In this chapter are recorded the last words of David under a divine inspiration, 2 Sam. 23:1–7; and an account is given of his great men, famous for warlike exploits, particularly of three mighty men who did very marvellous things, 2 Sam.

Now these be the last words of David Which refer not to the psalm in the preceding chapter, but to what follows; not the last words he spoke, for he said many things afterwards; for the advice he gave to Solomon, and the instructions to him about building the temple, were delivered after this time;…

The Spirit of the Lord spake by me The psalms and songs he composed were not the fruits of his own genius, but were written by him under the inspiration of the Spirit of God; by whom holy men of God, the penmen of the Scriptures, spoke, even as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, of whom David was…

The God of Israel said To David, or by him; he who was the covenant God of Israel literally considered, and is the covenant God and Father of the whole spiritual Israel, and who is owned, believed in, and worshipped by them: the Rock of Israel spake to me; the same with the God of Israel in other…

And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds That is, such a ruler that rules in righteousness, and in the fear of God; he is the light and glory of his people, who guides and directs them, makes them cheerful and comfortable; his administrations…

Although my house be not so with God So bright, and flourishing, and prosperous as the government of the just ruler before described; or is not “right” [[11]] with God, meaning his family, in which great sins were committed, and great disorders and confusions brought into it, as the cases of Amnon,…

But the sons of Belial shall be all of them as thorns thrust away Not like the tender grass that springs up, and flourishes after rain, and the sunshine upon that; but like thorns, useless, hurtful, and pernicious, and fit only for burning: this is true of wicked men in general, that cast off the…

But the man that shall touch them must be fenced with iron and the staff of a spear To remove these thorns, or sons of Belial, out of the way, or to defend himself against them; or weapons of war must be made use of to conquer and destroy them, according to the sense of Ben Gersom, and which De…

These be the names of the mighty men whom David had Besides Joab his general, who is not mentioned; for these were all military men under him, which are distinguished into three classes; the first and highest consisted of three only, who were general officers; and the second also of three, who…

And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite Or the son of Ahohi, perhaps the same with Ahoah, a descendant of Benjamin, ; this Eleazar was the next to the Tachmonite, the second worthy of the first class: one of the three mighty men with David; the second of the three valiant men that…

He arose, and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, &c.] He rose up when the Israelites fled, and stood his ground alone, and fought with the Philistines, and smote them with his sword, until his hand was weary with smiting: and his hand clave unto the sword; which was contracted by…

And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite One who was of the mountainous country, as the Targum, the hill country of Judea, of Hebron, or the parts adjacent; this was the third of the first three; there was one of this name among the thirty, ; and the Philistines were gathered together…

But he stood in the midst of the ground The field of lentiles: and defended it; the field, so that the Philistines could not ravage it, and get food and forage from it: and slew the Philistines; made a great slaughter among them, entirely routed them, so that they that escaped his sword were…

And three of the thirty chiefs went down Or three that were chief of the thirty, superior to them; which some understand of the three before mentioned, so Josephus [[21]]; and that having related some particular exploits of theirs, here observes one, in which they were all concerned; and others…

And David was then in an hold In a strong hold; the strong hold of Zion, as Josephus [[22]], or one on a rock near the cave of Adullam, see ; and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem; which was about six miles from Jerusalem; the valley of Rephaim lay between that and Bethlehem; so…

And David longed, and said It being harvest time, the summer season, and hot weather, and he thirsty: oh, that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate! which he was well acquainted with, being his native place; and which might make it the more desirable,…

And the three mighty men brake through the host of the Philistines Which lay in the valley of Rephaim, between the hold in which David was and the well of Bethlehem; these three men hearing David express himself in the above manner, though without any view that any should risk their lives to obtain…

And he said, be it far from me, O Lord, that one should do this Drink of the water these men had brought him: is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives? who risked the shedding of their blood, and went in danger of their lives to get it: therefore he would not drink it:…

And Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief among the three Another triumvirate, of which he was the head: and he lifted up his spear against three hundred, and slew them; Josephus [[4]] says six hundred; this seems to confirm the reading of , that the number eight hundred is…

Was he not most honourable of three? &c.] He was; who, besides the exploit here mentioned, did many other things; he went down with David into Saul’s camp, and took away his spear and cruse, which were at his bolster, ; he relieved David when in danger from Ishbibenob the giant, (2 Sam.

And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of Kabzeel A city in the tribe of Judah, ; the father of this man was a man of great vivacity, valour, and strength, so that it was like father like son.

And he slew an Egyptian, a goodly man A person of good countenance and shape, very large and tall; in , he is said to be a man of great stature, and five cubits high, and so wanted a cubit and a span of the height of Goliath, ; and the Egyptian had a spear in his hand; as large as Goliath’s; for in…

These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada Slew a lion, and two lion-like men of Moab, and an Egyptian of a gigantic stature, (2 Sam. 23:20, 2 Sam. 23:21) : and had the name among three mighty men; of which he was one, and Abishai another, the third Asahel, one of the thirty; or was over them, ,…

He was more honourable than the thirty Whose names are after recorded: but he attained not to the first three; the first triumvirate, Jashobeam, Eleazar, and Shammah; he was not equal to them for fortitude, courage, and military exploits: and David set him over his guard; his bodyguard, the…

Asahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty Or rather over the thirty [[12]], who are next mentioned; since there are thirty reckoned besides him, and the Arabic version calls him the prince of the thirty; Joab is not named at all, because he was general of the whole army, and so not to be…

Shammah the Harodite Called Shammah the Harorite in ; by a change of the letters (ר) “R” and (ד) “D”, which is frequent: Elika the Harodite; or who was of Harod, as the Targum; these both were from one place: mention is made of the well of Harod, .

Helez the Paltite Who was of a place called Pater, as the Targum; in , 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 Amos 1:1).

Abiezer the Anethothite He was of Anathoth, in the tribe of Benjamin, , the birthplace of Jeremiah the prophet, : Mebunnai the Hushathite; the same with Sibbecai, ; this man had two names, and was a descendant of Hushah, who came of Judah, .

Zalmon the Ahohite The same with Ilai, ; a descendant of Ahoah, a grandson of Benjamin, ; Maharai the Netophathite, who was of Netophah, a city of the tribe of Judah, mentioned along with Bethlehem, ; a place of this name is spoken of in the Misnah [[13]], famous for artichokes and olives.

Heleb the son of Baanah, a Netophathite Called Heled, ; Ittai the son of Ribai out of Gibeah of the children of Benjamin: sometimes called Gibeah of Benjamin, (1 Sam. 13:2, 1 Sam. 13:15, 1 Sam.

Benaiah the Pirathonite Who was of Pirathon, a city in the tribe of Ephraim, . Hiddai of the brooks of Gaash; which perhaps ran by the hill Gaash, and was also in the tribe of Ephraim, . This man is called Hurai, .

Abialbon the Arbathite A native of Betharabah, either in the tribe of Judah, (Josh. 15:6, Josh. 15:7) , or in the tribe of Benjamin, (Josh. 18:18, Josh.

Eliahba the Shaalbonite Of Shaalboa or Shaaiabin, a city in the tribe of Dan, ; perhaps the Silbonitis of Josephus [[14]]: of the sons of Jashen, Jonathan; in , it is, the sons of Hashem the Gizonite: sons are spoken of, though but one, as in . 15: De Bello Jud. l. 3. c. 3. sect. 3.

Shammah the Hararite From the mountainous country, as the Targum; the Arabic and Syriac versions say, from the mount of Olives: Ahiam the son of Sharar the Hararite: from the high mountain, as the Targum; in , he is called the son of Sacar.

Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai, the son of the Maachathite In , he is called Eliphal the son of Ur: Eliam the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite; David’s counsellor, that went off to Absalom, ; Eliam his son is supposed, by the Jews, to be the father of Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, ; according to…

Hezrai the Carmelite Of Mount Carmel; or from Carmela, as the Targum, see ; he is called Hezro, ; Paarai the Arbite; or from Arab, as the Targum, a city in the tribe of Judah, ; according to Hillerus [[16]], the same with “Naarai the son of Ezbai”, in . 17: Onomastic. Sacr. p. 499.

Igal the son of Nathan of Zobah kingdom in Syria, ; according to Hillerus [[17]] the same with Joel, ; Bani the Gadite; who was of the tribe of Gad, as the Targum; in the room of this stands “Mibhar, the son of Haggeri”, in . 18: Onomastic. Sacr. p. 856.

Zelek the Ammonite Who was so either by birth, and became a proselyte; so the Targum says, he was of the children of Ammon; or is so called, because he had sojourned some time in their land, or had done some exploits against them; unless he was of Chepharhaammonai, a city of the tribe of Benjamin,…

Ira an Ithrite, Gareb an Ithrite. ] These were of Jether, as the Targum, a descendant of Caleb, of the tribe of Judah, (1 Chron. 2:50, 1 Chron. 2:53) (1 Chron. 4:15, 1 Chron. 4:17) .

Uriah the Hittite The husband of Bathsheba; of whom (See Gill on 2 Sam. 11:3); thirty and seven all; reckoning the three mighty men of the first class, the three of the second, and the third class consisting of thirty men, whose names are as above, and Joab the general and head of them all.