2 Samuel 21:20
in 2 Samuel 21And 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 from Rapha,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And there was again war at Gath, where was a man of great stature, that had on every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes, four and twenty in number; and he also was born to the giant.
KJV
And there was yet a battle in Gath, where was a man of great stature, that had on every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes, four and twenty in number; and he also was born to the giant.
⋯
This verse in 2 Samuel 21
Commentary
6 notes on this verseOn every hand six fingers - This is not a solitary instance: Tavernier informs us that the eldest son of the emperor of Java, who reigned in 1648, had six fingers on each hand, and six toes on each foot. And Maupertuis, in his seventeenth letter, says that he met with two families near Berlin, where sedigitism was equally transmitted on both sides of father and mother.
This site's exposition
six fingers on each hand
on 2 Samuel 21:20-21
A third battle comes at Gath, against “a man of great stature” descended from Rapha. When he taunted Israel, Jonathan son of David’s brother Shimei killed him, and the verb is the one Goliath used at 1 Samuel 17:10. Joshua 11:22 names Gath as a town where Anakim were left.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
(3.) The most powerful enemies are often reserved for the last conflict. David began his glory with the conquest of one giant, and here concludes it with the conquest of four. Death is a Christian's last enemy, and a son of Anak; but, through him that triumphed for us, we hope to be more than conquerors at last, even over that enemy.
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 there was yet a battle in Gath,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
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.
The words behind it
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתְּהִי־ | vatehi- | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| ע֥וֹד | od | again | H5750 → | 490 times |
| מִלְחָמָ֖ה | milchamah | war | H4421 → | 320 times |
| בְּגַ֑ת | begat | at Gath | H1661 → | 32 times |
| וַיְהִ֣י׀ | vayhi | and he was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| אִ֣ישׁ | ʾish | a man of | H376 → | 1663 times |
| מָד֗וֹן | madin | stature | H4067 → | |
| וְאֶצְבְּעֹ֣ת | veetzbeot | and [the] fingers of | H676 → | |
| יָדָיו֩ | yadav | hands his | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| וְאֶצְבְּעֹ֨ת | veetzbeot | and [the] toes of | H676 → | |
| רַגְלָ֜יו | raglav | feet his | H7272 → | 247 times |
| שֵׁ֣שׁ | shesh | [were] six | H8337 → | 216 times |
| וָשֵׁ֗שׁ | vashesh | and six | H8337 → | 216 times |
| עֶשְׂרִ֤ים | ʾesrim | [was] twenty | H6242 → | 315 times |
| וְאַרְבַּע֙ | vearba' | and four | H702 → | |
| מִסְפָּ֔ר | mispar | [the] number | H4557 → | 134 times |
| וְגַם־ | vegam- | and also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| ה֖וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| יֻלַּ֥ד | yulad | he was born | H3205 → | 496 times |
| לְהָרָפָֽה׃ | leharafah | to the Raphah | H7497 → | 25 times |
וַתְּהִי־and it was
vatehi-H1961 →3559 times
ע֥וֹדagain
odH5750 →490 times
מִלְחָמָ֖הwar
milchamahH4421 →320 times
בְּגַ֑תat Gath
begatH1661 →32 times
וַיְהִ֣י׀and he was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
אִ֣ישׁa man of
ʾishH376 →1663 times
מָד֗וֹןstature
madinH4067 →
וְאֶצְבְּעֹ֣תand [the] fingers of
veetzbeotH676 →
יָדָיו֩hands his
yadavH3027 →1618 times
וְאֶצְבְּעֹ֨תand [the] toes of
veetzbeotH676 →
רַגְלָ֜יוfeet his
raglavH7272 →247 times
שֵׁ֣שׁ[were] six
sheshH8337 →216 times
וָשֵׁ֗שׁand six
vasheshH8337 →216 times
עֶשְׂרִ֤ים[was] twenty
ʾesrimH6242 →315 times
וְאַרְבַּע֙and four
vearba'H702 →
מִסְפָּ֔ר[the] number
misparH4557 →134 times
וְגַם־and also
vegam-H1571 →769 times
ה֖וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
יֻלַּ֥דhe was born
yuladH3205 →496 times
לְהָרָפָֽה׃to the Raphah
leharafahH7497 →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 21:18Some 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.
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 11:29
Sibbecai the Hushathite, Ilai the Ahohite,
- 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.
- 1 Chronicles 27:11
The eighth, for the eighth month, was Sibbecai the Hushathite, a Zerahite. There were 24,000 men in his division.
- 1 Chronicles 11:29
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 21:18
Some 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.
- Numbers 13:32–33
So they gave the Israelites a bad report about the land that they had spied out: “The land we explored devours its inhabitants, and all the people we saw there are great in stature.
- 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…
- Deuteronomy 3:11
(For only Og king of Bashan had remained of the remnant of the Rephaim. His bed of iron, nine cubits long and four cubits wide, is still in Rabbah of the Ammonites.)
- 2 Samuel 21:18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Samuel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.