When Arameans from Damascus arrived to help King Hadadezer, David killed 22,000 of them.
Parallel translations
- WEB When the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David struck twenty two thousand men of the Syrians.
- KJV And when the Syrians of Damascus came to succour Hadadezer king of Zobah, David slew of the Syrians two and twenty thousand men.
- BSB When the Arameans of Damascus came to help King Hadadezer of Zobah, David struck down twenty-two thousand men.
- NKJV When the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David killed twenty-two thousand of the Syrians.
- NASB When the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer, king of Zobah, David killed twenty-two thousand men among the Arameans.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
When the Syrians of Damascus came to aid Hadadezer, David struck down twenty-two thousand of them. God grants David victory even against allied enemies.
Overview
The Arameans of Damascus intervened on Hadadezer's behalf but suffered a crushing defeat. The large number of casualties underscores the completeness of David's God-given triumph. These victories over surrounding powers establish the security and extent of David's kingdom.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 1 Kgs 11:23–25God raised up an adversary to him, Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah.
- 2 Sam 8:3David struck also Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his dominion at the River.
- Isa 7:8For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within sixty-five years Ephraim shall be broken in pieces, so that it shall not be a people;
- Isa 31:3Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit. When Yahweh stretches out his hand, both he who helps shall stumble, and he who is helped shall fall, and they all shall be consumed together.
- Isa 8:9–10Make an uproar, you peoples, and be broken in pieces! Listen, all you from far countries: dress for battle, and be shattered! Dress for battle, and be shattered!
- 1 Chr 18:5–6When the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David struck twenty-two thousand men of the Syrians.
- Ps 83:4–8“Come,” they say, “let’s destroy them as a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more.”
- Job 9:13“God will not withdraw his anger. The helpers of Rahab stoop under him.
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Christ at the center
God's covenant with David — a son whose throne and kingdom would last forever (7:12–16) — finds its yes in Jesus, the Son of David who reigns without end.
How 2 Samuel 8:5 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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