2 Samuel 11:18
in 2 Samuel 11Joab sent to David a full account of the battle
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war;
KJV
Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war;
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This verse in 2 Samuel 11
Commentary
3 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
all the things concerning the war
on 2 Samuel 11:18-21
Joab reports the fighting to David and coaches the messenger for the moment David's anger rises over troops sent too near the wall. He is told to answer with the old precedent of Abimelech, killed at Thebez when a woman cast a piece of a millstone from the wall onto him, a story known well enough that naming it would explain why men should not approach a wall so closely. Only after that defense is ready does the messenger have leave to add, almost in passing, that Uriah the Hittite is dead also. Joab manages David's expected reaction before David has reacted at all, and buries Uriah's name inside a report about tactics.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
We have taken up the task of writing an apology for the present style of the prophet David, not because he needs this gift, who has excelled in such great merits and flourished in virtues, but because many people, reading the sequence of his deeds without considering the power of the Scriptures or the hidden mysteries, wonder how such a great prophet did not avoid the contagion of adultery first and then of murder. Therefore, it was our desire to review the history itself, which seems to have been exposed to sin.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Then Joab sent,.... Messengers to David, as soon as Uriah was killed: and told David all the things concerning the war; how the siege had been carried on; what success they had had, good or ill; what their advantages and disadvantages; what men they had lost, and especially in one sally of the enemy upon them, for the sake of which the express was sent.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשְׁלַ֖ח | vaiyishlach | and he sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| יוֹאָ֑ב | yoav | Joab | H3097 → | 144 times |
| וַיַּגֵּ֣ד | vaiyaged | and he told | H5046 → | 370 times |
| לְדָוִ֔ד | ledavid | to David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| דִּבְרֵ֖י | divrei | [the] matters of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| הַמִּלְחָמָֽה׃ | hamilchamah | the battle | H4421 → | 320 times |
וַיִּשְׁלַ֖חand he sent
vaiyishlachH7971 →845 times
יוֹאָ֑בJoab
yoavH3097 →144 times
וַיַּגֵּ֣דand he told
vaiyagedH5046 →370 times
לְדָוִ֔דto David
ledavidH1732 →999 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
דִּבְרֵ֖י[the] matters of
divreiH1697 →1440 times
הַמִּלְחָמָֽה׃the battle
hamilchamahH4421 →320 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Ambrose of Milan, Apology for the Prophet David, Chapter 1; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).