2:1 Afterward David inquired of the Lord, “Should I go up to one of the cities of Judah?” The Lord told him, “Go up.” David asked, “Where should I go?” The Lord replied, 1 “To Hebron.”
2:8 Now Abner son of Ner, the general in command of Saul’s army, had taken Saul’s son Ish-bosheth 3 and had brought him to Mahanaim.
3:24 So Joab went to the king and said, “What have you done? Abner 5 has come to you! Why would you send him away? Now he’s gone on his way! 6
6:16 As the ark of the Lord entered the City of David, Saul’s daughter Michal looked out the window. When she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him. 11
9:2 Now there was a servant from Saul’s house named Ziba, so he was summoned to David. The king asked him, “Are you Ziba?” He replied, “At your service.” 12
9:9 Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul’s attendant, and said to him, “Everything that belonged to Saul and to his entire house I hereby give to your master’s grandson.
11:4 David sent some messengers to get her. 13 She came to him and he had sexual relations with her. 14 (Now at that time she was in the process of purifying herself from her menstrual uncleanness.) 15 Then she returned to her home.
12:21 His servants said to him, “What is this that you have done? While 18 the child was still alive, you fasted and wept. Once the child was dead you got up and ate food!”
12:24 So David comforted his wife Bathsheba. He went to her and had marital relations with her. 19 She gave birth to a son, and David 20 named him Solomon. Now the Lord loved the child 21
13:16 But she said to him, “No I won’t, for sending me away now would be worse than what you did to me earlier!” 24 But he refused to listen to her.
13:28 Absalom instructed his servants, “Look! When Amnon is drunk 25 and I say to you, ‘Strike Amnon down,’ kill him then and there. Don’t fear! Is it not I who have given you these instructions? Be strong and courageous!” 26
16:13 So David and his men went on their way. But Shimei kept going along the side of the hill opposite him, yelling curses as he threw stones and dirt at them. 33
Now the people of Judah 39 had come to Gilgal to meet the king and to help him 40 cross the Jordan.
20:9 Joab said to Amasa, “How are you, my brother?” With his right hand Joab took hold of Amasa’s beard as if to greet him with a kiss.
20:17 When he approached her, the woman asked, “Are you Joab?” He replied, “I am.” She said to him, “Listen to the words of your servant.” He said, “Go ahead. I’m listening.”
1 tn Heb “he said.” The referent (the
2 tn Or “loyalty.”
3 sn The name Ish-bosheth means in Hebrew “man of shame.” It presupposes an earlier form such as Ish-baal (“man of the Lord”), with the word “baal” being used of Israel’s God. But because the Canaanite storm god was named “Baal,” that part of the name was later replaced with the word “shame.”
4 map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.
5 tn Heb “Look, Abner.”
6 tc The LXX adds “in peace.”
7 tn The words “what to do” are not in the Hebrew text.
8 tn The words “this time” are not in the Hebrew text.
9 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the
10 tn Some translate as “balsam trees” (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV, NJB, NLT); cf. KJV, NKJV, ASV “mulberry trees”; NAB “mastic trees”; NEB, REB “aspens.” The exact identification of the type of tree or plant is uncertain.
11 tn The Hebrew text adds “in her heart.” Cf. CEV “she was disgusted (+ with him TEV)”; NLT “was filled with contempt for him”; NCV “she hated him.”
12 tn Heb “your servant.”
13 tn Heb “and David sent messengers and he took her.”
14 tn Heb “he lay with her” (so NASB, NRSV); TEV “he made love to her”; NIV, CEV, NLT “he slept with her.”
15 tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause further heightens the tension by letting the reader know that Bathsheba, having just completed her menstrual cycle, is ripe for conception. See P. K. McCarter, II Samuel (AB), 286. Since she just had her period, it will also be obvious to those close to the scene that Uriah, who has been away fighting, cannot be the father of the child.
16 tn Heb “David sent and gathered her to his house.”
17 tn Heb “and the thing which David had done was evil in the eyes of the
18 tc For the MT בַּעֲבוּר (ba’avur, “for the sake of”) we should probably read בְּעוֹד (bÿ’od, “while”). See the Lucianic Greek recension, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Targum.
19 tn Heb “and he lay with her.”
20 tn Heb “he”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity. While some translations render the pronoun as third person plural (“they”), implying that both David and Bathsheba together named the child, it is likely that the name “Solomon,” which is related to the Hebrew word for “peace” (and may be derived from it) had special significance for David, who would have regarded the birth of a second child to Bathsheba as a confirming sign that God had forgiven his sin and was at peace with him.
21 tn Heb “him,” referring to the child.
22 tn Heb “and he said to him.”
23 tn An more idiomatic translation might be “Why are you of all people…?”
24 tn Heb “No, because this great evil is [worse] than the other which you did with me, by sending me away.” Perhaps the broken syntax reflects her hysteria and outrage.
25 tn Heb “when good is the heart of Amnon with wine.”
26 tn Heb “and become sons of valor.”
27 tn Here and elsewhere (vv. 7, 12, 15a, 17, 19) the woman uses a term which suggests a lower level female servant. She uses the term to express her humility before the king. However, she uses a different term in vv. 15b-16. See the note at v. 15 for a discussion of the rhetorical purpose of this switch in terminology.
28 tn Heb “turn aside.”
29 tn Heb “turned aside.”
30 tn Heb “crossing over near his hand.”
31 tn Heb “crossing over near the face of.”
32 tn Heb “crossing from.”
33 tn Heb “and he cursed and threw stones, opposite him, pelting [them] with dirt.” The offline vÿqatal construction in the last clause indicates an action that was complementary to the action described in the preceding clause. He simultaneously threw stones and dirt.
34 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text here or in v. 24, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
35 tn Heb “but this day you will not bear good news.”
36 tn The words “but he said” are not in the Hebrew text. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
37 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Joab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
38 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
39 tn The Hebrew text has simply “Judah.”
40 tn Heb “the king.” The pronoun (“him”) has been used in the translation to avoid redundancy.
41 tn The MT in this instance alone spells the name with final ן (nun, “Kimhan”) rather than as elsewhere with final ם (mem, “Kimham”). As in most other translations, the conventional spelling (with ם) has been used here to avoid confusion.
42 tn Heb “people.”
43 tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew