Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Samuel 22:38
I have pursued mine enemies, and destroyed them; and turned not again until I had consumed them.
38 43. David’s destruction of his enemies
38. destroyed them ] In Psa 18:37, “overtaken them,” an echo of Exo 15:9.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
I have pursued mine enemies, and destroyed them; and turned not again until I had consumed them. [See comments on Ps 18:37].
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
38 I will pursue my enemies and destroy them,
I will not turn till they are consumed.
39 I will consume them and dash them in pieces, that they may not arise,
And may fall under my feet.
40 And Thou girdest me with strength for war,
Thou bowest mine adversaries under me.
41 And Thou makest mine enemies turn the back to me;
My haters, I root them out.
The optative form serves to make the future signification of (in the psalm) the more apparent. Consequently it is quite out of the question to take the other verbs as preterites. We are not compelled to do this by the interchange of imperfects c. vav consec. with simple imperfects, as the vav consec. is not used exclusively as expressive of the past. On the contrary, the substance of the whole of the following description shows very clearly that David refers not only to the victories he has already won, but in general to the defeat of all his foes in the past, the present, and the future; for he speaks as distinctly as possible not only of their entire destruction (2Sa 22:38, 2Sa 22:39, 2Sa 22:43), but also of the fact that God makes him the head of the nations, and distant and foreign nations to him homage. Consequently he refers not only to his own personal dominion, but also, on the strength of the promise which he had received from God, to the increase of the dominion of the throne of his house, whilst he proclaims in the Spirit the ultimate defeat of all the enemies of the kingdom of God. This Messianic element in the following description comes out in a way that cannot be mistaken, in the praise of the Lord with which he concludes in 2Sa 22:47-51. , “ I destroy them,” is stronger than , “I reach them” (in the psalm). In 2Sa 22:39 the words are crowded together, to express the utter destruction of all foes. In the psalm is omitted. for in the psalm is not a poetical Syriasm, and still less a “careless solecism” (Hupfeld), but a simple contraction, such as we meet with in many forms: e.g., for (Job 35:11; cf. Ewald, 232, b.). The form for (in the psalm) is unusual, and the aphaeresis of the can only be accounted for from the fact that this much-used word constantly drops its as a radical sound in the imperfect (see Ewald, 195, c.). The phrase is formed after Exo 23:27. “Giving the enemy to a person’s back” means causing them to turn the back, i.e., putting them to flight.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Results of victory, vs. 38-51
When the time came for David to assume the kingship of Israel the Lord was with him so that none could stand against him (2Sa 5:12; cf. 1Jn 5:4). Thereafter David pursued and destroyed his enemies on every hand. They were subdued so they could not arise because he had the strength of the Lord. Nations became subject to Israel, and their necks came under the foot of David. In desperation they even called on God, invoking Him against David unsuccessfully. Those who had been his enemies became the dust of earth and mire of the streets under his conquering feet.
God had delivered David from those of his own people who had striven against him. He had made the king of Israel head over the heathen (or Gentile) nations around him. Foreign nations sought submission to him (2Sa 8:9-11; 2Sa 5:11; cf.-Psa 2:8-12).
For these things David blessed the Lord as the rock of his salvation, as the one who avenged him and subjugated his enemies, while rescuing him from them. He praised the Lord for exalting him as king of them. He gave thanks to Him and sang His praises. David exalted the Lord as the tower of salvation to the king, who showed mercy to His anointed and His Seed after him for ever.
Second Samuel, chapter 22, is reiterated in Psalms 18, in practically the same words as it is found here. The student should compare the two passages.
A few of many lessons which could be drawn from chapter 22 are these: 1) God’s people should be able to praise Him for all the goodness He has bestowed upon them; 2) it is well to reminesce on those things of God’s proven deliverance, recognizable in one’s past; 3) it is good to remember that the Lord blesses His children because of His imputed righteousness to the believer (2Co 5:21); 4) the results of placing one’s faith and trust in the Lord is present deliverance from sin and final victory through the Lord Jesus Christ over all enemies.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(38) Destroyed them.In the psalm, overtaken them, an expression intended to suggest the same thing as the plain expression here. The second clauses are identical in the original.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
38. I pursue destroy These verbs are in the future tense in the Hebrew, but we translate them in the present tense as designating not so much what David expects or threatens to do, as the confident assurance of what he is now able to do by the help of God.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
2Sa 5:18-25, 2Sa 8:1, 2Sa 8:2, 2Sa 8:13, 2Sa 8:14, 2Sa 10:14, Psa 21:8, Psa 21:9, Rom 8:37
Reciprocal: Deu 28:7 – shall cause 1Ch 17:8 – have cut off