Verse 34
34. A certain man Josephus says he was a young nobleman whose name was Naaman; the same, perhaps, who afterwards became a leper and was healed by Elisha. See note on 2 Kings 5:1.
At a venture This is not a proper rendering. The Hebrew is לתמו , in his innocence; in his simplicity; that is, without any evil intent, and not expecting to strike so sacred a mark as the king. The thought is, not that he shot at random, but that he had no thought that the man at whom he aimed was Ahab.
Between the joints of the harness Margin, joints and the breastplate. But to speak of smiting between the joints and a part of the armour is strange, and to render joints of the harness or breastplate is not allowable. The word rendered harness is coat of mail, on which see note at 1 Samuel 17:5. The word rendered joints, Bahr explains as a hanging skirt, which protected the lower part of the body, and understands that the arrow penetrated between these two parts of the king’s armour, and entered the lower part of the abdomen.
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