2 Samuel 15:22

And David said to Ittai, Go and pass over. And Ittai the Gittite passed over, and all his men, and all the little ones that were with him.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Benson Commentary

2 Samuel 15:22. Ittai the Gittite passed over — The brook Kidron, as it follows in the next verse. And all the little ones that were with him — This shows that his whole family were come to sojourn in Judea. And being so deeply engaged for David, he durst not leave his little ones to Absalom’s mercy.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

15:13-23 David determined to quit Jerusalem. He took this resolve, as a penitent submitting to the rod. Before unrighteous Absalom he could justify himself, and stand out; but before the righteous God he must condemn himself, and yield to his judgments. Thus he accepts the punishment of his sin. And good men, when they themselves suffer, are anxious that others should not be led to suffer with them. He compelled none; those whose hearts were with Absalom, to Absalom let them go, and so shall their doom be. Thus Christ enlists none but willing followers. David cannot bear to think that Ittai, a stranger and an exile, a proselyte and a new convert, who ought to be encouraged and made easy, should meet with hard usage. But such value has Ittai for David's wisdom and goodness, that he will not leave him. He is a friend indeed, who loves at all times, and will adhere to us in adversity. Let us cleave to the Son of David, with full purpose of heart, and neither life nor death shall separate us from his love.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Thou camest but yesterday - Meaning, "Thou art not a native Israelite, but only a sojourner for a few years, it is not reason therefore that thou shouldst share my calamities. Return to thy place, thy adopted home Jerusalem, and to the king, Absalom" 2 Samuel 15:34-35.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

18-20. all the Gittites, six hundred men—These were a body of foreign guards, natives of Gath, whom David, when in the country of the Philistines, had enlisted in his service, and kept around his person. Addressing their commander, Ittai, he made a searching trial of their fidelity in bidding them (2Sa 15:19) abide with the new king.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

For being so deeply engaged for David, he durst not leave his little ones to Absalom’s mercy.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And David said unto Ittai, go, and pass over,.... It being his resolution to abide with him, he urged him no more to depart, but bid him pass over the brook Kidron before him:

and Ittai the Gittite passed over, and all his men; the six hundred Gittites that were under his command:

and all the little ones that were with him; that belonged to him and his men, and no doubt their wives also.

Geneva Study Bible

And David said to Ittai, Go and pass over. And Ittai the Gittite passed over, and all his men, and all the little ones that were with him.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 22. - All the little ones; Hebrew, all the taf; in ver. 20 called "his brethren," that is, all the relatives and dependents who had accompanied him in his exile. Their presence with him proves that he had entirely broken with the Philistines, and left his country for good. He may have taken this step for religious reasons, though his swearing by Jehovah (ver. 21) does not prove it, as Achish did the same (1 Samuel 29:6); or Ittai, after the capture of Gath by David (2 Samuel 8:1), may have made himself unpopular by becoming the ally of the conqueror, and so finally have determined to leave the city, and find a home in Israel. 2 Samuel 15:22

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

After this assurance of his devotedness, David let Ittai do as he pleased. ועבר לך, "go and pass on." עבר does not mean to pass by, but to go forward. Thus Ittai and his men and all his family that was with him went forward with the king. By "the little ones" (taph) we are to understand a man's whole family, as in many other instances (see at Exodus 12:37).

2 Samuel 15:22-23

The king crosses the Kidron, and sends the priests back with the ark to Jerusalem. - 2 Samuel 15:23. All the land (as in 1 Samuel 14:25) wept aloud when all the people went forward; and the king went over the brook Kidron, and all the people went over in the direction of (lit. in the face of) the way to the desert. The brook Kidron is a winter torrent, i.e., a mountain torrent which only flows during the heavy rains of winter (χείμαῤῥος τοῦ Κεδρών, John 18:1). It is on the eastern side of Jerusalem, between the city and the Mount of Olives, and derives its name from the appearance of the water when rendered muddy through the melting of the snow (cf. Job 6:16). In summer it is nothing more than a dry channel in the valley of Jehoshaphat (see Robinson, Pal. i. 396, and v. Raumer, Pal. p. 309, note 81). "The wilderness" (midbar) is the northern part of the desert of Judah, through which the road to Jericho and the Jordan lay.