11:22 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was a brave warrior from Kabzeel who performed great exploits. He struck down the two sons of Ariel of Moab; 1 he also went down and killed a lion inside a cistern on a snowy day. 11:23 He even killed an Egyptian who was seven and a half feet 2 tall. The Egyptian had a spear as big as the crossbeam of a weaver’s loom; Benaiah attacked 3 him with a club. He grabbed the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear. 11:24 Such were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoiada, who gained fame along with the three elite warriors. 11:25 He received honor from 4 the thirty warriors, though he was not one of the three elite warriors. David put him in charge of his bodyguard.
1 tc Heb “the two of Ariel, Moab.” The precise meaning of אֲרִיאֵל (’ari’el) is uncertain; some read “warrior.” The present translation assumes that the word is a proper name and that בְּנֵי (bÿney, “sons of”) has accidentally dropped from the text by homoioarcton (note the preceding שְׁנֵי, shÿney).
2 tn Heb “five cubits.” Assuming a length of 18 inches for the standard cubit, this individual would be 7.5 feet (2.3 m) tall.
3 tn Heb “went down to.”
4 tn Or “more than.”