Δαυίδ
David
Translated by Lee Fields17 May 2001Vetting: high25 revisions
Translation
A prophet1, forefather of our Lord and God.
[The man] who after becoming king grew even more powerful,2 and the Lord Almighty was with him. He had 373 mighty men, so mighty that the least of them was the equal of 100, and the greatest of them the equal of 1000.4 [...]
They were mighty and invincible against his enemies. Although carrying full shields and long lances, they were as nimble of foot as gazelles running upon the mountains.5 Their preparation was astounding; their faces were like those of lions. And with respect to the warriors, whom David had with him, 3,320,0006 were counted by Joab7 his chief general.8 [...]
And this deed was evil9 before the Lord, so the Lord sent the prophet Gad to David and he said, "Thus says the Lord God: Choose for yourself one of three things to befall you, either three10 years that famine be in the land, or three months that you flee before your enemies, or three days that pestilence11 be in your land." And David said, "These three things are hard choices for me at every turn, but I will fall into the hands of the Lord." So he12 chose pestilence, and 70 thousand died from morning until noon. And David said, "I am the shepherd13 who has done evil, these are the sheep;14 let your hand be upon me." Thus called upon to intercede, the Lord extended his hand whereby the slaughter ceased,15 and David built an altar there.16
[The man] who after becoming king grew even more powerful,2 and the Lord Almighty was with him. He had 373 mighty men, so mighty that the least of them was the equal of 100, and the greatest of them the equal of 1000.4 [...]
They were mighty and invincible against his enemies. Although carrying full shields and long lances, they were as nimble of foot as gazelles running upon the mountains.5 Their preparation was astounding; their faces were like those of lions. And with respect to the warriors, whom David had with him, 3,320,0006 were counted by Joab7 his chief general.8 [...]
And this deed was evil9 before the Lord, so the Lord sent the prophet Gad to David and he said, "Thus says the Lord God: Choose for yourself one of three things to befall you, either three10 years that famine be in the land, or three months that you flee before your enemies, or three days that pestilence11 be in your land." And David said, "These three things are hard choices for me at every turn, but I will fall into the hands of the Lord." So he12 chose pestilence, and 70 thousand died from morning until noon. And David said, "I am the shepherd13 who has done evil, these are the sheep;14 let your hand be upon me." Thus called upon to intercede, the Lord extended his hand whereby the slaughter ceased,15 and David built an altar there.16
Greek original · Adler’s text
Δαυίδ, προφήτης, προπάτωρ τοῦ κυρίου καὶ θεοῦ ἡμῶν. ὃς μετὰ τὸ βασιλεῦσαι ἐπορεύετο μεγαλυνόμενος, καὶ κύριος παντοκράτωρ ἦν μετ' αὐτοῦ. εἶχε δὲ δυνατοὺς ἄνδρας λζʹ, ὥστε τὸν μικρὸν αὐτῶν ποιεῖν πρὸς ρʹ, τὸν δὲ μέγαν πρὸς χιλίους ἄνδρας. δυνατοὶ καὶ ἀκαταγώνιστοι πρὸς τοὺς ἐναντίους, θυρεοὺς αἴροντες καὶ δόρατα μέγιστα, κοῦφοι τοῖς ποσίν, ὡς δορκάδες ἐπὶ τῶν ὀρέων τρέχοντες. ἡ κατασκευὴ αὐτῶν ἔκπληκτος, τὰ πρόσωπα αὐτῶν ὡς λεόντων. τοὺς δὲ πολεμιστάς, οὓς εἶχε Δαβὶδ μετ' αὐτοῦ, μυριάδες τλβʹ καθὼς ἠριθμήθη ὑπὸ Ἰωὰβ τοῦ ἀρχιστρατήγου αὐτοῦ. καὶ τοῦτο πονηρὸν ἐφάνη ἔναντι κυρίου, καὶ ἀπέστειλε κύριος Γὰδ τὸν προφήτην πρὸς Δαβὶδ καὶ εἶπε· τάδε λέγει κύριος ὁ θεός· ἔκλεξαι σεαυτῷ γενέσθαι σοι ἓν τῶν τριῶν, ἢ τρία ἔτη λιμὸν ἐν τῇ γῇ, ἢ μῆνας τρεῖς φεύγειν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν ἐχθρῶν σου, ἢ τρεῖς ἡμέρας θάνατον ἐν τῇ γῇ σου. καὶ εἶπε Δαβίδ· στενά μοι πάντοθεν τὰ τρία· πλὴν ἐμπεσοῦμαι εἰς χεῖρας κυρίου. καὶ ἐξελέξατο τὸν θάνατον, καὶ ἀπέθανον ἀπὸ πρωΐθεν μέχρι ὥρας ἀρίστου χιλιάδες οʹ. καὶ εἶπε Δαβίδ· ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ κακοποιήσας, οὗτοι τὰ πρόβατα· γενέσθω δὴ ἡ χείρ σου ἐπ' ἐμοί. καὶ παρακληθεὶς ὁ κύριος ἀπέστειλε τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ καὶ συνέσχεν ἡ θραῦσις, καὶ ᾠκοδόμησεν ἐκεῖ Δαβὶδ θυσιαστήριον.
Betacode
*daui/d, profh/ths, propa/twr tou= kuri/ou kai\ qeou= h(mw=n. o(\s meta\ to\ basileu=sai e)poreu/eto megaluno/menos, kai\ ku/rios pantokra/twr h)=n met' au)tou=. ei)=xe de\ dunatou\s a)/ndras lz#, w(/ste to\n mikro\n au)tw=n poiei=n pro\s r#, to\n de\ me/gan pro\s xili/ous a)/ndras. dunatoi\ kai\ a)katagw/nistoi pro\s tou\s e)nanti/ous, qureou\s ai)/rontes kai\ do/rata me/gista, kou=foi toi=s posi/n, w(s dorka/des e)pi\ tw=n o)re/wn tre/xontes. h( kataskeuh\ au)tw=n e)/kplhktos, ta\ pro/swpa au)tw=n w(s leo/ntwn. tou\s de\ polemista/s, ou(\s ei)=xe *dabi\d met' au)tou=, muria/des tlb# kaqw\s h)riqmh/qh u(po\ *)iwa\b tou= a)rxistrath/gou au)tou=. kai\ tou=to ponhro\n e)fa/nh e)/nanti kuri/ou, kai\ a)pe/steile ku/rios *ga\d to\n profh/thn pro\s *dabi\d kai\ ei)=pe: ta/de le/gei ku/rios o( qeo/s: e)/klecai seautw=| gene/sqai soi e(\n tw=n triw=n, h)\ tri/a e)/th limo\n e)n th=| gh=|, h)\ mh=nas trei=s feu/gein e)/mprosqen tw=n e)xqrw=n sou, h)\ trei=s h(me/ras qa/naton e)n th=| gh=| sou. kai\ ei)=pe *dabi/d: stena/ moi pa/ntoqen ta\ tri/a: plh\n e)mpesou=mai ei)s xei=ras kuri/ou. kai\ e)cele/cato to\n qa/naton, kai\ a)pe/qanon a)po\ prwi/+qen me/xri w(/ras a)ri/stou xilia/des o#. kai\ ei)=pe *dabi/d: e)gw/ ei)mi o( poimh\n o( kakopoih/sas, ou(=toi ta\ pro/bata: gene/sqw dh\ h( xei/r sou e)p' e)moi/. kai\ paraklhqei\s o( ku/rios a)pe/steile th\n xei=ra au)tou= kai\ sune/sxen h( qrau=sis, kai\ w)|kodo/mhsen e)kei= *dabi\d qusiasth/rion.
Notes (16)
- Source (after the opening gloss): George the Monk, Chronicon 1.176.10-13, 178.4-11, 179.5-25. Some repetition at omicron 974, and cf. sigma 1035.↩
For David see also delta 95, delta 96.- 1Judaism, as in the Jerusalem Talmud (c.400 CE) (Ginzberg, 5.414), and Christianity (EncycJudaica, 5.1332) have extra-biblical traditions that identify David as a prophet. The Jerusalem Talmud (Sotah 9.24b), for example, cites David as an early prophet. Judaic canonization of the texts of Samuel and Kings (the primary sources of Davidic historiography) within the Nebi'im and their subcategorization as part of the Nebi'im Rishonim or Early (in the sense of Pre-Exilic) Prophets provided a lattice for Talmudic assertion of David as a prophet (EncycJudaism, 4.820-21). That said, it is moot as to whether Talmudic reference to a prophetic David influenced Christian perceptions. Christian aetiology here is more plausibly attributable to a reading-back to David of numerous NT assertions (in the Gospels and Acts) of Jesus as prophet. Moreover, the "prophetic expectation that God would raise up an ideal Davidic ruler" (Perkins, 630) is partially transferred in the Christian context to the progenitor, or as in the Suda, the propater himself, attracting David into the prophetic circle. By this retrospective apparatus (which also includes specific Davidic parallels, such as the showbread incidents in 1 Samuel (1 Kingdoms) 21:1-6; Luke 6:1-5, the "king" attributive, and other accretions), the Suda compiler can comfortably append the epithet "prophet" to the lineal credential (Matthew 1:1) linking David and the personage of Jesus. ↩
- 2The Suda's use of
e)poreu/eto truncates the LXX (and George's) syntax:kai\ e)poreu/eto (dieporeu/eto , 2 Kingdoms 5:10)*daui\d poreuo/menos kai\ megaluno/menos (1 Chronicles 11:9) (Brenton, 407; 544), in which{di}eporeu/eto plus its participle convey continuation. Withkai/ plus the participle of the modified verb (megaluno/menos ), the construction mimics the Hebrew expression for continuance with הלך halaḵ "walk, go";{di}eporeu/eto ) (Kautzsch, 334 {113u}; Brown, Driver, Briggs {BDB}, 233). At 2 Samuel (2 Kingdoms) 5:10 and 1 Chronicles 11:9, the Massoretic Text (MT) expresses halakh-continuance using the finite verb with its infinitive absolute (halōḵ) plus the infinitive absolute of the modified verb (here, gaḏōl); thus: וילך דוד הלוך וגדול wayyeleḵ Dawiḏ halōḵ wegaḏōl (and David become more and more powerful) (Kohlenberger, Vol 2, 264; Vol 3, 32). Unlike the MT citations, however, the LXX substitutes a participle for the halakh-infinitive absolute and a participle for the infinitive absolute of the modified verb. ↩- 3The list of David's warriors is found in 2 Samuel (2 Kingdoms) 23:8-39 and 1 Chronicles 11:10-47, with the total number given as 37 in 2 Samuel 23:39 (= LXX 2 Kingdoms 23:39). See, however, McCarter's comments to the effect that "this is an editor's computation, but it is difficult to discover how it was reckoned" (McCarter, 499-501). ↩
- 4Hyperbole: the MT cites neither David's Three nor Thirty as the equals of 100 or 1,000 men. The minimum slain is 300 by Abishai at 2 Samuel 23:18 and 1 Chronicles 11:20; or by Jashobeam at 1 Chronicles 11:11; the maximum is 800 by Josheb-basshebeth (Jashobeam of 1 Chronicles 11:11) at 2 Samuel 23:8. The Suda appears to attribute the slaying of 1,000 to Shammah's battle at Lehi (2 Samuel 23:12); the slaying of that number was accomplished by Samson at his Lehi confrontation with the Philistines in Judges 15:15. ↩
- 5See 1 Chronicles 12:8 (LXX, Eng); MT 1 Chronicles 12:9. See also 2 Samuel 2:18 for Asahel (a member of the Thirty) described similarly, and Josephus for Asahel outrunning a horse (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 7.14). ↩
- 6Literally, "332 myriads." In the MT, 2 Samuel 24:9 the total is 1,300,000; in 1 Chronicles 21:5 the total is 1,570,000. The LXX reads the same; Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews 7.320) gives a total of 1,300,000. George the Monk gives 234 myriads. The figures in 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles as well as Josephus underscore a penchant for hyperbole. The Suda inflates the base number by a factor of 10,000; Joab wishes David a hundred-fold increase (2 Samuel 24:3). For inflation in 2 Samuel 24:9, see McCarter, 510.9. There is a tradition found in both Rabbinic and Christian sources that the numeric discrepancy in the two biblical accounts is due to Joab making two lists--only the incomplete one being made known to David (Ginzberg, 4.112; 6.270). But in any case, numerals are easily corrupted in textual tradition. ↩
- 7For this story, see 2 Samuel 24 (= 2 Kingdoms) and 1 Chronicles 21. ↩
- 8The Suda calls Joab
a)rxistra/thgos or commander; cf. Lust, Part I, 64. Josephus uses the same term at Antiquities of the Jews 7.11, but showsstrathgo/s at AJ 7.318. The LXX titles Joab the equivalent of "overall commander":a)/rxonta th=s i)sxu/os , 2 Kingdoms 24:2;a)/rxonta th=s duna/mews , 3 Kingdoms 1:19;a)rxistra/thgos , 3 Kingdoms 2:22. 1 Chronicles 21:2, however, would, without additional references, seem to cast Joab as primus inter pares (pro\s *)iwab kai\ pro\s tou\s a)/rxontas th=s duna/mews ). See Brenton for LXX citations. In the MT, Joab's rank is שׂר החיל "sar hahayil" (2 Samuel 24:2) or שׂר הצבא "sar hatssaba'" (1 Kings 1:19); that is, general of the army. See also BDB, 978; McCarter, 504 (24.2). ↩- 9The plague's immediate cause is traceable to census purification rites violated by David, ignoring Joab's misgivings in 2 Samuel 24:3. See McCarter's comments at 2 Samuel 24:3 in the NRSV, and his more extensive discussion on the census-plague episode in McCarter, 508 (24.1); 512-18. The impropriety of David's census as inferred from Joab's questioning of it is reflected in Josephus, AJ 7.318-9. For Rabbinic sources which reflect the same details as found in Josephus, see references listed in Ginzberg, 6.270. ↩
- 10The MT account in 2 Samuel 24:13 cites "seven years" and is followed by Josephus, AJ 7.321. The account in 1 Chronicles 21:12 and in 2 Kingdoms 24:13 gives "three years" and is followed by George the Monk and the Suda. ↩
- 11Lust, Part I, 201 gives "mortality" for
qa/natos at 2 Samuel 24:13, but cites "pestilence" for Exodus 5:3. The Hebrew at 2 Samuel 24:13 reads דבר "deber" or "plague" (Kohlenberger, Vol 2, 327; BDB, 184). ↩- 12Unlike 1 Samuel 5:6 and 2 Samuel 24:14, where
xei/r andxei=ras are code for "plague" (McCarter: NRSV, 424; 507; Brenton for LXX), the Suda entry seems to compress intoxei=ras not only David's abrogation and God's impending plague choice (LXX: 1 Chronicles 21:14) but David's assertion of God's mercy (2 Kingdoms 24:14; 1 Chronicles 21:13). The Suda fails to specify an agent fore)cele/cato , although George the Monk has "David" as the subject. The LXX attributes the plague choice to David in 2 Kingdoms but to God in 1 Chronicles. ↩- 13"Shepherd," although not in the MT, is found in a Qumran Cave 4 scroll of 2 Samuel, in Josephus at AJ 7.328, and in Targum Jonathan, "these people who are like sheep under the care of a shepherd." ↩
- 14At omicron 974,
ou)/toi is read instead ofou(=toi , which would make the sense, "It is I the shepherd who have done evil, not the sheep." ↩- 15The compiler confuses
sune/sxen withsunesxe/qh (2 Kingdoms 24:25) (Brenton, 440). ↩- 16At the threshing floor of Araunah (Ornan) the Jebusite (2 Samuel 24:18-25; 1 Chronicles 21:18-27).
References
Brenton, C.L.B., The Septuagint with Apocrypha. Peabody: Henrickson, 1991 (reprint of 1851 ed.)
Brown, F., Driver, S.R., Briggs, C.A., A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament. Oxford: Clarendon, 1951
Encyclopaedia Judaica. Jerusalem: Encyclopaedia Judaica, 1973
Ginzberg, L. The Legends of the Jews, 7 vols. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 1998 (reprint of 1909, 1937 eds.)
Kautzsch, E. Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar. Oxford: Clarendon, 1910
Kohlenberger, J.R. The Interlinear NIV Hebrew-English Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1987
Lust, J. A Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, Part I. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1992
McCarter, Jr., P.K. II Samuel (The Anchor Bible). New York: Doubleday, 1984
McCarter, Jr. P.K. 1 and 2 Samuel in The Harper Collins Study Bible (NRSV). New York: Harper Collins, 1993
Perkins, P. "Messiah" in Harper's Bible Dictionary. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1985
Targum Jonathan, The Bible in Aramaic, Alexander Sperber, ed., Vol. 2: The Former Prophets according to Targum Jonathan (Leiden: Brill, 1959)
Whiston, W. The Works of Josephus. Peabody: Hendrickson, 1987 (reprint of 1736 ed.)
Brown, F., Driver, S.R., Briggs, C.A., A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament. Oxford: Clarendon, 1951
Encyclopaedia Judaica. Jerusalem: Encyclopaedia Judaica, 1973
Ginzberg, L. The Legends of the Jews, 7 vols. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 1998 (reprint of 1909, 1937 eds.)
Kautzsch, E. Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar. Oxford: Clarendon, 1910
Kohlenberger, J.R. The Interlinear NIV Hebrew-English Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1987
Lust, J. A Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, Part I. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1992
McCarter, Jr., P.K. II Samuel (The Anchor Bible). New York: Doubleday, 1984
McCarter, Jr. P.K. 1 and 2 Samuel in The Harper Collins Study Bible (NRSV). New York: Harper Collins, 1993
Perkins, P. "Messiah" in Harper's Bible Dictionary. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1985
Targum Jonathan, The Bible in Aramaic, Alexander Sperber, ed., Vol. 2: The Former Prophets according to Targum Jonathan (Leiden: Brill, 1959)
Whiston, W. The Works of Josephus. Peabody: Hendrickson, 1987 (reprint of 1736 ed.)
Linked from4 entries
- α69ἈβραάμAbrahamThe first among patriarchs; [it was he] in whom the Hebrew people took pride at first, before they rebelled against God, became estranged from Him, and shed upon themselves the blood of His Only-Begotten Son. This man…
- δ95ΔαυίδDavidKing of Israel. When Saul was pursuing him, and after Saul had fallen into David's hands, not once but twice, and yet suffered no harm, the very gentle David said to the very misanthropic Saul, "Why are you tracking me…
- δ96Δαυίδειος σορόςDavidian funerary-urn['Davidian funerary-urn;'] and 'Davidian song,' [meaning] that of David.
- δ97ΔαυίδηςDauides, DavidesA proper name.
Neighbouring entries
Revision history25 revisions · last 28 Oct 2018
- typo — Catharine Roth
- more coding — Catharine Roth
- Revised — Catharine Roth
- cosmetics — Catharine Roth
- tweaked translation and note 12 — Catharine Roth
- tweaked notes — Catharine Roth
- coding — Catharine Roth
- indicated gaps — Catharine Roth
- Converted Romanization of Hebrew to ISO 259 — Raphael Finkel
- tweaks and coding, new note 14 — Catharine Roth
- another x-ref — David Whitehead
- more keywords; cosmetics — David Whitehead
- deleted defunct links — Catharine Roth
- added opening note; added keyword; cosmetics — David Whitehead
- Added Hebrew; cosmetics. — Raphael Finkel
- Cosmetics — Craig Miller
- cosmetics — Craig Miller
- simplified translation slightly — Catharine Roth
- Revised — Craig Miller
- Revised — Craig Miller
- Revised — Craig Miller
- cosmetics — Craig Miller
- additional editing — Craig Miller
- Revised — Craig Miller
- modified headword, modified translation, modified and expanded notes, expanded bibliography, expanded keywords, reset status — Craig Miller
- Translated — Lee Fields