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2 Samuel 8:5

in 2 Samuel 8

When the Arameans of Damascus came to help King Hadadezer of Zobah, David struck down twenty-two thousand men.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And when the Syrians of Damascus came to succor Hadadezer king of Zobah, David smote of the Syrians two and twenty thousand men.

KJV

And when the Syrians of Damascus came to succour Hadadezer king of Zobah, David slew of the Syrians two and twenty thousand men.

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This verse in 2 Samuel 8

Commentary

4 notes on this verse
Syrians of Damascus - The Syrians (Aram), whose capital was Damascus, were the best known and most powerful. Damascus (written Darmesek in marginal references, according to the late Aramean orthography) is first mentioned in Gen 15:2. According to Nicolaus of Damascus, cited by Josephus, the Syrian king’s name was Hadad.

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

A commentator

Cassiodorus

EXPOSITION OF THE PSALMS 59.1-2 · Written before 585.

proposed

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 when the Syrians of Damascus came to succour Hadadezer king of Zobah,....

The words behind it

14 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַתָּבֹא֙and it came

    vatavo'H935 →2568 times

  • אֲרַ֣םAram

    ʾaramH758 →143 times

  • דַּמֶּ֔שֶׂקDamascus

    damesekH1834 →

  • לַעְזֹ֕רto help

    la'zorH5826 →81 times

  • לַהֲדַדְעֶ֖זֶר<to> Hadadezer

    lahadadezerH1909 →9 times

  • מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of

    melekhH4428 →2525 times

  • צוֹבָ֑הZobah

    tzovahH6678 →12 times

  • וַיַּ֤ךְand he struck down

    vaiyakhH5221 →499 times

  • דָּוִד֙David

    davidH1732 →999 times

  • בַּֽאֲרָ֔םamong Aram

    baaramH758 →143 times

  • עֶשְׂרִֽים־twenty

    ʾesrim-H6242 →315 times

  • וּשְׁנַ֥יִםand two

    ushenayimH8147 →768 times

  • אֶ֖לֶףthousand

    ʾelefH505 →505 times

  • אִֽישׁ׃man

    ʾishH376 →1663 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

11 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

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 and twelve thousand men from Tob.6 works1 Kings 11:23–25And God raised up against Solomon another adversary, Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from his master, Hadadezer king of Zobah,4 worksRomans 13:6This is also why you pay taxes. For the authorities are God’s servants, who devote themselves to their work.4 works2 Samuel 8:3David also defeated Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, who had marched out to restore his dominion along the Euphrates River.2 worksPsalms 83:4–8saying, “Come, let us erase them as a nation; may the name of Israel be remembered no more.”2 worksIsaiah 7:8For the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered as a people.2 works
The other 5 cross-references, with their words ▾
1 Chronicles 18:5–6When the Arameans of Damascus came to help King Hadadezer of Zobah, David struck down twenty-two thousand men.2 worksJob 9:13God does not restrain His anger; the helpers of Rahab cower beneath Him.2 worksIsaiah 31:3But the Egyptians are men, not God; their horses are flesh, not spirit. When the LORD stretches out His hand, the helper will stumble, and the one he helps will fall; both will perish together.2 worksIsaiah 8:9–10Huddle together, O peoples, and be shattered; pay attention, all you distant lands; prepare for battle, and be shattered; prepare for battle, and be shattered!2 worksEzekiel 27:16Aram was your customer because of your many products; they exchanged turquoise, purple, embroidered work, fine linen, coral, and rubies for your wares.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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 8:3

    David also defeated Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, who had marched out to restore his dominion along the Euphrates River.

    it leads to

    • 1 Samuel 14:47

      After 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…

    • 2 Samuel 10:16

      Hadadezer 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.

    • 2 Samuel 10:19

      When 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…

    • 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…

    • 1 Chronicles 18:3

      As far as Hamath, David also defeated King Hadadezer of Zobah, who had marched out to establish his dominion along the Euphrates River.

  • Through

    Isaiah 7:8

    For the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered as a people.

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 17:1–3

      This is the burden against Damascus: “Behold, Damascus is no longer a city; it has become a heap of ruins.

    • Genesis 14:15

      During the night, Abram divided his forces and routed Chedorlaomer’s army, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus.

    • Hosea 1:6–10

      Gomer again conceived and gave birth to a daughter, and the LORD said to Hosea, “Name her Lo-ruhamah, for I will no longer have compassion on the house of Israel, that I should ever…

About 2 Samuel

David Mourns the Death of Absalom, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
David Mourns the Death of Absalom, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
2 Samuel: the study guide →Read 2 Samuel 8 →

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Cassiodorus, EXPOSITION OF THE PSALMS 59.1-2; 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.

Read on in 2 Samuel 8 →