Shmuel Bais 18:6

6 HaAm went into the sadeh against Yisroel; the milchamah was in ya’ar (forest) of Ephrayim;

Shmuel Bais 18:6 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 18:6

So the people went out into the field against Israel
Josephus ^F5 calls it a great field, with a wood behind it:

and the battle was in the wood of Ephraim;
or near it ^F6 rather; not in a wood in the tribe of Ephraim, which lay on this side Jordan; whereas this battle was fought on the other side Jordan, in the land of Gilead, not far from Mahanaim, where was this wood; and which was so called, either from the slaughter of the Ephraimites here in the times of Jephthah, ( Judges 12:4-6 ) ; or from the Ephraimites feeding their cattle here and near it; for the Jews say ^F7, that Joshua gave them a grant to feed their cattle in any wood in any of the tribes of Israel; and lying near Jordan, they used to drive their cattle over to this place, from whence it had its name.

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FOOTNOTES:

F5 Ut supra, (Antiqu. l. 7. c. 10.) sect. 2.
F6 (reyb) "ad sylvam", Junius & Tremellius; "prope sylvam", Piscator.
F7 In Jarchi, Kimchi, & Abarbinel, in loc.

Shmuel Bais 18:6 In-Context

4 And HaMelech said unto them, What seemeth you best I will do. And HaMelech stood by the side of the sha’ar, and kol haAm came out by hundreds and by thousands.

5 And HaMelech commanded Yoav and Avishai and Ittai, saying, Deal gently for my sake with the na’ar, even with Avshalom. And kol HaAm heard when HaMelech gave all the sarim charge concerning Avshalom.

6 HaAm went into the sadeh against Yisroel; the milchamah was in ya’ar (forest) of Ephrayim;

7 Where Am Yisroel were slain before the avadim of Dovid, and there was there a magefah gedolah that day of esrim elef.

8 For the milchamah was there scattered over the face of kol ha’aretz; and the ya’ar devoured more people that day than the cherev devoured.