2. the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of cedar--The palace which Hiram had sent men and materials to build in Jerusalem had been finished. It was magnificent for that age, though made wholly of wood: houses in warm countries not being required to possess the solidity and thickness of walls which are requisite for dwellings in regions exposed to rain and cold. Cedar was the rarest and most valuable timber. The elegance and splendor of his own royal mansion, contrasted with the mean and temporary tabernacle in which the ark of God was placed, distressed the pious mind of David.
3. Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart--The piety of the design commended it to the prophet's mind, and he gave his hasty approval and encouragement to the royal plans. The prophets, when following the impulse of their own feelings, or forming conjectural opinions, fell into frequent mistakes. (See on [1Sa 16:6]; [2Ki 4:27]).
[2Sa 7:4-17]. God Appoints His Successor to Build It.
4-17. it came to pass that night, that the word of the Lord came unto Nathan--The command was given to the prophet on the night immediately following; that is, before David could either take any measures or incur any expenses.
18. Then went king David in, and sat before the Lord--Sitting was anciently an attitude for worship ([Ex 17:12]; [1Sa 4:13]; [1Ki 19:4]). As to the particular attitude David sat, most probably, upon his heels. It was the posture of the ancient Egyptians before the shrines; it is the posture of deepest respect before a superior in the East. Persons of highest dignity sit thus when they do sit in the presence of kings and it is the only sitting attitude assumed by the modern Mohammedans in their places and rites of devotion.
19. is this the manner of man, O Lord God?--that is, is it customary for men to show such condescension to persons so humble as I am? (See [1Ch 17:17].)
20. what can David say more unto thee?--that is, my obligations are greater than I can express.
Chapter 8
[2Sa 8:1], . David Subdues the Philistines, and Makes the Moabites Tributary.
1. David took Metheg-ammah out of the hand of the Philistines--that is, Gath and her suburban towns ([1Ch 18:1]). That town had been "a bridle" by which the Philistines kept the people of Judah in check. David used it now as a barrier to repress that restless enemy.
2. he smote Moab, and measured them with a line--This refers to a well-known practice of Eastern kings, to command their prisoners of war, particularly those who, notorious for the atrocity of their crimes or distinguished by the indomitable spirit of their resistance, had greatly incensed the victors, to lie down on the ground. Then a certain portion of them, which was determined by lot, but most commonly by a measuring-line, were put to death. Our version makes him put two-thirds to death, and spare one-third. The Septuagint and Vulgate make one-half. This war usage was not, perhaps, usually practised by the people of God; but Jewish writers assert that the cause of this particular severity against this people was their having massacred David's parents and family, whom he had, during his exile, committed to the king of Moab.
[2Sa 8:3-14]. He Smites Hadadezer and the Syrians.
3. Zobah--([1Ch 18:3]). This kingdom was bounded on the east by the Euphrates, and it extended westward from that river, perhaps as far north as Aleppo. It was long the chief among the petty kingdoms of Syria, and its king bore the hereditary title of "Hadadezer" or "Hadarezer" ("Hadad," that is, "helped").
as he went to recover his border at the river Euphrates--in accordance with the promises God made to Israel that He would give them all the country as far as the Euphrates ([Ge 15:18]; [Nu 24:17]). In the first campaign David signally defeated Hadadezer. Besides a great number of foot prisoners, he took from him an immense amount of booty in chariots and horses. Reserving only a small number of the latter, he hamstrung the rest. The horses were thus mutilated because they were forbidden to the Hebrews, both in war and agriculture. So it was of no use to keep them. Besides, their neighbors placed much dependence on cavalry, but having, for want of a native breed, to procure them by purchase, the greatest damage that could be done to such enemies was to render their horses unserviceable in war. (See also [Ge 46:6]; [Jos 11:6], ). A king of Damascene-Syria came to Hadadezer's succor; but David routed those auxiliary forces also, took possession of their country, put garrisons into their fortified towns, and made them tributary.
9. Toi king of Hamath--Coele-Syria; northwards, it extended to the city Hamath on the Orontes, which was the capital of the country. The Syrian prince, being delivered from the dread of a dangerous neighbor, sent his son with valuable presents to David to congratulate him on his victories, and solicit his alliance and protection.
10. Joram--or Hadoram ([1Ch 18:10]).
11. Which also king David did dedicate unto the Lord--Eastern princes have always been accustomed to hoard up vast quantities of gold. This is the first instance of a practice uniformly followed by David of reserving, after defraying expenses and bestowing suitable rewards upon his soldiers, the remainder of the spoil taken in war, to accumulate for the grand project of his life--the erection of a national temple at Jerusalem.
13. David gat him a name when he returned from smiting of the Syrians--Instead of Syrians, the Septuagint version reads "Edomites," which is the true reading, as is evident from [2Sa 8:14]. This conquest, made by the army of David, was due to the skilful generalship and gallantry of Abishai and Joab. ([1Ch 18:12]; compare [Psa 60:1], title.) The valley was the ravine of salt (the Ghor), adjoining the Salt Mountain, at the southwestern extremity of the Dead Sea, separating the ancient territories of Judah and Edom [Robinson].
[2Sa 8:15-18]. His Reign.
15. David executed judgment and justice unto all his people--Though involved in foreign wars, he maintained an excellent system of government at home, the most eminent men of the age composing his cabinet of ministers.
16. Joab ... was over the host--by virtue of a special promise ([2Sa 5:8]).
recorder--historiographer or daily annalist, an office of great trust and importance in Eastern countries.
17. Zadok ... and Ahimelech ... were the priests--On the massacre of the priests at Nob, [1Sa 22:19], Saul conferred the priesthood on Zadok, of the family of Eleazar ([1Ch 6:50]), while David acknowledged Ahimelech, of Ithamar's family, who fled to him. The two high priests exercised their office under the respective princes to whom they were attached. But, on David's obtaining the kingdom over all Israel, they both retained their dignity; Ahimelech officiating at Jerusalem, and Zadok at Gibeon ([1Ch 16:39]).
18. Cherethites--that is, Philistines ([Zep 2:5]).
Pelethites--from Pelet ([1Ch 12:3]). They were the valiant men who, having accompanied David during his exile among the Philistines, were made his bodyguard.
Chapter 9
[2Sa 9:1-12]. David Sends for Mephibosheth.
1-7. David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul--On inquiry, Saul's land steward was found, who gave information that there still survived Mephibosheth, a son of Jonathan who was five years old at his father's death, and whom David, then wandering in exile, had never seen. His lameness ([2Sa 4:4]) had prevented him from taking any part in the public contests of the time. Besides, according to Oriental notions, the younger son of a crowned monarch has a preferable claim to the succession over the son of a mere heir-apparent; and hence his name was never heard of as the rival of his uncle Ish-bosheth. His insignificance had led to his being lost sight of, and it was only through Ziba that David learned of his existence, and the retired life he passed with one of the great families in trans-jordanic Canaan who remained attached to the fallen dynasty. Mephibosheth was invited to court, and a place at the royal table on public days was assigned him, as is still the custom with Eastern monarchs. Saul's family estate, which had fallen to David in right of his wife ([Nu 27:8]), or been forfeited to the crown by Ish-bosheth's rebellion ([2Sa 12:8]), was provided ([2Sa 9:11]; also [2Sa 19:28]), for enabling Mephibosheth to maintain an establishment suitable to his rank, and Ziba appointed steward to manage it, on the condition of receiving one-half of the produce in remuneration for his labor and expense, while the other moiety was to be paid as rent to the owner of the land ([2Sa 19:29]).
10. Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants--The mention of his sons and the slaves in his house was to show that Mephibosheth would be honored with an equipage "as one of the king's sons."
12. Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Micah--Whether born before or after his residence in Jerusalem, cannot be ascertained. But through him the name and memory of the excellent Jonathan was preserved (see [1Ch 8:34], ; , ).
Chapter 10
[2Sa 10:1-5]. David's Messengers, Sent to Comfort Hanun, Are Disgracefully Treated.
2. Then said David, I will show kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father showed kindness unto me--It is probable that this was the Nahash against whom Saul waged war at Jabesh-gilead ([1Sa 11:11]). David, on leaving Gath, where his life was exposed to danger, found an asylum with the king of Moab; and as Nahash, king of the Ammonites, was his nearest neighbor, it may be that during the feud between Saul and David, he, through enmity to the former, was kind and hospitable to David.
3. the princes of the children of Ammon said unto Hanun--Their suspicion was not warranted either by any overt act or by any cherished design of David: it must have originated in their knowledge of the denunciations of God's law against them ([De 23:3-6]), and of David's policy in steadfastly adhering to it.
4. Hanun took David's servants, and shaved off the one half of their beards--From the long flowing dress of the Hebrews and other Orientals, the curtailment of their garments must have given them an aspect of gross indelicacy and ludicrousness. Besides, a knowledge of the extraordinary respect and value which has always been attached, and the gross insult that is implied in any indignity offered, to the beard in the East, will account for the shame which the deputies felt, and the determined spirit of revenge which burst out in all Israel on learning the outrage. Two instances are related in the modern history of Persia, of similar insults by kings of haughty and imperious temper, involving the nation in war; and we need not, therefore, be surprised that David vowed revenge for this wanton and public outrage.
5. Tarry at Jericho--or in the neighborhood, after crossing the fords of the Jordan.
[2Sa 10:6-14]. The Ammonites Overcome.
6-14. when the children of Ammon saw that they stank before David--To chastise those insolent and inhospitable Ammonites, who had violated the common law of nations, David sent a large army under the command of Joab, while they, informed of the impending attack, made energetic preparations to repel it by engaging the services of an immense number of Syrian mercenaries.
Beth-rehob--the capital of the low-lying region between Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon.
Zoba--(see on [2Sa 8:3]).
of king Maacah--His territories lay on the other side of Jordan, near Gilead ([De 3:14]).
Ish-tob--that is, "the men of Tob"--the place of Jephthah's marauding adventures (see also [1Ch 19:6]; [Psa 60:1], title). As the Israelite soldiers poured into the Ammonite territory, that people met them at the frontier town of Medeba ([1Ch 19:7-9]), the native troops covering the city, while the Syrian mercenaries lay at some distance encamped in the fields. In making the attack, Joab divided his forces into two separate detachments--the one of which, under the command of his brother, Abishai, was to concentrate its attack upon the city, while he himself marched against the overwhelming host of mercenary auxiliaries. It was a just and necessary war that had been forced on Israel, and they could hope for the blessing of God upon their arms. With great judgment the battle opened against the mercenaries, who could not stand against the furious onset of Joab, and not feeling the cause their own, consulted their safety by flight. The Ammonites, who had placed their chief dependence upon a foreign aid, then retreated to entrench themselves within the walls of the town.
16. Hadarezer sent and brought out the Syrians that were beyond the river--This prince had enjoyed a breathing time after his defeat ([2Sa 8:3]). But alarmed at the increasing power and greatness of David, as well as being an ally of the Ammonites, he levied a vast army not only in Syria, but in Mesopotamia, to invade the Hebrew kingdom. Shobach, his general, in pursuance of this design, had marched his troops as far as Kelam, a border town of eastern Manasseh, when David, crossing the Jordan by forced marches, suddenly surprised, defeated, and dispersed them. As a result of this great and decisive victory, all the petty kingdoms of Syria submitted and became his tributaries (see on [1Ch 19:1]).
Chapter 11
[2Sa 11:1]. Joab Besieges Rabbah.