2 Samuel 8:12
Ver. 12. Of Syria,.... Of Syria of Damascus, as distinct from Syriazobah, Hadadezer was king of, after mentioned; this is omitted in1Ch 18:11;and of Moab: who brought him gifts and presents, and were tributaries to him, 2Sa 8:2;and of the children of Ammon; who very probably joined the Moabites, and were conquered and spoiled at the same time:and of the Philistines; when Methegammah was taken from them, 2Sa 8:1;and of Amalek; for though we have no account of any war of his with that people, since he was king, yet he doubtless had, and had been victorious and spoiled them; see Ps 83:7;and of the spoil of Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah; see 2Sa 8:3. These conquests of David, are confirmed by the testimony of Eupolemus, an Heathen writer, who says that he overcame the Syrians by Euphrates, and the Assyrians in Galadene (or Gilead), and the Phoenicians; that he fought against the Idumeans (or Edomites), the Ammonites, Moabites, Ituraeans, Nabathaeans, and Nabdaeans; also against Syron king of Tyre and Phoenicia; all of whom he obliged to pay tribute to the Jews {a}.{a} Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 30. p. 447. 2 Samuel 8:13Ver. 13. And David gat [him] a name,.... Fame and reputation in the several nations of the world for valour and courage, for the many and signal victories that he obtained; the Jewish writers generally refer this to his humanity in burying the dead bodies of his enemies slain in war, which gained him great esteem among all, and even his very enemies; but nothing of that kind is pointed at here, but his conquests: or "he made himself a name"; erected a triumphal arch {b} in memory of his victories:when he returned from smiting of the Syrians in the valley of salt,[being] eighteen thousand [men]; in the relation of this fact in different places some difficulties arise, both as to the people smitten, and their numbers, and by whom; in this place they are said to be Syrians, but in 1Ch 18:12, and in the title of Ps 60:1, which was composed on account of these victories, they are called Edomites, and said to be of Edom; which may be reconciled by observing, that the Syrians and Edomites were confederates in this war; and that whereas the latter were auxiliaries to the former, the whole body of the army might be called Syrians, of which twenty two thousand were slain that were properly Syrians, and eighteen thousand Edomites, in all forty thousand; which was a very great slaughter: or the sense is, that when he had smitten the twenty two thousand Syrians, and was upon the return, he met with a body of Edomites, who came to the assistance of the Syrians, and he slew eighteen thousand of them; and the Jews say, as Jarchi observes, there were two battles; and if so, this would remove all the difficulties started; as for the numbers slain, here eighteen thousand, and Ps 60:1, twelve thousand, it is reconciled by observing, that Abishai first began the attack upon the Edomites, and slew six thousand of them; and then Joab fell upon them, and slew twelve thousand more, in all eighteen thousand; in 1Ch 18:12, this slaughter is ascribed to Abishai, because he began it, even the whole number; and in Ps 60:1, to Joab, the twelve thousand slain by him, who seconded Abishai; and the whole is here attributed to David, because he was king, under whom Abishai and Joab served as generals: and no less difficult is it to ascertain the place where this slaughter was made, called "the valley of salt": it seems by our text that it was in Syria, but in other places as if it was in Edom; see 2Ki 14:7; but in Edom itself is no such valley to be found, though there is in Syria; one traveller {c} tells us, that in the way from Aleppo to the banks of Euphrates are many villages, among which is one of note, called Tedith, famous for a synod held here by the Jews, in the year from the creation 3498, of which Ezra was the scribe; when were placed the books of the Old Testament in the order in which they now are; and near this town, he says, is the valley of salt, memorable for the victory here recorded: others say {d} about three or four hours' journey from Aleppo is the valley of salt, near which is a salt spring, whose waters running over the place leave, when dried by the sun, a great quantity of excellent salt; this salt is thrown together in the Gabboul, or salt house; but by others {e} we are informed, that near about an hour's distance from the city of Tadmor, see 1Ki 9:18 2Ch 8:3, is to be seen a large valley of salt, affording great quantities thereof; and it is thought that this is more probably the valley of salt mentioned here, than another which lies about four hours from Aleppo, and has sometimes passed for it; and which the above accounts show: but a modern writer {f}, in his account of Palmyra, the same with Tadmor, speaks of a great plain, all covered with salt, from whence the whole country round is supplied. This plain is about a league from Palmyra, and extends itself towards the eastern part of Idumea (or Edom) the capital city of which was Bozra; and indeed this valley being both in Syria, and reaching to the borders of Edom, bids fair to be the valley here spoken of.{b} So Hieron. Trad. Heb. in 2 Reg. fol. 78. D. {c} Cartwright's Preacher's Travels, p. 11. {d} Egmont and Heyman's Travels, vol. 2. p. 347. {e} See Lowthorp's Philosophical Transactions abridged, vol. 3. p. 504. {f} Halifax apud Calmet's Dictionary in the Word "Salt". 2 Samuel 8:14Ver. 14. And he put garrisons in Edom,.... To keep the inhabitants in subjection to him; as their forts and strong holds came into his hands, he placed companies of soldiers in them for the said purpose; or governors, as the Targum, men of his own nation, into whose hands he put their principal cities, who governed them for him, and under him. Jarchi interprets it of officers appointed to collect the tribute he exacted of them:throughout all Edom put he garrisons; which is observed to show that the whole country was brought into subjection to him:and all they of Edom became David's servants; and hereby were fulfilled the oracle delivered to Rebekah, and the prophetic blessing of Isaac, Ge 25:23;and the Lord preserved David whithersoever he went;See Gill on "2Sa 8:6". 2 Samuel 8:15Ver. 15. And David reigned over all Israel,.... Not only over Judah, but over all the tribes of Israel, and over the whole land of Canaan, as promised to Abraham, Ge 15:18; reaching to the river Euphrates, as Syria did, now conquered by David:and David executed judgment and justice unto all his people; when he returned from his wars, he heard and tried all causes impartially, brought before him, and gave sentence according to the law of God, and administered righteous judgment without any respect to persons; all had justice done them that applied unto him, whether high or low, rich or poor; and indeed during his wars he was not negligent of the civil government of his subjects, and the distribution of justice to them by proper officers, in which he was a type of Christ; see Isa 11:5. 2 Samuel 8:16Ver. 16. And Joab the son of Zeruiah [was] over the host,.... Which was not only owing to his relation to David, being his sister's son, but to his promise that whoever smote the Jebusites first should be chief and captain; that is, should have the command of the army under him; this Joab did; and so was entitled to this office, and was put into it, and continued in it, 1Ch 11:6;and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud [was] recorder; of memorable events, who kept a diary of whatsoever remarkable happened, which were digested into a chronicle, history, or annals; see Es 6:1; so the Targum, he"was appointed over the memorials;''or book of memorials, as Kimchi interprets it; that is, to take care of it, and see that everything worthy of notice was inserted in it; or was "remembrancer" {g}; one that put the king in mind what was to be done every day, or in certain cases, and so R. Isaiah explains it, the king's counsellor; some take him to be chancellor, as Luther and others {h}.{g} rykzm "commemorans", Montanus; "commemorator", Syr. Ar. "memorans, sive reducens in memoriam", Vatablus. {h} Vid. Beckium in Targ. 1 Chron. xviii. 15. 2 Samuel 8:17Ver. 17. And Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, [were] the priests,.... Not high priests, as Josephus {i} suggests, for there was only one high priest at a time; indeed there was a "sagan", or deputy priest, on occasion; and so Abarbinel says that Zadok was the high priest, and Ahimelech his second or deputy; but the truth of the case was this, Abiathar was high priest only, and continued so until the time of Solomon, when he was thrust out of his office, and Zadok put into it; and Ahimelech his son and Zadok were the principal priests under him, the one of the family of Ithamar, the other of Eleazar; so the Targum on 1Ch 18:16 calls them "sagans", or deputies of the high priesthood. Zadok is mentioned first, though Ahimelech was the son of the present high priest, because he was in great favour with David, as afterwards with Solomon, in whose days the high priesthood was translated to him; the family of Eli being now upon the decline, and near being removed from the high priesthood, as was foretold by Samuel it should:and Seraiah [was] the scribe; or secretary of state; in 1Ch 18:16 he is called Shavsha; he seems to have had two names.{i} Ut supra, (Antiqu. l. 7. c. 5.) sect. 4. 2 Samuel 8:18Ver. 18. And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada [was] over both the Cherethites and Pelethites,.... These, according to Josephus {k}, were the king's bodyguards, and this man is expressly said to be set over his guards, 2Sa 23:22; and which some think were of the nation of the Philistines, famous for archery, and slinging of stones; and so the Targum renders it,"was appointed over the archers and slingers;''so "choriti" in Virgil {l} are quivers for arrows; the great use of which in fighting David had observed, and therefore got a select company of these men, partly to teach Israel, and partly to guard himself: but others are of opinion that David would never suffer such as were Heathens to be so near his person, and therefore take them to be Israelites; and so some Jewish writers say they were two families in Israel; which is much better than to interpret them as others do of the sanhedrim, and even of the Urim and Thummim, as in the Targum on1Ch 18:17;See Gill on "Zep 2:5"; and it is most probable that they were Israelites, who were David's guards, and consisted of the chiefs that were with him in Philistia, and particularly at Ziklag, which lay on the south of the Cherethites, 1Sa 30:14; and so had their name from thence; and among the chief of those that came to him at Ziklag there was one named Peleth, from whence might come the Pelethites, and they were all of them archers; see 1Ch 12:2;and David's sons were chief rulers; princes, princes of the blood, or "chief about the king", as in 1Ch 18:17; they were constant attendants at court, waiting on the king, ready at hand to do what he pleased to order; they were the chief ministers, and had the management of the principal affairs at court. Abarbinel thinks that this respects not only David's sons, but Benaiah, and the family of the Cherethites and Pelethites, who had none of them particular posts assigned them, which were settled and known, as those before mentioned had, but were always near at hand, to do whatsoever the king commanded them; and which seems better to agree with the literal order and construction of the words; which are,and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and Pelethites,and the sons of David, [were] princes, or chief rulers; or priests, who according to Gussetius {m} brought the offerings or presents to the king, and did that to him the priests did to the Lord.{k} Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 7. c. 5. sect.4.) {l} Aeneid. 10. {m} Ebr. Comment. p. 366.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.