2 Samuel 18:2

2 David sent out the army—a third under Joab's command, a third under the command of Abishai, Zeruiah's son, and a third under the command of Ittai the Gittite. The king told the troops, "I will march out with you myself."

2 Samuel 18:2 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 18:2

And David sent forth a third part of the people under the hand
of Joab
Very likely that which made the centre of the army, since Joab was the general of the army; though this distribution was made when David thought to have headed the army himself, and so made with respect to that:

and a third part under the hand of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab's
brother;
who was next to Joab in the army, and fought with him against the Syrians and Ammonites, ( 2 Samuel 10:10 2 Samuel 10:11 ) ;

and a third part under the hand of Ittai the Gittite;
of whom see ( 2 Samuel 15:19 ) ; of these two parts consisted the right and left wings of the army:

and the king said unto the people;
the soldiers, and particularly the officers:

I will surely go forth with you myself also;
in which he seemed very resolute and peremptory; and this he proposed to do, not merely to animate the soldiers with his presence, and to show that he was willing to hazard his life with them, but chiefly for the sake of Absalom, to preserve his life, if possible.

2 Samuel 18:2 In-Context

1 Then David gathered the troops who were with him and appointed unit commanders over thousands and hundreds.

2 David sent out the army—a third under Joab's command, a third under the command of Abishai, Zeruiah's son, and a third under the command of Ittai the Gittite. The king told the troops, "I will march out with you myself."

3 But the troops replied, "No! You must not march out! If we flee, they won't care about us. Even if half of us die, they won't care about us. But you are worth ten thousand of us. It is much better if you support us from the city."

4 The king said to them, "I will do whatever you think is best." So the king stood beside the gate as all the troops marched out by hundreds and thousands.

5 The king gave orders to Joab, Abishai, and Ittai: "For my sake, protect my boy Absalom." All the troops heard what the king ordered regarding Absalom to all the commanders.