2 Samuel 8

7–10 In these verses, the writer describes the valuable articles David took from his defeated enemies, among which were gold shields (verse 7)—ceremonial shields adorned with gold. In some cases, neighboring kings sent David valuable gifts in order to gain his friendship and thus avoid being attacked by him (verses 9–10).

11–14 David dedicated all of these articles to the Lord in grateful acknowledgement of Hisblessings(verse11). David kept none of them for his own use or pleasure. The articles were probably placed in the tent with the ark; later when the temple was built, Solomon moved them into the temple treasuries (1 Kings 7:51).

In verse 12, the writer lists many of the nations that David subdued: Edom³⁵ in the south, Moab and the Ammonites in the east, the Philistines and Amalek³⁶ in the west, and Zobah in the north. As David extended Israel’s boundaries in every direction, the territory he conquered came to equal the area of land that God had originally promised to Abraham, Moses and Joshua (Genesis 15:18–21; Deuteronomy 1:6–8; Joshua 1:1–5). Indeed, through David, God finally fulfilled His covenant promise to give the Israelites a land of their own that extended from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates (Genesis 15:18).

In verses 13–14, the writer briefly describes David’s victory over the Edomites in the Valley of Salt, a valley south of the Dead Sea near the border of Edom. According to 1 Chronicles 18:12, it was actually David’s nephew Abishai (1 Samuel 26:6) who struck down the Edomites; but since David was the commander-in-chief, the writer of 2 Samuel gives David the credit.

David’s Officials (8:15–18)
(1 Chronicles 18:14–17)

15–18 In this section the writer lists David’s most important officials. Joab, nephew of David and brother of Abishai, was the commander of the army (verse 16). Zadok and Ahimelech shared priestly duties during David’s reign.³⁷ Benaiah was commander of the Kerethites and Pelethites (verse 18), foreign mercenary soldiers who formed a special bodyguard for David.