2 Samuel 18:26
in 2 Samuel 18the watchman saw another man running, and he called out to the gatekeeper, “Look! Another man is running alone!” “This one also brings good news,” said the king.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the watchman saw another man running; and the watchman called unto the porter, and said, Behold, another man running alone. And the king said, He also bringeth tidings.
KJV
And the watchman saw another man running: and the watchman called unto the porter, and said, Behold another man running alone. And the king said, He also bringeth tidings.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 18
Commentary
3 notes on this verseA 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.
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 Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And the watchman saw another man running,.... At a further distance: and the watchman called unto the porter; that kept the gate, under which the watchtower was: and said, behold, another man runneth alone; as the other, and has the same appearance of a messenger: and the king said, he also bringeth tidings; it being usual then, as now, to dispatch one messenger after another, as fresh accounts coming in made it necessary.
The words behind it
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּ֣רְא | vaiyar' | and he saw | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| הַצֹּפֶה֮ | hatzopeh | the watchman | H6822 → | 36 times |
| אִישׁ־ | ʾish- | a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אַחֵ֣ר | ʾacher | another | H312 → | 166 times |
| רָץ֒ | ratz | running | H7323 → | 103 times |
| וַיִּקְרָ֤א | vaiyikra' | and he called out | H7121 → | 733 times |
| הַצֹּפֶה֙ | hatzopeh | the watchman | H6822 → | 36 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַשֹּׁעֵ֔ר | hashoer | the gatekeeper | H7778 → | |
| וַיֹּ֕אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הִנֵּה־ | hineh- | there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| אִ֖ישׁ | ʾish | a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| רָ֣ץ | ratz | [is] running | H7323 → | 103 times |
| לְבַדּ֑וֹ | levado | to only him | H905 → | 200 times |
| וַיֹּ֥אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| גַּם־ | gam- | also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| זֶ֥ה | zeh | this one | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| מְבַשֵּֽׂר׃ | mevaser | [is] bearing news | H1319 → | 24 times |
וַיַּ֣רְאand he saw
vaiyar'H7200 →1300 times
הַצֹּפֶה֮the watchman
hatzopehH6822 →36 times
אִישׁ־a man
ʾish-H376 →1663 times
אַחֵ֣רanother
ʾacherH312 →166 times
רָץ֒running
ratzH7323 →103 times
וַיִּקְרָ֤אand he called out
vaiyikra'H7121 →733 times
הַצֹּפֶה֙the watchman
hatzopehH6822 →36 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַשֹּׁעֵ֔רthe gatekeeper
hashoerH7778 →
וַיֹּ֕אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
הִנֵּה־there!
hineh-H2009 →843 times
אִ֖ישׁa man
ʾishH376 →1663 times
רָ֣ץ[is] running
ratzH7323 →103 times
לְבַדּ֑וֹto only him
levadoH905 →200 times
וַיֹּ֥אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
הַמֶּ֖לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
גַּם־also
gam-H1571 →769 times
זֶ֥הthis one
zehH2088 →1180 times
מְבַשֵּֽׂר׃[is] bearing news
mevaserH1319 →24 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; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).