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2 Samuel 8:17

in 2 Samuel 8

Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Seraiah was the scribe;

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

and Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, were priests; and Seraiah was scribe;

KJV

And Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, were the priests; and Seraiah was the scribe;

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This verse in 2 Samuel 8

Commentary

5 notes on this verse

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

The two high priests exercised their office under the respective princes to whom they were attached. But, on David's obtaining the kingdom over all Israel, they both retained their dignity;

This site's exposition

Joab son of Zeruiah was over the army

on 2 Samuel 8:16-18

The chapter lists the first court: Joab over the army, Jehoshaphat as recorder, Zadok and Ahimelech as priests, and Benaiah over the Cherethites and Pelethites. Adam Clarke gives the Targum's rendering of those two names, archers and slingers. The same list of offices returns at 20:23-26, framing the chapters between.

This site's exposition

Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests

First Samuel 22:20 makes Abiathar the son of Ahimelech, and Abiathar served as priest through the reign of David. Albert Barnes holds that the text here carries an error. Adam Clarke takes Seraiah the scribe as the private secretary of the king.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

And Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, were the priests,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

Seraiah - the scribe - Most likely the king’s private secretary. See 1Ch 24:3 (note).

The words behind it

9 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וְצָד֧וֹקand Zadok

    vetzadokH6659 →53 times

  • בֶּן־[the] son of

    ben-H1121 →4930 times

  • אֲחִיט֛וּבAhitub

    ʾachituvH285 →

  • וַאֲחִימֶ֥לֶךְand Ahimelech

    vaachimelekhH288 →

  • בֶּן־[the] son of

    ben-H1121 →4930 times

  • אֶבְיָתָ֖רAbiathar

    ʾevyatarH54 →30 times

  • כֹּהֲנִ֑ים[were] priests

    kohanimH3548 →750 times

  • וּשְׂרָיָ֖הand Seraiah

    userayahH8304 →

  • סוֹפֵֽר׃[was] secretary

    soferH5608 →159 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

14 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

1 Chronicles 18:16Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Shavsha was the scribe;8 worksMark 2:26During the high priesthood of Abiathar, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which was lawful only for the priests. And he gave some to his companions as well.”6 works1 Chronicles 12:28and Zadok, a mighty young man of valor, with 22 commanders from his own family.5 works1 Chronicles 6:8Ahitub was the father of Zadok, Zadok was the father of Ahimaaz,5 works2 Samuel 15:24Zadok was also there, and all the Levites with him were carrying the ark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God, and Abiathar offered sacrifices until the people had passed out of the city.5 works1 Chronicles 24:3With the help of Eleazar’s descendant Zadok and Ithamar’s descendant Ahimelech, David divided them according to the offices of their service.4 works
The other 8 cross-references, with their words ▾
2 Kings 12:10Whenever they saw that there was a large amount of money in the chest, the royal scribe and the high priest would go up, count the money brought into the house of the LORD, and tie it up in bags.4 works1 Chronicles 16:39And David left Zadok the priest and his fellow priests before the tabernacle of the LORD at the high place in Gibeon3 worksJeremiah 36:10From the chamber of Gemariah son of Shaphan the scribe, which was in the upper courtyard at the opening of the New Gate of the house of the LORD, Baruch read from the scroll the words of Jeremiah in the hearing of all the people.3 works2 Samuel 20:25Sheva was the scribe; Zadok and Abiathar were priests;3 works1 Chronicles 6:53Zadok his son, and Ahimaaz his son.3 worksEzra 7:2the son of Shallum, the son of Zadok, the son of Ahitub,2 works1 Chronicles 15:11David summoned the priests Zadok and Abiathar and the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab.2 worksEzra 4:8Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote the letter against Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes as follows:2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    1 Chronicles 6:8

    Ahitub was the father of Zadok, Zadok was the father of Ahimaaz,

    it leads to

    • 1 Kings 2:35

      And the king appointed Benaiah son of Jehoiada in Joab’s place over the army, and he appointed Zadok the priest in Abiathar’s place.

      Reached by 3 separate paths from here.

    • 2 Samuel 15:27

      The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Are you not a seer? Return to the city in peace—you with your son Ahimaaz, and Abiathar with his son Jonathan.

    • 1 Kings 1:44

      And with Solomon, the king has sent Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, along with the Cherethites and Pelethites, and they have set him on the king’s mule.

    • 1 Kings 1:34

      There Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet are to anoint him king over Israel. You are to blow the ram’s horn and declare, ‘Long live King Solomon!’

  • Through

    1 Chronicles 18:16

    Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Shavsha was the scribe;

    it leads to

    • 2 Samuel 20:25

      Sheva was the scribe; Zadok and Abiathar were priests;

    • 1 Kings 4:3

      Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, were secretaries; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the recorder;

  • Through

    1 Chronicles 16:39

    And David left Zadok the priest and his fellow priests before the tabernacle of the LORD at the high place in Gibeon

    it leads to

    • 1 Kings 3:4

      Now the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for it was the great high place. Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on the altar there.

    • 1 Chronicles 15:11

      David summoned the priests Zadok and Abiathar and the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab.

Where this verse is studied

About 2 Samuel

David Mourns the Death of Absalom, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
David Mourns the Death of Absalom, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
2 Samuel: the study guide →Read 2 Samuel 8 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).

Read on in 2 Samuel 8 →