2 Samuel 17:25

2Sa 17:25 And Absalom made Amasa captain of the host instead of Joab: which Amasa [was] a man’s son, whose name [was] Ithra an Israelite, that went in to Abigail the daughter of Nahash, sister to Zeruiah Joab’s mother.

Ver. 25. Ithra an Israelite,] sc, For his faith and religion, as by nature he was an Ishmaelite. {1Ch 7:17}

That went in to Abigail,] i.e., Married her; went in to the wedding chamber to her, as Jdg 15:1.

The daughter of Nahash.] Otherwise called Ishai, the father of David; wherefore many Greek copies for Naas have Jesse, and both Josephus and Jerome affirm him to be the same. Kimchi thinketh he was called Nahash, or Serpent, per antiphrasin, as being void of venom or bitterness.

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 17:25. Absalom made Amasa captain of the host — Amasa was another of David’s nephews, the son of his sister Abigail. The daughter of Nahash — Nahash was one of Jesse’s wives, by whom he had this Abigail, the mother of Amasa, as he had Zeruiah, the mother of Joab, by another wife; so that they were sisters by the father, but not by the mother, and Joab and Amasa were cousins.

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

CRITICAL AND EXPOSITORY NOTES.

2Sa_17:25. “An Israelite.” Rather, as in 1Ch_2:17, an Ishmaelite. He was an illegitimate son. “From the description here given of Abigail as a daughter of Nahash and sister of Zeruiah, not of David, some of the earlier commentators have very justly concluded that Abigail and Zeruiah were only step-sisters of David, i.e., daughters of his mother by Nahash and not by Jesse.” (Keil). Otherwise we must either take Nahash as a woman’s name or as another name for David’s father.

2Sa_17:27. “Shobi.” “Possibly a son of Nahash, the deceased king of the Ammonites, and brother of Hanun, who was defeated by David (2Sa_10:1), and one of those to whom David had shown kindness when Rabbah was taken.” (Keil). “Maohir.” (See 2Sa_9:4.) “Rogelim.” Only mentioned here and in 2Sa_19:32, and otherwise unknown.

2Sa_17:28. “Basons.” Metal vessels for cooking.

2Sa_17:29. “Batter.” “Rather, curdled milk, which being mixed with the honey, forms a light and refreshing beverage.” (Song Son_4:11). (Jamieson). “Cheese of kine.” “Slices of coagulated milk.” (Jamieson).

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—2Sa_17:25-29

DAVID AT MAHANAIM

I. That help is the most effectual which is most fitted to supply the present need. Although the seat of David’s distress at this time was in the mind rather than in the body, the goodwill of his friends in Gilead could have been expressed in no more acceptable manner at this moment than by giving to him and his followers food and the means of bodily rest. The events of the past day must have told greatly upon David’s body, and he, in common with the most ordinary man, must sometimes submit to be at the mercy of his animal organism. He was at this moment most likely incapable of appreciating anything of a spiritual nature so highly as this kindly provision for his material wants. That is the true and real sympathy which discerns the most pressing need of the present moment, and hastens to supply it to the best of its ability. For those wrung with the deepest anguish of soul cannot ignore the demands of the body, and solace to a wounded spirit sometimes enters by this channel. When Elijah, in bitterness of soul, lay down in the wilderness and prayed for death, the first step which God took to restore his spiritual strength was to provide food for his body (1Ki_19:6-8). The goodwill, also, which is expressed by such a ministration, is a direct balm to a soul in sorrow.

II. Even self-love should prompt men to a generous treatment of those beneath them. The reversals of position which are continually taking place in human life ought to teach men wisdom in this matter. Human beings are continually changing places, the servant becomes the master, and he who rules to-day may soon be at the mercy of those whom he now commands. When David set the crown of Ammon upon his own head (2Sa_12:30) it did not seem likely that in a few years he would be a fugitive from his kingdom and indebted to the good offices of an Ammonite prince. But this had now come to pass, and any kindness which he then showed to those whom he conquered was now returned with interest, or, if he had upon that occasion been unduly harsh, the magnanimity of Nahash must have smitten him with remorse. If we would in adversity receive the favours of others without self-reproach we must beware lest in prosperity we forget the claims of those over whom for a time God has exalted us.

OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS

The same God that raised enmity to David from his own loins, procured him favour from foreigners: strangers shall relieve him, whom his own son persecutes: here is not a loss, but an exchange of love. Had Absalom been a son of Ammon, and Shobi a son of David, David had found no cause of complaint. If God takes with one hand, he gives with another; while that divine bounty serves us in good meat, though not in our dishes, we have good reason to be thankful. No sooner is David come to Mahanaim, than Barzillai, Machir, and Shobi, refresh him with provisions. Who ever saw any child of God left utterly destitute? Whosoever be the messenger of our aid, we know whence he comes: heaven shall want power, and earth means, before any of the household of faith shall want maintenance.—Bp. Hall.

The faithfulness of human love is not only the copy, but also the means and instrument of the Divine love, granted to those who bow humbly beneath God’s hand and wholly trust Him.—Lange’s Commentary.

David was received with kindness in the land of Gilead, on the east of Jordan, at a time when he was driven by his own son out of his own capital, Jerusalem, in his own tribe. The Jews rejected Christ, but the gospel was gladly received by Samaritans (Act_8:4-6) and by the Gentiles (Act_13:46-48; Act_28:28).—Wordsworth.

It has been conjectured with much probability that as the first sleep of that evening was commemorated in the fourth Psalm, so in the third is expressed the feeling of David’s thankfulness at the final close of those twenty-four hours, of which every detail has been handed down, as if with the consciousness of their importance at the time. He had “laid him down in peace” that night and slept; for in that great defection of man “the Lord alone had caused him to dwell in safety.” The tradition of the Septuagint ascribes the 143rd Psalm to the time “when his son was pursuing him.” Some at least of its contents might well belong to that night (2Sa_17:2; 2Sa_17:8). There is another group of Psalms, the 41st, the 55th, the 69th, and the 109th, in which a long popular belief has seen an amplification of David’s bitter cry, “O Lord, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.” Many of the circumstances agree. The dreadful imprecations in these Psalms—unequalled for vehemence in any other part of the sacred writings—correspond with the passion of David’s own expressions. The greatness, too, of Ahithophel himself in the history is worthy of the importance ascribed to the object of those awful maledictions. That oracular wisdom which made his house a kind of shrine (2Sa_15:31) seems to move the spirit of the sacred writer with an involuntary admiration. Everywhere he is treated with a touch of awful reverence. When he dies, the interest of the plot ceases, and his death is given with an awful grandeur, quite unlike the mixture of the terrible and the contemptible which has sometimes gathered round the end of those whom the religious sentiment of mankind has placed under its ban. When “he hanged himself, and died” he was buried, not like an excommunicated outcast, but like a venerable Patriarch ‘in the sepulchre of his father.’ ”—Stanley.

The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.

17:25 According to 1 Chr 2:15-16, Abigail and Zeruiah were David’s sisters. But since Abigail is called the daughter of Nahash, she and Zeruiah were apparently David’s half sisters (Nahash was probably their father; his widow would then have married Jesse and given birth to David and his brothers).

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

Who was also called Jesse David’s Father.

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

Amasa--By the genealogy it appears that this captain stood in the same relation to David as Joab, both being his nephews. Of course, Amasa was Absalom's cousin, and though himself an Israelite, his father was an Ishmaelite (Ch1 2:17).

Nahash--is thought by some to be another name of Jesse, or according to others, the name of Jesse's wife.

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 25. Amasa captain of the host] From the account in this verse, it appears that Joab and Amasa were sisters' children, and both nephews to David.

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

(25) Amasa.—Joab having adhered to David and gone away with him, Absalom chose his cousin to succeed him as commander-in-chief.

Ithra an Israelite.—Called in 1Ch_2:17. Jether the Ishmeelite. Jether and Ithra are merely different forms of the same name; but Israelite is probably an error for Ishmeelite. The LXX. has, in the Alexandrian copy, Ishmaelite, and in the Vatican, Jezreelite.

Abigail the daughter of Nahash.—Since this Abigail is said to be “sister to Zeruiah,” and in 1Ch_2:16 both Abigail and Zeruiah are said to be the sisters of Jesse’s sons, it follows, either that sister is used in the sense of half-sister, or else that Nahash, usually a man’s name, was the name of Jesse’s wife. It is impossible to decide certainly. The Jewish tradition that Nahash is another name for Jesse has no support.

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

25. Amasa] It has been supposed by some that he is the same as Amasai who came to David at Hebron (1Ch_12:16-18). But if so, would not the fact of his relationship to David have been mentioned there?

Ithra an Israelite] Called in 1Ch_2:17 Jether the Ishmeelite. Jether and Ithra are different forms of the same name: and Ishmaelite should probably be read here in place of Israelite, which has no point. The Alex. MS. of the LXX reads Ishmaelite, the Vatican MS. Jezreelite.

Abigal the daughter of Nahash] Amasa’s mother Abigal (or Abigail) was David’s sister, and we should naturally infer from 1Ch_2:16-17 that Abigail and Zeruiah were Jesse’s daughters. Who then was Nahash? To this three answers may be given. (1) The obvious one, that she was Jesse’s wife, to which the objection is that Nahash is not a woman’s name. (2) That Nahash is another name for Jesse, which is the Jewish tradition, but is not supported by any evidence. (3) That Nahash was the first husband of Jesse’s wife, so that Abigail and Zeruiah were only step-sisters to David. This view has in its favour the guarded statement of 1Ch_2:16, which does not say that they were Jesse’s daughters, but sisters of his sons. To go on to identify Nahash with the king of the Ammonites defeated by Saul is mere conjecture. It should be noted that Amasa and Joab were cousins.

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.

So Israel and Absalom pitched in the land of Gilead. Which belonged to the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh; here the Israelites that were with Absalom encamped, in order to give battle to David and his men.

So Israel and Absalom pitched in the land of Gilead. Which belonged to the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh; here the Israelites that were with Absalom encamped, in order to give battle to David and his men.

2 Samuel 17:27

sa2 17:27

sa2 17:27

sa2 17:27And it came to pass, when David was come to Mahanaim,.... When he first came thither, Sa2 17:24,

that Shobi the son of Nahash of Rabbah of the children of Ammon: who was either the son, or rather the brother of Hanun king of the Ammonites, that used David's ambassadors in so shameful a manner, whom David overcame and deposed, and set up this brother in his room; who had showed his dislike of his brother's conduct, and now makes a grateful return to David for his favours; though some say this was Hanun himself, as Jarchi, now become a proselyte, which is not so likely; others take this man to be an Israelite that continued in Rabbah, the metropolis of the Ammonites, after it was taken by David:

and Machir the son of Ammiel of Lodebar; the same that brought up Mephibosheth, from whom David received him and took him off of his hands, for which now he requited him, see Sa2 9:5,

and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim; a place that lay under the hills of Gilead (y); it had its name from the "fullers" who dwelt here for the convenience of fountains of water to wash their clothes in.

(y) Fuller's Pisgah-View, B. 2. c. 3. sect. 10. p. 94.

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

Ithra an Israelite - Or “Jether the Ishmeelite” 1Ch 2:17. “Ithra” and “Jether” are practically the same names. “Israelite” in the text is wrong. It should be either “Ishmaelite” or “Jezreelite” 2Sa 3:2.

Abigail the daughter of Nahash - If Zeruiah and Abigail were Jesse’s daughters, the only probable way of reconciling our text with 1Ch 2:16-17, is to suppose that Nahash was Jesse’s wife. If Zeruiah and Abigail were only sisters of David by the mother, then Nahash might be the name of her first husband.

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

Jazrael, or Israel. (Du Hamel) --- Gortius would read Ismael, as 1 Paralipomenon ii. 17, Jether, the Ismaelite. (Haydock) --- Went in. This expressing makes Sanchez believe that Amasa was illegitimate. (Menochius) --- Naas is either the name of Isai’s wife, or rather the latter had both names, 1 Paralipomenon ii. 13, 16. Septuagint read Jesse, in the edition of Complutensian; in others, Naas. (Calmet) --- Joab; so that these two were own cousins, and both nephews of David.

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).

Ithra an Israelite.

Object. He was an Ishmaelite, 1Ch 2:17.

Answ. Not Amasa; but Ithra, or Jether, Amasa’s father, is there so called, because he was such, either by his birth from such parents, or by his long habitation among them, or for some other reason now unknown. Compare 2Sa 15:18. And Amasa is here called an Israelite, either because he was a proselyte; or in opposition to Joab, who was of the tribe of Judah, as Amasa was of one of the ten tribes; or rather, to intimate, that although he or his parents were called Ishmaelites for some reason, yet as to their extraction they were indeed Israelites; which if Amasa had not been, it is not probable that he could have had so powerful an influence upon the tribe of Judah as he had, 2Sa 19:14.

That went in to Abigail, i.e. lay with her, whether being first married to her, or not, is uncertain.

The daughter of Nahash. Nahash is either another name of Jesse; or rather, the name of Jesse’s wife; by whom he had this Abigail, as he had Zeruiah by another wife; so they were sisters by the father, but not by the mother; and Nahash is here named to signify so much.

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

Ithra an Israelite. In 1Ch_2:17 he is called "Jether the Ishmeelite." The first name is the same, Ithra being the emphatic form of Jether; and as it is difficult to find a reason for mentioning so ordinary a fact as that his father was an Israelite, we may conclude that "Ishmeelite" is the correct reading. Bishop Wordsworth, however, suggests that "Israelite" was in contrast to "Judahite;" but this distinction did not come into use until after the disruption of the kingdom. The Vatican text of the Septuagint has "Jezreelite," which is probably a conjecture to get rid of the obvious error of calling him an Israelite. Amasa was an illegitimate son, which confirms the reading "Ishmeelite" in 1Ch_2:17, as a marriage between Abigail and a foreigner would be sure to be opposed by all the members of Jesse"s family. Nahash. Jewish interpreters regard Nahash (equivalent to "serpent as another name for Jesse, quoting in proof, "Out of the root of Nahash (the serpent) shall come forth the basilisk", (Isa_14:29) which in the Chaldee Paraphrase is explained as meaning, "out of the root of Jesse shall come forth the Messiah." This conceit would scarcely have deserved mention, had it not found a place in the margin of the Authorized Version. Some few commentators regard Nahash as a woman"s name, and think that she was a wife of Jesse, and mother of Abigail and Zerniah, but not of David. But Nahash is so constantly a man"s name that it is easier to believe that Nahash was the first husband of David"s mother, and Abigail and Zerniah his half-sisters, not on the father"s, but on the mother"s side. Joab and his brothers are always described as sons of Zeruiah, both to mark their relationship to David, and also because the rank was on her side. Amasa was probably the Amasai mentioned in 1Ch_12:18 as bringing a powerful reinforcement to David while at Ziklag; but the ambition of supplanting Joab made him now forget David"s long friendship.

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

Nahash - Nahash is the name of Jesse's wife, by whom he had this Abigail, as he had Zeruiah by another wife; so they were sisters by the father, but not by the mother.

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

Absalom had made Amasa captain over his army instead of Joab, who had remained true to David, and had gone with his king to Mahanaim. Amasa was the son of a man named Jithra, היּשׂראלי, who had gone in to (i.e., had seduced) Abigail, the daughter of Nahash and sister of Zeruiah, Joab's mother. He was therefore an illegitimate cousin of Joab. The description given of Jithra as ישׂראלי is very striking, since there was no reason whatever why it should be stated that Amasa's father was an Israelite. The Seventy have therefore given ὁ Ἰεζραηλίτης, i.e., sprung from Jezreel, where David's wife Ahinoam came from (Sa1 27:3); but they have done so apparently from mere conjecture. The true reading is evidently היּשׁמעאלי, an Ishmaelite, according to Ch1 2:17, where the name is written Jether, a contracted form of Jithra. From the description given of Abigail as a daughter of Nahash and sister of Zeruiah, not of David, some of the earlier commentators have very justly concluded that Abigail and Zeruiah were only step-sisters of David, i.e., daughters of his mother by Nahash and not by Jesse.

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.)

The daughter of Nochosh. This is Yeshai, Dovid's father. Our Rabbis said that [Yeshai] died without sin [but only] because of the serpent's counsel.

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.