2 Samuel 23:26

Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex)

English Translation

Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite,

World English Bible · Public Domain

Highlights

1 hapax legomenon — only here in the Hebrew Bible
3 first appearances in the Hebrew Bible

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Word by word

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הַפַּלְטִ֔י

Palṭîy

H6407

“the · Paltite”

Particle, Definite Article + Noun, Gentilic, Masculine, Singular, Absolute

Appears 1× in the Hebrew Bible
First appears here

Full BDB Definition

Origin: patronymically from H6406

TWOT: None

Paltite = "escape" - a descendant of Palti or an inhabitant of Beth-palet

About this verse

These counts appear in no published source. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged text and Lemma’s own curated glosses. What Lemma adds →

6: words
6: distinct lemmas
Historical: section

Notable vocabulary

1 hapax legomenon — a word that appears only here in the entire Hebrew Bible:

הַפַּלְטִ֔י Paltite H6407

First appearance in Scripture

These words make their first canonical appearance in the Hebrew Bible here:

חֶ֚לֶץ Helez H2503
הַפַּלְטִ֔י Paltite H6407
עִקֵּ֖שׁ Ikkesh H6142

Shared distinctive vocabulary

עִקֵּ֖שׁ Ikkesh H6142 occurs in 3 verses of the Hebrew Bible. Also found in:

Grammatical profile

6 nouns

Hebrew & Septuagint length

In English translation the verse runs 10 words from the Hebrew and 10 from the Septuagint (LXX English) — the same length.

A rough comparison of the two English renderings, which tokenize alike — not a word-level alignment.

Word counts can differ between the Hebrew and the Greek without any difference in meaning — e.g. the Hebrew direct-object marker אֵת has no separate Greek word, and Greek often adds the article ὁ.

In the original languages it is 6 Hebrew tokens and 8 Greek tokens — but the two are counted differently (Hebrew bundles its prefixes and suffixes into one token; the Greek is in lemma form), so that isn’t a like-for-like length.

Cross-references

Topical passages linked to 2 Samuel 23:26 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

2 Samuel 14:2 Joab sent to Tekoa, and fetched there a wise woman, and said to her, please act like a mourner, and put on mourning clothing, Please, and don't anoint yourself with oil, but be as a woman who has a long time mourned for the dead:
1 Chronicles 11:27–28 Shammoth the Harorite, Helez the Pelonite,
1 Chronicles 27:9–10 The sixth [captain] for the sixth month was Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite: and in his division were twenty-four thousand.

Cross-references courtesy of OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).

Hebrew and Greek witnesses Masoretic Hebrew ↔ Greek Septuagint

The same verse in the two great witnesses to the Old Testament, shown verse-for-verse.

These are two independent witnesses, not word-aligned to each other, and the Septuagint is shown in lemma (dictionary) form.

Hebrew 2 Samuel 23:26 Masoretic · Westminster Leningrad Codex

חֶ֚לֶץ הַפַּלְטִ֔י עִירָ֥א בֶן עִקֵּ֖שׁ הַתְּקוֹעִֽי

Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite,

World English Bible · Public Domain

Greek LXX 2 Samuel 23:26 Septuagint · lemma form

ελλης ὁ φελωθι ιρας υἱός εκκας ὁ θεκωίτης

Selles the Kelothite: Iras the son of Isca the Thecoite.

LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) · Public Domain

On this verse, Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary discusses the Septuagint’s reading. Read the note in Commentary ↓

Hebrew: Westminster Leningrad Codex (CC BY 4.0). Greek: Septuagint (public domain); English from LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) (Public Domain). How the Septuagint differs from the Hebrew →

Targum (Aramaic paraphrase)

The Targum is the ancient Jewish Aramaic paraphrase of the Hebrew Scriptures — an interpretive translation, not the Hebrew text itself. Onkelos (literal) and Pseudo-Jonathan (expansive) render the Torah, and Jonathan the Prophets. Coverage is partial: where no permissively-licensed English translation exists for a verse, only the Aramaic is shown. This is verse-level text, not a word-by-word alignment to the Hebrew.

Targum Jonathan Prophets (Joshua–Malachi)

חֶלֶץ דְמִן פֶּלֶט עִירָא בַּר עִקֵשׁ דְמִתְּקוֹעַ:

(no public-domain English translation for this verse)

Targum Jonathan — Aramaic: “Mikraot Gedolot” (public domain). English: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “London "Chaldee Paraphrase," 1871” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.

Commentary

Notes on 2 Samuel 23:26 from classic Christian and Jewish commentators (each source and its license shown beneath its notes). The classic Christian expositions comment on the surrounding passage and are grouped to its opening verse, so a note may address several verses; the Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh (Rashi and others) are per-verse, so they appear only where the commentator wrote on this verse.

Lemma curates 59 commentaries, every one of them public domain or Creative Commons licensed, each selected and text-cleaned for this edition rather than reprinted as found. About our sources →

Joseph Benson's Commentary

2Sa 23:26-39. Helez the Paltite, &c. — None of the memorable acts of these or of the following worthies are recorded; therefore, all that can be said of them is, that when God determined to raise a king to a great height of power and glory, he raised up several great men to co-operate with and assist that king in his designs and undertakings. Thirty and seven in all — Here are only thirty-six named. Either therefore one must be supplied whose name is not expressed among the three worthies of the second rank, or Joab is comprehended in the number, as being the general and head of them all.

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

Geneva Bible (1599)

Geneva Bible translators

Or, Pelonite.

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

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(26) Helez.—He was general of the seventh army division (1Ch_27:10). There, and also in 1Ch_11:27, he is called a Pelonite.

Ira was general for the sixth month (1Ch_27:9). His home, Tekoah, was about six miles south of Bethlehem.

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

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne

26. Helez the Paltite] Generally explained to mean of Beth-pelet, an unid entified town in the extreme south of Judah, named in the same group with Beer-sheba (Jos_15:27). But this seems questionable, as he is called an Ephraimite in 1Ch_27:10. 1 Chron. twice reads Pelonite (1Ch_11:27, 1Ch_27:10), but there is no known place or family from which such a name could be formed, and it is either a corruption, or the Hebrew word meaning of so and so, inserted by a scribe who could not read the original word in the text which he was copying. Helez was general of the seventh division of the army (1Ch_27:10).

Ira … the Tekoite] Of Tekoa, see note on ch. 2Sa_14:2. He was general of the sixth division of the army (1Ch_27:9), and a different person from David’s minister (ch. 2Sa_20:26).

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.

John Gill's Exposition

Helez the Paltite,.... Who was of a place called Pater, as the Targum; in Ch1 11:27, he is called the Pelonite:

Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite; who was of the city of Tekoah, the native place of Amos the prophet, famous for oil, about twelve miles from Jerusalem; See Gill on Amo 1:1.

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

Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary

Phalti. Paralipomenon, Phalonite. (Haydock) --- Nu has been mistaken for t. This is the seventh captain in waiting. Hebrew, "Heletz, the Pelonite." It will suffice here to express how Kennicott would write the names of the following mighty men; referring for more particulars to his learned Diss. on 1 Chronicles xi., and to the notes on that chapter, ver. 28, &c. In the body of 30, he places, 1. Elehanan, the son of Dodo, of Bethlehem; 2. Shamhoth, the Harodite; 3. Elika, the Harodite; (supplied by Zabad) 4. Heletz, the Pelonite; 5. Ira, the son of Ikkesh, the Tekoite; 6. Abiezer, the Anathothite; 7. Sibbecai, the Hushathite; (as chap. xxi 18., 1 Paralipomenon xx. 4., and xxvii. 11,) 8. Ilai, the Ahohite; 9. Maharai, the Netophathite; 10. Heled, the son of Baanah, the Netophathite; 11. Ithai, the son of Ribai, of Gibea, of the sons of Benjamin; 12. Benaiah, the Pirathonite; 13. Hurai, of the brooks of Gaash; 14. Abialbon, the Arbathite; 15. Azmaveth, the Bahurimite; 16. Elihaba, the Shaalbonite; 17. Gouni, (a word lost in Hebrew) of the sons of Hassum; 18. Jonathan, the son of Shamha, the Hararite; (see chap. xxi. 21,) 19. Ahiham, the son of Shacar, the hararite; 20. Eliphelet, the son of Abasbai, the Maacathite; 21. Eliam, the son of Ahithophel, the Gilonite; 22. Hetzrai, the Carmelite; 23. Naarai, the son of Azbai; 24. Joal, the brother of Nathan, of Tzobah; (see 1 Paralipomenon) 25. Bani, the Gadite; 26. Tzelek, the Ammonite; 27. Naharai, the Barothite, armour-bearer of Joab, the son of Zeruiah; 28. Ira, the Ithrite; 29. Gareb, the Ithrite; 30. Uriah, the Hethite. After these follow Zabad and 15 other brave men, though less renowned than the preceding, 1 Paralipomenon xi. 42. It is a pity that the Masorets have introduced a new mode of pronunciation, and that it has been adopted by the Protestants, so that it is almost impossible to recognize in their work the scriptural names of the most ancient versions of the Septuagint and Vulgate. (Haydock)

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 Pulpit Commentary

Helez. He is twice called a Pelonite in Chronicles, and was general of the seventh brigade, (1Ch_27:10) where he is said to have belonged to the tribe of Ephraim. Whether Paltite or Pelon-ite is right, no one knows; but Beth-Palet was a town in the tribe of Judah, and not in Ephraim. Ira. Ira had the command of the sixth brigade. (1Ch_27:9) Tekoah. (see note on 2Sa_14:2) This Ira is a distinct person from his namesake, David"s confidential minister. (2Sa_20:26)

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

Lesson kit

Teaching starters — assembled from the data on this page, not authored interpretation. Every prompt links to the verse data it draws on. Edit before teaching.

2 Samuel, in the Historical, opens this verse with 6 words (6 distinct Hebrew lemmas). Its most distinctive word is Palṭîy (“Paltite”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

How does “Paltite” (Palṭîy) shape what this verse is saying?
This verse holds 1 word here found nowhere else in the Hebrew Bible. What might the rare word draw attention to?
3 words here appear for the first time in Scripture. What is being introduced at this debut?
1 Chronicles 11:28 shares the word «Ikkesh» with this verse. How do the two illuminate each other?
Reading how Joseph Benson's Commentary and Geneva Bible (1599) read this verse, where do the two commentators agree and where do they part?

Things to notice

1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in the Hebrew Bible.
3 words make their first canonical appearance in Scripture here.
This verse counts 6 Hebrew ↔ 8 Greek words.
6 distinct Hebrew lemmas span 6 words in this verse.