2 Samuel 23:10

10 He arose and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave unto the sword; and the LORD wrought a great salvation that day, and the people returned after him only to spoil.

2 Samuel 23:10 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 23:10

He arose, and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary,
&c.] He rose up when the Israelites fled, and stood his ground alone, and fought with the Philistines, and smote them with his sword, until his hand was weary with smiting:

and his hand clave unto the sword;
which was contracted by holding it so long, and grasping it so hard, that it could not easily be got out of it; or through the quantity of blood which ran upon his hand, as it was shed, so Josephus ^F20; and which being congealed, and dried, caused his hand to stick to the hilt of his sword, so that they were, as it were, glued together by it; or the sense may be only, that though weary, he did not drop his sword, but held it fast till he had destroyed the enemy:

and the Lord wrought a great victory that day;
for to him it must be ascribed, and not to the strength and valour of the man:

and the people returned after him only to spoil;
they that fled, when they saw what a victory was obtained by him, returned and came after him; not to help him in smiting, but to spoil those that were slain, and strip them of what they had.

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FOOTNOTES:

F20 Antiqu. l. 7. c. 12. sect. 4.

2 Samuel 23:10 In-Context

8 These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: he that sat in the seat of wisdom, chief among the three: Adino, the Eznite, who on one occasion slew eight hundred enemies.

9 And after him was Eleazar, the son of Dodo, the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men who were with David, when they defied the Philistines that were there gathered together to battle, and those of Israel were gone away.

10 He arose and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave unto the sword; and the LORD wrought a great salvation that day, and the people returned after him only to spoil.

11 And after him was Shammah, the son of Agee, the Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered together into a community, where was an inheritance of land full of lentils, and the people had fled before the Philistines.

12 But he stood in the midst of the inheritance and defended it and slew the Philistines, and the LORD wrought a great salvation.