2 Samuel 8:3
in 2 Samuel 8David also defeated Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, who had marched out to restore his dominion along the Euphrates River.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
David smote also Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his dominion at the River.
KJV
David smote also Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his border at the river Euphrates.
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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)
Hadadezer - Not (see the margin) Hadarezer. Hadadezer, is the true form, as seen in the names Benhadad, Hadad (1Ki 15:18, etc.; 1Ki 11:14, etc.). Hadad was the chief idol, or sun-god, of the Syrians. To recover his border - literally, to cause his hand to return. The phrase is used sometimes literally, as e. g. Exo 4:7; 1Ki 13:4; Pro 19:24; and sometimes figuratively, as Isa 1:25; Isa 14:27; Amo 1:8; Psa 74:11. The exact force of the metaphor must in each case be decided by the context.
This site's exposition
the son of Rehob, king of Zobah
on 2 Samuel 8:3-6
Zobah was the leading Aramean power north of Israel, and David's campaign to the Euphrates fulfilled the border God had named to Abraham at Genesis 15:18. He houghed the captured chariot horses rather than keep them, obedient to the king's law of Deuteronomy 17:16 against multiplying horses, and Damascus fell with Zobah when it came to Hadadezer's aid. The chapter states its own verdict twice, here and at verse 14: the Lord preserved David whithersoever he went, the summary's own theology rather than the historian's flattery.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
The history of the Kings [Samuel] recounts that David won these victories after he succeeded Saul in the kingship, and it seems inappropriate to introduce them into our ordered arrangement here since they are known to be recounted extensively there. But we must realize that …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And David also smote Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah,.... Called sometimes Aramzobah, and was a part of Syria, as its name shows.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
It was long the chief among the petty kingdoms of Syria, and its king bore the hereditary title of "Hadadezer" or "Hadarezer" ("Hadad," that is, "helped"). as he went to recover his border at the river Euphrates--in accordance with the promises God made to Israel that He would give them all the country as far as the Euphrates (Ge 15:18;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
David smote - Hadadezer - He is supposed to have been king of all Syria, except Phoenicia; and, wishing to extend his dominions to the Euphrates, invaded a part of David’s dominions which lay contiguous to it; but being attacked by David, he was totally routed.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּ֣ךְ | vaiyakh | and he defeated | H5221 → | 499 times |
| דָּוִ֔ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הֲדַדְעֶ֥זֶר | hadadezer | Hadadezer | H1909 → | 9 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| רְחֹ֖ב | recho | Rehob | H7340 → | 10 times |
| מֶ֣לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| צוֹבָ֑ה | tzovah | Zobah | H6678 → | 12 times |
| בְּלֶכְתּ֕וֹ | belekhto | when went he | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| לְהָשִׁ֥יב | lehashiv | to restore | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| יָד֖וֹ | yado | hand his | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| בִּֽנְהַר־פְּרָֽת׃ | binhar-perat | at [the] river-Euphrates | H5104 →H6578 → |
וַיַּ֣ךְand he defeated
vaiyakhH5221 →499 times
דָּוִ֔דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הֲדַדְעֶ֥זֶרHadadezer
hadadezerH1909 →9 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
רְחֹ֖בRehob
rechoH7340 →10 times
מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
צוֹבָ֑הZobah
tzovahH6678 →12 times
בְּלֶכְתּ֕וֹwhen went he
belekhtoH1980 →1546 times
לְהָשִׁ֥יבto restore
lehashivH7725 →1056 times
יָד֖וֹhand his
yadoH3027 →1618 times
בִּֽנְהַר־פְּרָֽת׃at [the] river-Euphrates
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
1 Samuel 14:47After Saul had assumed the kingship over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side—the Moabites, the Ammonites, the Edomites, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he routed…
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 10:6
When the Ammonites realized that they had become a stench to David, they hired twenty thousand Aramean foot soldiers from Beth-rehob and Zoba, as well as a thousand men from the king of Maacah…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Samuel 10:6
Through
2 Samuel 10:6When the Ammonites realized that they had become a stench to David, they hired twenty thousand Aramean foot soldiers from Beth-rehob and Zoba, as well as a thousand men from the king of Maacah…
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 8:5
When the Arameans of Damascus came to help King Hadadezer of Zobah, David struck down twenty-two thousand men.
- Genesis 34:30
Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble upon me by making me a stench to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people of this land. We are few in number; if…
- Judges 18:28
There was no one to deliver them, because the city was far from Sidon and had no alliance with anyone; it was in a valley near Beth-rehob. And the Danites rebuilt the city and…
- 2 Samuel 8:5
Through
2 Samuel 10:19When all the kings who were subject to Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and became subject to them. So the Arameans were afraid to help…
it leads to
- 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.
- 2 Samuel 8:6
Through
1 Chronicles 18:3As far as Hamath, David also defeated King Hadadezer of Zobah, who had marched out to establish his dominion along the Euphrates River.
it leads to
- Psalms 60:1
You have rejected us, O God; You have broken us; You have been angry; restore us!
- Psalms 60:1
Through
2 Samuel 10:16Hadadezer sent messengers to bring more Arameans from beyond the Euphrates, and they came to Helam with Shobach the commander of Hadadezer’s army leading them.
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 19:16
When the Arameans saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they sent messengers to bring more Arameans from beyond the Euphrates, with Shophach the commander of Hadadezer’s army leading them.
- 2 Samuel 8:3–8
David also defeated Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, who had marched out to restore his dominion along the Euphrates River.
- 1 Chronicles 19:16
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); Cassiodorus, EXPOSITION OF THE PSALMS 59.1-2; 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.