2 Samuel 18:27

27 The watchman said, "It seems to me that the first one runs like Ahimaaz, Zadok's son." "He's a good man," the king said. "He must be coming with good news."

2 Samuel 18:27 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 18:27

And the watchman said, me thinketh
Or, "I see" ^F2; I perceive, so it appears to me:

that the running of the foremost is like the running of Ahimaaz the son
of Zadok;
who it seems was well known, and famous for his manner of running and swiftness in it, having been employed in carrying expresses before from Jerusalem to David, and his army, wheresoever they were; and some of these persons thus employed were very swift; we read ^F3 of one that was a king's messenger, that went from Jerusalem to Tyre, on the first of Elul, or August, in a night and a day; which, according to Bunting ^F4 was an hundred miles: this watchman must be one of David's sentinels, who was well acquainted with the people about him:

and the king said, he [is] a good man, and cometh with good tidings;
he knew he was a man of courage, and therefore was not one that fled, but must be a messenger; and that he was well affected to him, and would never be the messenger of evil tidings to him.

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FOOTNOTES:

F2 (har yna) (egw orw) , Sept. "ego videns", Montanus; "video", Tigurine version.
F3 T. Hieros. Taanioth, fol. 68. 3.
F4 Travels, p. 200.

2 Samuel 18:27 In-Context

25 The watchman called and alerted the king. "If he's alone," the king said, "he has good news to tell." The runner continued to come closer.

26 When the watchman saw another man running, the watchman called, "There's [another] man running alone." The king said, "This one is also bringing good news."

27 The watchman said, "It seems to me that the first one runs like Ahimaaz, Zadok's son." "He's a good man," the king said. "He must be coming with good news."

28 Then Ahimaaz came up to the king, greeted him, and bowed down in front of him. Ahimaaz said, "May the LORD your God be praised. He has handed over the men who rebelled against Your Majesty."

29 "Is the young man Absalom alright?" the king asked. Ahimaaz answered, "I saw a lot of confusion when Joab sent me away, but I didn't know what it meant."