2 Samuel 23:21

21 He also killed a good-looking Egyptian man, in whose hand [was] a spear. He went down against him with the staff and snatched the spear from the hand of the Egyptian and killed him with his spear

2 Samuel 23:21 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 23:21

And he slew an Egyptian, a goodly man
A person of good countenance and shape, very large and tall; in ( 1 Chronicles 11:28 ) , he is said to be a man of great stature, and five cubits high, and so wanted a cubit and a span of the height of Goliath, ( 1 Samuel 17:4 ) ;

and the Egyptian had a spear in his hand;
as large as Goliath's; for in ( 1 Chronicles 11:23 ) , it is said to be like a weaver's beam, as Goliath's was, (See Gill on 1 Samuel 17:7):

and he went down to him with a staff;
with a walking staff only, having no other weapon:

and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian's hand;
and therefore must be a man very nimble and dexterous, as well as bold and courageous:

and slew him with his own spear;
as David cut off Goliath's head with his own sword. This is supposed ^F12 to be Shimei, the son of Gera, ( 1 Kings 2:46 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F12 Hieron. Trad. Heb. ut supra. (in. 2 Reg. fol. 80. C.)

2 Samuel 23:21 In-Context

19 Among the thirty, is it not that he [was] honored and became a commander for them? But he did not come up to the three

20 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of Ish-Hai, [was] a great [man] of deeds from Kabzeel. He struck down two sons of Ariel of Moab, and he went down and killed a lion in the middle of a pit on a snowy day.

21 He also killed a good-looking Egyptian man, in whose hand [was] a spear. He went down against him with the staff and snatched the spear from the hand of the Egyptian and killed him with his spear

22 These things Benaiah the son of Jehoiada did and gained a name for himself among the three mighty warriors.

23 He [was] honored more than the thirty, but he did not come up to the three. David appointed him in charge of his bodyguard.