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2 Samuel 20:23

in 2 Samuel 20

Now Joab was over the whole army of Israel; Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and Pelethites;

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Now Joab was over all the host of Israel; and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and over the Pelethites;

KJV

Now Joab was over all the host of Israel: and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and over the Pelethites:

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This verse in 2 Samuel 20

Commentary

6 notes on this verse
Now Joab ... - This is by no means an unmeaning repetition. Joab had been dismissed to make room for Amasa, and was now, as the result of his successful expedition against Sheba, and the death of Amasa, reinstated in his command. Moreover, this was a fresh beginning of David’s reign, and therefore a statement of his chief officers is as proper as in 2Sa 8:16, when he had just established himself on the throne of Israel. Compare 1Ki 4:2-6.

This site's exposition

Now Joab was over all the host of Israel

on 2 Samuel 20:23-26

The chapter closes with an officer list that answers the one at 8:16-18 almost office for office, Joab over the host again, Benaiah over the Cherethites and Pelethites, Zadok and Abiathar still the priests. Two differences stand out: Adoram now stands over the tribute David collects from conquered peoples, an office the first list did not have, and Sheva holds the scribe's post Seraiah held before. David's sons no longer close the list as chief rulers; Ira the Jairite does, a change the text does not explain, and the repetition marks a fresh start after two rebellions, Absalom's and Sheba's, closing the bracket the first list opened.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

When a reconciliation is newly made, it ought to be handled with great tenderness and caution, lest the peace break again before it be settled. A broken bone, when it is set, must have time to knot. That the ring-leader of this rebellion was Sheba, a Benjamite by birth (

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

Now Joab was over all the host of Israel,....

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Now Joab was over all the host of Israel--David, whatever his private wishes, found that he possessed not the power of removing Joab; so winking at the murder of Amasa, he re-established that officer in his former post of commander-in-chief. The enumeration of David's cabinet is here given to show that the government was re-established in its wonted course.

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

Joab was over all the host - He had murdered Amasa, and seized on the supreme command: and such was his power at present, and the service which he had rendered to the state by quelling the rebellion of Sheba, that David was obliged to continue him; and dared not to call him to account for his murders without endangering the safety of the state by a civil war. Benaiah - over the Cherethites - Benaiah was over the archers and slingers. See the notes on 2Sa 8:18.

The words behind it

12 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וְיוֹאָ֕בand Joab

    veyoavH3097 →144 times

  • אֶ֥ל[was] to

    ʾelH413 →5510 times

  • כָּל־all

    kol-H3605 →5413 times

  • הַצָּבָ֖אthe army of

    hatzava'H6635 →485 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לIsrael

    yisraelH3478 →2507 times

  • וּבְנָיָה֙and Benaiah

    uvenayahH1141 →42 times

  • בֶּן־[the] son of

    ben-H1121 →4930 times

  • יְה֣וֹיָדָ֔עJehoiada

    yehoyada'H3077 →51 times

  • עַל־[was] over

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • הַכְּרֵתִ֖יthe Kerethite[s]

    hakeriH3774 →10 times

  • וְעַל־and over

    veal-H5921 →5755 times

  • הַפְּלֵתִֽי׃the Pelethite[s]

    hapeletiH6432 →7 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

15 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

2 Samuel 8:16–18Joab son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the recorder;7 works2 Samuel 23:20And Benaiah son of Jehoiada was a man of valor from Kabzeel, a man of many exploits. He struck down two champions of Moab, and on a snowy day he went down into a pit and killed a lion.4 works2 Samuel 8:18Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and Pelethites; and David’s sons were priestly leaders.4 works2 Samuel 20:7So Joab’s men, along with the Cherethites, the Pelethites, and all the mighty men, marched out of Jerusalem in pursuit of Sheba son of Bichri.3 works2 Samuel 15:18and all his servants marched past him—all the Cherethites and Pelethites, and six hundred Gittites who had followed him from Gath.3 works2 Samuel 24:2So the king said to Joab the commander of his army, who was with him, “Go now throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and register the troops, so that I may know their number.”3 works
The other 9 cross-references, with their words ▾
1 Chronicles 18:15–17Joab son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the recorder;2 works1 Kings 4:3–6Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, were secretaries; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the recorder;2 works1 Chronicles 11:22And Benaiah son of Jehoiada was a man of valor from Kabzeel, a man of many exploits. He struck down two champions of Moab, and on a snowy day he went down into a pit and killed a lion.2 works2 Samuel 23:23He was most honored among the Thirty, but he did not become one of the Three. And David appointed him over his guard.2 works2 Samuel 2:13So Joab son of Zeruiah, along with the servants of David, marched out and met them by the pool of Gibeon. And the two camps took up positions on opposite sides of the pool.2 works1 Chronicles 11:25He was most honored among the Thirty, but he did not become one of the Three. And David appointed him over his guard.2 works1 Chronicles 11:6Now David had said, “Whoever is the first to strike down a Jebusite will become chief commander.” And Joab son of Zeruiah went up first, and he became the chief.2 works1 Chronicles 18:17Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and Pelethites; and David’s sons were chief officials at the king’s side.2 works1 Kings 1:7So Adonijah conferred with Joab son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest, who supported him.2 works

About 2 Samuel

David Mourns the Death of Absalom, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
David Mourns the Death of Absalom, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
2 Samuel: the study guide →Read 2 Samuel 20 →

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; 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.

Read on in 2 Samuel 20 →