2 Samuel 11:21

Who smote Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? did not a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon him from the wall, that he died in Thebez? why went ye nigh the wall? then say thou, Thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
smote	הִכָּ֞ה hi.Kah	H5221	to strike (lightly or severely · verb, hiphil perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Abimelech	אֲבִימֶ֣לֶךְ 'a.vi.Me.lekh	H40	Abimelek · proper noun, a man's name
son	בֶּן ben-	H1121	a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine singular construct
Jerubbesheth	יְרֻבֶּ֗שֶׁת ye.ru.Be.shet	H3380	Jerubbesheth · proper noun, a man's name
woman	אִשָּׁ֡ה 'i.Shah	H802	a woman · noun, common feminine singular absolute
cast	הִשְׁלִ֣יכָה hish.Li.khah	H7993	to throw out · verb, hiphil perfect, 3rd person feminine singular
piece	פֶּ֨לַח Pe.lach	H6400	a slice · noun, common feminine singular construct
millstone	רֶ֜כֶב Re.khev	H7393	a vehicle · noun, common masculine singular absolute
wall	הַֽחוֹמָה֙ ha.cho.Mah	H2346	a wall of protection · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
died	וַיָּ֣מָת vai.Ya.mot	H4191	to die (literally or figuratively) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Thebez	בְּתֵבֵ֔ץ be.te.Vetz	H8405	Tebets · preposition + proper noun, a place name
nigh	נִגַּשְׁתֶּ֖ם ni.gash.Tem	H5066	to be or come (causatively · verb, niphal perfect, 2nd person masculine plural
wall	הַֽחוֹמָ֑ה ha.cho.Mah	H2346	a wall of protection · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
say	וְאָ֣מַרְתָּ֔ ve.'A.mar.ta	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 2nd person masculine singular
servant	עַבְדְּךָ֛ 'av.de.Kha	H5650	a servant · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
Uriah	אוּרִיָּ֥ה 'u.ri.Yah	H223	Urijah · proper noun, a man's name
Hittite	הַחִתִּ֖י ha.chi.Ti	H2850	a Chittite · definite article + noun, gentilic masculine singular absolute
dead	מֵֽת Met	H4191	to die (literally or figuratively) · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular

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

Judges 7:1 Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people that were with him, rose up early, and pitched beside the well of Harod: so that the host…
Judges 9:50-54 Then went Abimelech to Thebez, and encamped against Thebez, and took it.
Judges 6:32 Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar.
2 Samuel 3:27 And when Abner was returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gate to speak with him quietly, and smote him there under the fifth rib, t…
2 Samuel 3:34 Thy hands were not bound, nor thy feet put into fetters: as a man falleth before wicked men, so fellest thou. And all the people wept again…
Psalms 39:8 Deliver me from all my transgressions: make me not the reproach of the foolish.
Isaiah 14:10 All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?
Ezekiel 16:51-52 Neither hath Samaria committed half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than they, and hast justified thy sisters…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Samuel 11:14–end

When David's project of fathering the child upon Uriah himself failed, so that, in process of time, Uriah would certainly know the wrong that had been done him, to prevent the fruits of his revenge, the devil put it into David's heart to take him off, and then neither he nor Bath-sheba would be in any danger (what prosecution could there be when there was no prosecutor?), suggesting further that, when Uriah was out of the way, Bath-sheba might, if he pleased, be his own for ever. Adulteries have often occasioned murders, and one wickedness must be covered and secured with another. The beginnings of sin are therefore to be dreaded; for who knows where they will end? It is resolved in David's…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Samuel 11:14

URIAH SLAIN. (Sa2 11:14-27) David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah . . . Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle--The various arts and stratagems by which the king tried to cajole Uriah, till at last he resorted to the horrid crime of murder--the cold-blooded cruelty of despatching the letter by the hands of the gallant but much-wronged soldier himself, the enlistment of Joab to be a partaker of his sin, the heartless affectation of mourning, and the indecent haste of his marriage with Bath-sheba--have left an indelible stain upon the character of David, and exhibit a painfully humiliating proof of the awful lengths to which the best of men may go when th…

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Adam Clarke on 2 Samuel 11:20

If - the king's wrath arise - It is likely that Joab had by some indiscretion suffered loss about this time;; and he contrived to get rid of the odium by connecting the transaction with the death of Uriah, which he knew would be so pleasing to the king.

John Gill on 2 Samuel 11:21

Who smote Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth?.... The same with Jerubbaal, who was Gideon, Judges 6:32; Baal, one part of his name, was the name of an idol, and sometimes called Bosheth or Besheth, which signifies shame, being a shameful idol; Gideon had a son called Abimelech, who was smitten, and it is here asked, by whom? did not a woman cast a millstone upon him from the wall, that he died in Thebez? which should have been a warning not to go too near the wall of an enemy; the history is recorded in Judges 9:52, why went ye nigh the wall? exposing your lives to so much danger, and by which so many lives were lost: then say thou, thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also; the whole has…

Dictionary and topics

Abimelech — My father a king, or father of a king, a common name of the Philistine kings, as “Pharaoh” was of the Egyptian kings. (1.) The Philistine king of Gerar in the time of Abraham (Gen. 20:1-18). By an…
Chronicles, Books of — The two books were originally one. They bore the title in the Massoretic Hebrew Dibre hayyamim, i.e., “Acts of the Days.” This title was rendered by Jerome in his Latin version “Chronicon,” and hence…
David — Beloved, the eighth and youngest son of Jesse, a citizen of Bethlehem. His father seems to have been a man in humble life. His mother’s name is not recorded. Some think she was the Nahash of 2 Sam.…
Grind — (Ex. 32:20; Deut. 9:21; Judg. 16:21), to crush small (Heb. tahan); to oppress the poor (Isa. 3:5). The hand-mill was early used by the Hebrews (Num. 11:8). It consisted of two stones, the upper…
Jerubbesheth — Contender with the shame; i.e., idol, a surname also of Gideon (2 Sam. 11:21).
Mill — For grinding corn, mentioned as used in the time of Abraham (Gen. 18:6). That used by the Hebrews consisted of two circular stones, each 2 feet in diameter and half a foot thick, the lower of which…
Abimelech · 3. — 3.
Hittites · Remarkable persons of: Uriah — Remarkable persons of: Uriah
Joab · . — .
Lasciviousness · .David — .David
Mills · Stones used in: Often thrown down on enemies during sieges — Stones used in: Often thrown down on enemies during sieges
Sieges · Cities invested by: Walls of, defended by the inhabitants

2 Samuel 11:21

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Samuel 11:14–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Samuel 11:14

Adam Clarke on 2 Samuel 11:20

John Gill on 2 Samuel 11:21

Dictionary and topics

2 Samuel 11:21

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Samuel 11:14–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Samuel 11:14

Adam Clarke on 2 Samuel 11:20

John Gill on 2 Samuel 11:21

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on 2 Samuel 11:2–end

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 2 Samuel 11:21

Rashi on 2 Samuel 11:21