2 Samuel 12:30
in 2 Samuel 12Then he took the crown from the head of their king. It weighed a talent of gold and was set with precious stones, and it was placed on David’s head. And David took a great amount of plunder from the city.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he took the crown of their king from off his head; and the weight thereof was a talent of gold, and in it were precious stones; and it was set on David’s head. And he brought forth the spoil of the city, exceeding much.
KJV
And he took their king’s crown from off his head, the weight whereof was a talent of gold with the precious stones: and it was set on David’s head. And he brought forth the spoil of the city in great abundance.
⋯
This verse in 2 Samuel 12
Commentary
9 notes on this verseThe weight whereof was a talent of gold - If this talent was only seven pounds, as Whiston says, David might have carried it on his head with little difficulty; but this weight, according to common computation, would amount to more than one hundred pounds! If, however, משקלה mishkalah be taken for the value, not the weight then all is plain as the worth of the crown will be about £5075 15s. 7d. sterling.
This site's exposition
gathered all the people together
on 2 Samuel 12:29-31
David gathers the people, comes to Rabbah, and finishes what Joab began, taking the Ammonite king's crown, a talent of gold set with precious stones, onto his own head. Matthew Henry notes the irony of a man under such recent conviction reaching for a crown's glory rather than laying it at God's feet, a small echo of the same appetite chapter eleven exposed. The chapter's last verse records David putting the Ammonites to hard labour with saws and axes and the brickkiln, and John Wesley reads the harshness as the mark of a heart not yet fully returned to its former mercy. The chapter that opened with a shepherd's ewe lamb closes with a king's captured crown, the household sentence of verse ten still running its course through the chapters ahead.
This site's exposition
It weighed a talent of gold
Albert Barnes notes that the word for their king is also the name of Malcam, the Ammonite god, and he takes the crown as the idol's. A talent of gold weighed over a hundred pounds. John Wesley and Adam Clarke read the talent as its value, and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown picture the crown hung above the throne.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
The weight - Or rather, the price whereof, &c. For the same words both in Hebrew, Greek and Latin, are used, to signify either weight, or price. And the addition of precious stones, which are never valued by the weight of gold, makes this signification most probable.
13 And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the L ORD . And Nathan said unto David, The L ORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die. 14 Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the L ORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:90%@v13-14
And he took their king's crown from off his head,....
Because it was of extraordinary value, by reason of the precious stones with which it was set, David would have it set upon his head, though it would have been better to have cast it at God's feet, and at this time to have put his own mouth in the dust, under guilt. The heart that is truly humbled for sin is dead to worldly glory and looks upon it with a holy contempt.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Its great weight makes it probable that it was like many ancient crowns, not worn, but suspended over the head, or fixed on a canopy on the top of the throne. the precious stones--Hebrew, "stone"; was a round ball composed of pearls and other jewels, which was in the crown, and probably taken out of it to be inserted in David's own crown.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Their king’s crown - The word rendered their king (Malcham) is also the name of the national idol of the Ammonites (Jer 49:1, Jer 49:3 margin; Amo 1:15; Zep 1:5). Moreover, the weight of the crown, which is calculated to be equal to 100 or 125 pounds weight, is far too great for a man to wear. On the whole, it seems most probable that the idol Malcam is here meant.
The words behind it
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּקַּ֣ח | vaiyikach | and he took | H3947 → | 966 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עֲטֶֽרֶת־ | ʾateret- | [the] crown of | H5850 → | |
| מַלְכָּם֩ | malkam | king their | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| מֵעַ֨ל | meal | from on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| רֹאשׁ֜וֹ | rosho | head his | H7218 → | 599 times |
| וּמִשְׁקָלָ֨הּ | umishkalah | and weight its | H4948 → | 49 times |
| כִּכַּ֤ר | kikar | [was] a talent of | H3603 → | |
| זָהָב֙ | zahav | gold | H2091 → | 389 times |
| וְאֶ֣בֶן | veeven | and a stone | H68 → | 273 times |
| יְקָרָ֔ה | yekarah | precious | H3368 → | |
| וַתְּהִ֖י | vatehi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| רֹ֣אשׁ | rosh | [the] head of | H7218 → | 599 times |
| דָּוִ֑ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| וּשְׁלַ֥ל | ushelal | and [the] plunder of | H7998 → | 73 times |
| הָעִ֛יר | hair | the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| הוֹצִ֖יא | hotzi' | he brought out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| הַרְבֵּ֥ה | harbeh | much | H7235 → | 227 times |
| מְאֹֽד׃ | meod | very | H3966 → | 300 times |
וַיִּקַּ֣חand he took
vaiyikachH3947 →966 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
עֲטֶֽרֶת־[the] crown of
ʾateret-H5850 →
מַלְכָּם֩king their
malkamH4428 →2525 times
מֵעַ֨לfrom on
mealH5921 →5755 times
רֹאשׁ֜וֹhead his
roshoH7218 →599 times
וּמִשְׁקָלָ֨הּand weight its
umishkalahH4948 →49 times
כִּכַּ֤ר[was] a talent of
kikarH3603 →
זָהָב֙gold
zahavH2091 →389 times
וְאֶ֣בֶןand a stone
veevenH68 →273 times
יְקָרָ֔הprecious
yekarahH3368 →
וַתְּהִ֖יand it was
vatehiH1961 →3559 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
רֹ֣אשׁ[the] head of
roshH7218 →599 times
דָּוִ֑דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
וּשְׁלַ֥לand [the] plunder of
ushelalH7998 →73 times
הָעִ֛ירthe city
hairH5892 →1090 times
הוֹצִ֖יאhe brought out
hotzi'H3318 →1067 times
הַרְבֵּ֥הmuch
harbehH7235 →227 times
מְאֹֽד׃very
meodH3966 →300 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
3 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
1 Chronicles 20:2Then David took the crown from the head of their king. It was found to weigh a talent of gold and was set with precious stones, and it was placed on David’s head. And…
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 12:30–31
Then he took the crown from the head of their king. It weighed a talent of gold and was set with precious stones, and it was placed on David’s head. And David took a…
- 1 Chronicles 18:11
and King David dedicated these to the LORD, along with the silver and gold he had carried off from all these nations—from Edom and Moab, and from the Ammonites, Philistines, and Amalekites.
- 2 Samuel 8:11–12
and King David dedicated these to the LORD, along with the silver and gold he had dedicated from all the nations he had subdued—
- 2 Samuel 12:30–31
Where this verse is studied
About 2 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; 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); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.