2 Samuel 18:24
in 2 Samuel 18Now David was sitting between the two gates when the watchman went up to the roof of the gateway by the wall, looked out, and saw a man running alone.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Now David was sitting between the two gates: and the watchman went up to the roof of the gate unto the wall, and lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, a man running alone.
KJV
And David sat between the two gates: and the watchman went up to the roof over the gate unto the wall, and lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold a man running alone.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 18
Commentary
3 notes on this verseDavid sat between the two gates - He was probably in the seat of justice. Before the gate of the city it is supposed there was an enclosure, which had its gate also; David sat in the space between these two doors. Over the larger gate there appears to have been a turret, on which a sentinel or watchman stood continually, and gave information of what he saw in the country.
This site's exposition
David sat between the two gates
on 2 Samuel 18:24-27
David sits between the two gates of Mahanaim while a watchman keeps the wall above him, and the first runner is seen alone, which the king reads rightly as a sign of good news, since a rout would send men running in every direction rather than one man running straight. A second runner appears, and then the watchman recognizes the gait of the first as Ahimaaz's own running, specific enough that David calls him a good man who comes with good tidings before a word has reached him. The whole scene is told through a watchman's eyes and a father's guesses, the reader kept exactly as far from the truth as the man waiting at the gate.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
on 2 Samuel 18:24-32
David sat between the two gates--that is, in the tower-house on the wall that overhung the gate of Mahanaim. Near it was a watchtower, on which a sentinel was posted, as in times of war, to notify every occurrence.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְדָוִ֥ד | vedavid | and David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| יוֹשֵׁ֖ב | yoshev | [was] sitting | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| בֵּין־ | bein- | between | H996 → | 407 times |
| שְׁנֵ֣י | shenei | [the] two | H8147 → | 768 times |
| הַשְּׁעָרִ֑ים | hashearim | the gates | H8179 → | 374 times |
| וַיֵּ֨לֶךְ | vaiyelekh | and he went | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| הַצֹּפֶ֜ה | hatzopeh | the watchman | H6822 → | 36 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| גַּ֤ג | gag | [the] roof of | H1406 → | 30 times |
| הַשַּׁ֙עַר֙ | hashaar | the gate | H8179 → | 374 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַ֣חוֹמָ֔ה | hachomah | the wall | H2346 → | 133 times |
| וַיִּשָּׂ֤א | vaiyisa' | and he lifted up | H5375 → | 656 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עֵינָיו֙ | ʾeinav | eyes his | H5869 → | 887 times |
| וַיַּ֔רְא | vaiyar' | and he saw | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| וְהִנֵּה־ | vehineh- | and there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| אִ֖ישׁ | ʾish | a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| רָ֥ץ | ratz | [was] running | H7323 → | 103 times |
| לְבַדּֽוֹ׃ | levado | to only him | H905 → | 200 times |
וְדָוִ֥דand David
vedavidH1732 →999 times
יוֹשֵׁ֖ב[was] sitting
yoshevH3427 →1079 times
בֵּין־between
bein-H996 →407 times
שְׁנֵ֣י[the] two
sheneiH8147 →768 times
הַשְּׁעָרִ֑יםthe gates
hashearimH8179 →374 times
וַיֵּ֨לֶךְand he went
vaiyelekhH1980 →1546 times
הַצֹּפֶ֜הthe watchman
hatzopehH6822 →36 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
גַּ֤ג[the] roof of
gagH1406 →30 times
הַשַּׁ֙עַר֙the gate
hashaarH8179 →374 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַ֣חוֹמָ֔הthe wall
hachomahH2346 →133 times
וַיִּשָּׂ֤אand he lifted up
vaiyisa'H5375 →656 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
עֵינָיו֙eyes his
ʾeinavH5869 →887 times
וַיַּ֔רְאand he saw
vaiyar'H7200 →1300 times
וְהִנֵּה־and there!
vehineh-H2009 →843 times
אִ֖ישׁa man
ʾishH376 →1663 times
רָ֥ץ[was] running
ratzH7323 →103 times
לְבַדּֽוֹ׃to only him
levadoH905 →200 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
2 Samuel 19:8So the king got up and sat in the gate, and all the people were told: “Behold, the king is sitting in the gate.” So they all came before the king. Meanwhile, the Israelites…
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 18:4
“I will do whatever seems best to you,” the king replied. So he stood beside the gate, while all the troops marched out by hundreds and by thousands.
- 1 Kings 22:36
As the sun was setting, the cry rang out in the army: “Every man to his own city, and every man to his own land!”
- 2 Samuel 19:3
So they returned to the city quietly that day, as people steal away in humiliation after fleeing a battle.
- 2 Samuel 18:17
They took Absalom, cast him into a large pit in the forest, and piled a huge mound of stones over him. Meanwhile, all the Israelites fled, each to his home.
- 2 Samuel 18:4
Through
2 Samuel 13:34Meanwhile, Absalom had fled. When the young man standing watch looked up, he saw many people coming down the road west of him, along the side of the hill. And the watchman went and…
it leads to
- Amos 5:19
It will be like a man who flees from a lion, only to encounter a bear, or who enters his house and rests his hand against the wall, only to be bitten by a…
- Amos 5:19
Through
2 Samuel 18:4“I will do whatever seems best to you,” the king replied. So he stood beside the gate, while all the troops marched out by hundreds and by thousands.
it leads to
- Isaiah 28:6
a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment, and a strength to those who repel the onslaught at the gate.
- 1 Samuel 29:2
As the Philistine leaders marched out their units of hundreds and thousands, David and his men marched behind them with Achish.
- 2 Samuel 18:1
Then David reviewed his troops and appointed over them commanders of hundreds and of thousands.
- Isaiah 28:6
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; Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible.