2 Samuel 22:38-44

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. 2 Samuel 22:40 tn Heb “you clothed me with strength for battle.”
2. 2 Samuel 22:40 tn Heb “you make those who rise against me kneel beneath me.”
3. 2 Samuel 22:41 tn Heb “and [as for] my enemies, you give to me [the] back [or “neck” ].” The idiom “give [the] back” means “to cause [one] to turn the back and run away.” See Exod 23:27 and HALOT 888 s.v. II ערף.
4. 2 Samuel 22:42 tc The translation follows one medieval Hebrew ms and the ancient versions in reading the Piel יְשַׁוְּעוּ (y^eshavv^eʿu, “they cry for help”) rather than the Qal of the MT יִשְׁעוּ (yishʿu, “they look about for help”). See Ps 18:41 as well.
5. 2 Samuel 22:42 tn Heb “but there is no deliverer.”
6. 2 Samuel 22:42 tn The words “they cry out” are not in the Hebrew text. This reference to the psalmists’ enemies crying out for help to the Lord suggests that the psalmist refers here to enemies within the covenant community, rather than foreigners. However, the militaristic context suggests foreign enemies are in view. Ancient Near Eastern literature indicates that defeated enemies would sometimes cry out for mercy to the god(s) of their conqueror. See R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 271.
7. 2 Samuel 22:43 tn Or “mud” (so NAB, NIV, CEV). See HALOT 374 s.v. טִיט.
8. 2 Samuel 22:44 tn Heb “from the strivings of my people.” In this context רִיב (riv, “striving”) probably has a militaristic sense (as in Judg 12:2; Isa 41:11), and עַם (ʿam, “people”) probably refers more specifically to an army (for other examples, see the verses listed in BDB 766 s.v. עַם 2.d). The suffix “my” suggests David is referring to attacks by his own countrymen, the “people” being Israel. However, the parallel text in Ps 18:43 omits the suffix.
9. 2 Samuel 22:44 tn Heb “a people whom I did not know serve me.” In this context the verb “know” (יָדַע, yadaʿ) probably refers to formal recognition by treaty. People who were once not under the psalmist’s authority now willingly submit to his rulership to avoid being conquered militarily (see vv. 45-46). The language may recall the events recorded in 2 Sam 8:9-10 and 10:19.