2 Samuel 23:31 — Word Study
WLCאֲבִֽי־ עַלְבוֹן֙ הָֽעַרְבָתִ֔י עַזְמָ֖וֶת הַבַּרְחֻמִֽי׃ ס
BSAAbi-albonʼĂbîy-ʻalbôwn [the father of strength, El is my father] the ArbathiteʻArbâthîy [from the desert house, of Beth-arabah] AzmavethʻAzmâveth [strong unto death] the BarhumiteBarchumîy△ [of Bahurim, a Bahurite]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| אֲבִֽי־ | Abi- | Noun proper masculine |
| עַלְבוֹן֙ | Albon | Noun proper masculine |
| הָֽעַרְבָתִ֔י | the Arbathite | Particle, noun gentilic masculine singular absolute |
| עַזְמָ֖וֶת | Azmaveth | Noun proper masculine |
| הַבַּרְחֻמִֽי׃ ס | the Barhumite | Particle, noun gentilic masculine singular absolute |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite, |
| KJV | Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite, |
| ASV | Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite, |
| YLT | Abi-Albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite, |
| WEB | Abialbon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite, |
| BBE | Abiel the Arbathite, Azmaveth of Bahurim, |
The translations agree on the names and titles of the individuals in this verse.
The verse consists of two main noun phrases, each identifying a mighty man of David.
4 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Ellicott, Cambridge & more — read them ›
clause
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
1 of 5 occurs nowhere else in the Old Testament — a word chosen on purpose.
Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.
Deep Study — 2 Samuel 23:31
Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.
Context — The Mighty Men of Davidgenerated
2 Samuel 23:31 lists some of the mighty men who served under King David. These men were known for their bravery and strength in battle, and their names are recorded to honor their contributions to David's reign. The passage highlights the diverse backgrounds of these warriors, indicating their loyalty and valor in the face of challenges.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 Chronicles 11:32 | Hurai from the brooks of Gaash, Abiel the Arbathite, |
| 2 | 1 Chronicles 11:33 | Azmaveth the Baharumite, Eliahba the Shaalbonite, |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 2 references, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — אֲבִי־עַלְבוֹן, 'a.vi-al.vongenerated
The name אֲבִי־עַלְבוֹן (Abi-albon) is a compound of two elements: אֲבִי (father) and עַלְבוֹן (strength), suggesting a meaning of 'father of strength'. This name indicates a person of notable valor, reflecting the qualities valued in David's warriors.
The parsing as a proper noun indicates that Abi-albon is a specific individual, one of David's mighty men, thus emphasizing his importance in the historical context.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
In the Berean Standard Bible, the name is rendered as Abi-albon the Arbathite, which is consistent across several translations, including the KJV and ASV.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The verse comprises a series of noun phrases listing the names and origins of David's warriors. The structure is straightforward, with each name followed by a descriptor, establishing a clear connection between the individual and their place of origin.
The order of the names emphasizes the identity of each warrior, with the finite verb omitted, focusing instead on the list format typical of ancient records.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
In the Septuagint, the term for Abi-albon is rendered as αβιαλβων, maintaining the name's integrity while adapting it to Greek phonetics. This choice reflects the translators' intention to preserve the original names as much as possible.
The translation of הָֽעַרְבָתִ֔י as αραβωθίτου indicates a geographical connection, similar to the Hebrew, emphasizing the identity of the Arbathite.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
2 Samuel 23:31 tells us about Abi-albon the Arbathite and Azmaveth the Barhumite, two of David's mighty men. Their names reflect their strength and origins, emphasizing their roles in supporting King David.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
Abi-albon means 'father of strength', indicating a person of valor.
The Arbathites were people from the region of Beth-arabah, which means 'desert house'.
Azmaveth means 'strong unto death', highlighting the strength and endurance associated with this warrior.
These names honor the contributions of David's mighty men and reflect their bravery in battle.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- What qualities do you think made Abi-albon and Azmaveth valuable to David?
- How can we honor the contributions of those who support us in our lives?
- What does it mean to be a 'mighty' person in our own context?
- How can we learn from the examples of loyalty and bravery shown by David's warriors?
Commentators on this verse — 4 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on 2 Samuel 23:31 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleAbialbon the Arbathite,.... A native of Betharabah, either in the tribe of Judah, Joshua 15:6, or in the tribe of Benjamin, Joshua 18:18; he is called Abiel in 1 Chronicles 11:32; Azmaveth the
Read John Gill on 2 Samuel 23 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryAbi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite, Abi-albon the Arbathite - called Abiel, 1 Chronicles 11:32, from Arab, a Benjamite town (Joshua 15:52).
Read Robert Jamieson on 2 Samuel 23 →Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(31) Abi-albon.—In 1 Chronicles 11:32 written Abiel, probably correctly, the albon having come in from Sha-albon-ite in the line below. The Barhumite.—More correctly, the Baharumite, i.e., of the Bahurim mentioned in 2 Samuel 3:16; 2 Samuel 19:16.
Read Charles John Ellicott on 2 Samuel 23 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges31. Abi-albon the Arbathite] Called in 1 Chronicles 11:32 Abiel, which is probably the true reading, as Abi-albon is an unknown name, and may easily have arisen from confusion with Shaalbonite in the line below. For a similar confusion cp. ch. 2 Samuel 21:19. He was a native of Arabah or Beth-arabah, a town in the wilderness of Judah, on the border between Judah and Benjamin (Joshua 15:6; Joshua 15:61; Joshua 18:18; Joshua 18:22). the Barhumite] Of Bahurim: see note on ch. 2 Samuel 3:16 : a corruption or transposition for Baharumite, which is found in 1 Chronicles 11:33.
Read Cambridge on 2 Samuel 23 →The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company
Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.
Modern formal
Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite,
Abialbon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite,
Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite,
Abi-Albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite,
Tyndale line
Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite,
Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite,
Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite;
Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite,
Abi-albon the Arbathite: Azmaueth the Barhumite:
Strictly literal
Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite,
Abi-Albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite,
Abi-Albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite,
Abi-'albon the 'Arbathite, 'Azmaveth the Barchumite,
Abi-Albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth the Barhumite,
From the Latin
Abialbon the Arbathite, Azmaveth of Beromi,
Simplified
Abi-albon the Arbathite; Azmaveth the Baharumite;
Abiel the Arbathite, Azmaveth of Bahurim,
Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.
The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank
This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.
Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.
The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran
The Masoretic Text and the Septuagint show agreement in the names listed, though the Septuagint's word order differs. The names are preserved, indicating a shared tradition in the identification of these figures.
אֲבִֽי־ עַלְבוֹן֙ הָֽעַרְבָתִ֔י עַזְמָ֖וֶת הַבַּרְחֻמִֽי׃ ס
3 of the 5 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.
Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.
The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with
This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.
Lexicons — every word in 2 Samuel 23:31
One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.
Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.
אֲבִי־עַלְבוֹן n.pr.m. a hero of David
base
H45 אֲבִי־עַלְבוֹן
45 'Abiy-`albown ab-ee-al-bone'
from 1 and and an unused root of uncertain. derivation;
probably, father of strength (i.e. valiant); Abialbon, an
Israelite:--Abialbon.
see HEBREW for 01
אֲבִי־עַלְבוֹן (a.vi-al.von) — Abi-albon.
A man living at the time of United Monarchy, first mentioned at 2Sa.23.31
Also named: a.vi.el (אֲבִיאֵל "Abiel" H0022H)
§ Abialbon = "El (God) is my father"
one of David's mighty men (hero)
N-proper — Noun proper masculineHNpm
mother of King Hezekiah, (2 Kings 18:2) written ABIA, ABIAH, OR ABIJAH, ABIJAH OR ABIJAM in (2 Chronicles 29:1)
my father
אֲבִי־עַלְבוֹן n.pr.m. a hero of David
base
H45 אֲבִי־עַלְבוֹן
45 'Abiy-`albown ab-ee-al-bone'
from 1 and and an unused root of uncertain. derivation;
probably, father of strength (i.e. valiant); Abialbon, an
Israelite:--Abialbon.
see HEBREW for 01
אֲבִי־עַלְבוֹן (a.vi-al.von) — Abi-albon.
A man living at the time of United Monarchy, first mentioned at 2Sa.23.31
Also named: a.vi.el (אֲבִיאֵל "Abiel" H0022H)
§ Abialbon = "El (God) is my father"
one of David's mighty men (hero)
HNpm — Noun proper masculineHNpm
בֵּית הָֽעֲרָבָה refers to a location known as Beth-arabah, meaning 'house of the desert.' The term is used to denote an inhabitant of this place, called an Arbathite. It is associated with the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, indicating its geographical and cultural significance.
בֵּית הָֽעֲרָבָה n.pr.loc. (place of the depression) reckoned to Judah, to Benjamin
base
H6164 בֵּית הָֽעֲרָבָה
6164 `Arbathiy ar-baw-thee'
patrial from 1026; an Arbathite or inhabitant of
(Beth-)Arabah:--Arbahite.
see HEBREW for 01026
עַרְבָתִי (ar.va.ti) — Arbathite.
Group of bet ha.a.ra.vah (בֵּית הָֽעֲרָבָה "Beth-arabah" H1026)
§ Arbathite, of Betharabah "desert house"
an inhabitant of Beth-arabah
Art | Ngmsa — Particle · noun gentilic masculine singular absoluteHTd/Ngmsa
Arbathite
A name given to Abi-albon, or, as elsewhere called, Abiel, one of David’s warriors (2 Sam. 23:31; 1 Chr. 11:32), probably as being an inhabitant of Arabah (Josh. 15:61), a town in the wilderness of Judah.
a native of the Arabah or Ghor . [ARABAH] Abi-albon the Arbathite was one of David’s mighty men. (2 Samuel 23:31; 1 Chronicles 11:32)
עַזְמָ֫וֶת (Azmaveth) means "strong unto death" and refers to a name associated with several individuals and a place in Benjamin. It includes a mighty warrior of David, a descendant of Mephibosheth, and an overseer of royal treasures. The word is built from roots meaning strength and death, and it appears in various contexts in the Old Testament, particularly in relation to David's reign.
עַזְמָ֫וֶת n.pr.m.
one of David’s heroes
father of two of David’s men
officer of David
Benjamite name
base
H5820 עַזְמָ֫וֶת
5820 `Azmaveth az-maw'-veth
from 5794 and 4194; strong one of death; Azmaveth, the name
of three Israelites and of a place in Palestine:--Azmaveth.
See also 1041.
see HEBREW for 05794
see HEBREW for 04194
see HEBREW for 01041
עַזְמָ֫וֶת (az.ma.vet) — Azmaveth.
A man living at the time of United Monarchy, first mentioned at 2Sa.23.31
§ Azmaveth = "strong unto death"
1) one of David's mighty warriors
2) a descendant of Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan and grandson of king Saul
3) a Benjamite, father of Jeziel and Pelet who were two of David's men who joined him at Ziklag
4) overseer of the royal treasures in the reign of David
5) a place in Benjamin; also 'Beth-azmeveth'
עַזְמָ֫וֶת (az.ma.vet) — Azmaveth.
A man of the tribe of Benjamin living at the time of Divided Monarchy, first mentioned at 1Ch.8.36;
son of: Jehoaddah (H3085);
brother of: Alemeth (H5964I) and Zimri (H2174H)
§ Azmaveth = "strong unto death"
1) one of David's mighty warriors
2) a descendant of Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan and grandson of king Saul
N-proper — Noun proper masculineHNpm
Azmaveth
Strong as death. (1.) One of David’s thirty warriors (2 Sam. 23:31).
(2.) An overseer over the royal treasury in the time of David and Solomon (1 Chr. 27:25).
(3.) A town in the tribe of Judah, near Jerusalem (Neh. 12:29; Ezra 2:24).
(4.) 1 Chr. 8:36
a place to all appearance in Benjamin, being named with other towns belonging to that tribe. (Ezra 2:24) The name elsewhere occurs as BETH-AZMAVETH.
strong death; a he-goat
בַּרְחֻמִי (Barchumiy) refers to a Barhumite, a person from Bahurim, a village near Jerusalem. The term is derived from בַּחֻרִים (Bahurim) and is associated with the meaning 'son of the blackened: in the pitied.' It appears in 2 Samuel 23:31.
בַּרְחֻמִי 2 S 23:31
base
H1273 בַּרְחֻמִי
1273 Barchumiy bar-khoo-mee'
by transposition for 978; a Barchumite, or native of
Bachurim:--Barhumite.
see HEBREW for 0978
בַּרְחֻמִי (bar.chu.mi) — Bahurite.
Group of ba.chu.rim (בַּחֻרִים "Bahurim" H0980)
§ Barhumite = "son of the blackened: in the pitied"
a person from Bahurim, a village apparently on or close to the road leading up from the Jordan valley to Jerusalem, and near the south boundary of Benjamin
Art | Ngmsa — Particle · noun gentilic masculine singular absoluteHTd/Ngmsa
bar-hu'-mit.
See BAHARUMITE.