2 Samuel 18:23
in 2 Samuel 18“No matter what, I want to run!” he replied. “Then run!” Joab told him. So Ahimaaz ran by way of the plain and outran the Cushite.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But come what may, said he, I will run. And he said unto him, Run. Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the Plain, and outran the Cushite.
KJV
But howsoever, said he, let me run. And he said unto him, Run. Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the plain, and overran Cushi.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 18
Commentary
6 notes on this verseBut howsoever (said he) let me run,.... Be it as it may, I beg I may have leave; and being so very importunate, it was granted: and he said unto him, run; since he would take no denial: then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the plain, and overran Cushi; who ran by the way of the mountains; which though the shorter way, that through the plain was easiest, and soonest run, though the longest.
This site's exposition
the LORD has avenged him of his enemies
on 2 Samuel 18:19-23
Ahimaaz asks to tell the king “the good news that the LORD has avenged him of his enemies”, but Joab refuses and sends a Cushite. Ahimaaz presses a second time, is allowed to run, and outruns the Cushite. Albert Barnes takes the Cushite to be a foreign slave.
This site's exposition
by way of the plain
The Hebrew word for plain is ciccar, meaning circle, which Jamieson, Fausset and Brown say is used elsewhere only of the Jordan valley. Albert Barnes and John Gill both think the valley way was longer but easier, so Ahimaaz won the run by his choice of road.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
No great praise for a priest to be swift of foot, yet perhaps Ahimaaz was proud of it. (2.) Perhaps it was in prudence and tenderness to the king that he desired it. He knew he could get before Cushi, and therefore was willing to prepare the king, by a vague and general report, for the plain truth which Cushi was ordered to tell him.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The plain - The floor of the valley through which the Jordan runs. The Cushite did not run by that road, but took the road over the hills, which may well have been the shorter but also the more difficult road. The two roads would probably meet a short distance from Mahanaim.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
by the way of the plain--or ciccar, "circle." This word is only used elsewhere in connection with the valley of the Jordan. It is possible that there may have been a place or region so called on the tablelands of Gilead, as the Septuagint seems to indicate.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וִיהִי־ | vihi- | and may it be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| מָ֣ה | mah | whatever | H4100 → | 752 times |
| אָר֔וּץ | ʾarutz | I will run | H7323 → | 103 times |
| וַיֹּ֥אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| ל֖וֹ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| ר֑וּץ | rutz | run | H7323 → | 103 times |
| וַיָּ֤רָץ | vaiyarotz | and he ran | H7323 → | 103 times |
| אֲחִימַ֙עַץ֙ | ʾachimaatz | Ahimaaz | H290 → | 15 times |
| דֶּ֣רֶךְ | derekh | [the] way of | H1870 → | 707 times |
| הַכִּכָּ֔ר | hakikar | the plain | H3603 → | |
| וַֽיַּעֲבֹ֖ר | vaiyaavor | and he passed by | H5674 → | 556 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַכּוּשִֽׁי׃ | hakushi | the Cushite | H3569 → | 26 times |
וִיהִי־and may it be
vihi-H1961 →3559 times
מָ֣הwhatever
mahH4100 →752 times
אָר֔וּץI will run
ʾarutzH7323 →103 times
וַיֹּ֥אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
ל֖וֹto <the> him
lo
ר֑וּץrun
rutzH7323 →103 times
וַיָּ֤רָץand he ran
vaiyarotzH7323 →103 times
אֲחִימַ֙עַץ֙Ahimaaz
ʾachimaatzH290 →15 times
דֶּ֣רֶךְ[the] way of
derekhH1870 →707 times
הַכִּכָּ֔רthe plain
hakikarH3603 →
וַֽיַּעֲבֹ֖רand he passed by
vaiyaavorH5674 →556 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַכּוּשִֽׁי׃the Cushite
hakushiH3569 →26 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
3 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 20:4The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 9:24
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way as to take the prize.
- 2 Corinthians 8:12
For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.
- Leviticus 13:30
the priest shall examine the infection, and if it appears to be deeper than the skin and the hair in it is yellow and thin, the priest must pronounce him unclean; it is a…
- 1 Corinthians 9:24
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
About 2 Samuel
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.