Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Samuel 8:8
And from Betah, and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, king David took exceeding much brass.
8. Betah ] The site of this city is unknown, and even the form of the name is uncertain. Chr. has Tibhath, and the reading of the Sept. makes it probable that the original form here was Tebah, which occurs as the name of one of the sons of Nahor the Syrian (Gen 22:24).
Berothai ] Probably the same as Berothah, mentioned by Ezekiel (ch. Eze 47:16) in connexion with Hamath and Damascus. The name Chun, given in Chr., may be a later name for the place, or a corruption of the text. Its site has not been determined.
brass ] Rather, copper, or bronze. The word certainly denotes a simple metal in some passages, e.g. Deu 8:9; in others perhaps a compound one, but if so, bronze (copper and tin), not brass (copper and zinc), which was unknown to the Hebrews.
The Sept. has an addition here similar to that in Chr.: “Therewith Solomon made the brazen sea, and the pillars, and the lavers, and all the vessels.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Betah and Berothai – These names (see also margin) have not been identified with certainty.
Exceeding much brass – Wherewith Solomon made the brazen sea, and the pillars, and the vessels of brass 1Ch 18:8. The Septuagint and Vulgate both add these words here, so that perhaps they have fallen out of the Hebrew text. For the existence of metals in Lebanon or Antilebanon, see Deu 8:9.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
In 1Ch 18:8, it is from Tibnath and from Chun. Either therefore the same cities were called by several names, as is usual, the one by the Hebrews, the other by the Syrians; or those were two other cities, and so the brass was taken out of these four cities.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And from Betah, and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer,…. Which, in 1Ch 18:8, are called Tibhath and Chun, they having different names; or their names might be changed upon this conquest of them, and the one might be the names they went by with the Syrians, and the other the Israelites called them by; the latter is the same with Berothah in
Eze 47:16; and the Barathena of Ptolemy s, placed by him near Mesopotamia; in the Arabic version of 1Ch 18:8, they are called Emesa and Baalbec, the former was a city of Coele-Syria, the latter was at the foot of Mount Lebanon; [See comments on Am 1:5];
King David took exceeding much brass; whereby he was furnished and able to give the large quantity he did for the service of the temple, 1Ch 29:7. The Septuagint version adds here what is expressed in
1Ch 18:8,
“wherewith Solomon made the brazen sea, and the pillars, and the layers, and all the vessels.”
s Geograph. l. 5. c. 19.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
And from the cities of Betach and Berothai David took very much brass, with which, according to 1Ch 18:8, Solomon made the brazen sea, and the brazen columns and vessels of the temple. The lxx have also interpolated this notice into the text. The name Betach is given as Tibhath in the Chronicles; and for Berothai we have Chun. As the towns themselves are unknown, it cannot be decided with certainty which of the forms and names are the correct and original ones. appears to have been written by mistake for . This supposition is favoured by the rendering of the lxx, ; and by that of the Syriac also (viz., Tebach). On the other hand, the occurrence of the name Tebah among the sons of Nahor the Aramaean in Gen 22:24 proves little or nothing, as it is not known that he founded a family which perpetuated his name; nor can anything be inferred from the fact that, according to the more modern maps, there is a town of Tayibeh to the north of Damascus in 35 north lat., as there is very little in common between the names Tayibeh and Tebah. Ewald connects Berothai with the Barathena of Ptol. v. 19 in the neighbourhood of Saba. The connection is a possible one, but it is not sufficiently certain to warrant us in founding any conclusions upon it with regard to the name Chun which occurs in the Chronicles; so that there is no ground whatever for the opinion that it is a corruption of Berothai.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
(8) Betah and from Berothai.There is no satisfactory clue to the situation of these places. For Betah 1Ch. 18:8 has Tibhath in the Hebrew, a mere transposition of the letters; and for Berothai, Chun. Berothah is mentioned in Eze. 47:16, as on the boundary of Palestine between Hamath and Sibraim. It is said in 1Ch. 18:8, that Solomon made the brazen sea, and the pillars, and the vessels of brass, of the exceeding much brass here captured. The LXX., and from it the Vulgate, has inserted the same notice here. It is very doubtful whether the metal intended was brass (copper and zinc) or simply copper, or, more probably, bronze (copper and tin). Some centuries earlier great quantities of copper were carried from Syria to Egypt.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
8. Betah and Berothai Places now unknown. The name Berothai seems naturally to point to the ancient Berytus, the modern Beyroot, on the seacoast of northern Phenicia, but this was far away from the line of David’s conquests. Instead of these names we have in Chronicles Tibhath and Chun.
Much brass “Wherewith Solomon made the brazen sea, and the pillars, and the vessels of brass.” 1Ch 18:8.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
2Sa 8:8 And from Betah, and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, king David took exceeding much brass.
Ver. 8. And from Betah, and from Berothai. ] Called afterwards Tibhath and Chun. 1Ch 18:8
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Betah: Probably the same as Bathne in Syria, between Beroeea and Hierapolis. 1Ch 18:8, Tibhath, Chun
Berothai: Berothai is probably the Barathena of Ptolemy, which he mentions, along with Sabe, as a city of Arabia Deserta, in the confines of the Palmyrenian district.
exceeding: 1Ch 22:14, 1Ch 22:16, 1Ch 29:7, 2Ch 4:1-18
Reciprocal: 2Sa 23:23 – over his guard 1Ch 17:8 – I have been Psa 68:30 – every Eze 47:16 – Berothah
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2Sa 8:8. From Betah, &c. In 1Ch 18:8, it is, from Tibhath, and from Chun. Either therefore the same cities were called by several names, as is usual, the one by the Hebrews, the other by the Syrians; or those were two other cities, and so the brass was taken out of these four cities.