2 Samuel 10:13

13 And Joab drew near and the people that were with him, to do battle against the Syrians, and they fled before him.

2 Samuel 10:13 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 10:13

And Joab drew nigh, and the people that were with him, unto
the battle against the Syrians
Fell upon them; attacked them first, began the battle with them; rightly judging, that if they, being hired soldiers, were closely pressed, they would give way, which would discourage the Ammonites, who depended much upon them; and the fight, according to Josephus ^F24, lasted some little time, who says, that Joab killed many of them, and obliged the rest to turn their backs and flee, as follows:

and they fled before him:
the Syriac and Arabic versions in this verse, and in all others in this chapter where the word "Syrians" is used, have "Edomites", reading "Edom" instead of "Aram", the letters (r) "R" and (d) "D" in the Hebrew tongue being very similar.

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FOOTNOTES:

F24 Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 7. c. 6. sect. 2.)

2 Samuel 10:13 In-Context

11 And he said, If the Syrians are too strong for me, then thou shalt help me; but if the sons of Ammon are too strong for thee, then I will come and help thee.

12 Be of good courage, and let us be strong for our people and for the cities of our God; and let the LORD do that which seems good unto him.

13 And Joab drew near and the people that were with him, to do battle against the Syrians, and they fled before him.

14 And when the sons of Ammon saw that the Syrians had fled, they also fled before Abishai and entered into the city. So Joab returned from the sons of Ammon and came to Jerusalem.

15 And when the Syrians saw that they were smitten before Israel, they gathered themselves together.