2 Samuel 18:7
in 2 Samuel 18There the people of Israel were defeated by David’s servants, and the slaughter was great that day—twenty thousand men.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the people of Israel were smitten there before the servants of David, and there was a great slaughter there that day of twenty thousand men.
KJV
Where the people of Israel were slain before the servants of David, and there was there a great slaughter that day of twenty thousand men.
⋯
This verse in 2 Samuel 18
Commentary
6 notes on this verseNow where are the rewards, the preferments, the golden days, they promised themselves from him? Now they see what it is to take counsel against the Lord and his anointed, and to think of breaking his bands asunder.
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.
This site's exposition
the slaughter was great that day
John Gill counts the twenty thousand as Absalom's men only, fallen both in battle and in the pursuit. Adam Clarke leaves open whether the figure includes those lost in the forest of verse 8. Matthew Henry asks where their promised rewards had gone.
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
Where the people of Israel were slain before the servants of David,.... That is, the people of Israel that were under Absalom, these were beaten by David's army: and there was a great slaughter that day of twenty thousand men; including both those that fell in the field of battle, and that were slain in the pursuit; and this is to be understood only of Absalom's party.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Twenty thousand men - Whether these were slain on the field of battle, or whether they were reckoned with those slain in the wood of Ephraim, we know not.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּנָּ֤גְפוּ | vaiyinagefu | and they were defeated | H5062 → | 49 times |
| שָׁם֙ | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| עַ֣ם | ʾam | [the] people of | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| לִפְנֵ֖י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| עַבְדֵ֣י | ʾavdei | [the] servants of | H5650 → | 799 times |
| דָוִ֑ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| וַתְּהִי־ | vatehi- | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| שָׁ֞ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| הַמַּגֵּפָ֧ה | hamagefah | the slaughter | H4046 → | 25 times |
| גְדוֹלָ֛ה | gedolah | great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| בַּיּ֥וֹם | baiyom | on the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַה֖וּא | hahu' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| עֶשְׂרִ֥ים | ʾesrim | twenty | H6242 → | 315 times |
| אָֽלֶף׃ | ʾalef | thousand | H505 → | 505 times |
וַיִּנָּ֤גְפוּand they were defeated
vaiyinagefuH5062 →49 times
שָׁם֙there
shamH8033 →834 times
עַ֣ם[the] people of
ʾamH5971 →1873 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
לִפְנֵ֖י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
עַבְדֵ֣י[the] servants of
ʾavdeiH5650 →799 times
דָוִ֑דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
וַתְּהִי־and it was
vatehi-H1961 →3559 times
שָׁ֞םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
הַמַּגֵּפָ֧הthe slaughter
hamagefahH4046 →25 times
גְדוֹלָ֛הgreat
gedolahH1419 →526 times
בַּיּ֥וֹםon the day
baiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַה֖וּא<the> that
hahu'H1931 →1879 times
עֶשְׂרִ֥יםtwenty
ʾesrimH6242 →315 times
אָֽלֶף׃thousand
ʾalefH505 →505 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
Proverbs 24:21My son, fear the LORD and the king, and do not associate with the rebellious.
it leads to
- Romans 13:1–7
Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which is from God. The authorities that exist have been appointed by God.
- 1 Peter 2:13–17
Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to the king as the supreme authority,
- Titus 3:1
Remind the believers to submit to rulers and authorities, to be obedient and ready for every good work,
- Romans 13:1–7
Through
2 Chronicles 28:6For in one day Pekah son of Remaliah killed 120,000 valiant men in Judah. This happened because they had forsaken the LORD, the God of their fathers.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 15:6
You have forsaken Me, declares the LORD. You have turned your back. So I will stretch out My hand against you and I will destroy you; I am weary of showing compassion.
- Isaiah 1:28
But rebels and sinners will together be shattered, and those who forsake the LORD will perish.
- Jeremiah 2:19
Your own evil will discipline you; your own apostasies will reprimand you. Consider and realize how evil and bitter it is for you to forsake the LORD your God and to have no fear…
- Jeremiah 15:6
Through
2 Samuel 15:6Absalom did this to all the Israelites who came to the king for justice. In this way he stole the hearts of the men of Israel.
it leads to
- Romans 16:18
For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.
- Romans 16:18
Through
2 Samuel 2:26Then Abner called out to Joab: “Must the sword devour forever? Do you not realize that this will only end in bitterness? How long before you tell the troops to stop pursuing their brothers?”
it leads to
- Jeremiah 46:14
“Announce it in Egypt, and proclaim it in Migdol; proclaim it in Memphis and Tahpanhes: ‘Take your positions and prepare yourself, for the sword devours those around you.’
- Jeremiah 46:14
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 2 Samuel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Apostolic Constitutions, CONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES 6.1.2; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.