2 Samuel 3:7-9

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. 2 Samuel 3:7 tc The Hebrew of the MT reads simply “and he said,” with no expressed subject for the verb. It is not likely that the text originally had no expressed subject for this verb, since the antecedent is not immediately clear from the context. We should probably restore to the Hebrew text the name “Ish Bosheth.” See a few medieval Hebrew mss, Aquila, Symmachus, Theodotion, and Vulgate. Perhaps the name was accidentally omitted by homoioarcton. Note that both the name Ish Bosheth and the following preposition אֶל (ʾel) begin with the letter alef.
2. 2 Samuel 3:7 tn The expression בּוֹא אֶל (boʾ ʾel) means “come to” or “approach,” but is also used as a euphemism for sexual relations.
3. 2 Samuel 3:7 sn This accusation against Abner is a very serious one, since an act of sexual infringement on the king’s harem would probably have been understood as a blatant declaration of aspirations to kingship. As such it was not merely a matter of ethical impropriety but an act of grave political significance as well.
4. 2 Samuel 3:8 tn Heb “I do.”
5. 2 Samuel 3:8 tn Heb “brothers.”
6. 2 Samuel 3:8 tn Heb “and you have laid upon me the guilt of the woman today.”
7. 2 Samuel 3:9 tn Heb “So will God do to Abner and so he will add to him.”
8. 2 Samuel 3:9 tc Heb “has sworn to David.” The LXX, with the exception of the recension of Origen, adds “in this day.”