2 Samuel 8:4
WEB
David took from him one thousand seven hundred horsemen and twenty thousand footmen. David hamstrung the chariot horses, but reserved enough of them for one hundred chariots.
BSB
David captured from him a thousand chariots, seven thousand charioteers, and twenty thousand foot soldiers, and he hamstrung all the horses except a hundred he kept for the chariots.
KJV
And David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: and David houghed all the chariot horses, but reserved of them for an hundred chariots.
Matthew Henry
Hebrew interlinear
H3920
v — catch, capture, choose, cohere
Derivation: a primitive root;
to catch (in a net, trap or pit); generally, to capture or occupy; also to choose (by lot); figuratively, to cohere
KJV: × at all, catch (self), be frozen, be holden, stick together, take.
vb — capture
לָכַד 121 vb. capture, seize, take (by lot)
Qal
1. capture, seize
2. fig. of entrapping men
3. of taking by lot
Niph.
1. be captured in war
2. of men, be caught
3. be taken by lot
Hithp. they grasp each other, and cannot be separated
H1732
n-pr-m — David
Derivation: rarely (fully); דָּוִיד; from the same as 1730; loving;
David, the youngest son of Jesse
KJV: David.
n.pr.m — David
דָּוִד, דָּוִיד 1066 n.pr.m. David
H4480
prep — part, from, out of
Derivation: or מִנִּי; or מִנֵּי; (constructive plural) (Isaiah 30:11); for 4482;
properly, a part of; hence (prepositionally), from or out of in many senses
KJV: above, after, among, at, because of, by (reason of), from (among), in, × neither, × nor, (out) of, over, since, × then, through, × whether, with.
prep — out of
מִן־, and מִ, before יְ, prep. expressing the idea of separation, hence out of, from, on account of, off, on the side of, since, above, than, so that not
1. with verbs expressing (or implying) separation or removal
a. from, against
b. מן also, without a verb of similar significance, sometimes expresses the idea of separation, away from, far from
c. of position, off, on the side of, on
2. Out of, Gk. ἐκ, Lat. ex
3. Partitively
4. Of time—
a. as marking the terminus a quo, the anterior limit of a continuous period from, since
b. as marking the period immediately succeeding the limit after
c. towards, to
5. (וְעַד) עַד … מִן from … even to
6. In comparisons, beyond, above
7. מן is prefixed to an infin.:
a. with causal force, from, on account of, through
b. after verbs implying restraint, prevention, cessation, etc.
c. with a temporal force, since, after
8. Once as a conj. before a finite verb. that
9. In compounds:
n. [m.] — portion
[מֵן] n. [m.] portion
H505
n-m — thousand
Derivation: prop, the same as 504;
hence (the ox's head being the first letter of the alphabet, and this eventually used as a numeral) a thousand
KJV: thousand.
n.m — thousand
אֶ֫לֶף n.m. thousand
H7651
n — seven, full, seven times, week, indefinite
Derivation: or (masculine) (שִׁבְעָה); from 7650; a primitive cardinal number;
seven (as the sacred full one); also (adverbially) seven times; by implication, a week; by extension, an indefinite number
KJV: ( by) seven(-fold),-s, (-teen, -teenth), -th, times). Compare 7658.
n.m — seven
שֶׁ֫בַע, שִׁבְעָה 394 n.m. et f. seven
H3967
n-f — hundred
Derivation: or מֵאיָה; properly, a primitive numeral
a hundred; also as a multiplicative and a fraction
KJV: hundred((-fold), -th), sixscore.
n.f — hundred
מֵאָה 583 n.f. hundred
1. as simple number
2. as part of larger number
3. a hundredth part
H6571
n-m — steed, driver, cavalry
Derivation: from 6567; (compare 5483)
a steed (as stretched out to a vehicle, not single nor for mounting ); also (by implication) a driver (in a chariot), i.e. (collectively) cavalry
KJV: horseman.
n.m — horseman
פָּרָשׁ n.m. horseman
n.[m.] — horse
[פָּרָשׁ] n.[m.] horse, steed
H6242
n — twenty, twentieth
Derivation: from 6235;
twenty; also (ordinal) twentieth
KJV: (six-) score, twenty(-ieth).
twenty
עֶשְׂרִים (a) twenty
H376
n-m — man
Derivation: contracted for 582 (or perhaps rather from an unused root meaning to be extant);
a man as an individual or a male person; often used as an adjunct to a more definite term (and in such cases frequently not expressed in translation)
KJV: also, another, any (man), a certain, champion, consent, each, every (one), fellow, (foot-, husband-) man, (good-, great, mighty) man, he, high (degree), him (that is), husband, man(-kind), none, one, people, person, steward, what (man) soever, whoso(-ever), worthy. Compare 802.
n.m — man
אִישׁ 2166 n.m. man (= vir)
H7273
a — footman
Derivation: from 7272;
a footman (soldier)
KJV: (on) foot(-man).
adj — on foot
רַגְלִי adj. on foot;—(after num.) footmen, esp. foot-soldiers
H6131
v — pluck, hamstring, exterminate
Derivation: a primitive root;
to pluck up (especially by the roots); specifically, to hamstring; figuratively, to exterminate
KJV: dig down, hough, pluck up, root up.
vb — hamstring
עִקֵּר vb. Pi. denom. hamstring horses
H853
prt — self, even, namely
Derivation: apparent contracted from 226 in the demonstrative sense of entity;
properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)
KJV: [as such unrepresented in English].
mark of the accusative
אֵת the mark of the accusative, prefixed as a rule only to nouns that are definite
H3605
n-m — whole, all, any, every
Derivation: or (Jeremiah 33:8) כּוֹל; from 3634;
properly, the whole; hence, all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a plural sense)
KJV: (in) all (manner, (ye)), altogether, any (manner), enough, every (one, place, thing), howsoever, as many as, (no-) thing, ought, whatsoever, (the) whole, whoso(-ever).
n.m — the whole
כֹּל once כּוֹל n.m. the whole, all
1. with foll. gen. (as usually) the whole of, to be rendered, however, often in our idiom, to avoid stiffness, any or every
2. Absolutely:
a. without the art., all things, all
b. with the art. הַכֹּל
(a). where the sense is limited by the context to things (or persons) just mentioned
(b). in a wider sense, all, whether of all mankind or of all living things, the universe, or of all the circumstances of life (chiefly late)
H7393
n-m — vehicle, team, cavalry, rider, the upper millstone
Derivation: from 7392;
a vehicle; by implication, a team; by extension, cavalry; by analogy a rider, i.e. the upper millstone
KJV: chariot, (upper) millstone, multitude (from the margin), wagon.
n.m — chariotry
רֶ֫כֶב 120 n.m. chariotry, chariot, mill-stone; appar. also riders
H3498
v — jut, exceed, excel, remain, be left, leave, cause to abound, preserve
Derivation: a primitive root;
to jut over or exceed; by implication, to excel; (intransitively) to remain or be left; causatively to leave, cause to abound, preserve
KJV: excel, leave (a remnant), left behind, too much, make plenteous, preserve, (be, let) remain(-der, -ing, -nant), reserve, residue, rest.
vb — remain over
[יָתַר] 107 vb. remain over
Qal Pt. the remainder
Niph. be left over, remain over
Hiph.
1.
a. leave over, leave
b. abs. leave a remnant
c. save over, i.e. presevre alive
2. excel, shew pre-eminence
3. shew excess = have more than enough
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Verses 1–8
2 Samuel 8:1–8
God had given David rest from all his enemies that opposed him and made head against him; and he having made a good use of that rest, has now commission given him to make war upon them, and to act offensively for the avenging of Israel's quarrels and the recovery of their rights; for as yet they were not in full possession of that country to which by the promise of God they were entitled.
I. He quite subdued the Philistines, Sa2 8:1. They had attacked him when they thought him weak (Sa2 5:17), and went by the worst then; but, when he found himself strong, he attacked them, and made himself master of their country. They had long been vexatious and oppressive to Israel. Saul got no ground against them; but David completed Israel's deliverance out of their hands, which Samson had begun long before, Jdg 13:5. Metheg-ammah was Gath (the chief and royal city of the Philistines) and the towns belonging to it, among which there was a constant garrison kept by the Philistines on the hill Ammah (Sa2 2:24), which was Metheg, a bridle (so it signifies) or curb upon the people of Israel; this David took out of their hand and used it as a curb upon them. Thus, when the strong man is disarmed, the armour wherein he trusted is taken from him, and used against him, Luk 11:22. And after the long and frequent struggles which the saints have had with the powers of darkness, like Israel with the Philistines, the Son of David shall tread them all under their feet and make the saints more than conquerors.
II. He smote the Moabites, and made them tributaries to Israel, Sa2 8:2. He divided the country into three parts, two of which he destroyed, casting down the strong-holds, and putting all to the sword; the third part he spared, to till the ground and be servants to Israel. Dr. Lightfoot says, "He laid them on the ground and measured them with a cord, who should be slain and who should live;" and this is called meting out the valley of Succoth, Psa 60:6. The Jews say he used this severity with the Moabites because they had slain his parents and brethren, whom he put under the protection of the king of Moab during his exile, Sa1 22:3, Sa1 22:4. He did it in justice, because they had been dangerous enemies to the Israel of God; and in policy, because, if left in their strength, they still would have been so. But observe, Though it was necessary that two-thirds should be cut off, yet the line that was to keep alive, though it was but one, is ordered to be a full line. Be sure to give that length enough; let the line of mercy be stretched to the utmost in favorem vitae - so as to favour life. Acts of indemnity must be construed so as to enlarge the favour. Now Balaam's prophecy was fulfilled, A sceptre shall arise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, to the utmost of which the fatal line extended, Num 24:17. The Moabites continued tributaries to Israel till after the death of Ahab, Kg2 3:4, Kg2 3:5. Then they rebelled and were never reduced.
III. He smote the Syrians or Aramites. Of them there were two distinct kingdoms, as we find them spoken of in the title of the 60th Psalm: Aram Naharaim, - Syria of the rivers, whose head city was Damascus (famed for its rivers, Kg2 5:12), and Aram Zobah, which joined to it, but extended to Euphrates. These were the two northern crowns. 1. David began with the Syrians of Zobah, Sa2 8:3, Sa2 8:4. As he went to settle his border at the river Euphrates (for so far the land conveyed by the divine grant to Abraham and his seed did extend, Gen 15:18), the king of Zobah opposed him, being himself possessed of those countries which belonged to Israel; but David routed his forces, and took his chariots and horsemen. The horsemen are here said to be 700, but Ch1 18:4 they are said to be 7000. If they divided their horse by ten in a company, as it is probable they did, the captains and companies were 700, but the horsemen were 7000. David houghed the horses, cut the sinews of their hams, and so lamed them, and made them unserviceable, at least in war, God having forbidden them to multiply horses, Deu 17:16. David reserved only 100 chariots out of 1000 for his own use: for he placed his strength not in chariots nor horses, but in the living God (Psa 20:7), and wrote it from his own observation that a horse is a vain thing for safety, Psa 33:16, Psa 33:17. 2. The Syrians of Damascus coming in to the relief of the king of Zobah fell with him. 22,000 were slain in the field, Sa2 8:5. So that it was easy for David to make himself master of the country, and garrison it for himself, Sa2 8:6. The enemies of God's church, that think to secure themselves, will prove, in the end, to ruin themselves, by their confederacies with each other. Associate yourselves, and you shall be broken in pieces, Isa 8:9.
IV. In all these wars, 1. David was protected: The Lord preserved him whithersoever he went. It seems, he went in person, and, in the cause of God and Israel, jeoparded his own life in the high places of the field; but God covered his head in the day of battle, which he often speaks of, in his psalms, to the glory of God. 2. He was enriched. He took the shields of gold which the servants of Hadadezer had in their custody (Sa2 8:7) and much brass from several cities of Syria (Sa2 8:8), which he was entitled to, not only jure belli - by the uncontrollable right of the longest sword ("Get it, and take it"); but by commission from heaven, and the ancient entail of these countries on the seed of Abraham.
Cross-references: 2Sam 8:1 · 2Sam 5:17 · Judg 13:5 · 2Sam 2:24 · Luke 11:22 · 2Sam 8:2 · Ps 60:6 · 1Sam 22:3 · 1Sam 22:4 · Num 24:17 · 2Kgs 3:4 · 2Kgs 3:5 · 2Kgs 5:12 · 2Sam 8:3 · 2Sam 8:4 · Gen 15:18 · 1Chr 18:4 · Deut 17:16 · Ps 20:7 · Ps 33:16 · Ps 33:17 · 2Sam 8:5 · 2Sam 8:6 · Isa 8:9 · 2Sam 8:7 · 2Sam 8:8