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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)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.
• 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.

Context of 2 Samuel 10:4

2Then said David, I will shew kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father shewed kindness unto me. And David sent to comfort him by the hand of his servants for his father. And David’s servants came into the land of the children of Ammon. 3And the princes of the children of Ammon said unto Hanun their lord, Thinkest thou that David doth honour thy father, that he hath sent comforters unto thee? hath not David rather sent his servants unto thee, to search the city, and to spy it out, and to overthrow it? 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. 5When they told it unto David, he sent to meet them, because the men were greatly ashamed: and the king said, Tarry at Jericho until your beards be grown, and then return. 6And when the children of Ammon saw that they stank before David, the children of Ammon sent and hired the Syrians of Beth–rehob, and the Syrians of Zoba, twenty thousand footmen, and of king Maacah a thousand men, and of Ish–tob twelve thousand 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

• 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 19:27Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard.
• 1 Chronicles 19:3But the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun, Thinkest thou that David doth honour thy father, that he hath sent comforters unto thee? are not his servants come unto thee for to search, and to overthrow, and to spy out the land?
• Psalms 109:4For my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer.
• Isaiah 15:2He is gone up to Bajith, and to Dibon, the high places, to weep: Moab shall howl over Nebo, and over Medeba: on all their heads shall be baldness, and every beard cut off.
• Isaiah 20:4So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.
• Isaiah 47:2Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers.
• Jeremiah 41:5That there came certain from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, even fourscore men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves, with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of Yhwh.

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