2 Samuel 6:1-3

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. 2 Samuel 6:1 tn The translation understands the verb to be a defective spelling of וַיֶּאֱסֹף (vayy^eʾesof) due to quiescence of the letter א (alef). The root therefore is אָסַף (ʾasaf, “to gather”). The Masoretes, however, pointed the verb as וַיֹּסֶף (vayyosef), understanding it to be a form of יָסַף (yasaf, “to add”). This does not fit the context, which calls for a verb of gathering.
2. 2 Samuel 6:1 tn Or “chosen.”
3. 2 Samuel 6:2 tn Heb “arose and went.”
4. 2 Samuel 6:2 tn Heb “from,” but the following context indicates they traveled to this location.
5. 2 Samuel 6:2 tn This is another name for Kiriath Jearim (see 1 Chr 13:6).
6. 2 Samuel 6:2 tc The MT has here a double reference to the name (שֵׁם שֵׁם, shem shem). Many medieval Hebrew mss in the first occurrence point the word differently and read the adverb שָׁם (sham, “there”). This is also the understanding of the Syriac Peshitta (Syr., taman). While this yields an acceptable understanding to the text, it is more likely that the MT reading results from dittography. If the word did occur twice, one might have expected the first occurrence to have the article. The present translation therefore reads שֵׁם only once.