a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine singular construct
Jehoiada
יְה֣וֹיָדָ֔עye.Ho.ya.Da'
H3077
Jehojada · proper noun, a man's name
Cherethites
וְהַכְּרֵתִ֖יve.ha.ke.re.Ti
H3774
a Kerethite or life-guardsman · conjunction + definite article + noun, gentilic masculine singular absolute
Pelethites
וְהַפְּלֵתִ֑יve.ha.pe.le.Ti
H6432
a courier (collectively) or official messenger · conjunction + definite article + noun, gentilic masculine singular absolute
David’s
דָוִ֖דda.Vid
H1732
David · proper noun, a man's name
sons
וּבְנֵ֥יu.ve.Nei
H1121
a son (as a builder of the family name) · conjunction + noun, common masculine plural construct
rulers
כֹּהֲנִ֥יםko.ha.Nim
H3548
literally one officiating · noun, common masculine plural 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
1 Samuel 30:14 We made an invasion upon the south of the Cherethites, and upon the coast which belongeth to Judah, and upon the south of Caleb; and we burn…
2 Samuel 15:18 And all his servants passed on beside him; and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six hundred men which came…
2 Samuel 20:7 And there went out after him Joab’s men, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and all the mighty men: and they went out of Jerusalem, to…
2 Samuel 20:23 Now Joab was over all the host of Israel: and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and over the Pelethites:
1 Chronicles 18:17 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and the sons of David were chief about the king.
2 Samuel 23:20-23 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man, of Kabzeel, who had done many acts, he slew two lionlike men of Moab: he went dow…
1 Kings 1:38 So Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, went down, and caused…
1 Kings 1:44 And the king hath sent with him Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pele…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 2 Samuel 8:15–end
David was not so engaged in his wars abroad as to neglect the administration of the government at home.
I. His care extended itself to all the parts of his dominion: He reigned over all Israel (Sa2 8:15); not only he had a right to reign over all the tribes, but he did so; they were all safe under his protection, and shared in the fruits of his good government.
II. He did justice with an unbiased unshaken hand: He executed judgment unto all his people, neither did wrong nor denied or delayed right to any. This intimates, 1. His industry and close application to business, his easiness of access and readiness to admit all addresses and appeals made to him. All his people, even the meanest, and…
Cherethites--that is, Philistines (Zep 2:5).
Pelethites--from Pelet (Ch1 12:3). They were the valiant men who, having accompanied David during his exile among the Philistines, were made his bodyguard.
Next: 2 Samuel Chapter 9
Adam Clarke on 2 Samuel 8:18
Benaiah - The chief of the second class of David's worthies. We shall meet with him again.
The Cherethites and the Pelethites - The former supposed to be those who accompanied David when he fled from Saul; the latter, those who came to him at Ziklag. But the Targum translates these two names thus, the archers and the slingers; and this is by far the most likely. It is not at all probable that David was without a company both of archers and slingers. The bow is celebrated in the funeral lamentation over Saul and Jonathan; and the sling was renowned as the weapon of the Israelites, and how expert David was in the use of it we learn from the death of Goliath. I take for granted that the Chaldee…
And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over both the Cherethites and Pelethites,.... These, according to Josephus (k), were the king's bodyguards, and this man is expressly said to be set over his guards, 2 Samuel 23:22; and which some think were of the nation of the Philistines, famous for archery, and slinging of stones; and so the Targum renders it,"was appointed over the archers and slingers;''so "choriti" in Virgil (l) are quivers for arrows; the great use of which in fighting David had observed, and therefore got a select company of these men, partly to teach Israel, and partly to guard himself: but others are of opinion that David would never suffer such as were Heathens to be so near hi…
Dictionary and topics
Benaiah — Built up by Jehovah. (1.) The son of Jehoiada, chief priest (1 Chr. 27:5). He was set by David over his body-guard of Cherethites and Pelethites (2 Sam. 8:18; 1 Kings 1:32; 1 Chr. 18:17). His…
Caphtor — A chaplet, the original seat of the Philistines (Deut. 2:23; Jer. 47:4; Amos 9:7). The name is found written in hieroglyphics in the temple of Kom Ombos in Upper Egypt. But the exact situation of…
Cherethim — (Ezek. 25:16), more frequently Cherethites, the inhabitants of Southern Philistia, the Philistines (Zeph. 2:5). The Cherethites and the Pelethites were David’s life-guards (1 Sam. 30:14; 2 Sam. 8:18;…
Cherethites — (executioners) and of King David. (2 Samuel 8:18; 15:18; 20:7,23; 1 Kings 1:38,44; 1 Chronicles 18:17) It is plain that these royal guards were employed as executioners., (2 Kings 11:4) and as…
Cord — Frequently used in its proper sense, for fastening a tent (Ex. 35:18; 39:40), yoking animals to a cart (Isa. 5:18), binding prisoners (Judg. 15:13; Ps. 2:3; 129:4), and measuring ground (2 Sam. 8;2;…
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.…
Ira — Citizen; wakeful. (1.) A Tekoite, one of David’s thirty warriors (2 Sam. 23:26). (2.) An Ithrite, also one of David’s heroes (2 Sam. 23:38). (3.) A Jairite and priest, a royal chaplain (2 Sam. 20:26)…
Jehoiada — Jehovah-known. (1.) The father of Benaiah, who was one of David’s chief warriors (2 Sam. 8:18; 20:23). (2.) The high priest at the time of Athaliah’s usurpation of the throne of Judah. He married…
Palestine — Originally denoted only the sea-coast of the land of Canaan inhabited by the Philistines (Ex. 15:14; Isa. 14:29, 31; Joel 3:4), and in this sense exclusively the Hebrew name Pelesheth (rendered…
Pelethites — Mentioned always along with the Cherethites, and only in the time of David. The word probably means “runners” or “couriers,” and may denote that while forming part of David’s bodyguard, they were…
Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, a very brave hero of Kabzeel (see at Sa2 23:20.), was over the Crethi and Plethi. Instead of והכּרתי, which gives no sense, and must be connected in some way with Kg1 1:38, Kg1 1:44, we must read הכּרתי על according to the parallel passage Sa2 20:23, and the corresponding text of the Chronicles. The Crethi and Plethi were the king's body-guard, σωματοφύλακες (Josephus, Ant. vii. 5, 4). The words are adjectives in form, but with a substantive meaning, and were used to indicate a certain rank, lit. the executioners and runners, like השּׁלישׁי (Sa2 23:8). כּרתי, from כּרת, to cut down or exterminate, signifies confessor, because among the Israelites (see at Kg1 2:2…
the king’s bodyguard: Hebrew the Kerethites and Pelethites. Both peoples were probably foreigners, especially the Kerethites, who might have come from the island of Crete (see also 1 Sam 30:14; Ezek 25:16). These groups might have been Philistine mercenaries. • David’s sons served as priestly leaders: David was from Judah and was not a Levite. Alongside the traditional priesthood, David might have inaugurated a religious class specifically tied to his dynasty, probably to serve the royal court (see also study note on 2 Sam 20:26).
Rashi on 2 Samuel 8:18
Venoyohaa, the son of Yehoyodoh [was in charge of] the archers and the sling shooters. Yonasan translated, "Venoyoha, the son of Yehoydoh was appointed [in charge] over the archers and over the sling shooters." [Alternatively] our Rabbis said [that the words] keraisi and plaisi refer to the Urim and Tumim.11Rashi explains in Shemos 28:30 that this is a reference to the inscription of the Explicit Name which was placed into the folds of the breastplate. Through the breastplate, they would communicate the answers of Hashem to questions the Kohein asked of Him, hence they would (מֵאִיר), light up and explain their words and וּמְתַּמֵּם) complete their words, i.e. make words come true. (Yoma 73b…
Philistines — (Gen. 10:14, R.V.; but in A.V., “Philistim”), a tribe allied to the Phoenicians. They were a branch of the primitive race which spread over the whole district of the Lebanon and the valley of the…
Benaiah · 1. — 1.
Cabinet · David’s — David’s
Cherethites · formed his bodyguard — formed his bodyguard
Jehoiada · 1. Father of Benaiah, one of David’s officers — 1. Father of Benaiah, one of David’s officers
Kings · Attended by a body-guard — Attended by a body-guard
Officer · .Appointed by kings — .Appointed by kings
Pelethites · A part of David’s bodyguard — A part of David’s bodyguard
Philistines · David: Had a guard composed of — David: Had a guard composed of
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).
