאֶךָ וְהַיּוֹם אֲנוֹעֲךָC עִמָּנוּ לָלֶכֶת וַאֲנִי הוֹלֵךְ עַל אֲשֶׁר- אֲנִי הוֹלֵךְ שׁוּב וְהָשֵׁב אֶת-אַחֶיךָ D עִמָּךְ חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת: |
21 καὶ ἀπεκρίθη Εθθι τῷ βασιλεῖ καὶ εἶπεν Ζῇ κύριος καὶ ζῇ X ὁ κύριός μου ὁ βασιλεύς, ὅτι X εἰς τὸν τόπον, οὗ ἐὰν ᾖ ὁ κύριός X X μου, καὶ ἐὰν εἰς θάνατον καὶ ἐὰν εἰς ζωήν, ὅτι ἐκεῖ ἔσται ὁ δοῦλός σου. |
21 And Ethi answered the king and said, As the Lord lives and as my lord the king lives, X X in the place wheresoever my lord X X shall be X, whether it be for death or X life, X there shall thy servant be. |
21 And Ethai answered the king, saying: As the Lord liveth, and as my lord the king liveth: X X in what place soever thou shalt be, my lord, O king, either in death, or in life, X there will thy servant be. |
21 And Ittai answered the king, and said, As the LORD liveth, and as my lord the king liveth, X surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or X life, even there [also] will thy servant be. |
21 But Ittai answered the king and said, “As long as Yahweh is alive and my master the king is alive, then {} I will be in the place where my master the king is there, whether to death or to life, for that is where your servant will be!” |
21 וַיַּעַן אִתַּי אֶת-הַמֶּלֶךְ וַיֹּאמַר חַי-יְהוָה וְחֵי אֲדֹנִי הַמֶּלֶךְ Eכִּי אִםF-בִּמְקוֹם אֲשֶׁר יִהְיֶה-שָּׁם אֲדֹנִי הַמֶּלֶךְ אִם- לְמָוֶת אִם-לְחַיִּים כִּי-שָׁם יִהְיֶה עַבְדֶּךָ: |
22
καὶ εἶπεν |
22
And |
22
And David said to Ethai: Come, and pass
over.
And Ethai the Gethite passed,
and all the men that were with him, and the rest of the |
22 And David said to Ittai, Go and pass over. And Ittai the Gittite passed over, and all his men, and all the little one[s] that were with him. |
22 So, David said to Ittai, “Go on and cross over.” And Ittai the Gittite crossed over, along with all of his men, and every little one who was with him. |
22 וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד אֶל-אִתַּי לֵךְ וַעֲבֹר וַיַּעֲבֹר אִתַּי הַגִּתִּי וְכָל-אֲנָשָׁיו וְכָל-הַטַּף אֲשֶׁר אִתּוֹ: |
23 καὶ πᾶσα ἡ γῆ ἔκλαιεν φωνῇ μεγάλῃ. καὶ πᾶς ὁ λαὸς παρεπορεύοντο [ἐν τῷ χειμάρρῳ Κεδρων], καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς διέβη τὸν χειμάρρουν Κεδρων· καὶ πᾶς ὁ λαὸς [καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς] παρεπορεύοντο ἐπὶ πρόσωπον ὁδοῦ τὴν ἔρημον. -- |
23 And all the country wept with a loud voice. And all the people passed by [over the brook of Kedron]; and the king crossed the brook Kedron: and all the people [and the king] passed on toward the way of the wilderness. |
23
And they all X
wept
with a loud voice, and all the people passed
over:
the king also [himself]
went
over
the brook Cedron, and all the people |
23 And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over: the king also [himself] passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over, toward the way of the wilderness. |
23 And everybody in the country was weeping with a loud voice while all the people were crossing over. Then the king crossed over Kidron creek, and all the people crossed over onto the road facing the wilderness. |
23 וְכָל-הָאָרֶץ בּוֹכִים קוֹל גָּדוֹל וְכָל-הָעָם עֹבְרִים וְהַמֶּלֶךְ עֹבֵר בְּנַחַל קִדְרוֹן וְכָל-הָעָם עֹבְרִים עַל-פְּנֵי- דֶרֶךְ אֶת- הַמִּדְבָּר: |
24
καὶ ἰδοὺ καί
γε Σαδωκ καὶ
πάντες
οἱ Λευῖται
μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ
αἴροντες
τὴν κιβωτὸν
διαθήκης |
24
And behold also Sadoc, and all the Levites were with him, bearing
the ark of the covenant of the |
24
And Sadoc the priest also |
24 And lo Zadok also, and all the Levites were with him, bearing the ark of the covenant of God: and they set down the ark of God; and Abiathar went up, until all the people had done passing out of the city. |
24 And also there was Zadok and all the Levites with him carrying the ark of the covenant of God. (Abiathar had also come up.) And they set down the ark of God until all the people had completed crossing over from the city. |
24 וְהִנֵּה גַם- צָדוֹק וְכָל- הַלְוִיִּם אִתּוֹ נֹשְׂאִים אֶת-אֲרוֹן בְּרִית הָאֱלֹהִים וַיַּצִּקוּH אֶת-אֲרוֹן הָאֱלֹהִים וַיַּעַל אֶבְיָתָרI עַד-תֹּם כָּל-הָעָם לַעֲבוֹר מִן-הָעִיר: |
25 καὶ εἶπεν ὁ βασιλεὺς τῷ Σαδωκ Ἀπόστρεψον τὴν κιβωτὸν τοῦ θεοῦ εἰς τὴν πόλιν· ἐὰν εὕρω χάριν ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς κυρίου, καὶ ἐπιστρέψει με καὶ δείξει μοι αὐτὴν καὶ τὴν εὐπρέπειαν αὐτῆς· |
25 And the king said to Sadoc, Carry back the ark of God into the city: if I should find favour in the eyes of the Lord, then will he bring me back, and he will shew me it and its beauty. |
25 And the king said to Sadoc: Carry back the ark of God into the city: if I shall find grace in the sightX of the Lord, X he will bring me again, and he will shew me it, and his tabernacle. |
25 And the king said unto Zadok, Carry back the ark of God into the city: if I shall find favour in the eyes of the LORD, X he will bring me again, and shew me both it, and his habitation: |
25 Then the king said to Zadok, “Return the ark of God to the city. If I find grace in the eyes of Yahweh, then He will cause me to return, and He will cause me to see it – that is, His home, |
25 וַיֹּאמֶר הַמֶּלֶךְ לְצָדוֹק הָשֵׁב אֶת-אֲרוֹן הָאֱלֹהִים הָעִיר אִם-אֶמְצָא חֵן בְּעֵינֵי יְהוָה וֶהֱשִׁבַנִי וְהִרְאַנִי אֹתוֹ וְאֶת-נָוֵהוּ: |
26 καὶ ἐὰν εἴπῃ οὕτως Οὐκ ἠθέληκα ἐν σοί, ἰδοὺ [ἐγώ εἰμι], ποιείτω μοι κατὰ τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς αὐτοῦ. |
26 But if he should say thus, I have no pleasure in thee; behold, [here I am], let him do to me according to that which is good in his eyes. |
26
But if he shall say |
26
But if he thus say, I have no delight in thee; behold,
here
am
I,
let him do to me as X
|
26 but if He should say thus, ‘I have not delighted in you,’ here I am, He will do to me according to what is good in His eyes.” |
26 וְאִם כֹּה יֹאמַר לֹא חָפַצְתִּי בָּךְ הִנְנִי יַעֲשֶׂה- לִּי כַּאֲשֶׁר טוֹב בְּעֵינָיו: ס |
27
καὶ εἶπεν ὁ
βασιλεὺς τῷ
Σαδωκ τῷ ἱερεῖ
|
27
And the king said to Sadoc the priest, |
27 And the king said to Sadoc the priest: O seer, X return into the city in peace: and let Achimaas thy son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar, your two sons, be with you. |
27 The king said also unto Zadok the priest, Art not thou a seer? return into the city in peace, and your two sons with you, Ahimaaz thy son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. |
27 Furthermore, the king said to Zadok the priest, “Are you a seer? Please return to the city in peace along with Ahimaaz your son and Jonathan the son of Abiathar, both of y’all’s sons with y’all. |
27וַיֹּאמֶר הַמֶּלֶךְ אֶל-צָדוֹק הַכֹּהֵן Lהֲרוֹאֶה אַתָּה שֻׁבָה הָעִיר בְּשָׁלוֹם וַאֲחִימַעַץ בִּנְךָ וִיהוֹנָתָן בֶּן- אֶבְיָתָר שְׁנֵי בְנֵיכֶם אִתְּכֶם: |
28 ἴδετε ἐγώ εἰμι στρατεύομαι ἐν αραβωθM τῆς ἐρήμου ἕως τοῦ ἐλθεῖν ῥῆμα παρ᾿ ὑμῶν τοῦ ἀπαγγεῖλαί μοι. |
28 Behold, I continue in arms in ArabothN of the desert, until there come tiding[s] from you to report to me. |
28
Behold I will lie
hid
X
in the |
28
See, I will tarry
X
in the |
28 Y’all keep watch. As for me I will linger in the {plains} of the wilderness until word comes from among y’all to communicate with me.” |
28 רְאוּ אָנֹכִי מִתְמַהְמֵהַּP בְּעַבְרוֹתQ הַמִּדְבָּר עַד בּוֹא דָבָר מֵעִמָּכֶם לְהַגִּיד לִי: |
29
καὶ ἀπέστρεψεν
Σαδωκ καὶ Αβιαθαρ
τὴν κιβωτὸν εἰς
Ιερουσαλημ
καὶ ἐκάθισ |
29
So Sadoc and Abiathar brought back the ark of the Lord to
Jerusalem,
and |
29 So Sadoc and Abiathar carried back the ark of God [into] Jerusalem: and they tarried there. |
29 Zadok therefore and Abiathar carried the ark of God again to Jerusalem: and they tarried there. |
29 So Zadok (with Abiathar) returned the ark of God to Jerusalem, and they settled down there. |
29 וַיָּשֶׁב צָדוֹק וְאֶבְיָתָר אֶת- אֲרוֹן הָאֱלֹהִים יְרוּשָׁלִָםS וַיֵּשְׁבוּ שָׁם: |
30 καὶ Δαυιδ ἀνέβαινεν ἐν τῇ ἀναβάσει τῶν ἐλαιῶν ἀναβαίνων καὶ κλαίων καὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν ἐπικεκαλυμμένος καὶ αὐτὸς ἐπορεύετο ἀνυπόδετος, καὶ πᾶς ὁ λαὸς ὁ μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ ἐπεκάλυψεν ἀνὴρ τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀνέβαινον ἀναβαίνοντες καὶ κλαίοντες. -- |
30 And David went up by the ascent of the [mount of] Olives, ascending and weeping, and had his head covered, and X went barefooted: and all the people that were with him covered every man his head; and they went up, ascending and weeping. |
30
But David went up by [the
ascent of]
mount Olivet, going up and weeping, X
walking
barefoot, and with his head covered, and all the people that were
with them, went up X
with |
30 And David went up by the ascent of mount Olivet, and wept as he went up, and had his head covered, and he went barefoot: and all the people that was with him covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as they went up. |
30 Meanwhile, David was ascending up the Mount of Olives, going up and weeping with his head covered, and he was walking barefoot, and all of the people who were with him, each covered his head, and they went up, ascending and weeping. |
30 וְדָוִד עֹלֶה בְמַעֲלֵהT הַזֵּיתִים עֹלֶה וּבוֹכֶהU וְרֹאשׁ לוֹ חָפוּי וְהוּא הֹלֵךְ יָחֵף וְכָל-הָעָם אֲשֶׁר-אִתּוֹ חָפוּV אִישׁ רֹאשׁוֹ וְעָלוּ עָלֹה וּבָכֹה: |
31
καὶ ἀνηγγέλ |
31
And it |
31
And it |
31 And one told David, saying, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, O LORD, I pray [thee], turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness. |
31 Presently {it was} communicated {to} David, saying, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom,” so David said, “Please befuddle the counsel of Ahithophel, O Yahweh.” |
31 וְדָוִדW הִגִּיד לֵאמֹר אֲחִיתֹפֶל בַּקֹּשְׁרִיםX עִם-אַבְשָׁלוֹם וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד סַכֶּלY-נָא אֶת-עֲצַת אֲחִיתֹפֶל יְהוָהZ: |
32 καὶ ἦν Δαυιδ ἐρχόμενος ἕως τοῦ Ροως, οὗ προσεκύνησεν ἐκεῖ τῷ θεῷ, καὶ ἰδοὺ εἰς ἀπαντὴν αὐτῷ Χουσι ὁ Αρχι [ἑταῖρος Δαυιδ] διερρηχὼς τὸν χιτῶνα αὐτοῦ καὶ γῆ ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς αὐτοῦ. |
32 And David came as far as RosAA, where he worshipped God: and behold, Chusi the chiefAB [friend of David] came out to meet him, having rent his garment, and earth was upon his head. |
32 And when David was come to the top [of the mountain], where he was about to adore the Lord, X behold Chusai the Arachite, came to meet him [with] his garment rent and his head covered with earth. |
32 And it came to pass, that when David was come to the top of the mount, where he worshipped God, X behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him [with] his coat rent, and earth upon his head: |
32 Then it happened as David arrived at the top, which was where he would bow down before God, that Hushai the Arkite was there to call on him. His tunic was ripped up, and dirt was on his head.” |
32 וַיְהִי דָוִד בָּא עַד-הָרֹאשׁ אֲשֶׁר-יִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה שָׁם לֵאלֹהִים וְהִנֵּה לִקְרָאתוֹ חוּשַׁי הָאַרְכִּי קָרוּעַ כֻּתָּנְתּוֹ וַאֲדָמָה עַל-רֹאשׁוֹAC: |
33 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Δαυιδ Ἐὰν μὲν διαβῇς μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ, καὶ ἔσῃ ἐπ᾿ ἐμὲ εἴς βάσταγμα· |
33 And David said to him, If thou shouldest go over with me, then wilt thou be a burden to me; |
33
And David said to him: If thou |
33 X Unto whom David said, If thou passest on with me, then thou shalt be a burden unto me: |
33 And David said to him, “If you go over with me, then you would become a burden on me, |
33 וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ דָּוִד אִם עָבַרְתָּ אִתִּי וְהָיִתָ עָלַי לְמַשָּׂא: |
34 καὶ ἐὰν εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἐπιστρέψῃς, καὶ ἐρεῖς τῷ Αβεσσαλωμ [Διεληλύθασιν οἱ ἀδελφοί σου, καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς κατόπισθέν μου διελήλυθεν ὁ πατήρ σου, καὶ νῦν] παῖς σού εἰμι, βασιλεῦ, [ἔασόν με ζῆσαι,] παῖς τοῦ πατρός σου X ἤμην τότε καὶ ἀρτίως, καὶ [νῦν] ἐγὼ δοῦλος σός· καὶ διασκεδάσεις μοι τὴν βουλὴν Αχιτοφελ. |
34 but if thou shall return to the city, and shalt say to Abessalom, [Thy brethren are passed over, and the king thy father is passed over after me: and now] I am thy servant, O king, [suffer me to live:] X at one time even of late I was the servant of thy father, and [now] I am thy [humble] servant--so shalt thou disconcert for me, the counsel of Achitophel. |
34 But if thou return into the city, and wilt say to Absalom: I am thy servant, O king: as I have been thy father's servant, X X X X so I will be thy servant: X thou shalt defeat X X the counsel of Achitophel. |
34 But if thou return to the city, and say unto Absalom, I will be thy servant, O king; as I X have been thy father's servant hitherto, so will I now also be thy servant: then mayest thou for me defeat the counsel of Ahithophel. |
34 but if you would return to the city and say to Absalom, ‘I myself shall be your servant, O king. A servant of your father I indeed was in the past, but now I am also your servant!’ Thus you may subvert Ahithophel’s counsel for me. |
34 וְאִם-הָעִיר תָּשׁוּב וְאָמַרְתָּ לְאַבְשָׁלוֹםAD עַבְדְּךָ אֲנִי הַמֶּלֶךְ אֶהְיֶהAE עֶבֶד אָבִיךָ וַאֲנִי מֵאָז וְעַתָּה וַאֲנִיAF עַבְדֶּךָ וְהֵפַרְתָּהAG לִי אֵת עֲצַת אֲחִיתֹפֶל: |
35
καὶ |
35
And, |
35 And X thou hast with thee X Sadoc X X X X, and X X soever X thou shalt hear out of the king's house, thou shalt tell it to Sadoc and X Abiathar the priests. |
35 And hast thou not there with thee Zadok and Abiathar the priests? therefore it shall be, that what thing soever X thou shalt hear out of the king's house, thou shalt tell it to Zadok and X Abiathar the priests. |
35 Now, won’t Zadok and Abiathar the priests be with you there? So it shall be that every word which you hear out of the house of the king you shall communicate to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests. |
35 וַהֲלוֹא עִמְּךָ שָׁם צָדוֹק וְאֶבְיָתָר הַכֹּהֲנִים וְהָיָה כָּל-הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר תִּשְׁמַע מִבֵּית הַמֶּלֶךְ תַּגִּיד לְצָדוֹק וּלְאֶבְיָתָר הַכֹּהֲנִים: |
36 ἰδοὺ ἐκεῖ μετ᾿ αὐτῶν δύο υἱοὶ αὐτῶν, Αχιμαας [υἱὸς] τῷ Σαδωκ καὶ Ιωναθαν [υἱὸς] τῷ Αβιαθαρ, καὶ ἀποστελεῖτε ἐν χειρὶ αὐτῶν πρός με πᾶν ῥῆμα, ὃ ἐὰν ἀκούσητε. |
36
Behold, there are there with them their two sons, Achimaas [the
son]
of Sadoc, and Jonathan [the
son]
of Abiathar; and by X
them
ye shall |
36 And there are X with them their two sons Achimaas; [the sonAH] of Sadoc, and Jonathan [the son] of Abiathar: and you shall send by X them to me every thing that you shall hear. |
36 Behold, they have there with them their two sons, Ahimaaz Zadok's son, and Jonathan Abiathar's son; and by X them ye shall send unto me every thing that ye can hear. |
36 Both of their sons will be there with them: Zadok’s Achimaaz and Abithar’s Jonathan, so, by the agency of them, y’all can send to me every word that y’all hear!” |
36 הִנֵּה-שָׁם עִמָּם שְׁנֵי בְנֵיהֶם אֲחִימַעַץ לְצָדוֹק וִיהוֹנָתָן לְאֶבְיָתָר וּשְׁלַחְתֶּם בְּיָדָם אֵלַי כָּל-דָּבָר אֲשֶׁר תִּשְׁמָעוּ: |
37 καὶ εἰσῆλθεν Χουσι ὁ ἑταῖρος Δαυιδ εἰς τὴν πόλιν, καὶ Αβεσσαλωμ εἰσεπορεύετο εἰς Ιερουσαλημ. -- |
37 So Chusi the friend of David went into the city, and Abessalom was lately gone into Jerusalem. |
37 Then Chusai the friend of David went into the city, and Absalom came into Jerusalem. |
37 So Hushai David's friend came into the city, and Absalom came into Jerusalem. |
37 So David’s friend Hushai went into the city, and, as for Absalom, he entered Jerusalem. |
37 וַיָּבֹא חוּשַׁי רֵעֶה דָוִד הָעִיר AIוְאַבְשָׁלֹם יָבֹא יְרוּשָׁלִָםAJ: |
1Matthew Henry also noted that this would test Ittai’s loyalty to see if he were really loyal to David or a mere “soldier of fortune.” Jamieson agreed. But the text doesn’t indicate that David questioned his loyalty.
22
Sam. 8:17 “Zadok son of Achitub and Achimelek son of Abiathar
were priests, and Seraiah was secretary” (NAW)
1 Sam.
22:20 “one son of Ahimelek son of Achitub escaped, and his
name was Abiathar, and he fled following David.”
3Willett plausibly suggested instead that this question was David establishing which of the two priests was on duty that week and reminding him to go back on duty as priest. Matthew Henry countered that Abiathar alone was the high priest and that “seer” just means “a wise man, a man that can see into business and discern time and judgment.” I am not aware of that word being used in that way elsewhere in the Bible, though. Tsumura (NICOT) saw it as meaning, “You are no seer!” but I fail to see why David would say that. Gill and K&D were more of my opinion.
4Willet used Romans 3:8 “And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just.” to condemn Osiander’s and Martyr’s positions that lies could be ok in certain circumstances. Henry considered it a “lie” but an “unjustifiable” one.
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
Scrolls containing 2 Samuel 15 are 4Q51 Samuela
containing parts of verses 1-7, 20-31 & 37, dated between 50-25
B.C., and 4Q53 Samuelc, containing verses 1-15, dated
around 100 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 or 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}.
BMultiple Hebrew manuscripts replace the lamed prefix (“to”) with a mem (“from”), as do the LXX, Vulgate, and Syriac, and with these, Driver concurred. Tsumura, on the other hand suggested the lamed form be retained and interpreted as an “independent utterance, ‘Return to your [assigned duty] station.’” But he was not certain of that interpretation.
CQere אֲנִיעֲךָ changes the vav in the middle of the word to a yod, changing it from the Qal stem (“I shall shake you”) to the Hiphil stem (“I shall cause you to shake”), the latter of which is the interpretation of most English versions.
DThis
section in the DSS is obliterated, but there is too much space for
the MT reading. There would be just the right amount of space if the
wording of David’s earlier blessing upon the men of Jabesh
Gilead were repeated here in the singular to Ittai, that is, if the
words ויַעַשׂ־יְהוָה
were
added here. This would match the reading of the LXX and Vulgate,
which also add
“and may the Lord
do/show...” The
Syriac reads something different that I can’t follow, but the
Targums also move along the lines of the LXX and Vulgate with “and
may he do.” cf. (2
Sam. 2:6 וְעַתָּה
יַעַשׂ־יְהוָה
עִמָּכֶם חֶסֶד
וֶאֱמֶת
“And
now, may Yahweh perform lovingkindness and faithfulness unto you…”
NAW)
EDSS text appears to have the phrases in different order, but this doesn’t necessarily change the meaning.
FGreek, Vulgate, Syriac, and multiple Hebrew manuscripts omit this word. It doesn’t change the gist of the statement. K&D disagreed, writing, “[T]he erasure of אִם in the Keri is a bad emendation. The כִּי in the apodosis is either an emphatic declaration, yea, or like ὅτι merely introduces a distinct assertion.”
GVaticanus adds “and the king,” but that’s not in any other known manuscript. The same thing happens in the next verse.
HThis verb means “pour” in just about every instance, but it doesn’t work here. It is one of only three instances of the hiphil form (incl. Josh. 7:23 & 2 Ki. 4:5, the former of which could be interpreted “displayed/set down,” but not the latter).
IGoldman calls this “an obscure parenthesis,” postulating (with Kirkpatrick) that Abiathar had left the scene for business at the top of the Mount of Olives, or (with Ralbag) that Abiathar was late leaving Jerusalem and joining David. He also cited a rabbinic tradition that Abiathar tried to get a word from God that day and failed, so he was relieved of his high priesthood that day, and David addressed Zadok in the passage instead. The Christian commentators that spoke to this tradition were skeptical.
JLucian rescension reads a present tense 3rd person form blepe (“let him keep seeing”) rather than the aorist tense second person form in the LXX (“y’all start seeing”).
KThe Hebrew word is a form of the verb “to see,” so “Behold” is not as far-flung a meaning from “seer” as the English words might suggest.
LKeil & Delitzsch instead promoted Jerome’s and Luther’s idea of changing the first vowel pointing from sheva-hatuf to qametz, in order to change the meaning of the he prefix from an interrogative to a definite article, thus creating a vocative “O seer.” This doesn’t explain why the Vulgate interpreted it as an interrogarive and the Septuagint as an imperative, though. Oddly, Tsumura called it “a rhetorical question expecting the answer ‘No.’”
MSymmachus rendered it πεδιασι (“in the plains”).
NThe LXX transcribed the letters of the Hebrew word as though it were a place-name rather than translating it.
OThe KJV here follows the reading of the Qere rather than the original MT. The difference between “ford” and “plain” is the difference that comes from switching two of the Hebrew letters in the word from עבר (“pass”) to ערב (“bare”).
PParticiple form of a verb which only occurs in the Hithpalpel stem in the OT. The only other occurances of this verb are Gen. 19:16; 43:10; Exod. 12:39; Jdg. 3:26; 19:8; Ps. 119:60; Isa. 29:9; Hab. 2:3. Sometimes it seems to denote “slowing down/pausing” another activity, and at other times “lingering/waiting” as an action itself.
QQere notes suggest switching the resh and the beth in the middle of the word to בְּעַרְבוֹת, changing its meaning from “crossing-over place” to “plain/bare place.” Some Hebrew manuscripts, as well as the Greek versions, Aramaic Targums (מֵישְׁרֵי), Syriac (פקעתא), and Vulgate (campestribus) support this, as do some English versions (KJV, AJV) and commentators - Henry, Gill, and Tsumura (who explained it in terms of euphonics: “A word with a resonant /r/ sometimes experiences metathesis of /r/ and its continuous consonant, so the K. is the phonetic spelling of the ‘phonic’ reality.”) Keil & Delitzsch, however, defended the K., writing, “[E]arlier translators as well as the Masoretes adopted the reading בְּעַרְבֹות, ‘in the steppes of the desert.’ The allusion in this case would be to the steppes of Jericho (2Ki. 25:5). But Böttcher has very properly defended the [K.] on the strength of 2Sam. 17:16, where the [Q]eri has עַרְבֹות again, though עַבְרֹות is the true reading (cf. 2Sam. 19:19). The ‘ferries of the desert’ are the places where the Jordan could be crossed, the fords of the Jordan (Josh. 2:7; Jdg. 3:28).” The DSS is too obliterated for comparison.
RLXX reads as though the vav at the end of this Hebrew word were a 3ms object rather than the more-standard 3rd plural subject spelling of the verb that all the other versions considered it to be. (All, that is, except for the Lucian resension’s anestreyen, which compounded the error by taking the Hebrew root to be שוב instead of ישב.)
SDSS adds a directional he at the end of this word, which makes more sense than the MT, but it doesn’t change the meaning, since everybody understands to supply some sort of preposition to make it mean “to Jerusalem.”
TThis is not the usual word for “mountain.” Tsumura rendered it “slope,” and quoted his mentor, McCarter, saying that this “may be an older name for the Mount of Olives.”
UThere is not enough space in this obliterated section of the DSS for one the words in the MT, but none of the ancient versions omit a word from the MT. However, the verb “going up” occurs 3x in the MT in this section that is obliterated in the DSS, and if one of them were to be dropped, there would be no loss of information.
VSeveral Hebrew manuscripts, followed by the Syriac (מחפין) and Vulgate (operto), repeat the participle form ywpj from earlier in the verse rather than employing the perfect verb form that the MT uses here (The LXX followed the MT with a Greek aorist indicative form). But participle or indicative, the same idea comes through.
WKittel identified a couple of Hebrew manuscripts which added the preposition “to” before “David,” and the DSS also contain the preposition “to.” The verb is obliterated in the DSS, but in those Hebrew manuscripts it is passive (Hophal) “And to David it was told,” and this is the reading of the Targums, Syriac, Septuagint, and Vulgate. This makes sense of the otherwise nonsensical reading of the MT, which reads, “And David himself communicated saying that Ahithophel…” Surprisingly, K&D supported this edit.
XThis word occurs only twice elsewhere in this form, also of conspirators (2 Ki. 21:24; 2 Chr. 33:25).
YThis verb for “be foolish” only appears a few other places in the OT: Gen. 31:28; 1 Sam. 13:13; 26:21; 2 Sam.. 24:10; 1 Chr. 21:8; 2 Chr. 16:9; and Isa. 44:25.
ZSyriac omits the divine name, while the LXX adds “my God.”
AA“Rosh” is the Hebrew word for “top/summit,” so this is just a transliteration rather than a translation of the Hebrew, as though it were a place name.
ABHere the Hebrew word “archite” (which has to do with “length”) sounded so much to Brenton like the Greek word “arch” (which means “chief” in Greek), that he translated it “chief.”
ACThis
was standard procedure for mourning:
1 Samuel 4:12 “Now,
a man of Benjamin ran from the ranks and came to Shiloh on that day
with his uniform torn and mud on his head”
2 Samuel 1:2
“then on the third day, Look! a man came from the army-camp
after being with Saul. And his clothes were torn, and mud was on top
of his head...”
2 Samuel 13:19 “So Tamar took some
ashes {and put them} on her head, then she tore the long tunic…”
(NAW)
ADThe LXX and old Latin (+ patere me vivere) add extra words here, but the extra words are not in the Syriac, Targums, or Vulgate. The wording is also suspect, in that it seems both out-of-character and unadvisable for David to instruct Hushai to call Absalom “the king.” Unfortunately, this verse is obliterated in the only known DSS containing this chapter.
AEThe
Open Source Hebrew Bible
https://hb.openscriptures.org/structure/OshbVerse/index.html?b=2Sam&c=15&v=34
interprets the Masoretic cantillation marks to indicate that
this verb of being goes with the first phrase, “I will be
your servant,” and then that the me’ez
goes with the second phrase, “a servant of your father indeed
was I previously,”
and then the ve’atah belongs with the third phrase,
“and now I also am your servant.”
AF“The ו before אֲנִי introduces the apodosis both times.” ~K&D
AGThis word is frequently associated with the word “covenant” as the opposite of faithfulness.
AHThe Vulgate does not insert the word “son of” like the LXX does, Douay just added it for the English translation. The Hebrew expression is literally that Ahimaaz and Jonathan were “to” Zadok and Abiathar, but it means the same thing.
AIThere is debate among translators whether this vav is contemporary “while/just as” (NIV, ESV, NLT, NET, CEV, Nueva Biblia De Los Hispanos, Gill, Ewald, K&D), or whether it is sequential “and then” (Wycliffe, Geneva, KJV, NASB, Nouvelle Edition de Genève) or disjunctive “As for Absalom” (Tsumura). The story does not rule out a contemporary meaning, but it does not necessitate it either, and the emphatic placement of Absalom seems to emphasize the change of subject from Hushai to Absalom, tipping me toward a sequential or disjunctive meaning to the conjunction.
AJThe last letters of this verse are obliterated in the DSS, but there is room for an extra character or two beyond what is in the MT. Perhaps there was a directional he at the end of Jerusalem in the DSS?