2 Samuel 8:3

3 And David smote Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, when he went forth to be lord over the flood Euphrates. (And then David struck Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, the king of Zobah, as he went to recover his land by the Euphrates River.)

2 Samuel 8:3 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 8:3

And David also smote Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of
Zobah
Called sometimes Aramzobah, and was a part of Syria, as its name shows. Benjamin, of Tudela ^F8 takes it to be the same with Haleb or Aleppo; Josephus ^F9 calls it Sophene; but that is placed by Ptolemy

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FOOTNOTES:

F11 beyond the Euphrates; whereas this country must be between that river and the land of Israel, and was contiguous to it, and near Damascus; and it was so near the land of Israel, and being conquered by David, that it became a controversy with the Jews, whether it was not to be reckoned part of it, and in several things they allow it to be equal to it ^F12. Rehob was the first king of this part of Syria, and then his son the second and last; he is called Hadarezer in ( 1 Chronicles 18:3 ) ; the letters (d) "D" and (r) "R", being frequently changed in the Hebrew tongue: him David fought with, and overcame,

as he went to recover his border at the river Euphrates;
which some understand of Hadadezer, so Jarchi and Kimchi, who attempted to recover part of his dominions that had been taken by some one or another from him, which lay upon the river Euphrates; or he endeavoured to enlarge his dominions, and carry them as far as the river, and establish the borders of them; and while he was doing this, or attempting it, David fell upon him, and routed him; or rather this refers to David, who considering that the ancient border of the land of Israel, as given to Abraham, reached to the river Euphrates, ( Genesis 15:18 ) ; he set out on an expedition to recover this border, and whereas the country of this king lay in his way, he invaded that; upon which Hadadezer rose up against him, and was conquered by him, and by this means the border was recovered to the kingdom of Israel, and reached so far, as is plain it did in Solomon's time, ( 1 Kings 4:21-24 ) .

F8 Itinerar. p. 59.
F9 Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 7. c. 5. sect. 1.)
F11 Geograph. l. 5. c. 13.
F12 T. Bab. Gittin, fol. 8. 1. 2. Misn. Demai, c. 6. sect. 11. & Maimon. & Bartenora in ib.

2 Samuel 8:3 In-Context

1 And it was done after these things, David smote the Philistines, and made low them; and David took away the bridle of tribute from the hand of Philistines. (And it was done after these things, that David struck the Philistines, and made them low, or conquered them; and David took away Methegammah from the Philistines.)

2 And David smote Moab, and meted them with a cord, and he made them even to the earth; forsooth he meted (them by) two cords, one to slay, and one to quicken. And Moab served David under tribute. (And David struck the Moabites, and he made his captives to lie on the ground, and had them measured with a cord; and for every two cord lengths of men that he killed, one cord length was allowed to live. And then the Moabites paid tribute, or taxes, to David.)

3 And David smote Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, when he went forth to be lord over the flood Euphrates. (And then David struck Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, the king of Zobah, as he went to recover his land by the Euphrates River.)

4 And when a thousand and seven hundred horsemen of his part were taken, and twenty thousand of footmen, David hocked all [the] drawing beasts in chariots; but David left of those an hundred chariots, that is, the horses of an hundred chariots. (And David took from him, or captured, a thousand and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen, and he hocked all the drawing beasts for the chariots; but he left unharmed the horses for a hundred chariots.)

5 Also Syrians of Damascus came, that it should bear help to Hadadezer, king of Zobah; and David smote of (the) Syrians two and twenty thousand of men. (And the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer; and David struck down twenty-two thousand of the men of Syria.)