David Wins Many Wars
v1 Some time later, David fought the Philistines. He defeated them and he controlled their chief city. v2 Then David defeated the people from Moab. He made the prisoners lie down on the ground. Then he measured them with a line. David’s army killed the prisoners who were lying by the first and second lines. But they allowed the prisoners who were lying by the third line to live. After that, the people of Moab had to serve David. They paid taxes to him.
v3 Hadadezer was the son of Rehob, the king of Zobah. Hadadezer had gone to the river Euphrates. He wanted to rule over the territory round the river again. But David defeated him. v4 David took 1,000 of Hadadezer’s chariots. He took as prisoners 7,000 men who rode in the chariots. David also took 20,000 other soldiers as prisoners. He kept 100 of their horses. Then David’s soldiers cut the back of the ankles of all the other horses.
v5 The Aramean men from the area of Damascus went to help Hadadezer. David’s army killed 22 000 Arameans. v6 Then David set up military camps in the Aramean kingdom of Damascus. The Arameans had to serve David. They had to pay him taxes. The Lord gave David success wherever he went. v7 David took the gold shields from Hadadezer’s officers. He brought the shields to Jerusalem. v8 Hadadezer also ruled the towns of Tebah and Berothai. King David took a lot of bronze from these towns.
v9 King Toi came from the town of Hamath. He heard that David had defeated the army of Hadadezer. v10 King Toi sent his son Joram to King David. He praised David for his success. King Toi (also called Tou) and Hadadezer were enemies. They had fought many battles. Joram gave many gold, silver, and bronze objects to David. v11 David gave these things to the Lord. David had already given much gold and silver to the Lord. These valuable things came from the nations that David defeated. v12 These nations were Edom and Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines and Amalek. David had also taken many objects from Hadadezer. (He was the son of Rehob, the king of Zobah). And David gave these objects to the Lord.
v13 David went to the Valley of Salt. There, his army defeated 18,000 men from Edom. David’s success there became well-known. v14 He set up military camps in every part of the country of Edom. David ruled everyone who lived in Edom. The Lord made David successful wherever he went.
Commentary
This account continues from the end of chapter 5. It describes how the Lord made Israel a peaceful country (7:1). The Philistine’s country was on the west side of Israel. Edom and Amalek were in the south. Ammon and Moab were in the east. Zobah and the Arameans were in the north. David and his soldiers fought many battles. But verses 6 and 14 show that the Lord made them successful. This chapter does not give a complete list of the battles. There are several other accounts of battles in the rest of 2 Samuel.
The Philistines had attacked Israel for several centuries. They wanted to own Israel’s land. But David defeated them and ruled them. The account of the battle in verse 1 is in chapter 5:17-25. The Philistines did not attack Israel again.
We do not know why David fought against Moab. David’s father was Jesse. Jesse’s grandmother was Ruth. She came from Moab (Ruth 4:13-17). Also, in 1 Samuel 22:1-4, David wanted his parents to stay somewhere safe. So, he sent them to stay with the king of Moab. David’s actions in verse 2 seem very severe. However, kings usually killed all their prisoners. But David allowed some prisoners from Moab to live.
Originally, God did not want the Israelites to fight the people from Moab (Deuteronomy 2:9). But the leaders of Moab wanted God to oppose the Israelites. So the leaders of Moab paid a prophet, called Balaam, to speak against the Israelites. But Balaam had to bless the Israelites, because God had already blessed them. And Balaam said that, in the future, a ruler from Israel would overcome Moab (Numbers 24:17). Many centuries later, David did this.
In those days, kings often used chariots when they fought a battle. Horses pulled the chariots. Skilled soldiers rode in the chariots with their weapons. These soldiers could travel much faster than ordinary soldiers could. David did not kill the horses. Instead, he made sure that they would never be able to go into a battle again. The horse’s legs would heal. But they would never be able to run properly again.
David fought against Hadadezer in the extreme north. He also went to the Valley of Salt in the extreme south. When David defeated a country, he took its precious metal objects. He gave them to the Lord (verse 11). David did this to thank the Lord for the battles that David had won. Later, the priests kept these objects in the temple (2 Kings 11:10). King Toi sent presents to King David. He wanted to show David that he was David’s friend, not his enemy. Solomon used a lot of bronze when he made objects for the temple (1 Chronicles 18:8).
Every country that David defeated had to pay taxes to him. This showed that David ruled them. Also, it made the countries poor. Then they could not afford to buy new weapons. But it made Israel rich. David set up many military camps. The soldiers made sure that the countries obeyed David. They probably collected the taxes too.
David ruled over all the territory that the Lord had promised to Abraham in Genesis 15:18-19, over 1000 years before. (See also Deuteronomy 11:23-25 and Joshua 1:1-6).
David’s Officers
v15 David ruled over all the country of Israel. He did what was fair and right for all his people. v16 Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was captain of the army. Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahilud, was responsible for the official records. v17 Zadok, the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech, the son of Abiathar, were priests. Seraiah wrote the records. v18 Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, ruled over the men called Kerethites and Pelethites. David’s sons were chief rulers.
Commentary
David was a good king. He cared about the people that he ruled. He knew that they were God’s people. The Lord is good and fair (Deuteronomy 32:4). David knew that the Lord wanted David to be good and fair. God blesses people who behave in this way (Psalm 37:25-29). Samuel had been the judge in Israel until he died. He used to go and visit different towns (1 Samuel 7:15-16). David began a central legal system. He became the judge. People who needed a judge used to visit him in Jerusalem (2 Samuel 15:2).
David organized his government. Joab was the son of David’s sister (1 Chronicles 2:16). Seraiah wrote the official records. Jehoshaphat kept the records safe. He also informed and advised the king about the records. And he told the people about the king’s commands. There were two chief priests. Ahimelech had escaped from Saul and went to David in 1 Samuel 22:20. Later, Zadok was the only priest in Jerusalem. For centuries afterward, all the priests came from Zadok’s family.
Benaiah was a brave soldier (23:20-23). The men called Kerethites and Pelethites probably came from the Philistine’s country. They were David’s loyal guards (15:13-18). David’s sons helped him to rule the country.
This list of officers ends this section of 2 Samuel.
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