2 Samuel 23:13

WATER FROM THE WELL OF BETHLEHEM

"And three of the thirty chief men went down, and came about harvest time and came to David at the cave of Adullum, when a band of the Philistines was encamped in the valley of Rephaim. David was then in the stronghold; and the garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem. And David said longingly, "O that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem which is by the gate"! Then the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem which was by the gate, and took and brought it to David. But he would not drink of it; he poured it out to the Lord, and said, "Far be it from me, O Lord, that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives"? Therefore, he would not drink it. These things did the three mighty men."

"Three of the thirty chief men ... These things did the three mighty men" (2 Samuel 23:13,17). There is a difference of opinion among scholars as to whether or not the "three mighty men" who brought David the water from the well at Bethlehem were the same as "the three" mentioned in 2 Samuel 23:9. The mention of a total of thirty-seven men in 2 Samuel 23:39 favors the view of Smith that, "The number 37 is exact, there being thirty ordinary members; and, since Asahel was deceased, we have a replacement mentioned, giving thirty-one names in the list of the thirty, plus three chiefs of the first class, and three chiefs of the second class."[13]

Cook also agreed, "This reckoning is correct; although only 36 names are given, the names of only two of the second triad being given; but 31 names are given in 2 Samuel 23:24-39, which, added to the two triads of six, makes 37."[14] Thus there were two companies of "the three"; and it was that second group who brought the water from Bethlehem.

This leaves unexplained why "the three" are said to be of "the thirty chief men" (2 Samuel 23:13), but it might mean that they were closely associated with them as also were the first triad.

This touching story of David's refusal to drink water which had been procured for him at the personal risk of the lives of his men is one of the most beautiful in the Bible and stresses the deeply religious nature of King David. This story also emphasizes the contrast in David's life before and after his fall. Here he would not drink the blood of the men who had risked their lives for him; but after his fall, "At a later time, under different circumstances, he did not hesitate to have one of the thirty killed on the battlefield in order to get his wife and (in a vain attempt) to cover his own adultery."[15]

"Water from the well at Bethlehem" (2 Samuel 23:15). "Today, Bethlehem is supplied with water by an aqueduct; and the wells close to the city no longer exist. There is a cistern called David's Well three quarters of a mile north of Bethlehem, too far away to be the well that David meant."[16]