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This is the New King James text of the passages. |
II Samuel 8-9; I Chronicles 18 Listen
David...what a warrior! (II Samuel 8; I Chronicles 18)
II Samuel 8 |
I Chronicles 18 |
1 After this it came to pass that David attacked the Philistines and subdued them. And David took Metheg Ammah from the hand of the Philistines. 2 ¶ Then he defeated Moab. Forcing them down to the ground, he measured them off with a line. With two lines he measured off those to be put to death, and with one full line those to be kept alive. So the Moabites became David’s servants, and brought tribute. 3 ¶ David also defeated Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his territory at the River Euphrates. 4 David took from him one thousand chariots, seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand foot soldiers. Also David hamstrung all the chariot horses, except that he spared enough of them for one hundred chariots. 5 ¶ When the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David killed twenty-two thousand of the Syrians. 6 Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus; and the Syrians became David’s servants, and brought tribute. So the LORD preserved David wherever he went. 7 And David took the shields of gold that had belonged to the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 Also from Betah and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, King David took a large amount of bronze. 9 ¶ When Toi king of Hamath heard that David had defeated all the army of Hadadezer, 10 then Toi sent Joram his son to King David, to greet him and bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him (for Hadadezer had been at war with Toi); and Joram brought with him articles of silver, articles of gold, and articles of bronze. 11 King David also dedicated these to the LORD, along with the silver and gold that he had dedicated from all the nations which he had subdued— 12 from Syria, from Moab, from the people of Ammon, from the Philistines, from Amalek, and from the spoil of Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah. 13 ¶ And David made himself a name when he returned from killing eighteen thousand Syrians in the Valley of Salt. 14 He also put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom he put garrisons, and all the Edomites became David’s servants. And the LORD preserved David wherever he went. 15 ¶ So David reigned over all Israel; and David administered judgment and justice to all his people. 16 Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder; 17 Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were the priests; Seraiah was the scribe; 18 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over both the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David’s sons were chief ministers. |
1 After this it came to pass that David attacked the Philistines, subdued them, and took Gath and its towns from the hand of the Philistines. 2 Then he defeated Moab, and the Moabites became David’s servants, and brought tribute. 3 ¶ And David defeated Hadadezer king of Zobah as far as Hamath, as he went to establish his power by the River Euphrates. 4 David took from him one thousand chariots, seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand foot soldiers. Also David hamstrung all the chariot horses, except that he spared enough of them for one hundred chariots. 5 ¶ When the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David killed twenty-two thousand of the Syrians. 6 Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus; and the Syrians became David’s servants, and brought tribute. So the LORD preserved David wherever he went. 7 And David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 Also from Tibhath and from Chun, cities of Hadadezer, David brought a large amount of bronze, with which Solomon made the bronze Sea, the pillars, and the articles of bronze. 9 ¶ Now when Tou king of Hamath heard that David had defeated all the army of Hadadezer king of Zobah, 10 he sent Hadoram his son to King David, to greet him and bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him (for Hadadezer had been at war with Tou); and Hadoram brought with him all kinds of articles of gold, silver, and bronze. 11 King David also dedicated these to the LORD, along with the silver and gold that he had brought from all these nations—from Edom, from Moab, from the people of Ammon, from the Philistines, and from Amalek. 12 ¶ Moreover Abishai the son of Zeruiah killed eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt. 13 He also put garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became David’s servants. And the LORD preserved David wherever he went. 14 ¶ So David reigned over all Israel, and administered judgment and justice to all his people. 15 Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder; 16 Zadok the son of Ahitub and Abimelech the son of Abiathar were the priests; Shavsha was the scribe; 17 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David’s sons were chief ministers at the king’s side. |
Getting a promise from God like David did (Genesis 15:18 (see notes) as part of the Abrahamic Covenant.
David has finally acquired control of all the land that God had promised Abraham in Genesis 15:18.
Here we see that David defeats and subjugates the Philistines: "...David took Metheg Ammah from the hand of the Philistines." That phrase means he took control of their mother (capital) city. Then David defeats and subdues the Moabites. That's interesting inasmuch as David's great grandmother (Ruth) was born and raised in Moab before she left home with Naomi for Israel. Moreover, we see in II Samuel 8:2 that some fascinating method of measuring by David was implemented with the Moabite prisoners of war to determine which two-thirds of them would be executed, leaving the remaining one third as servants of Israel.
Perhaps these Moabite prisoner executions were excessive. When David is denied permission to build the Temple, he is told in II Samuel 10:6, see notes).
It's no wonder King Toi brought offerings to David - better to be David's friend than his enemy. David had just conquered everything around him, and after the defeat of the Edomites, his name was known everywhere. I think we can assume that David's border with Egypt probably extended to the Nile River, thus fulfilling (see notes), "On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: 'To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates.'" It would appear that this was David's goal.
David was definitely on a roll, and I Chronicles 18:13 tells us why, "He also put garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became David’s servants. And the LORD preserved David wherever he went." Then take special notice of I Chronicles 18:14, "So David reigned over all Israel, and administered judgment and justice to all his people." David was a just king, and "the LORD preserved David wherever he went" (verse 13). His regime was not one of oppression or cruelty. His became the Old Testament model for reigning.
The office of high priest was shared by Abiathar and Zadok (II Samuel 8:17; I Chronicles 18:16) during David's reign. (I Samuel 2, see notes), was not a descendant of Phinehas.
Later on after David's reign, while Abiathar (a descendant of Eli) and his ancestors had enjoyed the office of high priest, he was deposed by Solomon because he took part in the attempt to raise Adonijah to the throne instead of Solomon (Numbers 25:13 (see notes); it just took a few hundred years. Zadok's line became the exclusive line for the high priests. As a matter of fact, it is believed by many that the name "Sadducees" has "Zadok" as its root. In Jesus' day, the Sadducees exclusively filled the office of high priest.
David looks for a way to make it up to Jonathan (II Samuel 9)
1 Now David said, “Is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”
2 ¶ And there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba. So when they had called him to David, the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” ¶ He said, “At your service!”
3 ¶ Then the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, to whom I may show the kindness of God?” ¶ And Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan who is lame in his feet.”
4 ¶ So the king said to him, “Where is he?” ¶ And Ziba said to the king, “Indeed he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, in Lo Debar.”
5 ¶ Then King David sent and brought him out of the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo Debar.
6 ¶ Now when Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, had come to David, he fell on his face and prostrated himself. Then David said, “Mephibosheth?” ¶ And he answered, “Here is your servant!”
7 ¶ So David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father’s sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather; and you shall eat bread at my table continually.”
8 ¶ Then he bowed himself, and said, “What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I?”
9 ¶ And the king called to Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him, “I have given to your master’s son all that belonged to Saul and to all his house.
10 You therefore, and your sons and your servants, shall work the land for him, and you shall bring in the harvest, that your master’s son may have food to eat. But Mephibosheth your master’s son shall eat bread at my table always.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
11 ¶ Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king has commanded his servant, so will your servant do.” ¶ “As for Mephibosheth,” said the king, “he shall eat at my table like one of the king’s sons.”
12 Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Micha. And all who dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants of Mephibosheth.
13 So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem, for he ate continually at the king’s table. And he was lame in both his feet.
Before his death, Jonathan was heir apparent to King Saul's throne. One problem though - God had discontinued the line of kings from Saul (II Samuel 4:1-12, see notes). Typically, a king would do everything possible to exterminate the descendants of previous kings in order to prevent their ascension to the throne at a later time. David, however, honors his friendship with Saul's son, Jonathan. He gives him servants and promises to take care of him for the rest of his life. Saul's former servant, Ziba, strikes it rich here along with his entire household. They get the pleasure of serving Mephibosheth, compliments of David. So, David has subdued his enemies, built a nice house in Jerusalem and extended kindness to Saul's descendant; he's on a roll.
Incidentally, this man Ziba facilitates this Mephibosheth/David connection and subsequently gets a very nice job of taking care of Mephibosheth on behalf of King David. However, Ziba later deals treacherously with Mephibosheth - even lies about him (II Samuel 16:1-4, see notes). Sometimes it's simply hard to get good help.