2 Samuel 17:15-29 – Friends Inform, Defend, and Provide

Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 14 Aug 2022

Introduction

vs. 15-22 David’s Friends Get Intelligence To Him

vs. 23-26 We see a second thing that friends do, and that is they protect you.

vs. 27-29 Shobi, Machir, & Barzillai Bring Provisions to David

CONCLUSION


2 Samuel 17:15-29Side-by side comparison of versionsA

LXX

Brenton

Douay

KJV

NAW

MT

15 καὶ εἶπεν Χουσι ὁ τοῦ Αραχι πρὸς Σαδωκ καὶ Αβιαθαρ τοὺς ἱερεῖς Οὕτως καὶ οὕτως συνεβούλ­ευσεν Αχιτοφελ τῷ Αβεσσαλωμ καὶ τοῖς πρεσβυτέροις Ισραηλ, καὶ οὕτως καὶ οὕτως συν­εβούλευσα ἐγώ·

15 And Chusi the Arachite said to Sadoc and Abiathar the priests, Thus and thus Achitophel counselled Abessalom and the elders of Israel; and thus and thus have I counselled.

15 And Chusai said to Sadoc and Abiathar the priests: Thus and thus did Achitophel counsel Absalom, and the ancients of Israel: and thus and thus did I counsel them.

15 Then said Hushai unto Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, Thus and thus did Ahithophel counsel Absalom and the elders of Israel; and thus and thus have I counselled.

15 Then Hushai said to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, “Ahithophel advised Absalom and the elders of Israel like this and like that, then I myself advised like this and like that.

15 וַיֹּאמֶר חוּשַׁי אֶל-צָדוֹק וְאֶל- אֶבְיָתָר הַכֹּהֲנִים כָּזֹאת וְכָזֹאת יָעַץ אֲחִיתֹפֶל אֶת-אַבְשָׁלֹם וְאֵת זִקְנֵיB יִשְׂרָאֵל וְכָזֹאת וְכָזֹאת יָעַצְתִּי אָנִי:

16 καὶ νῦν ἀπο­στείλατε ταχὺ καὶ ἀναγγείλατε τῷ Δαυιδ λέγοντες Μὴ αὐλισθῇς τὴν νύκτα ἐν αραβωθ τῆς ἐρήμου καί γε διαβαίνων σπεῦσον, μήποτε καταπίῃ τὸν βασιλέα καὶ πάντα τὸν λαὸν τὸν μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ.

16 And now send quickly and report to David, saying, Lodge not this night in ArabothC of the wilderness: even go [and] make haste, lest one swallow up the king, and all the people with him.

16 Now therefore send quickly, and tell David, saying: Tarry not this night in the plains of the wilderness, but without delay pass over: lest the king be swallowed up, and all the people that is with him.

16 Now therefore send quickly, and tell David, saying, Lodge not this night in the plains of the wilderness, but speedily pass over; lest the king be swallowed up, and all the people that are with him.

16 So now, quickly send a commission and communicate to David saying, ‘Don’t spend the night tonight at the plains of the wilderness, but instead you must urgently cross over, otherwise the king will be swallowed up along with all the people who are with him.’”

16 וְעַתָּה שִׁלְחוּ מְהֵרָה וְהַגִּידוּ לְדָוִד לֵאמֹר אַל-תָּלֶן הַלַּיְלָה בְּעַרְבוֹתD הַמִּדְבָּר וְגַם עָבוֹר תַּעֲבוֹר פֶּן יְבֻלַּעE לַמֶּלֶךְ וּלְכָל-הָעָם אֲשֶׁר אִתּוֹ:

17 καὶ Ιωναθαν καὶ Αχιμαας εἱστήκεισαν ἐν τῇ πηγῇ Ρωγηλ, καὶ ἐπορεύθη ἡ παιδίσκη καὶ ἀνήγγειλεν αὐτοῖς, καὶ αὐτοὶ πορεύ­ονται καὶ ἀναγγέλ­λουσιν τῷ βασιλεῖ Δαυιδ, ὅτι οὐκ ἐδύναντο ὀφθῆναι τοῦ εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὴν πόλιν.

17 And Jonathan and Achimaas stood by the well of Rogel, and a maid-servant went and reported to them, and they X go and tell king David; for they might not be seen to enter into the city.

17 And Jona­than and Achimaas stayed by the fountainF Rogel: and [there] went a maid and told them: and they X went forward, to [carry the] message to king David, for they might not be seen, [norG] enter into the city.

17 Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz stayed by Enrogel; for they might not be seen to come into the city: and a wench went and told them; and they X went and told king David.

17 Meanwhile, Jonathan and Ahimaaz were standing-ready at Rogel Spring, where the housemaid was to come and communicate to them; then they themselves were to go and communicate to King David, for they were not fit to be seen going into the city.

17 וִיהוֹנָתָן וַאֲחִימַעַץ עֹמְדִים בְּעֵין-רֹגֵלH וְהָלְכָה הַשִּׁפְחָה וְהִגִּידָה לָהֶם וְהֵם יֵלְכוּ וְהִגִּידוּ לַמֶּלֶךְ דָּוִד כִּי לֹא יוּכְלוּ לְהֵרָאוֹת לָבוֹא הָעִירָה:

18 καὶ εἶδεν αὐτοὺς παιδάριον καὶ ἀπήγγειλεν τῷ Αβεσσαλωμ, καὶ ἐπορεύθησαν οἱ δύο ταχέως καὶ εἰσῆλθαν εἰς οἰκίαν ἀνδρὸς ἐν Βαουριμ, καὶ αὐτῷ λάκκος ἐν τῇ αὐλῇ, καὶ κατέβησαν ἐκεῖ.

18 But a young man saw them and told Abessalom: and the two went quickly, and entered into the house of a man in Baurim; and he had a well in his court, and they went down into it.

18 But a certain boy saw them, and told Absalom: but they making haste X went into the house of a certain man in Bahurim, X who had a well in his court, and they went down into it.

18 Nevertheless a lad saw them, and told Absalom: but they went both of them away quickly, and came to a man's house in Bahurim, X which had a well in his court; X whither they went down.

18 However, a servant-boy saw them, and he proceeded to communicate to Absalom. So the two of them quickly went off and entered into a man’s house in Bahurim. Now, he had a well in his courtyard, so they climbed down in there.

18 וַיַּרְא אֹתָם נַעַר וַיַּגֵּד לְאַבְשָׁלֹם וַיֵּלְכוּ שְׁנֵיהֶם מְהֵרָה וַיָּבֹאוּ אֶל-בֵּית-אִישׁ בְּבַחוּרִים וְלוֹ בְאֵר בַּחֲצֵרוֹ וַיֵּרְדוּ שָׁם:

19 καὶ ἔλαβεν ἡ γυνὴ καὶ διεπέτασεν τὸ ἐπικάλυμμα ἐπὶ πρόσωπον τοῦ λάκκου καὶ ἔψυξεν ἐπ᾿ αὐτῷ αραφωθ, καὶ οὐκ ἐγνώσθη ῥῆμα.

19 And a woman took a covering, and spread it over the mouth of the well, and spread out ground corn upon it [to dry], and the thing was not known.

19 And a woman took, and spread a covering over the mouth of the well, as it were to dry sodden barley and so the thing was not known.

19 And the woman took and spread a covering over the well's mouth, and spread ground corn thereon; and the thing was not known.

19 Then the wife took and spread the drape over the face of the well, then she spread her threshed barley on it, so the matter was kept from being known.

19 וַתִּקַּח הָאִשָּׁה וַתִּפְרֹשׂ אֶת- הַמָּסָךְ עַל-פְּנֵיI הַבְּאֵר וַתִּשְׁטַח עָלָיו הָרִפוֹתJ וְלֹא נוֹדַע דָּבָר:

20 καὶ ἦλθαν οἱ παῖδες Αβεσσα­λωμ πρὸς τὴν γυναῖκα εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν καὶ εἶπαν Ποῦ Αχιμαας καὶ Ιωναθαν; καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ἡ γυνή Παρῆλθαν μικρὸν τοῦ ὕδατος· καὶ ἐζήτησαν καὶ οὐχ εὗραν καὶ ἀνέστρεψαν εἰς Ιερουσαλημ.

20 And the servants of Abessalom came to the woman into the house, and said, Where are Achimaas and Jonathan? and the woman said to them, They are gone a little way beyond the water. And they sought and found them not, and returned to Jerusalem.

20 And when Absalom's servants were come into the house, they said to the woman: Where is Achimaas and Jonathan? and the woman answered them: They passed on [in haste, after they had tasted] a little water. But they [that] sought them, when they found them not, X returned into Jerusalem.

20 And when Absalom's servants came to the woman to the house, they said, Where is Ahimaaz and Jonathan? And the woman said unto them, They be gone over the brook of water. And when they had sought and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem.

20 And when the servants of Absalom came to the wife at the house and said, “Where are Ahimaz and Jonathan?” the wife said to them, “They crossed over the water yonder.” So they searched, but they didn’t find them, then they returned to Jerusalem.

20 וַיָּבֹאוּ עַבְדֵי אַבְשָׁלוֹם אֶל-הָאִשָּׁה הַבַּיְתָה וַיֹּאמְרוּ אַיֵּה אֲחִימַעַץ וִיהוֹנָתָן וַתֹּאמֶר לָהֶם הָאִשָּׁה עָבְרוּ מִיכַלK הַמָּיִם וַיְבַקְשׁוּ וְלֹא מָצָאוּ וַיָּשֻׁבוּ יְרוּשָׁלִָם: ס

21 ἐγένετο δὲ μετὰ τὸ ἀπελθεῖν αὐτοὺς καὶ ἀνέβησαν ἐκ τοῦ λάκκου καὶ ἐπορεύθησαν καὶ ἀνήγγειλαν τῷ βασιλεῖ Δαυιδ καὶ εἶπαν πρὸς Δαυιδ Ἀνάστητε καὶ διάβητε ταχέως τὸ ὕδωρ, ὅτι οὕτως ἐβουλεύσατο περὶ ὑμῶν Αχιτοφελ.

21 And it came to pass after they were gone, that they came up out of the pit, and went on [their way]; and reported to king David, and said to David, Arise ye and go quickly over the water, for thus has Achitophel counselled concerning you.

21 And when they were gone, X they came up out of the well, and going on told king David, and said X X: Arise, and pass quickly over the river: for this manner of counsel has Achitophel given against you.

21 And it came to pass, after they were departed, that they came up out of the well, and went and told king David, and said unto David, Arise, and pass quickly over the water: for thus hath Ahithophel counselled against you.

21 So it was, after the men had gone on, that they climbed up out of the well, and they went and communicated to King David and said to David, “Y’all get up and cross over the water quickly, for Ahithophel has advised like so against y’all!”

21 וַיְהִי אַחֲרֵי לֶכְתָּם וַיַּעֲלוּ מֵהַבְּאֵר וַיֵּלְכוּ וַיַּגִּדוּ לַמֶּלֶךְ דָּוִד וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֶל-דָּוִד קוּמוּ וְעִבְרוּ מְהֵרָה אֶת-הַמַּיִם כִּי-כָכָה יָעַץ עֲלֵיכֶם אֲחִיתֹפֶל:

22 καὶ ἀνέστη Δαυιδ καὶ πᾶς ὁ λαὸς ὁ μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ καὶ διέβησαν τὸν Ιορδάνην ἕως τοῦ φωτὸς τοῦ πρωί, ἕως ἑνὸς οὐκ ἔλαθεν ὃς οὐ διῆλθεν τὸν Ιορδάνην.

22 And David rose up and all the people with him, and they passed over Jordan till the morning light;L X there was not one missing who did not pass over Jordan.

22 So David arose, and all the people that were with him, and they passed over the Jordan, until it grew light X, and not one of them was left that was not gone ever the river.

22 Then David arose, and all the people that were with him, and they passed over Jordan: by the morning light X there lacked not one of them that was not gone over Jordan.

22 So David got up (and all the people with him), and they crossed over the Jordan. By the morning light, not even one was missing who had not crossed over the Jordan.

22 וַיָּקָם דָּוִד וְכָל-הָעָם אֲשֶׁר אִתּוֹ וַיַּעַבְרוּ אֶת- הַיַּרְדֵּן עַד-אוֹר הַבֹּקֶר עַד-אַחַד לֹא נֶעְדָּר אֲשֶׁר לֹא-עָבַר אֶת-הַיַּרְדֵּן:

23 καὶ Αχιτοφελ εἶδεν ὅτι οὐκ ἐγενήθη ἡ βουλὴ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐπέσαξεν τὴν ὄνον [αὐτοῦ] καὶ ἀνέστη καὶ ἀπῆλθεν εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ εἰς τὴν πόλιν αὐτοῦ· καὶ ἐνετείλατο τῷ οἴκῳ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀπήγξατο καὶ ἀπέθανεν καὶ ἐτάφη ἐν τῷ τάφῳ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ.

23 And Achitophel saw that his counsel was not followed, and he saddled [his] ass, and rose and departed to his house into his city; and he gave orders to his household, and hanged himself, and died, and was buried in the sepulchre of his father.

23 But Achitophel seeing that his counsel was not followed, saddled [his] ass, and arose and went [home] to his house [andM] to his city, and putting X his house in order, X hanged himself, X X and was buried in the sepulchre of his father.

23 And when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his ass, and arose, and gat him [home] to his house, to his city, and put X his household in order, and hanged himself, and died, and was buried in the sepulchre of his father.

23 Now, when Ahithophel saw that his advice had not been acted upon, he saddled his donkey and mounted it, then he went to his house at his city and gave order to his household, then he strangled himself so that he died. He was then buried in his father’s tomb.

23 וַאֲחִיתֹפֶל רָאָה כִּי לֹא נֶעֶשְׂתָה עֲצָתוֹ וַיַּחֲבֹשׁ אֶת- הַחֲמוֹרN וַיָּקָם וַיֵּלֶךְ אֶל-בֵּיתוֹ אֶל-עִירוֹ וַיְצַוO אֶל-בֵּיתוֹP וַיֵּחָנַקQ וַיָּמָת וַיִּקָּבֵר בְּקֶבֶר אָבִיו: ס

24 Καὶ Δαυιδ διῆλθεν εἰς Μαναϊμ, καὶ Αβεσσαλωμ διέβη τὸν Ιορδάνην αὐτὸς καὶ πᾶς ἀνὴρ Ισραηλ μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ.

24 And David passed over to Manaim: and Abessalom crossed over Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him.

24 But David came to the campXR, and Absalom passed over the Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him.

24 Then David came to Mahanaim. And Absalom passed over Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him.

24 Meanwhile, as for David, he went toward Machanaim, and as for Absalom, he crossed over the Jordan (he and all the men of Israel with him).

24 וְדָוִד בָּא מַחֲנָיְמָה וְאַבְשָׁלֹם עָבַר אֶת-הַיַּרְדֵּן הוּא וְכָל-אִישׁS יִשְׂרָאֵל עִמּוֹ:

25 καὶ τὸν Αμεσσαϊ κατέστησεν Αβεσσαλωμ ἀντὶ Ιωαβ ἐπὶ τῆς δυνάμεως· καὶ Αμεσσαϊ υἱὸς ἀνδρὸς καὶ ὄνομα αὐτῷ Ιοθορ ὁ Ισραηλίτης, οὗτος εἰσῆλθεν πρὸς Αβιγαιαν θυγατέρα Ναας ἀδελφὴν Σαρουιας μητρὸς Ιωαβ.

25 And Abessalom appointed Amessai in the room of Joab over the host. And Amessai was the son of a man X whose name was Jether of Jezra­el: X he went in to Abigaia the daughter of Naas, the sister of Saruia the mother of Joab.

25 Now Absalom appointed Amasa in Joab's stead over the army: and Amasa was the son of a man X who was called Jethra, of Jezrael, who went in to Abigail the daughter of Naas, the sister of Sarvia [who was] the mother of Joab.

25 And Absalom made Amasa [captain] of the host instead of Joab: which Amasa was a man's son, X whose name was Ithra an Israelite, that went in to Abigail the daughter of Nahash, sister to Zeruiah Joab's mother.

25 Now, Absalom had installed Amasa over the army-host instead of Joab, and, as for Amasa, he was the son of a man whose name was Jethra the Jesraelite, when he went in to Abigal, the daughter of Nahash, sister of Tseruiah, Joab’s mother.

25 וְאֶת-עֲמָשָׂא שָׂם אַבְשָׁלֹם תַּחַת יוֹאָב עַל-הַצָּבָא וַעֲמָשָׂא בֶן-אִישׁT וּשְׁמוֹU יִתְרָא הַיִּשְׂרְאֵלִיV אֲשֶׁר-בָּא אֶל-אֲבִיגַל בַּת-נָחָשׁW אֲחוֹת צְרוּיָה אֵם יוֹאָב:

26 καὶ παρενέβαλεν πᾶς Ισραηλ καὶ Αβεσσαλωμ εἰς τὴν γῆν Γαλααδ.

26 And all Israel and Abessalom encamped in the land of Galaad.

26 And Israel camped with Absalom in the land of Galaad.

26 So Israel and Absalom pitched in the land of Gilead.

26 So Israel with Absalom took up a position in the land of Gilead.

26 וַיִּחַן יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאַבְשָׁלֹם אֶרֶץ הַגִּלְעָד: ס

27 καὶ ἐγένετο ἡνίκα ἦλθεν Δαυιδ εἰς Μαναϊμ, Ουεσβι υἱὸς Ναας ἐκ Ραββαθ υἱῶν Αμμων καὶ Μαχιρ υἱὸς Αμιηλ ἐκ Λωδαβαρ καὶ Βερζελλι ὁ Γαλααδίτης ἐκ Ρωγελλιμ

27 And it came to pass when David came to Manaim, that Uesbi the son of Naas of Rabbath of the sons of Ammon, and Machir son of Amiel of Lodabar, and Berzelli the Galaadite of Rogellim,

27 And when David was come to the campX, X Sobi the son of Naas of Rabbath of the children of Ammon, and Machir the son of Ammihel of Lodabar and Berzellai the Galaadite of Rogelim,

27 And it came to pass, when David was come to Mahanaim, that Shobi the son of Nahash of Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and Machir the son of Ammiel of Lodebar, and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim,

27 Now, it came about when David was going to Machanaim, that Shobi, son of Nahash from Rabbah of the descendants of Ammon, and Makir son of Ammiel from Lo Debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Roglim

27 וַיְהִי כְּבוֹא דָוִד מַחֲנָיְמָה וְשֹׁבִי בֶן-נָחָשׁ מֵרַבַּת בְּנֵי-עַמּוֹן וּמָכִיר בֶּן-עַמִּיאֵל מִלֹּאX דְבָר וּבַרְזִלַּי הַגִּלְעָדִי מֵרֹגְלִים:

28 [ἤνεγκαν δέκα] κοίτας [καὶ ἀμφιτάπους] καὶ λέβητας [δέκα] καὶ σκεύη κεράμου καὶ πυροὺς καὶ κριθὰς καὶ ἄλευρον καὶ ἄλφιτον καὶ κύαμον καὶ φακὸν X X

28 [brought ten Yembroidered] bed[s, (with double coverings,)] and [ten] caldrons, and earthenware X, and wheat, and barley, and flour, and meal, and beans, and pulse, X X

28 [Brought him] bed[s], and tapestry, and earthen vessels, and wheat, and barley, and meal, and parched corn, and beans, and lentils, and fried [pulse],

28 Brought bed[s], and basons, and earthen vessels, and wheat, and barley, and flour, and parched corn, and beans, and lentiles, and parched pulseZ,

28 {presented} bedding and bowls and pottery vessels, and wheat and barley and flour, and granola and beans and lentils {},

28 מִשְׁכָּבAA וְסַפּוֹת וּכְלִי יוֹצֵר וְחִטִּים וּשְׂעֹרִים וְקֶמַח וְקָלִי וּפוֹלAB וַעֲדָשִׁים וְקָלִיAC:

29 καὶ μέλι καὶ βούτυρον καὶ πρόβατα καὶ σαφφωθ βοῶν [καὶ] προσήνεγκαν τῷ Δαυιδ καὶ τῷ λαῷ τῷ μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ φαγεῖν, ὅτι εἶπαν Ὁ λαὸς πεινῶν καὶ ἐκλελυμένος καὶ διψῶν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ.

29 and honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheese[s] of kine: [and] they brought [them] to David and to his people X with him to eat; for oneAD said, The people is faint and hungry and thirsty in the wilderness.

29 And honey, and butter, and sheep, and fat X calves, [and] they gave to David and X the people that were with him, to eat: for they suspected that the people were faint with hunger and thirst in the wilderness.

29 And honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheese of kine, for David, and for the people that were with him, to eat: for they said, The people is hungry, and weary, and thirsty, in the wilderness.

29 and honey and butter, and sheep and cow’s cheese to David and to the people which was with him to eat, for, they said, “The people has become hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness.”

29 וּדְבַשׁ וְחֶמְאָה וְצֹאן וּשְׁפוֹת בָּקָר הִגִּישׁוּ לְדָוִד וְלָעָם אֲשֶׁר-אִתּוֹ לֶאֱכוֹל כִּי אָמְרוּ הָעָם רָעֵב וְעָיֵף וְצָמֵא בַּמִּדְבָּר:



1Gill cited a Jewish tradition that it was Zadok’s housemaid.

2Matthew Henry commented, “See what real enemies those are to themselves that think too well of themselves...”

3“Kim[c]hi thinketh he was an Israelite by nation and kinred, but an Is[h]maelite by habitation: so also Vatablus: but he was an Is[h]maelite rather by nation, and an Israelite in habitation:” ~Andrew Willett, 1611 AD
“whose father was by birth Jether, an Ishmaelite (1Chr. 2:17), but by religion Ithra (as he is here called), an Israelite.” ~Matthew Henry

4“went into” בא instead of “took” לקח. Gill also noted this anomaly.

5e.g. in Ruth 4:13; 1 Kings 4:15; 16:31; 1 Chronicles 2:19; 7:15; 2 Chronicles 11:18; Ezra 2:61; and Nehemiah 7:63. Tsumura also noted the irregularity but suggested it could be explained in terms of an Arab “sadiqa marriage.”

6Andrew Willett considered Nahash as the wife of Jesse. Matthew Henry, John Gill, and Robert Jamieson followed a Jewish tradition that Nahash was Jesse himself.

7“Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of livestock; and when they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, that indeed the region was a place for livestock” (NKJV)

82Sa 19:32 Now Barzillai was a very aged man, eighty years old. And he had provided the king with supplies while he stayed at Mahanaim, for he was a very rich man.

9Commentators and Bible Dictionaries were all uncertain as to the location of Roglim, except that it was nearby.

10Psalms 42 and 43 say they were written by the sons of Korah, but the situation they reflect sounds a lot like David’s situation at this point. He was hungry and thirsty and weary and removed from God’s special presence in Jerusalem. “Like a deer pants over bodies of water, so my soul pants for You, God. My soul was thirsty for God? ... My tears were a daily and nightly meal to me while they were saying to me all the day, ‘Where is your God?’ ... I will remember you from the land of Jordan … Deep-waters are calling out to deep-waters according to the sound of your water-channels. All your breakers and your waves went over on me... Why have You forgotten me? Why do I go gloomily into the oppression of the enemy? … Deliver me from [this] man of deceit and injustice! ... Send Your light and Your truth; it is they that will guide me and bring me to the mountain of Your holiness and to Your chambers...” (NAW)

AMy original chart includes the NASB, NIV, and ESV, but their copyright restrictions have forced me to remove them from the publicly-available edition of this chart. (LXX is the Rahlfs edition of the Septuagint, Brenton is a translation into English of the Greek Vaticanus, Douay is a translation of the Latin Vulgate, and 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 17 is 4Q51 Samuela containing parts of verses 23-29, 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}.

BSyriac instead reads “all Israel.”

CThis is a transliteration of the Hebrew word in the MT which means “plains.”

DNASB, NIV, and ESV appear to have been dyslexic in their reading of the MT here, as if the word were instead עברות, or perhaps they are carrying through the variant from the previous chapter where some manuscripts read עברות and others read ערבות.

Ecf. Psalm 35:25 Don't let them say in their heart, "Aha! Our dream-come-true!" Don't let them say, "We have swallowed him up!" (NAW)
The Lamed preposition before “the king” is curious.

FThe Hebrew word Ein is the word for “fountain.”

GSyriac and Lucian Rescription also insert a conjunction here.

HKnown by quite a few other names, such as Job’s Well, Nehemiah’s Well, Fuller’s Well. It is at the intersection of the Kidron and Hinnom Valleys, just far enough away from Jerusalem to see the city at a distance without being able to identify individual persons by sight.

ISeveral Hebrew manuscripts and rabbinic writings read yp (“mouth”) instead of “face” like the LXX and MT do. The Latin and Chaldee and Lucian Rescription also use “mouth.”

JThe only other instance of this word in the Hebrew Bible is in Proverbs 27:22 “Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, Yet his foolishness will not depart from him.” (NKJV) K&D maintain that it is “peeled barley,” and in accordance, Tsumura rendered it “crushed barley.” AJV translated it “groats,” which, according to Webster’s Dictionary is threshed oats. According to Goldman, the Targums translated it “dates,” and Kimchi translated it “bruised grain,” which could comport with threshed/crushed/peeled barley.

KHapex legomenon. Spelled like David’s wife’s name Michal. BDB said the meaning is “dubious” but suggested “brook” as the meaning, Holiday = “accumulation, reservoir,” K&D followed the LXX with “little,” Kittel cited a few manuscripts and rabbinical writings which omitted it (and the Arabic and Wellhausen followed them), then there is the Old Latin tradition (followed by the Greek Lucian Rescription) which translated it “hurrying,” and the Vulgate Latin, which adds a whole new phrase about “tasting” the water. Targums = “Jordan” (even there is no similarity to Miycal), Syriac = “hence” (מִן־כֹּה), Gesenius suggested “a pit containing water,” Fürst suggested “ditch,” and Tsumura suggested “riverbank.”

LAccording to https://hb.openscriptures.org/structure/OshbVerse/index.html?b=2Sam&c=17&v=22, the main punctuation break occurs between “Jordan” and “until morning light,” not here.

MSyriac and some Hebrew manuscripts add an “and” here, like the Vulgate did, but it’s not in the MT or the LXX. The only known DSS is illegible at this point.

NThere are slight variants on this word: the Syriac and Targums denote a female donkey whereas the MT denotes a male donkey, and, whereas the MT uses no pronoun, the LXX, Old Latin, Vulgate, and some rabbinical writers added the pronoun “his” (wrwmj). (Kittel also noted that the Syriac contains the pronoun “his,” but I didn’t see it there.) However, the definite article can legitimately be translated as a pronoun, and the context indicates that the donkey was his own, so there is no change in meaning.

OLiterally “commanded,” that is, drew up his last will and testament as to how to dispose of his estate.

P2 Kings 20:1 (cf. Isaiah 38:1) … צו לביתך כי מת אתה ...is the only other place in the Hebrew Bible where we see this phrase about putting a house in order before dying.

Qstrangled (KJV, NASB), hanged (Wycliffe, Geneva, NKJV, ASV, NIV, RV, ESV, NET, NLT, Brenton, Douay), but in the only other passage where this verb occurs, Nahum 2:4, where it describes the way a lion kills his prey and brings it to his den for his mate and cubs, most versions switch from “hanged” to “strangled” or translate with another word: killed (NKJV, NASB, Douay), dragged (CEV), woryed (Geneva), slowy (Wycliffe).

R“Machanaim” is Hebrew for “camps,” so this is a translation rather than a transliteration. The same happens again in v.27.

S2 Hebrew manuscripts as well as the Greek Alexandrinus manuscript and the Syriac omit “men of” but it makes no difference in context.

TTargums and Syriac instead have גבר (“mighty-man”). Gill commented: “when Amasa is called a "man's son", it means a great man, as Kimchi observes. Others, however, considered it a term of illegitimacy.

UThe DSS appears to have about 9 characters (including spaces) less than the MT, but this part of the verse is obliterated. If “a man whose name was” were omitted from the MT, the spacing would work, and it wouldn’t change the meaning at all.

V“Amasa, son of Ithra/Jethra” is also mentioned in 1 Kings 2:5 & 32 as well as in 1 Chron. 2:17, and “Jezraelite/Israelite” is only mentioned here and Lev. 24:10, but in 1 Chron. 2:17, it is stated that he was an “Ishmaelite.” Unger’s Bible Dictionary indicates that the reading should be “Ishmaelite” here contra the MT, and with this the Eerdman’s Bible Dictionary agrees, although it mistakenly equates “Ishmaelite” with the LXX and Vulgate (and AJV) reading “Jezrealite.” The Fausset Bible Dictionary also agreed, adding that, “Jether or Ithra had ‘gone in to,’ i.e. seduced, Abigail, daughter of Nahash and sister of Zeruiah, Joab's mother, probably during the sojourn of David's family with the king of Moab (1 Sam. 22:3,4).” Keil & Delitzsch agreed, noting, “1 Chron. 2:17, where the name is written Jether, [is] a contracted form of Jithra. From the description given of Abigail as a daughter of Nahash and sister of Zeruiah, not of David, some of the earlier commentators have very justly concluded that Abigail and Zeruiah were only step-sisters of David, i.e., daughters of his mother by Nahash and not by Jesse.” Lange’s commentary agrees with the above, although it added a couple of other possibilities, such as that Nahash could “ be taken as a woman’s name, here a second wife of Jesse. In this case also the two, Zeruiah and Abigail, would [still] be David’s step-sisters,” and the possibility asserted by some Jewish scholars that Nahash was another name for Jesse, but dismissed the latter on the supposition that “son of a man” indicated foreignness, so he couldn’t have been an Israelite like Jesse was. Gill and Jamieson were convinced, however, that Nahash was Jesse.

WDSS y?–, suggesting another name besides “Nahash.” The possibility of “Jesse” is intriguing, but no other manuscript offers any other name besides Nahash, so perhaps it was just an alternate spelling of “Nahash” or something like “those of Nahash.”

XThe “Lo” in “Lo-Debar” is spelled a couple of different ways in Hebrew and Aramaic manuscripts, including awl and wl, but it is the same place.

YVaticanus omits the “and” which is in the LXX and MT here.

ZThe 1828 Webster’s Dictionary defines “pulse” as “Leguminous plants or their seeds; the plants whose pericarp is a legume or pod, as beans, peas”

AASyriac, Vulgate, and LXX all start with the verb “brought” and also mention “beds.” A participle form of “bringing” could start and end with the same letters as the word for “bed” in the MT, but the middle two letters would be different. Targums reads “carpets.” The word for “bed” is singular, though, which seems incongruous with this large food-preparation list.

ABEzekiel 4:9 is the only other place where these “beans” are mentioned in the Bible; it also mentions the next word “lentils,” another word almost as rare, but also found in Gen. 25:34 (for which Esau sold his birthright) and the crop in the field in 2 Sam. 23:11.

ACThe repetition of this food in the list is strange, so the omission of it in the Old Latin, Septuagint, and Syriac makes sense.

ADThe Vaticanus reads 3ms “he said” but the LXX follows the MT with 3mp “they said.”

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