2 Samuel 23:13
in 2 Samuel 23At harvest time, three of the thirty chief men went down to David at the cave of Adullam, while a company of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And three of the thirty chief men went down, and came to David in the harvest time unto the cave of Adullam; and the troop of the Philistines was encamped in the valley of Rephaim.
KJV
And three of the thirty chief went down, and came to David in the harvest time unto the cave of Adullam: and the troop of the Philistines pitched in the valley of Rephaim.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 23
Commentary
4 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The feat at Bethlehem by three of the thirty was the occasion of their being formed into a distinct triad; Abishai 2Sa 23:18, Benaiah 2Sa 23:20, and a third not named, were probably the three. In the harvest time - An error for “to the rock” (compare the marginal reference). The troop of the Philistines - The word rendered “troop” occurs in this sense only here (and, according to some, in 2Sa 23:11), and perhaps in Psa 68:11. In 1 Chr. 11, as in 2Sa 23:16 the reading is “host” or “camp,” which may be the true reading here.
This site's exposition
came to David in the harvest time
on 2 Samuel 23:13-17
The scene is set in the outlaw years, the cave of Adullam, with a Philistine garrison holding Bethlehem and their troop camped in the valley of Rephaim, the valley that bears the giants' name. David speaks a longing for the water of his home well and three men treat it as an order, breaking through the host to draw it. He will not drink what cost blood to fetch and pours it out unto the LORD, the only offering fit for a devotion that great, and the older writers read the scene as the measure of what his men would do for him unasked.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And three of the thirty chiefs went down,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
And three of the thirty - The word שלשים shalishim, which we translate thirty, probably signifies an office or particular description of men. Of these shalishim we have here thirty-seven, and it can scarcely be said with propriety that we have thirty-seven out of thirty; and besides, in the parallel place, 1 Chronicles 11:11-47, there are sixteen added. The captains over Pharaoh’s chariots are termed שלשים shalishim, Exo 14:7. The Philistines pitched in the valley of Rephaim - This is the same war which is spoken of 2Sa 5:17, etc.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Of the thirty leaders. Yonoson translates: From the men who were leaders within the army.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
And a contingent of Pesishtim was then in Beis Lechem. The [Pelishtim] army was camped in the Rephoim valley and they had sent a contingent to Beis Lechem.
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
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֵּרְד֨וּ | vaiyeredu | and they went down | H3381 → | 381 times |
| שְׁלֹשָׁ֜ה | sheloshim | three | H7969 → | 432 times |
| מֵהַשְּׁלֹשִׁ֣ים | mehasheloshim | from the thirty | H7970 → | 172 times |
| רֹ֗אשׁ | rosh | leader[s] | H7218 → | 599 times |
| וַיָּבֹ֤אוּ | vaiyavou | and they came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| קָצִיר֙ | katzir | [the] harvest | H7105 → | 54 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| דָּוִ֔ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מְעָרַ֖ת | mearat | [the] cave of | H4631 → | |
| עֲדֻלָּ֑ם | ʾadulam | Adullam | H5725 → | |
| וְחַיַּ֣ת | vechaiyat | and a community of | H2416 → | 498 times |
| פְּלִשְׁתִּ֔ים | pelishtim | Philistines | H6430 → | 287 times |
| חֹנָ֖ה | chonah | [was] encamped | H2583 → | 143 times |
| בְּעֵ֥מֶק | beemek | in [the] valley of | H6010 → | 69 times |
| רְפָאִֽים׃ | refaim | [the] Rephaites | H7497 → | 25 times |
וַיֵּרְד֨וּand they went down
vaiyereduH3381 →381 times
שְׁלֹשָׁ֜הthree
sheloshimH7969 →432 times
מֵהַשְּׁלֹשִׁ֣יםfrom the thirty
mehasheloshimH7970 →172 times
רֹ֗אשׁleader[s]
roshH7218 →599 times
וַיָּבֹ֤אוּand they came
vaiyavouH935 →2568 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
קָצִיר֙[the] harvest
katzirH7105 →54 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
דָּוִ֔דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מְעָרַ֖ת[the] cave of
mearatH4631 →
עֲדֻלָּ֑םAdullam
ʾadulamH5725 →
וְחַיַּ֣תand a community of
vechaiyatH2416 →498 times
פְּלִשְׁתִּ֔יםPhilistines
pelishtimH6430 →287 times
חֹנָ֖ה[was] encamped
chonahH2583 →143 times
בְּעֵ֥מֶקin [the] valley of
beemekH6010 →69 times
רְפָאִֽים׃[the] Rephaites
refaimH7497 →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
Joshua 15:35Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah,
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 22:1
So David left Gath and took refuge in the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and the rest of his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Samuel 17:1
Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war at Socoh in Judah, and they camped between Socoh and Azekah in Ephes-dammim.
- 1 Samuel 22:1
Through
1 Chronicles 14:9Now the Philistines had come and raided the Valley of Rephaim.
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 11:15
Three of the thirty chief men went down to David, to the rock at the cave of Adullam, while a company of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Chronicles 11:15
Through
2 Samuel 5:18Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim.
it leads to
- Isaiah 17:5
as the reaper gathers the standing grain and harvests the ears with his arm, as one gleans heads of grain in the Valley of Rephaim.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Joshua 15:8
From there the border went up the Valley of Hinnom along the southern slope of the Jebusites (that is, Jerusalem) and ascended to the top of the hill that faces the Valley of Hinnom…
- Joshua 17:15
Joshua answered them, “If you have so many people that the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you, go to the forest and clear for yourself an area in the land of…
- Isaiah 17:5
Through
1 Samuel 22:1So David left Gath and took refuge in the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and the rest of his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there.
it leads to
- Psalms 57:1–11
Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy, for in You my soul takes refuge. In the shadow of Your wings I will take shelter until the danger has passed.
- Psalms 34:1
I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise will always be on my lips.
- Psalms 57:1–11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Alfred Edersheim, Bible History: Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and W. G. Blaikie, The Second Book of Samuel (Expositor's Bible).