2 Samuel 10:4

2 Samuel 10:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Wherefore Hanun took David’s servants, and shaved off the one half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away.
• New International Version (NIV)So Hanun seized David’s envoys, shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their garments at the buttocks, and sent them away.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore Hanun took David’s servants, shaved off half of their beards, cut off their garments in the middle, at their buttocks, and sent them away.
• New Living Translation (NLT)So Hanun seized David’s ambassadors and shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their robes at the buttocks, and sent them back to David in shame.

Context of 2 Samuel 10:4

2And David said, "I will deal loyally with Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father dealt loyally with me." So David sent by his servants to console him concerning his father. And David's servants came into the land of the Ammonites. 3But the princes of the Ammonites said to Hanun their lord, "Do you think, because David has sent comforters to you, that he is honoring your father? Has not David sent his servants to you to search the city and to spy it out and to overthrow it?" So Hanun took David's servants and shaved off half the beard of each and cut off their garments in the middle, at their hips, and sent them away. 5When it was told David, he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, "Remain at Jericho until your beards have grown and then return." 6When the Ammonites saw that they had become a stench to David, the Ammonites sent and hired the Syrians of Beth-rehob, and the Syrians of Zobah, 20,000 foot soldiers, and the king of Maacah with 1,000 men, and the men of Tob, 12,000 men.

2 Samuel 10:4 word by word

וַיִּקַּ֨ח חָנ֜וּן אֶת־עַבְדֵ֣י דָוִ֗ד וַיְגַלַּח֙ אֶת־חֲצִ֣י זְקָנָ֔ם וַיִּכְרֹ֧ת אֶת־מַדְוֵיהֶ֛ם בַּחֵ֖צִי עַ֣ד שְׁתֽוֹתֵיהֶ֑ם וַֽיְשַׁלְּחֵֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Wherefore Hanunחָנוּןchânûn · HanunH2586
• tookלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
• David’sדָּוִדdâvid dâvîyd · DavidH1732
• servantsעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650
• and shaved offגָּלַחgâlach · to shaveH1548
• the one halfחֲצִיchêtsîy · halfH2677
• of their beardsזָקָןzâqân · beardH2206
• and cut offכָּרַתkârath · to cut: cutH3772
• their garmentsמָ֫דוּmedev · garmentH4063
• to their buttocksשֵׁתshêthâh · buttockH8357
• and sent them awayשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971

Cross-references for 2 Samuel 10:4

• Leviticus 19:27You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard.
• 1 Chronicles 19:3But the princes of the Ammonites said to Hanun, "Do you think, because David has sent comforters to you, that he is honoring your father? Have not his servants come to you to search and to overthrow and to spy out the land?"
• Psalms 109:4In return for my love they accuse me, but I give myself to prayer.
• Isaiah 15:2He has gone up to the temple, and to Dibon, to the high places to weep; over Nebo and over Medeba Moab wails. On every head is baldness; every beard is shorn;
• Isaiah 20:4so shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptian captives and the Cushite exiles, both the young and the old, naked and barefoot, with buttocks uncovered, the nakedness of Egypt.
• Isaiah 47:2Take the millstones and grind flour, put off your veil, strip off your robe, uncover your legs, pass through the rivers.
• Jeremiah 41:5eighty men arrived from Shechem and Shiloh and Samaria, with their beards shaved and their clothes torn, and their bodies gashed, bringing grain offerings and incense to present at the temple of the Lord.

Commentaries on 2 Samuel 10:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Shaved off the one half of their beards - The beard is held in high respect in the East: the possessor considers it his greatest ornament; often swears by it; and, in matters of great importance, pledges it. Nothing can be more secure than a pledge of this kind; its owner will redeem it at the hazard of his life. The beard was never cut off but in mourning, or as a sign of slavery. Cutting off half of the beard and the clothes rendered the men ridiculous…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4In 1 Chronicles 19:4, more concisely “shaved.” Cutting off a person‘s beard is regarded by the Arabs as an indignity equal to flogging and branding among ourselves. The loss of their long garments, so essential to Oriental dignity, was no less insulting than that of their beards.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4This act was meant to cause extreme shame and public ridicule. In that culture, a man’s beard was a sign of honor and dignity. Cutting off only half made the humiliation visible and impossible to hide. cut off their garments: This action exposed the men’s bodies and brought further shame. Public exposure of the body was linked with military defeat and exile in the ancient world (Isaiah 20). The prophet Isaiah describes similar acts of humiliation…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. Hanun took David's servants, and shaved off the one half of their beards--From the long flowing dress of the Hebrews and other Orientals, the curtailment of their garments must have given them an aspect of gross indelicacy and ludicrousness. Besides, a knowledge of the extraordinary respect and value which has always been attached, and the gross insult that is implied in any indignity offered, to the beard in the East, will account for the shame which…Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Samuel 10:4

• Beard
• Mortification
• Rulers

In the dictionaries

• Beard
• Chronicles, Books of
• Hadarezer
• Hanun
• Ammon; Ammonites
• Bible, the
• Hadadezer
• Israel, History of
• Joab
• Samuel, Books of

Commentaries on 2 Samuel 10

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings