Bibelkommentare

2 Samuel 8:1. Metheg-ammah— Some learned men think this should be translated, Metheg, and her mother; i.e. the daughter and the mother city; Metheg, and Gath her metropolis: though others choose to translate these words, the bridle of the angle, apprehending that Gath was so called, on account of its being a garrison which kept all the contiguous country of Judea in awe. This is certain, that it was the metropolis of one of the five Philistine principalities, the seat of their kings, and the mother of giants.

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2 Samuel 8:2. He smote Moab— It is frequent in the sacred writings to put the inhabitants of a country for the country itself: see Isaiah 15:4. The LXX favour this interpretation, and thus Grotius understands it. And to this the Psalmist seems plainly to refer, when, speaking of the wars of David with Moab, Edom, and other nations, he says, I will divide Sechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth, viz. in order to divide it. Psalms 60:6. He measured them with a line. The measurement of lands was formerly by the line, as now it is generally done by the rod; and because lands were divided into certain tracts and portions by the line, hence the line is often put for the tract marked out by it, or even where the line had never been made use of at all. Thus, all the region of Argob, Deu 3:4 is in the original חבל כל kal chebel, all the line of Argob. So the line of the sea, Zep 2:5-7 is the sea-coast. Thus in the place before us, he measured them by line, i.e. divided the country of the Moabites into several parts, that he might the better know what towns it was most proper to demolish, to level with the ground, and to extirpate the inhabitants of them. Even with two lines, &c. The ancient versions read differently from our present text. The Vulgate, he measured two lines, one to kill, and one to keep alive. The Septuagint differently, but to the same sense, there were two lines for putting to death, and two for taking alive; according to which accounts, one half of the inhabitants only were put to death. And it appears from the text itself, that it should be thus understood. The words in the original are, חבלים שׁני וימדד vaimadded shenei chabalim, And he measured two lines. Repeat from the foregoing words, חבל chebel, a line, להמית lehamith, to put to death, להחיות החבל ומלא umlo hachebel lehachayoth; and the fulness of a line to keep alive. This supplement is natural and agreeable to the language. Many instances may be produced. Thus, Psa 110:3 what we render, almost without any sense, from the womb of the morning thou hast the dew of thy youth, becomes an elegant expression if we repeat the word dew. The dew of thy youth is as the dew from the womb of the morning. The verse here then should be rendered, "And he measured two lines; i.e. divided the country into two parts; a line, i.e. a tract for death; and the plenitude of the line, i.e. a very large tract of the country for life, to destroy the inhabitants of the one, and preserve the inhabitants of the larger part." The first clause of the verse, he measured them with a line, &c. signifies no more than that David smote Moab, i.e. the country and its inhabitants, and measured them with a line; i.e. took an exact survey of the towns, and cities, and strongholds of the whole land, ארצה אותם השׁכב hashkeb otham artzah, to throw them down to the ground; i.e. to destroy and level them to the ground, as far as he thought necessary to humble them, and to secure himself. The expression, fulness of a line, seems to denote a very large tract of country, and might be a larger than that where the inhabitants were ordered to be put to death.

The Moabites became David's servants— Who was the aggressor in these two last actions, is not said; but it may be collected from Psalms 83:0 that Edom, Moab, Ammon, Amalek, and others, consulted together to cut off Israel from being a nation, which seems to refer to the wars mentioned in this chapter. However, it may be remarked, that the Philistines, Moabites, and other neighbouring nations, were perpetual enemies of the Jews, and invaded them whenever they were able; and that therefore the Jews thought they had a right to make reprisals, and to attack them upon every occasion. See Numbers 24:17; Num 24:25 where this event is foretold.

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2 Samuel 8:3. To recover his border at the river— The Hebrew ידו להשׁיב lehashib yado, may be literally rendered, as he went to turn back his hand, &c. David smote Hadadezer, when he, David, went to turn back his, Hadadezer's, hand, by the Euphrates; i.e. to repel Hadadezer and his forces at the river, and prevent the intended invasion of his dominions. Here then Hadadezer was also the aggressor. In the parallel place, 1Ch 18:3 it is ידו להציב lehatzib yado, to establish his hand, or power, at the Euphrates. He wanted to extend his dominions to the Euphrates; and in order to it, designed to invade those of David which lay nearest to that river. David, therefore, had a right by force to prevent it.

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2 Samuel 8:4. A thousand chariots— The word chariots, though not in the Hebrew, is rightly supplied from the parallel place, 1 Chronicles 18:4. Instead of seven hundred horsemen, says Houbigant, I read also as in the parallel place seven thousand, for the horses were always more than the chariots. These are in the number of those parts of the sacred writings, which to my apprehension demonstrate their divine origin. It is utterly abhorrent from all the principles of human policy, to make either creatures or utensils, when once become our own secure property, either wholly useless, or less useful to all the purposes for which either human contrivance has fitted, or Providence appointed them; and therefore David's burning so many chariots, and maiming so many horses taken from the enemy in battle, could only arise from a principle of obedience to the commands of Almighty God, expressly enjoining such a conduct to his people.

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2 Samuel 8:7. The shields of gold— See Solomon's Song, chap. 2 Samuel 4:4. Note; (1.) The enemies of God's church may associate themselves, but they shall be broken to pieces. (2.) Better to be relied on than shields of gold, is God, the shield and the defence of every spiritual Israelite.

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2 Samuel 8:13. David gat him a name, &c.— To get a name, in the Eastern style, does not mean to be called by this or that particular name, but to be celebrated as a happy and glorious person. Thus it is joined with praise, Zephaniah 3:20. It is said of God himself, upon account of the signs and wonders he wrought in Egypt, thou hast made thee a name; which our version in Dan 9:15 renders, thou hast gotten thee renown. And thus David got him a name; i.e. as God tells him by Nathan, ch. 2 Samuel 7:9. I was with thee, &c.—and have made thee a great name, &c. i.e. made thee esteemed and reverenced in all the countries round about, as a mighty prince and a successful warrior; a name which he must have had from the Syrians as well as Jews, and from all his enemies whom he subdued by his valour. Houbigant translates the passage thus: Moreover David, having conquered Syria, when he returned, waged war with the Edomites in the valley of Salt, and slew of them eighteen thousand men. His note is ingenious, and his criticisms, to which we refer the reader, seem very just. Dr. Delaney supposes, that upon this occasion David wrote the 99th Psalm. See the 4th verse of which, and compare with the 15th of this chapter. Note; (1.) Whatever is great or good in us, let God alone have the praise of it. (2.) These conquests typify the greater ones of David's Son and Lord. He must reign till he has put all his enemies under his feet, subdued sin, and destroyed death and hell; when, having rescued his people from all their enemies round about, he shall make them princes and kings in glory, where they shall reign with him.

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2 Samuel 8:16. Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder— i.e. as is generally believed, remembrancer, or writer of chronicles: an employment of no mean estimation in the Eastern world, where it was customary with kings to keep daily registers of all the transactions of their reign; and a trust, which whoever discharged efficiently must be let into the true springs and secrets of action, and consequently must be received into the inmost confidence. The sacred Writer no sooner gives us an account of David's executing judgment and justice, but he immediately adds a lift of the great officers then employed by him; for a principal part of a king's wisdom, as well as of his felicity, consists in the choice of able ministers, to discharge the great offices of the state.

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2 Samuel 8:17. Seraiah was the scribe— Supposed to be the king's secretary of state, or prime counsellor in the law. Bishop Patrick says, that as the Hebrew word סופר sopher, which we translate scribe, imports something of learning, as the word scribe does in the New Testament, he takes Seraiah to have been the king's prime counsellor in the law; and others think there were two of this character, an ecclesiastical and a civil. See 1 Chronicles 27:32. It has been supposed by some, that Zadok was the high-priest, and Ahimelech his סגן segan, or vicar; while others think, that neither of these was the high-priest, but the vicars of Abiathar, and the heads of the sacerdotal families.

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