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Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents
8:1-18 Catalog of David's Military Activities. Chapter 8 is a catalog of David's military victories, from the old enemies, the Philistines, to the Transjordan nations of Moab and Ammon, through the Syrian countries, and all the way to "the River" (the Euphrates), ending with a statement about his administration. The varied events of this chapter are not necessarily chronological with the rest of the book. The Ammon war of chs. 10-12 may have been the prelude to David's defeat of the important kingdom of Zobah in this chapter. Chapter 8 has ties with the title to Psalm 60: "when he strove with Aram-naharim and with Aram-zobah [cf. 2 Sam. 8:3], and when Joab on his return struck down twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt [cf. v. 13]." The older empires in Egypt and Mesopotamia were at a low point, which allowed David to take advantage of the international situation.
8:1 Metheg-ammah is otherwise unknown--perhaps it refers to a type of land. After the time of David, there are no references to battles with the Philistines until the time of Hezekiah (2 Kings 18:8).
8:3-12 The events of chs. 10-12 may have been the prelude to 8:3, as suggested by the references in ch. 10 to Zobah and Hadadezer (10:6, 16). If so, Hadadezer--after the disastrous defeat by David and the defection of his vassals (10:19) and the defeat of Ammon (12:31)--went to the Euphrates to try to restore his power over his vassals but was attacked on the way by David. Zobah and Damascus were both in Syria (Hb. ’Aram). Zobah was in the northern part of the Lebanon Valley (see Josh. 11:17; 12:7), in what is now called the Bekaa Valley. Hadadezer's name does not appear outside the Bible, but there are similarities to an unnamed Syrian king of David's time mentioned in Assyrian annals. Having captured chariot horses, David apparently decided to experiment with a small chariot force. It is not clear why he would hamstring the other horses (2 Sam. 8:4). It was probably to keep them from being used again by enemy soldiers, but it also may have been in response to the warning in Deut. 17:16 that the king must not acquire many horses for himself (cf. Josh. 11:6-9). The hamstrung horses supposedly could have been used as farm or pack horses. Hamath was on the middle Orontes River; it bordered Zobah on the north. The treasures (2 Sam. 8:11) later became part of Solomon's treasure, used either to build the temple or were placed in the temple treasury (1 Kings 7:51; 1 Chron. 18:8).
8:4 While the verse says that David took from him 1,700 horsemen, 1 Chron. 18:4 says that he "took from him
8:6 And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went. The narrator continues to point to God's blessing, not David's skill, as the reason for David's victories (cf. v. 14; 1 Sam. 18:12).
8:13-14 The Valley of Salt must have been in the Edomite territory south and east of the Dead Sea. First Chronicles 18:12 states that Abishai killed the Edomites. The deeds of David's generals were ascribed to David, just as the deeds of Abishai's men were ascribed to Abishai. Joab seems to have led the campaign; it was at this time that Hadad, of the royal house of Edom, escaped to Egypt (1 Kings 11:14-22; title of Psalm 60).
8:15-18 This is a list of David's officials (for similar lists, cf. 20:23-26; 1 Kings 4:1-6). Like the list in Kings, this one starts with the office of the king. It was the task of the king to establish justice and equity (see 1 Kings 10:9). Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud appears as recorder in all three lists. The offices of "recorder" and "secretary" (2 Sam. 8:17) were common in surrounding countries. Jerusalem, like other city-states of the time, had a long history of civil administration, which David could take over and use.
8:17 Zadok helped David during Absalom's rebellion (15:27-28; 17:15; 19:11) and later supported Solomon (1 Kings 1:8). His father Ahitub was probably a different person from Ahitub the father of Ahimelech, priest at Nob (1 Sam. 22:9). Abiathar appeared in 1 Samuel accompanying David (1 Sam. 22:20; 23:6; 30:7) and worked with Zadok during Absalom's rebellion. Abiathar apparently named his son Ahimelech after his father (1 Sam. 22:20), a common practice. For Abiathar's genealogy, see note on 1 Sam. 2:27-28. Other passages such as the account of Absalom's rebellion and the lists of officials in 2 Sam. 20:25 and 1 Kings 4:4 refer to the priests as "Zadok and Abiathar." It is often suggested that "Ahimelech the son of Abiathar" is a scribal error for "Abiathar son of Ahimelech." Another possibility is that Abiathar retired his position as one of the chief priests in favor of a son, as Zadok later did (1 Kings 4:2), and then perhaps the son later died or had some other problem, so Abiathar resumed the position. The secretary Seraiah might be the same as the "Sheva" (2 Sam. 20:25) and "Shisha" (1 Kings 4:3) mentioned in the other two lists, but this is not established. It may be that it was a foreign name, which would be especially liable to variant spellings.
8:18 Benaiah was in charge of David's personal force of Cherethites and . . . Pelethites. He was one of David's "mighty men" (23:20-22). Like Zadok, he supported Solomon against Adonijah and became commander of the whole army under Solomon (1 Kings 1:1-2:46; 4:1-6). The Cherethites and Pelethites were foreigners who made up the king's bodyguard (cf. 1 Sam. 28:2). David's sons were priests. It is not known what their duties were, but obviously their duties were not important compared to those of the Levitical priests Zadok, Abiathar, and Ahimelech, who were concerned with the ark (2 Sam. 15:24); the other lists do not mention David's sons in this capacity. They may have been just chaplains for the rituals carried out in the royal family. The priestly line and the royal line were essentially separate.
