The Next Cycle of 40

Part 10 Section 7

2Sa 10:1   In the course of time, the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun succeeded him as king.

Ammon = “tribal”

1) a people dwelling in Transjordan descended from Lot through Ben-ammi

The Hebrew tradition makes this tribe descendants of Lot and hence related to the Israelites (Ge 19:38). This is reflected in the name usually employed in Old Testament to designate them, Ben ‘Ammi, Bene ‘Ammon, “son of my people,” “children of my people,” i.e. relatives. Hence we find that the Israelites are commanded to avoid conflict with them on their march to the Promised Land (De 2:19).

2Sa 10:2   David thought, “I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent a delegation to express his sympathy to Hanun concerning his father. When David’s men came to the land of the Ammonites,

Hanun = “gracious”

Nahash = “serpent”

2Sa 10:3   the Ammonite nobles said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think David is honoring your father by sending men to you to express sympathy? Hasn’t David sent them to you to explore the city and spy it out and overthrow it?”

2Sa 10:4   So Hanun seized David’s men, shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their garments in the middle at the buttocks, and sent them away.

2Sa 10:5   When David was told about this, he sent messengers to meet the men, for they were greatly humiliated. The king said, “Stay at Jericho till your beards have grown, and then come back.”

2Sa 10:6   When the Ammonites realized that they had become a stench in David’s nostrils, they hired twenty thousand Aramean foot soldiers from Beth Rehob and Zobah, as well as the king of Maacah with a thousand men, and also twelve thousand men from Tob.

Aram or Arameans:  “exalted”

1) Aram or Syria the nation

2) the Syrian or Aramean people

3) fifth son of Shem

4) a grandson of Nahor

5) a descendant of Asher

Beth-rehob:  “house of the street”

1) a place in Dan on road to Hamath

Zoba or Zobah:  “station”

1) the name of a portion of Syria which formed a separate kingdom in the times of Saul, David, and Solomon; located northeast of Damascus

Maachah:  “oppression”

Ishtob:

man of Tob, one of the small Syrian kingdoms which together constituted Aram (2Sa 10:6,8).

2Sa 10:7   On hearing this, David sent Joab out with the entire army of fighting men.

2Sa 10:8   The Ammonites came out and drew up in battle formation at the entrance to their city gate, while the Arameans of Zobah and Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah were by themselves in the open country.

2Sa 10:9   Joab saw that there were battle lines in front of him and behind him; so he selected some of the best troops in Israel and deployed them against the Arameans.

2Sa 10:10   He put the rest of the men under the command of Abishai his brother and deployed them against the Ammonites.

Joab:  “Jehovah is father”

Abishai:  “my father is Jesse” or “my father is a gift”

2Sa 10:11   Joab said, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you are to come to my rescue; but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come to rescue you.

2Sa 10:12   Be strong and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The Lord will do what is good in his sight.”

2Sa 10:13   Then Joab and the troops with him advanced to fight the Arameans, and they fled before him.

2Sa 10:14   When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans were fleeing, they fled before Abishai and went inside the city. So Joab returned from fighting the Ammonites and came to Jerusalem.

2Sa 10:15   After the Arameans saw that they had been routed by Israel, they regrouped.

2Sa 10:16   Hadadezer had Arameans brought from beyond the River; they went to Helam, with Shobach the commander of Hadadezer’s army leading them.

Hadarezer: “Hadad is help”

Helam: “stronghold”

Shobach: “expansion”

2Sa 10:17   When David was told of this, he gathered all Israel, crossed the Jordan and went to Helam. The Arameans formed their battle lines to meet David and fought against him.

2Sa 10:18   But they fled before Israel, and David killed seven hundred of their charioteers and forty thousand of their foot soldiers. He also struck down Shobach the commander of their army, and he died there.

2Sa 10:19   When all the kings who were vassals of Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with the Israelites and became subject to them. So the Arameans were afraid to help the Ammonites anymore.

 Footnotes:

10:16 That is, the Euphrates

10:18 Some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 1 Chron. 19:18); Hebrew horsemen