2 Samuel 17:25

25 Absalom had put Amasa in charge of the army instead of Joab. Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra, an Ishmaelite who had married Abigail, who was Nahash's daughter and the sister of Zeruiah, Joab's mother.

2 Samuel 17:25 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 17:25

And Absalom made Amasa captain of the host instead of Joab,
&c.] Who was along with David:

which Amasa [was] a man's son whose name [was] Ithra, an Israelite;
he is called Jether the Ishmaelite, ( 1 Chronicles 2:17 ) ; either because he was an Ishmaelite by birth, and being proselyted to the Jewish religion, was called an Israelite; or rather he was an Israelite by birth, and having sojourned in the land of Ishmael some time, was called an Ishmaelite, as Uriah the Hittite, and others; and when Amasa is called a "man's son", it means a great man, as Kimchi observes:

that went in to Abigail, the daughter of Nahash, sister to Zeruiah,
Joab's mother:
so that Joab and Amasa, the generals of David and Absalom, were own cousins, sisters' children, and David uncle to them both; for Abigail and Zeruiah were David's sisters, ( 1 Chronicles 2:16 ) ; children of Jesse, whose name is here called Nahash, having two names, or this was his surname; though others think Nahash is the name of a woman, the wife of Jesse, and that these two sisters had two mothers, but one father; it seems by this expression, "went in to", as if Amasa was not begotten in the conjugal state, but was illegitimate.

2 Samuel 17:25 In-Context

23 Meanwhile, once Ahithophel saw that his advice hadn't been followed, he saddled his donkey and went home to his own town. He gave instructions to his household, then hanged himself and died. He was buried in his father's tomb.

24 David had reached Mahanaim by the time Absalom and all the Israelites who were with him crossed the Jordan River.

25 Absalom had put Amasa in charge of the army instead of Joab. Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra, an Ishmaelite who had married Abigail, who was Nahash's daughter and the sister of Zeruiah, Joab's mother.

26 Israel and Absalom camped in the territory of Gilead.

27 When David arrived in Mahanaim, Nahash's son Shobi, who was from Rabbah of the Ammonites; Ammiel's son Machir, who was from Lo-debar; and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim

Footnotes

• [a]. LXXA and 1 Chron 2:17; MT an Israelite; LXXMa Jezreelite