2 Samuel 15:28

2Sa 15:28 See, I will tarry in the plain of the wilderness, until there come word from you to certify me.

Ver. 28. See, I will tarry in the plain of the wilderness.] Where in times past he had lived, when he fled from Saul, and had found that God was not "a wilderness unto him, or a land of darkness." {Jer 2:31}

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.

(28) The plain of the wilderness.—This is the reading of the Hebrew margin here and at 2Sa_17:16, and is followed by the ancient versions. It is used for the wide valley of the Jordan in which Jericho is situated; but in both places the Hebrew text is better, the fords, both as a more definite place where messengers would find David, and also as a place of strategic importance where a retreat across the Jordan was open at any moment.

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

28. in the plain of the wilderness] The level district of the Jordan valley near Jericho, called elsewhere “the plains of Jericho.” Cp. Jos_5:10; 2Ki_25:5; and note on ch. 2Sa_2:29. Instead however of plains which is the traditional reading (Qrî), the written text (Kthîbh) has fords. This certainly seems the more probable reading both here and in ch. 2Sa_17:16, where there is the same variation, for a definite place must have been named at which the messenger was to find David, and the ford, as a critical point, would be a most natural halting place.

to certify me] To tell me how matters are going in the city.

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.

See, I will tarry in the plain of the wilderness,.... Towards the way of which David and the people went when they came over Kidron, Sa2 15:23,

until there come word from you to certify me; of the truth of the conspiracy, of the number of the conspirators, and who they are, what progress they have made, whether come to Jerusalem, and how they behave there, if come; or of anything relative hereunto he could get intelligence of.

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

28. I will tarry in the plain of the wilderness — This could be none other than the plain of Jericho. 2Ki_25:5. But the text reads עברית, which in the singular is rendered, 2Sa_19:18, a ferry-boat; and it is best to regard the plural, both here and in 2Sa_17:16, as equivalent to מעברות, crossing places, or fords. The crossing places of the desert would be the fords of the Jordan, which were on the eastern border of the desert. Furst renders it, in the outermost sides of the steppe.

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

In the plain of the wilderness. The Revised Version has "at the fords of the wilderness," that is, it rightly keeps to the written Hebrew text (the K"tib), while the Authorized Version adopts a conjecture of the Massorites (the K"ri). This conjecture is the substitution of arboth for abroth, and they have made the same alteration at, 2Sa_17:16. But the substitution is uncalled for and mischievous; for David would not halt indefinitely in the plain, the Arabah (of which Arboth is the plural) but would press on to the fords, where some delay must take place, and where the king"s presence would be important in giving instructions for what was by no means an easy operation. (comp. 2Sa_19:18) At the river, moreover, David could be assailed only in front, where his "mighties" would make a strong defence, while in the Arabah they might be surrounded; and, encumbered as they were with women, their line must be so extended as to be weakened. We find, too, in Jud_1:3:28 that the fords of the Jordan formed a good military position. In 2Sa_17:22 it is expressly said that the fording of the river did not take place until Jonathan and Ahimaaz came with their reports; and their words there, in ver, 21, show that David was on the bank when they arrived, with his preparations so complete, that, in the next few hours, all his company were safely carried over to the other side. Ahimaaz was a famous runner, (see 2Sa_18:27) and, if David was ready, the time gained by him upon any body of troops leaving Jerusalem at the same hour, would have enabled the king to get his people across; but if he had still some miles to march, with a number of women and children, Ahimaaz"s fleetness would have been rendered useless.

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