2 Samuel 18:15
in 2 Samuel 18And ten young men who carried Joab’s armor surrounded Absalom, struck him, and killed him.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And ten young men that bare Joab’s armor compassed about and smote Absalom, and slew him.
KJV
And ten young men that bare Joab’s armour compassed about and smote Absalom, and slew him.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 18
Commentary
4 notes on this verseAhimaaz, the young priest (one of those who brought David intelligence of Absalom's motions, ch. xvii. 17 ), was very forward to be the messenger of these tidings, so transported was he with joy that this cloud was blown over; let him go and tell the king that the Lord hath avenged him of his enemies,
This site's exposition
three darts in his hand
on 2 Samuel 18:14-15
Joab will not tarry any longer over the man's excuse; he takes three darts and thrusts them through Absalom's heart while he still hangs alive in the oak, then ten of his own armorbearers close in and finish the killing. Henry will not excuse the plain disobedience to the king's own charge at verse five, while Jamieson Fausset and Brown read Joab as acting from a hard loyalty to David's throne rather than against David the father, a memory 1 Kings 2:5 shows David never let go of. Three darts against one charge is the chapter's plainest collision between mercy commanded and war's own logic.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And ten young men that bare Joab's armour,.... That waited upon him in the battle, to carry his armour, and supply him with it as he should have occasion; these, by his orders: compassed about, and smote Absalom, and slew him; they enclosed him that none might rescue him, and smote him with their spears or swords, or whatsoever armour they had, until it was a clear case that he was really dead. Joab in this disobeyed the king's order, but provided for the good of the nation, and the safety of the king.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Ten young men - smote Absalom and slew him - That is, they all pierced the body; but there could be no life in it after three darts had been thrust through the heart: but they added as much as would have killed him had he been alive.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
"I will not ask you [any further]." I will not make any more requests of you because I will go myself.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּסֹ֙בּוּ֙ | vaiyasobu | and they surrounded [him] | H5437 → | 161 times |
| עֲשָׂרָ֣ה | ʾasarah | ten | H6235 → | 176 times |
| נְעָרִ֔ים | nearim | young men | H5288 → | 239 times |
| נֹשְׂאֵ֖י | noseei | [the] bearers of | H5375 → | 656 times |
| כְּלֵ֣י | kelei | [the] armor<s> of | H3627 → | 325 times |
| יוֹאָ֑ב | yoav | Joab | H3097 → | 144 times |
| וַיַּכּ֥וּ | vaiyaku | and they struck | H5221 → | 499 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אַבְשָׁל֖וֹם | ʾavshalom | Absalom | H53 → | 110 times |
| וַיְמִיתֻֽהוּ׃ | vaymituhu | and they killed him | H4191 → | 839 times |
וַיָּסֹ֙בּוּ֙and they surrounded [him]
vaiyasobuH5437 →161 times
עֲשָׂרָ֣הten
ʾasarahH6235 →176 times
נְעָרִ֔יםyoung men
nearimH5288 →239 times
נֹשְׂאֵ֖י[the] bearers of
noseeiH5375 →656 times
כְּלֵ֣י[the] armor<s> of
keleiH3627 →325 times
יוֹאָ֑בJoab
yoavH3097 →144 times
וַיַּכּ֥וּand they struck
vaiyakuH5221 →499 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אַבְשָׁל֖וֹםAbsalom
ʾavshalomH53 →110 times
וַיְמִיתֻֽהוּ׃and they killed him
vaymituhuH4191 →839 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 2 Samuel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.