Deeper Commentary
2Sa 10:1 It happened after this, that the king of the children of
Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his place-
"After this" can signal a change of subject rather than being
chronologically significant. The same phrase is used in 2 Sam. 8:1, although
the preceding chapter refers to events after and not before that time.
2Sa 10:2 David said, I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, as his
father showed kindness to me. So David sent by his servants to comfort him
concerning his father. David’s servants came into the land of the children
of Ammon-
This continues the theme discussed on 2 Sam. 9:1, where the same phrase
is used. David was proactively seeking to show grace to all and sundry. It
was as if he was looking for an excuse to show grace by saying that Nahash
king of the Ammonites had been kind to David; for Saul and David had had
conflict with them (2 Sam. 8:12). But he fails to maintain that intensity;
for when his grace is now abused, he reacts very harshly. Whereas when he
abused God's grace, e.g. over Bathsheba, God was gentle with him. We note
that he likewise shows grace to Shimei, and then finally asks Solomon to
ensure that Shimei is slain. It is one thing to show grace or forgiveness in
a moment, but to maintain that position long term, or when it is abused and
rejected, is far harder. But that is what imitating God's grace is all about
it.
Or it could be that Nahash was bitter after Saul's defeat of him, and had been supportive of David on the basis that 'my enemy's enemy is my friend'.
2Sa 10:3 But the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun their lord,
Do you think that David honours your father, in that he has sent comforters
to you? Hasn’t David sent his servants to you to search the city, and to spy
it out, and to overthrow it?-
Perhaps they were aware of the Mosaic command not to seek the
peace of Moab nor Ammon (Dt. 23:6). David's desire to show grace therefore
overrode Mosaic legal commands. And yet the princes were not without
reason, given how David had just abused the Moabites in 2 Sam. 8:1-3, and
David would treat the Ammonites with similar brutality in 2 Sam. 12; and
how Saul had slain the king of Ammon in 1 Sam. 11:1. We note how
repeatedly deceptive David had been to the people of Gath. There was no
reason to believe he was showing pure grace. His previous apparently
amazing grace to Mephibosheth we saw was not in fact so amazing neither
was it pure. One wonders, given the back story to David and Israel's
relationship with Ammon, whether the sending of comforters was not in fact
to provoke a spying accusation and start a war.
Again, as with Mephibosheth's struggle to believe David's grace, these men couldn't believe David's grace, just as struggle to believe that of the Lord Jesus. Their logic is presented here as being exactly that of Joab in his angry, suspicious interpretation of Abner's visit to David (2 Sam. 3:24,25). Joab was wrong in his interpretation, and so were these princes. It is quite a theme of the historical records that kings are badly advised by their courtiers. We think also of Rehoboam's advisers. Perhaps this is to highlight how the only true interpretation of events and advice for action comes from God and not men.
David sent messengers to Nabal meaning well to him, and they were
rudely rebuffed, resulting in his anger which only Abigail’s grace and
wisdom saved him from (1 Sam. 25). And yet the same situation repeated in
its essence when he sent messengers to Hanun who were likewise
misinterpreted and rebuffed (2 Sam. 10:3). Again, David got angry- but
there was no Abigail to restrain him, and he did get into an impossible
fight… from which by grace God delivered him. Could it not be that David
failed to learn from his previous experience…? Circumstances repeat within
our lives and between our lives and those of others in Biblical history;
that we might learn the lessons and take comfort from the scriptures, that
man is not alone.
2Sa 10:4 So Hanun took David’s servants, and shaved off the one half of
their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their
buttocks, and sent them away-
Having a beard was then seen as a sign of being a free man; to have a
half shaved beard was a sign of servanthood. Doing this was a direct
provocation and effective declaration of war, claiming the Hebrews were
their servants. Garments cut to the buttocks meant they were
prisoners of war who had been released, as in Is. 20:4 "the king of Assyria
will lead away the captives of Egypt... with buttocks uncovered".
We see in all this history how fickle are men. We saw it in Samuel's record of David's relationship with Gath and the Philistines, with both sides willing to live and work together despite having betrayed each other's trust and having sought to murder each other. Here too we reflect how later in 2 Sam. 17:27 "It happened, when David had come to Mahanaim, that Shobi the son of Nahash of Rabbah of the children of Ammon" came to support and assist him. Hanun's brother Shobi was to come onto David's side. Or perhaps he always was with David, and possibly Hanun himself was at this point overridden by his princes (:3), just as the princes of the Philistines earlier overrode the position of Achish regarding David. We wonder whether David's later refusal to go to the war against Ammon, just delegating the job to Joab, was perhaps because he realized this was a political issue and had no heart for the fight. Absalom chased David up to the Jabbok river, the border with the Ammonites, suggesting David fled there for refuge (2 Sam. 17:26). We note how later Zedekiah was allied with the Ammonites (Jer. 27), and Solomon married an Ammonitess; for 2 Chron. 12:13 says that the mother of Rehoboam was Naamah the Ammonitess.
The books of Samuel also show how people, especially kings, are led into terrible situations by listening to their advisors. Hanun is an example. David by contrast repeatedly refuses to do what his men urge him to [in killing Saul or Shimei] and listens to good advice [from Abigail and Samuel]. But the other kings are presented as taking bad advice.
2Sa 10:5 When they told it to David, he sent to meet them; for the men
were greatly ashamed. The king said, Wait at Jericho until your beards
have grown, and then return-
We note David's ability to be very sensitive to the situation of
others. And yet the same man shed blood abundantly, took no care for the
feelings of Michal and Paltiel when he split their marriage up, let alone
cared for Uriah... And yet this is the strange mixture of spirituality and
unspirituality which we experience in ourselves and in others all the
time.
2Sa 10:6 When the children of Ammon saw that they were become odious to
David, the children of Ammon sent and hired the Syrians of Beth Rehob, and
the Syrians of Zobah, twenty thousand footmen, and the king of Maacah with
one thousand men, and the men of Tob with twelve thousand men-
They paid 1000 pieces of silver for the Syrians (1 Chron. 19:6). For
"thousand" see on :18. This fearsome confederacy was all part of God's
purpose, for the subsequent victories resulted in these smaller kings
becoming subservient to David (see on :19). And this is how God uses our
worst crises, ultimately towards our blessing. 2 Sam. 23:36 speaks of a
Syrian man from Zobah being one of David's loyalest men. Igal would
have been a Syrian from Zobah, perhaps one of the soldiers who fought
against David (2 Sam. 10:6) and then converted to him. The Gittites who
followed David were likewise Philistines from Gath who were once his
enemies but converted to his God, and devoted themselves zealously to Him.
This is an incredible witness to the power of Yahweh to convert, because
such willing defections of individuals to the people and God of their
enemies, and being zealously committed to Him, was unheard of in their
society.
"Maacah" is LXX "Amalek", and we immediately recall that Yahweh was at war with Amalek from generation to generation.
2Sa 10:7 When David heard of it, he sent Joab, and all the army of the
mighty men-
We wonder why David didn't go himself, although he does personally
lead the army to the even greater battle with the Syrians which this one
provoked. Perhaps this is to prepare us for the statement in 2 Sam. 11:1
that David's remaining in Jerusalem led to his sin with Bathsheba. And we
wonder whether that relationship had not already started at this time,
with Uriah away at the front so much.
2Sa 10:8 The children of Ammon came out, and put the battle in array at
the entrance of the gate: and the Syrians of Zobah and of Rehob, and the
men of Tob and Maacah, were by themselves in the field-
"By themselves" could mean that they had planned to combine with the
Ammonite forces at Medeba (1 Chron. 19:7), about 20 miles from Rabbah of
the Ammonites. It seems Joab marched at top speed to engage with them
before the Ammonites and Syrians met up with each other as one large
force. The Ammonites assembled their battle lines at the entrance to
Rabbah, but it seems they didn't engage with the Israelites. They were
waiting for the Syrians to arrive and combine their forces. When Joab
makes the Syrians flee, the Ammonites fled back into their city gate.
2Sa 10:9 Now when Joab saw that the battle was set against him before and
behind, he chose of all the choice men of Israel, and put them in array
against the Syrians-
He saw the Syrians as a greater strength than the Ammonites. He
placed himself between the two armies before they had time to join up with
each other. This meant the Israelites would be sandwiched between them. It
was a daring but dangerous move, which could easily have led to the
annihilation of the entire Israelite army.
2Sa 10:10 The rest of the people he committed into the hand of Abishai his
brother; and he put them in array against the children of Ammon-
That Joab took the most dangerous part of the engagement speaks much
of his bravery. But as we will note on :12, bravery and passing mention of
God are not the same as faith and true wisdom.
2Sa 10:11 He said-
The idea is, that he planned or thought. The Bible continually
stresses that the thought is the word spoken. And the essence of Biblical
spirituality is upon the heart, the thinking.
If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but
if the children of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will come and help
you-
This is playing on the name "Hadadezer" (:16), which means 'Helped
['ezer'] by Hadad', the sun god. We might have preferred to see Joab
alluding to Yahweh being their help; but instead he thinks of help in
terms of human strength.
2Sa 10:12 Be courageous, and let us be strong for our people, and for the
cities of our God; and Yahweh do that which seems good to Him-
As explained on :9, this was a very daring maneuver by Joab. We
wonder whether he had real faith in Yahweh, or whether his words here
express fatalism rather than faith. There is a significant difference, and
often what appears to be faith can be mere fatalism. There
is so much ambiguity in these records, especially in the upcoming account
of David and Bathsheba; and I suggest that is intentional, to provoke our
reflection and attempt to enter into these histories.
2Sa 10:13 So Joab and the people who were with him drew near to the battle
against the Syrians: and they fled before him-
So often the Israelite victories were humanly speaking achieved by
surprise attack from an unexpected angle, using unexpected and unusual
tactics. It could be that this was due to Divine guidance, telling them to
do what was unusual and against secular wisdom. For this is always God's
path to victory, thereby demonstrating that victory and success are of His
grace rather than human strength.
2Sa 10:14 When the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians had fled, they
likewise fled before Abishai, and entered into the city. Then Joab
returned from the children of Ammon, and came to Jerusalem-
We get the impression that Abishai didn't attack the Ammonites; the
Syrians fled when Joab attacked them, and the Ammonites withdrew into
Rabbah when they saw that. This is all providing context for the
Bathsheba incident. 2 Sam. 11:1 speaks of the time when kings go forth to
war, so we can conclude that "the city" here is Rabbah, and Joab didn't
try to take Rabbah because it was Winter and conditions weren't good for a
siege. He returned to Jerusalem to winter and go forth in the spring to
attack Rabbah.
2Sa 10:15 When the Syrians saw that they were defeated by Israel, they
gathered themselves together-
They were mercenaries, and the fact they had failed to achieve what
Ammon hoped for didn't require them to fight again. They did so, it seems,
because of wounded pride. And this again (as noted on :13) is a feature of
God's amazing victories. The pride of Gentile armies is brought down by
smaller armies of Israelites using unusual, unexpected tactics because
they were guided by Yahweh. Always pride is presented as the great
weakness of man.
2Sa 10:16 Hadadezer sent, and brought out the Syrians who were beyond the
River: and they came to Helam, with Shobach the captain of the army of
Hadadezer at their head-
To gather soldiers from beyond the river Euphrates was a huge effort;
and now the best general, as they thought, was placed over them. And it
all arose from hurt pride and the desire by all means to defeat Israel in
vengeance for Joab and his small army putting their army to flight
previously, when they had been paid money to defeat Israel.
2Sa 10:17 It was told David; and he gathered all Israel together, and
passed over the Jordan, and came to Helam. The Syrians set themselves in
array against David, and fought with him-
The parallel is drawn between the Syrians coming from the other side
of the Euphrates (:16) led by Shobach, and David and his men coming from
the other side of the Jordan.
2Sa 10:18 The Syrians fled before Israel; and David killed of the Syrians
seven hundred charioteers and forty thousand horsemen, and struck Shobach
the captain of their army, so that he died there-
There are apparently different numbers given in 2 Sam. 8:4; 10:18 and
1 Chron. 19:18. I see no real problem here once we appreciate that the
Hebrew word "thousand" used when giving numbers like this rarely means
1,000 as a number. It is also translated regiment, brigade, family,
squadron etc. And to Israelites looking at the Syrian army, it could be
described in various ways. There many regiments, families, groups,
squadrons, but these subdivisions of an ancient army are all called a
"thousand". Depending how one looks at the army and its subdivisions. A
modern army would be subdivided into two to four corps, a corps has at
least two divisions or legions, a division has two four brigades or
regiments, a brigade has two or more regiments, a regiment has two
or more battalions, a battalion has a number of companies, a company has a
number of platoons, a platoon has a number of squads or fire teams. The
problem is that the Hebrew Bible uses the same word for all such military
subdivisions, and it is translated "thousand" in many Bibles. Hence the
apparently contradictory numbers.
2Sa 10:19 When all the kings who were servants to Hadadezer saw that they
were defeated before Israel, they made peace with Israel, and served them.
So the Syrians feared to help the children of Ammon any more-
This meant that the smaller kings like Tob, Rehob and Maacah now paid
tribute to David rather than to Hadadezer.
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