2 Samuel 21:1-14 – Atonement For Saul’s Sins

Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 20 Nov. 2022

Introduction

vs.1-2 King Saul’s Massacre of the Gibeonites & Consequences

vs. 3-7 The Terms Of Atonement Negotiated

vs. 8-9 The Atonement is Made

vs. 10-11 Ritspah’s vigil

vs. 12-14 Shalom Restored

APPLICATION



2 Samuel 21:1-14Side-by side comparison of versionsA

LXX

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1 Καὶ ἐγένετο λιμὸς ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις Δαυιδ τρία ἔτη, ἐνι­αυτὸς ἐχόμενος ἐνιαυτοῦ, καὶ ἐζήτησεν Δαυιδ τὸ πρόσωπον τοῦ κυρίου. καὶ εἶπεν κύριος Ἐπὶ Σαουλ καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν οἶκον[ αὐτοῦ ἀδικία διὰ τὸ αὐτὸν θανάτῳB] αἱμάτων περὶ οὗ ἐθανάτωσεν τοὺς Γαβαωνίτας.

1 And there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David sought the face of the Lord. And the Lord said, [There is guilt] upon Saul and X [his] house [because of his] bloody [mur­der], whereby he slew the Gabaonites.

1 And there was a famine in the days of David for three years X successively X: and David consulted the oracle of the Lord. And the Lord said: It is for Saul, and [his] bloody house, because he slow the Gabaonites.

1 Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David enquired of X X the LORD. And the LORD answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites.

1 Now, there was a famine during the days of David, year after year for three years, so David sought the face of Yahweh. And Yahweh said, “The bloodguilt is accountable to Saul – that is, to his house, because he put to death the Gibeonites.”

(א) וַיְהִי רָעָב בִּימֵי דָוִד שָׁלֹשׁ שָׁנִים שָׁנָה אַחֲרֵי שָׁנָה וַיְבַקֵּשׁ דָּוִד אֶת פְּנֵי יְהוָה וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל שָׁאוּל וְאֶל בֵּית הַדָּמִים עַל אֲשֶׁר הֵמִית אֶת הַגִּבְעֹנִים.

2 καὶ ἐκάλεσεν ὁ βασιλεὺς [Δαυιδ] XC τοὺς Γαβαων­ίτας καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτούς· καὶ οἱ Γαβαωνῖται οὐχ X υἱοὶ Ισραηλ εἰσίν, ὅτι ἀλλ᾿ [ἢ] ἐκ τοῦ λείμματος τοῦ Αμορραίου, καὶ οἱ υἱοὶ Ισραηλ ὤμοσαν αὐτοῖς· καὶ ἐζήτησεν Σαουλ πατάξαι αὐτοὺς ἐν τῷ ζηλῶσαι αὐτὸν τοὺς υἱοὺς Ισρα­ηλ καὶ Ιουδα.

2 And King [David] called X the Gabaon­ites, and said to them; —(now the Gabaonites are not X the children of Israel, but X are of the remnant of the Amorite, and the children of Israel had sworn to them: but Saul sought to smite them in his zeal for the children of Israel and Juda.)

2 Then the king, calling for the Gabaonites, said to them: (Now the Gabaonites were not of the children of Israel, but X the remains of the Amorrhites: and the children of Israel had sworn to them, and Saul sought to slay them out of zeal, [as it were] for the children of Israel and Juda:)

2 And the king called X the Gibeonites, and said unto them; (now the Gibe­onites were not of the children of Israel, but X of the remnant of the Amor­ites; and the children of Is­rael had sworn unto them: and Saul sought to slay them in his zeal to the chil­dren of Israel and Judah.)

2 So the king called for the Gibeonites, and he talked to them. (Concerning the Gibeonites, they themselves were not from the children of Israel; instead, they were from the remnant of the Amorites, but the children of Israel had made an oath with them. Nevertheless, Saul had sought to massacre them in his jealousy for the children of Israel and Judah.)

(ב) וַיִּקְרָא הַמֶּלֶךְ לַגִּבְעֹנִים וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵיהֶם וְהַגִּבְעֹנִים לֹא מִבְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הֵמָּה כִּי אִם מִיֶּתֶר הָאֱמֹרִי וּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל נִשְׁבְּעוּ לָהֶם וַיְבַקֵּשׁ שָׁאוּל לְהַכֹּתָם בְּקַנֹּאתוֹ לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וִיהוּדָה.

3 καὶ εἶπεν Δαυιδ πρὸς τοὺς Γαβαωνίτας Τί ποιήσω ὑμῖν καὶ ἐν τίνι ἐξιλάσ­ομαι καὶ εὐλογή­σετε τὴν κληρον­ομίαν κυρίου;

3 And David said to the Gabaon­ites, What shall I do to you? and wherewithal shall I make atonement, that ye may bless the inheritance of the Lord?

3 David there­fore said to the Gabaonites: What shall I do for you? and what shall be the atonement for you, that you may bless the inheritance of the Lord?

3 Wherefore David said unto the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you? and wherewith shall I make the atonement, that ye may bless the inheritance of the LORD?

3 Anyway, David said to the Gibe­onites, “What should I do for y’all? And with what should I make atonement, that y’all may bless the inherit­ance of Yahweh?”

(ג) וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד אֶל הַגִּבְעֹנִים מָה אֶעֱשֶׂה לָכֶם וּבַמָּה אֲכַפֵּר וּבָרְכוּ אֶת נַחֲלַת יְהוָה.

4 καὶ εἶπαν αὐτῷ οἱ Γαβαωνῖται Οὐκ ἔστιν ἡμῖν ἀργύριον καὶ χρυσίον μετὰ Σαουλ καὶ μετὰ τοῦ οἴκου αὐτοῦ, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἡμῖν ἀνὴρ θανατῶσαι ἐν Ισραηλ. καὶ εἶπεν Τί ὑμεῖς λέγετε [καὶ] ποιήσω ὑμῖν;

4 And the Gabaonites said to him, We have no [question about] silver or gold with Saul and with his house; and there is no man for us to put to death in Israel. 5 And he said, What say ye? [speakD, and] I will do [it] for you.

4 And the Gab­aonites said to him: We have no [contest about] silver and gold, [but] against Saul and against his house: neither do we desire that any man be slain of Israel. And [the king] said [to them]: What will you [then that] I should do for you?

4 And the Gib­eonites said unto him, We will have no silver nor gold of Saul, nor of his house; nei­ther for us shalt thou kill any man in Israel. And he said, What ye shall say, that will I do for you.

4 And the Gibe­onites said to him, “There was no silver or gold for {us} with Saul or with his household, and there was no man in Israel for us to put to death.” But he said, “What are y’all saying I should do for you?”

(ד) וַיֹּאמְרוּ לוֹ הַגִּבְעֹנִים אֵין ליE כֶּסֶף וְזָהָב עִם שָׁאוּל וְעִם בֵּיתוֹ וְאֵין לָנוּ אִישׁ לְהָמִית Fבְּיִשְׂרָאֵל וַיֹּאמֶר מָה אַתֶּם אֹמְרִים Gאֶעֱשֶׂה לָכֶם.

5 καὶ εἶπαν πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα Ὁ ἀνὴρ X συνετέλ­εσεν ἐφ᾿ ἡμᾶς καὶ X [ἐδίωξεν ἡμᾶς,] ὃς παρελογίσατο [ἐξολεθρεῦσαι] ἡμᾶς· ἀφανίσ­ωμεν [αὐτὸν] τοῦ μὴ ἑστάναι αὐτὸν ἐν παντὶ ὁρίῳ Ισραηλ·

And they said to the king, The man who would have made an end of us, and [persecu­ted us,] who plotted against us [to destroy us,] let us utterly destroy [him,] so that he shall have no standing in all the coast[s] of Israel.

5 And they said to the king: The man that crushed us and oppressed us unjustly, we must destroy [in such manner that there be] not [so much as] one left [of his stock] in all the coast[s] of Israel.

5 And they answered X the king, The man that consumed us, and that devised against us that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the coast[s] of Israel,

5 Presently they said to the king, “[Because of] that man who finished us off and who plotted against us, we were destroyed from stationing ourselves within any precinct of Israel.

(ה) וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֶל הַמֶּלֶךְ הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר כִּלָּנוּH וַאֲשֶׁר דִּמָּה לָנוּ נִשְׁמַדְנוּI מֵהִתְיַצֵּב בְּכָל גְּבֻל יִשְׂרָאֵלJ.

6 δότω ἡμῖν ἑπτὰ ἄνδρας ἐκ τῶν υἱῶν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐξηλιάσωμεν αὐτοὺς τῷ κυρίῳ ἐν Γαβαων Σαουλ ἐκλεκτοὺς κυρίου. καὶ εἶπεν ὁ βασιλεύς Ἐγὼ δώσω.

6 Let one give us seven men of his sons, and let us hang them up [in the sunK] to the Lord in Gabaon of Saul, [as] chosen out for the Lord. And the king said, I X will give [them].

6 Let seven men of his children be delivered unto us, that we may crucifyL them to the Lord in Gabaa of Saul, [once the] chosen of the Lord. And the king said: I X will give [them].

6 Let seven men of his sons be deliv­ered unto us, and we will hang them up unto the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, whom the LORD did choose. And the king said, I X will give them.

6 Let there be given to us seven men from among his sons, and let us dismember them for Yahweh at Gibeah of Saul, chosen by Yahweh.” And the king said, “I myself will do the giving.”

(ו) Mינתן לָנוּ שִׁבְעָה אֲנָשִׁים מִבָּנָיו וְהוֹקַעֲנוּם Nלַיהוָה בְּגִבְעַתO שָׁאוּל בְּחִירP יְהוָה וַיֹּאמֶר הַמֶּלֶךְ אֲנִי אֶתֵּן.

7 καὶ ἐφείσατο ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐπὶ Μεμφιβοσθε υἱὸν Ιωναθαν υἱοῦ Σαουλ διὰ τὸν ὅρκον κυρίου τὸν ἀνὰ μέσον αὐτῶν, [ἀνὰ] μέσον Δαυιδ καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον Ιωναθαν υἱοῦ Σαουλ.

7 But the king spared X Memphibosthe son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the oath of the Lord that was between them, even between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.

7 And the king spared X Miphiboseth the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the oath of the Lord, that had been between X X David and Jonathan the son of Saul.

7 But the king spared X Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the LORD'S oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.

7 So the king spared the life of Mephibosheth son of Jonathan son of Saul, on account of the oath to Yahweh which was between them – between David and Jonathan son of Saul.

(ז) וַיַּחְמֹלQ הַמֶּלֶךְ עַל מְפִי בֹשֶׁת בֶּן יְהוֹנָתָן בֶּן שָׁאוּל עַל שְׁבֻעַת יְהוָה אֲשֶׁר בֵּינֹתָם בֵּין דָּוִד וּבֵין יְהוֹנָתָן בֶּן שָׁאוּל.

8 καὶ ἔλαβεν ὁ βασιλεὺς [τοὺς] δύο υἱοὺς Ρεσφα θυγατρὸς Αια, οὓς ἔτεκεν τῷ Σαουλ, τὸν Ερμωνι καὶ τὸν Μεμφιβοσθε, καὶ τοὺς πέντε υἱοὺς Μιχολ θυγατρὸς Σαουλ, οὓς ἔτεκεν τῷ Εσριηλ υἱῷ Βερζελλι τῷ Μοουλαθι,

8 And the king took [the] two sons of Respha the daughter of Aia, whom she bore to Saul, Hermonoi and Memphibosthe, and the five sons of Michol daughter of Saul, whom she bore to EsdrielR son of Berzelli the Moulathite.

8 So the king took the two sons of Respha the daughter of Aia, whom she bore to Saul, Armoni, and Miphiboseth: and the five sons of Michol the daughter of Saul, whom she bore to Hadriel the son of Berzellai, that was of Molathi:

8 But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibo­sheth; and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite:

8 But the king picked Armoni and Mephibo­sheth, two of the sons of Ritspah daughter of Aiah whom she had borne to Saul, and five of the sons of Mikal daughter of Saul, whom she had borne for Adriel son of Barzillai the Mekholathite,

(ח) וַיִּקַּח הַמֶּלֶךְ אֶת שְׁנֵי בְּנֵי רִצְפָּה בַת אַיָּה אֲשֶׁר יָלְדָה לְשָׁאוּל אֶת אַרְמֹנִי וְאֶת מְפִבֹשֶׁת וְאֶת חֲמֵשֶׁת בְּנֵי מִיכַלS בַּת שָׁאוּל אֲשֶׁר יָלְדָה לְעַדְרִיאֵל בֶּן בַּרְזִלַּי הַמְּחֹלָתִי.

9 καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτοὺς ἐν χειρὶ τῶν Γαβαωνιτῶν,


καὶ ἐξηλίασαν αὐτοὺς ἐν τῷ ὄρει ἔναντι κυρίου, καὶ ἔπεσαν οἱ ἑπτὰ αὐτοὶ ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό· καὶ αὐτοὶ δὲ ἐθανατώθησαν ἐν ἡμέραις θερισμοῦ ἐν πρώτοις [ἐν] ἀρχῇ θερισμοῦ κριθῶν.

9 And he gave them into the hand of the Gabaonites,

and they hanged them [up to the sun] in the mountain before the lord: and they fell, even the seven together: moreover they were put to death in the days of harvest at the commencement, [in] the beginning of barley-harvest.

9 And gave them into the hand[s] of the Gabaonites:

and they crucified them on a hill before the Lord: and these seven died together X X X X in the first X X days of the harvest, when the barley began to be reaped.

9 And he deliv­ered them into the hand[s] of the Gibeonites,

and they hanged them in the hill before the LORD: and they fell all seven together, and X were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, [in] the beginning of barley harvest.

9 and he gave them into the control of the Gibeonites,

and they dismem­bered them on the hill before the presence of Yahweh. Thus the seven of them fell together. And as for them, they were put to death during the days of harvest, during its beginnings, {at} the start of barley harvest.

(ט) וַיִּתְּנֵם בְּיַד הַגִּבְעֹנִים

וַיֹּקִיעֻם בָּהָר לִפְנֵי יְהוָה וַיִּפְּלוּ ‎ שִׁבְעָתַיִםT יָחַד ‎ וְהֵםU הֻמְתוּ בִּימֵי קָצִיר בָּרִאשֹׁנִים ‎ Vתְּחִלַּת קְצִיר שְׂעֹרִים.

10 καὶ ἔλαβεν Ρεσφα θυγάτηρ Αια τὸν σάκκον καὶ ἔπηξεν αὑτῇ πρὸς τὴν πέτραν ἐν ἀρχῇ θερισμοῦ [κριθῶν], ἕως ἔσταξεν ἐπ᾿ αὐτοὺς ὕδωρ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, καὶ οὐκ ἔδωκεν τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταπαῦσαι ἐπ᾿ αὐτοὺς ἡμέρας καὶ τὰ θηρία τοῦ ἀγροῦ νυκτός. --

10 And Respha the daughter of Aia took sackcloth, and fixed it for herself on the rock in the beginning of [barley] harvest, until water dropped upon them out of heaven: and she did not suffer the birds of the air to rest upon them by day, nor the beast[s] of the field by night.

10 And Respha the daughter of Aia took haircloth, and spread it under her upon the rock from the beginning of the harvest, till water dropped upon them out of heaven: and suffered neither the birds to tear them by day, nor the beast[s] X X by night.

10 And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water dropped upon them out of heaven, and suffered neither the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beast[s] of the field by night.

10 Then Ritspah daughter of Aiah took her sack-cloth and spread it for herself over the landmark-rock, from the start of harvest until the waters rained upon them from the skies, and she did not allow a bird of the skies to alight upon them by day or a wild animal by night.

(י) וַתִּקַּח רִצְפָּה בַת אַיָּה אֶת הַשַּׂק וַתַּטֵּהוּ לָהּ אֶלW הַצּוּר Xמִתְּחִלַּת קָצִיר עַד נִתַּךְ מַיִם עֲלֵיהֶם מִן הַשָּׁמָיִם וְלֹא נָתְנָה עוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם לָנוּחַ עֲלֵיהֶם יוֹמָם וְאֶת חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה לָיְלָה.

11 καὶ ἀπηγγέλη τῷ Δαυιδ ὅσα ἐποίησεν Ρεσφα θυγάτηρ Αια παλλακὴ Σαουλ, [καὶ ἐξελύθησαν, καὶ κατέλαβεν αὐτοὺς Δαν υἱὸς Ιωα ἐκ τῶν ἀπογόνων τῶν γιγάντων,]

11 And it was told David what Respha the daughter of Aia the concubine of Saul had done, [and they were faint, and Dan, the son of Joa of the offspring of the giants overtook them.]

11 And it was told David, what Respha the daughter of Aia, the concubine of Saul, had done.

11 And it was told David what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done.

11 Now, when it was communi­cated to David what was being done by Ritspah daughter of Aiah, concubine of Saul,

(יא) וַיֻּגַּד לְדָוִד אֵת אֲשֶׁר עָשְׂתָה רִצְפָּה בַת אַיָּה פִּלֶגֶשׁ שָׁאוּל.

12 καὶ ἐπορεύθη Δαυιδ καὶ ἔλαβεν τὰ ὀστᾶ Σαουλ καὶ τὰ ὀστᾶ Ιωναθαν τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ παρὰ τῶν ἀνδρῶν [υἱῶν] Ιαβις Γαλααδ, οἳ ἔκλεψαν αὐτοὺς ἐκ τῆς πλατείας Βαιθσαν, ὅτι ἔστησαν αὐτοὺς ἐκεῖ οἱ ἀλλόφυλοι ἐν ἡμέρᾳ, [] ἐπάταξαν οἱ ἀλλόφυλοι τὸν Σαουλ ἐν Γελβουε,

12 And David went and took the bones of Saul, and the bones of Jonathan his son, from the men [of the sons] of Jabis Galaad, who stole them from the street of Baethsan; for the Philistines set them there in the day [in which] the Philistines smote Saul in Gelbue.

12 And David went, and took the bones of Saul, and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Jabes Galaad, who had stolen them from the street of Bethsan, where the Philistines had hanged them when X they had slain Saul in Gelboe.

12 And David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Jabeshgilead, which had stolen them from the street of Bethshan, where the Philistines had hanged them, when X the Philistines had slain Saul in Gilboa:

12 David went and got the bones of Saul (and the bones of Jon­athan his son) from the city-commissioners of Jabesh Gilead, (who had taken them from the public-square of Beth Shan, where the Philistines had hung them up there on the day that the Philistines had struck Saul down on Gilboa),

(יב) וַיֵּלֶךְ דָּוִד וַיִּקַּח אֶת עַצְמוֹת שָׁאוּל וְאֶת עַצְמוֹת יְהוֹנָתָן בְּנוֹ מֵאֵת בַּעֲלֵי יָבֵישׁ גִּלְעָד אֲשֶׁר גָּנְבוּ אֹתָם מֵרְחֹבY בֵּית שַׁן אֲשֶׁר Z‎תָּלוּם שָׁם הַפְּלִשְׁתִּיםAA בְּיוֹם הַכּוֹת פְּלִשְׁתִּים אֶת שָׁאוּל בַּגִּלְבֹּעַ.

13 καὶ ἀνήνεγκεν ἐκεῖθεν τὰ ὀστᾶ Σαουλ καὶ τὰ ὀστᾶ Ιωναθαν τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ καὶ συνήγαγεν τὰ ὀστᾶ τῶν ἐξηλιασμένων.

13 And he carried up thence the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son, and X gathered the bones of them that had been hanged.

13 And he brought from thence the bones of Saul, and the bones of Jonathan his son, and they gathered up the bones of them that were crucified,

13 And he brought up from thence the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son; and they gathered the bones of them that were hanged.

13 and he brought up from there the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son. They also gathered up the bones of the dismembered men,

(יג) וַיַּעַל מִשָּׁם אֶת עַצְמוֹת שָׁאוּל וְאֶת עַצְמוֹת יְהוֹנָתָן בְּנוֹ וַיַּאַסְפוּ אֶת עַצְמוֹת הַמּוּקָעִים.

14 καὶ ἔθαψαν τὰ ὀστᾶ Σαουλ καὶ [τὰ ὀστᾶ] Ιωναθαν τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ [καὶ τῶν ἡλιασθέντων] ἐν γῇ Βενιαμιν ἐν τῇ πλευρᾷ ἐν τῷ τάφῳ Κις τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐποίησαν πάντα, ὅσα ἐνετείλατο ὁ βασιλεύς. --καὶ ἐπήκουσεν ὁ θεὸς τῇ γῇ μετὰ ταῦτα.

14 And they buried the bones of Saul and[ the bones] of Jona­than his son, [and the bones of them that had been hanged], in the land of Ben­jamin in the hillAB, in the sepulchre of Cis his father; and they did all things that the king command­ed: and after this God hearkened to the prayers of the land.

14 And they buried [them with] the bones of Saul, and of Jonathan his son in the land of Benjamin, in the side, in the sepulchre of Cis his father: and they did all that the king had com­manded, and God shewed mercy again to the land after these [things].

14 And the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son buried they in the country of Benjamin in Zelah, in the sepulchre of Kish his father: and they per­formed all that the king com­manded. And after that God was intreated for the land.

14 and they buried {them with} the bones of Saul and of Jonathan his son in the land of Benjamin in Tsela, in the tomb of Kish his father. Thus they did all that the king had commanded, and God responded to prayers for the land after this.

(יד) וַיִּקְבְּרוּ אֶת עַצְמוֹת שָׁאוּל AC וִיהוֹנָתָן בְּנוֹAD בְּאֶרֶץ בִּנְיָמִן בְּצֵלָע בְּקֶבֶר קִישׁ אָבִיו וַיַּעֲשׂוּ כֹּל אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה הַמֶּלֶךְ וַיֵּעָתֵר אֱלֹהִים לָאָרֶץ אַחֲרֵי כֵן.




1A number of Jewish scholars relate it to Saul’s massacre of the priests at Nob. Gill and some others related it to Saul’s purging of witches.

2Of the Hivite ethnicity in Joshua 9, but here called Amorites. Willett explains: “because the Cananites were mingled together, and the Amorites were the more valiant people, that the rest had the denomination from them as the more principall: as Gen. 15.16 ‘the wickednesse of the Amorites is not yet full’: where the rest of the Cananites are vnderstood by the Amorites, as the more principall part...”

3The “inheritance of Yahweh” is a phrase used throughout the Law to describe the promised land which the children of Israel received as an inheritance from God.

4Matthew Henry adds another interpretation that the Gibeonites wanted to do the execution themselves, saying “we don’t want you (David) doing it ‘for us.’”

5Stated in Exodus 21:24, Leviticus 24:20, and Deuteronomy 19:21

6Although some interpret it that she had some children, but God stopped her from having any more children as a punishment for despising David for dancing in the ark ceremony.

7This explanation was accepted by Goldman, Henry, Gill, Jamieson

8This is asserted in Jewish tradition in T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 19. 2

92 Sam. 3:7 Now, there belonged to Saul a concubine, Ritspah, daughter of Aiah. And {Ish-bosheth, son of Saul} said to Abner, "Why did you go in to the concubine of my father?!" (NAW)

10Goldman calculated it to be 6 months in the Soncino commentary, but Josephus, Abarbinel, Willett, Henry, and Gill rejected such a long time. Keil & Delitzsch rejected it being a short time.

11Gill cites Fuller saying that Kish’s sepulchre “was not far from the hill on which the seven… were hanged”

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. (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 19 are 4Q51 Samuela containing parts of verses 5-15, 24-26, & 38-37, 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 DSS is badly obliterated here, so we can’t read the words, but it has way too much space for the MT text, so it could support the extra words here in the LXX, but since the Syriac, Targums, and Vulgate all support the MT, that inclines me against bringing in the extra words from the LXX.

CThe preposition in the MT is also in the Targums, Vulgate, and Syriac, but missing in the LXX. The same is true later in this verse where I have marked another X. However, in this first instance in the verse, due to the conventions of speech in which certain verbs go with certain prepositions, and since that particular convention does not transfer exactly the same across every language, it does not change the meaning. In the latter instance of the verse, there is a clear omission, but it still doesn’t change the sense of the statement.

DThis repetition of the word “speak” is not in the LXX or Vaticanus; it is just Brenton’s paraphrase.

ENone of the ancient versions read “to me” like the MT. The LXX, Vulgate, and Targums (as well as several Hebrew manuscripts) read with the Qere לָנוּ (“to us”). The Syriac seems to omit the pronoun; and Kittel noted some Hebrew manuscripts which read “to him.” This does not set up a difference in meaning, however, since the plurality of Gibeonites probably had a single spokesman who could have used “I” or “we” to mean the same thing.
On another note, Targums add “to collect” between this word and the next.

FDSS & Vulgate read “from” instead of “in” like the LXX, Syriac, Targums, & MT. This does not change the gist however.

GLXX & Vulgate add a conjunction here, but it’s not in the Syriac or Targums.

Hcf. 1 Samuel 15:18 “Then Yahweh commissioned you along the way and said to you, 'Now devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight them until they are no more [also from כלה].'”

IThere are more words in the Vulgate, LXX, and DSS than there are in the MT, but it’s hard to sort out.

Jcf. the same phrase in 1 Sam. 11:3 Well, the elders of Jabesh said to him, "Let us be for seven days, and we will send messengers through all the territory of Israel..." (NAW, also 11:7 and 27:1)

KAlthough the Hebrew word had more to do with separation from a body, the LXX translators used a word based on the Greek word for “sun,” perhaps as an echo of the previous instance of the word in the Hebrew text of Numbers 25:4, which adds the Hebrew phrase for “in the sun” after this verb.

LKeil & Delitzsch used this translation (“crucify”) in their commentary.

MThe MT spelling is in the Niphal (passive) stem, but the Qere suggests it be spelled Qal passive יֻתַּן, however, both mean the same thing: “he was given” – which, being singular, cannot have the plural “seven sons” as its subject. The DSS is alone among the known manuscripts in changing the subject to 2nd person, in adding a prefix, and in adding a suffix ונתתם (“and you should deliver them”), but even these three differences do not change the story.

NThe next instance in v.9 uses the non-abbreviated form lifney adonai “before the face of the LORD.”

OGibeah appears to be the same as Gibeon. The Greek versions (LXX, Aquila, Symmachus) use the latter spelling.

PThe Hebrew is not clear whether “chosen” is a remembrance that Saul was once God’s chosen leader (Gill, K&D), or whether the location of Gibeah was chosen by God to be the place of judgment. Since it is singular, it shouldn’t refer to the plurality of the 7 men, however, it could be the subject of the singular verb at the beginning who “was given” to the Gibeonites, but, if so, it couldn’t refer to David (contra Willett) and would have to be the singular Saul, which would be unusually figurative language to describe the seven.

Qcf. 1 Sam. 15:3 God told Saul, “Go now and make a strike against Amalek, and devote to destruction everything that belongs to it, and do not be sparing with it… 9 but Saul was sparing with Agag… ”
1 Sam. 23:21 Saul told the Ziphites, “...y’all have spared me the trouble,”
2 Samuel 12:4 “Now, a traveller came to the rich man, but he deferred to take from his sheep or from his cattle to make-dinner for the wayfarer…” (NAW)

RLXX & Syriac read “Ezriel,” but MT, Latin & Targums read “Edriel,” and Vaticanus combines the two with Ezdriel.”

SGreek and Latin agree with the MT, thus the KJV, but a couple of Hebrew manuscripts read מ(י)רב, Syriac reads “Nadab,” and Targums brings the two together with = “five sons of Merab raised by Mikal.” DSS is illegible at this point. Willett suggested inserting “sister of.”

TMasoretic scribes suggested removing the yod from the end of the word (שְׁבַעְתָּם) to make clear that the intended meaning was “the seven men of them” rather than “seven women” which the original spelling could be construed as, but this is not necessary, because it wouldn’t even cross the mind of a reader of this whole story to interpret it as feminine.

Ucf. Qere spelling (וְהֵמָּה) which means the same thing.

VSyriac omits this word, but Qere, Targums and LXX add a preposition to this word: “as/when/in.”

WLXX agrees with the MT (“against”), but the Targums, Latin, Syriac, and some Hebrew manuscripts read על (“on”), however, they are practically synonymous.

XTargums, Syriac, Latin, and Lucian Rescription follow the MT with an ablative preposition, but the Greek reads as though the preposition were , but it makes no difference in the story.

Yבֵּית־שַׁן מֵּרְחֹב, ‘from the market-place of Bethshan,’ does not present any contradiction to the statement in 1Sam. 31:10, that the Philistines fastened the body to the ‘wall’ of Bethshan, as the rechob or market-place in eastern towns is not in the middle of the town, but is an open place against or in front of the gate (cf. 2Chron. 32:6; Neh. 8:1, 3, 16). This place, as the common meeting-place of the citizens, was the most suitable spot that the Philistines could find for fastening the bodies to the wall.” ~Keil & Delitzsch

ZThe Masoretic Scribes seem to have thought that the root was תלא, which is a very obscure root only found in Deut. 28:66 and Hosea 11:7. The traditional Hebrew spelling is based on the root תלה, which is a much more common root for “hanged,” used in 2 Sam. 4:12 (concerning the hands of the assassins), and in 18:10 (of Absalom in the oak). Keil & Delitzsch asserted that the Kethib is the “true Hebrew form.”

AAQere notes (תְּלָאוּם שָׁמָּה פְּלִשְׁתִּים) suggest adding an aleph to the verb (which is no change to the meaning), moving the he before “Philistines” back a space (making “Philistines” less definite), and spelling “them” more properly according to later Hebrew grammarians, but again this makes no difference in the meaning.

ABThe Greek word in the LXX (pleura) can mean “side,” which is also the Vulgate translation of this Hebrew word tsela, but most English translations transliterate it as a proper noun.

ACSeveral Hebrew manuscripts add “the bones of” before “Jonathan,” along with the Targums and LXX.

ADThe Syriac omits “his son,” as does the Greek Lucian Rescription, but it is easily understood by ellipsis, so the meaning is not changed. The LXX and Vulgate insert here that the bones of the dismembered men were also buried there.

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