II Samuel · Chapter 23

These are the words of David. The last prophecy of David; and who are the first? The words of the song mentioned above. But in all the songs and praises that he said, they are not called 'words.' He was established. He was established on high. And the sweet singers of Israel. Israel are not singers in the Temple except of his songs and praises.

These are the last words of David. In addition to the song, he said these things, which are words of praise and thanksgiving to God who established him in kingship. And he said "the last words," meaning that they were the last of all the songs and psalms that he said, for after this the Holy Spirit did not appear to him. And the Targum says: "These are the words of prophecy, etc." "He was established upon." "He was raised up exalted, and became king." "And pleasant are the songs of Israel." This refers to the songs that he composed in the Book of Psalms, which the Levites would chant and sing before the Ark and in the Temple. And the Targum [translates]: "And He appointed for them songs in Your mouth, etc."

“Hukam al.” Just as above, it refers to the exalted throne of kingship. “And the pleasant songs of Israel.” This means that He said to God, blessed be He, with the most pleasant of the types of songs, namely the songs of Israel, for they were composed so that Israel would sing them to God, blessed be He. And this is evident from the songs mentioned in the Book of Psalms.

These are the last words of David. That is to say: what he said after all the deeds and songs which he sang to the Lord, and from there onward he no longer spoke with the Holy Spirit. Said David, son of Jesse. This means: "These are the words of David, son of Jesse," indicating: "This is the matter I spoke when I was still David, son of Jesse, a shepherd of sheep in the lowest station." "And the utterance of the man." This too is my very matter now: even though I am the man who was raised up on high, to be the anointed of the God of Jacob, to reign over Israel, and to be the one who makes the songs of Israel pleasant — meaning: to arrange pleasant songs for Israel to sing in the House of the Lord — as if to say: after all this greatness, my mind has not changed from what it was of old.

The saying. From the matter of speaking and uttering: The man. The man: Upon. Above, and so (Job 36:33): the cattle also, above what rises. And pleasant. A matter of agreeableness and sweetness.

The questions: Why did he call them “the last words of David,” and the words themselves are obscure, and there are in them wondrous things and things repeated in different words? These are the last words of David. After he had arranged the Book of Psalms in his old age, he concluded it with his name to indicate who compiled it, for whom he compiled it, and at what level the utterances within it stand—whether according to the way of human intellect or through the Holy Spirit. He also added therein a prophecy concerning the future of his kingship. He said: "The utterance of David, son of Jesse." He meant to say that the songs contained in that book encompass three matters: 1. Songs that he said about himself, including some that he sang before he was anointed, while he was still a shepherd among the sheep. Regarding this, he said: "The utterance of David, the son of Jesse." 2. Songs that he said after he was anointed, and after he became king, concerning matters of his kingship, whether while he was being pursued or while he was successful in his reign. Regarding this, he said: "The utterance of the man who was established to be the Anointed One of the God of Jacob." 3. Songs that he composed for the sake of the general public of Israel, whether recounting the wonders of God, or prayers, or praises on behalf of the people as a whole. Regarding this, he said: "And the pleasant songs of Israel."

He spoke in me. He caused His holy spirit to rest upon me and spoke through me; and wherever the language of prophecy [is used], the term 'speak' applies to it, as in (Numbers 12:2): 'Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moshe? Has He not also spoken through us?' (ibid., verse 6): 'I speak with him [in a dream]'—and the reason for this term is that the spirit enters into the prophet, and speaks through him.

"The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me." The psalms were composed through the Holy Spirit; I recited them, which were spoken through me, and His word was upon my tongue in the utterance of the psalms, for the Holy Spirit stirred me up and caused the words to appear on my tongue. And the Targum of Jonathan says: "David said through the prophetic spirit of the Lord, etc."

"The spirit of the LORD spoke through me, and His word was on my tongue." He said that the meaning of this, in these pleasant songs that he composed, is that the spirit of Hashem, may He be blessed, spoke through him, and by that which was emanated upon him from the spirit of holiness, the word of God, may He be exalted, was on his tongue, to speak these songs and compose them in a book.

The Spirit of the Lord. Meaning: the matter that I have spoken from then until now did not come to me from wisdom, but the Spirit of the Lord spoke within me, and His word etc.; and this is a repetition of the matter in different words, which comes to strengthen the matter:

And his utterance. A matter of speaking, as (Psalms 139:4): for there is no utterance on my tongue.

The word "Spirit" indicates that all the songs were spoken by the Spirit of God that was upon him. And since the divine spirit rests upon the poet in two degrees—either merely to arouse him with divine power regarding the subject of the song, while the words and rhetoric are spoken by the rhetorician from his own intellect, or that even the words and rhetoric are by the Spirit of God—he stated that both were from a divine manifestation: "The Spirit of God spoke through me, and His word was upon my tongue," meaning that even the arrangement of the words was from God.

The rock of Israel spoke to me. The rock of Israel spoke and commanded to me, that I rule over man, over Israel who are called 'man,' as is said (Ezekiel 34:31): 'You are men' (Yevamot 61a); and I will be a righteous ruler and God-fearing. And our Sages (Moed Katan 16b) explained it in another language: David said, the God of Israel spoke to me, to me the rock of Israel spoke—I rule over man, and who rules over me? The righteous one, for I decree a decree and he annuls it. But according to the settling of the verses, the first is the plain meaning of the verse.

"To me He spoke." This is a doubling of expression, in accordance with the usage of the language, and its meaning is: [when it says] 'He said' [and then] 'to me He spoke,' [this] is on my behalf — that is, He spoke to Samuel the prophet that I should rule over people, and He anointed me king, provided that my rule be in the fear of God and that I be righteous. And the Targum's understanding is that from me will come forth the Messiah King, who will rule in the fear of God; and so it rendered it: "David said, O God of Israel, etc."

He said the God of Israel to me, the Rock of Israel. That is to say, because of me God said and spoke, that I be ruler over the most choice of mankind, and that is Israel, because of my being a righteous ruler in the fear of God, that is to say, all my conduct and my government is in the fear of God. And for this I merited this exaltation.

He said, “The God of Israel.” This means: “And these are the words which the God of Israel spoke,” as if He spoke to me to single out this utterance for me; that is to say: the matter was revealed to me directly from the Lord, to make me understand this thing. "He who rules over man is righteous": When a righteous person is appointed to rule over people, then the fear of God will reign, for all his governance is to compel the people to fear [God]; thus, it is the fear of God that reigns and prevails.

He said, "Now he began a prophecy that was destined to be spoken to him from the Lord concerning the kingdom of his offspring, and it will be fulfilled in the days of the Messiah. And it was like a prototype in the kingdom of Solomon, a foreshadowing of what is to come. Its interpretation is: 'The Lord'—from the aspect that He is the God of Israel and watches over them—said and expounded to me the word of the Rock of Israel. That this word was uttered at length (which is one of the differences between 'dibbur' [speech] and 'amira' [saying]), for 'dibbur' implies lengthiness. And all the pronouns 'li' [to me], 'lo' [to him], and 'lahem' [to them] that appear adjacent to 'dibbur' are interpreted as 'on behalf of.' And he meant to say that He spoke on my behalf, that he is destined to stand as ruler over humanity. He meant that the Messiah will have two levels: 1. That he will rule over humanity in general, so that all people will listen to him. 2. That he will be a righteous ruler who fears God, because from the fact that the spirit of knowledge and the fear of God will rest upon him, he will rule over himself to stand in his righteousness. And by virtue of this power to rule over himself, he will rule over humanity in general, in such a way that the fear of God will then be the ruling force. As the Fellow [the sage] says to the Kuzari [king] in the book Kuzari, one who rules over himself is the one fit to rule over the community."

And as the light of dawn shall the sun rise. And He promised me that my greatness will go on increasing, like the morning light that goes on and brightens. A dawn without clouds. Light that is not dark. From the brightness after rain, the tender grass of the earth. Brighter than the brightness that comes from rain, like clear warmth upon light, when rain falls upon the earth full of tender grass, and the sun shines upon it and sparkles; and so its explanation: brighter than the brightness that comes from rain of tender grass upon the earth.

"And as the light of morning." As the light of morning when the sun rises, as it goes and illuminates, so shall my kingdom be: a government of morning that has no murkiness, but is clear. For morning, which is thick with clouds, sometimes shines and sometimes rains, and it is not good except to cause grass to sprout from the earth.

And as the light of the morning, when the sun rises. That is to say, the rising of my government and the sprouting of my kingship is like the rising of the light of morning, when the sun rises after it, that then the light be added. And so he intends to say that his success in kingship will always strengthen, like the matter in the light of morning, which is not the spreading of it from the clouds and the mist, that the light rising from them be a rainbow that is renewed from rain falling upon grass of the earth. And this light will go on diminishing. But he is like the light of morning, when the sun rises after it. And in this David alluded that kingship will sprout from him, relating it to his kingship, the relation of the light of the sun to the light of dawn. And it is the kingship of the Messiah, son of David, that his kingship will be great and exalted and very high. Then the intention in this is: like the light of morning, when the sun rises in it, which is perpetual in its existence and it is the complete light -- so the matter in the kingship of the house of David, light of morning, in which the sun will not be hidden because of the clouds that would hide it. For then the light will come from the clouds, which are swift to perish. And that morning will not be a rainbow, that the brightness sprout from rain and be born from it, like the matter in lightning, that after it darkness comes immediately. And not like grass of the earth, which in the morning springs up and grows, and in the evening withers and dries.

"And like the light of the morning." He intends to say: a ruler such as this is a cause for the fear [of God] to reign, just as the light of the morning that shines on the eastern horizon is a known cause for the sun to rise after it. But this is so only when the morning light is not clouded over, for when it is clouded, the morning light is not a known cause for the sunrise, since it will not be visible, because the cloud will cover it. "From the brightness, from the rain." Just as the brightness of the sun and the rain of the heavens are both required together as the cause for grass to sprout from the earth, so too is it with rulers such as these. For although the morning light is a known cause for the rising of the sun, it is not a cause for its rising to continue, for a cloud may come and cover it. So too, a righteous ruler: reverence will not rule except while he himself is ruling, and not when the rule departs from him, nor even after his death. Just as the brightness of the sun and the rain of the heavens together are the cause for grass to sprout, and not one without the other, so too, one righteous ruler cannot cause reverence to reign if his fellow ruler stands against him and opposes his hand.

Thick clouds. Clouds: Shining. A matter of lighting and rising: Vegetation. Grass:

And as light: Furthermore, there will be a difference between the Kingdom of the Messiah and the kingdom of this world. He depicted this by likening the kingdom to the sun, for just as it, the kingdom will illuminate the land and appear in its might. Now, the kingdom in this world will arise like the sunrise of the sun, for at dawn its light is dim, and thus it will continue to illuminate until the day is established. In a similar manner, the Kingdom of David arose, sparkling little by little, gradually. Not so is the future kingdom, for suddenly the sun will shine and there will be great light. Regarding this it says, "And as light at dawn the sun shall shine" (light is not a noun but a verb, and the letter kaf is not for simile but is the kaf of time). At the time when the dawn illuminates, then already the sun will have risen; the sun will not ascend over the horizon gradually, but suddenly, as at noon, his life shall arise. He means to say that immediately upon its establishment, it will exercise great dominion and an eternal kingdom. And he further said, "at dawn, not thick clouds." For the sunrise of the sun of the kingdom in this world can be depicted as happening to it like to the sun, that sometimes clouds and mist cover it and its light is not seen at all. And sometimes, even though it appears from between the clouds, there will be rain and storm on one side of the firmament, which is necessary in order to cause grass to grow from the earth. And in this way the light of the sun will be diffused through the rain, and only a glow will be seen, not bright light (for the definition of the term "glow" is something that receives light, as stated in the commentary on Isaiah). So too, the kingdom of this world: sometimes it will be covered by clouds completely, as was the case with the Kingdom of the House of David during the exile. And sometimes, even though it appears, darkness of waters will stand against it, which is necessary to cause the growth of grass. He means to say that other kingdoms will stand with it, equal and parallel to it, according to the need for governing nations and peoples in the natural way and according to the cosmic order, and their sun will be dimmed. But in the future kingdom, it will be "at dawn, not thick clouds," meaning that clouds will not cover it. And also, "not a glow from rain." He means to say that the dawn will not be by means of a glow coming from rain, which is needed to bring forth grass from the earth, for nations and their kings will not stand parallel to it to obscure its light.

For not so is my house with God. That my dawn be cloudy. For an eternal covenant. The Torah that He placed for me, is arranged in all my house and guarded. For all my salvation and all my desire. My needs are ready before Him—and this is a truncated verse. For He will not allow it to sprout. For another king after my kingdom. Another explanation: for an eternal covenant He placed for my house, that my kingdom be established, and the covenant is arranged in all, on the lips of all the prophets.

For it is not so. But My House is not so; rather, it shines at all times and in every season, for He has set for me an eternal covenant, that it shall not cease, and it shall be arranged and guarded in all things. "For all my salvation": Every desire and all my salvation is that I should not be like a plant of the field which withers, but rather that my salvation should not cease forever. And the Targum renders these two verses thus: "And as the light of morning, happy are you, the righteous," etc., as printed in the column.

"For thus is not My house with God." This means that He will remove My kingdom immediately, as is the case with the kingdom of Saul. "Established in all and guarded." This means that My governance is established at all times and preserved for My offspring, even though it may depart from them at certain times. "For all my salvation and all desire, will it not sprout?" This means that it [My governance] is arranged for all time, for Israel will find all salvation and all desire — this will be at the time when they walk in the ways of the Torah. However, when their seed does not sprout to yield its fruit — that is, when they turn away from Hashem, may He be blessed — then it is preserved [in reserve], for it is not possible that the kingship be theirs [at that time].

"For not so is My house. Rather, the dominion of My royal house is not like the dominion of the fear of God:" "For He has made with me an everlasting covenant." He has appointed for Me alone the dominion of kingship, and it is an everlasting covenant: "Established in all." This means: Everything depends on it, because it is a monarchy and is placed in the hand of one person, and it is not like the government of rulers, where the power is not in the hand of one when his colleague stands against him, which resembles the brightness of the sun and the rain of heaven, where the power is not in the hand of one without the other to cause the grass to grow. "And it is guarded." Also, the monarchy is guarded for me and for my seed, from generation to generation. It is not like the rule of other rulers, which dies with them, or is removed during their lifetime and their deeds are nullified, which is likened to the morning light, which is a known cause for the sunrise of the sun, and when the cloud comes, it covers it. "For all my salvation." For all the salvation that is coming, it is my salvation, for it will come through me or through my descendants; and likewise, through us will come all desire, for nothing will flourish for the kingdom without us.

Arranged. A matter of arrangement: Desire. Will.

"For not": he elaborates on his meaning: in contrast to what is stated, "in the morning there shall be no thick clouds," he says that not so is my house with God, for the cloud shall not cover it. He means to say that His kingship shall not be nullified at any time, for He has made an everlasting covenant with me, which shall not be interrupted at any time, but rather it shall be prepared in every respect and guarded, so that immediately upon its establishment it shall be prepared with all strength and splendor, as it is stated, "And as the sun rises in the morning, so shall it shine," and it shall be guarded so as not to be nullified at any time, as it is stated, "in the morning there shall be no thick clouds." And contrary to what is stated, "in the morning there shall be no shining through rain, the grass of the earth," he says that all my salvation and all my desire shall not cause the grass to sprout. He means to say that then the grasses shall not sprout, for whose sake the rain descends to cover the sun, and the implication is that then the princes of the nations shall not rise up according to nature and cosmic order, but rather the Lord shall be King, and He shall fill all the salvation and all the desire of the House of David, whether it be the salvation of the soul, or their worldly desires.

As thorns that are thrust aside. 'Cardon' in French—in their youth they are soft and wandering, and in the end they harden, until one does not take them by hand.

And Belial. But the wicked will be like a thorn that is shaken loose — just as with a thorn, whoever finds it shakes it and throws it away, so too are they, for they cause pain to anyone who touches them, and one does not take them by hand, but rather casts them away with the foot or with something else.

"And the wicked are all like a thorn cast away." However, the wicked, when they take the government, are all like a thorn that is cast away, that will harm here and there those who draw near to it, and pierce them with its thorns — for men will not take the thorns in hand, for they will be harmed by them. And he also compared them to a thorn that produces no fruit. And it seems that he alluded in this to the kingship of Jeroboam and his companions.

And Belial. But the house of Belial, like Jeroboam and his associates, they will all be like a thorn that is kicked about; that is to say: like a thorn that is kicked about at a person's feet, which they shake from place to place as they walk along their path. "For they shall not take it in hand." Because of the sharp points protruding from it, one cannot grasp it by hand to remove it from the path to a specific place; therefore, against one's will, it remains under people's feet, and they shake it from place to place, and it does not remain in one place for a long time. Likewise, the house of Belial shall not stand for a long time.

Plucked up. From the word wandering. They all. From the word all.

And the wicked, then the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts shall bud and blossom, and the thorns shall be consumed from the vineyard; and they are the wicked, all of whom resemble a thorn that is uprooted, standing only to corrupt all who come into contact with them, and all people flee from them, for they shall not be taken by hand.

And a man who touches them shall be filled [with iron]. He must cover his flesh with iron, and fill his hand with weapons to cut them. And they shall be utterly burned with fire on the spot. There is no remedy for them except burning; and to sit and warm oneself opposite them—so the wicked have no remedy except burning in Gehinnom. "When He is seated." The Holy One, Blessed Be He, sits on the throne of judgment.

"And a man who touches them." And if a person touches them in the place where they grow, "he shall be filled with iron," meaning he shall take iron to cut them down. And it says "he shall be filled" corresponding to the parable, which is about the wicked: a person should not approach them unless he fills [himself] with an iron implement, meaning that he dons armor so that they cannot harm him. Or, the interpretation of "he shall be filled" is "he shall be cut off," as in "before his time it shall be cut off" (Job 15:32), and its meaning is that the thorn shall be cut off with iron — that is, if a person wishes to touch them, he must cut them off with iron, or with a spear-shaft from a distance, or burn them where they dwell, meaning where they grow. So too with the wicked: a person must strive to destroy them himself if he can, or through others, as one does to a thorn with a spear, or he shall pray that they be destroyed and perish in their place, as thorns are burned on the Sabbath. And the Targum renders both verses thus: "And the wicked, doers of sin, are like thorns," etc.; "and a man who touches them — and also every person who intends to approach sins, goes...," etc., as printed in the column.

And whoever touches them shall be filled with iron and the wood of the spear. That is to say, when one touches the wicked and approaches them, his whole body will be filled with iron wounds. And the wood of the spear. That is to say, after the iron of the spear enters his body, the wood will enter. And they shall be burned with fire when it rests. That is to say, when the kingship rests from them, they and their seed will be consumed in utter destruction, as became clear from the matter of Jeroboam and those similar to him. For when the kingship rested from them, they left them no grandson or remnant. Explanation of the words: He said that he already spoke to God the words of this song, to give Him praise and thanks, on the day it became clear to him that God saved him from the hand of all his enemies pursuing him -- such as Goliath the Philistine, and Achish king of Gath, and the Amalekites who raided Ziklag, and Ish-bosheth, and the Philistines who came to fight with him, and Hanun son of Nahash, and Hadarezer, and Absalom, and Ahithophel, and Sheba son of Bichri, and Ishbi-benob. And He saved him also from the hand of Saul, and he is equal to all of them, for Saul pursued David while he was king and David was his servant. And for this it was the utmost wonder, for the strength of Saul's hand over David, how he was saved from his hand. And he says: behold, the Lord is to me a rock and a fortress; and I will not need another strength, nor will another power and might help me in these distresses from which I was saved. Behold, He is the conductor of my strength and power, and from Him it emanates, because of His providence over me. Behold, in Him I will take refuge and hide in the hiding of His pavilion from all the evils ready to come upon me. For He is to me a shield to guard me from every evil thing that will come to harm me. And He is the strength of my salvation. For from Him will be arranged weapons to frighten those rising against me, that they not harm me, as the horned animal will remove with its horns the animal coming to prey upon it. Behold, He is my strong house and the refuge to which I flee to escape from all who rise against me. And He saves me from men of violence who pursue me for no violence in my hand. For the matter is like the matter in Saul and in Absalom and those similar to this. And behold, these salvations with which God saved me from my enemies will bring to me by means of complete salvation, that I pray to God after I recounted from His known praises that straighten to attain Him. Behold, at the time that wonderful evils turning to death came upon me, and terrors of death dismayed me -- behold, at that time, when I saw that it was tight upon me and I was in this wonderful fear, then I labored to call the name of the Lord, which indicates His existence more than what is possible. And in my adhering to Him in this manner, I prayed to Him, and He heard immediately the voice of my prayer from the palace of His exaltation, which is to the utmost of distance from man's rank. And behold, there my cry rose to His ears, to pray and labor in my salvation. And behold, from the abundance of God's burning anger upon my enemies, He shook His world, as though born from God's anger which is in the belly of the earth, the trembling will be renewed from it, and the parts of the earth will tremble, and also the foundations of the high mountains will shake and tremble. And he said by parable that from the abundance of anger, smoke rose in God's anger, and fire came forth from His mouth, to eat His enemies and destroy them, until from the strength of that fire, coals burned from it. And behold, this parable was to testify to the exaggeration of the evil that God innovated, in order that David's enemies fall rapidly. And this is that God already caused Israel to be smitten in war, and Saul and his sons died with them. And so the matter in Absalom's death. And in general, when we investigate the narratives of the events that happened to David, we find an immense wonder in the causes by which God brought evil to David's enemies and escape to David. And he says that because of the abundance of God's providence over David, as though He came down from the heavens and trod upon the earth, and sent His angel lightly, as though He flew. And He spread around David cloud and darkness, to cover him and to hide Him from His enemies. And it seems that this was a parable of what God caused when Saul pursued after David, that he could not find him. And when he found him, and was near to seize David, God caused that an angel come to Saul, that the Philistines had raided the land, and he was compelled to leave David. And he says that from the cloud itself which God innovated through His angel to free David and save him from His enemies, from it came forth lightning, coals of fire burning from it. And they are the firebrands descending from the cloud in which the vapor of its incense is detained. And from it thunderings were renewed, that were renewed for His enemies from the bitter thing which was innovated to save David. And behold, in this manner, as though the earth was split from the abundance of the trembling that was renewed in God's rebuke, from the breath of His anger. And the depths were seen and the foundations of the world were revealed, as you will find the matter at the times of earthquakes, that the earth splits and the low places of the earth are seen, and there great rivers are seen, renewed from what was in the vapor that the earthquake renewed from the watery nature. And behold, he called those waters sea, for their matter is similar in saltiness to the waters of the sea, because of the abundance of the burning that was renewed there, for it also is the cause in the saltiness of the sea waters, as became clear in the natural sciences. And behold, it is possible that he said this to the exaggeration of the removal of his enemies' matter rapidly, like the matter in the earth split because of the earthquake, for the high place will be turned to be below. And for this he called the matter of Sodom's sin, Overturned, he said, As the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah. And it is possible with this that he alluded in this to the revealing with ease and rapidity of the thing hidden from men of David's success. And when he completed this parable, he said this matter in clearer words. And he says: behold, God will send His angel and take me and conduct me and draw me from the waters of evils which my enemies planned to drown me in. And in this manner God will save me from my enemies, who was strong and fierce in relation to me, to the utmost wonder, and it is Saul, for he was king and I was his servant. And in general, God will save me in this manner from all my haters, when they strengthened over me. Behold, my enemies come upon me evil in my difficult day, for they calculated that then is the time of evil and they will attain their desire. And behold, then God was my stay, in a way that I did not fall by their hands. And I understand that this was a parable of the Ziphites, who informed Saul that David was hiding with them in the cave. And of what Ahithophel counseled to pursue after David at night to kill him. And behold, God brought me forth into a broad place from the distress in which I was, and saved me from the hand of my enemies, for He desired me to be king over Israel. And He gave me reward according to my righteousness, and repaid me according to the cleanness of my hands, which chose the praiseworthy characters. And behold, he said this to inform that with all his might he was pursuing the praiseworthy ways. And this is clear from the narratives that came concerning David, except in the sin of Uriah's wife. And behold, I had this good from God because I guarded God's ways, and walked after His commandments, and did not wickedly turn from God's ways. For all God's judgments, and they are the judgments of the Torah, I always placed before me to remember them, in order that I conduct myself in them. And so the matter in His statutes, in order that I not depart from the ways of the Torah at all. And I was complete in my heart to God, for all my intention was to turn to Him. And this is the cause many times that I guarded myself from my sin, which brought me to desire it from my nature's fervor. And behold, God repaid me according to my righteousness and according to the cleanness of my heart, according to what God knew from it. And this was at the time that He punished me for the sin that I sinned, for He did not exaggerate much in punishing me, to reveal to Him the goodness of my heart. And He exaggerated in punishing Saul, to reveal to Him the evil of his heart. And although my sin seemed more severe than Saul's sin -- behold, this indicates the goodness of David's heart, that he did not agree in the killing of one of his haters, although they fell by his hands, like the matter in Saul and Abner and Absalom and Shimi son of Gera. But he was compassionate and merciful, as appears from the narrative of his events. And behold, Saul's matters were the opposite of this. And in general, when you investigate all the narratives of David's events and the narratives of all Saul's events, it will become clear to you the immense difference that was between David's character and Saul's character. Behold, You, God, show Yourself gracious with the gracious, to do him kindness even if he sin to You, and You lighten his punishment, as it was said concerning David, The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. And You walk in simplicity and with heaviness of heart with a simple and heavy man. And for this cause also. However, with a perverse man You bring upon him the punishment in devious ways, to exaggerate in punishing him for his sin, because of his heart being ready to conduct himself in this lesser manner. And You save the lowly, although they be from the common people whose hand has failed from them. And Your eyes upon the haughty, to humble them when they sin to You, although they be kings. And he said this because God saved David at this time from the people, who was a servant to Saul. And then God's eyes were to humble Saul, who was king, because the kingship came to David. Behold, You were my lamp, O Lord, to enlighten me when I was in the night of the darkness of distresses. And then You lit my darkness. And this was at the time that David was pursued by Saul and Absalom. Behold, with the help that was for me from You, I broke the troop that came upon me. And with the help of God, I leaped and jumped the wonderful wall that was between me and that troop. And this was an allusion to the troop that came from the Amalekites to Ziklag, and they burned Ziklag with fire, and led away before them David's wives and his men and his little ones and all their possessions. For it was from God that He caused the captains not to desire David's going with them, lest he be an adversary to them, until Achish was compelled to hasten David to return to Ziklag. And this was the cause that he was able to overtake that troop. For were it not that Achish sent him, he could not have gone there. And behold, this high wall that he leaped then to overtake that troop. Behold, the way of God and His manner in His acts is to the utmost of completeness. And God's word in the words of the Torah is refined, that there is not in it dross. But all its matters come to wonderful benefit. Behold, God is a shield to all who take refuge in Him, to save them from the evils ready to come upon them. And behold, the matter of taking refuge in Him is conducting oneself in the ways of the Torah. And for this he preceded this with his saying, The word of the Lord is refined. For by means of it God will be a shield to man and His providence will adhere to him, as became clear from the words of the Torah. For Who is God besides the Lord, that will be able to be a shield to all who take refuge in Him? Behold, this will not be repaid to others of the means that God placed between Him and the low existences, for from them will be arranged sometimes evil and sometimes good, and they will not be able to change their arrangement. However, God alone can do this. And Who is also mighty to help all who call to Him in a fitting manner, besides God? Behold, He is the God who is my strength, to give me might. And He is the cause that my ways leaped and jumped to the complete desired end. And behold, he said this to the exaggeration of the rapidity of his attaining his way to the end. And He is who made me light of foot like hinds. And in this rapidity and lightness He placed me upon the height of my success, what was not fitting to be so according to the custom. For rapidity in matters is good counsel. However, all this was arranged from You. And for this the good came to it to the utmost that is possible. Behold, God, because of His providence over me, taught my hand to war, until He already lowered the string of a very strong bow to the place from which will be the shooting of the arrows, each one, from my arms. And behold, he said this because at the time he went to fight with Goliath, he did not wish to take the weapons of war, for he had not tested, and after this, without learning and practice, he was very successful in wars, as is related in the narratives of the book of Saul. And behold, then You gave me Your shield of salvation, that guarded me, that I did not fall by the hand of Goliath the Philistine. And Your humbling me then, at the time of that distress, increased me and exalted my rank. For this was the cause that Saul placed him over the men of war, and that he was the king's son-in-law, as is related in the narrative of the book of Saul. And from this sprang his success, in the making known to Israel the good success of David in his wars. And from this also was the cause to save David from falling by Saul's hand, for Michal his wife revealed to him the secret and saved him. You enlarged my steps under me, in my fleeing from Saul, when he planned to strike me with his spear on the day I was playing before him. And my knees did not totter. For were I falling from fright and fear, he would have killed me. And in this manner also You gave me strength to pursue my enemies and overtake them, in a way that I destroy them and not return until I consume them. And this was in Saul's days, when David struck a great blow at the Philistines. And at the time of his pursuing after the troop of the Amalekites when they burned Ziklag. And behold, He consumed them then. And I strike them in a way that they not rise, and they fall under my feet. And after this, when Ish-bosheth reigned, You girded me with strength for war, and You made my enemies submit under me. For always then, in the war of the house of Saul, they were going and diminishing, and the house of David was going and strengthening. And then You gave me the nape of my enemies. For Abner and Ish-bosheth's men turned their nape in war, and David's men were going and pursuing them, in a way that I cut off my haters. And behold, they were turning to God that He save them, and none saved them. And they were praying to the Lord, and He did not answer them, until I ground them like dust of the earth and like the mire of the streets, that they trample it with the foot and break the dust in it and shatter it -- so will I break them and trample them. And behold, Your saving me from those contending with me of my people, such as Ish-bosheth and Absalom and Sheba son of Bichri -- You kept me to place me at the head of many nations. And they are the nations that I conquered in war, that were my servants, until a nation that I did not know will serve me. And this is that Moab and Aram and Edom were already servants to David. The children of strangers shall lie unto me. From the abundance of their fear of me. At the hearing of the ear they shall obey me. To do my desire. And although they did not know the height of my rank and the greatness of my success. Behold, the children of strangers, from the abundance of their fear of me, were failing like the rotting of a leaf from the vine, for their heart died within them from the abundance of fear. And behold, even in their chambers, in which they were confined, terrors of death fell upon them from me. Behold, God who helps me is alive and always existing. And my strength, which is God, is blessed. His strength will not be lacking at any time, like the matter with them, that they are under the courses of the stars, for they will influence sometimes good and sometimes evil. And he who conducts the strength of my salvation, which is God, whose salvation is arranged from Him by way of particular providence, He is always high and exalted above all existences. And for this I have no reason to fear that His help depart from me at any time. Behold, this God is the one giving me vengeance from my enemies, and bringing my people under my government. And He is the one bringing me forth from my enemies, that I not fall by their hands. And behold, this God exalts me above those rising against me, and they are Ish-bosheth and Absalom and Sheba son of Bichri. And He saved me from a man of violence, and it is Saul. And he said this because with violence he was pursuing him. And it also appears from his matters that he already was a man of violence, when you investigate his characters, as we related in what preceded. Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the nations. To give You thanks as You repaid me of the good things. And I will sing praises to Your name. And I will praise. Behold, God is the strength of the salvation of His king, which is David. And He does kindness to His anointed, that He gave the kingship to David and to his seed all the time that the world exists, as His promise will appear in this through the prophet Nathan. And these are the last words of David. That is to say, after he completed the matter of the book of Psalms in its entirety, and after he mentioned the words of the song in this place, he concluded his words in this discourse. The utterance of David the son of Jesse. And the man who stood upon the throne of the kingship, whom the God of Jacob anointed with the anointing oil through His prophet. And he is the sweet psalmist, who composed these pleasant songs included in the book of Psalms, which are Israel's songs. For all the songs in which Israel will praise, they will praise God in these songs. Behold, the Spirit of the Lord spoke in me, in my composing those songs. And His word was on my tongue. And from his mouth were composed these songs. That is to say, they were already composed with the Holy Spirit. Behold, God of Jacob and His strength already said that I be ruler over man, because of my being righteous and ruling in the fear of God. And behold, the rising of my light and my success will be like the light of morning, as the dawn rises, when the sun rises after that light, in a way that the light goes on and is added -- so my government will always strengthen. Or he intends by this that it be like the light of morning at the rising of the sun, which is complete light, and after this it is perpetual and added. And he compared it to the sun because it is existing. And like this his kingship is existing. And for this he says, And his throne as the sun before me. So the matter in the kingship of the house of David, light of morning, in which the sun will not be hidden because of the clouds that would hide it, as was the matter in the kingship of Jeroboam and his companions, that there was not in that kingship any light at all by way of truth. And the light that was seen was from the clouds, which have no existence at all. And that light also will not be from a glow, in that the brightness is renewed from a glow that is renewed by rain, when it is in a cloud from which the rain, a vaporous mist, comes forth, in a way that the lightning flashes -- for that light departs immediately. And so was the matter in Saul's kingship, that it stood a short time, like grass of the earth, that quickly it grows and quickly it dries. Behold, not so is my royal house with God, for an everlasting covenant has He made with me, to be the kingship to me and to my seed. Behold, this covenant is arranged and ordered in all things. From whatever greatness will extend to me from my seed, the government will not be removed from them. For Israel will have all salvation and all desire. And this will be when they adhere to God and conduct themselves in the ways of the Torah. For God's hand will not shorten from bringing to them, or all salvation. And although from the universal providence they were not worthy of it -- from the particular providence He will save them at all times and bring to them all their desire. And it is reserved for my seed if the kingship cease from Israel. And this will be when Israel not sprout. That is to say, at the time they depart from after God, then their kingship will not be established. And God will reserve it for my seed. For from my seed will come forth a king, he will reign in Israel, he and his sons all the days, as became clear in other places from the words of the prophets. However, the men of wickedness, such as Jeroboam and his companions, who will reign in wickedness, not in the fear of God, like the matter in my kingship -- behold, they are like the thorn that is cast away, all of them. That men will not take it in the hand, fearing lest their hand be pierced. And neither will one approach it, for because of its shaking it will come to the hand and harm it. So the man who approaches the sons of Belial will be pierced, and his body will be filled with the iron of the spear and the wood that is fixed in it. For from the abundance of their destruction, those approaching them -- the entering of the iron in the body will not be sufficient for him, but he will place there after it the wood of the spear. And at the end of the matter, when their kingship rests, burned they will be burned, and no remnant will remain from them.

"And a man shall touch them." This means: However, the house of Belial shall not be like this thornbush, which no man's hand touches; rather, a man will touch them for harm, with sword and spear, and the body of each of them will be full of the iron of the spears, and even the wooden haft [of the spear] will enter it, following the blade of the spear. "And with fire they shall surely be burned, etc." — "In the consuming of fire they shall be burned": either when their kingdom is established, or it means, because a remembrance of them remains; and so it was with the house of Jeroboam and Ahab and their like.

In their ceasing. A matter of ceasing, as (Isaiah 14:4): the oppressor has ceased.

And he who touches them must be armed with weapons and iron, and then, when they beat their swords into plowshares, the thorns will be consumed, for they shall be burned in fire on the spot. When the time of their destruction comes, all the wicked and all those who do evil will be like stubble, and that coming day will set them ablaze, as it is stated in Malachi:

That is of David, sitting in judgment. Sitting in the Sanhedrin in judgment, and he is the wise one [Tachkemoni], and he is the third head — a chief (av), grounded in wisdom and in strength. In these three things he is the head, as is said (I Samuel 16:18): 'And understanding in speech, and a man of good appearance, and a mighty man of valor.' "Adino the Etznite." When he occupied himself with Torah, he would wind and bind himself like a worm, as it says (Job 38:31): "the bonds of the Pleiades." And when he went out to war, he was as hard as wood, and he killed eight hundred slain in one battle (Moed Katan 16b).

"Sitting in session." The opinion of the Targum, and likewise the opinion of our Sages of blessed memory, is that this verse refers to David, meaning: 'These are the names of the mighty men who were David's, who sat in session, etc.' — these are the names of David's feats of might. And the Targum renders it thus: 'These are the names of the mighty men,' etc. And our Sages of blessed memory explained 'sitting in session' as meaning that he sat in a session of Torah study. "Head of the three." Head over the three chiefs. Adino the Eznite. When he was engaged in Torah study, he softened himself like a worm; and when he went out to war, he hardened himself like wood. And there are among our Sages of blessed memory who said that this verse was spoken about Joab, who was a great sage and the head of the Sanhedrin, as it is stated: "Tachkemoni, chief of the shalishi [elite corps]." And according to the plain meaning, it appears that he was one warrior among the mighty men of David, and he was the head of David's mighty men, and his name was Adino the Eznite. The text relates about him that he was wise in addition to his might, and he sat in session with the Sanhedrin and the sages of Israel, and he was their head. This is what is meant by "chief of the shalishi," which is like "the shalishim [officers]." And similarly, "la-kari" and "la-ratzim" are like "la-kerim ve-shalishim" — the term "shalishim" denotes greatness, great and honored men, like "the adjutant [shalish] of the king" and "the choicest of his officers [shalishav]." "Tachkemoni" is a descriptive name derived from wisdom. The text tells of his mighty deeds: "over eight hundred slain," meaning that he was responsible for eight hundred slain, i.e., that he killed eight hundred men in one battle — this at one time. And in Chronicles he is called "Yishbaam," meaning that he sat at the head of the people — this is the same matter as what is written here, "sitting in session." And as for what it says here, "over eight hundred slain," and there it says, "he wielded his spear against three hundred slain" — these were two battles: in one he killed eight hundred, and in the other three hundred. And as for what it says here "Tachkemoni," and there "ben Chakhmoni" — the "ben" [son] mentioned there is used like "ish" [man], as in "ben chayil" [a man of valor], meaning a man of wisdom. Or perhaps his father's name was Tachkemoni or Chakhmoni, for they are one and the same, and this Adino was his son. The word ha-atzni. It is written with a vav and read with a yod. “On one occasion.” It is written with a dalet, in the masculine form, and read with a tav, in the feminine form.

“Sitting on the Sabbath, the wise one.” It seems that this was in praise of Adino the Eznite, and so was the matter with the other attributes mentioned to him in this place. And I consider that he is called “sitting on the Sabbath, the wise one” because, due to his great love for wisdom, he ceased from all other work and was always engaged in the acquisition of wisdom. The third head. He is described with this epithet because he was the chief among these three heroes mentioned earlier, namely: Adino the Eznite, Elazar son of Achti, and Shammah son of Ageh the Hararite.

"Of David." When he grew old and his strength failed, these three mighty men surrounded him, so that no one would come and strike him down. "Yoshev basheveth Tachkemoni." This means: One man sat with David in the academy of wisdom, and he was the chief of the mighty men, and his name was Adino the Eznite. (And in Chronicles, instead of "Yoshev basheveth" it says "Yishba'am," and it is the same thing, for "Yishba'am" is as if it said "Yoshev ba'am" [sitting among the people]; and instead of "Tachkemoni" it says there "Ben Chakmoni" [son of Chakmoni], and it is the same thing; and similarly, a man of Jerusalem is called both "Yerushalmi" and "Ben Yerushalayim" [son of Jerusalem], and their meaning is one and the same): “Concerning eight hundred.” The phrase refers back to earlier in this same verse, to teach that he would sit in the academy of wisdom, on account of the fact that he would kill eight hundred slain in one instance. And although he exerted himself greatly in killing such a large number, nevertheless he would return to sit in the academy of wisdom right after the slaughter, immediately following it. (And in Chronicles it is stated: “He thrust his spear into three hundred slain,” etc., for there they praise him solely for his valor, to say that regarding the killing of three hundred slain, immediately following it he would thrust his spear to fight against them, as if he had just begun to fight. And here they praise him for his love of wisdom together with his valor.)

The third. A matter of mighty and distinguished, as (Exodus 14:7): and captains over all it, and the mem of the plural fell, and so (II Kings 11:4): for the princes and for the runners, and its proper form: for the princes.

The Questions: (through the end of the section) In Chronicles, three pericopes are mentioned in the narratives of David's mighty men, and here only some of them are mentioned. Here it says that the first one was Adino the Eznite, and there he is called Jashobeam son of Tachmoni. Here it says eight hundred slain, and there three hundred slain. The feat of valor in the field of lentils is attributed here to Shammah, and there to Eleazar son of his uncle. Here it says that there were lentils, and there it says that there were barley. And there, Shammah is not mentioned at all. Who were the three who brought water from the well of Bethlehem, whose names were not revealed? Here it says that Abishai was the most distinguished of the three, and in Chronicles it says that he was second in distinction among the three. And what is the meaning of "the most distinguished of the three, yet he did not reach the three"? Who was the third mighty man among the latter ones? How did he conclude, "All these were thirty-seven," when he only counted thirty? Rashi said that Jesse's sons were numerous, and likewise Radak strained to explain, and for Mahari, Joab was included in the count, along with the first six, and all this is strained. "These are the names of the mighty men": Now, in Chronicles, he also counted these mighty men, and others in addition to these that he did not count here. And Mahari already elaborated on this matter, and answered that there [in Chronicles] he counted those who strengthened themselves with him in his kingship, as is explained there, whereas here he counted only the mighty men who remained with him constantly in all his wars. And in Chronicles it says: "Jashobeam, the son of Hachmoni, was chief of the officers; he wielded his spear against three hundred slain in one encounter." This mighty man had two names: his proper name was Adino the Eznite, and because he sat in session with the sages among a great assembly, they called him by the name Jashobeam, son of Hachmoni—meaning, one who sits with [the sages], son of a wise man. And in Chronicles it relates, to inform of his might, that after he had killed three hundred slain, he would thrust his spear and move it easily here and there, and on account of this he was chief of the thirty mighty men, not of the three, for Abishai, the brother of Joab, did likewise, and it is said of him, "He did not reach the three." And here it relates the extent of his wisdom and his study, that on one occasion, after he had killed eight hundred slain, he subsequently sat in the session of the wise, occupied with the study of Torah, and on account of this he was chief of the three, for he was greater in wisdom than them. And who are these three? It will be recounted later.

"Ben-Dodo" [son of Dodo]. That was his [father's] name [i.e., "Dodo" is a proper name, not the word for "uncle"]. Among the three mighty men. The excellent among the mighty. They defied the Philistines. They pledged to each other to fight them and to defeat them.

Elazar ben Dodo. This was his name, and as Jonathan’s Targum renders it, “son of Dodo.” The vocalization reads “Dodo” with a vav, whereas the spelling is “Dodi” with a yod. "Son of Achochi." And in Chronicles, 'HaAchochi' [and] 'Achti' was a family name; therefore it says here 'ben Achochi' [son of Achochi], and elsewhere it says 'HaAchochi' [the Achochite] — just as it says 'ben Kenaz' [son of Kenaz] [and elsewhere] 'HaKenizi' [the Kenizzite]. “Three mighty men.” The reading is “the mighty men,” and the matter is one and the same. The three mighty men are those mentioned: Adino, Eleazar, and Shammah son of Agee. And the phrase “three” implies that there was a third one who was with them in this battle with David, and he was the leader of this battle. "Becharfam" [When they exposed themselves]. It is from the pa'al-intensive (dagesh) binyan, for the chet bears a ga'ya, and its meaning is like "charaf nafsho lamut" [he exposed his life to death], whose meaning is "exposed/bared." Likewise, "becharfam" means they exposed their souls to danger, along the lines of "vayishlach et nafsho minneged" (and he cast his life away from himself). And the Targum renders it: "when the Philistines taunted [them]," its view being that "becharfam" refers to the Philistines — in which case the bet in "baPelishtim" would be superfluous. But according to the plain meaning, "becharfam" refers to these mighty men, who exposed themselves to fight the Philistines who had gathered there to battle, while Israel had retreated from before them. These three mighty men went down to them, and Eleazar was more valiant in this battle than the other two, and of him it is said: "he arose and struck among the Philistines."

When they reviled the Philistines. It seemed that they were taunting the Philistines, to boast over them, that they could not stand against them in war, as Goliath the Philistine was reviling the armies of Israel.

And after him. In rank: “Among the three mighty men.” This means: He was one of the three mighty men who were with David when they defied the Philistines who had gathered there for battle. The Scripture does not mention that war, nor does it state when it occurred. And they went up. They withdrew from fighting against them.

In their reproaching. From the word reproach and disgrace: And they went up. They withdrew, as (Job 5:26): as the going up of a shock.

And after him was the second mighty man, Eleazar, son of Dodo, of Ahohi. He was one of the three mighty men who were with David: the first mighty man was Adino the Eznite, and the third was Shammah, who will be mentioned afterward. They were with David when they defied the Philistines, and this is the incident that will be mentioned subsequently regarding the field full of lentils, when the men of Israel fled. There, Adino the Eznite killed eight hundred men, and Eleazar...

"But only to strip [the slain]." Targum Yonatan translates: "to strip the slain" — there was no one to help him kill; rather, they all came stripping the slain after him.

"And the people sat behind him." It says "sat," implying that they returned, for they had already fled from the Philistines, as it is stated, "And the men of Israel went up." And when they saw the valor of Eleazar, who was striking down the Philistines, they returned and followed after him. "But only to strip." That is to say, they did not need to strike the Philistines, but only to strip the corpses alone that Eleazar had struck down.

Until his hand was weary and cleaved to the sword. Behold, his hand became weary from the abundance of motion and the blows that he struck at the Philistines with strength, and it cleaved to the sword, for the power of stretching departed from the fingers and they remained bent. Or this was from the abundance of blood clinging to the hand. And the first explanation is more apparent. But only to strip. That is to say, to strip the slain. And the Philistines gathered for sustenance. That is to say, they already gathered to take the sustenance from the field, and it is the grain and kinds of legumes and whatever is similar to this of what is food.

"Until his hand was weary." Due to the excessive movements and blows, his hand became weary and stuck to the sword, for the power of extending the hand then left him, as is the way of one who engages in excessive movements and blows. “And the people returned.” After they had withdrawn from the battle, they returned to him, but only to strip the garments from the corpses, and they did not assist him in striking them.

His hand was weary. From the word weariness and fatigue: To strip. A matter of removing the garment.

He rose up after him and struck the Philistines, and at that time the plot of barley saved them. Therefore, in Chronicles, which is terse and did not mention the name of Shammah ben Agga, [the text] attributed this salvation to Eleazar, for he was the one who began to strike the Philistines. And it is explained in Chronicles that this took place at Pas Dammim. See the verse that follows this one.

From the mountains. From the mountain. "To a troop." [I.e.,] to a raiding band, like the wild beasts of the field.

"And after him, Shammah ben Aga the Hararite." The Targum of Jonathan translates: Shammah bar Aga, of the mountain region [lit. "from the mount of the mountain"]. "To Chayah." An open city that has no wall, and that place is called Ephes-dammim, as it is stated in Chronicles, for the battle took place there. "Full of lentils." And in Chronicles it says, "full of barley." [The explanation is that] it was full of sheaves, because the plot had already been harvested; rather, they gathered into it sheaves from the other fields, and those sheaves were of lentils and of barley, and it was full of them. And here it says "lentils," and there it says "barley."

And after him. In rank: "As a troop." To be an assembly and a whole camp: "Full of lentils." And in Chronicles it is stated "barley," for in truth this is one battle and that is another, [occurring] at a different time, for here it is stated that Shammah saved it, and there it is stated that Eleazar saved it.

To the multitude. Meaning: to the company, and so (Psalms 68:11): your beasts dwell therein. A parcel. A field holding.

And after him, Shammah's valor was also displayed in this battle. In Chronicles, it is stated that the field was full of barley, and the salvation is attributed to Eleazar; both accounts are true, for there was a field of barley, where Eleazar stood, and there was a field of lentils, where Shammah stood. In truth, the salvation was accomplished by all of them, and David was with them. Therefore, Chronicles says, "They stood firm and delivered them," using the plural form.

"And he stood firm" (singular). In Chronicles it says, "And they stood firm" (plural), meaning he and Eleazar. And here it says "he stood firm" (singular), because Shammah was the primary figure in that battle.

And he saved it. So that they would not burn it:

From among the thirty heads. Yonatan translated: 'from the mighty of the heads of the bands.'

"And three went down." But it is written "thirty" [שלשים], meaning the great and mighty men among the officers (shalishim), as in "and officers over all of it." And it is read "three" [שלשה], because these three were the mighty men who went down to David. From the thirty leaders. From the third-ranking ones who were the heads of the camps, as Jonathan translates it: "from the mighty leaders of the camps." But he translated "thirty" as "third-ranking." "And they came to the harvest [קציר]." [Meaning] at the time of the harvest, as if it said "in the harvest." And similarly it is stated, "And into the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give to you," where "into" [אל] is used like "in" [ב] — i.e., "in the ark." “To the cave of Adullam.” And in Chronicles it says, “Upon the rock, to David, to the cave of Adullam,” because there was a strong and high rock there, and it is the stronghold of which it is said, “And David was then in the stronghold.” And this matter was when David was fleeing from Saul and escaped to the cave of Adullam, and concerning that place it says, “All the days that David was in the stronghold.” "And the host of the Philistines." The camp of the Philistines, as it is stated in Chronicles: "And the camp of the Philistines encamped in the Valley of Rephaim." And "chayah" is a term for a gathering or assembly, like [the verse] "Chayatcha (your community) shall dwell in it," which is like [saying] "adatcha" (your assembly).

And three of the thirty, chief, went down. That is to say, three who were chief of the thirty mighty men mentioned after this already came down. And the host of the Philistines. It is the company of the Philistines.

“From the thirty chiefs.” Each one of the three was a chief among the thirty mighty men mentioned below. “Al katzir.” Just as in “ba-katzir” (in the harvest), and similarly (Exodus 25:21): “ve’el ha’aron” (and into the ark), and its grammatical rule is that it should be read as “ve-ba’aron” (and in the ark), and he intended to say: at the time of the harvest. "The cave of Adullam." And in Chronicles it says "upon the rock," for there was a high and strong rock there, and it is the fortress mentioned below: "And the living of the Philistines." The community of the Philistines.

"And they went down after the three mighty men mentioned above." There were still three others, whom he would count later, who performed a great feat of valor at the time of the harvest, when the Philistines descended to destroy the harvest of Israel. They went down to David to help him in the Cave of Adullam, and the camp of the Philistines (was like a beast of the field) in the Valley of Rephaim. And it appears that this was during the war that David fought with the Philistines at the beginning of his reign (mentioned above in section 5), when David was in the stronghold and the Philistines were in the Valley of Rephaim.

And the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. The army was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim, and they sent their garrison to Bethlehem.

"And the garrison of the Philistines." In Chronicles, it is written "and the garrison of the Philistines," and it is the same word. And the Targum of Jonathan translates it as "umtzav" and "astrategos," just as he translates "garrisons" everywhere. And similarly, he translates "and the garrison of the Philistines came out." And the meaning of "umtzav" and "naziv" is "officers of the army." He said that the great camp was in the Valley of Rephaim, and the officers were with a portion of the army in Bethlehem.

And the garrison of the Philistines. They are the men who go before the army, and they are men of understanding.

And the garrison. And in Chronicles it is said: and the official, and it is the same, and it was called so for an officer and supervisor:

Who will give me water to drink. Our Sages said (Bava Kamma 60b): he needed to ask a question from the Sanhedrin sitting at the gate of Bethlehem.

"Who will give me water to drink?" – According to its plain meaning: he longed for those waters, which were precious and good, and it was the days of harvest; for in those days a person longs for cold water because of the heat. Perhaps in the fortress where David was, there were no good waters. And after they brought them to him, he regretted that the three mighty men had placed themselves in great danger for the sake of his craving for the water.

Who shall give me drink. Not that he commanded to bring the waters, but as though saying: would that there were found for me the waters of the well of Bethlehem, for the time was hot and the waters were cold and pleasant:

And he desired. From the word desire and longing.

David longed for water from the well of Bethlehem, because he had recently sojourned there in Bethlehem, [so] he was accustomed to that water.

And he poured them out to the Lord. Thus he said: it is received by me from the court of Samuel the Ramathite—anyone who sacrifices himself for the words of Torah, we do not say a teaching from his mouth. And what is 'and he poured them out to the Lord'? As we say in the name of the Gemara (ibid. 61a).

"And he refused to drink them." For he reasoned in his heart: If I were to drink them, it would be as if I were drinking their blood, since they were brought to me at the cost of their lives. And he poured them out for the Lord. That is to say, he poured them on the ground for the sake of the Lord, because there was no altar there. And what our Sages of blessed memory wrote concerning this matter are words of wonder, for they joined these two matters together as one, whereas they were in two different places. For the matter of the plot of ground was at Ephes-dammim, and the matter of the waters was at the Cave of Adullam. And they interpreted “Who will give me drink of the waters” as an allegory, for the waters are the Torah, as it is said, “Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters.” And the explanation of “Who will give me drink of the waters” is that he needed a legal ruling, and he asked the Sanhedrin who were in Bethlehem. And this is what he said, “From the well of Bethlehem which is at the gate,” like a consultation to the elders. And the legal ruling he needed to ask them was the matter of the plot of ground full of lentils and barley. And they disputed about this matter: some said that the stacks of barley and lentils were Israelite, and the Philistines were hidden in them. And David asked if he had permission to send fire into the stacks so that the Philistines would be burned with them. And they sent word to him: It is forbidden to save oneself with another’s money. But you are a king, and a king breaks through to make a path for himself, and no one opposes his hand. And some said that the stacks of barley were Israelite, and the stacks of lentils were Philistine. And he asked if he had permission to give the barley to the animals that were with him to eat, and to pay the owners of the barley from the stacks of lentils in exchange. And they sent word to him: A wrongdoer must restore damage, a thief must pay restitution; even though he pays, he is called a wrongdoer. But you are a king, and a king breaks through to make a path for himself, and no one opposes his hand. And the explanation of “And he stood in the midst of the plot, and delivered it” is that David did not leave the stacks to be burned or to be fed to his animals. And the explanation of “And David would not drink them” is that he did not state this legal ruling in the name of three, but rather he said thus: It was transmitted to me from the court of Samuel the Ramati, that whoever surrenders himself to death for the sake of words of Torah, we do not say a matter of tradition from his mouth. And “And he poured them out for the Lord” means that he stated them in the name of the Gemara. And these words are very far from the plain meaning, for the verses are a narrative of the mighty men of David, recounting the mighty deeds that each of the first three did, and what the latter three did when they brought the waters. And there was no question of legal ruling in that plot, but rather a great battle took place, until Israel fled from the Philistines, as the verse says, “And there he grew mighty, and he stood in the midst of that plot, and delivered it,” so that the Philistines did not burn them. And he said that he struck the Philistines, and he said, “And the Lord wrought a great victory.” And one should not understand anything in all this except the plain meaning of the verse as it is. And some said that what is written in another place, “full of lentils,” means that there were two fields, one of barley and one of lentils. And some said that this matter occurred in two years: in one year, when they were in this plot, it was full of lentils, and in the other year it was full of barley. And there are some of our Sages of blessed memory who explained these words according to their literal meaning, that David longed for the waters. But they said that this time was the Festival of Sukkot, during which they poured out water. And what did David do with them? For the permission for high places existed then, and he poured out these waters on a high place. And they said, why did he send three? One would kill, and one would clear away the dead, and one would bring the jar in purity. And these words are closer than the first ones. And the Targum says: “And he poured them out for the Lord,” and it says: To pour them out before the Lord.

And he poured them out to the Lord. From this place we learned that they already poured out water to God. For if this were not done in the Temple, David would not have poured them out to the Lord. And because we did not find a place more fitting for this pouring than the Feast of Tabernacles, and this is for causes: the first, that God then chose that they take from the plants that grow upon the water, as it says, 'And branches of luxuriant trees, and willows of the brook.' And the second, that then it is fitting to request water from God. And as they bring the omer at Passover to request the blessing of the harvest, and the first fruits at Pentecost to request the blessing of the fruit of the tree, so they bring the water at the Feast of Tabernacles to request from God the blessing of the rains, for then comes the time of sowing and they need rains. And the third, that only there you will find the allusion in the Torah concerning the abundance of drink offerings. Behold, it is fitting that these drink offerings be at the Feast of Tabernacles, in this manner.

"And they split." When they heard that he desired it, they went of their own accord to bring pleasure to David, and they passed through the camp, as though they split it, making a path for themselves within it. And he poured out. He poured them onto the ground for the sake of the Lord:

And he poured out. From the word pouring out.

"And they broke through," and in this they performed a tremendous feat of valor: in their passage through the camp, they were fortified for battle; in their drawing of the water, they did so with mighty hand; and in their return, they came back as warriors with the water in their hands. And David refused to drink them. Abarbanel wrote that the ultimate purposes ought to be commensurate with the effort expended for them, as the poet said: "A wise craftsman who prepares vessels weighing thousands upon thousands of gold dinars to make a single iron needle." Therefore, he did not wish that this vigorous exertion performed by these heroes should be for a trivial matter, but rather for an exalted and noble purpose—to pour them out as a libation upon the altar of the Lord. And this is what is written: "The blood of the men," etc.

The blood of the men. Language of wonder.

"Far be it from me, O LORD." [The word "LORD" here functions] like [an elliptical] "from the LORD." And similarly, [in] "Elchanan the son of Dodo, Bethlehem," [it is understood as] "from Bethlehem" [with the מ omitted]. Or perhaps "LORD" is a vocative address to the Almighty.

And he said. He gave a reason for not drinking from them, and said, "Far be it from me," etc., meaning: They are common [non-sacred] for me to drink them, on account of the fear of God. "The blood of men. And should I drink the blood of men who went into danger of their lives? That is to say: Would it not be considered as blood?"

The Lord. Like 'from the Lord'.

"He was head of the *shalishi*" [ketiv]. Thus is the ketiv, and the qere is "the three"; and the ketiv is from [the term] "shelishim" [officers], applied generically to the whole. And the meaning of "head of the three" is [head] of the water-bringers, and he had a name among them, for he was mentioned in valor together with them. And what is said, "of the three, the most honored," and "he became commander to them," is a repetition of the matter to reinforce it, for such is the way of the language. And in Chronicles [it says], "of the three, honored above the two" — it appears that he was one of the three and was more honored than the [other] two and was commander over them. And what is said, "behold, of the three, the most honored," means from [all] three of them, for he was one of them. And what is said, "but to the three he did not attain," means: to the first three, namely Adino, Eleazar, and Shammah — he did not reach their level of valor. And Targum Yonatan renders: "and to three mighty deeds he did not attain," meaning that he did not reach in his valor the three feats of valor that the three performed.

And Abishai, Joab's brother, son of Zeruiah, was chief of the three. That is to say, he was the most chosen of the three who were chief of the thirty mighty men mentioned after this. The most honored of the three, and he was their commander. But he did not come to the rank of the first three, for Adino the Eznite was chief over them.

He was the first of the three. He was the first among the three who broke through [the camp] to bring water to David. "And he wielded, etc., against, etc." This means: Upon the killing, and immediately thereafter, he would wield his spear to fight with him, as if he had just begun to engage in battle. "And he was named among the three." This means that he was renowned as a hero among the three foremost heroes, namely Adino, Eleazar, and Shammah, who, despite all their valor, also regarded Abishai as a hero.

Stirred up. From the word stirring up and movement.

And Abishai, now, explains who are the three mighty men mentioned above: the first of them was Abishai. And regarding what is written, “And he was named among the three,” this means that he was also counted among the first three, on account of the fact that he thrust his spear into three hundred slain men, like Adino the Eznite.

And to the three he did not come. (Targum:) 'And to the three men he did not reach.'

"From the three." This means: from among the three who draw water, they are the heads of the thirty. "He was the most honored." The truth is that he was the most honored among them, and for this reason he was appointed as a commander over the two who were with him. “And until the three.” But he did not attain the status of the first three.

Hachi. That word, with the heh of wonder, indicates the certainty of the matter.

And what is meant by "from the three, this one is most honored"? It refers to the latter two of the three. And in Chronicles it says, "from the three, he was honored among the two," meaning: the latter two of the three, to the exclusion of the first ones. And concerning this it says, "and to the three he did not come," meaning that he did not attain to the first three.

The two Ariel of Moav. (Targum:) 'The two great men of Moav.' And our Sages said (Berachot 18b): that he did not leave his like, not in the First Temple, nor in the Second Temple. Ari'el of Moav. Because of Solomon's building, who came from Ruth the Moavite.

"Son of a living man." So is the ketiv, and the qere is "a man of valor," for Jehoiada his father was also a mighty man of valor. And regarding what is written "living," they interpreted it to mean that he was a completely righteous man, and the righteous, even in their death, are called "living." And the Targum [renders] "son of a man of valor" as "son of a man who fears sin." "Rav Pe'alim" – for he was great in good deeds. "From Kabzeel." The name of a place mentioned in the inheritance of the children of Judah: Kabzeel, and Eder, and Jagur. And our Sages of blessed memory interpreted [the name] to mean that he performed many deeds and gathered [disciples] to the Torah. "Both the lions of Moab." As its Targum renders it, "the two great ones of Moab." It is a compound word, from *ari* [lion] and *el* [strength/might]. *Ari* denotes valor, and *el* is a term for might. Even though Benaiah was a priest and forbidden to become impure through contact with the dead, to fight against the enemies of the LORD is itself a commandment — for when the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded [Israel] to fight against the seven nations and against the other nations that oppress Israel, He made no distinction between priests and Israelites. Likewise, He commanded that there be a priest anointed for war, to go into battle together with Israel. Indeed, Pinchas rendered himself impure for the sake of the commandment when he killed Zimri and Cozbi, and similarly he went to the war against Midian together with Israel. “And he struck the lion.” The letter *he* is written but not read, and the matter is the same whether one says *ari* or *aryeh*. "On the day of the snow." They said that the lion, on a day of cold and snow, has increased strength. And in the words of our Sages of blessed memory: "the two of Ariel" [is expounded to mean] that he left none equal to him, neither in the First Temple nor in the Second Temple; and Ariel is a name of the Temple, as in "Ah, Ariel" [Isaiah 29:1]. And the meaning of "[Ariel of] Moab" is that Solomon, who descended from Ruth the Moabite, built it. And regarding what is said, "on the day of the snow," they interpreted it: some say that he broke fragments of hail-ice and went down and immersed himself; and some say that it means he studied Sifra of the school of Rav on a winter's day. But all these matters are far from the plain sense, for the verse recounts the valor of each of them, not their Torah-learning and piety. And Targum Yonatan renders the verses according to the plain sense.

Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man, a doer of great deeds, of Kabzeel. Behold, he described him that the rank of bravery came to him from his fathers. And for this he says of him that he is the son of a valiant man, that is to say, his father was a warrior, and he was a doer of great deeds in matters of bravery, for he did many deeds attributed to the brave. And he was from the city of Kabzeel, which was for the lot of the children of Judah. And behold, the text said here 'son of a living man.' Behold, the intention is warrior, for in the warrior the deed of life is seen more than in others. And from this also, [Scripture] says, 'for they are vigorous [chayot]' [Exodus 1:19], meaning abundant in strength and might. He struck Ariel of Moab. Behold, the strong tower is called Ariel. And for this the house of the Temple is called Ariel. And the intention is that he struck the men of those strong towers that were in Moab. And the word is compound from lion and God, and its meaning is a strong lion, for the lion is great in strength. And it is possible also that there was in them the form of a lion, to indicate the strength and the power. And he went down and struck the lion within the pit on a day of snow. He said 'on a day of snow' to indicate the abundance of his bravery, that although his strength then was weak because of the increase of cold, and he was also within the pit, where the cold prevails more, because of the coolness of that place, and there was for him nor for the lion escape, that one not destroy the other -- with all this, Benaiah son of Jehoiada the high priest went down, and did not fear that the lion harm him in his descent there, and he struck the lion because of his great bravery.

"Rav Pe'alim." He performed many mighty deeds: From Kabzeel. The name of a place: "Two Ariel of Moab." Jonathan [ben Uzziel] translated: "Two great ones of Moab." And because of their might he called them "Ariel," which is a compound word from "ari" [lion] and "el" [strength], which denotes strength, as it is said (Ezekiel 31:11): "into the hand of the mighty one [lit. strength] of the nations." Within the pit. Even though the place is cramped, to strengthen oneself in it: "On the day of the snow." Although it is the nature of the lion to strengthen itself greatly in the time of cold, and it is the nature of man to refrain from vital activities when the cold intensifies, nevertheless he overpowered him and struck him a fatal blow.

A man of life. A vigorous man, as people say.

And Benaiah the mighty man was the second; he was the son of a valiant man and a man of deeds, and he was from the city of Kabzeel in the portion of Judah (Joshua 15:31). And he demonstrated three mighty feats of strength: 1. That he struck down two lion-like warriors of Moab—that is to say, the mighty men of Moab; 2. That he struck down a lion, even though it was in its den, and on a snowy day, when a person is chilled and the lion becomes more fierce at that time:

"asher mar'eh" – The written text (ketiv) implies: "an Egyptian man who had a mar'eh [appearance/aspect] and was great." The vocalized text (qere) reads "ish mar'eh" [a man of appearance] according to its plain meaning. In Chronicles, it is written "ish middah" [a man of stature], and the sense is the same. For "ish middah" means one of great stature, like "men of stature" (anshei middot), and "ish mar'eh" means one with a great countenance.

A man of stature. Meaning: one with a great countenance that inspires awe:

With a rod. With a staff.

3. That he struck an Egyptian who was unusual in his appearance, and who held a spear in his hand, and he struck him with a staff.

"And he had a name among the three mighty men." Those who brought the water.

And he had a name among the three mighty men. That is to say, he already had a name among these three mighty men who were chief of the thirty. But his rank did not come to the rank of these three mighty men. And for this he was not counted with them. And he was also not counted with the thirty, for he was more illustrious than they.

These. Those deeds: "And he was named." This means that he was renowned as a hero among the three water-drawers who were the heads of the thirty, and it implies that despite their own valor, they also considered him a hero. But the first three heroes considered him as nothing due to the greatness of the valor that was in them.

And he had a name among the three mighty men mentioned here:

From the thirty. All the thirty mentioned in this paragraph Yonatan translated: 'the men.'

"From the thirty, [he was] esteemed." [Referring] to the thirty mighty men mentioned after these. And Targum Yonatan [renders]: "among the mighty men, esteemed" — rendering "the thirty" as if it were "the officers" [שלישים]. "And to the three he did not attain." [Namely] Tachmonai, Eleazar, and Shammah. And Targum Yonatan [renders]: "and to three feats of might he did not attain," meaning that he did not reach in his valor the three feats of valor that the three performed. "And David placed him in his guard." [This means] in his counsel; or, the explanation is that he appointed him over the men of his guard, namely, the Kerethites and the Pelethites, as it is stated above: "And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Kerethites and the Pelethites."

And David put him in his guard. That is to say, he placed him as one of his servants subject to his command. And behold, Benaiah son of Jehoiada was not of the three who were of the thirty chiefs. But being more illustrious than the thirty, and for this their numbering was in their general, thirty-seven: the three first, of whom Adino the Eznite was chief; the three second, who were of the thirty chiefs; and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, whose matter was mean between the three and the thirty. And the thirty mighty men are thirty-seven. But he did not mention in this place the three mighty men second, except Abishai. And for this you will not find in this number except thirty-five.

From the thirty. The one who was important below in the matter was very honored, and therefore they did not count him with them, but he did not reach the status of the three water-drawers, the heads of the thirty, and therefore they did not count him with them either. “to his discipline”: to be with him, to hear and to do all that he commands.

And he was esteemed on account of his honor above all the Thirty Heroes in general, for he was the head of the Sanhedrin, even though he did not come among the first three; and David appointed him as an officer over his men of discipline.

"Joab's brother Asahel was among the Thirty." He was counted in the number of the Thirty, and they were thirty mighty men, from him [Asahel] to Uriah the Hittite. And Targum Yonatan renders ["the Thirty"] as "among the mighty men." Alchanan, son of Dodo. This was his name, Dodo, and as the Targum of Jonathan renders it: "son of Dodo." "Bethlehem." [Meaning] "from Bethlehem." And likewise, "Take heed of yourselves against going up the mountain" [means] "from going up the mountain."

Of the thirty. Meaning: even though he was somewhat distinguished from the thirty, nevertheless his rank did not grow greatly above them, and therefore he was also counted with the thirty that were counted continuously, and if so there were thirty in number, besides Asahel:

Bethlehem. From Bethlehem.

And the third mighty man was Asahel; however, he was not among the first five who were always by the king's side to guard him. Rather, he was among the thirty. From here, one counts an additional twenty-four mighty men who were with the six mentioned above, from the number of the thirty, and they [are listed] until "Paarai the Arbite" (verse 35). For what is stated, "Eliphelet, son of Ahasbai, son of the Maacathite," refers to two individuals: one is called "the Maacathite" (for no one is identified by his grandfather's name). And from Igal onward, one counts an additional seven who were mighty men below the rank of the thirty. And regarding this, it says "all thirty-seven." Likewise they are counted in Chronicles, with a slight variation in names, thirty-seven, down to Uriah. Afterward, it lists there additional mighty men, meaning those who strengthened David in his kingship, according to the intention expressed there, as stated in verse 8.

"Shemah ha-cheradi." The first [letter] is a resh, and the second is a dalet. And likewise, "Elika ha-cheradi": the first [letter] is a resh, and the second is a dalet. And both [instances] are to indicate their place of origin, as its Targum [renders it], from Charod. And so it is in the Masorah, and in the verse:

"The sons of Jashen: Jonathan." Just as it says, "And the sons of Pallu: Eliab," and "The sons of Dan: Hushim."

"The sons of Jashen: Jonathan." Like "the son of Jashen" [singular], and similarly (Genesis 46:23): "And the sons of Dan: Hushim."

"Shammah ha-harari." As its Targum [translates it]: "From the mountainous land." Achiam, son of Sharar the Ararite. The aleph is silent, and its Targum is “from a high mountain.”

"Chetzro" [the Ketiv]. It is written with a vav, and read [as the Qeri, "Chetzrai"] with a yod. "Ha'arbi" [the Arbite]. [Spelled] with a bet.

“Bearers of Joab’s weapons.” It is written with a yod, indicating the plural, meaning both on Tzelaq and on Nahari; and the verse reads “bearer” with reference to Nahari.

The armor-bearer of Joab. It returns to Naharai, that he was carrying his weapons of war:

Thirty-seven. And they are not counted here; and I say: Joab did not need to be mentioned, for he is commander of the army; and the rest that are missing—perhaps they were sons of Yishan, three or four.

"All thirty-seven." These thirty enumerated are from Asahel to Uriah. The first three are Tachmonai, Eleazar, and Shammah, and the three who brought water—these make six. And Abishai son of Zeruiah was one of these three, as we have explained. And Benaiah son of Jehoiada—this makes seven. And Joab did not need to be counted, for he was the commander of the army.

All these were thirty and seven. All the mighty men were in number thirty-seven, for the thirty are counted here alone besides Asahel, and with him behold thirty-one, and Adino and Elazar and Shammah behold thirty-four, and the three water-drawers who are chiefs of the thirty that are counted, behold thirty-seven. And Abishai was one of the water-drawers as written above, and Benaiah was not counted with them, for David appointed him over his guard, and he restrained himself from going down in battle constantly, so as not to defile himself with the dead, for he was a priest. And even Joab was not counted with them, for it is not his honor to be counted with the rest of the mighty men, for he was captain over all the army, very very distinguished above them all: