2 Samuel 8:13
in 2 Samuel 8And David made a name for himself when he returned from striking down eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And David gat him a name when he returned from smiting the Syrians in the Valley of Salt, even eighteen thousand men.
KJV
And David gat him a name when he returned from smiting of the Syrians in the valley of salt, being eighteen thousand men.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 8
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The Syrians - Read the Edomites, as in marginal references (compare Psa 60:1-12 title), and as the context 2Sa 8:14 requires. For a further account of this war of extermination with Edom, see 1Ki 11:15-16. The war with Edom was of some duration, not without serious reverses and dangers to the Israelites (2Sa 8:2 note). The different accounts probably relate to different parts of the campaign.
This site's exposition
gat him a name when he returned
on 2 Samuel 8:13-14
The Hebrew text names Syria here and the Septuagint names Edom, and Barnes and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown both take Edom as the true reading, since verse 14 goes on to speak only of garrisons through all Edom. The valley of salt lies south of the Dead Sea, and 1 Kings 11:15-16 remembers this same war as a longer campaign under Joab that left every male in Edom slain. The refrain closes the war record where it opened it: the Lord preserved David whithersoever he went.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
He got himself a name for all that conduct and courage which are the praise of a great and distinguished general. Something extraordinary, it is likely, there was in that action, which turned very much to his honour, yet he is careful to transfer the honour to God, as appears by the psalm he penned on this occasion,
And David gat him a name,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
David gat him a name when he returned from smiting of the Syrians--Instead of Syrians, the Septuagint version reads "Edomites," which is the true reading, as is evident from 2Sa 8:14. This conquest, made by the army of David, was due to the skilful generalship and gallantry of Abishai and Joab.
David gat him a name - Became a very celebrated and eminent man. The Targum has it, David collected troops; namely, to recruit his army when he returned from smiting the Syrians. His many battles had no doubt greatly thinned his army. The valley of salt - Supposed to be a large plain abounding in this mineral, about a league from the city of Palmyra or Tadmor in the wilderness.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Dovid made a name [for himself]. He buried those of Edom whom he had killed and that is a good name for Yisroel that they bury their enemies.
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. 6 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
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּ֤עַשׂ | vaiyaas | and he made | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| דָּוִד֙ | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| שֵׁ֔ם | shem | a name | H8034 → | 864 times |
| בְּשֻׁב֕וֹ | beshuvo | when returned he | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| מֵהַכּוֹת֥וֹ | mehakoto | from defeating he | H5221 → | 499 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֲרָ֖ם | ʾaram | Aram | H758 → | 143 times |
| בְּגֵיא־ | begei'- | in [the] Valley of | H1516 → | |
| מֶ֑לַח | melach | Salt | H4417 → | |
| שְׁמוֹנָ֥ה | shemonah | eight- | H8083 → | 109 times |
| עָשָׂ֖ר | ʾasar | teen | H6240 → | 338 times |
| אָֽלֶף׃ | ʾalef | thousand | H505 → | 505 times |
וַיַּ֤עַשׂand he made
vaiyaasH6213 →2628 times
דָּוִד֙David
davidH1732 →999 times
שֵׁ֔םa name
shemH8034 →864 times
בְּשֻׁב֕וֹwhen returned he
beshuvoH7725 →1056 times
מֵהַכּוֹת֥וֹfrom defeating he
mehakotoH5221 →499 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אֲרָ֖םAram
ʾaramH758 →143 times
בְּגֵיא־in [the] Valley of
begei'-H1516 →
מֶ֑לַחSalt
melachH4417 →
שְׁמוֹנָ֥הeight-
shemonahH8083 →109 times
עָשָׂ֖רteen
ʾasarH6240 →338 times
אָֽלֶף׃thousand
ʾalefH505 →505 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
Psalms 60:1You have rejected us, O God; You have broken us; You have been angry; restore us!
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 8:12–13
from Edom and Moab, from the Ammonites and Philistines and Amalekites, and from the spoil of Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
- 2 Samuel 8:3
David also defeated Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, who had marched out to restore his dominion along the Euphrates River.
- 2 Samuel 8:12–13
Through
2 Samuel 7:9I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make for you a name like the greatest in the land.
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 5:10
And David became greater and greater, for the LORD God of Hosts was with him.
- 1 Chronicles 17:8
I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make for you a name like the greatest in the land.
- 2 Samuel 8:6
Then he placed garrisons in Aram of Damascus, and the Arameans became subject to David and brought him tribute. So the LORD made David victorious wherever he went.
- Psalms 18:37–42
I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back until they were consumed.
- 1 Samuel 18:14
and he continued to prosper in all his ways, because the LORD was with him.
- 2 Samuel 5:10
Through
1 Chronicles 18:12Moreover, Abishai son of Zeruiah struck down eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.
it leads to
- Psalms 60:1
You have rejected us, O God; You have broken us; You have been angry; restore us!
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 60:1
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); Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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.