2 Samuel 8:3

3 David fought against Hadadezer, the son of Rehob. Hadadezer was king of Zobah. He had gone to take back control of the land along the Euphrates River.

2 Samuel 8:3 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 8:3

And David also smote Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of
Zobah
Called sometimes Aramzobah, and was a part of Syria, as its name shows. Benjamin, of Tudela ^F8 takes it to be the same with Haleb or Aleppo; Josephus ^F9 calls it Sophene; but that is placed by Ptolemy

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FOOTNOTES:

F11 beyond the Euphrates; whereas this country must be between that river and the land of Israel, and was contiguous to it, and near Damascus; and it was so near the land of Israel, and being conquered by David, that it became a controversy with the Jews, whether it was not to be reckoned part of it, and in several things they allow it to be equal to it ^F12. Rehob was the first king of this part of Syria, and then his son the second and last; he is called Hadarezer in ( 1 Chronicles 18:3 ) ; the letters (d) "D" and (r) "R", being frequently changed in the Hebrew tongue: him David fought with, and overcame,

as he went to recover his border at the river Euphrates;
which some understand of Hadadezer, so Jarchi and Kimchi, who attempted to recover part of his dominions that had been taken by some one or another from him, which lay upon the river Euphrates; or he endeavoured to enlarge his dominions, and carry them as far as the river, and establish the borders of them; and while he was doing this, or attempting it, David fell upon him, and routed him; or rather this refers to David, who considering that the ancient border of the land of Israel, as given to Abraham, reached to the river Euphrates, ( Genesis 15:18 ) ; he set out on an expedition to recover this border, and whereas the country of this king lay in his way, he invaded that; upon which Hadadezer rose up against him, and was conquered by him, and by this means the border was recovered to the kingdom of Israel, and reached so far, as is plain it did in Solomon's time, ( 1 Kings 4:21-24 ) .

F8 Itinerar. p. 59.
F9 Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 7. c. 5. sect. 1.)
F11 Geograph. l. 5. c. 13.
F12 T. Bab. Gittin, fol. 8. 1. 2. Misn. Demai, c. 6. sect. 11. & Maimon. & Bartenora in ib.

2 Samuel 8:3 In-Context

1 While David was king of Israel, he won many battles over the Philistines. He brought them under his control. He took Metheg Ammah away from them.

2 David also won the battle over the people of Moab. He made them lie down on the ground. Then he measured them off with a piece of rope. He put two-thirds of them to death. He let the other third remain alive. So the Moabites were brought under David's rule. They gave him the gifts he required them to bring him.

3 David fought against Hadadezer, the son of Rehob. Hadadezer was king of Zobah. He had gone to take back control of the land along the Euphrates River.

4 David captured 1,000 of Hadadezer's chariots, 7,000 chariot riders and 20,000 soldiers on foot. He cut the legs of all but 100 of the chariot horses.

5 The Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer, the king of Zobah. But David struck down 22,000 of them.