2 Samuel 18:19
in 2 Samuel 18Then Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, “Please let me run and tell the king the good news that the LORD has avenged him of his enemies.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok, Let me now run, and bear the king tidings, how that Jehovah hath avenged him of his enemies.
KJV
Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok, Let me now run, and bear the king tidings, how that the Lord hath avenged him of his enemies.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 18
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Ahimaaz was a well-known runner 2Sa 18:27. Speed was a heroic virtue in those simple times (compare 2Sa 2:18). In Hezekiah’s reign 2Ch 30:6, 2Ch 30:10 we find an establishment of running post-men; and the same name (“runners”) is given Est 3:13 to the Persian posts, though at that time they rode on mules and camels. Bear tidings - The original word is used almost exclusively of bearing good tidings, and hence, is rendered in the Septuagint (though not always) εὐαγγίζεσθαι euangelizesthai 2Sa 4:10; 1Sa 31:9. In 2Sa 18:21, it is not “carry the good tidings,” but “tell,” simply “announce.”
This site's exposition
the Lord hath avenged him of his enemies
on 2 Samuel 18:19-23
Ahimaaz asks to be the one who carries word that the Lord hath avenged him of his enemies, and Joab refuses him because the king's son is dead, sending Cushi instead to tell the king what he has seen. Ahimaaz asks a second time to run after Cushi and Joab lets him go, though he warns him he has no news ready to tell; Ahimaaz takes the way of the plain and outruns Cushi, who has kept to the harder road through the hills. Barnes reads Cushi as a foreign slave, a man Joab did not scruple to send first into whatever anger the news might draw down on the one who carries it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok,....
This he desired, not so much in hope of a reward (he was above that) as that he might have the pleasure and satisfaction of bringing the king, whom he loved, this good news.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Let me . . . run and bear the king tidings--The reasons why Joab declined to accept Ahimaaz' offer to bear intelligence of the victory to David, and afterwards let him go along with another, are variously stated by commentators--but they are of no importance. Yet the alacrity of the messengers, as well as the eager excitement of the expectants, is graphically described.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַאֲחִימַ֤עַץ | vaachimaatz | and Ahimaaz | H290 → | 15 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| צָדוֹק֙ | tzadok | Zadok | H6659 → | 53 times |
| אָמַ֔ר | ʾamar | he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אָר֣וּצָה | ʾarutzah | let me run | H7323 → | 103 times |
| נָּ֔א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| וַאֲבַשְּׂרָ֖ה | vaavaserah | and let me bear [the] news to | H1319 → | 24 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| כִּי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| שְׁפָט֥וֹ | shefato | he has vindicated him | H8199 → | 202 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| מִיַּ֥ד | miyad | from [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| אֹיְבָֽיו׃ | ʾoyevav | enemies his | H341 → | 282 times |
וַאֲחִימַ֤עַץand Ahimaaz
vaachimaatzH290 →15 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
צָדוֹק֙Zadok
tzadokH6659 →53 times
אָמַ֔רhe said
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
אָר֣וּצָהlet me run
ʾarutzahH7323 →103 times
נָּ֔אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
וַאֲבַשְּׂרָ֖הand let me bear [the] news to
vaavaserahH1319 →24 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַמֶּ֑לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
כִּי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
שְׁפָט֥וֹhe has vindicated him
shefatoH8199 →202 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
מִיַּ֥דfrom [the] hand of
miyadH3027 →1618 times
אֹיְבָֽיו׃enemies his
ʾoyevavH341 →282 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
Romans 12:19Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.”
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 32:35
Vengeance is Mine; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; for their day of disaster is near, and their doom is coming quickly.”
- Hebrews 10:30
For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge His people.”
- Proverbs 24:29
Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me; I will repay the man according to his work.”
- Proverbs 20:22
Do not say, “I will avenge this evil!” Wait on the LORD, and He will save you.
- Romans 12:17
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Carefully consider what is right in the eyes of everybody.
- Deuteronomy 32:35
Through
2 Samuel 15:36Indeed, their two sons, Ahimaaz son of Zadok and Jonathan son of Abiathar, are there with them. Send them to me with everything you hear.”
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 17:17
Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying at En-rogel, where a servant girl would come and pass along information to them. They in turn would go and inform King David, for they dared not be…
- 2 Samuel 15:27
The king also said to Zadok the priest, “Are you not a seer? Return to the city in peace—you with your son Ahimaaz, and Abiathar with his son Jonathan.
- 2 Samuel 17:17
Through
2 Samuel 18:23“No matter what, I want to run!” he replied. “Then run!” Joab told him. So Ahimaaz ran by way of the plain and outran the Cushite.
it leads to
- John 20:4
The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.
- John 20:4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 2 Samuel
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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.