The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds:
The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds;
The rich hath flocks and herds very many;
The rich had very many flocks and herds;
2 Samuel — David's reign in three movements — rise, fall, consequences — with the Davidic covenant (ch. 7) as the vertical spine down the centre. A covenant held through both rise and fall; a throne established for ever.
Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread — the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.
Voices2
The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds. In which the wealth of men lay in those times and countries; these in the parable signify David's wives and concubines, which were many; he had six wives in Hebron, and he took more wives and concubines out of Jerusalem, when he was come from Hebron, 2Sa 3:2; and besides his master's, or Saul's wives, given to him, 2Sa 12:8.
John Gill· Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)reformed
But sometimes, when the powerful of this world are taken to task, they are first to be searched by certain similitudes, as on a matter not concerning them; and, when they have pronounced a right sentence as against another man, then in fitting ways they are to be smitten with regard to their own guilt; so that the mind puffed up with temporal power may in no wise lift itself up against the reprover, having by its own judgment trodden on the neck of pride, and may not try to defend itself, being bound by the sentence of its own mouth.
Gregory the Dialogist· The Book of Pastoral Rule, Part 3, Chapter 2, 604patristic
The verses this one reaches5
Then the king set out, and his entire household followed him. But he left behind ten concubines to take care of the palace.
And sons were born to David in Hebron: His firstborn was Amnon, by Ahinoam of Jezreel;
I gave your master’s house to you and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah, and if that was not enough, I would have given you even more.
After he had arrived from Hebron, David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, and more sons and daughters were born to him.
and he owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and a very large number of servants. Job was the greatest man of all the people of the East.
The walk8
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
Job 1:3and he owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and a very large number of servants. Job was the greatest man of all the people of the East.
leads to
So the LORD blessed Job’s latter days more than his first. He owned 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.
I chose their course and presided as chief. So I dwelt as a king among his troops, as a comforter of the mourners.
Whenever the Israelites would plant their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and other people of the east would come up and invade them,
And Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Balak brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the mountains of the east. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘put a curse on Jacob for me; come and…
The blessing of the LORD enriches, and He adds no sorrow to it.
Through
2 Samuel 12:8I gave your master’s house to you and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah, and if that was not enough, I would have given you…
leads to
For the LORD God is a sun and a shield; the LORD gives grace and glory; He withholds no good thing from those who walk with integrity.
“Do not be afraid,” said David, “for surely I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you…
Through
2 Samuel 15:16Then the king set out, and his entire household followed him. But he left behind ten concubines to take care of the palace.
leads to
Ahithophel replied, “Sleep with your father’s concubines, whom he has left to keep the palace. When all Israel hears that you have become a stench to your father, then the hands of all who…
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