2 Samuel 15:27

2Sa 15:27 The king said also unto Zadok the priest, [Art not] thou a seer? return into the city in peace, and your two sons with you, Ahimaaz thy son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar.

Ver. 27. Art not thou a seer?] i.e., A prophet. {1Sa 9:9} And is it not, therefore, fit that thou shouldst abide with the people to teach and instruct them in the will of God according to thine office especially, since in so doing, thou mayst also do me singular good service?

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.

2Sa 15:27. Art thou not a seer? Return into the city in peace — “It should seem from hence,” says Delaney, “that Zadok was a prophet: however, as a priest, he was a teacher; and as such, bound to stay with his people in the greatest exigencies, and instruct them in their duty: besides that, by staying to do his duty to his people, he might also do good offices to his prince.” Indeed, the word ראה, roeh, here rendered seer, means also a seeing, discerning and observing man: an interpretation which suits well with the present state of David’s mind and affairs. As if he had said, Thou art a wise man, fit to make observations on what is passing in Jerusalem, and to give me information thereof. Accordingly David concerted a plan, both with Zadok and Abiathar, of corresponding with him, and sending him intelligence of all his enemies’ measures by their sons, Ahimaaz and Jonathan.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15:27 Ahimaaz and Jonathan supported David during Absalom’s coup d’etat by serving as his secret messengers (see 15:36; 17:17-22).

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

Verse 27. Art not thou a seer? return into the city in peace] That is, As thou art the only organ of the public worship, that worship cannot be carried on without thee; and as thou art the priest of God, thou hast no cause to fear for thy personal safety: the nation has not abandoned their God, though they have abandoned their king. It appears also, that he wished these priests, by means of their sons, Ahimaaz the son of Zadok, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar, to send him frequent intelligence of the motions and operations of the enemy.

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

(27) Art not thou a seer?—The Hebrew is difficult, and must be translated either. Art thou a seer? or, with a very slight change in a vowel, as an address, Thou seer. Zadok is so called because he was now in some sort to fulfil the office of a prophet in guiding David’s course, and also in making known to him the events taking place in Jerusalem which would show God’s will concerning him. Nothing is said in any part of this narrative of Nathan and Gad, both of whom were certainly still living (2Sa_24:11; 2Sa_24:13-14; 1Ki_1:11).

Your two sons with you.—Zadok only has been mentioned, and probably Abiathar was not present at the moment, but David shows by this way of speaking that he means to address them both.

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

27. Art not thou a seer] An obscure expression variously explained. (1) Art thou a seer? The high-priest is supposed to be called a seer, because he received divine revelations by means of the Urim and Thummim; but there is no trace of such a use of the term elsewhere. (2) Dost thou see? i.e. understand: an untenable rendering. (3) The Vulg. gives different vowels to the consonants, and renders, O seer, return, &c. (4) The Sept. reads, See! thou shalt return, which requires but a small change in the Heb. text, and is probably the best solution of the difficulty.

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 the king said unto Zadok the priest, art not thou a seer?.... A prophet, as well as a priest; see Sa1 9:9; or a seeing, knowing, man; one that can penetrate into men and things, and so might be of more service to David at Jerusalem than with him: wherefore he said to him:

return into the city in peace; to the city of Jerusalem with peace, quietness, and satisfaction of mind; where he doubted not, at least hoped and wished, he would be in safety and prosperity, being one of the Lord's priests:

and your two sons with you, Ahimaaz thy son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar; the one was of the line of Eleazar, and the other of the line of Ithamar.

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

Art not those a seer? - If the text be correct, the sense would be, “Art thou not a seer? therefore go back to the city, and observe, and certify me of what thou seest” 2Sa 15:28. Others, by a slight alteration of the original text, read “Art not thou a chief” (priest), etc.

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

Seer, supposing he was high priest, along with Abiathar, he might be thus addressed as one who consulted God by the ephod, as he might also, if he presided over the prophets, like Chonenias, 1 Paralipomenon xv. 22. (Dionysius) (Menochius) --- Hebrew, "Art not thou a seer?" a prudent man, who may be of greater service to me in the city; (Haydock; or) seest thou not "the state of my affairs?" Septuagint, "See and return." Follow my advice, or then act as your own wisdom dictates. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The king said also unto Zadok; either because Abiathar was gone from him, 2Sa 15:24, and not yet returned; or because David put more confidence in Zadok.

A seer, i.e. either,

1. A prophet, for such were called seers, 1Sa 9:9; 2Sa 24:11; Amo 7:12. And such he may be called, either because he really had the gift of prophecy or because as the name of prophets is sometimes given to those who had not prophetical gifts, but were only officers and minsters devoted to and employed in God’s worship and service, as 1Sa 10:5, &c.; 1Ki 18:4,13; compare 1Ch 25:1-3; so it is reasonable that the name of seers be extended to the same latitude; and therefore he may properly and fitly be called a

seer, as he was with and under Abiathar the chief governor of the house and worship of God; who, by his office, was to instruct and direct the people in those matters, whereby he had many opportunities both of sifting out Absalom’s counsels, and of minding the people of their duty to David, as he saw opportunity: which sense suits well with David’s scope and design. Or,

2. A seeing, or discerning, or observing man; for so the Hebrew verb raah is oft used. And this suits well with David’s mind: Thou art a wise man, and therefore fit to manage this great business, which requires prudence and secrecy.

In peace; as men of peace, giving over all thoughts of war, and devoting yourselves entirely to God’s service.

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

27. Art not thou a seer — Luther, after the Vulgate, renders the words as an exclamation, Thou seer! On the word, see 1Sa_9:9. As seer he could best serve the king by remaining in Jerusalem, and thence secretly sending him word of all that might be of advantage to him to know.

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

Art thou (not) a seer? Both the Authorized Version and the Revised Version evade the difficulty of this passage by inserting the word "not." It is one of the merits of the Revised Version that usually it does not take these liberties. But "Art thou a seer?" is meaningless; and the attempts, moreover, to show that Zadok was a seer fail entirely in proof. The receiving revelations by Urim and Thummim was a priestly, and not a prophetic, function. Without altering the text, the words may be correctly translated, "Seest thou?" This was probably a colloquial phrase, of which the Septuagint gives the sense by rendering it in the imperative, "See;" while the Syriac, regarding it as an expletive, boldly omits it.

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

A seer - A seeing, discerning, or observing man: for so the Hebrew verb raah is often used. And this suits well with David's mind: Thou art a wise man, and therefore fit to manage this great business, which requires prudence and secrecy.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Ahimaaz

This is the name of a man. (See: How to Translate Names)

Abiathar

See how you translated this man's name in 2 Samuel 8:17.

Are you not a seer?

This rhetorical question is used to rebuke Zadok and can be translated as a statement. AT: "You will be able to find out what is happening." (See: Rhetorical Question)

See

Here this word means for the listener to pay attention to what is said next. AT: "Listen"

until word comes from you

This refers to him sending a messenger to the king. AT: "until you send a messenger to me to inform me" (See: Metonymy)

to inform me

Here the king implies he is to receive a message informing him about what is happening in Jerusalem. AT: "to tell me what is happening in Jerusalem" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

translationWords

priest

prophet

Jonathan

Arabah

word

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

If you see this [as right]. I you see this as a good idea, "return to the city etc.

Your two sons with you. It will be in their power to inform me what they hear in the king's palace. And based on what they inform me I can escape.

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.