2 Samuel 5:21 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Samuel 5:17-25

The particular service for which David was raised up was to save Israel out of the hand of the Philistines, 2 Sam. 3:18. This therefore divine Providence, in the first place, gives him an opportunity of accomplishing. Two great victories obtained over the Philistines we have here an account of, by which David not only balanced the disgrace and retrieved the loss Israel had sustained in the battle wherein Saul was slain, but went far towards the total subduing of those vexatious neighbours, the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Samuel 5:21

And they left their images ,.... Their idol gods, which they brought with them to protect and defend them, and give them success; perhaps in imitation of the Israelites, who formerly brought the ark of God into their camp against the Philistines, 1 Samuel 4:3 ; and it appears to have been the custom of other countries, in later times, to bring their gods with them to battle F24 "Omnigenumque Deum", &c.; Virgil. Aeneid. l. 8. : and David and his men burnt them : that is, his... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Samuel 5:21

They left their images - It was the custom of most nations to carry their gods with them to battle: in imitation of this custom the Israelites once took the ark and lost it in the field; see 1 Samuel 4:10 , 1 Samuel 4:11 . read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 5:11-25

The facts are: 1 . The King of Tyre, being friendly with David, supplies him with means of building his house on Mount Zion. 2 . David regards the varied successes of his enterprises as confirmation of his belief that he was indeed appointed by God to reign over Israel. 3 . He establishes a court on a larger scale, after Oriental style. 4 . The Philistines, hearing of his accession to the throne, prepare for an attack upon him, whereupon he seeks guidance of God, defeats them... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 5:21

They left their images. This is a further proof of the suddenness of the attack, and the completeness of the Philistine discomfiture. For images we find "gods" in the parallel place in 1 Chronicles 14:12 , and the word used here is rendered "idols" in 1 Samuel 31:9 . As the Philistines supposed that these images of their deities would ensure their victory, they would set great store by them, as the Israelites did by the ark ( 1 Samuel 4:4 ), and the French by the oriflamme. Their... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 5:21

( 1 Chronicles 14:12 ). ( BAAL - PERAZIM .) The destruction of images. The religion of the Canaanite people was "an apotheosis of the forces and laws of nature; an adoration of the objects in which those forces were seen and where they appeared most active" (Movers). The Philistines carried (probably on sacred carts) their images or gods (commonly regarded as identical) into battle, expecting victory by their aid; but so sudden was their defeat, and so hasty their flight,... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 2 Samuel 5:21

And there they left their images - An indication of the precipitancy of their flight, and the suddenness with which the Israelites burst upon them like a “breach of waters.” The King James Version rendering “Burned them,” does not give a translation (compare the margin), but a gloss, warranted by the explanation given in marginal references read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 2 Samuel 5:21

2 Samuel 5:21. And there they left their images Their gods, which they had brought into the field with them to be carried before their host. Such was the consternation into which they were thrown. Thus we read, 2 Chronicles 25:14, that the Edomites had their gods along with them when they fought with Amaziah. And perhaps they learned this from the Israelites, who carried the ark (the symbol of God’s presence) in their army when they went to fight with the Philistines; who saw it, and took... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - 2 Samuel 5:1-25

5:1-10:19 DAVID ESTABLISHES HIS KINGDOMConquest of Jerusalem (5:1-25)All the tribes of Israel now sent a representative force of soldiers to Hebron to present themselves to David, their new king (5:1-3; 1 Chronicles 12:23-40). The two-year civil war had now finished, and for the next five and a half years David reigned in Hebron over a unified Israel (4-5; cf. 2:10-11).David probably realized that so long as he remained in the territory of his own tribe in the south, the northern tribes would... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - 2 Samuel 5:21

21. there they left their images—probably their "lares" or household deities, which they had brought into the field to fight for them. They were burnt as ordained by law (Deuteronomy 7:5). read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Samuel 5:17-25

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Samuel 5:21

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Samuel 5:21

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 5:11-25

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 5:21

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 5:21

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 2 Samuel 5:21

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 2 Samuel 5:21

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - 2 Samuel 5:1-25

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - 2 Samuel 5:21

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