Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

23:8-39 David's Heroes. This list of David's mighty men begins formally with "These are the names of" and ends with the total number, "thirty-seven in all" (v. 39). (For lists, see note on 1 Sam. 6:17-18.) The list is divided into two groups: "the three," i.e., Josheb-basshebeth, Eleazar, and Shammah (2 Sam. 23:8-12), and "the thirty" (23:18-39). Thirty-four names are listed among "the thirty": this could mean that (1) "thirty" is a round number, or (2) the group began with 30 members and continued to be called "the thirty" when others were added; or (3) the group remained at 30, but when some died they were replaced by other names on this list (the parallel list in 1 Chron. 11:10-47 has 16 additional names in 1 Chron. 11:41-47, probably for this reason). These 34 names plus "the three" make up the "thirty-seven" of 2 Sam. 23:39.

23:11-12 Shammah was defending the plot, or rather the lentils in it, against theft. Compare the Philistines' robbing the threshing floors in 1 Sam. 23:1.

23:13-17 These three men were apparently not the above "three," but rather members of the "thirty." This episode may have occurred while David was fleeing Saul, or possibly during one of the Philistine attacks in 5:17-25. Oh, that someone would give me water . . . from the well of Bethlehem. The taste of the water differs from place to place, and of course the water that one grew up drinking tastes best. David's words are not a command; it probably did not occur to him that someone might actually act on his words. This episode shows the love that his men had for their leader and his regard for them.

23:16-17 He poured it out to the Lord. This may at first seem wasteful of David, and ungrateful, but it is a gesture showing great value. He likens the water to the blood of his men, and for David to drink the water obtained at the risk of their lives would have been to take their blood lightly. But to pour it out before the Lord was a way of saying that he was not worthy of it, and he was offering it to the Lord instead. Such "drink offerings" were often poured out before the Lord: see Gen. 35:14; Num. 15:7-10; 28:7-15; etc.

23:18-39 This is the list of David's "thirty men." They are Abishai, Benaiah, and the men listed in vv. 24-39. Most of the first dozen and a large part of the remainder are Judahites, so the group was probably formed early in David's career. The list has 34 names, probably representing 35 men (see note on v. 32). Probably those of "the thirty" who died in battle, such as Asahel (v. 24; 2:18-23) and Uriah (11:17; 23:39), were replaced by others. Some of the names appear as officers in 1 Chronicles 27, and most appear in the list in 1 Chron. 11:20-47, which is an expansion of this but is not labeled as being a list of "the thirty" (cf. 2 Sam. 23:24 and 1 Chron. 11:26).

23:32 The sons of Jashen probably refers to two men, possibly twins. In the list of names, however, they seem to be counted as one item. The translation of vv. 32-33 given here is the most natural, but it should be noted that those verses have been translated a number of ways (see also 1 Chron. 11:34-35).

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