The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Samuel — Section 555

there :find him in oomm11,nd of the second in vet. 13' where, however, we find In division of the army. For "Dod&i," how- Chronicles the orJ.iuary name for o. hoat sub- ever. we ollght to read the1'8 "Eleazar the stituted for it. '1.'he Reviserd hove retnined son hf DO<iai." Ahohite; Hebrew, the •on of in the rmn;.(in, "or, for foraging:" but 1111 a11 Al,ohite, and probably 11, member of the oocurronce in Ps. lxvili. 10, where it Is ren• f'nmily desc-cndcd from Ahoe.h, a son of Ben- dered "thy <'Ongregation," and in the mar- je.min (l Chrou. viii. 4). He would thus gin oftbe Rm·ised Vcl'l!ion," troop," mo.ltes It belong to the moat we.rlike tribe of Israel, probn.ble that" troop" is the 1·i;.:ht rcnderinff though not mentioned among the Benje.mi tee here. Lentllee. In 1 Ohrou. xi. 13, "lmr!Py.' who joiner! De.vid et Ziklag (1 Chron. xii. The difference is probably ooused by o. tro.ns- 1-7). He joined llim, 11,pparently, at an position of letters. The Philistines seem to earlier date. That were there gathered he.ve made this incursion in order to i:o.rry together. The word "there" implies the off' or destroy the orops of the IsrRcli tes. previous mention of l!Ollle place, and though Ver. 13.-And three. The Hebrew text· the text in the parallel pa8811.ge in Chronicles he.s "thirty," for which both the Authorized is more corrupt than the.t before us, it be.s, Version and the Revised Version silently nevertheless, preserved the name of the spot substitute "three," l\s is correctly given in where the encounter t.ook pllM'e. In Chro- Chronicles. The absence of the nrticle sho\vs nic.les the n11.111e of Shammah is omitted, and thnt these three were not J ashobenm, Eleazar, his nchievement is mixed up in a Etrange and Shammah, but probably Abishe.i, Be- fashion with that of Elea.ze.r. Here the two naiah, and another whose name and exploits heroes have each his separate record, and it have been purposely omitted both here and is only on minor matters that the text there in Chronicles. Apparently this narro.tive;-so is more correot. Restored from the readings interesting IIJi showing the fascination which in Chronicles, the narrative is as follows: D,wid exercised over his men, is given ·os "He was with David at Pas-dammim, and hadng led to the institution of this second the Philistines were gathe1·ed there to battle, order of three in the brotborhood of the' 11.11<l the men of Israel were gone up : and he ruigh ties. In the harvest time. The Hebrew, st.ood (that ia, made a stand) and smote," is "to harvest," but in 1 Chron. xi. 15 "to: etc. l'a.8-dammim is called Epl,ea-dammim the rock." As the preposition .uaed here in 1 Sam. xvii. 1. It wns situated iu the cannot mean "in," this is probably the right valley of Elah, and, as being upon the reading. In this case, also, it is the simi- border, was the scene of numerous con- larity of the words that has led to the con-, flicts, whence its name, "the boundary of fusion. Is it possible that these lists were blood." It wns there that David slew taken from very old o.nd wom catalogues, Goliath. Were gone away; Hebrew, went which it was very difficult to decipher? up ; that is, to battle. The itlea that the Ver. H.-An hold; Hebrew, the hold., IsrneliteB had :fled iB taken from the parallel The definite article here ond in eh. v. 17, place in Chronicles, where, however, it refe!'B and the mention of the:Philistines as being, t.o Shammah'& exploit. In vers. 9 e.nd 11 in the valley of Rephaim, seem to in,licate• there, the phrase, "the Philistines were tbe.t David bad abandoned Jerusalem upon guthered together," occurs twice, and the the invasion of the Philistines, and sought scribe, he.vrng accidentally omitted the in- refuge at Adullam (see note on eh. v. 17). tervening word&, has confUBed together the In its neighbourhood lit an isole.ted ·bill, on exploits of Eleamr 1111d Shammah. In which, probably, wns e. frontier fortress, in thi.i! battle Eleazar withstood the Philistine which David prepared to defend himself. onset, and smot.e them till his hand clave Ver. 15.-?he well of Bethlehem, which is to his sword-hilt. .Me.ny such instances of by the gate. Bethlehem is now supplied cramp are recorded, and Mr. Kirkpe.trick, with water by an aqueduct, and the wells in his commentary, quotes one in which the close to the town have cee.aed to exist. The muscles of e. warrior's he.nd could be relaxed, cistern of "dee!', clee.r, cool water," described after hard fighting, only .by fomentations of by Ritter, in his 'Geogrn.phy of Palestine,' hot water. and now called David's Well, is three Ver. 10.-Vi.aiory; Hebrew, ealfllJ.tion; q ue.rter;i of .a mile to the north of Bethle- ond so oleo in ver. 12 and I Sam. xi. 13; hem.and too dist@nt to be that which David xix. 5. Retnrned after him.. 'l"his does noi meant. imply that they had :fled, but simply that Vere. 16, 17.-:Urake through the host (or, they turned iu whichever way he turned, camp) of the Philistines. The Philistine. e.nd followed him. llu.itles in old timll de- camp was pitched in the valley of Rephe.im, pended very much upon the prowess of the and to reach Bethlehem, wbi<1h was more leaders. than twenty or' twenty-five miles diste.nt, Ver. 11.-lllto a troop. Josephus renders these three heroes must pDSB close to tho it "io Lehi," the IIClllle of Samson'■ ex- ground ocoupie<l by the enemy. 'l'he valley. 1:'loit. The word iB re.re, but OCCIUII again of Bephaim, in fa.et, extended f.rOlll J erwiu.o~ r,n, xxm. 1-30.J THE BEOOND BOOK OF SAMUEL. 671