2 Samuel 8 (Listen)
David’s Victories
8:1 After this David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and David took Metheg-ammah out of the hand of the Philistines.
2 And he defeated Moab and he measured them with a line, making them lie down on the ground. Two lines he measured to be put to death, and one full line to be spared. And the Moabites became servants to David and brought tribute.
3 David also defeated Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to restore his power at the river Euphrates. 4 And David took from him 1,700 horsemen, and 20,000 foot soldiers. And David hamstrung all the chariot horses but left enough for 100 chariots. 5 And when the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David struck down 22,000 men of the Syrians. 6 Then David put garrisons in Aram of Damascus, and the Syrians became servants to David and brought tribute. And the LORD gave victory to David wherever he went. 7 And David took the shields of gold that were carried by the servants of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 And from Betah and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, King David took very much bronze.
9 When Toi king of Hamath heard that David had defeated the whole army of Hadadezer, 10 Toi sent his son Joram to King David, to ask about his health and to bless him because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him, for Hadadezer had often been at war with Toi. And Joram brought with him articles of silver, of gold, and of bronze. 11 These also King David dedicated to the LORD, together with the silver and gold that he dedicated from all the nations he subdued, 12 from Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, Amalek, and from the spoil of Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah.
13 And David made a name for himself when he returned from striking down 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. 14 Then he put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom he put garrisons, and all the Edomites became David’s servants. And the LORD gave victory to David wherever he went.
David’s Officials
15 So David reigned over all Israel. And David administered justice and equity to all his people. 16 Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army, and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder, 17 and Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were priests, and Seraiah was secretary, 18 and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over1 the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and David’s sons were priests.
Footnotes
[1] 8:18
(ESV)
2 Samuel 8 Commentary
In 2 Samuel 8, David experienced a series of military victories (2 Samuel 8:1). He defeated the Philistines and took Metheg-ammah, then struck down the Moabites (sparing only a third of them) and made them bring tribute (2 Samuel 8:2). He also defeated Hadadezer of Zobah when the king attempted to assert control near the Euphrates, capturing a large army and disabling most of his horses (2 Samuel 8:3–4).
When the Arameans came to help Hadadezer, David defeated them too and established garrisons in Damascus, making the Arameans subject to him (2 Samuel 8:5-6). David brought gold and bronze spoils from Hadadezer’s cities to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 8:7-8). King Toi of Hamath, an enemy of Hadadezer, sent his son with gifts to congratulate David, which David dedicated to the Lord along with other captured riches from various nations (2 Samuel 8:9-12).
David’s fame increased after killing 18,000 Edomites in Salt Valley, and he placed garrisons throughout Edom (2 Samuel 8:13-14). The chapter concludes with a summary of David’s reign marked by justice and righteousness, and a list of his key officials (2 Samuel 8:15-18).
Israel’s Conquests
David completely subdued the nations that had plagued Israel for years. He conquered the Philistines, Moabites, Syrians, Edomites, Ammonites, Amalekites, and all neighboring nations. These victories brought revenue and security to Israel.
“Bringing Damascus under Israelite control was of immense financial significance to David’s kingdom for two reasons. First, this city was the junction point for the Way of the Sea and the King’s Highway, the two major caravan routes connecting Asia with Africa. By controlling this location and stationing garrisons along the caravan routes, Israel was able to collect revenues from itinerant merchants in exchange for safe passage on the roads. Second, David was able to tap the reserves of wealth already in place within the region. David did this in part by taking “the gold shields that belonged to the officers of Hadadezer” (v. 7) and bringing them to Jerusalem.”
The New American Commentary
The people David killed were not innocent. They were enemies of God who had inhabited the land promised to Israel, and they were being judged for their wickedness against Him. They hated God’s people and made it their mission to destroy them. The fact that the Lord made David victorious everywhere validates these battles as divine judgment from God, not a sudden moment of frenzied bloodshed by David. As difficult as it can be, we must come to a place of trust with God, believing that what He has willed is fair and just.
This concept is contextual to this time period in the Old Testament. It is specific to the land that Israel was commanded to conquer. We know this because Jesus Christ directly contradicted the holy war concept through His teachings and his example (Mat 5:4, Mat 5:9-10, Mat 26:52, Joh 18:36). Some people argue that the Old Testament promotes holy war, but the Bible makes it clear that God’s command to Israel was limited to a specific region: the land of Canaan (Num 34:2).
This was not a blanket endorsement of religious violence. Again, the conquest was tied to a particular time, place, and group of people. It wasn’t based on religion alone either. God explicitly said the reason for driving out the Canaanites was their extreme wickedness, not because Israel was especially righteous (Deut 9:4–6). Israel understood this clearly in its history. They didn’t try to expand their territory beyond what God had given them, nor did they use warfare to spread their faith.
“The occurrence of “holy war,” historically speaking, is rare. Secular historians note that more than 90 percent of the wars fought in human history had no religious motivation. The remaining 7 percent of conflicts account for about 2 percent of all deaths in war. Islam accounts for more than half of these religious wars, despite existing for only about 1/3 of human history; in Islam’s first three centuries, its growth was fueled by armed conquest. If there’s any reason the concept of “holy war” exists, it’s fair to say that reason is Islam.”
GotQuestions.org
The Enemy Never Sleeps
Metaphorically, we must remember that we have a spiritual enemy who never sleeps. He is an enemy of God’s people and an enemy of God. Day and night, he accuses us of all our failures, hoping that we will eventually give up (Rev 12:10, 1 Pe 5:8, Eph 6:12). The Lord has willed us to victory through Jesus, but He has also enlisted us as soldiers in this cosmic battle (2 Tim 2:3–4, Rom 8:37, 1 Co 15:57).
The weapons we use are not of this world. They are counter-cultural and Kingdom-minded (2 Co 10:3–5, Eph 6:13–18). They usher in a new way of life that models the very person of Jesus Christ (Rom 12:2, Php 2:5–8). We, like King David, must go to war in the places God has called us (2 Sam 8:6, Ps 144:1). We must travel across the borders into enemy territory and lead the captives to freedom (Isa 61:1, Luk 4:18, Col 1:13). We must allow Jesus to rule our lives, leading us to victory in the small battles while the sum of God’s people come together to engage the enemy in the war (Col 3:15–17, Rom 6:12–14, Rev 19:11–16).
If we do this, the outcome will be the same. He will lead us to victory wherever we go (2 Sam 8:6, Rom 16:20, 1 Joh 5:4).
