2 Samuel 14:6
in 2 Samuel 14And your maidservant had two sons who were fighting in the field with no one to separate them, and one struck the other and killed him.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And thy handmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and there was none to part them, but the one smote the other, and killed him.
KJV
And thy handmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and there was none to part them, but the one smote the other, and slew him.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 14
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
two sons who were fighting in the field
on 2 Samuel 14:6-7
Two sons were “fighting in the field with no one to separate them”, and one killed the other. The clan demands the survivor's life, and she pleads that they would “extinguish my one remaining ember”. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read the ember as the last spark of a house's continuance.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
),--that, for her part, she was desirous to protect the manslayer (for, as Rebekah argued concerning her two sons, Why should she be deprived of them both in one day?
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
And thy handmaid had two sons,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
And Joab sent to Tekoah, and fetched thence a wise woman--The king was strongly attached to Absalom; and having now got over his sorrow for the violent death of Amnon, he was desirous of again enjoying the society of his favorite son, who had now been three long years absent.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּלְשִׁפְחָֽתְךָ֙ | uleshifchatekha | and [belonged] to maidservant your | H8198 → | 63 times |
| שְׁנֵ֣י | shenei | two | H8147 → | 768 times |
| בָנִ֔ים | vanim | sons | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| וַיִּנָּצ֤וּ | vaiyinatzu | and they struggled together | H5327 → | |
| שְׁנֵיהֶם֙ | sheneihem | [the] two of them | H8147 → | 768 times |
| בַּשָּׂדֶ֔ה | basadeh | in the field | H7704 → | 334 times |
| וְאֵ֥ין | veein | and there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| מַצִּ֖יל | matzil | [was] a deliverer | H5337 → | 212 times |
| בֵּֽינֵיהֶ֑ם | beineihem | between them | H996 → | 407 times |
| וַיַּכּ֧וֹ | vaiyako | and he struck him | H5221 → | 499 times |
| הָאֶחָ֛ד | haechad | the one | H259 → | 971 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָאֶחָ֖ד | haechad | the one | H259 → | 971 times |
| וַיָּ֥מֶת | vaiyamet | and he killed | H4191 → | 839 times |
| אֹתֽוֹ׃ | ʾoto | <obj.> him | H853 → | 10935 times |
וּלְשִׁפְחָֽתְךָ֙and [belonged] to maidservant your
uleshifchatekhaH8198 →63 times
שְׁנֵ֣יtwo
sheneiH8147 →768 times
בָנִ֔יםsons
vanimH1121 →4930 times
וַיִּנָּצ֤וּand they struggled together
vaiyinatzuH5327 →
שְׁנֵיהֶם֙[the] two of them
sheneihemH8147 →768 times
בַּשָּׂדֶ֔הin the field
basadehH7704 →334 times
וְאֵ֥יןand there not
veeinH369 →789 times
מַצִּ֖יל[was] a deliverer
matzilH5337 →212 times
בֵּֽינֵיהֶ֑םbetween them
beineihemH996 →407 times
וַיַּכּ֧וֹand he struck him
vaiyakoH5221 →499 times
הָאֶחָ֛דthe one
haechadH259 →971 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָאֶחָ֖דthe one
haechadH259 →971 times
וַיָּ֥מֶתand he killed
vaiyametH4191 →839 times
אֹתֽוֹ׃<obj.> him
ʾotoH853 →10935 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
7 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
Genesis 4:8Then Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.
it leads to
- Matthew 23:35
And so upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and…
- 1 John 3:12–15
Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did Cain slay him? Because his own deeds were evil, while those of his brother were righteous.
- Jude 1:11
Woe to them! They have traveled the path of Cain; they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam; they have perished in Korah’s rebellion.
- Proverbs 26:24–26
A hateful man disguises himself with his speech, but he lays up deceit in his heart.
- Luke 11:51
from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, all of it will be charged to this generation.
- Matthew 23:35
Through
Exodus 2:13The next day Moses went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you attacking your companion?”
it leads to
- Acts 7:26–28
The next day he came upon two Israelites who were fighting, and he tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why are you mistreating each other?’
- 1 Corinthians 6:7–8
The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means that you are thoroughly defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?
- Acts 7:26–28
About 2 Samuel
This page draws on Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.