2 Samuel 10:17

And when it was told David, he gathered all Israel together, and passed over Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Syrians set themselves in array against David, and fought with him.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(17) He gathered . . . and passed.—David, hearing of the great Syrian rally, now took the field in person. Joab may have been with him, but more probably was employed at the south in holding the Ammonites in check and preventing their forming a junction with their confederates.

Benson Commentary

2 Samuel 10:17-18. David passed over Jordan — In this expedition David seems to have commanded his army in his own person. But, notwithstanding, the Syrians appear to have begun the fight. David slew the men of seven hundred chariots, &c. — The parallel place, 1 Chronicles 19:18, reads, seven thousand men that fought in chariots, and forty thousand footmen, and not horsemen, as here. It is probable, either that horse and foot were mixed together, and that, in all, there were slain forty thousand of them, part horsemen and part footmen; or, as many learned men suppose, that some error has crept into the text in one of the places. Houbigant is of opinion, that the text here, corrected from the parallel passage, should be read, David destroyed seven thousand horsemen, seven hundred chariots, and forty thousand footmen.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

10:15-19 Here is a new attempt of the Syrians. Even the baffled cause will make head as long as there is any life in it; the enemies of the Son of David do so. But now the promise made to Abraham, Ge 15:18, and repeated to Joshua, Jos 1:4, that the borders of Israel should extend to the river Euphrates, was performed. Learn hence, that it is dangerous to help those who have God against them; for when they fall, their helpers will fall with them.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Helam - The place is unknown. Some prefer the translation of the Latin Vulgate: "their host came."

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

16. Hadarezer sent and brought out the Syrians that were beyond the river—This prince had enjoyed a breathing time after his defeat (2Sa 8:3). But alarmed at the increasing power and greatness of David, as well as being an ally of the Ammonites, he levied a vast army not only in Syria, but in Mesopotamia, to invade the Hebrew kingdom. Shobach, his general, in pursuance of this design, had marched his troops as far as Kelam, a border town of eastern Manasseh, when David, crossing the Jordan by forced marches, suddenly surprised, defeated, and dispersed them. As a result of this great and decisive victory, all the petty kingdoms of Syria submitted and became his tributaries (see on [272]1Ch 19:1).

Matthew Poole's Commentary

All Israel, i.e. the chosen and valiant men picked out of all Israel.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And when it was told David,.... What preparations the Syrians were making to fight him, and where they were:

he gathered all Israel together; all the fighting men in the country:

and passed over Jordan, and came to Helam: which, according to Bunting (b), was twenty miles from Jerusalem. David seems to have gone himself in person to this war:

and the Syrians set themselves in array against David, and fought with him; they formed themselves in a line of battle, and attacked him first, being eager to fight, and perhaps confident of victory, because of their numbers.

(b) Travels, &c. p. 140, 141.

Geneva Study Bible

And when it was told David, he gathered {f} all Israel together, and passed over Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Syrians set themselves in array against David, and fought with him.

(f) Meaning, the greatest part.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 17. - David... gathered all Israel together. Some commentators see in this an indication of dissatisfaction with Joab. Really it was a matter of course that in so great a war the king should place himself at the head of his levies. For not only was he possessed of great military genius, but his personal presence would make the men of Israel, a race of sturdy free men, assemble in greater numbers, and would give them confidence. If David himself went there would be no shirking the war and finding excuses to stay at home, and in the camp there would be prompt alacrity and zeal. 2 Samuel 10:17

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

David went with all Israel (all the Israelitish forces) against the foe, and smote the Aramaeans at Helam, where they had placed themselves in battle array, slaying seven hundred charioteers and forty thousand horsemen, and so smiting (or wounding) the general Shobach that he died there, i.e., that he did not survive the battle (Thenius). With regard to the different account given in the corresponding text of the Chronicles as to the number of the slain, see the remarks on 2 Samuel 10:6. It is a fact worthy of notice, that the number of men who fell in the battle (seven hundred receb and forty thousand parashim, according to the text before us; seven thousand receb and forty thousand ragli, according to the Chronicles) agrees quite as well with the number of Aramaeans reported to be taken prisoners or slain, according to 2 Samuel 8:4 and 1 Chronicles 18:4-5 (viz., seventeen hundred parashim or a thousand receb, and seven thousand parashim and twenty thousand ragli of Aram-Zoba, and twenty-two thousand of Aram-Damascus), as could possibly be expected considering the notorious corruption in the numbers as we possess them; so that there is scarcely any doubt that the number of Aramaeans who fell was the same in both accounts (2 Samuel 8 and 10), and that in the chapter before us we have simply a more circumstantial account of the very same war of which the result is given in 2 Samuel 8 and 1 Chronicles 13:1-14.