Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Samuel 18:22
Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok yet again to Joab, But howsoever, let me, I pray thee, also run after Cushi. And Joab said, Wherefore wilt thou run, my son, seeing that thou hast no tidings ready?
22. thou hast no tidings ready ] Probably, thou hast no good tidings to get a reward; cp. the Sept. “thou hast no good tidings for profit if thou goest:” and the Vulg. “thou wilt not be a bearer of good tidings.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
My son; so he calls him with respect both to his younger years, and to that true and tender affection which he had for him.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok yet again to Joab,…. He could not be easy, even though a messenger was dispatched, but pressed Joab still:
but howsoever, let me, I pray thee, also run after Cushi; only permit me to go after him, though not as a messenger:
and Joab said, wherefore wilt thou run, my son? having a great affection for him, and concerned that he should take trouble on him to no purpose:
seeing thou hast no tidings ready; no news to carry, but what Cushi is gone with, and so can have no audience of the king, nor any reward from him.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
As Ahimaaz still expressed a wish to hasten to the king, even after Cushi had been sent, and could not be induced to relinquish his purpose by the repeated expostulations of Joab, the latter at length permitted him to run. And he ran so fast, that he got before Cushi. : let whatever will happen. is the pronoun “to thee,” as in Gen 27:37, and not the imperative of , “thou mayest go.” The meaning is, “and there is no striking message for thee,” no message that strikes the mark, or affects anything. We must supply “he said” in thought before 2Sa 18:23. There was the less necessity to write it here (as in 1Sa 1:20), since it is perfectly obvious from the repetition of that it is Ahimaaz who is speaking. Ahimaaz then ran by the way of the plain, i.e., the way which lies through or across the plain of the Jordan. Now he could not possibly have taken this road, if the battle had been fought in a wood on the eastern side of the Jordan, and he had wanted to hurry from the scene of battle to Mahanaim; for in that case he would have taken a circuitous route two or three times the distance of the straight road, so that it would have been utterly impossible for him to get there before the Cushite, however quickly he might run. This notice therefore furnishes a decisive proof that the battle was fought upon the mountains of Ephraim, in the land to the west of the Jordan, since the straight road thence to Mahanaim would lie through the valley of the Jordan.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
(22) No tidings ready.The phrase is a difficult one, and is translated by the LXX. no tidings leading to profit, and by the Vulg. thou wilt not be a bearer of good tidings. The simplest and most probable sense is no tidings sufficient for a special messenger; the Cushite had already carried the news.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
22. By the morning light Surely an expeditious march for all that multitude who left Jerusalem but the day before. In the light of this morning the king composed Psalm iii, in which he might well say, in reference to the refreshing sleep of the first part of the night, (compare chap. 2Sa 16:14,) “I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the Lord sustained me.”
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
22. Wherefore wilt thou run According to Josephus, Joab opposed Ahimaaz in his desire to bear the tidings to the king, because he had always before borne good news, and now he knew that it would greatly offend and afflict David to inform him of the death of his son.
My son An address of affectionate tenderness. Compare Jos 7:19.
Thou hast no tidings ready No good tidings, such as thou art wont to bear and receive a reward for. Furst renders: And the tidings are not profitable unto thee; that is, will not obtain for thee a reward. Perhaps his greatest desire in bearing the tidings was to obtain a reward.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
2Sa 18:22 Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok yet again to Joab, But howsoever, let me, I pray thee, also run after Cushi. And Joab said, Wherefore wilt thou run, my son, seeing that thou hast no tidings ready?
Ver. 22. But howsoever, let me, I pray thee, also run. ] For he resolved to be first there, and to report the best only, and let Cushi tell the worst of the news. It is discretion to put off the relation of ill news to others, where we are not urged by necessity.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
howsoever: Heb. be what may
ready: or, convenient, Rom 1:28, Eph 5:4
Reciprocal: 1Sa 3:6 – General 2Sa 18:29 – Is the young man Absalom safe 1Ki 11:22 – let me go 2Ki 2:17 – they urged 1Ch 6:8 – Ahimaaz
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2Sa 18:22. Wherefore wilt thou run, my son? So he terms him, both with respect to his younger years, and to that true and tender affection which he had for him. Seeing thou hast no tidings ready Art not acquainted with the particulars of the fight, of which I have not time to inform thee.