2 Samuel 23:30

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.

30 . Benaiah the Pirathonite ] Of Pirathon in Ephraim ( Jdg 12:13 ; Jdg 12:15 ), perhaps the modern Ferâta , six miles W.S.W. of Shechem. Benaiah was general of the eleventh division ( 1 Chronicles 27:14 ). Hiddai ] In 1 Chronicles 11:32 Hurai , owing to the common confusion of d and r . the brooks of Gaash ] Or Nahale-Gaash , a proper name meaning the ravines of the earthquake . “The hill of Gaash” was on the south of Joshua’s property at Timnath-serah in Mount Ephraim ( Joshua 19:50 ; Joshua 24:30 ; Jdg 2:9 ), the traditional site of which is Kefr Hâris , nine miles S.W. of Shechem. But no trace of the name Gaash has yet been discovered.

Verse 30. - Benaiah . He was an Ephraimite, and had the command of the eleventh brigade. Pirathon was a town in Ephraim ( Judges 12:15 ). Hiddai . Called Hurai in 1 Chronicles 11:32 , by the common confusion of d and r . The brooks of Gaash. "Nahale-Gaash," the ravines of Gaash, was probably the name of some village, of which nothing is now known. 2 Samuel 23:30

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.

Benaiah of Phir'aton in the tribe of Ephraim, a place which has been preserved in the village of Fer'ata, to the south-west of Nablus (see at Judges 12:13 ). Hiddai (wrongly spelt Hudai in the Chronicles), out of the valleys of Gaash, in the tribe of Ephraim by the mountain of Gaash, the situation of which has not yet been discovered (see at Joshua 24:30 ).

31 . Ithai ] In 2 Samuel 23:29 “Ittai,” the same name as in 2 Samuel 15:19 ; 2 Samuel 18:2 , but a different person is meant. that pertained to ] R.V. of. Benaiah the Pirathonite ] So in 1 Chronicles 27:14 ; 2 Samuel 23:30 . Pirathon was a town in Ephraim; Jdg 12:15 . Probably the place is mentioned also in 1Ma 9:50 ( τὴν Θαμνάθα Φαραθών ). 1 Chronicles 11:31