2 Samuel 18:6

6 So the army went out into the field against Israel, and the battle was fought in the ¹forest of Ephraim.

2 Samuel 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.

2 Samuel 18:6 In-Context

4 The king said to them, "Whatever seems best to you I will do." So the king stood at the side of the gate, while all the army marched out by hundreds and by thousands.

5 And the king ordered Joab and Abishai and Ittai, "Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom."And all the people heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders about Absalom.

6 So the army went out into the field against Israel, and the battle was fought in the forest of Ephraim.

7 And the men of Israel were defeated there by the servants of David, and the loss there was great on that day, twenty thousand men.

8 The battle spread over the face of all the country, and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword.

Cross References

• 1. ver. 17; [Joshua 17:15, 18]