Discovery Box2 Samuel 22:21 
Context22:21 The Lord repaid 1 me for my godly deeds; 2
he rewarded 3 my blameless behavior. 4
2 Samuel 22:25
Context22:25 The Lord rewarded me for my godly deeds; 5
he took notice of my blameless behavior. 6
2 Samuel 22:33
Context22:33 The one true God 7 is my mighty refuge; 8
he removes 9 the obstacles in my way. 10
2 Samuel 22:35
Context22:35 He trains 11 my hands for battle; 12
my arms can bend even the strongest bow. 13
1 tn In this poetic narrative context the prefixed verbal form is best understood as a preterite indicating past tense, not imperfect.
2 tn Heb “according to my righteousness.” As vv. 22-25 make clear, David refers here to his unwavering obedience to God’s commands. He explains that the Lord was pleased with him and willing to deliver him because he had been loyal to God and obedient to his commandments. Ancient Near Eastern literature contains numerous parallels. A superior (a god or king) would typically reward a subject (a king or the servant of a king, respectively) for loyalty and obedience. See R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 211-13.
3 tn The unreduced Hiphil prefixed verbal form appears to be an imperfect, in which case the psalmist would be generalizing. However, both the preceding and following contexts (see especially v. 25) suggest he is narrating his experience. Despite its unreduced form, the verb is better taken as a preterite. For other examples of unreduced Hiphil preterites, see Pss 55:14a; 68:9a, 10b; 80:8a; 89:43a; 107:38b; 116:6b.
4 tn Heb “according to the purity of my hands he repaid to me.” Hands suggest activity and behavior.
5 tn Heb “according to my righteousness.” See v. 21.
6 tn Heb “according to my purity before his eyes.”
7 tn Heb “the God.” See the note at v. 31.
8 tc 4QSama has מְאַזְּרֵנִי (mÿ’azzÿreni, “the one girding me with strength”) rather than the MT מָעוּזִּי (ma’uzzi, “my refuge”). See as well Ps 18:32.
9 tn The prefixed verbal form with vav consecutive here carries along the generalizing tone of the preceding line.
10 tn Heb “and he sets free (from the verb נָתַר, natar) [the] blameless, his [Kethib; “my” (Qere)] way.” The translation follows Ps 18:32 in reading “he made my path smooth.” The term תָּמִים (tamim, “smooth”) usually carries a moral or ethical connotation, “blameless, innocent.” However, in Ps 18:33 it refers to a pathway free of obstacles. The reality underlying the metaphor is the psalmist’s ability to charge into battle without tripping (see vv. 33, 36).
11 tn Heb “teaches.”
12 tn The psalmist attributes his skill with weapons to divine enabling. Egyptian reliefs picture gods teaching the king how to shoot a bow. See O. Keel, Symbolism of the Biblical World, 265.
13 tn Heb “and a bow of bronze is bent by my arms.” The verb נָחֵת (nakhet) apparently means “to pull back; to bend” here (see HALOT 692 s.v. נחת). The bronze bow referred to here was probably laminated with bronze strips, or a purely ceremonial or decorative bow made entirely from bronze. In the latter case the language is hyperbolic, for such a weapon would not be functional in battle.
