2 Samuel 8:11

(11) Which also.—The dedication of the gifts of Toi is especially mentioned, because these were not, like those of 2Sa_8:7; 2Sa_8:11-12, the spoils of conquered nations. David, forbidden himself to build the temple, makes every provision possible for its erection.

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

2Sa 8:11 Which also king David did dedicate unto the LORD, with the silver and gold that he had dedicated of all nations which he subdued;

Ver. 11. Which also king David did dedicate unto the Lord.] For the building and beautifying of his temple. So did Christ, when he went forth conquering and to conquer, {Rev 6:2} make use of the spoils he took from the world for the good of his Church, and for the building up of that spiritual temple; - the precious arts, for instance, which, as in the first plantation of the gospel in Europe, he shipped before into Greece, as his munition, meaning to send his soldiers soon after. So in the reviving of the gospel by the late happy reformation, there was sent before it as a harbinger, a general resurrection of all learning. The Greek tongue, by the sack of Constantinople, was sent by the Turk, though for no good will, into these western climates. The art of printing, which the Chinese say they had amongst them long before, was here made use of: and by that means, among other excellent books, conducing to the reformation, was published the Complutensian Bible in six volumes, A.D. 1515, at the charge of Cardinal Ximines, Archbishop of Toledo, two years before Luther stirred. An excellent work surely, and such as may well be reckoned among those means and instruments whereby the truth was restored, and Popery profligated: since both the original languages of the Bible, before only in the hands of the Jews and Grecians, together with the Chaldee, were now generally made known. Neander telleth us that that Bible, set forth by a limb of Antichrist ( ducatorum sexcentis millenis millibus impensis), was a singular help to Luther. {a}

{a} Geogr., part 1.

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.

8:11-12 Captured war booty and diplomatic exchanges went into God’s treasury rather than the king’s treasury. Voluntary gifts (8:11a) and plunder exacted from defeated foes (8:11b-12) also were dedicated . . . to the Lord.

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

Which also king David did dedicate unto the Lord--Eastern princes have always been accustomed to hoard up vast quantities of gold. This is the first instance of a practice uniformly followed by David of reserving, after defraying expenses and bestowing suitable rewards upon his soldiers, the remainder of the spoil taken in war, to accumulate for the grand project of his life--the erection of a national temple at Jerusalem.

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

Which also King David did dedicate unto the Lord,.... He devoted it to sacred uses, particularly to the building of the house of the Lord, as he also had the gold and the brass he took from Hadadezer: together

with the silver and the gold he had dedicated of all nations which he subdued; who are after particularly mentioned; he did not convert the spoils he took to his own use, but observed the law God gave to the kings of Israel, that they should not greatly multiply to themselves silver and gold, Deu 17:17. He set it apart, and laid it up for the service of the sanctuary; and this accounts for the abundance of gold, silver, and brass, which David had amassed together, and left to his son Solomon to build the temple with; see Ch1 28:1.

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

Subdued. This was the custom of most conquerors. But no prince was ever more religious in this respect than David. He had an officer appointed over the sacred treasure, which contained the presents of Samuel, Saul, &c., 1 Paralipomenon xxvi. 26, 28.

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).

Unto the Lord; to the building of God’s temple. So he showed his affection to God and his house, in preparing for it when he was not permitted to build it.

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

Metheg-ammah — Margin, the bridle of Ammah; literally, the bridle of the mother. It is not a proper name, but a figurative expression for the capital city of a province — the government of the mother city. So Gesenius and Furst. There is an Arabic proverb: “I give thee not my bridle,” that is, I do not yield the control of myself to thee. Instead of this expression we have in 1Ch_18:1 : Gath and her towns; Hebrew, Gath and her daughters. On this capital city of the Philistines see on Jos_11:22. Ewald explains it as the bridle of the arm; that is, David tore from the Philistines the power by which they curbed Israel, as a rider curbs his horse by the bridle which his arm controls.

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

Which also King David did dedicate. The blessing became more blessed by this use of it, and it shows how strong were David"s feelings, that he thus gave to God"s house, not only the spoils of war, but also gifts of friendship. It was in this way that he accumulated those large stores of the precious metals enumerated in 1Ch 29., and employed in making the sacred vessels of the temple. Their vast amount is the more remarkable because Palestine previously was almost destitute of them. Wherever the armies of Israel went, they made diligent search after everything that would serve towards the building of their sanctuary.

Ver. 11. (JERUSALEM.)

Dedication of property to God.

According to the custom of the time, the most valuable of the spoils of war became the property of David; and these, along with the presents brought to him, he devoted to a sacred use in preparation for the building of the temple. (1Ch_18:8) The spirit which he displayed had been shown at the erection of the tabernacle; (Exo_35:29) and it was participated in by many. (1Ch_26:26-28 1Ch_29:5-9) Other instances occurred at a much earlier period. (Gen_14:3 Gen_28:22) David"s act was:

1. Unselfish. The evil of selfishness specially appears in undue attachment to earthly possessions; "which is idolatry," and "a root of all evil." It ofttimes increases with the increase of worldly good, "like the Indian fig tree connecting itself vitally at a hundred spots, with the soil over which it spreads." Hence the injunction, "If riches increase," etc... (62:10). A good man receives that he may give, and feels that "it is more lessed to give than to receive.

2. Grrateful. David recognized the hand of God in his victories; and herein testified his thankfulness to his Divine Helper and Benefactor. Wealth is his gift; so is the power to acquire it. (Deu_8:17, Deu_8:18) But how often are its possessors forgetful of this, proud, and unthankful! "All things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee". (1Ch_29:14)

3. Faithful. Earthly good is not an absolute gift, but a trust; it is put into our power only for a brief season; its possession involves the responsibility of its employment according to the will of the Owner; and its faithful use is conducive to the possession of "the true riches". (Luk_16:9-12) Whilst it should be altogether employed according to his will, a due proportion of it should be set apart as sacred to the claims of the needy, the support of Diane worship, and the spread of the gospel. It would appear that every Jewish family in ancient times devoted as much as a fourth part of its income to religious and charitable purposes. But inasmuch as no definite rule is now enjoined, every man must determine the proportion for himself by earnest thought and prayer, without reference to what others may do, and with a view to giving, not as little, but as much as possible. It has been stated that more wealth has been made in England during the last fifty years than during the preceding eighteen centuries. But notwithstanding numerous examples of noble beneficence, how small a part of it comparatively has been devoted to the highest ends (Pro_3:9, Pro_3:10; Luk_19:13; 1Co_4:2 1Co_16:1 2Co_8:9; 1Ti_6:17-19)

4. Devotional. David"s offering was religious; in it he offered himself to God; and sought to fulfil his purposes concerning the welfare of his people and the promotion of his honour and glory in the earth. This is the highest motive; and those who are actuated by it obtain an unspeakable blessing both here and hereafter (Mal_3:10; Mat_25:21)

Largely thou givest, gracious Lord, Largely thy gifts should be restored; Freely thou givest, and thy word Is, "Freely give." He only, who forgets to hoard, Has learnt to live. (Keble.)

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

David also sanctified Toi's presents to the Lord (handed them over to the treasury of the sanctuary), together with the silver and gold which he had sanctified from all the conquered nations, from Aram, Moab, etc. Instead of הקדּישׁ אשׁר the text of the Chronicles has נשׂא אשׁר, which he took, i.e., took as booty. Both are equally correct; there is simply a somewhat different turn given to the thought.

(Note: Bertheau erroneously maintains that נשׂא אשׁר, which he took, is at variance with Sa2 8:7, as, according to this passage, the golden shields of Hadadezer did not become the property of the Lord. But there is not a word to that effect in Sa2 8:7. On the contrary, his taking the shields to Jerusalem implies, rather than precludes, the intention to devote them to the purposes of the sanctuary.)

In the enumeration of the conquered nations in Sa2 8:12, the text of the Chronicles differs from that of the book before us. In the first place, we find "from Edom" instead of "from Aram;" and secondly, the clause "and of the spoil of Hadadezer, son of Rehob king of Zobah," is altogether wanting there. The text of the Chronicles is certainly faulty here, as the name of Aram (Syria) could not possibly be omitted. Edom could much better be left out, not "because the conquest of Edom belonged to a later period," as Movers maintains, but because the conquest of Edom is mentioned for the first time in the subsequent verses. But if we bear in mind that in Sa2 8:12 of both texts not only are those tribes enumerated the conquest of which had been already noticed, but all the tribes that David ever defeated and subjugated, even the Ammonites and Amalekites, to the war with whom no allusion whatever is made in the present chapter, we shall see that Edom could not be omitted. Consequently "from Syria" must have dropped out of the text of the Chronicles, and "from Edom" out of the one before us; so that the text in both instances ran originally thus, "from Syria, and from Edom, and from Moab." For even in the text before us, "from Aram" (Syria) could not well be omitted, notwithstanding the fact that the booty of Hadadezer is specially mentioned at the close of the verse, for the simple reason that David not only made war upon Syria-Zobah (the kingdom of Hadadezer) and subdued it, but also upon Syria-Damascus, which was quite independent of Zobah.

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 Amalek

"and the Amalekites"

the plundered goods

These are the valuable items that soldiers take from the people they defeated.

Hadadezer son of Rehob, the king of Zobah

See how you translated these names in 2 Samuel 8:3.

translationWords

nation

Aram

Moab

Ammon

Philistines

Amalek

king

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