2 Samuel 17:1
in 2 Samuel 17Furthermore, Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me choose twelve thousand men and set out tonight in pursuit of David.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Moreover Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Let me now choose out twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David this night:
KJV
Moreover Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Let me now choose out twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David this night:
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This verse in 2 Samuel 17
Commentary
4 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
This night - The night of the day on which David fled, and Absalom entered into Jerusalem. Ahithophel’s idea was to fall upon David by surprise, and in the first confusion of the surprised army to seize and kill David only.
This site's exposition
Let me now choose out twelve thousand men
on 2 Samuel 17:1-3
Ahithophel proposes a narrow strike: twelve thousand men, one night, one target. His plan is surgical rather than a general war, smite the king only and bring all the people back in peace, and Matthew Henry hears the shape of Caiaphas at John 11:50 in it, one man dying so the nation need not perish. This is Ahithophel's second counsel in as many chapters; his first, the seizing of David's concubines at 16:21, had already been carried out exactly as he gave it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
on 2 Samuel 17:1-3
Let that one man die for the people, John xi. Kill the heir, and the inheritance shall be ours, Matt. xxi. But the counsel of them both was turned into foolishness.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
on 2 Samuel 17:1-11
But his dexterity was chiefly displayed in that part of his counsel which recommended a general levy throughout the country; and that Absalom should take command of it in person--thereby flattering at once the pride and ambition of the usurper. The bait was caught by the vainglorious and wicked prince.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֥אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲחִיתֹ֖פֶל | ʾachitofel | Ahithophel | H302 → | 20 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אַבְשָׁלֹ֑ם | ʾavshalom | Absalom | H53 → | 110 times |
| אֶבְחֲרָ֣ה | ʾevcharah | let me choose | H977 → | 171 times |
| נָּ֗א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| שְׁנֵים־ | sheneim- | two [plus] | H8147 → | 768 times |
| עָשָׂ֥ר | ʾasar | ten | H6240 → | 338 times |
| אֶ֙לֶף֙ | ʾelef | thousand | H505 → | 505 times |
| אִ֔ישׁ | ʾish | man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| וְאָק֛וּמָה | veakumah | and I will arise | H6965 → | 628 times |
| וְאֶרְדְּפָ֥ה | veerdefah | and I will pursue | H7291 → | 143 times |
| אַחֲרֵי־ | ʾacharei- | after | H310 → | 715 times |
| דָוִ֖ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| הַלָּֽיְלָה׃ | halayelah | this night | H3915 → | 233 times |
וַיֹּ֥אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֲחִיתֹ֖פֶלAhithophel
ʾachitofelH302 →20 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אַבְשָׁלֹ֑םAbsalom
ʾavshalomH53 →110 times
אֶבְחֲרָ֣הlet me choose
ʾevcharahH977 →171 times
נָּ֗אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
שְׁנֵים־two [plus]
sheneim-H8147 →768 times
עָשָׂ֥רten
ʾasarH6240 →338 times
אֶ֙לֶף֙thousand
ʾelefH505 →505 times
אִ֔ישׁman
ʾishH376 →1663 times
וְאָק֛וּמָהand I will arise
veakumahH6965 →628 times
וְאֶרְדְּפָ֥הand I will pursue
veerdefahH7291 →143 times
אַחֲרֵי־after
ʾacharei-H310 →715 times
דָוִ֖דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
הַלָּֽיְלָה׃this night
halayelahH3915 →233 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
Psalms 4:8I will lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.
it leads to
- Proverbs 3:24
When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you rest, your sleep will be sweet.
- Psalms 3:5
I lie down and sleep; I wake again, for the LORD sustains me.
- Job 11:18–19
You will be secure, because there is hope, and you will look around and lie down in safety.
- Psalms 16:8–9
I have set the LORD always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:10
He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him.
- Proverbs 3:24
Through
Proverbs 4:16For they cannot sleep unless they do evil; they are deprived of slumber until they make someone fall.
it leads to
- Psalms 36:4
Even on his bed he plots wickedness; he sets himself on a path that is not good; he fails to reject evil.
- Micah 2:1
Woe to those who devise iniquity and plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they accomplish it because the power is in their hands.
- Isaiah 57:20
But the wicked are like the storm-tossed sea, for it cannot be still, and its waves churn up mire and muck.
- Psalms 36:4
About 2 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.