2 Samuel — Chapter 8
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1And after this it came to pass, that David smote the Philistines, and subdued them: and David took Metheg-ammah out of the hand of the Philistines.
2And he smote Moab, and measured them with a line, casting them down to the ground; even with two lines measured he to put to death, and with one full line to keep alive. And so the Moabites became David’s servants, and brought gifts.
3David smote also Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his border at the river Euphrates.
4And 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.
5And when the Syrians of Damascus came to succour Hadadezer king of Zobah, David slew of the Syrians two and twenty thousand men.
6Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus: and the Syrians became servants to David, and brought gifts. And the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went.
7And David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem.
8And from Betah, and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, king David took exceeding much brass.
9When Toi king of Hamath heard that David had smitten all the host of Hadadezer,
10Then Toi sent Joram his son unto king David, to salute him, and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer, and smitten him: for Hadadezer had wars with Toi. And Joram brought with him vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and vessels of brass:
11Which also king David did dedicate unto the LORD, with the silver and gold that he had dedicated of all nations which he subdued;
12Of Syria, and of Moab, and of the children of Ammon, and of the Philistines, and of Amalek, and of the spoil of Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
13And David gat him a name when he returned from smiting of the Syrians in the valley of salt, being eighteen thousand men.
14And he put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom put he garrisons, and all they of Edom became David’s servants. And the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went.
15And David reigned over all Israel; and David executed judgment and justice unto all his people.
16And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the host; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder;
17And Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, were the priests; and Seraiah was the scribe;
18And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over both the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David’s sons were chief rulers.
1And after this it came to pass, that David smote the Philistines, and subdued them: and David took the bridle of the mother city out of the hand of the Philistines.
2And he smote Moab, and measured them with the line, making them to lie down on the ground; and he measured two lines to put to death, and one full line to keep alive. And the Moabites became servants to David, and brought tribute.
3David smote also Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his dominion at the River.
4And David took from him a thousand and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: and David hocked all the chariot horses, but reserved of them for a hundred chariots.
5And when the Syrians of Damascus came to succor Hadadezer king of Zobah, David smote of the Syrians two and twenty thousand men.
6Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus; and the Syrians became servants to David, and brought tribute. And Jehovah gave victory to David whithersoever he went.
7And David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem.
8And from Betah and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, king David took exceeding much brass.
9And when Toi king of Hamath heard that David had smitten all the host of Hadadezer,
10then Toi sent Joram his son unto king David, to salute him, and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and smitten him: for Hadadezer had wars with Toi. And [Joram] brought with him vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and vessels of brass:
11These also did king David dedicate unto Jehovah, with the silver and gold that he dedicated of all the nations which he subdued;
12of Syria, and of Moab, and of the children of Ammon, and of the Philistines, and of Amalek, and of the spoil of Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
13And David gat him a name when he returned from smiting the Syrians in the Valley of Salt, even eighteen thousand men.
14And he put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom put he garrisons, and all the Edomites became servants to David. And Jehovah gave victory to David whithersoever he went.
15And David reigned over all Israel; and David executed justice and righteousness unto all his people.
16And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the host; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder;
17and Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, were priests; and Seraiah was scribe;
18and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada [was over] the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David`s sons were chief ministers.
1Later David defeated the Philistines and subdued them. David took Metheg Ammah from the Philistines.
2He defeated the Moabites. He made them lie on the ground and then used a rope to measure them off. He put two-thirds of them to death and spared the other third. The Moabites became David’s subjects and brought tribute.
3David defeated King Hadadezer son of Rehob of Zobah when he came to reestablish his authority over the Euphrates River.
4David seized from him 1,700 charioteers and 20,000 infantrymen. David cut the hamstrings of all but 100 of the chariot horses.
5The Arameans of Damascus came to help King Hadadezer of Zobah, but David killed 22,000 of the Arameans.
6David placed garrisons in the territory of the Arameans of Damascus; the Arameans became David’s subjects and brought tribute. The Lord protected David wherever he campaigned.
7David took the golden shields that belonged to Hadadezer’s servants and brought them to Jerusalem.
8From Tebah and Berothai, Hadadezer’s cities, King David took a great deal of bronze.
9When King Toi of Hamath heard that David had defeated the entire army of Hadadezer,
10he sent his son Joram to King David to extend his best wishes and to pronounce a blessing on him for his victory over Hadadezer, for Toi had been at war with Hadadezer. He brought with him various items made of silver, gold, and bronze.
11King David dedicated these things to the Lord, along with the dedicated silver and gold that he had taken from all the nations that he had subdued,
12including Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and Amalek. This also included some of the plunder taken from King Hadadezer son of Rehob of Zobah.
13David became famous when he returned from defeating the Edomites in the Valley of Salt; he defeated 18,000 in all.
14He placed garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites became David’s subjects. The Lord protected David wherever he campaigned.
15David reigned over all Israel; he guaranteed justice for all his people.
16Joab son of Zeruiah was general in command of the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was secretary;
17Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Seraiah was scribe;
18Benaiah son of Jehoiada supervised the Kerethites and Pelethites; and David’s sons were priests.
1After this, David struck the Philistines and subdued them; and David took the bridle of the mother city out of the hand of the Philistines.
2He struck Moab, and measured them with the line, making them to lie down on the ground; and he measured two lines to put to death, and one full line to keep alive. The Moabites became servants to David, and brought tribute.
3David struck also Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his dominion at the River.
4David took from him one thousand seven hundred horsemen and twenty thousand footmen. David hamstrung all the chariot horses, but reserved of them for one hundred chariots.
5When the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David struck twenty two thousand men of the Syrians.
6Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus; and the Syrians became servants to David, and brought tribute. Yahweh gave victory to David wherever he went.
7David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem.
8From Betah and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, king David took a great quantity of brass.
9When Toi king of Hamath heard that David had struck all the army of Hadadezer,
10then Toi sent Joram his son to king David, to greet him, and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and struck him; for Hadadezer had wars with Toi. Joram brought with him vessels of silver, vessels of gold, and vessels of brass:
11King David also dedicated these to Yahweh, with the silver and gold that he dedicated of all the nations which he subdued;
12of Syria, of Moab, of the children of Ammon, of the Philistines, of Amalek, and of the plunder of Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
13David earned a reputation when he returned from striking down eighteen thousand men of the Syrians in the Valley of Salt.
14He put garrisons in Edom. Throughout all Edom put he garrisons, and all the Edomites became servants to David. Yahweh gave victory to David wherever he went.
15David reigned over all Israel; and David executed justice and righteousness for all his people.
16Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army, Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder,
17Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were priests, Seraiah was scribe,
18Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites, David’s sons were chief ministers.
Summary
David extends his kingdom through military victories over the Philistines, Moabites, Arameans, and Edomites. God gives David victory wherever he goes, and David administers justice and righteousness over all Israel.
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
- David's conquests expand his kingdom in all directions: Philistines (west), Moab (east), Zobah and Damascus (north), Edom (south)
- Zobah: An Aramean kingdom north of Damascus — David defeats Hadadezer and garrisons Damascus
- The Valley of Salt: Where David (or Abishai) defeats 18,000 Edomites — likely south of the Dead Sea
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik notes that this chapter shows God fulfilling His promises to David from chapter 7 — making his name great, cutting off his enemies, and giving him rest. He emphasizes that David's dedication of all spoils to God demonstrates that David understood his victories were God's, not his own. The wealth was held in trust for God's future purposes (the temple).
- Charles Spurgeon: "'The LORD preserved David whithersoever he went.' This is the secret of all true success. Not David's sword, nor David's strategy, but the LORD's preservation. Let us engrave this upon our hearts: wherever God sends us, He preserves us. Our victories are His victories; our achievements are His gifts. The moment we forget this and take credit for ourselves, we have begun the descent that leads to chapter 11."
Reflection
- 1. God fulfills His promises in real time (vv.6, 14). Chapter 7 promised David greatness, victory, and rest. Chapter 8 shows those promises being fulfilled — one battle at a time. God's promises are not abstract theology; they work themselves out in the concrete events of daily life. Trust the process.
- 2. Dedicate your victories to God (v.11). David took enormous wealth in conquest but dedicated it all to the LORD. He understood that his victories were God's gifts, not personal achievements. When God gives us success — in career, ministry, or any endeavor — the proper response is to dedicate the fruit back to Him.
- 3. Success is dangerous when we forget its source (vv.6, 14). The refrain "the LORD preserved David" appears twice — a reminder that David's military genius was not self-sufficient. Chapter 8's victories set up chapter 11's fall: when David stops going to battle and stays home, disaster follows. Success without continued dependence on God becomes the platform for failure.
- 4. Justice at home matters as much as victory abroad (v.15). David was not only a conqueror but a just ruler — "judgment and justice unto all his people." Military power without domestic justice is tyranny. God cares about how we treat those under our authority as much as how we handle external challenges.
- 5. God's purposes span generations (vv.11-12). David captured wealth he would never use for the temple he would never build. His victories served Solomon's future project. Sometimes our work serves purposes we will never see completed. Faithfulness in our generation funds God's work in the next.