2 Sam. 16:1-14 - Responding to Ziba’s Deception & Shimei’s Hate Speech

Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 31 July 2022

Introduction

vs. 1-4 Tsiba/Ziba’s Deception

vs. 5-14 Shimei’s Hate Speech

CONCLUSION


2 Samuel 16:1-14Side-by side comparison of versionsA

LXX

Brenton

DRB

KJV

NAW

MT

1 καὶ Δαυιδ παρῆλθεν βραχύ τι ἀπὸ τῆς Ροως, καὶ ἰδοὺ Σιβα τὸ παιδάριον Μεμφιβοσθε εἰς ἀπαντὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ ζεῦγος ὄνων ἐπισεσαγμένων, καὶ ἐπ᾿ αὐτοῖς διακόσιοι ἄρτοι καὶ ἑκατὸν σταφίδες καὶ ἑκατὸν φοίνικες καὶ νεβελ οἴνου.

1 And David passed on a little way from RosB; and, behold, Siba the servant of Memphibosthe [came] to meet him; and [he had] a couple of asses laden, and upon them two hundred loaves, and a hundred bunches of raisins, and a hundred cakes of dates, and bottle of wine.

1 And when David was a little past the top of the hill, behold Siba the servant of Miphiboseth [came] to meet him with two asses, laden with two hundred loaves of bread, and a hundred bunches of raisins, a hundred cakes of figs, and a vessel of wine.

1 And when David was a little past the top of the hill, behold, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him, with a couple of asses saddled, and upon them two hundred loaves of bread, and an hundred bunches of raisins, and an hundred of summer fruits, and a bottle of wine.

1 Now, when David had passed over a bit from the summit, there was Tsiba, servant of Mephibosheth, to greet him, along with a pair of donkeys roped together, and upon them, 200 bread-loaves, and 100 raisin-cakes, and 100 date-cakes, and a container of wine.

1 וְדָוִד עָבַר מְעַט מֵהָרֹאשׁ וְהִנֵּה צִיבָא נַעַר מְפִי-בֹשֶׁת לִקְרָאתוֹ וְצֶמֶד חֲמֹרִים חֲבֻשִׁים וַעֲלֵיהֶם מָאתַיִם לֶחֶם וּמֵאָה צִמּוּקִים וּמֵאָהC קַיִץD וְנֵבֶל יָיִן:

2 καὶ εἶπεν ὁ βασιλεὺς πρὸς Σιβα Τί ταῦτά σοι; καὶ εἶπεν Σιβα Τὰ ὑποζύγια τῇ οἰκίᾳ τοῦ βασιλέως τοῦ ἐπικαθῆσθαι, καὶ οἱ ἄρτοι καὶ οἱ φοίνικες εἰς βρῶσιν τοῖς παιδαρίοις, καὶ ὁ οἶνος πιεῖν τοῖς ἐκλελυμένοις ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ.

2 And the king said to Siba, What [meanest] thou by these? and Siba, said, The asses are for the household of the king to sit upon, and the loaves and the dates are for the young men to eat, and the wine is for them that are faint in the wilderness to drink.

2 And the king said to Siba: What X mean these things? And Siba answered: The asses are for the king's household to sit on: and the loaves and the figs for thy servants to eat, and the wine to drink [if any] man be faint in the desert.

2 And the king said unto Ziba, What [meanest] thou by these? And Ziba said, The asses be for the king's household to ride on; and the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat; and the wine, that such as be faint in the wilderness may drink.

2 So the king said to Tsiba, “What are these you have?” And Tsiba said, “The donkeys are for the household of the King to ride, and {} the bread and the date-cakes are for his servants to eat, and the wine is for him who is exhausted in the wilderness to drink.”

2 וַיֹּאמֶר הַמֶּלֶךְ אֶל- צִיבָא מָה- אֵלֶּה לָּךְ וַיֹּאמֶר צִיבָא ‎ הַחֲמוֹרִים לְבֵית-הַמֶּלֶךְ לִרְכֹּב וְלְהַלֶּחֶםE וְהַקַּיִץ לֶאֱכוֹל הַנְּעָרִים וְהַיַּיִן לִשְׁתּוֹת הַיָּעֵף בַּמִּדְבָּר:

3 καὶ εἶπεν ὁ βασιλεύς Καὶ ποῦ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ κυρίου σου; καὶ εἶπεν Σιβα πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα Ἰδοὺ κάθηται ἐν Ιερουσαλημ, ὅτι εἶπεν Σήμερον ἐπιστρέψουσίνF μοι ὁ οἶκος Ισραηλ τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ πατρός μου.

3 And the king said, And where is the son of thy master? and Siba said to the king, Behold, he remains in Jerusalem; for he said, To-day shall the house of Israel restore to me the kingdom of my father.

3 And the king said: X Where is thy master's son? And Siba answered the king: X He remained in Jerusalem, X saying: To day, will the house of Israel restore me the kingdom of my father.

3 And the king said, And where is thy master's son? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he abideth at Jerusalem: for he said, To day shall the house of Israel restore me the kingdom of my father.

3 Then the king said, “And where is the son of your master?” And Tsiba said to the king, “See, he is residing in Jerusalem because he said, ‘Today the {sons} of Israel will return to me the kingdom of my father!’”

3 וַיֹּאמֶר הַמֶּלֶךְ וְאַיֵּה בֶּן-אֲדֹנֶיךָ וַיֹּאמֶר צִיבָא אֶל-הַמֶּלֶךְ הִנֵּה יוֹשֵׁב בִּירוּשָׁלִַם כִּי אָמַר הַיּוֹם יָשִׁיבוּ לִי בֵּיתG יִשְׂרָאֵל אֵת מַמְלְכוּת אָבִי:

4 καὶ εἶπεν ὁ βασιλεὺς τῷ Σιβα Ιδοὺ σοὶ πάντα, ὅσα ἐστὶν τῷ Μεμφιβοσθε. καὶ εἶπεν Σιβα προσκυνήσας Εὕροιμι χάριν ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς σου, κύριέ μου βασιλεῦ. --

4 And the king said to Siba, Behold, all Memphibosthe's property is thine. And Siba did obeisance [and] said, My lord, O king, let me find grace in thine eyes.

4 And the king said to Siba: I give thee all that belonged to Miphiboseth. And Siba said: I beseech [thee] let me find grace before thee, my lord, O king.

4 Then said the king to Ziba, Behold, thine are all that pertained unto Mephibosheth. And Ziba said, I [humbly] beseech [thee] that I may find grace in thy sight, my lord, O king.

4 Then the king said to Tsiba, “All that belonged to Mephibosheth now belongs to you!” And Tsiba said, “I have bowed down; let me find favor in your eyes, my lord the king.”

4 וַיֹּאמֶר הַמֶּלֶךְ לְצִבָא הִנֵּה לְךָ כֹּל אֲשֶׁר לִמְפִי- בֹשֶׁת וַיֹּאמֶר צִיבָא הִשְׁתַּחֲוֵיתִי אֶמְצָא-חֵן בְּעֵינֶיךָ אֲדֹנִי הַמֶּלֶךְ:

5 καὶ ἦλθεν ὁ βασιλεὺς Δαυιδ ἕως Βαουριμ· καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐκεῖθεν ἀνὴρ ἐξεπορεύετο ἐκ συγγενείας οἴκου Σαουλ, καὶ ὄνομα αὐτῷ Σεμεϊ υἱὸς Γηρα· ἐξῆλθεν ἐκπορ­ευόμενος καὶ καταρώμενος

5 And king David came to Baurim; and, behold, there came out from thence a man of the family of the house of Saul, and his name was Semei the son of Gera. He came forth and cursed as he went,

5 And king David came as far as Bahurim: and behold there came out from thence a man of the kindred of the house of Saul X X named Semei, the son of Gera, and coming out he cursed as he went on,

5 And when king David came to Bahur­im, behold, thence came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, X whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera: he came forth, and cursed still as he came.

5 Presently, King David arrived at Bahur­im, and there was a man from there - from the family of the house of Saul, who came forth, and his name was Shimei, son of Gera. He kept coming out and cursing.

5 וּבָא הַמֶּלֶךְ דָּוִד עַד- בַּחוּרִים וְהִנֵּה מִשָּׁם אִישׁ יוֹצֵא מִמִּשְׁפַּחַת בֵּית-שָׁאוּל וּשְׁמוֹ שִׁמְעִי בֶן-גֵּרָא יֹצֵא יָצוֹא וּמְקַלֵּל:

6 καὶ λιθάζων ἐν λίθοις τὸν Δαυιδ καὶ πάντας τοὺς παῖδας τοῦ βασιλέως Δαυιδ, καὶ πᾶς ὁ λαὸς ἦν καὶ πάντες οἱ δυνατοὶ ἐκ δεξιῶν X καὶ ἐξ εὐωνύμων X [τοῦ βασιλέως].

6 and cast stones X X at David, and at all the servants of king David: and all the people and all the mighty men were on the right and X X left hand [of the king].

6 And he threw stones X X at David, and at all the servants of king David: and all the people, and all the warriors [walked] on the right, and on the left side [of the king].

6 And he cast stones X X at David, and at all the servants of king David: and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left.

6 And he took potshots at David, and at all the servants of King David and all the people and all the mighty men at his right and at his left, with rocks.

6 וַיְסַקֵּלH בָּאֲבָנִים אֶת- דָּוִד וְאֶת-כָּל- עַבְדֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ דָּוִד וְכָל-הָעָם וְכָל-הַגִּבֹּרִים מִימִינוֹ וּמִשְּׂמֹאלוֹI:

7 καὶ οὕτως ἔλεγεν Σεμεϊ ἐν τῷ καταρᾶσθαι αὐτόν Ἔξελθε ἔξελθε, ἀνὴρ αἱμάτων καὶ ἀνὴρ ὁ παράνομος·

7 And thus Semei said when he cursed him, Go out, go out, thou bloody man, and man of sin.

7 And thus said Semei when he cursed [the king]: Come out, come out, thou man of blood, and thou man of Belial.

7 And thus said Shimei when he cursed, Come out, come out, thou bloody man, and thou man of Belial:

7 And in his cursing, Shimei said this: “Go away, go away, man of bloodshed and man of ungodliness!

7 וְכֹה-אָמַר שִׁמְעִי בְּקַלְלוֹ צֵא צֵא אִישׁ הַדָּמִיםJ וְאִישׁ הַבְּלִיָּעַלK:

8 ἐπέστρεψεν ἐπὶ σὲ κύριος πάντα τὰ αἵματα τοῦ οἴκου Σαουλ, ὅτι ἐβασίλευ­σας ἀντ᾿ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἔδωκεν κύριος τὴν βασιλείαν ἐν χειρὶ Αβεσ­σαλωμ τοῦ υἱοῦ σου· καὶ ἰδοὺ σὺ ἐν τῇ κακίᾳ σου, ὅτι ἀνὴρ αἱμάτων σύ.

8 The Lord has returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, because thou hast reigned in his stead; and the Lord has given the kingdom into the hand of Abessalom thy son: and, behold, thou [art taken] in thy mischiefX, because thou art a bloody man.

8 The Lord hath repaid X thee [for] all the blood of the house of Saul: because thou hast usur­ped the kingdom in his stead, and the Lord hath given the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son: and behold X thy evils [press upon] thee, because thou art a man of blood.

8 The LORD hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, X in whose stead thou hast reigned; and the LORD hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son: and, behold, thou art taken in thy mischiefX, because thou art a bloody man.

8 Yahweh has caused to return upon you all the bloodshed of the house of Saul, because you became king after him. Then Yahweh has given the kingdom into the control of Absalom your son! Now, look at you in your bad-times, for you are a man of bloodshed!”

8 הֵשִׁיב עָלֶיךָ יְהוָה כֹּל דְּמֵי בֵית- שָׁאוּל אֲשֶׁר מָלַכְתָּ תַּחְתּוֹL וַיִּתֵּן יְהוָה אֶת-הַמְּלוּכָה בְּיַד אַבְשָׁלוֹם בְּנֶךָ וְהִנְּךָ בְּרָעָתֶךָ כִּי אִישׁ דָּמִים אָתָּה:

9 καὶ εἶπεν Αβεσσα υἱὸς Σαρουιας πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα Ἵνα τί κατ­αρᾶται ὁ κύων ὁ τεθνηκὼς οὗτος τὸν κύριόν μου τὸν βασιλέα; διαβήσομαι δὴ καὶ ἀφελῶ τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ.

9 And Abessa the son of Saruia said to the king, Why does this dead dog curse my lord the king? let me go over now and take off his head.

9 And Abisai the son of Sarvia said to the king: Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? X I will go, and cut off his head.

9 Then said Abishai the son of Zeruiah unto the king, Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? let me go over, I pray thee, and take off his head.

9 Then Abishai, son of Tseruiah, said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my master the king? Please let me go over and remove his head!”

9 וַיֹּאמֶר אֲבִישַׁי בֶּן- צְרוּיָה אֶל- הַמֶּלֶךְ לָמָּה יְקַלֵּל הַכֶּלֶב הַמֵּת הַזֶּה אֶת- אֲדֹנִי הַמֶּלֶךְ אֶעְבְּרָה-נָּא וְאָסִירָהM אֶת-רֹאשׁוֹ: ס

10 καὶ εἶπεν ὁ βασιλεύς Τί ἐμοὶ καὶ ὑμῖν, υἱοὶ Σαρουιας; [ἄφετε αὐτὸν καὶ] οὕτως καταράσθω, X ὅτι κύριος εἶπεν αὐτῷ καταρᾶσθαι τὸν Δαυιδ, καὶ τίς ἐρεῖ Ὡς τί ἐποίησας οὕτως;

10 And the king said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Saruia? [even let him alone, and] so let him curse, X for the Lord has told him to curse David: and who shall say, Why hast thou done thus?

10 And the king said: What have I to do with you, ye sons of Sarvia? [Let him alone] and let him curse: X for the Lord hath bid him curse David: and who is he that shall [dare] say, why hath he done so?

10 And the king said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? so let him curse, X because the LORD hath said unto him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Wherefore hast thou done so?

10 But the king said, “What do I have in common with y’all, sons of Tseruiah? {Leave him be;} so let him curse, {} for Yahweh Himself said to him, ‘Curse David,’ and who should say, ‘Why did you do so?’”

10 וַיֹּאמֶר הַמֶּלֶךְ מַה-לִּי וְלָכֶםN בְּנֵי צְרֻיָה כִּיO יְקַלֵּל וְכִיP יְהוָה אָמַר לוֹ קַלֵּל אֶת-דָּוִד וּמִי יֹאמַר מַדּוּעַ עָשִׂיתָה כֵּן: ס

11 καὶ εἶπεν Δαυιδ πρὸς Αβεσσα καὶ πρὸς πάντας τοὺς παῖδας αὐτοῦ Ἰδοὺ ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ἐξελθὼν ἐκ τῆς κοιλίας μου ζητεῖ τὴν ψυχήν μου, καὶ προσέτι νῦν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ Ιεμινι· ἄφετε αὐτὸν X καταρᾶσθαι, ὅτι εἶπεν αὐτῷ κύριος·

11 And David said to Abessa and to all his servants, Behold, my son who came forth out of my bowels seeks my life; still more now may the son of BenjaminX: let him X curse, because the Lord has told X him.

11 And the king said to Abisai, and to all his servants: Behold my son, who came forth from my bowels, seeketh my life: X how much more now a son of Jemini? let him alone that he may curse as the Lord hath bidden him.

11 And David said to Abishai, and to all his servants, Behold, my son, which came forth of my bowels, seeketh my life: X how much more now may this X BenjamiteX do it? let him alone, and let him curse; for the LORD hath bidden him.

11 David also said to Abishai and to all of his servants, “Look, my son who came out from my inner parts is trying to take my life, and now, in addition, there’s this son of the Benjamites. Give him a break, and let him curse, for Yahweh has spoken to him.

11 וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד אֶל- אֲבִישַׁי וְאֶל- כָּל-עֲבָדָיו הִנֵּה בְנִי אֲשֶׁר- יָצָא מִמֵּעַיQ מְבַקֵּשׁ אֶת- נַפְשִׁי וְאַף כִּי- עַתָּה בֶּן- הַיְמִינִי הַנִּחוּ לוֹ וִיקַלֵּל כִּי אָמַר-לוֹ יְהוָה:

12 εἴ πως ἴδοι κύριος ἐν τῇ ταπεινώσει μου καὶ ἐπιστρέψει μοι X ἀγαθὰ ἀντὶ τῆς κατά­ρας αὐτοῦ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ταύτῃ.

12 If by any means the Lord may look on my affliction, thus shall he return me good for his cursing this day.

12 Perhaps the Lord may look upon my affliction, and the Lord may render me good for the cursing of this day.

12 It may be that the LORD will look on mine affliction, and that the LORD will requite me good for his cursing this day.

12 Perhaps Yahweh will pay regard to my {depression}, and {} return good to me instead of His curse this day.”

12 אוּלַי יִרְאֶה יְהוָה בְּעוֹנִיR וְהֵשִׁיב יְהוָהS לִי טוֹבָה תַּחַת קִלְלָתוֹT הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה:

13 καὶ ἐπορεύθη Δαυιδ καὶ οἱ ἄνδρες αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ, καὶ Σεμεϊ ἐπορεύετο ἐκ πλευρᾶς τοῦ ὄρους ἐχόμενα αὐτοῦ πορευ­όμενος καὶ καταρώμενος καὶ λιθάζων ἐν λίθοις ἐκ πλαγ­ίων αὐτοῦ καὶ τῷ χοὶ πάσσων.

13 And David and [allU] the men [with] him went on the way: and Semei went by the side of the hill next to him, cursing as he went, and casting X X stones at X him, and sprinkling him with dirt.

13 And David and his men [with him] went by the way. And Semei by the hill's side went over against him, X cursing, and casting X X stones at X him, and scattering X earth.

13 And as David and his men went by the way, X Shimei went along on the hill's side over against him, and cursed as he went, and threw X X stones at X him, and cast X X dust.

13 So David walked on, along with his men, down the road. Shimei also kept walking along the ridge of the slope at his side, and he cursed and took potshots with stones at his side and dusted them with dust.

13 וַיֵּלֶךְ דָּוִד וַאֲנָשָׁיו בַּדָּרֶךְ ס וְשִׁמְעִי הֹלֵךְ בְּצֵלַע הָהָר לְעֻמָּתוֹ הָלוֹךְ וַיְקַלֵּל וַיְסַקֵּל בָּאֲבָנִים לְעֻמָּתוֹ וְעִפַּרV בֶּעָפָר: פ

14 καὶ ἦλθεν ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ πᾶς ὁ λαὸς αὐτοῦ X ἐκλελυμένοι X καὶ ἀνέψυξαν ἐκεῖ.

14 And the king, and all the people X with him, came away X and refreshed themsel[ves] there.

14 And the king and all the people X with him came weary, and refreshed themsel[ves] there.

14 And the king, and all the people that were with him, came weary, and refreshed themsel[ves] there.

14 Thus the king (and all his people {} with him) arrived at Ayephim, and they found refreshment there.

14 וַיָּבֹא הַמֶּלֶךְ וְכָל- הָעָם אֲשֶׁרW- אִתּוֹ עֲיֵפִיםX וַיִּנָּפֵשׁY שָׁם:



1Keil & Delitzsch weighed in favor of “dates,” against “figs.”

2Among the commentaries I read, Robert Jamieson was alone in considering it “plausible.”

3The same phrase occurs again in 19:23 also referring to the sons of Tseruiah.

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 16 is 4Q51 Samuela containing parts of verses 1-22, dated between 50-25 B.C.. Where the DSS is legible and in agreement with the MT, the MT is colored purple. Where the DSS supports the LXX (or Vulgate) with omissions or text not in the MT, I have highlighted with yellow the LXX and its translation into English, and where I have accepted that into my NAW translation, I have marked it with {pointed brackets}.

BThe LXX transliterated the Hebrew word as a proper noun “Rosh” instead of translating it “head/κεφαλη.”

CInstead of the number 100, the DSS reads hpya “an ephah” which is about equivalent to a bushel. This need not be contradictory to the MT, as there are fruits, 100 of which would fill a bushel, and it might give some clue as to what these fruits were.

DCompare to Abigail’s provisions in 1 Samuel 25:18. Instead of Ziba’s Qeitz, Abigail provided‎ דְּבֵלִיםfig-cakes,” as did the witch of Endor in 1 Sam. 30:12 and the Israelites at David’s coronation in 1 Chron. 12:41.
The word for “summer fruit” is the same as the word for “summer” in Hebrew, but as a fruit, it is only mentioned in three other passages: Isaiah 16:9 (“Therefore I weep with the weeping of Jazer, the vine of Sibmah; I drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh; For over your harvest-time and your harvest-crop the shout has fallen off. ~NAW)
Jeremiah 40:10-12 ("As for me, I will indeed dwell at Mizpah and serve the Chaldeans who come to us. But you, gather wine and summer fruit and oil, put them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that you have taken." ~NKJV) and 48:32c (“...The plunderer has fallen on your summer fruit and your vintage.” ~NKJV),
and Amos 8:1 (“Thus the Lord GOD showed me: Behold, a basket of summer fruit.” ~NKJV, and there is some connection between Amos and sycamore-figs שׁקמים in 7:14.)
Keil & Delitzsch followed the Septuagint in thinking them most probably to be dates, but Lange followed the Vulgate in figuring they were figs, and Goldman was also of that opinion.

EThe Qere removes the superfluous lamed preposition (“to”), correcting the the MT to וְהַלֶּחֶם, which is also the reading of the LXX, Vulgate, Targums, and Syriac.

FThe LXX passed on the same gramar discrepancy of a plural verb with a singular subject which is in the MT.

GThe MT verb is plural “they will return,” but the MT subject “house” is singular. The LXX, Vulgate, and Targums carry over that discrepancy, but there are a couple of Hebrew manuscripts (followed by the Syriac and a few Greek manuscripts) which change one Hebrew letter in the subject, changing the meaning from singular “house” (בית) to plural “sons,” which isn’t really a change in meaning, however. The DSS is too obliterated at this point for comparison.

HThe only other place in the Bible that this verb occurs in the Piel stem, as here, is Isa. 5:2 & 62:10, where it means “removed stones.”

ILXX and Vulgate read as though the Hebrew were מִימִינ וּמִשְּׂמֹאל הַמֶּלֶךְ, but the DSS, Targums, and Syriac do not support this. The meaning “at the right and at the left of the king” is the same, however.

Jcf. Psalm 5:6b “...a man of bloodshed and deceit Yahweh will abhor.” and 26:9 “ Don't gather my soul with sinners or my life with men of bloodshed!” (NAW)

Kcf. other uses of “Belial” in Samuel and Psalms:
1 Sam. 2:12 “The sons of Eli, however, were ungodly characters; they did not know Yahweh.”
1 Sam. 10:27 “Nevertheless some ungodly characters said, ‘How is this guy going to save us?’ And they despised [him]…”
1 Sam. 25:17 “...this evil will be the end of our master and of his household, but he is too ungodly a character to speak…”
1 Sam. 25:25 “Please don't let my master set his heart against this ungodly man Nabal, for as his name means, so is he…”
1 Sam. 30:22 “But all the guys who were evil and ungodly among the men who had gone with David reacted…”
Ps. 43:1 “Adjudicate for me, God, and argue my case please against an ungodly nation…” (NAW)

LQere corrects to תַּחְתָּיו, but it makes no difference in the meaning.

Mcf. the “removal” of Ish-Bosheth’s head in 2 Samuel 4:7.

NThis figure of speech indicates that the parties should not be interacting. Other instances in the Bible are: Jdg. 11:12; 2 Sam. 19:23; 1 Ki. 17:18; 2 Ki. 3:13; 2 Chr. 35:21; Isa. 52:5; and Hos. 14:9.

OLXX, Vulgate, and Syriac insert “leave him be.” Here, the Qere substitutes כי (“for/because/if”), for כֹּה ("thus/so"), which is also the reading of the LXX and Targums. Syriac does not support the MT either. DSS is too obliterated for comparison.

PQere suggests omitting the conjunction, and the LXX, Vulgate, Targums, and Syriac did omit the conjunction. DSS is too obliterated for comparison. K&D commented: “This interpolation is taken from 2 Sam. 16:11, and, like the Keri, is nothing more than a conjecture, which was adopted simply because כִּי was taken as a causal particle, and then offence was taken at וְכִי. But כִּי signifies if, quando, in this passage, and the ו before the following וּמִי introduces the apodosis.”

Qcf. “a son will come out from your inner parts” 2 Samuel 7:12

RQere suggests instead בְּעֵינִי ("in my eye" – followed by the AJV and NICOT), which would involve removing the stem of the letter vav in the middle of the word, and which is similar to the Targums ("my fountain of tears" – followed by Rashi and R. Isaiah), but other Hebrew manuscripts and rabbinical commentaries suggest that the vav could be changed to a yod at the end, changing the meaning from "in my iniquity" to "in my lowliness," and with this, the LXX, Syriac, Vulgate, KJV, NASB, and NIV agree. (K&D in their commentary apparently were not aware of this Hebrew variant and cavalierly rejected this possibility merely on the basis that ‘avon does not mean "misery.") The ESV went with the original MT "iniquity/wrong" but inserts "done to" which is not in the Hebrew.

SThe LXX omits “Yahweh,” as does the Syriac, and the spacing in this obliterated section of the DSS favors dropping a word from the MT. “Yahweh” however, would be understood as the subject even if it were not explicitly stated, since He is the subject of the previous clause, so there is no differnce in meaning.

TSome Hebrew manuscripts as well as the Syriac apparently read “my curse” yt!llq, while the Vulgate omits the pronoun altogether (followed by the NIV), but the DSS supports the MT with the 3rd person m.s. pronoun. That leaves some ambiguity as to whether that pronoun refers to Yahweh or to Shimei, but I opt for the former, since He is the only third person in verse 12.

UThe Vaticanus inexplicably adds “all” here. The DSS is obliterated here, but has more space between legible sections of this verse than the wording of the MT allows, which could support the addition of the word “all” here.

VThis is the only occurance of this verb in the O.T.

WSyriac, LXX, and Vulgate all omit this relative pronoun. It doesn’t change the meaning, though.

XK&D advocated for this to be a proper noun, and that solves the grammar problem of it being a plural adjective, for there is no plural noun nearby for it to modify, and it stands inbetween two verbs that are singular in number. Goldman gave a tip of the hat in that direction, saying that if it was a proper noun, it would be appropriately-named for a resting-place, since it means “weary.”

YThis verb only occurs two other times in the Hebrew Bible, both in the context of sabbath rest: Exod. 23:12 & 31:17. The Syriac, LXX, and Vulgate all render this verb plural, although it is singular in the MT. It is obliterated in the DSS.

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