2 Samuel 10

Chapter 10 of 2 Samuel belongs to the section describing the wars that David's kingdom waged against neighboring nations. In 2 Samuel 9, David showed kindness to Jonathan's son Mephibosheth; in this chapter, his attempt to show kindness to the king of Ammon instead leads to war. This war forms the backdrop for the Bathsheba episode in 2 Samuel 11.

Outline

• Verses 1–5 When Nahash king of Ammon dies and his son Hanun becomes king, David sends envoys to comfort him. The Ammonite princes suspect that the envoys are spies sent to search out the city. Hanun shaves off half of each envoy's beard, cuts their garments off at the buttocks, and sends them away. David has the envoys remain at Jericho until their beards grow back.
• Verses 6–8 The Ammonites hire twenty thousand foot soldiers from the Arameans of Beth-rehob and Zobah, the king of Maacah with one thousand men, and twelve thousand men of Tob. David sends Joab and the mighty men. The Ammonites draw up in battle array at the entrance of the city gate, while the Aramean coalition takes position in the open field.
• Verses 9–14 Facing enemies both in front and behind, Joab selects his best troops to engage the Arameans. He places the rest of the army under his brother Abishai to confront the Ammonites, and the two agree to help each other. When the Arameans flee, the Ammonites also retreat into the city, and Joab returns to Jerusalem.
• Verses 15–19 Hadarezer summons the Arameans from beyond the River, and they assemble at Helam under Shobach, the commander of his army. David gathers all Israel, crosses the Jordan, and in the battle kills the men of seven hundred chariots and forty thousand horsemen, and strikes down Shobach. The kings who were subject to Hadarezer make peace with Israel, and the Arameans no longer help the Ammonites.

Key Verses

• 2 Samuel 10:2, "as his father shewed kindness unto me": The theme of kindness (hesed) that continues from chapter 9 becomes, through a misunderstanding, the occasion for war in this chapter.
• 2 Samuel 10:12, "Be of good courage … and the LORD do that which seemeth him good": Joab's words express a resolve to fight with all his might while leaving the outcome to God.

People and Places

• David
• Hanun: The son of Nahash, who succeeded his father as king of Ammon.
• Nahash: The deceased king of Ammon. He is commonly identified with the Nahash who attacked Jabesh-gilead in 1 Samuel 11.
• Joab
• Abishai: Joab's brother and one of David's military commanders.
• Hadarezer: The king of Zobah, who also fights against David in 2 Samuel 8.
• Shobach: The commander of Hadarezer's army.
• Ammon, Aram
• Jericho
• Helam: A place east of the Jordan whose exact location is unknown.
• Jordan River, Jerusalem

Points for Reflection

• The same events are also recorded in 1 Chronicles 19. In 1 Chronicles, the figures given in verse 18 appear instead as "seven thousand men which fought in chariots, and forty thousand footmen." Some regard this discrepancy as having arisen in the course of scribal transmission, while others seek to harmonize the two accounts.
• Defacing a man's beard and garments is understood to have been a grave insult in the ancient Near East. The text itself, however, states only that the envoys "were greatly ashamed."
• The text does not say what kindness Nahash had shown David. The suggestion that he helped David while David was fleeing from Saul is a conjecture from outside the text.
• No passage in the New Testament directly quotes this chapter.