2 Samuel 10:16

And Hadarezer sent, and brought out the Syrians that were beyond the river: and they came to Helam; and Shobach the captain of the host of Hadarezer went before them.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(16) Hadarezer.—On the form of the name see Note on 2Samuel 8:3. He felt the importance of the defeat he had sustained, and now evidently made an effort to rally all his forces, even calling together vassal tribes from beyond the Euphrates.

They came to Helam.—The Hebrew word here is not necessarily a proper name, and might be translated their host; but as the name unquestionably occurs in 2Samuel 10:17, it is better taken as a proper name here also. It is entirely omitted in Chronicles. Its exact situation is unknown, but from 2Samuel 8:3; 1Chronicles 18:3, it is plain that it was in the general direction of the Euphrates and not very far from Hamath.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

10:15-19 Here is a new attempt of the Syrians. Even the baffled cause will make head as long as there is any life in it; the enemies of the Son of David do so. But now the promise made to Abraham, Ge 15:18, and repeated to Joshua, Jos 1:4, that the borders of Israel should extend to the river Euphrates, was performed. Learn hence, that it is dangerous to help those who have God against them; for when they fall, their helpers will fall with them.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Helam - The place is unknown. Some prefer the translation of the Latin Vulgate: "their host came."

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

16. Hadarezer sent and brought out the Syrians that were beyond the river—This prince had enjoyed a breathing time after his defeat (2Sa 8:3). But alarmed at the increasing power and greatness of David, as well as being an ally of the Ammonites, he levied a vast army not only in Syria, but in Mesopotamia, to invade the Hebrew kingdom. Shobach, his general, in pursuance of this design, had marched his troops as far as Kelam, a border town of eastern Manasseh, when David, crossing the Jordan by forced marches, suddenly surprised, defeated, and dispersed them. As a result of this great and decisive victory, all the petty kingdoms of Syria submitted and became his tributaries (see on [272]1Ch 19:1).

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Hadarezer; the same with Hadadezer, 2 Samuel 8:3.

The Syrians that were beyond the river; who having engaged themselves in the former expedition, as was noted before, were now obliged to proceed in their own defence, being also persuaded and hired to this second expedition, 2 Samuel 10:19. Shobach, or Shopach, 1 Chronicles 19:16.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And Hadarezer sent,.... The same with Hadadezer, 2 Samuel 8:3, who was at the head of this confederacy, and to whom the rest of the kings of Syria were servants, 2 Samuel 10:19,

and brought out the Syrians that were beyond the river; the river Phrat or Euphrates, as the Targum; so the Arabic version and Josephus (y), who says, that he hired them:

and they came to Helam; which, according to the same writer, was king of the Syrians beyond Euphrates; but it seems to be the name of a place, where was the general rendezvous of the Syrian army. Junius conjectures that it is the same with the Alamatha of Ptolemy (z), which he places with the Trachonite Arabs near the Euphrates:

and Shobach the captain of the host of Hadarezer went before them: before the whole combined army, which according to Josephus (a), consisted of eighty thousand foot, and ten thousand horse: this general is called Shophach, 1 Chronicles 19:16 the letters "B" and "P" being of the same pronunciation in the Hebrew tongue, as Kimchi observes, though it is there read "Shobach", in the Syriac and Arabic versions; he was no doubt a very able, valiant, and skilful general, since he is particularly mentioned by name, and whose name was then famous; the Arabic version calls him a spear bearer of Hadarezer.

(y) Ut supra, (Antiqu. l. 7. c. 6.) sect. 3.((z) Geograph. l. 5. c. 15. (a) Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 7. c. 6. sect. 3.)

Geneva Study Bible

And Hadarezer sent, and brought out the Syrians that were beyond the river: and they came to Helam; and Shobach the captain of the host of Hadarezer went before them.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

15–19. Renewed attack of the Syrians. Their total defeat

16. And Hadarezer sent, &c.] The correct form of his name is probably Hadadezer. See note on ch. 2 Samuel 8:3. He now mustered his vassals and tributaries (2 Samuel 10:19) from beyond “the river,” i.e. the Euphrates. “Brought out” = caused to take the field: it is the causative voice of the verb “to go out,” which is the technical term for going out to war (1 Samuel 8:20; 2 Samuel 11:1).

and they came to Helam] The words might be translated and their force came; but on the whole it is preferable to take Helam as a proper name, as in 2 Samuel 10:17. It has been proposed to identify it with Alamata, a town west of the Euphrates, but it is nowhere else mentioned, and its site is quite uncertain. This clause is omitted in Chronicles, where also in place of and came to Helam in the next verse we read and came upon them, so that the name of the place is altogether omitted there.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 16. - Hadarezer (see note on 2 Samuel 8:3). Hadarezer probably had been well content to let his subjects receive the pay of the Ammonites, and extend his empire at their cost. But as paramount king in Aram, the defeat of the mercenaries obliged him to make the war a national affair, and undertake the management of it himself. He therefore summons troops from all the Aramean states on both sides of the Euphrates, and places his own general, Shobach, in command, and makes Helam the place of gathering. Helam. No such place is known, and the word might mean "their army," in which case the translation would be, "and they came in full force." The Vulgate takes it in this way, but makes the verb the causative singular, and translates, "and he brought their army." On the other hand, the LXX., the Syriac, and the Chaldee make it a proper name here, as even the Vulgate necessarily does in ver. 17, where there can be no doubt. In the parallel place (1 Chronicles 19:16, 17) it is omitted in the first place, and in the second we find in its stead, "upon them." Either, therefore, the chronicler did not know of such a place, or the text is corrupt. Ewald and others suppose that Helam may be identified with Alamata; but we learn from 1 Chronicles 18:3 that the battle was fought near Hamath, and Alamata is on the Euphrates, too far away for David to have made his attack there. 2 Samuel 10:16

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

The Aramaeans, however, gathered together again after the first defeat, to continue the war; and Hadarezer, the most powerful of the Aramaean kings, sent messengers to Mesopotamia, and summoned it to war. It is very evident, not only from the words "he sent and brought out Aram, which was beyond the river," but also from the fact that Shobach, Hadarezer's general (Shophach according to the Chronicles), was at the head of the Mesopotamian troops, that the Mesopotamian troops who were summoned to help were under the supreme ruler of Hadarezer. This is placed beyond all possible doubt by 2 Samuel 10:19, where the kings who had fought with Hadarezer against the Israelites are called his "servants," or vassals. חילם ויּבאוּ (2 Samuel 10:16) might be translated "and their army came;" but when we compare with this the חלאמה ויּבא of 2 Samuel 10:17, we are compelled to render it as a proper name (as in the Septuagint, Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic) - "and they (the men from beyond the Euphrates) came (marched) to Helam" - and to take חילם as a contracted form of חלאם. The situation of this place has not yet been discovered. Ewald supposes it to be connected with the Syrian town Alamatha upon the Euphrates (Ptol. Geogr. v. 15); but this is not to be thought of for a moment, if only because it cannot be supposed that the Aramaeans would fall back to the Euphrates, and wait for the Israelites to follow them thither before they gave them battle; and also on account of 2 Samuel 8:4 and 1 Chronicles 18:3, from which it is evident that Helam is to be sought for somewhere in the neighbourhood of Hamath. For חלאמה ויּבא we find אליהם ויּבא, "David came to them" (The Aramaeans), in the Chronicles: so that the author of the Chronicles has omitted the unknown place, unless indeed אליהם has been written by mistake for חלאם.