2 Samuel 17:29

29 They brought honey, butter, sheep and cheese that was made from cows' milk. They brought all of that food for David and his people to eat. They said, "These people have become hungry. They've become tired and thirsty in the desert."

2 Samuel 17:29 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 17:29

And honey and butter
Honey was much in use with the ancients; Homer ^F2 speaks of it as a part of the provisions at a feast, and as food with which persons were nourished and brought up; and the ancient Scythians lived on milk and honey ^F3; and this and butter were pretty much the food of the people in Judea; see ( Isaiah 7:15-22 ) ;

and sheep;
with which and goats the land of Gilead abounded; see ( Song of Solomon 4:1 Song of Solomon 4:2 ) ;

and cheese of kine:
made of the milk of cows, as it commonly is:

for David, and for the people that [were] with him, to eat;
and no doubt they brought wine with them for them to drink; the men that brought these, some brought one sort, and some another, or however different parcels of the same, and did not join in one present; for they came from different parts:

for they said, the people [is] hungry, and weary, and thirsty, in the
wilderness;
where they had been some time, and out of which they had just come, and so weary with travelling, and therefore brought beds to lie down and rest upon; and being hungry and thirsty, through want of bread and water in the wilderness, they brought them both eatables and drinkables; for though the latter is not expressed, it is to be understood, as the word "thirsty" supposes.

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FOOTNOTES:

F2 Iliad. 11. ver. 630. Odyss. 10. ver. 245. & Odyss. 20. ver. 72. Alex. ab Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 3. c. 11. Sueton. Vita Nero. c. 27.
F3 Justin e Trogo, l. 2. c. 2.

2 Samuel 17:29 In-Context

27 David came to Mahanaim. Shobi, the son of Nahash, met him there. Shobi was from Rabbah in the land of Ammon. Makir, the son of Ammiel from Lo Debar, met him there too. So did Barzillai from Rogelim in the land of Gilead.

28 They brought beds, bowls and clay pots. They brought wheat, barley, flour, and grain that had been cooked. They brought beans and lentils.

29 They brought honey, butter, sheep and cheese that was made from cows' milk. They brought all of that food for David and his people to eat. They said, "These people have become hungry. They've become tired and thirsty in the desert."