1 Chronicles 11:17
in 1 Chronicles 11David longed for water and said, “Oh, that someone would get me a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me water to drink of the well of Beth-lehem, which is by the gate!
KJV
And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Beth–lehem, that is at the gate!
⋯
This verse in 1 Chronicles 11
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
It is probable that, when uttering the wish, David had no recollection of the military posted at Beth-lehem. It is generally taken for granted that those who fought a way to the well of Beth-lehem were the three champions just mentioned [see on 1Ch 11:13]. But this is far from being clear.
This site's exposition
Three of the thirty chief men went down
on 1 Chronicles 11:15-19
The Three broke through the Philistine camp to draw water from the well at the gate of Bethlehem, as 2 Samuel 23:13 to 17 tells. They risked their lives for a longing David never gave as a command. David refused to drink it and poured it out to the LORD.
This site's exposition
David longed for water and
Bethlehem was David's hometown, and the well by its gate belonged to the town of his youth. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown hold that David spoke the wish without thinking of the Philistine garrison posted there. He gave no order.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
The observance of Lent becomes not the curbing of old passions but an opportunity for new pleasures. Take measures in advance with as much diligence as possible to prevent these attitudes from creeping on you. Let frugality be joined to fasting. As satisfying the stomach is to be censured, so stimulants of the appetite must be eliminated. It is not that certain kinds of food are to be detested but that bodily pleasure is to be checked.… And holy King David repented of having excessively desired water.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
3 Therefore came all the elders of Israel to the king to Hebron; and David made a covenant with them in Hebron before the L ORD ; and they anointed David king over Israel, according to the word of the L ORD by Samuel. 4 And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem, which is Jebus; where the Jebusites were, the inhabitants of the land.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:94%@v3-4
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
David longed - See the notes on 2Sa 23:15-17 (note).
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
and a Philistine governor was then in Bethlehem for they had already taken Bethlehem and stationed a governor therein, who judged [the region].
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּתְאָ֥יו | vaiyitav | and he craved | H183 → | |
| דָּוִ֖יד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| וַיֹּאמַ֑ר | vaiyomar | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מִ֚י | mi | who? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| יַשְׁקֵ֣נִי | yashkeni | will he give to drink me | H8248 → | |
| מַ֔יִם | mayim | water | H4325 → | 581 times |
| מִבּ֥וֹר | mibor | from [the] well of | H953 → | 66 times |
| בֵּֽית־ | beit- | Beth- | H1035 → | 82 times |
| לֶ֖חֶם | lechem | -lehem | H1035 → | 82 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בַּשָּֽׁעַר׃ | bashaar | [is] at the gate | H8179 → | 374 times |
וַיִּתְאָ֥יוand he craved
vaiyitavH183 →
דָּוִ֖ידDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
וַיֹּאמַ֑רand he said
vaiyomarH559 →5305 times
מִ֚יwho?
miH4310 →423 times
יַשְׁקֵ֣נִיwill he give to drink me
yashkeniH8248 →
מַ֔יִםwater
mayimH4325 →581 times
מִבּ֥וֹרfrom [the] well of
miborH953 →66 times
בֵּֽית־Beth-
beit-H1035 →82 times
לֶ֖חֶם-lehem
lechemH1035 →82 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בַּשָּֽׁעַר׃[is] at the gate
bashaarH8179 →374 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
John 4:10Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God and who is asking you for a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
it leads to
- Revelation 7:17
For the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd. ‘He will lead them to springs of living water,’ and ‘God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- John 4:14
But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.”
- John 7:37–39
On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.
- Isaiah 44:3
For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and currents on the dry ground. I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring.
- Revelation 21:6
And He told me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give freely from the spring of the water of life.
- Revelation 7:17
Through
John 4:14But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.”
it leads to
- John 7:38–39
Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water will flow from within him.’”
- John 6:35
Jesus answered, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never hunger, and whoever believes in Me will never thirst.
- Isaiah 49:10
They will not hunger or thirst, nor will scorching heat or sun beat down on them. For He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water.
- John 7:38–39
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 1 Chronicles
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Augustine of Hippo, SERMON 207.2; Berean Standard Bible, 2 Samuel 23:15; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.