2 Samuel 21:19-22

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Samuel 21:15-22

We have here the story of some conflicts with the Philistines, which happened, as it should seem, in the latter end of David's reign. Though he had so subdued them that they could not bring any great numbers into the field, yet as long as they had any giants among them to be their champions, they would never be quiet, but took all occasions to disturb the peace of Israel, to challenge them, or make incursions upon them. I. David himself was engaged with one of the giants. The Philistines began... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Samuel 21:19

And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines ,.... Another battle with them in the same place: where Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim, a Bethlehemite, slew the brother of Goliath the Gittite ; the word "brother" is rightly supplied from 1 Chronicles 20:5 ; where his name is said to be Lahmi, for not Goliath himself was slain, though some so interpret it, and take Elhanan to be David; so Jarchi, and with which agrees the Targum; but he was slain not at Gob, but in the valley... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Samuel 21:20

And there was yet a battle in Gath ,.... Besides the battles in the above place or places; for this does not necessarily suppose that one of the said battles had been there, only that this, which was another battle, had been there: where was a man of great stature ; for so the sense of the word appears to be from 1 Chronicles 20:6 ; though here it signifies a man of strife and contention, a man of war, and both were true of him: that had on every hand six fingers, and on every... read more

John Gill

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

And when he defied Israel ,.... The armies of Israel, as Goliath had done some years ago, 1 Samuel 17:10 , Jonathan the son of Shimea the brother of David slew him ; this brother of David is called Shammah, 1 Samuel 16:9 ; and Shimma, 1 Chronicles 2:13 ; this son of his is another man from Jonadab his son, who was famous for his subtlety as this was for his valour, 2 Samuel 13:3 . The Jews say F4 Hieron. Trad. Heb. fol. 76. D. this was Nathan the prophet, a son of Shammah. read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Samuel 21:22

These four were born to the giant in Gath ,.... Not to Goliath, for one of them was his brother, but to some giant or another of that place, for which it was famous; they were all of them of the race of the giants; and so the Septuagint version, they were"the offspring of the giants in Gath, whose family was Repha;'and this Repha, or Arepha, as the Vulgate Latin version, according to Abarbinel, was a woman of the daughters of the giants; the Talmudists F5 T. Bab. Sotah. fol. 42. 2. ... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Samuel 21:19

Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim - slew - Goliath the Gittite - Here is a most manifest corruption of the text, or gross mistake of the transcriber; David, not Elhanan, slew Goliath. In 1 Chronicles 20:5 , the parallel place, it stands thus: "Elhanan, the son of Jair, slew Lahmi, the brother of Goliath the Gittite, whose spear-staff was like a weaver's beam." This is plain; and our translators have borrowed some words from Chronicles to make both texts agree. The corruption... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Samuel 21:20

On every hand six fingers - This is not a solitary instance: Tavernier informs us that the eldest son of the emperor of Java, who reigned in 1648, had six fingers on each hand, and six toes on each foot. And Maupertuis, in his seventeenth letter, says that he met with two families near Berlin, where sedigitism was equally transmitted on both sides of father and mother. I saw once a young girl, in the county of Londonderry, in Ireland, who had six fingers on each hand, and six toes on... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 21:15-22

The difficulty of establishing the kingdom of God in the world. The facts are: 1 . In one of his wars with the Philistines David waxes faint in personal conflict with a giant, and is succoured by the intervention of Abishai. 2 . Observing the failing strength of the king, his people deprecate his going forth with them to battle, lest by personal failure he should be a means of general discouragement. 3 . On each of three subsequent occasions of battle, a Philistine giant is... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 21:15-22

( 1 Chronicles 20:4-8 ) .— Giants: a sermon to young people. "As for these four, they were born to the giant ( Ha-rapha ) in Gath, and fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants" ( 2 Samuel 21:22 ). Of the age before the Flood it is said, "In those days were the giants [ Nephilim, men of lofty stature and ferocious character] upon the earth" ( Genesis 6:4 ; Numbers 13:32 , Numbers 13:33 ). At a subsequent period there was a like formidable race called... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 21:16-22

Giant killers. These huge monsters were dangerous enemies. To slay them was to do valuable service to king and country. To assail them required much courage. Those who killed any of them gained great renown; and their names and deeds were recorded in the chronicles of the kingdom, and, as to some of them, have found a place in the Book of books. I. SOME GIANT FOES OF THE DIVINE KING AND KINGDOM THAT NEED TO BE DESTROYED . We may name superstition, whether... read more

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