2 Samuel 21:18
in 2 Samuel 21Some time later at Gob, there was another battle with the Philistines. At that time Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Saph, one of the descendants of Rapha.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it came to pass after this, that there was again war with the Philistines at Gob: then Sibbecai the Hushathite slew Saph, who was of the sons of the giant.
KJV
And it came to pass after this, that there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob: then Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Saph, which was of the sons of the giant.
⋯
This verse in 2 Samuel 21
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA battle - at Gob - Instead of Gob, several editions, and about forty of Kennicott’s and De Rossi’s MSS., have Nob; but Gezer is the name in the parallel place, 1Ch 20:4.
This site's exposition
Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Saph
on 2 Samuel 21:18-19
Two more giants fall at Gob, one to Sibbechai and one to Elhanan, and the second name carries the chapter's hardest textual question. The King James reads that Elhanan slew the brother of Goliath, with the words the brother of supplied by the translators to close a gap the Hebrew does not fully explain, while 1 Chronicles 20:5 names the man Elhanan killed as Lahmi, Goliath's brother, plainly. Keil and Delitzsch and most of the bench read the Chronicles text as preserving what Samuel's own text lost in copying, while others hold that Goliath was a title borne by more than one champion of Gath. Barnes states the difficulty as plainly as any of them, that the Hebrew text at this point is corrupt, and the chapter itself settles nothing beyond naming both men dead.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Another, who was brother to Goliath, was slain by Elhanan, who is mentioned ch. xxiii. Another, who was of very unusual bulk, who had more fingers and toes than other people (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
1 Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David enquired of the L ORD . And the L ORD answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:90%@v1
And it came to pass after this,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Moreover the Philistines had yet war again with Israel--Although the Philistines had completely succumbed to the army of David, yet the appearance of any gigantic champions among them revived their courage and stirred them up to renewed inroads on the Hebrew territory.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
A battle in Gob - In the parallel passage (marginal reference), “Gezer” is named as the field of this battle. However, Gath is named 2Sa 21:20, 2Sa 21:22 in a way to make it probable that Gath was the scene of all the battles. The Septuagint in this verse has “Gath.”
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַֽיְהִי֙ | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| אַֽחֲרֵי־ | ʾacharei- | after | H310 → | 715 times |
| כֵ֔ן | khen | thus | H3651 → | 771 times |
| וַתְּהִי־ | vatehi- | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| ע֧וֹד | od | again | H5750 → | 490 times |
| הַמִּלְחָמָ֛ה | hamilchamah | <the> war | H4421 → | 320 times |
| בְּג֖וֹב | begov | at Gob | H1359 → | |
| עִם־ | ʾim- | with | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| פְּלִשְׁתִּ֑ים | pelishtim | [the] Philistines | H6430 → | 287 times |
| אָ֣ז | ʾaz | then | H227 → | 141 times |
| הִכָּ֗ה | hikah | he struck down | H5221 → | 499 times |
| סִבְּכַי֙ | sibekhai | Sibbecai | H5444 → | |
| הַחֻ֣שָׁתִ֔י | hachushati | the Hushathite | H2843 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| סַ֕ף | saf | Saph | H5593 → | |
| אֲשֶׁ֖ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בִּילִדֵ֥י | bilidei | [was] among those born of | H3211 → | |
| הָרָפָֽה׃ פ | harafah | the Raphah | H7497 → | 25 times |
וַֽיְהִי֙and it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
אַֽחֲרֵי־after
ʾacharei-H310 →715 times
כֵ֔ןthus
khenH3651 →771 times
וַתְּהִי־and it was
vatehi-H1961 →3559 times
ע֧וֹדagain
odH5750 →490 times
הַמִּלְחָמָ֛ה<the> war
hamilchamahH4421 →320 times
בְּג֖וֹבat Gob
begovH1359 →
עִם־with
ʾim-H5973 →1050 times
פְּלִשְׁתִּ֑ים[the] Philistines
pelishtimH6430 →287 times
אָ֣זthen
ʾazH227 →141 times
הִכָּ֗הhe struck down
hikahH5221 →499 times
סִבְּכַי֙Sibbecai
sibekhaiH5444 →
הַחֻ֣שָׁתִ֔יthe Hushathite
hachushatiH2843 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
סַ֕ףSaph
safH5593 →
אֲשֶׁ֖רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בִּילִדֵ֥י[was] among those born of
bilideiH3211 →
הָרָפָֽה׃ פthe Raphah
harafahH7497 →25 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
2 Samuel 21:22So these four descendants of Rapha in Gath fell at the hands of David and his servants.
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 20:8
So these descendants of Rapha in Gath fell at the hands of David and his servants.
- Romans 8:31
What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
- Jeremiah 9:23
This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches.
- 1 Chronicles 20:8
Through
2 Samuel 21:16Then Ishbi-benob, a descendant of Rapha, whose bronze spear weighed three hundred shekels and who was bearing a new sword, resolved to kill David.
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 21:20
And there was still another battle at Gath, where there was a man of great stature with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot—twenty-four in all. He too was descended…
- Deuteronomy 9:2
The people are strong and tall, the descendants of the Anakim. You know about them, and you have heard it said, “Who can stand up to the sons of Anak?”
- 1 Samuel 17:45–51
But David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD of Hosts, the God of the armies…
- 2 Samuel 21:20
Through
2 Samuel 21:20And there was still another battle at Gath, where there was a man of great stature with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot—twenty-four in all. He too was descended…
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 21:16
Then Ishbi-benob, a descendant of Rapha, whose bronze spear weighed three hundred shekels and who was bearing a new sword, resolved to kill David.
- 2 Samuel 21:16
Through
1 Chronicles 27:11The eighth, for the eighth month, was Sibbecai the Hushathite, a Zerahite. There were 24,000 men in his division.
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 11:29
Sibbecai the Hushathite, Ilai the Ahohite,
- 1 Chronicles 11:29
Where this verse is studied
About 2 Samuel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Books of Samuel and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.