2 Samuel 12:31

(31) Put them under saws. —The literal translation of the Hebrew ( put them with, or into, the saw ) does not give any good sense, and no doubt a single letter of the text should be changed, bringing it into agreement with 1Chronicles 20:3 , “cut them with saws.” (Comp. Hebrews 11:37 .) Harrows of iron.—These are the heavy iron tools, often armed with sharp points on the lower side, which were used for the purposes of threshing the grain and breaking up the straw. The brick-kiln.—This is the reading of the Hebrew text, and there is no sufficient reason to call it in question. The Hebrew margin, however, has “through Malchan; “and hence some have supposed that David made the Ammonites pass through the same fire by which they were accustomed to consecrate their children to Molech. In the infliction of these cruelties on his enemies David acted in accordance with the customs and the knowledge of his time. Abhorrent as they may be to the spirit of Christianity, David and his contemporaries took them as matters of course, without a suspicion that they were not in accordance with God’s will.

2 Samuel 12:31 . He brought forth the people — The words are indefinite, and therefore not necessarily to be understood of all the people, but of the men of war, and especially of those who had been the chief actors of that villanous action against David’s ambassadors, and of the dreadful war ensuing upon it; for which they deserved severe punishments. Indeed, since David left Shobi in the government of Rabbah, ( 2 Samuel 17:27 ,) it must be presumed that he left some besides female subjects under his dominion; and it is most likely that the bulk of the people were received to mercy, and only the king, and the accomplices and instruments of his tyranny, suffered the chastisements due to their guilt. And put them under saws, &c. — The Hebrew, וישׂם במגרה , vajasem bammegeerah, &c., may be literally and properly rendered, and he put them to the saw, and to iron harrows, or mines, and to axes of iron, and made them pass by, or to, the brick-kilns; that is, he made them slaves, and put them to the most servile employments, namely, sawing, harrowing, or making iron harrows, or mining, hewing of wood, and making brick. The version of the Seventy, though not very clear, may be interpreted to the same purpose. The Syriac and Arabic versions render the passage, He brought them out, and threw them into chains, and iron shackles, and made them pass before him in a proper measure, or by companies at a time.

If the parallel place, 1 Chronicles 20:3 , which our version renders, He cut them with saws, and with harrows of iron, and with axes, be objected, it must be observed, the Hebrew, וישׂר , vajasser, may be rendered, He separated to the saw, &c.; or, He ruled or governed by the saw, harrows, mines, and axes; made them slaves, and condemned them to these servile employments. Thus the words are rendered by Schmidius. And “this interpretation,” says Dr. Dodd, “is far from being forced, is agreeable to the proper sense and construction of the words, and will vindicate David from any inhumanity that can be charged upon the man after God’s own heart. The Syriac version is, He bound them with iron chains, &c.; and thus he bound them all. And the Arabic, He bound them all with chains, killing none of the Ammonites, This interpretation may be further confirmed by the next clause: Thus did he unto all the children of Ammon — For had he destroyed all the inhabitants by these, or any methods of severity, it would have been an almost total extirpation of them; and yet we read of them as united with the Moabites, and the inhabitants of Seir, and forming a very large army to invade the dominions of Jehoshaphat. It may be added, that if the punishments inflicted on this people were as severe as our version represents them, they were undoubtedly inflicted by way of reprisals.

31 . put them under saws ] Put them upon saws : or perhaps we should read as in Chron., sawed them with saws. Cp. Hebrews 11:37 . This barbarous practice was not unknown at Rome. “[Caligula] medios serra dissecuit.” (Sueton. Calig. 27.) harrows of iron ] Threshing-sledges of iron : sledges or frames armed on the underside with rollers or sharp spikes, used for the purpose of bruising the ears of corn, and extracting the grain, and at the same time breaking up the straw into small pieces for use as fodder. See Wilkinson’s Ancient Egyptians , i. 408, ii. 423. made them pass through the brick-kiln ] Burned them in brick-kilns. The phrase is chosen with reference to the idolatrous rite practised by the Ammonites, of “making their children pass through the fire” in honour of Moloch ( 2 Kings 23:10 ). This is the meaning of the Qrî or read text (see Introd. p. 15), which is probably correct. The Kthîbh or written text however has “made them pass through the Malchan ,” which is explained to mean the place where they burnt their children in honour of Moloch. But the word occurs nowhere else, and is of doubtful authority. These cruel punishments must be judged according to the standard of the age in which they were inflicted, not by the light of Christian civilisation. The Ammonites were evidently a savage and brutal nation ( 1 Samuel 11:1-2 ; 2 Samuel 10:1-5 ; Amos 1:13 ), and in all probability they were treated no worse than they were accustomed to treat others.

It was the age of retaliation, when the law of like for like—the lextalionis —prevailed ( Jdg 1:7 ; Leviticus 24:19-20 ). They had foully insulted David, and it is not to be wondered at if he was provoked into making a signal example of them by this severity. In this respect he did not rise above the level of his own age. Modern history has its parallels, not only in the barbarities perpetrated at Alençon by a ruthless soldier like William the Conqueror, but in the merciless massacre by which the Black Prince sullied his fair fame on the capture of Limoges. Green’s History , pp. 72, 226.

Verse 31. - The people that were therein. The cruel treatment described in this verse was inflicted, first of all, upon those who had defended Rabbah, now reduced to a small number by the long siege; but David next proceeded through all the cities, that is, the fortified towns of the Ammonites, inflicting similar barbarities. They were confined probably to the fighting men, and most of these would make their escape as soon as resistance became hopeless. The general population would, of course, scatter themselves in every direction, but the misery caused by such a breaking up of civil life, as well as by the cruel bloodshed, must have been terrible. Instead of "he put them in a saw," we find, in 1 Chronicles 20:3 , "he sawed them with a saw." This reading differs from what we have here only in one letter, and is plainly right, as the translation, "under saws," "under harrows of iron," etc., found both in the Authorized and Revised Versions, is simply an expedient, tendered necessary by the corruption of the text. If we restore the passage by the help of the parallel place, it runs on thus: "He sawed with a saw, and with threshing sledges of iron, and with cutting instruments of iron." What exactly the second were we do not know, as the word does not occur elsewhere. The Vulgate renders it "wains shod with iron," meaning, apparently, those driven over the corn for threshing purposes, and now driven over these unfortunate people.

The barbarity is not more horrible than that of sawing prisoners asunder. He made them pass through the brick kiln. Both the Septuagint and Vulgate have "brick kiln," Hebrew, malban , which the Massorites have adopted, but the Hebrew text has malchan. No commentator has given any satisfactory explanation of what can be meant by making the Ammonites pass through a brick kiln; but Kimchi gives a very probable interpretation of the word really found in the Hebrew, and which, not being intelligible, has been corrupted. For the Malchan was, he says, the place where the Ammonites made their children pass through the fire to Moloch. He thinks, therefore, that David put some of the people to death in this way. We cannot defend these cruelties, but they unhappily were the rule in Oriental warfare, and would have been inflicted on their enemies by the Ammonites. We have proof in l 1 Samuel 11:2 and Amos 1:13 that they were a barbarous race; but this did not justify barbarous retaliation. 2 Samuel 12:31

For the saw as an implement of torture compare Hebrews 11:37 . Harrows of iron - Or rather thrashing-machines (Isaiah 28:27; Isaiah 41:15, etc.). Axes - The word so rendered occurs only here and in 1 Chronicles 20:3. It evidently means some cutting instrument. Made them pass through the brick-kiln - The phrase is that always used of the cruel process of making their children pass through the fire to Moloch, and it is likely that David punished this idolatrous practice by inflicting something similar upon the worshippers of Moloch. The cruelty of these executions belongs to the barbarous manners of the age, and was provoked by the conduct of the Ammonites 2 Samuel 10:1-4; 1 Samuel 11:1-2, but is utterly indefensible under the light of the Gospel. If Rabbah was taken before David's penitence, he may have been in an unusually harsh and severe frame of mind. The unpleasant recollection of Uriah's death would be likely to sour and irritate him to the utmost.

And he brought forth the people that were therein, and put them under {t} saws, and under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron, and made them pass through the brickkiln: and thus did he unto all the cities of the children of Ammon. So David and all the people returned unto Jerusalem. (t) Signifying that as they were malicious enemies of God, so he put them to cruel death.

The people that were therein: the words are indefinite, and therefore not necessarily to be understood of all the people; for it had been barbarous to use women and children thus; but of the men of war, and especially of those who had been the chief actors or abettors of that villainous action against David’s ambassadors, (which was contrary to the law of nature, and of nations, and of all humanity,) and of the dreadful war ensuing upon it; for which they might seem to deserve the severest punishments. Although indeed there seems to have been too much rigour used; especially, because these dreadful deaths were inflicted not only upon those great counsellors, who were the only authors of that vile usage of the ambassadors; but upon a great number of the people, who were innocent from that crime. And therefore it is probably conceived that David exercised this cruelty whilst his heart was hardened and impenitent, and when he was bereaved of that free and good Spirit of God which would have taught him more mercy and moderation. Put them under saws: he sawed them to death; of which punishment we have examples, both in Scripture, Hebrews 11:37 , and in other authors. Under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron; he caused them to be laid down upon the ground, and torn by sharp iron harrows drawn over them, and hewed in pieces by keen axes. Made them pass through the brick-kiln, i.e. to be burnt in brickkilns.

Or, made them to pass through the furnace of Malchen , i.e. of Moloch , called also Milchom , and here Malchen ; punishing them with their own sin, and with the same kind of punishment which they inflicted upon their own children: see 2 Kings 16:3 23:10 Leviticus 18:21 20:2 Deu 18:10 .