2 Samuel 12-14

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. 2 Samuel 12:1 tc A few medieval Hebrew mss, the LXX, and the Syriac Peshitta add “the prophet.” The words are included in a few modern English version (e.g., TEV, CEV, NLT).
2. 2 Samuel 12:1 tn Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3. 2 Samuel 12:1 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Nathan) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4. 2 Samuel 12:1 tn The Hebrew text repeats “to him.”
5. 2 Samuel 12:3 tn Heb “his sons.”
6. 2 Samuel 12:3 tn The three Hebrew imperfect verbal forms in this sentence have a customary nuance; they describe past actions that were repeated or typical.
7. 2 Samuel 12:3 tn Heb “from his morsel.”
8. 2 Samuel 12:3 tn Heb “and on his chest [or perhaps, “lap”] it would lie.”
9. 2 Samuel 12:4 tn Heb “came to the rich man.” In the translation “arrived at the rich man’s home” has been used for stylistic reasons.
10. 2 Samuel 12:4 tn Heb “and he refused to take from his flock and from his herd to prepare [a meal] for.”
11. 2 Samuel 12:4 tn Heb “who had come to him” (also a second time later in this verse). The word “visit” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarity.
12. 2 Samuel 12:4 tn Heb “and prepared.”
13. 2 Samuel 12:5 tn Heb “the man doing this [is] a son of death.” See 1 Sam 20:31 for another use of this expression, which must mean “he is as good as dead” or “he deserves to die,” as 1 Sam 20:32 makes clear.
14. 2 Samuel 12:6 tc With the exception of the Lucianic recension, the Old Greek translation has here “sevenfold” rather than “fourfold,” a reading that S. R. Driver thought probably to be the original reading (S. R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text and the Topography of the Books of Samuel, 291). However, Exod 22:1 [21:37 HT] specifies fourfold repayment for a stolen sheep, which is consistent with 2 Sam 12:6. Some mss of the Targum and the Syriac Peshitta exaggerate the idea to “fortyfold.”tn Heb “the lamb he must repay fourfold because he did this thing and because he did not have compassion.”
15. 2 Samuel 12:7 tn Heb “anointed.”
16. 2 Samuel 12:8 tn Heb “and the wives of your lord into your chest [or “lap”].” The words “I put” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarification.
17. 2 Samuel 12:9 tn Or “word, message.” The “word of the Lord” sometimes refers to a prophetic message from God and sometimes to his past revelation. Here it refers to the Lord’s laws which David has violated.
18. 2 Samuel 12:9 tc So the Qere; the Kethib has “his.”
19. 2 Samuel 12:11 tn Heb “raise up against you disaster.”
20. 2 Samuel 12:11 tn Heb “house” (so NAB, NRSV); NCV, TEV, CEV “family.”
21. 2 Samuel 12:11 tn Or “friend.”
22. 2 Samuel 12:11 tn Heb “will lie down with.” The verb שָׁכַב (shakhav) “to lie down” can be a euphemism for going to bed for sexual relations.
23. 2 Samuel 12:11 tn Heb “in the eyes of this sun.”
24. 2 Samuel 12:12 tn Heb “and before the sun.”
25. 2 Samuel 12:13 tn Heb “removed.”
26. 2 Samuel 12:14 tc The MT has here “because you have caused the enemies of the Lord to treat the Lord with such contempt.” This is one of the so-called tiqqune sopherim, or “emendations of the scribes.” According to this ancient tradition, the scribes changed the text in order to soften somewhat the negative light in which David was presented. If that is the case, the MT reflects the altered text. The present translation departs from the MT here. Elsewhere the Piel stem of this verb means “treat with contempt,” but never “cause someone to treat with contempt.”
27. 2 Samuel 12:15 tn Heb “and the Lord struck the child…and he was ill.” It is necessary to repeat “the child” in the translation to make clear who became ill, since “the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became very ill” could be understood to mean that David himself became ill.
28. 2 Samuel 12:16 tn Heb “sought” or “searched for.”
29. 2 Samuel 12:16 tn Heb “and David fasted.”
30. 2 Samuel 12:16 tn The three Hebrew verbs that follow in this verse are perfects with prefixed vav. They may describe repeated past actions or actions which accompanied David’s praying and fasting.
31. 2 Samuel 12:18 tn Heb “to our voice.”
32. 2 Samuel 12:18 tn Heb “he will do harm.” The object is not stated in the Hebrew text. The statement may be intentionally vague, meaning that he might harm himself or them!
33. 2 Samuel 12:19 tn Heb “David.” The name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“he”) for stylistic reasons.
34. 2 Samuel 12:21 tc For the MT בַּעֲבוּר (baʿavur, “for the sake of”) we should probably read בְּעוֹד (b^eʿod, “while”). See the Lucianic Greek recension, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Targum.
35. 2 Samuel 12:22 tn Heb “said.”
36. 2 Samuel 12:22 tn Heb “Who knows?”
37. 2 Samuel 12:24 tn The combination of the verb בּוֹא (boʾ; “to come, enter”) and the preposition אֶל (ʾel; “to”) means “to approach, to come to” (HALOT 1:113). This common expression is also used as a euphemism for coming together for sexual relations. Although some take the phrase to be a graphic depiction of a man actions in sexual relations with a woman, certain factors clarify that it is a euphemism. First, the phrase also describes a woman approaching a man for sexual relations (2 Sam 11:4), a situation where this phrase cannot be explicitly descriptive. Second, the phrase is paired here with שָׁכַב (shakhav), “to lie down,” which only makes sense if the two are complementary (compare also Gen 19:33-34 which uses both verbs of Lot’s daughters, but without the preposition). The verb שָׁכַב can imply lying down for sleep or for sexual relations. When בּוֹא אֶל (boʾ ʾel) is used with שָׁכַב (shakhav), they state the natural progression of approaching and then lying with. Hebrew can use the two together, or either separately, as a euphemism for sexual relations. But if the phrase בּוֹא אֶל were already an explicit depiction of sex, then the latter phrase with שָׁכַב, “to lie with,” would be pointless. So 2 Sam 11:4 and 2 Sam 12:24 are important evidence for how this phrase really works, and it is appropriate to also use euphemisms in translation.
38. 2 Samuel 12:24 tn Heb “and he lay with her.” The phrase is a euphemism for sexual relations.
39. 2 Samuel 12:24 tc The Kethiv reads “he named” while the Qere reads “she named.”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.
40. 2 Samuel 12:24 tn Heb “him,” referring to the child.
41. 2 Samuel 12:25 sn The name Jedidiah means “loved by the Lord.”
42. 2 Samuel 12:26 sn Here the narrative resumes the battle story that began in 11:1 (see 11:25). The author has interrupted that story to give the related account of David’s sin with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah. He now returns to the earlier story and brings it to a conclusion.
43. 2 Samuel 12:27 sn The expression translated the water supply of the city (Heb “the city of the waters”) apparently refers to that part of the fortified city that guarded the water supply of the entire city. Joab had already captured this part of the city, but he now defers to King David for the capture of the rest of the city. In this way the king will receive the credit for this achievement.
44. 2 Samuel 12:28 tn Heb “people.” So also in vv. 29, 31.
45. 2 Samuel 12:30 tn Part of the Greek tradition wrongly understands Hebrew מַלְכָּם (malkam, “their king”) as a proper name (“Milcom”). Some English versions follow the Greek here, rendering the phrase “the crown of Milcom” (so NRSV; cf. also NAB, CEV). TEV takes this as a reference not to the Ammonite king but to “the idol of the Ammonite god Molech.”
46. 2 Samuel 12:30 tn Heb “and its weight [was] a talent of gold.” The weight of this ornamental crown was approximately 75 lbs (34 kg). See P. K. McCarter, II Samuel (AB), 313.
47. 2 Samuel 12:31 tn Heb “brought out.”
48. 2 Samuel 12:31 tnHeb “to pass through.”
49. 2 Samuel 12:31 tn Heb “and so he would do.”
50. 2 Samuel 13:1 tn Heb “Amnon the son of David loved her.” The following verse indicates the extreme nature of his infatuation, so the translation uses “madly in love” here.sn Amnon was the half-brother of Tamar; Absalom was her full blood-brother.
51. 2 Samuel 13:2 tn Heb “and there was distress to Amnon so that he made himself sick.”
52. 2 Samuel 13:4 tn Heb “and he said to him.”
53. 2 Samuel 13:4 tn A more idiomatic translation might be “Why are you of all people…?”
54. 2 Samuel 13:5 tn This verb is used in the Hitpael stem only in this chapter of the Hebrew Bible. With the exception of v. 2 it describes not a real sickness but one pretended in order to entrap Tamar. The Hitpael sometimes, as here, describes the subject making oneself appear to be of a certain character. On this use of the stem, see GKC 149-50 §54.e.
55. 2 Samuel 13:8 tn Heb “in his sight.”
56. 2 Samuel 13:8 tn Heb “the cakes.”
57. 2 Samuel 13:9 tn Heb “from upon me.”
58. 2 Samuel 13:9 tc A few medieval Hebrew mss supported by the LXX and Vulgate read the Hiphil וַיּוֹצִיאוּ (vayyotsiʾu) “and they removed everyone,” rather than the MT’s Qal וַיֵּצְאוּ (vayyets^eʾu, “they left”). This verb would then match the instructions more closely.
59. 2 Samuel 13:11 tn Heb “lie with me” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV); NCV “come and have sexual relations with me.”
60. 2 Samuel 13:13 tn Heb “and you will be like one of the fools.”
61. 2 Samuel 13:13 tn Heb “Now.”
62. 2 Samuel 13:14 tn Heb “to her voice.”
63. 2 Samuel 13:14 tn Heb “and he humiliated her and lay with her.”
64. 2 Samuel 13:15 tn Heb “and Amnon hated her with very great hatred.”
65. 2 Samuel 13:15 tn Heb “for greater was the hatred with which he hated her than the love with which he loved her.”
66. 2 Samuel 13:16 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.
67. 2 Samuel 13:17 tn Heb “send this [one] from upon me to the outside.”
68. 2 Samuel 13:18 tn The Hebrew expression used here (כְּתֹנֶת פַּסִּים, k^etonet passim) is found only here and in Gen 37:3, 23, 32. Hebrew פַּס (pas) can refer to the palm of the hand or the sole of the foot; here the idea is probably that of a long robe reaching to the feet and having sleeves reaching to the wrists. The notion of a “coat of many colors” (KJV, ASV “garment of divers colors”), a familiar translation for the phrase in Genesis, is based primarily on the translation adopted in the LXX χιτῶνα ποικίλον (chitōna poikilon) and does not have a great deal of support.
69. 2 Samuel 13:18 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Amnon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
70. 2 Samuel 13:18 tn The Hebrew verb is a perfect with nonconsecutive vav, probably indicating an action (locking the door) that complements the preceding one (pushing her out the door).
71. 2 Samuel 13:20 tn Heb “Don’t set your heart to this thing!” Elsewhere this phrase means to disregard or not pay attention to something (e.g. Exod 7:23). It is a callous thing to say to Tamar, but to the degree that what he said becomes known, it misleads people from understanding that he is personally plotting revenge (13:22, 28).
72. 2 Samuel 13:21 tc The LXX and part of the Old Latin tradition include the following addition to v. 21, also included in some English versions (e.g., NAB, NRSV, CEV): “But he did not grieve the spirit of Amnon his son, because he loved him, since he was his firstborn.” Note David’s attitude toward his son Adonijah in 1 Kgs 1:6.
73. 2 Samuel 13:24 tn Heb “your servant has sheepshearers.” The phrase “your servant” also occurs at the end of the verse and is translated as "me".
74. 2 Samuel 13:25 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Absalom) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
75. 2 Samuel 13:25 tc Here and in v. 27 the translation follows 4QSam^a ויפצר (vayyiftsar, “and he pressed”) rather than the MT וַיִּפְרָץ (vayyifrats, “and he broke through”). This emended reading seems also to underlie the translations of the LXX (καὶ ἐβιάσατο, kai ebiasato), the Syriac Peshitta (weʾalseh), and Vulgate (cogeret eum).
76. 2 Samuel 13:25 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
77. 2 Samuel 13:25 tn Heb “he”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
78. 2 Samuel 13:26 tn Heb “and not.”
79. 2 Samuel 13:28 tn Heb “when good is the heart of Amnon with wine.”
80. 2 Samuel 13:28 tn Heb “and become sons of valor.”
81. 2 Samuel 13:32 tn Heb “it was placed on the mouth of Absalom.”
82. 2 Samuel 13:32 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Amnon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
83. 2 Samuel 13:34 tn Heb “behind him.”
84. 2 Samuel 13:36 tn Heb “and they lifted their voice and wept.”
85. 2 Samuel 13:36 tn Heb “with a great weeping.”
86. 2 Samuel 13:37 tc The Hebrew text leaves the word “David” to be inferred. The Syriac Peshitta and Vulgate add the word “David.” Most of the Greek tradition includes the words “King David” here.
87. 2 Samuel 13:39 tc The translation follows 4QSam^a in reading רוּחַ הַמֶּלֶךְ (ruakh hammelekh, “the spirit of the king”) rather than the MT דָּוִד הַמֶּלֶךְ (david hammelekh, “David the king”). The understanding reflected in the translation above is that David, though alienated during this time from his son Absalom, still had an abiding love and concern for him. He longed for reconciliation with him. A rather different interpretation of the verse supposes that David’s interest in taking military action against Absalom grew slack with the passing of time, and this in turn enabled David’s advisers to encourage him toward reconciliation with Absalom. For the latter view, see P. K. McCarter, II Samuel (AB), 344, and cf. CEV.
88. 2 Samuel 13:39 tn Heb “was consoled over Amnon, because he was dead.”
89. 2 Samuel 14:1 tn Heb “the heart of the king was upon.” The Syriac Peshitta adds the verb ʾethreʿi (“was reconciled”).
90. 2 Samuel 14:2 tn The Hebrew Hitpael verbal form here indicates pretended rather than genuine action.
91. 2 Samuel 14:2 tn Heb “these many days.”
92. 2 Samuel 14:3 tn Heb “put the words in her mouth” (so NASB, NIV).
93. 2 Samuel 14:4 tc The translation follows many medieval Hebrew mss in reading וַתַּבֹא (vattavoʾ, “and she went”) rather than the MT וַתֹּאמֶר (vattoʾmer, “and she said”). The MT reading shows confusion with וַתֹּאמֶר later in the verse. The emendation suggested here is supported by the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, some mss of the Targum, and Vulgate.
94. 2 Samuel 14:4 tn The word “me” is left to be inferred in the Hebrew text; it is present in the Syriac Peshitta and Vulgate.
95. 2 Samuel 14:5 tn Heb “What to you?”
96. 2 Samuel 14:6 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.
97. 2 Samuel 14:7 tn Heb “in exchange for the life.” The Hebrew preposition ב (bet, “in”) here is the so-called bet pretii, or bet (ב) of price, defining the value attached to someone or something.
98. 2 Samuel 14:7 sn My remaining coal is here metaphorical language, describing the one remaining son as her only source of lingering hope for continuing the family line.
99. 2 Samuel 14:8 tn Heb “concerning you.”
100. 2 Samuel 14:11 tn The words “in that case” are not in the Hebrew text, but may be inferred from the context. They are supplied in the translation for the sake of clarification.
101. 2 Samuel 14:11 tn Heb “let the king remember.”
102. 2 Samuel 14:11 tn Heb “of your son.”
103. 2 Samuel 14:14 tn Heb “he devises plans for the one banished from him not to be banished.”
104. 2 Samuel 14:15 tc The LXX (ὄψεταί με, opsetai me) has misunderstood the Hebrew יֵרְאֻנִי (yer^eʾuni, Piel perfect, “they have made me fearful”), taking the verb to be a form of the verb רָאָה (raʾah, “to see”) rather than the verb יָרֵא (yareʾ, “to fear”). The fact that the Greek translators were working with an unvocalized Hebrew text (i.e., consonants only) made them very susceptible to this type of error.
105. 2 Samuel 14:15 tn Here and in v. 16 the woman refers to herself as the king’s אָמָה (ʾamah), a term that refers to a higher level female servant toward whom the master might have some obligation. Like the other term, this word expresses her humility, but it also suggests that the king might have some obligation to treat her in accordance with the principles of justice.
106. 2 Samuel 14:16 tn Or “for.”
107. 2 Samuel 14:16 tn Or “will.” The imperfect verbal form can have either an indicative or modal nuance. The use of “perhaps” in v. 15b suggests the latter here.
108. 2 Samuel 14:16 tn Heb “in order to deliver his maid.”
109. 2 Samuel 14:16 tn Heb “destroy.”
110. 2 Samuel 14:16 tn Heb “from the inheritance of God.” The expression refers to the property that was granted to her family line in the division of the land authorized by God.
111. 2 Samuel 14:19 tn Heb “Is the hand of Joab with you in all this?”
112. 2 Samuel 14:20 tn Heb “to know all that is in the land.”
113. 2 Samuel 14:21 tc Many medieval Hebrew mss have “you” rather than “I.”
114. 2 Samuel 14:22 tn Heb “blessed.”
115. 2 Samuel 14:22 tc The present translation reads with the Qere “your” rather than the MT “his.”
116. 2 Samuel 14:24 tn Heb “turn aside.”
117. 2 Samuel 14:24 tn Heb “turned aside.”
118. 2 Samuel 14:25 tn Heb “Like Absalom there was not a handsome man in all Israel to boast exceedingly.”
119. 2 Samuel 14:25 tn Heb “there was not in him a blemish.”
120. 2 Samuel 14:26 tn Heb “for it was heavy upon him.”
121. 2 Samuel 14:26 tn Heb “two hundred shekels.” The modern equivalent would be about three pounds (1.4 kg).
122. 2 Samuel 14:27 tn Heb “and there were born.”
123. 2 Samuel 14:27 tc The LXX adds here the following words: “And she became a wife to Rehoboam the son of Solomon and bore to him Abia.”
124. 2 Samuel 14:29 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Joab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
125. 2 Samuel 14:30 tc The LXX adds here the following words: “And the servants of Absalom burned them up. And the servants of Joab came to him, rending their garments. They said….”
126. 2 Samuel 14:30 tn The word “Joab’s” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
127. 2 Samuel 14:32 tn Heb “saying.”
128. 2 Samuel 14:33 tn Heb “he.” Joab, acting on behalf of the king, may be the implied subject.
129. 2 Samuel 14:33 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Absalom) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
130. 2 Samuel 14:33 tn Heb “Absalom.” For stylistic reasons the name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation.