Sāmǔĕrjìxià 10:4

4 Hānèn biàn jiāng Dàwèi chénpú de hú xū tì qù yī bàn , yòu gē duàn tāmen xià bàn jié de yīfu , shǐ tāmen lòu chū xiàtǐ , dǎfa tāmen huí qù .

Sāmǔĕrjìxià 10:4 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 10:4

Wherefore Hanun took David's servants
His ambassadors:

and shaved off one half of their beards;
that is, he ordered them to be shaved off; than which a greater indignity could not have been well done to them and to David, whom they represented, since the Israelites shaved not their beards, and were very careful of preserving them; for had it been the custom to shave, they might have shaved off the other half, and then they would not have appeared so ridiculous; and with other people it has been reckoned a very great punishment as well could be inflicted, and as great an affront as could well be offered, to mar a man's beard, or shave it off in whole or in part ^F16. The Lacedemonians, as Plutarch ^F17 relates, when any fled from battle, used, by way of reproach, to shave off part of their beards, and let the other part grow long; and with the Indians, as Bishop Patrick observes from an ancient writer, the king used to order the greatest offenders to be shaven, as the heaviest punishment he could inflict upon them; but what comes nearest to the case here is what the same learned commentator quotes from Tavernier, who in his Indian Travels tells us, that the sophi of Persia caused an ambassador of Aurengzeb to have his beard shaved off, telling him he was not worthy to wear a beard, and thereupon commanded it should be shaved off; which affront offered him in the person of his ambassador was most highly resented by Aurengzeb, as this was by David:

and cut off their garments in the middle, [even] to their buttocks;
and as they wore long garments in those countries, without any breeches or drawers under them, those parts by these means were exposed to view which modesty requires should be concealed ^F18; so that they must be put to the utmost shame and confusion:

and sent them away;
in this ridiculous manner, scoffing and leering at them no doubt; that since they came with compliments of condolence, it was proper they should appear in the habit of mourners, with their beards shaved, and their garments rent; cutting of garments, and standing in them from morning tonight, was a punishment of soldiers with the Romans, when they offended ^F19.

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FOOTNOTES:

F16 Apollon. Vit. Philostrat. l. 7. c. 14.
F17 In Agesitao.
F18 "Dimidiasque nates Gallica palla tegit". Martial.
F19 Valer. Maxim. l. 2. c. 2.

Sāmǔĕrjìxià 10:4 In-Context

2 Dàwèi shuō , wǒ yào zhào Hānèn de fùqin ná xiá hòu dāi wǒde ēndiǎn hòu dāi Hānèn . yúshì Dàwèi chāiqiǎn chénpú , wèi tā sāng fù ānwèi tā . Dàwèi de chénpú dào le Yàmén rén de jìng neì .

3 Dàn Yàmén rén de shǒulǐng duì tāmende zhǔ Hānèn shuō , Dàwèi chāi rén lái ānwèi nǐ , nǐ xiǎng tā shì zūnjìng nǐ fùqin ma . tā chāi chénpú lái bú shì xiáng chá kuītàn , yào qīngfù zhè chéng ma .

4 Hānèn biàn jiāng Dàwèi chénpú de hú xū tì qù yī bàn , yòu gē duàn tāmen xià bàn jié de yīfu , shǐ tāmen lòu chū xiàtǐ , dǎfa tāmen huí qù .

5 Yǒu rén gàosu Dàwèi , tā jiù chāi rén qù yíngjiē tāmen , yīnwei tāmen shén jué xiūchǐ , gàosu tāmen shuō , kĕyǐ zhù zaì Yēlìgē , dĕng dào hú xū zhǎng qǐ zaì huí lái .

6 Yàmén rén zhīdào Dàwèi zēngwù tāmen , jiù dǎfa rén qù , zhāo mù bǎiLìhé de Yàlán rén hé suǒ bā de Yàlán rén , bù bīng èr wàn , yǔ Mǎjiā wáng de rén yī qiā , tuó bǎi rén yī wàn èr qiā .