2 Samuel 23:15 BSB — MannaFest

2 Samuel 23:15

David longed for water and said, “Oh, that someone would get me a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!”

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

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, which is by the gate!

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Commentary

5 voices

Gregory the Dialogist

Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 34 (604)

What I say is excessive, unless I confirm these things from testimonies of sacred Scripture. The Law of the Old Testament certainly forbids coveting another's wife, but it does not punish a king for commanding brave deeds of soldiers, or for desiring water. And we all know that David, pierced by the sword of concupiscence, both coveted and took away another man's wife. Fitting scourges followed his fault, and he corrected the evil he had perpetrated through the lamentations of penance.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

John Gill

1697–1771

Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)

And David longed, and said,.... It being harvest time, the summer season, and hot weather, and he thirsty: oh, that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate! which he was well acquainted with, being his native place; and which might make it the more desirable, as well as its waters might be peculiarly cool and refreshing, and very excellent, as Kimchi suggests. This well was about a mile from Bethlehem, now called David's well, as some travellers say (y).

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

Said - Being hot and thirsty, he expresses how acceptable a draught of that water would be to him; but was far from desiring, or expecting that any of his men should hazard their lives to procure it.

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

It was harvest-time; the weather was hot; he was thirsty; perhaps good water was scarce, and therefore he earnestly wished, "O that I could but have one draught of the water of the well of Bethlehem!" With the water of that well he had often refreshed himself when he was a youth, and nothing now will serve him but that, though it is almost impossible to come at it.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)

A cistern of deep, clear, cool water, is called by the monks, David’s Well, about three-quarters of a mile to the north of Bethlehem. Possibly the old well has been filled up since the town was supplied with water by the aqueduct.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

11 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
וַיִּתְאַוֶּ֥ה	vai.yit.'a.Veh	and he desired	H183 →
דָוִ֖ד	da.Vid	David	H1732 →
וַיֹּאמַ֑ר	vai.yo.Mar	and he said	H559 →
מִ֚י	mi	who?	H4310 →
יַשְׁקֵ֣נִי	yash.Ke.ni	will he give to drink me	H8248 →
מַ֔יִם	Ma.yim	water	H4325 →
מִבֹּ֥אר	mi.Bor	from [the] well of	H877 →
בֵּֽית־	beit-	Beth-	H1035 →
לֶ֖חֶם	Le.chem	-lehem	H1035 →
אֲשֶׁ֥ר	'a.Sher	which	H834 →
בַּשָּֽׁעַר׃	ba.Sha.'ar	[is] at the gate	H8179 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
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.
leads to
- Joel 2:28
  And afterward, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.
- 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.
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Acts 2:17
  ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.
- Isaiah 59:21
  “As for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says the LORD. “My Spirit will not depart from you, and My words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your…
- Proverbs 1:23
  If you had repented at my rebuke, then surely I would have poured out my spirit on you; I would have made my words known to you.
Through
John 4:10
Jesus 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.”
leads to
- 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.”
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
Through
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.”
leads to
- 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.
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- John 7:38–39
  Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water will flow from within him.’”

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About 2 Samuel

David Mourns the Death of Absalom — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

2 Samuel: the study guide →Read chapter 23 →The featured study →

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01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About 2 Samuel

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About 2 Samuel