2 Samuel 23:8–39

23:8 “These are the names of the mighty men whom David had” is probably intended as a heading over the remainder of the chapter. “Mighty man” (cf. 1:19) refers to a soldier of more than ordinary strength and capacity, and in view here are the outstanding military heroes who have served David.

Details are first given of a special set of David’s warriors, known as “the three.” The name of the first individual has been poorly preserved, appearing as Jashobeam in 1 Chronicles 11:11, with “Tahchemonite” indicating either his place of origin or his ancestry. However, there can be no doubt about his prowess in slaying with his spear “eight hundred . . . at one time,” perhaps in one campaign. In this context, these deaths are probably attributed to him personally rather than to the whole troop under his command. He is the leading member of “the three” and is later appointed as commander of the first division of David’s army (1 Chron. 27:2).

23:9–10 “Next to him” is Eleazar, possibly a Benjaminite descended from Ahoah (1 Chron. 8:4). Both David and he had taunted (“defied”; cf. 1 Sam. 17:10) the Philistine ranks “there,” identified as Pas-dammim in 1 Chronicles 11:13. He refused to withdraw with his comrades, fighting on to the point of exhaustion. Because he had held his sword for so long in this hand, his muscles were unable to release their grip.

Although the distinguished gallantry of this hero is acknowledged, there is no loss of focus on the fact that “the Lord brought about a great victory that day” (cf. 2 Sam. 23:12). The other troops in the contingent of Israelite forces had merely to return “after him only to strip the slain,” removing their weapons and armor.

23:11–12 The third figure in the elite circle is Shammah (not mentioned in 1 Chronicles). Lehi was situated near Philistine territory (Judg. 15:9), where “a plot of ground”—possibly not as large as a field, but still a substantial area—was under cultivation and “full of lentils.” Again the soldiers with him “fled from the Philistines.” But Shammah “took his stand in the midst of the plot,” presumably because the Philistines intended to steal or ruin the crop. He was enabled to prevail against them, and so it is again recorded that “the Lord worked a great victory” (cf. 2 Sam. 23:10).

23:13 This incident may have occurred when David first occupied the cave of Adullam (1 Sam. 22:1). “Three of the thirty chief men” (for “the thirty,” cf. comment on 2 Sam. 23:18–19) are not identified, and their feat may have occurred just after they initially joined David. It was “about harvest time” (May/June) when the heat was most intense and seasonal sources of water dried up, though there is no suggestion that David’s forces lacked water supplies. But David was not free to move around because a “band of Philistines,” a substantial number of men but smaller than the full army, was stationed in the “Valley of Rephaim” (5:18).

23:14 The repeated use of “then” sets out the two situations as simultaneous. “The stronghold” refers to the cave of Adullam, which was naturally well protected (1 Sam. 22:4–5), while a Philistine “garrison” (1 Sam. 13:23) was in effective control of Bethlehem.

23:15 In his confined situation David thought of his hometown and voiced a deep desire “to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!” While water from various sources would taste differently, David was probably speaking out of homesickness and weariness. So, though the verb rendered “longingly” often denotes an improper craving, such is not the case here. Moreover, “Oh, that someone would give me” is a standard idiom for expressing a wish. Little did David view it as a command or envisage that it would be acted upon.

23:16–17 However, the three heroes overheard David and decided to take him at his word by procuring the water of which he had spoken. They made their way through the Philistine camp in the Valley of Rephaim and, traveling 13 miles (21 km) to Bethlehem, drew water from the well. It is unlikely that any fighting was involved on what was a risky nighttime mission.

When they presented the water to David, his reaction was not what they might have expected. He refused to drink it and instead “poured it out to the Lord” as a drink offering (the same verb as in Gen. 35:14; Ex. 25:29; 37:16). “Far be it from me” (cf. 2 Sam. 20:20) emphatically repudiates drinking water these men had obtained by hazarding their lives. Instead he dedicated to the Lord that which represented their blood, since blood was reserved for the Lord in Israel’s rituals.

Although David considered their conduct inappropriate in fulfilling what had been no more than a passing whim, his gesture reveals how highly he valued those who had joined him in his wanderings, just as their action discloses the extent of the loyalty he inspired in them. Such incidents disclose the caliber of those gathered around David.

23:18–19 The narrator next turns to a group of outstanding warriors known as “the thirty” (v. 24), even though verse 39 indicates there were thirty-seven such warriors. It is difficult to tell precisely what role they may have had in David’s early military organization. They may have been an elite fighting force or more probably were distinguished officers who formed his council of war.

Abishai, David’s nephew (1 Sam. 26:6), was “chief of the thirty,” their most outstanding member who later became “their commander” (2 Sam. 23:19). He “wielded his spear against three hundred men and killed them” (lit., “he was brandishing his spear over three hundred slain”), perhaps a gesture of triumph. Though not reckoned among “the three,” Abishai’s renown renders him worthy of a place alongside them.

23:20 Another prominent member of the thirty is Benaiah son of Jehoiada, whose father was a priest (1 Chron. 27:5) who had probably led a contingent of fighting priests (1 Chron. 12:27). He came from the city of Kabzeel in the extreme south of Judah and was known for his bravery in action. He commanded the king’s bodyguard (2 Sam. 23:23) before later leading the third division of the army (1 Chron. 27:5). At the time of Solomon’s accession, Benaiah killed Joab at the king’s command and succeeded him as the commander in chief of the Israelite forces (1 Kings 2:34–35).

In each of Benaiah’s three exploits, he acted by striking down (Hb. nakah; 2 Sam. 8:1) and killing. First it was recorded that “he struck down two ariels of Moab.” The meaning of the word “ariel” is so uncertain that it has merely been transliterated. The Septuagint reads “the two sons of Ariel of Moab,” treating the term as the name of a Moabite king. Others understand the term to mean “lion of God” (Syriac version) and thus treat it as a term for a mighty warrior or champion.

In a second feat, Benaiah “went down” into a pit where a lion had become trapped. Lions were found in the dense thickets on the banks of the Jordan. Probably cold weather had forced this lion to come closer than usual to a settlement, and its whereabouts were evident because of the snow. Benaiah acted bravely to remove this threat from the community.

23:21 A further achievement of Benaiah was to kill an Egyptian. As there was no known conflict between David and Egypt, this soldier was perhaps a mercenary in the Philistine army. He was a man of considerable height (1 Chron. 11:23). Though armed with no more than a “staff,” a stout stick, Benaiah attacked him and “snatched the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand” before thrusting it through him and killing him.

23:22–23 This summary statement of Benaiah’s exploits relates that he, as well as Abishai, “won a name beside the three” (v. 18), who are explicitly identified as “mighty men” (v. 9). However, he too is not numbered among the three (cf. v. 19).

23:24–39 Since many of the names of the thirty were unfamiliar to later scribes, it was very easy for transcription errors to occur, which are not always resolved by comparison with the parallel passage in 1 Chronicles 11:26–41a. Since Asahel the brother of Joab (2 Sam. 23:24) was killed while David was still reigning in Hebron (ch. 2), this group already existed at that time. David’s army was later organized into divisions, and the list of their commanders in 1 Chronicles 27 contains many of their names.

The order of the names of the thirty may be determined by when an individual joined David or was recognized as a member of this group—which would account for the preponderance of names from Judah, especially at the start of the list. But membership was not restricted on tribal grounds. Helez (v. 26), Benaiah (v. 30), and possibly Hiddai (v. 30) were northerners from Ephraim, while Abiezer (v. 27) and possibly Zalmon (v. 28) were from Benjamin, with Ittai (v. 29) coming from Saul’s hometown. The tribe of Dan is represented by Eliahba (v. 32), and Gad by Bani (v. 36). There are even non-Israelites: Igal (v. 36), Zelek (v. 37), and possibly Eliphelet (v. 34). The group was constituted on the grounds of recognized merit and loyal service in David’s cause.

Although Joab’s armor-bearer is listed in verse 37, there is no mention of Joab himself. While his name may have been suppressed because of his many acts of insubordination and his support for Adonijah in the succession crisis (1 Kings 1:7), it may simply be the case that he, along with David himself, was considered as ranking above these groups, and so there would be no sinister implications in the omission of his name.

The concluding annotation, “thirty-seven in all,” poses a problem, but not because the total is not precisely thirty. “The thirty” had become a conventional name for this group, and no attempt was made to maintain precisely thirty members. Indeed, further names are included in Chronicles. However, in verses 24–37 there are thirty-one persons named, plus the sons of Jashen (v. 32). Allowing for two sons and adding in Abishai (v. 18) and Benaiah (v. 20) increases the total to thirty-five. If Shammah the Hararite occurs in both verses 11 and 33, then a further two names (from “the three”) can also be included from verses 8–9 to yield a total of thirty-seven. This, however, involves a number of assumptions, and there are other ways of reckoning the total.

The inclusion of the final name, “Uriah the Hittite” (2 Samuel 11; 12), is a sad reminder that David was far from flawless and failed to maintain the standards of covenant kingship. This negative note prepares the way for the final section of the book.