2 Samuel 17:12

2Sa 17:12 So shall we come upon him in some place where he shall be found, and we will light upon him as the dew falleth on the ground: and of him and of all the men that [are] with him there shall not be left so much as one.

Ver. 12. So shall we come upon him.] We: q.d., I also will be one of the first and forwardest: that he might not seem to come short of Ahithophel, who had offered Absalom his service, both as a counsellor and as a commander.

There shall not be left so much as one.] Thus in every point he opposeth himself to Ahithophel, {2Sa 17:2} and is the rather heard.

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 17:12. We will light upon him as the dew falleth upon the ground — Plenteously, suddenly, irresistibly, and on all sides; for so the dew falls. This is very beautiful and expressive. “The dew in Palestine, as in several other climates, falls fast and sudden; and is therefore an apt emblem of an active and expeditious soldiery. And it was, perhaps, for this reason that the Romans called their light armed forces, rorarii. The dew falls upon every spot of the earth; not a blade of grass escapes it. A numerous army resembles it in this respect; it is able to search everywhere.” — Delaney.

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

Or, we will camp against him.

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

we will light upon him as the dew falleth on the ground--No image could have symbolized the sudden onset of an enemy so graphically to an Oriental mind as the silent, irresistible, and rapid descent of this natural moisture on every field and blade of grass.

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

12. as the dew] As the innumerable drops of dew settle on the ground unseen and unheard, so will our vast army completely overwhelm him without perceptible effort.

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.

Moreover, if he be gotten into a city,.... A strong fortified place, thinking to secure himself there, where he might hold out against those that were risen against him; the former part of the account supposes him in the field, where he would soon be detected, if hidden in a pit or any other place, or if he appeared openly would quickly be overthrown by the numerous forces of Absalom; and here it suggests, should he betake himself to a city for shelter:

then shall all Israel bring ropes to that city; scaling ropes, and thereby get upon and over the walls of it, and take it by storm; or engines worked with ropes, used for the demolishing of cities; so Tacitus speaks of "vincula tormentorum", the bands or ropes of engines, as Grotius observes; the Targum renders it by "armies", thus,"all Israel shall be gathered against the city, and surround it with armies,''besiege it in form, and so surround it that David could not possibly make his escape out of it, nor could it hold out long against such numerous forces; or this is an hyperbolical expression, as Kimchi calls it, signifying that their numbers would be so many, that they could soon and easily demolish it:

and we will draw it into the river; by the side of which it was built, or the ditch or trench around it, or the valley near it, that being built on an hill; and by this boasting, bragging, hyperbolical expression, he signifies that they should be able easily and utterly to destroy its walls, buildings, and towers, as if a number of men were to fasten a rope about anything, and by their main strength, and through their numbers, draw it down whither they pleased:

until there be not one small stone found there; and this being the case, David and his men must inevitably fall into their hands, and none escape.

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

As the dew - Like the drops of dew, in the vast number of our host, and in our irresistible and unavoidable descent upon our enemies.

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

Dew, which there falleth every night, in summer, like rain, Deuteronomy xxxiii. 28. Some of the light armed troops of the Romans were called Rorarii, because they fell upon the enemy, and began the battle.

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).

As the dew falleth on the ground, i. e. plenteously, suddenly, irresistibly, and on all sides; for so the dew falls.

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

In some place; Hebrew, in one of the places; one of the fortified camps already described in ver. 9.

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

As dew - That is, plenteously, suddenly, irresistibly, and on all sides; for so the dew falls.

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

"And come we to him (if we come upon him) in one of the places where he is found, we let ourselves down upon him, as the dew falls upon the earth; and of him and all the men with him there will not be one left." נחנוּ might be a contraction of אנחנוּ, as in Gen 42:11; Exo 16:7-8, etc.: "so we upon him," equivalent to "so shall we come upon him." But if this were the meaning, we should expect עליו והינוּ. It is more correct, therefore, to take נחנוּ ekat ot as the first pers. perf. of נוּח, as the early translators have done: so do we let ourselves down upon him. (For נוּח as applied to an army encamping, see Isa 7:2, Isa 7:19; and as denoting the swarming of flies and grasshoppers, Isa 7:19 and Exo 10:14.) In Ahithophel's opinion, it would be possible with a very small army to crush David and his little band, however brave his followers might be, and in fact to annihilate them altogether.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

And we will encamp upon him. We will encamp upon him language [denoting] camping as [we find], "It camped within the entire boorder of Mitzraim" [and] "Arom has camped opposite Ephraim."

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.