2 Samuel 11:23
in 2 Samuel 11The messenger said to David, “The men overpowered us and came out against us in the field, but we drove them back to the entrance of the gate.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the messenger said unto David, The men prevailed against us, and came out unto us into the field, and we were upon them even unto the entrance of the gate.
KJV
And the messenger said unto David, Surely the men prevailed against us, and came out unto us into the field, and we were upon them even unto the entering of the gate.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 11
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
the messenger set out and reported to David all that Joab had sent him to say
on 2 Samuel 11:22-25
The messenger delivers the account, and Uriah's death comes last. David's reply is ready: “Do not let this matter upset you, for the sword devours one as well as another”. David alone knows the death was ordered, and he closes by telling Joab to strengthen the attack on the city.
This site's exposition
we drove them back to the entrance of the gate
John Gill reads the report as one sally from Rabbah, met by a rally that chased the defenders back to their gate. The chase carried the men of Israel under the wall.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
We have taken up the task of writing an apology for the present style of the prophet David, not because he needs this gift, who has excelled in such great merits and flourished in virtues, but because many people, reading the sequence of his deeds without considering the power of the Scriptures or the hidden mysteries, wonder how such a great prophet did not avoid the contagion of adultery first and then of murder. Therefore, it was our desire to review the history itself, which seems to have been exposed to sin.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And the messenger said unto David,.... The particulars of his account follow: surely the men prevailed against us; the men of the city of Rabbah, the besieged there, in one onset they made upon them: and came out unto us in the field; the besiegers that lay encamped there; they sallied out upon them: and we were upon them, even unto the entering of the gate; rallied upon them, and drove them back, and pursued them to the gate of the city.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הַמַּלְאָךְ֙ | hamalokh | the messenger | H4397 → | 213 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| דָּוִ֔ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| גָבְר֤וּ | gaveru | they prevailed | H1396 → | |
| עָלֵ֙ינוּ֙ | ʾaleinu | over us | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הָֽאֲנָשִׁ֔ים | haanashim | the men | H582 → | 566 times |
| וַיֵּצְא֥וּ | vaiyetzeu | and they came out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| אֵלֵ֖ינוּ | ʾeleinu | against us | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַשָּׂדֶ֑ה | hasadeh | the open country | H7704 → | 334 times |
| וַנִּהְיֶ֥ה | vanihyeh | and we were | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| עֲלֵיהֶ֖ם | ʾaleihem | on them | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| פֶּ֥תַח | petach | [the] entrance of | H6607 → | 164 times |
| הַשָּֽׁעַר׃ | hashaar | the gate | H8179 → | 374 times |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
הַמַּלְאָךְ֙the messenger
hamalokhH4397 →213 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
דָּוִ֔דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
גָבְר֤וּthey prevailed
gaveruH1396 →
עָלֵ֙ינוּ֙over us
ʾaleinuH5921 →5755 times
הָֽאֲנָשִׁ֔יםthe men
haanashimH582 →566 times
וַיֵּצְא֥וּand they came out
vaiyetzeuH3318 →1067 times
אֵלֵ֖ינוּagainst us
ʾeleinuH413 →5510 times
הַשָּׂדֶ֑הthe open country
hasadehH7704 →334 times
וַנִּהְיֶ֥הand we were
vanihyehH1961 →3559 times
עֲלֵיהֶ֖םon them
ʾaleihemH5921 →5755 times
עַד־to
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
פֶּ֥תַח[the] entrance of
petachH6607 →164 times
הַשָּֽׁעַר׃the gate
hashaarH8179 →374 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
About 2 Samuel

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ambrose of Milan, Apology for the Prophet David, Chapter 1; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
