1 Chronicles 11:18 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
1 Chronicles 11:18
And the three brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: but David would not drink of it, but poured it out to the LORD.
three · definite article + noun, common both genders singular absolute
through
וַיִּבְקְע֨וּvai.yiv.ke.'U
H1234
to cleave · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
host
בְּמַחֲנֵ֣הbe.ma.cha.Neh
H4264
an encampment (of travellers or troops) · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct
Philistines
פְלִשְׁתִּ֗יםfe.lish.Tim
H6430
a Pelishtite or inhabitant of Pelesheth · noun, gentilic masculine plural absolute
drew
וַיִּֽשְׁאֲבוּvai.yish.'a.vu-
H7579
to bale up water · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
water
מַ֙יִם֙ma.yim
H4325
water · noun, common masculine plural absolute
well
מִבּ֤וֹרmi.Bor
H953
a pit hole (especially one used as a cistern or a priso… · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
Beth-lehem
בֵּֽיתbeit-
H1035
Beth-Lechem · proper noun, a place name
gate
בַּשַּׁ֔עַרba.Sha.'ar
H8179
an opening · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
took
וַיִּשְׂא֖וּvai.yis.'U
H5375
to lift · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
brought
וַיָּבִ֣אוּvai.ya.Vi.'u
H935
to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
David
דָּוִ֑ידda.Vid
H1732
David · proper noun, a man's name
David
דָוִיד֙da.Vid
H1732
David · proper noun, a man's name
would
אָבָ֤ה'a.Vah
H14
to breathe after · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
drink
לִשְׁתּוֹתָ֔םlish.to.Tam
H8354
to imbibe (literally or figuratively) · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
out
וַיְנַסֵּ֥ךְvay.na.Sekh
H5258
to pour out · conjunction + verb, piel sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
LORD
לַיהוָֽהla.Yah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · preposition + proper noun, a title
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Acts 21:13 Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the…
1 Samuel 7:6 And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the LORD, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sin…
1 Samuel 19:5 For he did put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine, and the LORD wrought a great salvation for all Israel: thou sawest it, and did…
Song of Solomon 8:6 Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof…
Acts 20:24 But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, whi…
2 Corinthians 5:14-15 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 1 Chronicles 11:10–end
We have here an account of David's worthies, the great men of his time that served him and were preferred by him. The first edition of this catalogue we had, Sa2 23:8, etc. This is much the same, only that those named here from Ch1 11:41 to the end are added. Observe,
I. The connexion of this catalogue with that which is said concerning David, Ch1 11:9. 1. David waxed greater and greater, and these were his mighty men. Much of the strength and honour of great men is borrowed from their servants and depends upon them, which cannot but somewhat diminish pomp and power in the opinion of those that are wise. David is great because he has great men about him; take these away, and he is where he w…
David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink . . . of the well of Beth-lehem--(See on Sa2 23:15). This chivalrous act evinces the enthusiastic devotion of David's men, that they were ready to gratify his smallest wish at the risk of their lives. It is probable that, when uttering the wish, David had no recollection of the military posted at Beth-lehem. It is generally taken for granted that those who fought a way to the well of Beth-lehem were the three champions just mentioned [see on Ch1 11:13]. But this is far from being clear. On the contrary, it would seem that three different heroes are referred to, for Abishai (Ch1 11:20) was one of them. The camp of the Philistines was in…
David longed - See the notes on Sa2 23:15-17 (note).
Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 Chronicles 11:10-47
This account of David’s mighty warriors demonstrates that David had the support of Israel’s best and bravest men, as well as the support of all Israel (cp. 2 Sam 23:8-39).
11:10 just as the Lord had promised: David’s kingship was God’s choice, not David’s or the people’s (cp. 11:3; 1 Sam 16:11-14).
The Church Fathers
But David, who had taken to himself another man's wife, and had been sorely scourged for his fault, desired long afterwards to drink water from the cistern of Bethlehem; which when his bravest soldiers had brought to him, he refused to drink it, and poured it out as a libation to the Lord. For it was lawful for him to drink it, had he been so minded; but, because he remembered having done what was unlawful, he laudably abstained even from what was lawful. And he, who to his guilt previously feared not that the blood of dying soldiers should be shed, afterwards considered that, were he to drink the water, he would have shed the blood of living soldiers, saying, Shall I drink the blood of these men who have put their lives in jeopardy?
I must tell you that I have been led to praise God the more for your work by what I have learnt from the report of my most beloved son Probinus the presbyter; namely that, your Excellency having issued a certain ordinance against the perfidy of the Jews, those to whom it related attempted to bend the rectitude of your mind by offering a sum of money; which your Excellency scorned, and, seeking to satisfy the judgment of Almighty God, preferred innocence to gold. With regard to this what was done by King David recurs to my mind, who, when the longed for water from the cistern of Bethlehem, which was wedged in by the enemy, had been brought him by obedient soldiers, said, God forbid that I should drink the blood of righteous men. And, because he poured it out and would not drink it, it is written, He offered it a libation to the Lord. If, then, water was scorned by the armed king, and turned into a sacrifice to God, we may estimate what manner of sacrifice to Almighty God has been offered by the king who for His love has scorned to receive, not water, but gold. Wherefore, most excellent son, I will confidently say that thou hast offered as a libation to the Lord the gold which thou wouldest not have in opposition to Him.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Giants — (1.) Heb. nephilim, meaning “violent” or “causing to fall” (Gen. 6:4). These were the violent tyrants of those days, those who fell upon others. The word may also be derived from a root signifying…
Hareth — Thicket, a wood in the mountains of Judah where David hid when pursued by Saul (1 Sam. 22:5). It was possibly while he was here that the memorable incident narrated in 2 Sam. 23:14-17, 1 Chr.…
Abishai · Obtains water from the well of Bethlehem for David — Obtains water from the well of Bethlehem for David
Wells · Mentioned in scripture: Bethlehem — Mentioned in scripture: Bethlehem
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Rashi on 1 Chronicles 11:18
And the three broke through the Philistine camp (In German, durchbrechen die schare)
drew When the Philistines were standing before the cistern, the three mighty men of Israel broke through between them and drew [water] against their will.
and he poured it out as a libation to the Lord Bar Kappara says: It was the festival of Succoth, and he poured them [the waters] out for a libation on the altar.
