2 Samuel 2:16

2Sa 2:16 And they caught every one his fellow by the head, and [thrust] his sword in his fellow’s side; so they fell down together: wherefore that place was called Helkathhazzurim, which [is] in Gibeon.

Ver. 16. And they caught every one his fellow.] With such eagerness and fury met these gallants, that each in others’ side

“ Capulo tenus abdidit ensem, ”

sheathed his sword, for a proof of his valour. Talis fait Cadmaea Tugna. But was this valour, or madness rather? Courage or outrage, whether? Josephus saith - but not well - that Abner’s twelve men only were slain. {a}

Helkathhazzurim,] i.e., The field of strong men, or of rocks, i.e., of those that stood firm as rocks, till they fell in the place.

{a} Aliis placet agellum mucronum reddi. - Jun.

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.

Meaning, his adversary.

Or, the field of strong men.

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

Verse 16. Caught every one his fellow by the head] Probably by the beard, if these persons were not too young to have one, or by the hair of the head. Alexander ordered all the Macedonians to shave their beards; and being asked by Parmenio why they should do so, answered, "Dost thou not know that in battle there is no better hold than the beard?"

Helkath-hazzurim] "The portion of the mighty;" or, "The inheritance of those who were slain," according to the Targum.

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

(16) Helkath – hazzurim is interpreted in the margin “the field of strong men,” but the etymology is very doubtful. Most modern expositors understand it as meaning “the field of sharp edges.”

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

16. And they caught, &c.] Self-defence was forgotten in the ferocity of the struggle, and all the combatants fell together by a mutual slaughter.

Helkath-hazzurim] This obscure name is variously explained as the field or plat, (a) of sharp edges, in allusion to the swords which proved so fatal; (b) of strong men, literally rocks, from the rock-like obstinacy with which they fought; so the Vulg. ager robustorum; (c) of plotters, the rendering of the LXX. (μερὶς τῶν ἐπιβούλων), which involves a slight change in the Hebrew word, implying that there was some foul play in the combat; (d) of sides, according to a conjectural emendation suggested in the Speaker’s Commentary, in allusion to the phrase “thrust his sword in his fellow’s side.” Either the first or second explanation is the most probable.

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 they caught everyone his fellow by the head,.... By the hair of his head with his hand:

and thrust his sword in his fellow's side; which he had in the other:

so they fell down together; the twelve on each side, all the twenty four; some think only the twelve on Abner's side fell; but to me it seems that they all fell dead as one man, since they thrust their swords in each other's sides:

wherefore that place was called Helkathhazzurim, which is in Gibeon; the field of rocks, or of mighty men as strong as rocks, who stood as immovable, and would not give way, but fell and died in the field of battle; the Targum interprets it, the inheritance of the slain.

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

Compare Livy’s history of the battle between the Horatii and Curiatii. This combat, like that, may have been proposed as a means of avoiding the effusion of blood of two nations united by consanguinity, and having a common powerful enemy in the Philistines.

Helkath-hazzurim - i. e. “the part, field, or plat Gen 23:19 of the sharp edges or blades.” This seems, on the whole, the best explanation of this rather obscure name.

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

Together. Some understand this only of Abner’s soldiers, as the original may be explained: "And they (David’s men) caught every on one his," &c. But it is more generally believed that all fell. (Calmet) --- Rufin has erroneously translated Josephus in the former sense, and has lead Comestor, Lyranus, &c., into this opinion. (Tirinus) --- Valiant. Hebrew, "the portion of the smooth stones, (hatsurim, 1 Kings xvii. 40. or) of the brave." (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).

By the head; by the hair of the head, which after their manner was of a considerable length, and therefore gave their enemy advantage; which every one of them endeavoured to get, and to improve against the other.

Helkath-hazzurim, or

the field of rocks, i. e. of men who stood like rocks, unmovable, each one dying upon the spot where he fought.

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

16. By the head — By the hair of the head or by the beard. Alexander, before entering into battle, ordered his men to shave their beards, because, said he, “in battle there is no better hold for the enemy than a beard.”

They fell down together — The whole twenty-four of them. “The left-handed Benjamites, and the right-handed men of Judah — their sword hands thus coming together — seized each his adversary by the head, and the whole number fell by the mutual wounds they received.” — Stanley.

Helkath-hazzurim — Hebrew, smoothness of the rocks; apparently in reference to a smooth, rocky surface on which the combatants fought. Other explanations of the name have been given, as, the field of the plotters; field of strong men; field of swords; field of sharp edges; but none of them are sufficiently careful of the meaning of the Hebrew words.

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

His sword in his fellow"s side. The absence of the verb in the original sets powerfully before us the rapidity of the whole action. But what an action! Twenty-four experienced men each take the other by the head, and, without any attempt at self-defence, thrust their swords into their opponents" side, and leave their own sides exposed to a similar thrust. Were they, then, unskilful in the use of weapons? Impossible. Were they blinded by hatred of one another? But no rancour would make a man forget his skill in defence. Here there is no variety, no checkered fortune of the combatants, but all twenty-four do and suffer just the same; and it is remarkable that they had swords only, and no shields. With shields on their arms, they could not have seized one another by the hair. It seems certain, therefore, that this mutual butchery was the "play;" nor can we conceive of a more murderous and savage proceeding. Abner, at the head of his fierce Benjamites, thought, perhaps, that Joab had no men among his followers willing to throw life away in so senseless a manner. But Joab was as ready as Abner, and possibly some code of false honour, such as used to make men practise duelling, required the acceptance of the challenge. And so, with their appetite for blood whetted by the sight of twenty-four murders, they hastened to begin the fight. Helkath-hazzurim. Literally this means "the field of flints;" but as the flint is constantly used for any hard rock, (Psa_78:20) the Authorized Version has admitted into the margin a paraphrase taken from the Vulgate, which supposes that by flints are meant "strong men," and renders, "the field of strong men." So in (Isa_26:4) "the flint," or rock, "of ages," is even translated "everlasting strength." Flints, however, were constantly used by the Israelites for knives whenever extreme sharpness was required. Thus for the circumcising of Israel, Jehovah commanded Joshua to prepare knives of flint; (Jos_5:2) and in course of time the sharp or whetted edge of a weapon was called its flint. Thus in, Psa_89:43 we read, "Thou hast turned back the flint of his sword." The name therefore probably means "the field of the sharp knives" (see margin of the Revised Version) and refers to the short swords with which they murdered one another.

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

By the head - By the hair of the head, which after their manner was of a considerable length. Helkath-kazzurim - Or, the field of rock; that is, of men who stood like rocks unmovable, each one dying upon the spot where he fought.

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

Helkathhazzurim

i.e. Field of Swords.

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

they fell down together

This is a polite way of saying they died. AT: "they both died" (See: Euphemism)

Helkath Hazzurim

This is a name given to remind people what happened there. (See: How to Translate Names)

The battle was very severe that day

It may be helpful to explicitly state that this was the large battle that followed the contest of the young men. AT: "Then the others started to fight also. It was a very fierce battle that day" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

translationWords

sword

Hebrew

Gibeon

Abner

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

The Plain of Swords. Yonasan translates the plain of Killing on account of the swords just like you say [in Scriptures] (Tehilim 89, 44) "You also turned back the sharpness of his sword."

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.