2 Samuel 8

2 Samuel 8:1

G. Defeat of Israel’s Enemies (Chap. 8)8:1, 2 David’s policy as king was to purge out of the kingdom the heathen inhabitants who rebelled against his rule. This policy resulted in the enlargement of the territory of Israel. For example, he defeated . . . the Philistines and seized Metheg Ammahi.e., Gath (1Ch_18:1). He had once played the part of a madman in Gath (1Sa_21:10-15); now he would serve as king there. Also, he conquered the Moabites and used a measuring line to select two-thirds to be put to death. Moab must have shown treachery to Israel. 8:3-8 David’s next victory was in the area of Syria. He defeated Hadadezer, king of a country named Zobah, between Hamath and Damascus, capturing one thousand chariots, seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand foot soldiers. David also hamstrung all of the chariot horses, except . . . enough of them for one hundred chariots. This means that a tendon in the leg was cut, making the animals unfit for warfare. When the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer, . . . David destroyed twenty-two thousand of them and made the Syrians his vassals. Then David returned to Jerusalem with the bronze and the shields of gold which he had captured from Hadadezer. 8:9-12 Toi, the neighboring king of Hamath congratulated David for his military triumph over Hadadezer and sent gifts of silver, . . . gold, and . . . bronze. These precious metals, together with all the other silver and gold David had won in his wars, were dedicated . . . to the LORD and later used in the temple. 8:13 There is an apparent discrepancy here. It says that David killed eighteen thousand Syrians in the Valley of Salt. But 1Ch_18:12 says that Abishai killed eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt. It is true that in some Hebrew manuscripts, as well as in the ancient LXX and Syriac versions, “Edomites” is also found here in 2Sa_8:13. But the fact that David made himself a name from the victory in 2 Samuel and Abishai is credited with the glory in 1 Chronicles is unusual. First Chronicles is usually very laudatory of David. Perhaps, as so often happens in war, the “top brass,” in this case David, got credit for the victory as “commander-in-chief.” But the actual direct leading of the battle was under Abishai, and even the chronicler, who seeks to emphasize the Davidic line, was led of the Holy Spirit to draw attention to the leader in the field. To further complicate things, the superscription to Psalms 60 states that “Joab [Abishai’s brother] killed twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.” Eugene Merrill makes the following suggestion: Perhaps this difference is explainable by noting that the entire campaign was under Abishai’s direct command, and that Joab was responsible (with the soldiers in his contingency) for killing two thirds of the Edomites. 8:14 The fact that David put garrisons throughout all Edom and made all the Edomites become his servants probably is further support for the marginal reading “Edomites” in verse 13, and all manuscripts of the parallel passage in Chronicles. 8:15-18 So David’s kingdom and power were greatly enlarged, and he ruled with justice and equity. Some of his chief officers are listed in verses 16-18: Joabcommander-in-chief of the army; Jehoshaphatrecorder; Zadok and Ahimelech (perhaps a copyist’s error for Abiathar, see below)priests; Seraiahscribe or secretary; Benaiahin charge of David’s bodyguards; David’s sonschief ministers. There is a textual problem in verse 17. There and in 1Ch_18:16 and 1Ch_24:6 Ahimelech is listed as the son of Abiathar, but in 1Sa_22:20 Abiathar is said to be “the son of Ahimelech.” The simplest solution is that in the verses listing Ahimelech as the son of Abiathar, a copyist may have transposed the names. However, there is another possibility based on an OT custom by which every other generation had the same name, that is, grandsons were named after their grandfathers. Thus, at any given time the priestly colleague of Zadok would be either Abiathar or Ahimelech. Abiathar and Ahimelech functioned as fellow-priests as Annas and Caiaphas apparently did in the time of our Lord (Luk_3:2). When Saul killed Ahimelech and his sons at Nob, Abiathar was the only survivor. When David became king, he appointed Abiathar as high priest but did not depose Zadok.