2 Samuel 10:4
in 2 Samuel 10So Hanun took David’s servants, shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their garments at the hips, and sent them away.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
So Hanun took David’s servants, and shaved off the one half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away.
KJV
Wherefore Hanun took David’s servants, and shaved off the one half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 10
Commentary
6 notes on this verseShaved off the one half of their beards - The beard is held in high respect in the East: the possessor considers it his greatest ornament; often swears by it; and, in matters of great importance, pledges it. Nothing can be more secure than a pledge of this kind; its owner will redeem it at the hazard of his life. The beard was never cut off but in mourning, or as a sign of slavery.
This site's exposition
the princes of the children of Ammon said unto Hanun their lord
on 2 Samuel 10:3-4
The princes read an act of respect as espionage, a charge David never gives them ground for, and Hanun trusts the accusation over years of peace. He shaves half of each ambassador's beard and cuts their garments away at the hip, an insult measured in a culture where the beard was a man's honor and exposure a mark of slavery. Clarke and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown both read the outrage as the whole nation's grievance and not the ambassadors' alone, which is why all Israel takes up the cause that follows.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Shaved - To fasten this is a reproach upon them, and to make them ridiculous and contemptible. Cut off, &c. - This was worse than the former, because the Israelites wore no breeches, and so their nakedness was hereby uncovered.
Wherefore Hanun took David's servants,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Besides, a knowledge of the extraordinary respect and value which has always been attached, and the gross insult that is implied in any indignity offered, to the beard in the East, will account for the shame which the deputies felt, and the determined spirit of revenge which burst out in all Israel on learning the outrage.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
In 1Ch 19:4, more concisely “shaved.” Cutting off a person’s beard is regarded by the Arabs as an indignity equal to flogging and branding among ourselves. The loss of their long garments, so essential to Oriental dignity, was no less insulting than that of their beards.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּקַּ֨ח | vaiyikach | and he took | H3947 → | 966 times |
| חָנ֜וּן | chanun | Hanun | H2586 → | 11 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עַבְדֵ֣י | ʾavdei | [the] servants of | H5650 → | 799 times |
| דָוִ֗ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| וַיְגַלַּח֙ | vaygalach | and he shaved | H1548 → | 23 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| חֲצִ֣י | chatzi | <the> half of | H2677 → | 125 times |
| זְקָנָ֔ם | zekanam | beard their | H2206 → | 19 times |
| וַיִּכְרֹ֧ת | vaiyikhrot | and he cut off | H3772 → | 288 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מַדְוֵיהֶ֛ם | madveihem | robes their | H4063 → | |
| בַּחֵ֖צִי | bachetzi | at the middle | H2677 → | 125 times |
| עַ֣ד | ʾad | to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| שְׁתֽוֹתֵיהֶ֑ם | shetoteihem | buttocks their | H8357 → | |
| וַֽיְשַׁלְּחֵֽם׃ | vayshalechem | and he sent away them | H7971 → | 845 times |
וַיִּקַּ֨חand he took
vaiyikachH3947 →966 times
חָנ֜וּןHanun
chanunH2586 →11 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
עַבְדֵ֣י[the] servants of
ʾavdeiH5650 →799 times
דָוִ֗דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
וַיְגַלַּח֙and he shaved
vaygalachH1548 →23 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
חֲצִ֣י<the> half of
chatziH2677 →125 times
זְקָנָ֔םbeard their
zekanamH2206 →19 times
וַיִּכְרֹ֧תand he cut off
vaiyikhrotH3772 →288 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
מַדְוֵיהֶ֛םrobes their
madveihemH4063 →
בַּחֵ֖צִיat the middle
bachetziH2677 →125 times
עַ֣דto
ʾadH5704 →1261 times
שְׁתֽוֹתֵיהֶ֑םbuttocks their
shetoteihemH8357 →
וַֽיְשַׁלְּחֵֽם׃and he sent away them
vayshalechemH7971 →845 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 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
Jeremiah 41:5eighty men who had shaved off their beards, torn their garments, and cut themselves came from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria, carrying grain offerings and frankincense for the house of the LORD.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 16:24
He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver and built a city there, calling it Samaria after the name of Shemer, who had owned the hill.
- Joshua 18:1
Then the whole congregation of Israel assembled at Shiloh and set up the Tent of Meeting there. And though the land was subdued before them,
- 2 Kings 25:9
He burned down the house of the LORD, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem—every significant building.
- Deuteronomy 14:1
You are sons of the LORD your God; do not cut yourselves or shave your foreheads on behalf of the dead,
- Genesis 33:18
After Jacob had come from Paddan-aram, he arrived safely at the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan, and he camped just outside the city.
- 1 Kings 16:24
Through
Isaiah 20:4so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, young and old alike, naked and barefoot, with bared buttocks—to Egypt’s shame.
it leads to
- Isaiah 19:4
I will deliver the Egyptians into the hands of harsh masters, and a fierce king will rule over them,” declares the Lord GOD of Hosts.
- Isaiah 19:4
Through
Isaiah 15:2Dibon goes up to its temple to weep at its high places. Moab wails over Nebo, as well as over Medeba. Every head is shaved, every beard is cut off.
it leads to
- Leviticus 21:5
Priests must not make bald spots on their heads, shave off the edges of their beards, or make cuts in their bodies.
- Jeremiah 48:1
Concerning Moab, this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Woe to Nebo, for it will be devastated. Kiriathaim will be captured and disgraced; the fortress will be shattered and…
- Leviticus 21:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Samuel
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 & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament.