2 Samuel 10:1

“And it came to pass after this, etc.] After the wars with the Moabites, Syrians, and Edomites, being friendly with the children of Ammon, David sent an embassy to their king, after related; by which it appears what is said concerning the spoils of the children of Ammon, (<100812>2 Samuel 8:12), is by anticipation; for these spoils were not taken until the following war with them, the occasion of which is here told: that the king of the children of Ammon died; whose name was Nahash, as is clear from (<101002>2 Samuel 10:2), and probably might be the same that came against Jabeshgilead, from whom Saul delivered the inhabitants of that place, (<091101>1 Samuel 11:1); and Hanun his son reigned…”

“DAVID'S MESSENGERS, SENT TO COMFORT HANUN, ARE DISGRACEFULLY TREATED. (Sa2 10:1-5) Then said David, I will show kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father showed kindness unto me--It is probable that this was the Nahash against whom Saul waged war at Jabesh-gilead (Sa1 11:11). David, on leaving Gath, where his life was exposed to danger, found an asylum with the king of Moab; and as Nahash, king of the Ammonites, was his nearest neighbor, it may be that during the feud between Saul and David, he, through enmity to the former, was kind and hospitable to David.”

“The king - In marginal reference. Nahash, king, etc. The interval between the two events, not less than 50 years, and possibly more, is against his being the same as the Nahash of 1 Samuel 11:1-15. The Ammonites are almost always spoken of as the children of Ammon, from the name of their first ancestor Ben-ammi Genesis 19:38. Hanun - The equivalent of the Carthaginian Hanno, from the same root as the Hebrew, Hananiah, Johanan, Hannah, etc. The same name appears in composition with Baal in Baal-Hanan, an Aramean king Genesis 36:38-39. return to 'Top of Page'”

“10:1-19 Following the interlude of ch 9, the narrative returns to David’s military feats. The Ammonites were likely the dominant political power in Transjordan (the area east of the Jordan) during Saul’s reign and the early years of David’s reign. 10:1-5 The king of Ammon insulted David’s ambassadors, which led to two battles between Israel and Ammon (10:6–12:31). 10:1 Some time after this: King Hadadezer appears in 10:1-19 as David’s active and capable foe (10:16), yet in 8:1-18 David had defeated him (8:3) and plundered his city (8:7, 12). Either Hadadezer was still alive, had regrouped, and revolted in 10:1-19; or possibly 10:1-19 unpacks the events of 8:1-18 as a prelude to 11:1-27.”

“AM 2967, bc 1037, An, Ex, Is, 454 king: Jdg 10:7-9, 11:12-28; Sa1 11:1-3; Ch1 19:1-3 2 Kings (2 Samuel) 10:2”

“This war, the occasion and early success of which are described in the present chapter and the parallel passage in 1 Chron 19, was the fiercest struggle, and, so far as the Israelitish kingdom of God was concerned, the most dangerous, that it ever had to sustain during the reign of David. The amount of distress which fell upon Israel in consequence of this war, and still more because the first successful battles with the Syrians of the south were no sooner over than the Edomites invaded the land, and went about plundering and devastating, in the hope of destroying the people of God, is shown very clearly in the two psalms which date from this period (the 44th and 60th), in which a pious…”