7 And hearing of this, David sent Joab and all the army and the best fighting-men.
These are the names of David's men of war: Ishbaal the Hachmonite, chief of the three; his axe was lifted up against eight hundred put to death at one time. After him was Eleazar, the son of Dodai the Ahohite, one of the three great fighters, who was with David in Pas-dammim when the Philistines came together there for the fight; and when the men of Israel had gone in flight, He was with David and went on fighting the Philistines till his hand became tired and stiff from gripping his sword: and that day the Lord gave a great salvation, and the people came back after him only to take the goods of the Philistines. After him was Shammah, the son of Ela the Hararite. And the Philistines came together in Lehi, where there was a bit of land full of seed; and the people went in flight from the Philistines. But he kept his place in the middle of the bit of land, and kept back their attack and overcame the Philistines: and the Lord gave a great salvation. And three of the thirty went down at the start of the grain-cutting, and they came to David at the strong place of Adullam; and the band of Philistines had taken up their position in the valley of Rephaim. And at that time David had taken cover in the strong place, and an armed force of the Philistines was in Beth-lehem. And David, moved by a strong desire, said, If only someone would give me a drink of water from the water-hole of Beth-lehem, by the doorway into the town! And the three men, forcing their way through the Philistine army, got water from the water-hole of Beth-lehem, by the doorway into the town, and took it back to David: but he would not take it, but, draining it out, made an offering of it to the Lord. And he said, Far be it from me, O Lord, to do this; how may I take as my drink the life-blood of men who have put their lives in danger? So he would not take it. These things did the three great men of war. And Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief of the thirty. He put to death three hundred with his spear, and he got for himself a name among the thirty. Was he not the noblest of the thirty? so he was made their captain: but he was not equal to the first three. And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, a fighting man of Kabzeel, had done great acts; he put to death the two sons of Ariel of Moab: he went down into a hole and put a lion to death in time of snow: And he made an attack on an Egyptian, a tall man: and the Egyptian had a spear in his hand; but he went down to him with a stick, and pulling the spear out of the hands of the Egyptian, put him to death with that same spear. These were the acts of Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, who had a great name among the thirty men of war. He was honoured over the rest of the thirty, but he was not equal to the first three. And David put him over the fighting men who kept him safe. Asahel, the brother of Joab, was one of the thirty; and Elhanan, the son of Dodai, of Beth-lehem, Shammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite, Helez the Paltite, Ira, the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, Abiezer the Anathothite, Sibbecai the Hushathite, Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite, Heldai, the son of Baanah the Netophathite, Ittai, the son of Ribai of Gibeah of the children of Benjamin, Benaiah the Pirathonite, Hiddai of the valleys of Gaash, Abiel the Arbathite, Azmaveth of Bahurim, Eliahba the Shaalbonite, Jashen the Gunite, Jonathan, the son of Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam, the son of Sharar the Hararite, Eliphelet, the son of Ahasbai the Maacathite, Eliam, the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite, Hezrai the Carmelite, Paarai the Archite, Igal, the son of Nathan of Zobah, Bani the Gadite, Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Beerothite, who had the care of the arms of Joab, son of Zeruiah, Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, Uriah the Hittite: thirty-seven in number.
And David, hearing of it, sent Joab with all the army of fighting-men. So the children of Ammon came out and put their forces in position on the way into the town; and the kings who had come were stationed by themselves in the field. Now when Joab saw that their forces were in position against him in front and at his back, he took all the best men of Israel, and put them in line against the Aramaeans; And the rest of the people he put in position against the children of Ammon with Abishai, his brother, at their head. And he said, If the Aramaeans are stronger and get the better of me, then come to my help; and if the children of Ammon get the better of you, I will come to your help. Take heart, and let us be strong for our people and for the towns of our God; and may the Lord do what seems good to him. So Joab and the people who were with him went forward into the fight against the Aramaeans, and they went in flight before him. And when the children of Ammon saw the flight of the Aramaeans, they themselves went in flight from Abishai, his brother, and came into the town. Then Joab came back to Jerusalem. And when the Aramaeans saw that Israel had overcome them, they sent men to get the Aramaeans who were on the other side of the River, with Shophach, the captain of Hadadezer's army, at their head. And word of this was given to David; and he got all Israel together and went over Jordan and came to Helam and put his forces in position against them. And when David's forces were in position against the Aramaeans, the fight was started. And the Aramaeans went in flight before Israel; and David put to the sword the men of seven thousand Aramaean war-carriages and forty thousand footmen, and put to death Shophach, the captain of the army. And when the servants of Hadadezer saw that they were overcome by Israel, they made peace with David and became his servants: and the Aramaeans would give no more help to the children of Ammon.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on 2 Samuel 10
Commentary on 2 Samuel 10 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 10
This chapter gives us an account of a war David has with the Ammonites and the Syrians their allies, with the occasion and success of it.
2Sa 10:1-5
Here is,
Some have thought that David, in the indignity he received from the king of Ammon, was but well enough served for courting and complimenting that pagan prince, whom he knew to be an inveterate enemy to Israel, and might now remember how, when he would have put out the right eyes of the men of Jabesh-Gilead, he designed that, as he did this, for a reproach upon all Israel, 1 Sam. 11:2. What better usage could he expect from such a spiteful family and people? Why should he covet the friendship of a people whom Israel must have so little to do with as that an Ammonite might not enter into the congregation of the Lord, even to the tenth generation? Deu. 23:3.
2Sa 10:6-14
Here we have,
2Sa 10:15-19
Here is,
Jesus Christ, the Son of David, sent his ambassadors, his apostles and ministers, after all his servants the prophets, to the Jewish church and nation; but they treated them shamefully, as Hanun did David's ambassadors, mocked them, abused them, slew them; and it was this that filled the measure of their iniquity, and brought upon them ruin without remedy (Mt. 21:35, 41, 22:7; compare 2 Chr. 26:16); for Christ takes the affronts and injuries done to his ministers as done to himself and will avenge them accordingly.