2Samuel 8:1 ¶
And after this it came to pass, that David smote the Philistines, and
subdued them: and David took Methegammah out of the hand of the Philistines.
2 And he smote Moab, and measured them
with a line, casting them down to the ground; even with two lines measured he
to put to death, and with one full line to keep alive. And so the
Moabites became David’s servants, and brought gifts. 3 David smote also Hadadezer, the son of Rehob,
king of Zobah, as he went to recover his border at the river Euphrates. 4 And David took from him a thousand chariots,
and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: and David houghed all
the chariot horses, but reserved of them for an hundred chariots.
5 And when the Syrians of Damascus came
to succour Hadadezer king of Zobah, David slew of the Syrians two and twenty
thousand men. 6 Then David put garrisons
in Syria of Damascus: and the Syrians became servants to David, and
brought gifts. And the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went. 7 And David took the shields of gold that were
on the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 And from Betah, and from Berothai, cities of
Hadadezer, king David took exceeding much brass.
David again campaigns against the
Philistines, then against Moab. He also fought against the king of Zobah and
their Syrian allies. You can see the parallel account in 1Chronicles 18:1.
According to sources the people he
slaughtered in Moab were the remnants of the army he conquered not the people
in general. Moab became a tributary to King David.
The king of Zobah’s son lost a thousand
chariots, 700 horsemen, and 20,000 footmen, infantry soldiers. He hamstrung the
chariot horses so they couldn’t be used for war anymore. Note these verses;
Joshua 11:6
And the LORD said unto Joshua, Be not afraid because of them: for to
morrow about this time will I deliver them up all slain before Israel: thou
shalt hough their horses, and burn their chariots with fire.
Israel’s kings were not to multiply horses of
war to themselves under the Law.
Deuteronomy 17:16 But he shall not multiply horses to himself,
nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply
horses: forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no
more that way.
God was to be the source of Israel’s
strength, not a multitude of devices for war.
The Syrians would lose 22,000 soldiers
allowing David to garrison forces in Syria and to make them servants and
tributaries.
2Samuel 8:9 ¶
When Toi king of Hamath heard that David had smitten all the host of
Hadadezer, 10 Then Toi sent Joram his
son unto king David, to salute him, and to bless him, because he had fought
against Hadadezer, and smitten him: for Hadadezer had wars with Toi. And Joram
brought with him vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and vessels of brass:
11 Which also king David did dedicate
unto the LORD, with the silver and gold that he had dedicated of all nations
which he subdued; 12 Of Syria, and of
Moab, and of the children of Ammon, and of the Philistines, and of Amalek, and
of the spoil of Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah. 13 And David gat him a name when he
returned from smiting of the Syrians in the valley of salt, being
eighteen thousand men. 14 And he
put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom put he garrisons, and all they of
Edom became David’s servants. And the LORD preserved David whithersoever he
went.
King Toi of Hamath was a smart man
apparently. He knew that he had two reasons for becoming a tributary of King
David. First, David defeated his own mortal enemy and secondly, he didn’t want
to suffer the same thing his enemy did at David’s hands. A variant spelling of
this king’s name is T-o-u.
1Chronicles 18:9 ¶ Now when Tou king of Hamath heard how David
had smitten all the host of Hadarezer king of Zobah;
The King James translators often included
variant spellings they found as in the case of Nebuchadnezzar and
Nebuchadrezzar to be faithful to the original texts. Just think of how we spell
a name like Jonathan today, sometimes as Johnathan and sometimes as Jonathan,
so a different source may have a different spelling. In addition, consider
different spellings of names from Hebrew and from Greek or another ancient
language such as Isaiah from Hebrew in the Old Testament or Esaias from Greek
in the New Testament, Elijah from Hebrew versus Elias from Greek. Toi’s son,
Joram, is also called Hadoram.
1Chronicles 18:10 He sent Hadoram his son to king David, to
enquire of his welfare, and to congratulate him, because he had fought against
Hadarezer, and smitten him; (for Hadarezer had war with Tou;) and with him all
manner of vessels of gold and silver and brass.
Syria apparently has control over Edom and so
the slaughter of the Syrians is said to be the slaughter of the Edomites in
1Chronicles. The slaughter of the Edomites is referred to in 1Chronicles 18:12.
David now has garrisons from Syria to Edom, modern-day Jordan, to make his
control of the area safe. David could not keep all of this tribute for himself
like a Gentile king so he devoted it to the Lord, to the sanctuary.
Deuteronomy 17:17 Neither shall he multiply wives to himself,
that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself
silver and gold.
2Samuel 8:15 ¶ And David reigned over all Israel; and David
executed judgment and justice unto all his people. 16 And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over
the host; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder; 17 And Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech
the son of Abiathar, were the priests; and Seraiah was the
scribe; 18 And Benaiah the son of
Jehoiada was over both the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David’s
sons were chief rulers.
David’s reign is now secure on his borders
and he is actively ruling his people. Joab is his chief general and David’s
sons play their part in his reign, dispensing justice and doing David’s will.
In David’s rule we can envision Christ’s millennial reign.
Jeremiah 23:5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I
will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper,
and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
6 In
his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his
name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
David now rules over the land promised to
Abraham in Genesis 15:18.
Genesis 15:18 In the same day the LORD made a covenant with
Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt
unto the great river, the river Euphrates:
The Cherethites and Pelethites were said by
some to be Philistine mercenaries loyal to David. Seraiah the scribe is also
known as Shavsha in 1Chronicles 18:16.
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