1tn Heb “the anointed one of the God of Jacob.” 2tn Or “pleasant.” 3tn Heb “rock,” used as a metaphor of divine protection. 4tn Heb “For not thus [is] my house with God?” 5tn Heb “for all my deliverance and every desire, surely does he not make [it] grow?” 6tn Heb “and with fire they are completely burned up in [the place where they] remain.” The infinitive absolute is used before the finite verb to emphasize that they are completely consumed by the fire. 7tn The Hebrew word is sometimes rendered as “the three,” but BDB is probably correct in taking it to refer to military officers (BDB 1026 s.v. שְׁלִישִׁי). In that case the etymological connection of this word to the Hebrew numerical adjective for “three” can be explained as originating with a designation for the third warrior in a chariot. 8tc The translation follows some LXX mss (see 1 Chr 11:11 as well) in reading הוּא עוֹרֵר אֶת־חֲנִיתוֹ (hu’ ’orer ’et khanito, “he raised up his spear”) rather than the MT’s הוּא עֲדִינוֹ הָעֶצְנִי (hu’ ’adino ha’etsni [Kethib = הָעֶצְנוֹ, ha’etsno]; “Adino the Ezenite”). The emended text reads literally “he was wielding his spear against eight hundred, [who were] slain at one time.” 9tn Heb “after him.” 10tc This follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading דֹּדוֹ (dodo) rather than the Kethib of the MT דֹּדַי (dodai; cf. ASV, NIV, NLT). But see 1 Chr 27:4. 11tn Heb “went up.” 12tn Heb “arose.” 13tn Heb “his hand.” 14tn Heb “after him.” 15tn The Hebrew text is difficult here. The MT reads לַחַיָּה (lachayyah), which implies a rare use of the word חַיָּה (chayyah). The word normally refers to an animal, but if the MT is accepted it would here have the sense of a troop or community of people. BDB 312 s.v. II. חַיָּה, for example, understands the similar reference in v. 13 to be to “a group of allied families, making a raid together.” But this works better in v. 13 than it does in v. 11, where the context seems to suggest a particular staging location for a military operation. (See 1 Chr 11:15.) It therefore seems best to understand the word in v. 11 as a place name with ה (he) directive. In that case the Masoretes mistook the word for the common term for an animal and then tried to make sense of it in this context. 16tn Heb “delivered.” 17tn The meaning of Hebrew אֶל־קָצִיר (’el qatsir) seems here to be “at the time of harvest,” although this is an unusual use of the phrase. As S. R. Driver points out, this preposition does not normally have the temporal sense of “in” or “during” (S. R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text and the Topography of the Books of Samuel, 366). 18tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading שְׁלֹשָׁה (sh˙loshah, “three”) rather than the Kethib of the MT שְׁלֹשִׁים (sh˙loshim, “thirty”). “Thirty” is due to dittography of the following word and makes no sense in the context. 19tn Heb “went down…and approached.” 20map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4. 21tn Heb “Far be it to me, O Lord, from doing this.” 22tn Heb “[Is it not] the blood of the men who were going with their lives?” 23tn Heb “These things the three warriors did.” 24tc The translation follows the Qere, many medieval Hebrew mss, the LXX, and Vulgate in reading הַשְּׁלֹשָׁה (hash˙losa, “the three”) rather than the Kethib of the MT הַשָּׁלִשִׁי (hashalisi, “the third,” or “adjutant”). Two medieval Hebrew mss and the Syriac Peshitta have “thirty.” 25tn Heb “and he was wielding his spear against three hundred, [who were] slain, and to him there was a name among the three.” 26tn Or “more than.” 27tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading חַיִל (khayil, “valor”) rather than the Kethib of the MT, חַי (khay, “life”). 28tc Heb “the two of Ariel, Moab.” The precise meaning of אריאל is uncertain; some read “warrior.” The present translation assumes that the word is a proper name and that בני, “sons of,” has accidentally dropped from the text by homoioarcton (note the preceding שׁני). 29tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading אִישׁ (’ish, “man”) rather than the Kethib of the MT, אֲשֶׁר (’asher, “who”). 30tn Heb “and he went down to.” 31tn Or “more than.” 32map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4. 33tc The translation follows many medieval Hebrew mss in reading חֵלֶד (kheled; cf. NAB, NIV, NLT) rather than the MT חֵלֶב (khelev). 34tn The Hebrew text does not have “the son of.” 35tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading חֶצְרַי (khetsrai; cf. KJV, NAB) rather than the Kethib of the MT, חֶצְרוֹ (khetsro). 36tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading the singular rather than the plural of the Kethib of the MT.
1tn Heb “the anointed one of the God of Jacob.”
2tn Or “pleasant.”
3tn Heb “rock,” used as a metaphor of divine protection.
4tn Heb “For not thus [is] my house with God?”
5tn Heb “for all my deliverance and every desire, surely does he not make [it] grow?”
6tn Heb “and with fire they are completely burned up in [the place where they] remain.” The infinitive absolute is used before the finite verb to emphasize that they are completely consumed by the fire.
7tn The Hebrew word is sometimes rendered as “the three,” but BDB is probably correct in taking it to refer to military officers (BDB 1026 s.v. שְׁלִישִׁי). In that case the etymological connection of this word to the Hebrew numerical adjective for “three” can be explained as originating with a designation for the third warrior in a chariot.
8tc The translation follows some LXX mss (see 1 Chr 11:11 as well) in reading הוּא עוֹרֵר אֶת־חֲנִיתוֹ (hu’ ’orer ’et khanito, “he raised up his spear”) rather than the MT’s הוּא עֲדִינוֹ הָעֶצְנִי (hu’ ’adino ha’etsni [Kethib = הָעֶצְנוֹ, ha’etsno]; “Adino the Ezenite”). The emended text reads literally “he was wielding his spear against eight hundred, [who were] slain at one time.”
9tn Heb “after him.”
10tc This follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading דֹּדוֹ (dodo) rather than the Kethib of the MT דֹּדַי (dodai; cf. ASV, NIV, NLT). But see 1 Chr 27:4.
11tn Heb “went up.”
12tn Heb “arose.”
13tn Heb “his hand.”
14tn Heb “after him.”
15tn The Hebrew text is difficult here. The MT reads לַחַיָּה (lachayyah), which implies a rare use of the word חַיָּה (chayyah). The word normally refers to an animal, but if the MT is accepted it would here have the sense of a troop or community of people. BDB 312 s.v. II. חַיָּה, for example, understands the similar reference in v. 13 to be to “a group of allied families, making a raid together.” But this works better in v. 13 than it does in v. 11, where the context seems to suggest a particular staging location for a military operation. (See 1 Chr 11:15.) It therefore seems best to understand the word in v. 11 as a place name with ה (he) directive. In that case the Masoretes mistook the word for the common term for an animal and then tried to make sense of it in this context.
16tn Heb “delivered.”
17tn The meaning of Hebrew אֶל־קָצִיר (’el qatsir) seems here to be “at the time of harvest,” although this is an unusual use of the phrase. As S. R. Driver points out, this preposition does not normally have the temporal sense of “in” or “during” (S. R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text and the Topography of the Books of Samuel, 366).
18tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading שְׁלֹשָׁה (sh˙loshah, “three”) rather than the Kethib of the MT שְׁלֹשִׁים (sh˙loshim, “thirty”). “Thirty” is due to dittography of the following word and makes no sense in the context.
19tn Heb “went down…and approached.”
20map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.
21tn Heb “Far be it to me, O Lord, from doing this.”
22tn Heb “[Is it not] the blood of the men who were going with their lives?”
23tn Heb “These things the three warriors did.”
24tc The translation follows the Qere, many medieval Hebrew mss, the LXX, and Vulgate in reading הַשְּׁלֹשָׁה (hash˙losa, “the three”) rather than the Kethib of the MT הַשָּׁלִשִׁי (hashalisi, “the third,” or “adjutant”). Two medieval Hebrew mss and the Syriac Peshitta have “thirty.”
25tn Heb “and he was wielding his spear against three hundred, [who were] slain, and to him there was a name among the three.”
26tn Or “more than.”
27tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading חַיִל (khayil, “valor”) rather than the Kethib of the MT, חַי (khay, “life”).
28tc Heb “the two of Ariel, Moab.” The precise meaning of אריאל is uncertain; some read “warrior.” The present translation assumes that the word is a proper name and that בני, “sons of,” has accidentally dropped from the text by homoioarcton (note the preceding שׁני).
29tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading אִישׁ (’ish, “man”) rather than the Kethib of the MT, אֲשֶׁר (’asher, “who”).
30tn Heb “and he went down to.”
31tn Or “more than.”
32map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.
33tc The translation follows many medieval Hebrew mss in reading חֵלֶד (kheled; cf. NAB, NIV, NLT) rather than the MT חֵלֶב (khelev).
34tn The Hebrew text does not have “the son of.”
35tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading חֶצְרַי (khetsrai; cf. KJV, NAB) rather than the Kethib of the MT, חֶצְרוֹ (khetsro).
36tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading the singular rather than the plural of the Kethib of the MT.