HarperCollins Study Bible

by Harold W. Attridge

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  a Q Ms: MT who was raised on high

  b Heb But worthlessness

  c Heb in sitting

  d Gk Vg Compare 1 Chr 11.11: Meaning of Heb uncertain

  e 1 Chr 11.11: Meaning of Heb uncertain

  f Heb adds head

  g Two Heb Mss Syr: MT Three

  h Syr Compare 1 Chr 11.25: Heb Was he the most renowned of the Three?

  i Another reading is the son of Ish-hai

  j Gk: Heb lacks sons of

  k Gk: Heb lacks son of

  l Another reading is Hezrai

  23.1–7 A poem centered on the comparison in vv. 3b–4 of a just ruler to a bright morning sun. Though it touches on timeless themes and contains late elements, such as v. 2, there are some indications that it is quite archaic, possibly dating to the early monarchical period (tenth century BCE).

  23.1 Cf. the opening of the oracles of Balaam (Num 24.3, 15), which are generally regarded as very ancient. Whom God exalted. The expression can be used to stress the elevation of someone without royal ancestry to the throne; cf. “the LORD will raise up for himself a king,” a reference to Baasha, in 1 Kings 14.14 (cf. 1 Kings 15.27–30). Strong One, a divine epithet probably more concrete in its meaning—thus, “Stronghold,” to which cf. the use of fortress and stronghold in 22.2–3.

  23.2 Possibly a late insertion introducing the notion that the word of God uttered in vv. 3b–4 is a message intended not just for David but for all Israel.

  23.3 Rock of Israel, a divine epithet likening the Lord to a mountain refuge; cf. my rock in 22.2–3. A king who rules in the fear of God rules not only in religious awe but also in the knowledge of divine commandments.

  23.4 The just ruler is compared to a bright sun that causes vegetation to sprout after rainfall.

  23.5 My house like this, i.e., members of David’s family are like the just rulers just described. With God, in the opinion of God (cf. 1 Sam 2.26). God’s everlasting covenant with David refers to the dynastic promise made in ch. 7; see also 2 Chr 13.5; 21.7; Pss 89.19–37; 132.12; Isa 55.3; Jer 33.17, 20–22. Ordered in all things and secure, formal legal terminology indicating that the covenant is clearly articulated on all points and irrevocable.

  23.6–7 The text of these two verses is obscure, but they seem to draw on the metaphor of vv. 3b–4: when the bright light of the just ruler shines on those who are disloyal, they are consumed in fire like uprooted thorns.

  23.8–39 An archival relic with three sections: a report on the Three, who were distinguished warriors in David’s army (vv. 8–12); an account of the exploits of Abishai and Benaiah (vv. 18–23); and a roster of the Thirty, David’s elite corps (vv. 24–39).

  23.8 Josheb-basshebeth, a euphemism for “Jeshbaal,” which was altered by a scribe who believed it meant “Baal exists,” though it might have meant “The LORD [i.e., Yahweh] exists” (see note on 2.8); more information about him is given in 1 Chr 11.11, where he is called Jashobeam. Tahchemonite, a mistake for “Hachmonite” or “son of Hachmoni” (see 1 Chr 11.11).

  23.9 When they defied the Philistines who, defective; it should be “when the Philistines defied them at Pas-dammim, and the Philistines” (cf. 1 Chr 11.13; 1 Sam 17.1).

  23.11 Lehi, the place in Judah where Samson slew a thousand Philistines with the jawbone (Hebrew lechi) of an ass (see Judg 15.9–19).

  23.13 Cave of Adullam, David’s private stronghold during his days as a leader of outlaws and a refugee from Saul’s justice (see 1 Sam 22.1), and the episode reported here in vv. 13–17 probably belongs to that period. Valley of Rephaim. See note on 5.18.

  23.15 David’s remark is probably motivated more by nostalgia for his hometown of Bethlehem than by thirst; hence his angry reaction in vv. 16b–17 when he learns that his men have risked their lives unnecessarily.

  23.16b–17 Because David regards the water as the blood of the men who went, he pours it out on the ground in accordance with religious law (cf. Lev 17.10–13; Deut 12.23–24).

  23.18 Abishai. See 2.18.

  23.20 Benaiah. See 8.18; 20.23. Kabzeel, a town in southern Judah near Beer-sheba (Josh 15.21). Ariel. Meaning unknown; if not a personal name (cf. Ezra 8.16) or a place-name (cf. Isa 29.1–2), perhaps “altar hearth” (cf. Ezek 43.15–16).

  23.21 A handsome man, probably “a man of great stature,” as in 1 Chr 11.23.

  23.24 This list must predate the battle of Gibeon, in which Asahel was slain by Abner (see 2.18–23). Elhanan, the slayer of Goliath (see 21.19).

  23.25 The home of these two warriors is less likely to have been the Spring of Herod near Jezreel (see Judg 7.1) than a less well known town southeast of Jerusalem.

  23.26 Helez the Paltite, a member of the Calebite clan of Pelet (1 Chr 2.47) or a native of the town of Beth-pelet in southern Judah (Josh 15.27) or perhaps both. Tekoa. See 14.2.

  23.27 Anathoth, also the home of the prophet Jeremiah (see Jer 1.1), was the priestly town in Benjamin to which Abiathar was banished (1 Kings 2.26). Mebunnai, probably a mistake for Sibbecai (see 21.18; 1 Chr 11.29).

  23.28 Netophah, a town southeast of Bethlehem.

  23.29 Heleb, probably Hildai of 1 Chr 27.15, where we learn that he was descended from the judge Othniel (cf. Judg 3.7–11). Gibeah of the Benjaminites, Saul’s home (see note on 1 Sam 9.1).

  23.30 Pirathon, home of the minor judge Abdon (Judg 12.13–15), may have been southwest of Shechem in Ephraim in the direction of Mount Gaash (Josh 24.30; Judg 2.9).

  23.31 Abi-albon the Arbathite, probably a corruption of Abial the Beth-arabathite; the town of Beth-arabah was on the border between Judah and Benjamin (Josh 15.6; 18.18). For Bahurim, the home of Azmaveth, whose name means “The (god) Death is strong,” see note on 3.16.

  23.32 Eliahba ’s hometown is called Shaalabbin in Josh 19.42 and Shaalbim in Judg 1.35; 1 Kings 4.9; it was northwest of Jerusalem in the territory of Dan. The best Greek manuscript lacks the sons of and calls Jashen “the Gunite” (cf. “the Gizonite” in 1 Chr 11.34); perhaps his home was Gimzo, which was not far from Shaalbim (cf. 2 Chr 28.18).

  23.33 Shammah the Hararite. See v. 11.

  23.34 Eliphelet ’s home is less likely to be the Aramean kingdom of Maacah (see 10.6) or Beth-maacah near Dan (see 20.14–15) than the territory of the Judahite clan of Maacah near Eshtemoa south of Hebron (1 Chr 4.19). Ahithophel the Gilonite. See 15.12. Eliam, perhaps the same as the Eliam who was Bathsheba’s father (see 11.3).

  23.35 Carmel. See note on 1 Sam 25.2. If Paarai was really an Arbite, he might have come from the town of Arab near Hebron (Josh 15.52), though we would have expected “Arabite” but some manuscripts call him an Archite (cf. 15.32).

  23.36 Better “Igal son of Nathan, the commander of the army of the Hagrites,” partially preserved in the Septuagint and 1 Chr 11.37. The Hagrites were a group of nomadic tribes living east of Gilead on the Transjordanian plateau (see 1 Chr 5.10, 19–22).

  23.37 David must have won the loyalty of Zelek the Ammonite in the days before the incident described in 10.1–5 brought his friendly relations with the Ammonites to an end. Beeroth. See 4.2–3.

  23.38 Ithrites, one of the leading families of Kiriath-jearim (1 Chr 2.53; cf. 1 Sam 7.1; 2 Sam 6.1).

  23.39 Uriah the Hittite, the first husband of Bathsheba (see chs. 11–12). We can only guess how the number thirty-seven was arrived at; in our list there are only thirty or thirty-one.

  2 SAMUEL 24

  David’s Census of Israel and Judah

  1Again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go, count the people of Israel and Judah.” 2So the king said to Joab and the commanders of the army,a who were with him, “Go through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beer-sheba, and take a census of the people, so that I may know how many there are.” 3But Joab said to the king, “May the LORD your God increase the number of the people a hundredfold, while the eyes of my lord the king can still see it! But why does my lord the king want to do this?” 4But the king’s wo
rd prevailed against Joab and the commanders of the army. So Joab and the commanders of the army went out from the presence of the king to take a census of the people of Israel. 5They crossed the Jordan, and began fromb Aroer and from the city that is in the middle of the valley, toward Gad and on to Jazer. 6Then they came to Gilead, and to Kadesh in the land of the Hittites;c and they came to Dan, and from Dand they went around to Sidon, 7and came to the fortress of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites; and they went out to the Negeb of Judah at Beer-sheba. 8So when they had gone through all the land, they came back to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. 9Joab reported to the king the number of those who had been recorded: in Israel there were eight hundred thousand soldiers able to draw the sword, and those of Judah were five hundred thousand.

  Judgment on David’s Sin

  10But afterward, David was stricken to the heart because he had numbered the people. David said to the LORD, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O LORD, I pray you, take away the guilt of your servant; for I have done very foolishly.” 11When David rose in the morning, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying, 12“Go and say to David: Thus says the LORD: Three things I offere you; choose one of them, and I will do it to you.” 13So Gad came to David and told him; he asked him, “Shall threef years of famine come to you on your land? Or will you flee three months before your foes while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ pestilence in your land? Now consider, and decide what answer I shall return to the one who sent me.” 14Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress; let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for his mercy is great; but let me not fall into human hands.”

  15So the LORD sent a pestilence on Israel from that morning until the appointed time; and seventy thousand of the people died, from Dan to Beer-sheba. 16But when the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD relented concerning the evil, and said to the angel who was bringing destruction among the people, “It is enough; now stay your hand.” The angel of the LORD was then by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. 17When David saw the angel who was destroying the people, he said to the LORD, “I alone have sinned, and I alone have done wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? Let your hand, I pray, be against me and against my father’s house.”

  David’s Altar on the Threshing Floor

  18That day Gad came to David and said to him, “Go up and erect an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” 19Following Gad’s instructions, David went up, as the LORD had commanded. 20When Araunah looked down, he saw the king and his servants coming toward him; and Araunah went out and prostrated himself before the king with his face to the ground. 21Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you in order to build an altar to the LORD, so that the plague may be averted from the people.” 22Then Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good to him; here are the oxen for the burnt offering, and the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood. 23All this, O king, Araunah gives to the king.” And Araunah said to the king, “May the LORD your God respond favorably to you.”

  24But the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will buy them from you for a price; I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. 25David built there an altar to the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and offerings of well-being. So the LORD answered his supplication for the land, and the plague was averted from Israel.

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  a 1Chr 21.2 Gk: Heb to Joab the commander of the army

  b Gk Mss: Heb encamped in Aroer south of

  c Gk: Heb to the land of Tahtim-hodshi

  d Cn Compare Gk: Heb they came to Dan-jaan and

  e Or hold over

  f 1 Chr 21.12 Gk: Heb seven

  24.1–9 David takes a census of Israel and Judah, and the Lord is displeased.

  24.1 The anger of the LORD seems to function independently of the Lord himself in this passage, inciting David to do something that the Lord condemns; note that the Chronicler, in his version of the story, replaces the anger of the LORD with “Satan” (see 1 Chr 21.1).

  24.2 From Dan to Beer-sheba. See note on 3.9–10.

  24.3 Joab’s counsel (cf. 19.5–8) about the prospect of a census is rooted in the notion that its primary purpose is to determine the number of men eligible for military service, and soldiers on active duty are subject to a strict regimen of ritual procedures and are especially vulnerable, therefore, to cultic dangers (see Ex 30.11); thus the plague that results is no surprise.

  24.5–7 The census itinerary seems to surround the kingdom, but perhaps we are to understand that it includes the interior areas as well. Aroer was in southern Transjordan at the southeast corner of David’s kingdom (see Deut 4.48; Josh 12.2); Gad was the Israelite tribe that inhabited this region (see Josh 13.8–13, 24–28; notes on 1 Sam 10.27b; 13.7). Jazer was situated on the Israelite-Ammonite boundary.

  24.6 Gilead. See note on 2.9. Kadesh in the land of the Hittites ought to be Kadesh on the Orontes in Syria, but this is much too far north and Kadesh of Naphtali, near Lake Huleh, seems more likely; in any case, the text is suspicious. Dan was the traditional northern border of the promised land (cf. v. 2); Sidon was an important Phoenician city, but in this case it probably designates Phoenicia as a whole, modern Lebanon.

  24.7 The fortress of Tyre was the northwest turning point in the census; it seems to refer to the Phoenician capital, but it is more likely to be an Israelite-Phoenician border fortification. Cities of the Hivites and Canaanites, probably the towns along the coastal plain west of Israel and Judah; the census is now proceeding southward. Negeb of Judah, the southern desert. Beer-sheba, the traditional southern border corresponding to Dan in the north in v. 6.

  24.9 Modern scholarship has still not learned how to interpret population statistics of the kind expressed here; they are much too high to correspond to historical reality.

  24.10–17 David’s census provokes divine punishment in the form of a pestilence sent against Israel.

  24.10 David’s change of heart is probably a result of his realization of the ritual danger in which he has placed his subjects, something Joab understood from the beginning.

  24.11 The prophet Gad, about whom we know very little, made his first appearance in 1 Sam 22.5; he may have been David’s personal seer.

  24.14 Hand of the LORD, plague, as in, e.g., 1 Sam 5.6.

  24.15 The cause of the pestilence is probably the ritual jeopardy brought on by a census (see note on 24.3); the cause is explained differently in 1 Chr 21.6–7.

  24.16 The direct agent of the plague, the angel, is restrained by the Lord in order to protect Jerusalem; for Araunah the Jebusite, see vv. 18–25.

  24.18–25 David purchases a piece of land that will become the site of the altar of the Jerusalem temple; cf. the more detailed account in 1 Chr 21–22.

  24.18 In the ancient world the threshing floor was thought of as a place where divine power might manifest itself; cf. 6.6; Judg 6.37; 1 Kings 22.10. Araunah, not a Semitic name, and scholars have proposed that his ancestry was Hurrian or Hittite; the pertinent fact for this account, however, is that he is a Jebusite, a member of the pre-Israelite population of Jerusalem (see note on 5.6).

  24.21–24 Cf. Abraham’s negotiations with the people of Hebron in Gen 23.3–16.

  1 KINGS

  1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |

  THE BOOKS OF 1 AND 2 KINGS were originally a single literary work that provided a continuous account of Israel’s history from the death of David and the accession of Solomon (ca. 970 BCE) to the release of the exiled King Jehoiachin from prison in Babylon (561/60 BCE). Within this larger work, 1 Kings covers the end of David’s reign and the reign of Solomon (1 Kings 1–
11), the division of Israel into the two separate kingdoms of Israel and Judah (1 Kings 12), and the history of the two kingdoms to the death of the Israelite king Ahab and the succession of his son Ahaziah (1 Kings 13–22).

  Name and Canonical Position

  THE DIVISION OF KINGS into two separate books took place in Hebrew texts in the Middle Ages under the influence of much earlier Greek and Latin translations, which saw Kings as the continuation of a history of Israelite kingship beginning in 1 Samuel with an account of Saul’s ac cession. Within this larger history, 1 and 2 Kings constituted the third and fourth books of Reigns or Kingdoms. In Jewish tradition 1 and 2 Kings are part of the division of the Bible known as the Former Prophets, which consists of the books of Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 and 2 Kings. Together these books recount Israel’s history from the conquest of Canaan to the end of the monarchy and the beginning of the exile. Modern scholars usually refer to them as the Deuteronomistic History because they share similar literary styles and theological outlooks and appear to be heavily influenced by the book of Deuteronomy. Scholars also recognize, however, that each of these books also has distinctive literary and theological interests.

  Literary Character

  THE BOOKS OF KINGS trace a continuous history of the period they cover, but they make no claim to be completely original or comprehensive. At a number of points in the narrative readers are referred to external sources, such as the Book of the Acts of Solomon (1 Kings 11.41), the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah (e.g., 1 Kings 14.29; 15.7, 23; 22.45), and the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel (e.g., 1 Kings 14.19; 15.31; 16.5, 14). These works, none of which has survived, presumably contained additional information on the reigns of the kings being discussed and may have provided some of the information incorporated in Kings. Scholars also suspect that other sources, both written and oral, may have been used during the process of composition. Additional records from temple or palace archives may lie behind the account of Solomon’s court and building activities (1 Kings 4–7), while traditional collections of prophetic stories may form the basis of the history of the Northern Kingdom (Israel) from Ahab to Jehu (1 Kings 17–2 Kings 10).