2 Samuel 23:11
in 2 Samuel 23And after him was Shammah son of Agee the Hararite. When the Philistines had banded together near a field full of lentils, Israel’s troops fled from them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And after him was Shammah the son of Agee a Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered together into a troop, where was a plot of ground full of lentils; and the people fled from the Philistines.
KJV
And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered together into a troop, where was a piece of ground full of lentiles: and the people fled from the Philistines.
⋯
This verse in 2 Samuel 23
Commentary
7 notes on this verseAnd after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite,.... One who was of the mountainous country, as the Targum, the hill country of Judea, of Hebron, or the parts adjacent; this was the third of the first three; there was one of this name among the thirty, 2Sa 23:33, and the Philistines were gathered together into a troop; but so they were no doubt at first; R.
This site's exposition
These be the names of the mighty men
on 2 Samuel 23:8-12
The kingdom was won by named men, and the book writes their names down before it closes. The first three carry one refrain, the LORD wrought a great victory, said over Eleazar whose hand clave unto the sword and over Shammah who held a lentil field alone, so the roll of heroes credits God in its own words. The exploits are told without ornament: a weary hand, a bean patch, and the people returning only to spoil.
This site's exposition
a field full of lentils
The parallel at 1 Chronicles 11:13 has a field full of barley, and Adam Clarke suspects a copyist confused the two Hebrew words. Others, Clarke notes, think the field held both crops and the Philistines banded together to plunder it. Albert Barnes takes Hararite to mean mountaineer.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Many great and remarkable events are passed by in the annals, which relate rather the blemishes than the glories of David's reign, especially after his sin in the matter Uriah; so that we may conclude his reign to have been really more illustrious than it has appeared to us while reading the records of it. The exploits of this brave triumvirate are here recorded.
Note, How great soever the bravery of the instruments is, the praise of the achievement must be given to God. These fought the battles, but God wrought the victory. Let not the strong man then glory in his strength, nor in any of his military operations, but let him that glories glory in the Lord.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A piece of ground full of lentiles - In 1Ch 11:13 it is a parcel of ground full of barley. There is probably a mistake of עדשים adashim, lentiles, for שעורים seorim, barley, or vice versa. Some think there were both lentiles and barley in the field, and that a marauding party of the Philistines came to destroy or carry them off, and these worthies defeated the whole, and saved the produce of the field. This is not unlikely.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Hararite - Interpreted to mean “mountaineer,” one from the hill country of Judah or Ephraim.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
But only to strip [the corpses]. Yonoson translates: "To strip the dead." There was no one to help him kill [the Pelishtim] but they were all stripping the corpses after [he had killed them].
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאַחֲרָ֛יו | veacharav | and [was] after him | H310 → | 715 times |
| שַׁמָּ֥א | shama' | Shamma | H8037 → | |
| בֶן־ | ven- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אָגֵ֖א | ʾage' | Agee | H89 → | |
| הָרָרִ֑י | harari | [the] Hararite | H2043 → | 5 times |
| וַיֵּאָסְפ֨וּ | vaiyeasefu | and they were gathered | H622 → | 200 times |
| פְלִשְׁתִּ֜ים | felishtim | [the] Philistines | H6430 → | 287 times |
| לַחַיָּ֗ה | lachaiyah | to <the> Lehi | H2416 → | 498 times |
| וַתְּהִי־ | vatehi- | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| שָׁ֞ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| חֶלְקַ֤ת | chelkat | [the] portion of | H2513 → | 29 times |
| הַשָּׂדֶה֙ | hasadeh | the field | H7704 → | 334 times |
| מְלֵאָ֣ה | meleah | full | H4392 → | |
| עֲדָשִׁ֔ים | ʾadashim | of lentils | H5742 → | |
| וְהָעָ֥ם | vehaam | and the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| נָ֖ס | nas | it fled | H5127 → | 159 times |
| מִפְּנֵ֥י | mipenei | from before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| פְלִשְׁתִּֽים׃ | felishtim | [the] Philistines | H6430 → | 287 times |
וְאַחֲרָ֛יוand [was] after him
veacharavH310 →715 times
שַׁמָּ֥אShamma
shama'H8037 →
בֶן־[the] son of
ven-H1121 →4930 times
אָגֵ֖אAgee
ʾage'H89 →
הָרָרִ֑י[the] Hararite
harariH2043 →5 times
וַיֵּאָסְפ֨וּand they were gathered
vaiyeasefuH622 →200 times
פְלִשְׁתִּ֜ים[the] Philistines
felishtimH6430 →287 times
לַחַיָּ֗הto <the> Lehi
lachaiyahH2416 →498 times
וַתְּהִי־and it was
vatehi-H1961 →3559 times
שָׁ֞םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
חֶלְקַ֤ת[the] portion of
chelkatH2513 →29 times
הַשָּׂדֶה֙the field
hasadehH7704 →334 times
מְלֵאָ֣הfull
meleahH4392 →
עֲדָשִׁ֔יםof lentils
ʾadashimH5742 →
וְהָעָ֥םand the people
vehaamH5971 →1873 times
נָ֖סit fled
nasH5127 →159 times
מִפְּנֵ֥יfrom before
mipeneiH6440 →2123 times
פְלִשְׁתִּֽים׃[the] Philistines
felishtimH6430 →287 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
3 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
1 Chronicles 11:27Shammoth the Harorite, Helez the Pelonite,
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 23:25–26
Shammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite,
- 2 Samuel 23:25–26
Through
2 Samuel 23:33Jonathan son of Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam son of Sharar the Hararite,
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 11:27
Shammoth the Harorite, Helez the Pelonite,
- 1 Chronicles 11:35
Ahiam son of Sachar the Hararite, Eliphal son of Ur,
- 1 Chronicles 11:27
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Samuel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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.