2 Samuel 18:2

2 And he gave the third part of the people under the hand of Joab; and the third part under the hand of Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, the brother of Joab; and the third part under the hand of Ittai, that was of Gath. And the king said to the people, Also I shall go out with you. (And he sent out a third part of the people under Joab's command; and a third part under Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother; and a third part under Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the people, And I shall go out with all of you.)

2 Samuel 18:2 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 18:2

And David sent forth a third part of the people under the hand
of Joab
Very likely that which made the centre of the army, since Joab was the general of the army; though this distribution was made when David thought to have headed the army himself, and so made with respect to that:

and a third part under the hand of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab's
brother;
who was next to Joab in the army, and fought with him against the Syrians and Ammonites, ( 2 Samuel 10:10 2 Samuel 10:11 ) ;

and a third part under the hand of Ittai the Gittite;
of whom see ( 2 Samuel 15:19 ) ; of these two parts consisted the right and left wings of the army:

and the king said unto the people;
the soldiers, and particularly the officers:

I will surely go forth with you myself also;
in which he seemed very resolute and peremptory; and this he proposed to do, not merely to animate the soldiers with his presence, and to show that he was willing to hazard his life with them, but chiefly for the sake of Absalom, to preserve his life, if possible.

2 Samuel 18:2 In-Context

1 Therefore David, when he had beheld his people, ordained chieftains of thousands, and (chieftains) of hundreds upon them.

2 And he gave the third part of the people under the hand of Joab; and the third part under the hand of Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, the brother of Joab; and the third part under the hand of Ittai, that was of Gath. And the king said to the people, Also I shall go out with you. (And he sent out a third part of the people under Joab's command; and a third part under Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother; and a third part under Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the people, And I shall go out with all of you.)

3 And the people answered, Thou shalt not go out; for whether we flee, it shall not pertain to them by great work of us; whether half the part fall down of us, they shall not reckon (it) enough, for thou art reckoned for ten thousand; therefore it is better, that thou be to us in the city in strong succour. (And the people answered, Thou shalt not go out with us; for if we flee, it shall not pertain to them to make any great effort against us; and even if half of us shall fall down, or shall die, they shall not reckon it enough/they shall not reckon it much, for thou art reckoned for ten thousand; and so it is better for us, if thou be in the city, and support us from here.)

4 And the king said to them, I shall do that, that seemeth rightful to you. Therefore the king stood beside the gate, and the people went out by their companies, by hundreds, and by thousands.

5 And the king commanded to Joab, and to Abishai, and to Ittai, and said, Keep ye to me the child Absalom. And all the people heard the king commanding to all the princes for Absalom. (And the king commanded to Joab, and Abishai, and Ittai, and said, For my sake, do not ye harm the young man Absalom. And all the people heard the king commanding to all his officers about Absalom.)