2 Samuel 17:8

8 Tú conoces a tu padre y a sus hombres; son guerreros poderosos. En este momento están tan enfurecidos como una osa a la que le han robado sus cachorros. Y recuerda que tu padre es un hombre de guerra con experiencia. Él no pasará la noche con las tropas.

2 Samuel 17:8 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 17:8

For (said Hushai) thou knowest thy father and his men, that
they [be] mighty men
Men of courage and valour, and not such weak-handed and weak-hearted men, and so easily intimidated, as Ahithophel suggests:

and they [be] chafed in their minds;
or "bitter in soul" ^F6; not merely filled with trouble and anguish, and depressed in their spirits, on account of that, as the phrase sometimes signifies; but enraged and full of wrath at the rebellion raised against their prince, which obliged them with him to leave their habitations; and now being desperate, their all lying at stake, their wives and children, their families and estates, they would fight furiously in the defence of the king and themselves, and not so soon flee as Ahithophel had represented:

as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field;
a bear is a very furious creature, especially a she bear, and the more when it has whelps, and more so when deprived of them ^F7, when it ranges about in the field, and in its fury attacks whomsoever it meets with; (See Gill on Hosea 13:8);

and thy father [is] a man of war;
not only bold and courageous, but expert and skilful in all the arts of war and not easy to be surprised and circumvented, as Ahithophel intimated:

and will not lodge with the people;
in the camp, but at some distance from it; partly to prevent any traitorous design upon him in it, and partly that he might not be surprised by the enemy, knowing that their chief view was to seize his person; and therefore as it would not be easy to find him where he was, he could not be smitten alone, as Ahithophel proposed.

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FOOTNOTES:

F6 (vpn yrm) "amari animo", Pagninus, Montanus; "amaro animo", V. L. Tigurine version, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.
F7 Aristot. Hist. Animal. l. 6. c. 18. & 9. 1.

2 Samuel 17:8 In-Context

6 Cuando Husai llegó, Absalón le contó lo que Ahitofel había dicho y le preguntó:
—¿Qué opinas? ¿Debemos seguir el consejo de Ahitofel? Si no, ¿qué sugieres?

7 —Bueno —le contestó Husai—, esta vez Ahitofel se equivocó.

8 Tú conoces a tu padre y a sus hombres; son guerreros poderosos. En este momento están tan enfurecidos como una osa a la que le han robado sus cachorros. Y recuerda que tu padre es un hombre de guerra con experiencia. Él no pasará la noche con las tropas.

9 Seguramente ya está escondido en algún pozo o en alguna cueva. Y cuando salga y ataque, y mueran unos cuantos de tus hombres, entonces habrá pánico entre tus tropas, y se correrá la voz de que están masacrando a los hombres de Absalón.

10 Así pues hasta los soldados más valientes, aunque tengan el corazón de un león, quedarán paralizados de miedo, porque todo Israel sabe qué poderoso guerrero es tu padre y qué valientes son sus hombres.