2 Samuel 5:24

And let it be, when thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt bestir thyself: for then shall the LORD go out before thee, to smite the host of the Philistines.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(24) The sound of a going.—After David has gone to the rear of his enemies, he is to wait by “the mulberry trees,” or, as now generally understood, baca-shrubs, a plant resembling the balsam. Here a Divine signal was to be given him in “the sound of a going,” or, rather, of a march. The word is used of the march of the hosts of the Lord in Judges 5:4; Psalm 68:7. Then David was to “bestir himself,” literally, be sharp; he was to act quickly and vigorously.

Benson Commentary

2 Samuel 5:24. When thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops, &c. — The Hebrew, בראשׁי, beroshee, here translated tops, may properly be rendered, in the beginnings, or, among the first of the mulberry-trees; that is, in the very entrance of the place where these trees were, or among those which were first in order, and by which the grove was entered. So that God gives David for a sign, the sound of many men’s feet walking, not on the tops of the trees, (for men do not walk there,) but on the ground amidst the trees, though nobody should be seen among them by any in David’s army. Probably the sound was to be heard by the Philistines, to whom it might appear as if a vast number of men were marching to fall upon them. The Hebrew, however, may be rendered, When thou hearest the sound of a moving in the tops, &c. And it may imply nothing more than a rushing and extraordinary sound among the trees, which was to be a signal for David’s attack. Then bestir thyself — Fall upon the Philistines. For then the Lord shall go before thee — By making such a noise either of a mighty host coming to assault them, or of something very extraordinary, that they shall be amazed, and confounded, and put to flight.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

5:17-25 The Philistines considered not that David had the presence of God with him, which Saul had forfeited and lost. The kingdom of the Messiah, as soon as it was set up in the world, was thus attacked by the powers of darkness. The heathen raged, and the kings of the earth set themselves to oppose it; but all in vain, Ps 2:1, &c. The destruction will turn, as this did, upon Satan's own kingdom. David owns dependence on God for victory; and refers himself to the good pleasure of God, Wilt thou do it? The assurance God has given us of victory over our spiritual enemies, should encourage us in our spiritual conflicts. David waited till God moved; he stirred then, but not till then. He was trained up in dependence on God and his providence. God performed his promise, and David failed not to improve his advantages. When the kingdom of the Messiah was to be set up, the apostles, who were to beat down the devil's kingdom, must not attempt any thing till they received the promise of the Spirit; who came with a sound from heaven, as of a rushing, mighty wind, Ac 2:2.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The mulberry trees - Rather, the Bacah-tree, and found abundantly near Mecca. It is very like the balsam-tree, and probably derives its name from the exudation of the sap in drops like tears when a leaf is torn off. Some think the valley of Baca Psalm 84:6 was so called from this plant growing there.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

24. the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees—now generally thought not to be mulberry trees, but some other tree, most probably the poplar, which delights in moist situations, and the leaves of which are rustled by the slightest movement of the air [Royle].

Matthew Poole's Commentary

The sound of a going; a noise as it were of persons walking upon the tops of them, which I shall cause; and by this sign, both thou shalt be assured that I am coming to help thee, and the Philistines shall be affrighted and amused, and not perceive the noise of thy army until thou art upon them.

Then thou shalt bestir thyself; do thou fall upon them.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And let it be, when thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees,.... Of a going of the wind on the tops of these trees, making a rustling upon them, and that in such a manner as to resemble the going of men, or march of armies, as if they were moving in the air over the tops of the mulberry trees; which Jarchi and R. Isaiah interpret of angels being sent of God, and moving at that time to help David, and destroy the Philistines; so the Targum on 1 Chronicles 14:15. These trees being in Judea account for silk there, Ezekiel 16:10; though some think time was not known so early; others suppose it was, and to be the Hebrew byssus mentioned by Pausanias (a), as being of a yellow colour:

that then thou shall bestir thyself; or move towards the camp of the Philistines, and fall upon them in the rear, who, by reason of the sound in the trees, would not hear the motion of the Israelites; or, if they heard it, would take it to be no other than the motion of the trees they heard, both sounds being confounded together; or they would take the sound they heard for the motion of the enemy in the front, and give way, and so fall into the hands of the Israelites in their rear, which must throw them into the utmost confusion and consternation:

for then shall the Lord go out before thee to smite the host of the Philistines: by an angel or angels; so the Targum,"for then shall go forth the angel of the Lord, to make thee prosperous to slay in the camp of the Philistines;''

that being the precise time for the salvation of Israel, and the destruction of the Philistines, and the token of it.

(a) Eliac. sive, l. 5. p. 294.

Geneva Study Bible

And let it be, when thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt bestir thyself: for then shall the LORD go out before thee, to smite the host of the Philistines.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

24. the sound of a going] The sound of marching. The cognate verb is used of Jehovah “marching” (so to speak) before His people in Jdg 5:4; Psalm 68:7; Habakkuk 3:12. A rustling in the tops of the trees like the marching of an army was to be the signal that Jehovah Himself would lead David’s army to victory. Cp. 2 Kings 7:6.

bestir thyself] In Chron. less forcibly “go out to battle.”

then shall the Lord go out before thee] The use of the perfect tense in the original gives an emphasis to the assurance. “Then hath Jehovah gone forth before thee.” The E. V. renders it rightly in Chron.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 24. - The sound of a going; Hebrew, a marching. Under the cover of this thicket David was to wait until he heard the sound as of the regular tramp of an army in the tops of the baca trees. It would be in the morning that the wind would shake the treetops, but the sound was to be something more than the soft whispers of a gentle breeze. A gale was to put them into sudden motion, and then the soldiers would know that their Jehovah had gone forth to battle, and David must immediately bestir himself. The enthusiasm of his men must not cool down, but as soon as the wind rustled he must charge the enemy, and his warriors, feeling that they were going with the host of God, would break down all resistance by their impetuous onset. 2 Samuel 5:24

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

"And when thou hearest the rush of a going in the tops of the baca-shrubs, then bestir thyself," or hasten; "for Jehovah has gone out before thee, to smite the army of the Philistines." "The sound of a going," i.e., of the advance of an army, was a significant sign of the approach of an army of God, which would smite the enemies of Jehovah and of His servant David; like the visions of Jacob (Genesis 32:2-3) and Elisha (2 Kings 6:17). "Then thou shalt bestir thyself," lit. be sharp, i.e., active, quick: this is paraphrased in the Chronicles by "then thou shalt go out to battle."