2 Samuel 3:35

2Sa 3:35 And when all the people came to cause David to eat meat while it was yet day, David sware, saying, So do God to me, and more also, if I taste bread, or ought else, till the sun be down.

Ver. 35. To cause David to eat meat.] They had feasts at funerals, and cups of consolation. {Jer 16:7 Eze 24:17}

If I taste bread.] He not only mourned, but fasted; to testify his unfeigned grief. This was a point of prudence.

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 3:35. All the people came to cause David to eat — This was agreeable to the usage of the Jews; for when any one died among them, “it was customary with the friends of the family to resort to the house immediately after the funeral, and bring the best provisions they had along with them to support and refresh their friends in affliction, to the utmost of their power. And surely a more humane and benevolent usage never obtained in any country. The presumption was, that people in affliction forgot, or, it may be, neglected, their proper refreshment at a time when they most needed it; and therefore it was the business of friendship, and one of its kindest offices, to supply that care.” David sware, saying, God do so to me, &c. — He absolutely refused to touch a morsel, and confirmed the refusal by an oath, that he would taste nothing till the sun went down. “He was resolved to clear his innocence by all the tests of real sorrow, and to satisfy the people that this was a just occasion of grief, he put them in mind of his dignity to whom he paid it.” See 2Sa 3:38, Delaney.

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

3:35 begged him to eat: See also 12:17.

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

According to their custom, which was to banquet at burials.

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

(35) To eat meat.—The fasting of David in his grief had already attracted attention, so that the people came to urge him to take food; but he utterly refused “till the sun be down,” the usual time of ending a fast. David’s conduct had a good effect upon the people, and, indeed, they were generally disposed to look favourably upon whatever the king did.

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

35. to cause David to eat meat] Fasting was the usual accompaniment of mourning. To shew his grief and his respect for Abner David refused to eat until sunset, the regular time for terminating a fast. Cp. ch. 2Sa_1:12.

meat] Lit. bread. In Biblical English the word denotes food in general, and is never restricted to its modern meaning flesh.

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 when all the people came to cause David to eat meat while it was yet day,.... The custom was to bury in the daytime, and after the funeral was over to provide and send in food to the relations of the deceased, and come and eat with them; as was also the usage with the Greeks and Romans (w); See Gill on Jer 16:5 and See Gill on Jer 16:7; and kings themselves used to attend those feasts; for the Jews say (x),"when they cause him (the king) to eat, all the people sit upon the ground, and he sits upon the bed;''but in this case David refused to eat with them:

David sware, saying, so do God to me, and more also; may the greatest evils, and such as I care not to mention, befall me; and even more and worse than I can think of and express:

if I taste bread, or ought else, till the sun be down; perhaps the funeral was in the morning, as funerals with the Jews generally now are; for otherwise if it was now towards evening, his abstinence from food till that time would not have seemed so much, nor required much notice, and still less an oath.

(w) Vid. Kirchman. de Funer. Roman, l. 4. c. 5. & 6. (x) Misn. ut supra. (Sanhedrin, c. 2. sect. 3.) David de Pomis ut supra. (Lexic. fol. 119. 4.)

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

To eat meat ... - Fasting was a sign of the deepest mourning 2Sa 1:12. The fast lasted until the sun was set.

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

David. Hebrew, "to cause David to eat meat" (Haydock) at the feast, which usually accompanied funerals, Genesis l, 3. (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).

To eat meat; to refresh and cheer up his depressed spirits, as they used to do at funerals. See Jer 16:5; Eze 24:17.

Till the sun be down, i.e. till evening; for then fasting days ended of course.

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

The people came to cause David to eat meat. The Jewish commentators, Philippson, Cahen, etc., consider that the occasion for this was given by the custom of taking food after a funeral (Jer_16:7; Eze_24:17) which in time degenerated into the giving of a costly banquet (Josephus, "Bell. Jud:," 2:1). To this day, at a Jewish funeral in Germany, the bearers are regaled with eggs, broad, and wine. While, then, others were partaking of the food that had been provided, David remained apart, and when urged by the assembled multitude to join them in their meal, he protested that he would continue fasting until sunset. He thus proved that his sorrow was genuine, and the people were convinced of his innocence, and pleased at the honour which he thus did to the fallen soldier.

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

All the people came

This deliberate exaggeration is used to show that the nation of Israel wanted to take care of David in his grief. AT: "Many people came" (See: Hyperbole and Generalization)

May God do so to me, and more also, if

This is the form of a solemn vow in that time. David is asking God to judge him severely if he eats anything before sunset. Your language many have a way of expressing vows. AT: "I am asking God to punish me if"

translationWords

people group

David

God

bread

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

To feed. [This is] language [denoting] a meal.

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.