2 Samuel 18:6
in 2 Samuel 18So David’s army marched into the field to engage Israel in the battle, which took place in the forest of Ephraim.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
So the people went out into the field against Israel: and the battle was in the forest of Ephraim.
KJV
So the people went out into the field against Israel: and the battle was in the wood of Ephraim;
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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)
Against Israel - Implying that the revolt was in a great measure that of the ten tribes, Saul’s party, against the kingdom. The wood of Ephraim - This would naturally be sought in the west of Jordan (marginal reference). But on the other hand it seems certain that the scene of this battle was on the east of Jordan.
This site's exposition
the battle was in the wood of Ephraim
on 2 Samuel 18:6-8
The two armies meet in the wood of Ephraim, and the fighting scatters across broken ground rather than holding one line. Twenty thousand of Absalom's men fall that day, and the wood devoured more people that day than the sword devoured, a line the narrator states as plain fact rather than as ornament. Clarke notes that the Targum and other ancient versions read part of the loss as wild beasts in the forest rather than only pits and thickets, though the picture of a battlefield turned death trap by its own terrain stands either way.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
A commentator
Apostolic ConstitutionsCONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES 6.1.2 · Written before 380.
proposed
Let us therefore, beloved, consider what sort of glory that of the seditious is, and what their condemnation [is]. For if he that rises up against kings is worthy of punishment, even though he is a son or a friend, how much more the one who rises up against the priests!
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
So the people went out into the field against Israel,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
wood of Ephraim--This wood, of course, was on the east of Jordan. Its name was derived, according to some, from the slaughter of the Ephraimites by Jephthah--according to others, from the connection of blood with the trans-jordanic Manasseh.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֵּצֵ֥א | vaiyetze' | and it went out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| הָעָ֛ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| הַשָּׂדֶ֖ה | hasadeh | the field | H7704 → | 334 times |
| לִקְרַ֣את | likrat | to meet | H7122 → | 139 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וַתְּהִ֥י | vatehi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| הַמִּלְחָמָ֖ה | hamilchamah | the battle | H4421 → | 320 times |
| בְּיַ֥עַר | beyaar | in [the] forest of | H3293 → | 59 times |
| אֶפְרָֽיִם׃ | ʾefrayim | Ephraim | H669 → | 180 times |
וַיֵּצֵ֥אand it went out
vaiyetze'H3318 →1067 times
הָעָ֛םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
הַשָּׂדֶ֖הthe field
hasadehH7704 →334 times
לִקְרַ֣אתto meet
likratH7122 →139 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
וַתְּהִ֥יand it was
vatehiH1961 →3559 times
הַמִּלְחָמָ֖הthe battle
hamilchamahH4421 →320 times
בְּיַ֥עַרin [the] forest of
beyaarH3293 →59 times
אֶפְרָֽיִם׃Ephraim
ʾefrayimH669 →180 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
Joshua 17:18because the hill country will be yours as well. It is a forest; clear it, and its farthest limits will be yours. Although the Canaanites have iron chariots and although they are strong, you…
it leads to
- Hebrews 13:6
So we say with confidence: “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”
- Romans 8:31
What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
- Isaiah 41:10–16
Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand…
- Numbers 14:6–9
Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes
- Romans 8:37
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
- Hebrews 13:6
Through
Joshua 17:15Joshua answered them, “If you have so many people that the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you, go to the forest and clear for yourself an area in the land of…
it leads to
- Genesis 14:5
In the fourteenth year, Chedorlaomer and the kings allied with him went out and defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh-kiriathaim,
- Genesis 13:7
And there was discord between the herdsmen of Abram and the herdsmen of Lot. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were also living in the land.
- 2 Samuel 5:22
Once again the Philistines came up and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim.
- Genesis 14:5
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; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Apostolic Constitutions, CONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES 6.1.2; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).