2 Samuel 18:25
in 2 Samuel 18So he called out and told the king. “If he is alone,” the king replied, “he bears good news.” As the first runner drew near,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the watchman cried, and told the king. And the king said, If he be alone, there is tidings in his mouth. And he came apace, and drew near.
KJV
And the watchman cried, and told the king. And the king said, If he be alone, there is tidings in his mouth. And he came apace, and drew near.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 18
Commentary
6 notes on this verseIf he be alone, there is tidings - That is, good tidings. For if the battle had been lost men would have been running in different directions through 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.
This site's exposition
he bears good news
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown place David in the tower house over the gate of Mahanaim, with a sentinel posted on the watchtower beside it. The watchman calls down each sighting. The king's hopeful reading of each one prepares for the blow that falls at verse 33.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): If he be alone, there are tidings in his mouth; for if they had been beaten, and were flying back from the enemy, there would have been many. (2.) When he hears it is Ahimaaz he concludes he brings good news,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And the watchman cried and told the king,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
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
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּקְרָ֤א | vaiyikra' | and he called out | H7121 → | 733 times |
| הַצֹּפֶה֙ | hatzopeh | the watchman | H6822 → | 36 times |
| וַיַּגֵּ֣ד | vaiyaged | and he told | H5046 → | 370 times |
| לַמֶּ֔לֶךְ | lamelekh | to the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| לְבַדּ֖וֹ | levado | to only him | H905 → | 200 times |
| בְּשׂוֹרָ֣ה | besorah | news | H1309 → | 6 times |
| בְּפִ֑יו | befiv | [is] in mouth his | H6310 → | 498 times |
| וַיֵּ֥לֶךְ | vaiyelekh | and he came | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| הָל֖וֹךְ | halokh | continuously <to come> | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| וְקָרֵֽב׃ | vekarev | and approaching | H7131 → |
וַיִּקְרָ֤אand he called out
vaiyikra'H7121 →733 times
הַצֹּפֶה֙the watchman
hatzopehH6822 →36 times
וַיַּגֵּ֣דand he told
vaiyagedH5046 →370 times
לַמֶּ֔לֶךְto the king
lamelekhH4428 →2525 times
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
הַמֶּ֔לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
אִם־if
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
לְבַדּ֖וֹto only him
levadoH905 →200 times
בְּשׂוֹרָ֣הnews
besorahH1309 →6 times
בְּפִ֑יו[is] in mouth his
befivH6310 →498 times
וַיֵּ֥לֶךְand he came
vaiyelekhH1980 →1546 times
הָל֖וֹךְcontinuously <to come>
halokhH1980 →1546 times
וְקָרֵֽב׃and approaching
vekarevH7131 →
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; Jamieson, Fausset & 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.