2 Samuel 23:27

23:8-39 David once earnestly longed for the water at the well of Bethlehem. It seems to be an instance of weakness. He was thirsty; with the water of that well he had often refreshed himself when a youth, and it was without due thought that he desired it. Were his valiant men so forward to expose themselves, upon the least hint of their prince's mind, and so eager to please him, and shall not we long to approve ourselves to our Lord Jesus, by ready compliance with his will, as shown us by his word, Spirit, and providence? But David poured out the water as a drink-offering to the Lord. Thus he would cross his own foolish fancy, and punish himself for indulging it, and show that he had sober thoughts to correct his rash ones, and knew how to deny himself. Did David look upon that water as very precious which was got at the hazard of these men's blood, and shall not we much more value those benefits for purchasing which our blessed Saviour shed his blood? Let all beware of neglecting so great salvation.

Abiezer the Anethothite,.... He was of Anathoth, in the tribe of Benjamin, Joshua 21:18 , the birthplace of Jeremiah the prophet, Jeremiah 1:1 , Mebunnai the Hushathite; the same with Sibbecai, 1 Chronicles 11:29; this man had two names, and was a descendant of Hushah, who came of Judah, 1 Chronicles 4:4.

(27) Abiezer. —He was general for the ninth month ( 1Chronicles 27:12 ). He was of Anathoth, a priestly city of Benjamin, the home of Jeremiah. Mebunnai.—According to 2Samuel 21:18 Sibbechai, and to 1Chronicles 11:29 Sibbecai, these being the same in the Hebrew. The two names are much alike in the original and might be easily confused. He slew the giant Saph (2Samuel 21:18), and was the general for the eighth month (1Chronicles 27:11).

27 . Abiezer the Anethothite ] Of Anathoth in Benjamin. The modern village of Anâta , three miles N.N.E. of Jerusalem, preserves the name and marks the site. It was a priests city ( Joshua 21:18 ); the home of Abiathar ( 1 Kings 2:26 ); and the birth-place of the prophet Jeremiah ( Jeremiah 1:1 ). Antothite ( 1 Chronicles 11:28 ), and Anetothite ( 1 Chronicles 27:12 ), are merely different transliterations of the same Heb. word. In the latter passage Abiezer is named as the general of the ninth division of the army. Mebunnai the Hushathite ] Mebunnai ( מבני ) is doubtless a textual error for Sibbechai ( מבכי ), the consonants being very similar and easily confused in the original text, which had no vowels. Sibbechai won renown by slaying the giant Saph (ch. 2 Samuel 21:18 ), and commanded the eighth division of the army ( 1 Chronicles 27:11 ). His native place Hushah must have been in Judah, as it is mentioned among the places occupied by the descendants of Judah ( 1 Chronicles 4:4 ), but nothing further is known about it. He belonged to the important clan of the Zarhites, descended from Zerah the son of Judah ( 1 Chronicles 2:4 ).

Verse 27. - Abiezer . He had the command of the ninth brigade ( 1 Chronicles 27:12 ). Anathoth, now Mata , was a priestly city in Benjamin ( Joshua 21:18 ), the home of Abiathar ( 1 Kings 2:26 ), and the birthplace of Jeremiah ( Jeremiah 1:1 ). Anethothite and Antothite , in the parallel places in Chronicles, are merely different ways of pronouncing the same Hebrew consonants. Mebunnai . Written Sibbechai in 2 Samuel 21:18 , and, as the name is so written in both the parallel places in Chronicles, Mebunnai is probably a mistake. In 1 Chronicles 27:11 he is said to have been commander of the eighth brigade, and to have been a Zarhite of the town of Hushah, in the tribe of Judah (see 1 Chronicles 4:4 ). 2 Samuel 23:27

19-39. the first three—The mighty men or champions in David's military staff were divided into three classes—the highest, Jashobeam, Eleazar, and Shammah; the second class, Abishai, Benaiah, and Asahel; and the third class, the thirty, of which Asahel was the chief. There are thirty-one mentioned in the list, including Asahel; and these added to the two superior orders make thirty-seven. Two of them, we know, were already dead; namely, Asahel [2Sa 3:30] and Uriah [2Sa 11:17]; and if the dead, at the drawing up of the list, amounted to seven, then we might suppose a legion of honor, consisting of the definite number thirty, where the vacancies, when they occurred, were replaced by fresh appointments.

Abiezer of Anathoth (Anata) in Benjamin (see at Joshua 18:24 ), chief of the ninth division of the army ( 1 Chronicles 27:12 ). Mebunnai is a mistake in spelling for Sibbechai the Hushathite (compare 2 Samuel 21:18 and 1 Chronicles 11:29 ). According to 1 Chronicles 27:11 , he was chief of the eighth division of the army.

Heroes of the second class. - 2 Samuel 23:18 , 2 Samuel 23:19 . Abishai, Joab's brother (see 1 Samuel 26:6 ), was also chief of the body-guard, like Jashobeam ( 2 Samuel 23:8 : the Chethib השּׁלשׁי is correct; see at 2 Samuel 23:8 ). He swung his spear over three hundred slain. "He had a name among the three," i.e., the three principal heroes, Jashobeam, Eleazar, and Shammah. The following words, מן־השּׁלשׁה, make no sense. השּׁלשׁה is an error in writing for השּׁלשׁים, as 2 Samuel 23:23 shows in both the texts ( 2 Samuel 23:25 of the Chronicles): an error the origin of which may easily be explained from the word שׁלשׁה, which stands immediately before. "He was certainly honoured before the thirty (heroes of David), and became their chief, but he did not come to the three," i.e., he was not equal to Jashobeam, Eleazar, and Shammah. הכי has the force of an energetic assurance: "Is it so that," i.e., it is certainly so (as in 2 Samuel 9:1 ; Genesis 27:36 ; Genesis 29:15 ).