2 Samuel 21:16

_AND ISHBIBENOB, WHICH WAS OF THE SONS OF THE GIANT, THE WEIGHT OF WHOSE SPEAR WEIGHED THREE HUNDRED SHEKELS OF BRASS IN WEIGHT, HE BEING GIRDED WITH A NEW SWORD, THOUGHT TO HAVE SLAIN DAVID._ Ishbi-benob (Ishbe-benob, the Qeri') - his (my) dwelling is at Nob. WHICH WAS OF THE SONS OF THE GIANT, х_ HAA-RAAPAAH_ (H7497), with the article (cf. 1 Chronicles 20:4; 1 Chronicles 20:6; 1 Chronicles 20:8); Septuagint, en tois ekgonois tou Rafa (with the article also)] - the founder of a class or family remarkable for their strength and stature. In earlier times the Rephaim were a numerous race, inhabiting the regions east o

15-22 These events seem to have taken place towards the end of David's reign. David fainted, but he did not flee, and God sent help in the time of need. In spiritual conflicts, even strong saints sometimes wax faint; then Satan attacks them furiously; but those who stand their ground and resist him, shall be relieved and made more than conquerors. Death is a Christian's last enemy, and a son of Anak; but through Him that triumphed for us, believers shall be more than conquerors at last, even over that enemy....

Verse 2 Samuel 21:16. _BEING GIRDED WITH A NEW_ SWORD] As the word _sword_ is not in the original, we may apply the term _new_ to his _armour_ in general; he had got new arms, a new coat of mail, or something that defended him well, and rendered him very formidable: or it may mean a strong or sharp sword....

ISHBI-BENOB - A corrupt reading. The whole passage should perhaps run thus: “And David waxed faint. So they halted in Gob (as in 2 Samuel 21:18). And there was a man (in Gob) which was of the sons of the giant, etc.” SONS OF THE GIANT - The “giant” here 2 Samuel 21:18, 2 Samuel 21:20, 2 Samuel 21:22 is “ha-Raphah,” whence, the “Rephaim” Genesis 14:5; Deuteronomy 2:11. The so

EXPOSITION 2 SAMUEL 21:1 THERE WAS A FAMINE IN THE DAYS OF DAVID; Hebrew, _and there was. _There is an entire absence of any mark of time to show in what part of David's reign this famine took place. It does not even follow, from the mention of Mephibosheth's name, that it must have happened at a time subsequent to the sending for that prince from Machir's house; for it may have been the search after the descendants of Saul which made David remember the son of his old friend. The burial, however, of the bones of Saul and Jonathan as an act of respect to the slaughtered king makes it probable that the narrative belongs to the early part of David's reign, as also does the apparent fact that the seven victims were all young and unmarried. Mephibosheth, we read, had a young son when David sent for him. Now, he was five years old whe

AND ISHBIBENOB, WHICH [WAS] OF THE SONS OF THE GIANT,.... Of Goliath, or of a giant, of the race of them: THE WEIGHT OF WHOSE SPEAR [WEIGHED] THREE HUNDRED [SHEKELS] OF BRASS IN WEIGHT; which must be understood either of the wood of it, or of the head of it, the flaming point of it, as many interpret it; and if so, it was but half the weight of Goliath's spear, unless there was any difference of the weight of iron and of brass, see 1 Samuel 17:7; HE BEING GIRDED WITH A NEW [SWORD]; or rather with a new girdle, as the Targum; and so Jarchi, which might be given him as a mark of honour, or as a token of his having a commission in the army: THOUGHT TO HAVE SLAIN DAVID; his aim was at him, and perceiving him faint and feeble, thought to take the advantage of it, and dispatch him....

IV. THE APPENDIX TO THE HISTORY OF DAVID 1. The Famines and the Wars with the Philistines CHAPTER 21 _ 1. The Famine and the Gibeonites (2 Samuel 21:1)_ 2. The Wars with the Philistines (2 Samuel 21:15) The fourth section of the second book of Samuel is an appendix to the history of David. When the great famine happened in the days of David we do not know. After the famine had returned year after year, for three years, David inquired of the Lord. Why did he not inquire in the first year? It is an evidence of the low spiritual state which prevailed at that time. The answer which David received revealed the cause of the judgment which rested upon the land. It was Saul and the blood-guilt in having slain the Gibeonites. The story of the Gibeonites is recorded in...

DAVID'S HEROES (first section). _Cf._ above. (J). These verses are probably from the same source as 2 Samuel 23:8 ff., and the source is no doubt ancient. The events in 2 Samuel 21:15 ff. and 2 Samuel 23:8 ff. belong to various periods in the life of David. 2 SAMUEL 21:15. ABISHAI RESCUES DAVID. The text of 2 Samuel 21:16 is corrupt; the general sense seems to have been: At Gob, some place otherwise unknown, David was in danger from a giant whose name has been lost through corruption of the text....

GIANT. Rapha. See App-23 and App-25, THOUGHT TO HAVE SLAIN, or, said he would _slay._...

Heroic exploits in the Philistine wars This section is quite unconnected with the preceding narrative. It is perhaps a fragment from some "book of golden deeds" recording the exploits of David and his warriors. From such a chronicle may also be derived ch. 2 Samuel 23:8-39, possibly ch. 2 Samuel 5:17-25, and some other sections of the book. 2 Samuel 21:18 are also preserved in Chronicles, where they are placed immediately after the capture of Rabbah (1 Chronicles 20:4-8)....