2 Samuel 17:1

Moreover Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Let me now choose out twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David this night:

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Ahithophel	אֲחִיתֹ֖פֶל 'a.chi.To.fel	H302	Achithophel · proper noun, a man's name
said	וַיֹּ֥אמֶר vai.Yo.mer	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Absalom	אַבְשָׁלֹ֑ם 'av.sha.Lom	H53	Abshalom · proper noun, a man's name
out	אֶבְחֲרָ֣ה 'ev.cha.Rah	H977	properly · verb, qal infinitive construct, 1st person common singular
twelve	שְׁנֵים she.neim-	H8147	two · noun, common both genders dual absolute
thousand	אֶ֙לֶף֙ 'e.lef	H505	hence (the ox's head being the first letter of the alph… · noun, common both genders singular absolute
men	אִ֔ישׁ 'Ish	H376	a man as an individual or a male person · noun, common masculine singular absolute
arise	וְאָק֛וּמָה ve.'a.Ku.mah	H6965	to rise (in various applications · conjunction + verb, qal infinitive construct, 1st person common singular
pursue	וְאֶרְדְּפָ֥ה ve.'er.de.Fah	H7291	to run after (usually with hostile intent · conjunction + verb, qal infinitive construct, 1st person common singular
after	אַחֲרֵי 'a.cha.rei-	H310	properly · cardinal number, masculine plural construct
David	דָוִ֖ד da.Vid	H1732	David · proper noun, a man's name
night	הַלָּֽיְלָה ha.La.ye.lah	H3915	properly · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute

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

Isaiah 59:7-8 Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in…
Psalms 3:3-5 But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.
Psalms 4:8 I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.
Psalms 109:2-4 For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me: they have spoken against me with a lying tongue.
Proverbs 4:16 For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.
Proverbs 1:16 For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Samuel 17:1-14

Absalom is now in peaceable possession of Jerusalem; the palace-royal is his own, as are the thrones of judgment, even the thrones of the house of David. His good father reigned in Hebron, and only over the tribe of Judah, above seven years, and was not hasty to destroy his rival; his government was built upon a divine promise, the performance of which he was sure of in due time, and therefore he waited patiently in the mean time. But the young man, Absalom, not only hastens from Hebron to Jerusalem, but is impatient there till he has destroyed his father, cannot be content with his throne till he has his life; for his government is founded in iniquity, and therefore feels itself tottering a…

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Adam Clarke on 2 Samuel 17:1

Let me now choose out twelve thousand men - Had this counsel been followed, David and his little troop would soon have been destroyed; nothing but the miraculous interposition of God could have saved them. Twelve thousand chosen troops coming against him, in his totally unprepared state, would have soon settled the business of the kingdom. Ahithophel well saw that, this advice neglected, all was lost.

John Gill on 2 Samuel 17:1

Moreover, Ahithophel said unto Absalom,.... Either at the same time, or quickly after he had given the foregoing advice: let me now choose out twelve thousand men: out of those that were with Absalom, which shows their number to be large; and twelve thousand are pitched upon with respect to the twelve tribes of Israel, a thousand from every tribe; Josephus has only ten thousand: and I will arise and pursue after David this night; he took upon him to be general of the army, as well as a counsellor; or this he said to show how confident he was of the success of his counsel, that if Absalom, or any other, should decline the conduct of the army upon it, as a hazardous attempt, he would underta…

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Keil & Delitzsch on 2 Samuel 17:1-3

The Church Fathers

There is nothing so foreign to a Christian soul as haughtiness. Haughtiness, I say, not boldness nor courage, for these are congenial. But these are one thing, and that another; so too humility is one thing, and meanness, flattery, and adulation another. I will now, if you wish, give you examples of all these qualities. For these things which are contraries, seem in some way to be placed near together, as the tares to the wheat, and the thorns to the rose. But while babes might easily be deceived, they who are men in truth, and are skilled in spiritual husbandry, know how to separate what is really good from the bad. Let me then lay before you examples of these qualities from the Scriptures. What is flattery, and meanness, and adulation? Ziba flattered David out of season, and falsely slandered his master. Much more did Ahitophel flatter Absalom. But David was not so, but he was humble. For the deceitful are flatterers, as when they say, "O king, live for ever." Again, what flatterers the magicians are.
— John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON PHILIPPIANS 5

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

Ahithophel — Brother of insipidity or impiety, a man greatly renowned for his sagacity among the Jews. At the time of Absalom’s revolt he deserted David (Ps. 41:9; 55:12-14) and espoused the cause of Absalom (2…
Jether — Surplus; excellence. (1.) Father-in-law of Moses (Ex. 4:18 marg.), called elsewhere Jethro (q.v.). (2.) The oldest of Gideon’s seventy sons (Judg. 8:20). (3.) The father of Amasa, David’s general (1…
Ahithophel · Joins Absalom — Joins Absalom
Armies Of Israel, The · Men selected from, for difficult enterprises — Men selected from, for difficult enterprises
Citizens · .Ahithophel — .Ahithophel
Council · Of War — Of War
Diplomacy · .David, in sending Hushai Absalom’s court — .David, in sending Hushai Absalom’s court
Friendship · .David and Hushai — .David and Hushai
Spies · Used at the court of Absalom — Used at the court of Absalom

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).

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Samuel 17:1-14

Adam Clarke on 2 Samuel 17:1

John Gill on 2 Samuel 17:1

Keil & Delitzsch on 2 Samuel 17:1-3

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Samuel 17:1-14

Adam Clarke on 2 Samuel 17:1

John Gill on 2 Samuel 17:1

Keil & Delitzsch on 2 Samuel 17:1-3

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 2 Samuel 17:1-14