Display of hand out copies of map
from HERE
While David was living amongst the Philistines, he had effectively weakened the Amalekites who occupied the land to the South and West with his constant raids. (1 Samuel 30:17-18).
Although not specifically recorded in the Bible, David must have also dealt with the continuing pockets of Canaanite resistance in the Jezreel and Harod valleys (Megiddo, Taanach, Ibleam and Beth Shan) and in the Plain of Acco and Gallilee. (Judges 1:27 etc ‘But Manasseh did not drive out the people of Beth Shan or Taanach or Dor (on the coast) or Ibleam or Megiddo and their surrounding settlements, for the Canaanites were determined to live in that land.’)
The chapters we are going to cover next are not necessarily in chronological order, but rather they describe how each geographical set of enemies was dealt with.
So starting in 2 Samuel chapter 8 we read that David defeated the Philistines and the Moabites. He headed north to Zobah to take control of the Euphrates trade route to the Mediterranean, and when the Arameans centred in Damascus came to help their ally, David defeated them as well. Hamath, to the north of Zobah were pleased that David had defeated their enemies and sent a deputation with valuable gifts to seal their alliance. David also defeated the Edomites.
Let’s read 2 Samuel 8:1
1 In the course of time, David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and he took Metheg Ammah from the control of the Philistines,
Where was that? (Probably Gath – see 1 Chronicles 18:1)
As I write these notes (during the war in Ukraine) we are used to newsreaders on television saying ‘viewers may find this next report distressing’
Be prepared!
Let’s read 2 Samuel 8:2
2 David also defeated the Moabites. He made them lie down on the ground and measured them off with a length of cord. Every two lengths of them were put to death, and the third length was allowed to live. So the Moabites became subject to David and brought tribute.
How dreadfully cruel! But actually it was being kind. These would have been the fighting men and usually they would all have been killed without mercy. Here David spares a third to return to their families and to allow their nation to survive (although much weakened, and in subservience to Israel.)
Why should David have done that?
What relation was Ruth to David? Where did she come from?
In Ruth 1:1-4 we read:
1 In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. 2 The man’s name was Elimelek, his wife’s name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there. 3 Now Elimelek, Naomi’s husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth.
Then we read:
Ruth 4:13, 17
13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When he made love to her, the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son.
17 The women living there said, ‘Naomi has a son!’ And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.
In those days, wives, and their nationality, were not considered when constructing the family trees that confirmed your ‘Jewishness’. So the fact that David’s great-grandmother was a Moabitess would have meant little. But it is interesting that when David had been on the run escaping from Saul, he arranged for his elderly parents to be moved to Moab for their safety 1 Samuel 22:3-4.
So possibly he didn’t want to totally destroy Moab, rather maintain it as a vassal state.
Let’s read 2 Samuel 8:3-14
3 Moreover, David fought Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, when he went to restore his control along the Euphrates River. 4 David captured a thousand of his chariots, seven thousand charioteers and twenty thousand foot soldiers. He hamstrung all but a hundred of the chariot horses.
5 When the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David struck down twenty-two thousand of them. 6 He put garrisons in the Aramean kingdom of Damascus, and the Arameans became subject to him and brought tribute. The Lord gave David victory wherever he went.
7 David took the gold shields that belonged to the officers of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 From Tebah and Berothai, towns that belonged to Hadadezer, King David took a great quantity of bronze.
9 When Tou king of Hamath heard that David had defeated the entire army of Hadadezer, 10 he sent his son Joram to King David to greet him and congratulate him on his victory in battle over Hadadezer, who had been at war with Tou. Joram brought with him articles of silver and gold and bronze.
11 King David dedicated these articles to the Lord, as he had done with the silver and gold from all the nations he had subdued: 12 Edom and Moab, the Ammonites and the Philistines, and Amalek. He also dedicated the plunder taken from Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
13 And David became famous after he returned from striking down eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.
14 He put garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites became subject to David. The Lord gave David victory wherever he went.
The amalgamations of kings in Syria, referred to generally as Arameans were not a united country. Hadadezer was perhaps the most powerful king at that time, but others were always ready to exert their authority. There was often falling-out between the kings; loose ties were established, but just as easily broken again.
Reading verses 3-8 might leave the impression of a major victory against Hadadezer but the king was still alive and could soon regroup.
Now are there any of the surrounding nations that David has missed?
Look at the map – going clockwise from the bottom of the Dead Sea, we have mentioned Moab, Edom, Amalek, Philistia, Zobah, Hamath, and Aram. What’s left?
Let’s read 2 Samuel 10:1-4
1 In the course of time, the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun succeeded him as king. 2 David thought, “I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent a delegation to express his sympathy to Hanun concerning his father.
What was the kindness that Nahash had shown David?
Sorry – no-one knows.
When David’s men came to the land of the Ammonites, 3 the Ammonite nobles said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think David is honouring your father by sending men to you to express sympathy? Hasn’t David sent them to you to explore the city and spy it out and overthrow it?” 4 So Hanun seized David’s men, shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their garments in the middle at the buttocks, and sent them away.
Not the best way to cement friendly relations.
Now look at 2 Samuel 10 from verse 5.
5 When David was told about this, he sent messengers to meet the men, for they were greatly humiliated. The king said, ‘Stay at Jericho till your beards have grown, and then come back.’
(Jericho was still a ghost city - it had never been rebuilt, and was never visited. An Ideal place to hide!)
6 When the Ammonites realised that they had become an offence to David’s nostrils, they hired twenty thousand Aramean foot soldiers from Beth Rehob and Zobah, as well as the king of Maacah with a thousand men, and also twelve thousand men from Tob.
Show on map:
Beth Rehob, valley N of Dan, N of Galilee
Zobah, next valley North.
Maacah E of Jordan between Galilee and Dan
Tob E of Galilee
All collectively referred to as Arameans
7 On hearing this, David sent Joab out with the entire army of fighting men.
It seems that the Ammonites relied heavily on the mercenary soldiers they had hired:
8 The Ammonites came out and drew up in battle formation at the entrance to their city gate, while the Arameans of Zobah and Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah were by themselves in the open country.
Picture the scene. Rabbah, the capital city now called Amman, was originally built on a small plateau on top of one of the many surrounding hills. It was a walled city, with the city gate facing where the main trading routes met.
The Ammonite soldiers had taken up positions just outside the gate waiting for David’s approach.
The Aramean mercenaries were probably camped on one of the surrounding hills.
What was the morale like in these two camps? The men of Beth Rehob and Zobah had suffered defeat earlier, but not only them, the mighty king Hadadezer had not been able to stand against the armies of David.
The Ammonites themselves seemed ready to nip back inside their fortified city if there was real trouble.
9 Joab (David’s military commander) saw that there were battle lines in front of him and behind him; so he selected some of the best troops in Israel and deployed them against the Arameans. 10 He put the rest of the men under the command of Abishai his brother and deployed them against the Ammonites. 11 Joab said, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you are to come to my rescue; but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come to rescue you. 12 Be strong and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The Lord will do what is good in his sight.”
13 Then Joab and the troops with him advanced to fight the Arameans, and they fled before him. 14 When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans were fleeing, they fled before Abishai and went inside the city. So Joab returned from fighting the Ammonites and came to Jerusalem.
Obviously there was no point in trying to lay siege to this city. The Ammonites had been taught a lesson and would not cause David any more trouble for a while.
But that defeat was another humiliating blow for King Hadadezer who regarded himself as controlling all of the Arameans
15 After the Arameans saw that they had been routed by Israel, they regrouped. 16 Hadadezer had Arameans brought from beyond the River; they went to Helam, with Shobach the commander of Hadadezer’s army leading them. (We don’t know where Helam was, but somewhere between Damascus and Rabbah)
17 When David was told of this, he gathered all Israel, crossed the Jordan and went to Helam. The Arameans formed their battle lines to meet David and fought against him. 18 But they fled before Israel, and David killed seven hundred of their charioteers and forty thousand of their foot soldiers. He also struck down Shobach the commander of their army, and he died there. 19 When all the kings who were vassals of Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with the Israelites and became subject to them. So the Arameans were afraid to help the Ammonites any more.
Apart from some continuing trouble with the Philistines, it appears that the whole area now under David’s rule was at peace. But look at 2 Samuel 21:15-17
15 Once again there was a battle between the Philistines and Israel. David went down with his men to fight against the Philistines, and he became exhausted. 16 And Ishbi-Benob, one of the descendants of Rapha, whose bronze spearhead weighed three hundred shekels and who was armed with a new sword, said he would kill David. 17 But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to David’s rescue; he struck the Philistine down and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, saying, “Never again will you go out with us to battle, so that the lamp of Israel will not be extinguished.”
Chapters 21-24 seem to be an appendix containing various episodes which can’t be dated with any certainty, but it seems likely that for now, David stayed in Jerusalem.
