2 Samuel 10:16

2Sa 10:16 And Hadarezer sent, and brought out the Syrians that [were] beyond the river: and they came to Helam; and Shobach the captain of the host of Hadarezer [went] before them.

Ver. 16. And Hadarezar sent.] He is elsewhere called Hadadezar: Daleth and Resh ( ã and ø) being letters very like one to another. Hence some collect probably that the Hebrew letters had the same figure of old as now they have, and therefore were not the same with the Samaritan charactars. The Samaritan Jod is one of the largest; but the Hebrew Jod is one of the least letters, whence that of our Saviour. {Mat 5:18} {Hebrew Text Note}

And they came to Helam.] A place nowhere else mentioned in Scripture. Perhaps it was the same town of the Arabes Trachonitae, {a} which Ptolemy calleth Alamtha.

{a} Junius.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

10:16 Hadadezer: See study note on 10:1. • Helam is unknown. • Apparently David had extended his empire as far north as the Euphrates River (see also study note on 8:3).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Or, Hadarezer.

Or, Euphrates.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

THE SYRIANS DEFEATED. (Sa2 10:15-19)

Hadarezer sent and brought out the Syrians that were beyond the river--This prince had enjoyed a breathing time after his defeat (Sa2 8:3). But alarmed at the increasing power and greatness of David, as well as being an ally of the Ammonites, he levied a vast army not only in Syria, but in Mesopotamia, to invade the Hebrew kingdom. Shobach, his general, in pursuance of this design, had marched his troops as far as Kelam, a border town of eastern Manasseh, when David, crossing the Jordan by forced marches, suddenly surprised, defeated, and dispersed them. As a result of this great and decisive victory, all the petty kingdoms of Syria submitted and became his tributaries (see on Ch1 19:1).

Next: 2 Samuel Chapter 11

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 16. The Syrians that were beyond the river] That is, the Euphrates.

Hadarezer] This is the same that was overthrown by David, 2Sa 8:3 and there called Hadadezer; which is the reading here of about thirty of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS. But the ר resh and ד daleth are easily interchanged.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(16) Hadarezer.—On the form of the name see Note on 2Sa_8:3. He felt the importance of the defeat he had sustained, and now evidently made an effort to rally all his forces, even calling together vassal tribes from beyond the Euphrates.

They came to Helam.—The Hebrew word here is not necessarily a proper name, and might be translated their host; but as the name unquestionably occurs in 2Sa_10:17, it is better taken as a proper name here also. It is entirely omitted in Chronicles. Its exact situation is unknown, but from 2Sa_8:3; 1Ch_18:3, it is plain that it was in the general direction of the Euphrates and not very far from Hamath.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15–19. Renewed attack of the Syrians. Their total defeat

16. And Hadarezer sent, &c.] The correct form of his name is probably Hadadezer. See note on ch. 2Sa_8:3. He now mustered his vassals and tributaries (2Sa_10:19) from beyond “the river,” i.e. the Euphrates. “Brought out” = caused to take the field: it is the causative voice of the verb “to go out,” which is the technical term for going out to war (1Sa_8:20; 2Sa_11:1).

and they came to Helam] The words might be translated and their force came; but on the whole it is preferable to take Helam as a proper name, as in 2Sa_10:17. It has been proposed to identify it with Alamata, a town west of the Euphrates, but it is nowhere else mentioned, and its site is quite uncertain. This clause is omitted in Chronicles, where also in place of and came to Helam in the next verse we read and came upon them, so that the name of the place is altogether omitted there.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Hadarezer sent,.... The same with Hadadezer, Sa2 8:3, who was at the head of this confederacy, and to whom the rest of the kings of Syria were servants, Sa2 10:19,

and brought out the Syrians that were beyond the river; the river Phrat or Euphrates, as the Targum; so the Arabic version and Josephus (y), who says, that he hired them:

and they came to Helam; which, according to the same writer, was king of the Syrians beyond Euphrates; but it seems to be the name of a place, where was the general rendezvous of the Syrian army. Junius conjectures that it is the same with the Alamatha of Ptolemy (z), which he places with the Trachonite Arabs near the Euphrates:

and Shobach the captain of the host of Hadarezer went before them: before the whole combined army, which according to Josephus (a), consisted of eighty thousand foot, and ten thousand horse: this general is called Shophach, Ch1 19:16 the letters "B" and "P" being of the same pronunciation in the Hebrew tongue, as Kimchi observes, though it is there read "Shobach", in the Syriac and Arabic versions; he was no doubt a very able, valiant, and skilful general, since he is particularly mentioned by name, and whose name was then famous; the Arabic version calls him a spear bearer of Hadarezer.

(y) Ut supra, (Antiqu. l. 7. c. 6.) sect. 3. (z) Geograph. l. 5. c. 15. (a) Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 7. c. 6. sect. 3.)

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Helam - The place is unknown. Some prefer the translation of the Latin Vulgate: “their host came.”

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Hadarezer; the same with Hadadezer, 2Sa 8:3.

The Syrians that were beyond the river; who having engaged themselves in the former expedition, as was noted before, were now obliged to proceed in their own defence, being also persuaded and hired to this second expedition, 2Sa 10:19. Shobach, or Shopach, 1Ch 19:16.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

16. Brought out the Syrians… beyond the river — By which act he seems to have lost his dominion in that border. See 2Sa_8:3. When the Syrian cities beyond the Euphrates learned that their king had been smitten by the army of David they openly renounced their allegiance to the kingdom of Zobah.

Helam — A place somewhere beyond the Jordan, and probably near the borders of Syria; but its situation has never been discovered.

Shobach the captain — Who was to Hadarezer’s army what Joab was to David’s.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Hadarezer. (see note on 2Sa_8:3) Hadarezer probably had been well content to let his subjects receive the pay of the Ammonites, and extend his empire at their cost. But as paramount king in Aram, the defeat of the mercenaries obliged him to make the war a national affair, and undertake the management of it himself. He therefore summons troops from all the Aramean states on both sides of the Euphrates, and places his own general, Shobach, in command, and makes Helam the place of gathering. Helam. No such place is known, and the word might mean "their army," in which case the translation would be, "and they came in full force." The Vulgate takes it in this way, but makes the verb the causative singular, and translates, "and he brought their army." On the other hand, the LXX, the Syriac, and the Chaldee make it a proper name here, as even the Vulgate necessarily does in ver. 17, where there can be no doubt. In the parallel place (1Ch_19:16, 1Ch_19:17) it is omitted in the first place, and in the second we find in its stead, "upon them." Either, therefore, the chronicler did not know of such a place, or the text is corrupt. Ewald and others suppose that Helam may be identified with Alamata; but we learn 1Ch_18:3 that the battle was fought near Hamath, and Alamata is on the Euphrates, too far away for David to have made his attack there.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Shovach the commander of Hadarezer's aray. Because he was very mighty and powerful, he is mentioned by name.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.