2 Samuel 18:1
in 2 Samuel 18Then David reviewed his troops and appointed over them commanders of hundreds and of thousands.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And David numbered the people that were with him, and set captains of thousands and captains of hundreds over them.
KJV
And David numbered the people that were with him, and set captains of thousands and captains of hundreds over them.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 18
Commentary
4 notes on this verseAnd set captains of thousands - By this time David’s small company was greatly recruited; but what its number was we cannot tell. Josephus says it amounted to four thousand men. Others have supposed that they amounted to ten thousand; for thus they understand a clause in 2Sa 18:3, which they think should be read, We are now ten thousand strong.
This site's exposition
captains of thousands and captains of hundreds
on 2 Samuel 18:1-3
David numbers the men who have stayed loyal to him and divides them into three companies under Joab, Abishai and Ittai the Gittite, then tells them he means to go out with them himself. The people refuse him outright: if the army breaks and flees no one will care, and if half of them fall no one will care, but the king is worth ten thousand of them and safer inside the city walls. Josephus counted this loyal army at only about four thousand men, a small remnant beside the host that followed Absalom out of Hebron in chapter fifteen.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And David numbered the people that were with him,.... Which Josephus says (d) were four thousand; but one would think there should be more by what follows: and set captains of thousands and captains of hundreds over them; he divided his army into companies, which consisted some of a thousand and others of a hundred; over each of which he set captains, to lead them on, direct, and command them in battle. (d) Antiqu. l. 7. c. 10. sect. 1.
He had, no doubt, committed his cause to God by prayer, for that was his relief in all his afflictions; and then he took an account of his forces. Josephus says they were, in all, but about 4000.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּפְקֹ֣ד | vaiyifkod | and he mustered | H6485 → | 303 times |
| דָּוִ֔ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָעָ֖ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אִתּ֑וֹ | ʾito | [was] with him | H854 → | 929 times |
| וַיָּ֣שֶׂם | vaiyasem | and he appointed | H7760 → | 584 times |
| עֲלֵיהֶ֔ם | ʾaleihem | over them | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| שָׂרֵ֥י | sarei | commanders of | H8269 → | 421 times |
| אֲלָפִ֖ים | ʾalafim | thousands | H505 → | 505 times |
| וְשָׂרֵ֥י | vesarei | and commanders of | H8269 → | 421 times |
| מֵאֽוֹת׃ | meot | hundreds | H3967 → | 581 times |
וַיִּפְקֹ֣דand he mustered
vaiyifkodH6485 →303 times
דָּוִ֔דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָעָ֖םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
אִתּ֑וֹ[was] with him
ʾitoH854 →929 times
וַיָּ֣שֶׂםand he appointed
vaiyasemH7760 →584 times
עֲלֵיהֶ֔םover them
ʾaleihemH5921 →5755 times
שָׂרֵ֥יcommanders of
sareiH8269 →421 times
אֲלָפִ֖יםthousands
ʾalafimH505 →505 times
וְשָׂרֵ֥יand commanders of
vesareiH8269 →421 times
מֵאֽוֹת׃hundreds
meotH3967 →581 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
Exodus 17:9So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on the hilltop with the staff of God in my hand.”
it leads to
- Exodus 24:13
So Moses set out with Joshua his attendant and went up on the mountain of God.
- Deuteronomy 32:44
Then Moses came with Joshua son of Nun and recited all the words of this song in the hearing of the people.
- Exodus 4:20
So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and headed back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand.
- Exodus 4:2
And the LORD asked him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied.
- Hebrews 4:8
For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day.
- Exodus 24:13
Through
Joshua 8:10Joshua got up early the next morning and mobilized his men, and he and the elders of Israel marched before them up to Ai.
it leads to
- Genesis 22:3
So Abraham got up early the next morning, saddled his donkey, and took along two of his servants and his son Isaac. He split the wood for a burnt offering and set out for…
- Psalms 119:60
I hurried without hesitating to keep Your commandments.
- Genesis 22:3
Through
1 Samuel 8:12He will appoint some for himself as commanders of thousands and of fifties, and others to plow his ground, to reap his harvest, to make his weapons of war, and to equip his chariots.
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 27:1–22
This is the list of the Israelites—the heads of families, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and their officers who served the king in every matter concerning the divisions on rotating military duty…
- 1 Chronicles 27:1–22
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.