2 Samuel 17 — Hebrew and Greek compared
Each card keeps the independently rendered source readings above their shared comparison and reception notes. The badge records the source’s governing classification; disparate readings are marked in red. Each reading retains its original reference.
2 Samuel 17
Counsels contend while the threatened king is preserved
Editorial Christian reading within the story later associated with betrayal and deliverance [S3]. The narrator’s judgment on the counsels remains distinct from the speakers’ claims.
17:1–4 | Ahithophel’s proposal
Verse MT 17:1 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 17:1
Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Please let me choose twelve thousand men. I will rise and pursue David tonight.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 17:1
Ahithophel said to Absalom, “I will choose twelve thousand men for myself. I will rise and pursue David by night.
Classification & Notes
Similar
Text: Hebrew frames the choice as a request and specifies tonight; Greek expressly adds for myself and says by night. The proposed force agrees.
Verse MT 17:2 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 17:2
I will come upon him while he is weary and his hands are weak. I will terrify him, and all the people with him will flee. I will strike down the king alone.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 17:2
I will come upon him while he is weary and his hands are weak. I will throw him into confusion, and all the people with him will flee. I will strike down the king alone.
Classification & Notes
Similar
Text: The terror / disorientation terms differ. Both retain the king alone as the intended victim and flight as the predicted response of his people.
Verse MT 17:3 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 17:3
I will bring all the people back to you. The return of everyone depends on the man you seek; all the people will be at peace.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 17:3
I will bring all the people back to you, as a bride returns to her husband. You seek only one man’s life, and all the people will have peace.”
Classification & Notes
Divergent
Text: The Hebrew middle clause is compressed and uncertain; depends on supplies its inferred connection with the preceding plan to kill David. Greek explicitly has a bride returning to her husband and one man’s life.
Rabbinic: Rashi on 17:3 supplies the sought man’s killing when explaining the Hebrew ellipsis [R17]. This remains a provisional construal.
Verse MT 17:4 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 17:4
The proposal was right in the eyes of Absalom and all the elders of Israel.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 17:4
The proposal was right in the eyes of Absalom and all the elders of Israel.
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: Both report the listeners’ favorable judgment. Right describes their assessment, not an editorial endorsement of the proposed killing.
17:5–14 | Hushai’s counterargument
Verse MT 17:5 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 17:5
Absalom said, “Please call Hushai the Archite as well, so that we may hear what he too has to say.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 17:5
Absalom said, “Call Hushai the Archite as well, so that we may hear what he too has to say.”
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: Hebrew addresses one caller; Greek uses a plural imperative. What he has to say renders the shared expression what is in his mouth.
Verse MT 17:6 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 17:6
Hushai came to Absalom. Absalom said to him, “Ahithophel has spoken in this way. Should we act on his proposal? If not, you speak.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 17:6
Hushai entered before Absalom. Absalom said to him, “Ahithophel has spoken in this way. Should we act on his proposal? If not, you speak.”
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: The invitation to support or replace Ahithophel’s proposal agrees.
Verse MT 17:7 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 17:7
Hushai said to Absalom, “The counsel Ahithophel has given is not good this time.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 17:7
Hushai said to Absalom, “This counsel Ahithophel has given is not good this time.”
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: Both qualify the criticism by this time, leaving Ahithophel’s general reputation intact.
Verse MT 17:8 Divergent
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 17:8
Hushai continued, “You know your father and his men: they are warriors, bitter in spirit, like a bear bereaved of her cubs in the field. Your father is a man of war; he will not lodge with the people.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 17:8
Hushai continued, “You know your father and his men: they are very powerful, bitter in their souls, like a bear bereaved of her cubs in the field and like a fierce sow on the plain. Your father is a man of war; he will certainly not give the people lodging.
Classification & Notes
Divergent
Text: Greek adds very and the fierce sow. Hebrew says he will not lodge with the people; Greek makes the people the verb’s direct object, provisionally rendered give the people lodging. That difficult transitive clause is retained without inserting with. The fierce-animal descriptions belong to Hushai’s argument.
Verse MT 17:9 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 17:9
Even now he is hiding in one of the pits or in some other place. When some of Absalom’s men fall at the outset, whoever hears will say, ‘There has been a slaughter among the people following Absalom.’
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 17:9
Even now he is hiding in one of the hills or in some other place. When he falls upon them at the outset, whoever hears will say, ‘There has been a crushing defeat among the people following Absalom.’
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Hebrew has pits and an ambiguous falling among them, provisionally understood as initial losses among Absalom’s men; their name is supplied for clarity. Greek has hills and falling upon them, with David inferred as attacker. The report’s demoralizing effect continues in verse 10.
Verse MT 17:10 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 17:10
Even a valiant man whose heart is like a lion’s heart will utterly melt, for all Israel knows that your father is a warrior and those with him are valiant men.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 17:10
Even a valiant man whose heart is like a lion’s heart—his heart will utterly melt, for all Israel knows that your father is powerful and those with him are men of strength.
Classification & Notes
Similar
Text: Hebrew grammatically makes the man melt; Greek’s feminine participle points to his heart. Both preserve the lion-heart image and the emphatic collapse of courage.
Verse MT 17:11 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 17:11
My counsel is this: let all Israel gather to you, from Dan to Beersheba, as numerous as the sand beside the sea, with you yourself going into battle.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 17:11
This is the counsel I have given: all Israel will gather to you, from Dan to Beersheba, as numerous as the sand beside the sea, with you yourself going in their midst.
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Hebrew expressly says into battle; Greek in their midst. Both appeal to Absalom’s personal presence and a much larger gathering than Ahithophel proposed.
Verse MT 17:12 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 17:12
We will come upon him in whatever place he is found, and settle upon him as dew falls on the ground. Not one will remain of him and all the men with him.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 17:12
We will come upon him in whatever place we find him, and encamp against him as dew falls on the ground. We will leave not even one of him and the men with him.
Classification & Notes
Similar
Text: Hebrew uses being found and remaining; Greek finding and leaving, with we as agent. Settle / encamp preserves the respective expressions. Both threaten the entire company, extending beyond the single intended victim in verse 2.
Verse MT 17:13 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 17:13
If he withdraws into a city, all Israel will bring ropes to that city. We will drag it down to the stream valley until not even a pebble is found there.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 17:13
If he withdraws into a city, all Israel will take ropes to that city. We will drag it down to the torrent so that not even a stone is left there.”
Classification & Notes
Similar
Text: The extravagant siege claim agrees. Hebrew’s masculine object is provisionally referred to the city; Greek’s feminine object explicitly agrees with city. Stream valley / torrent and pebble / stone retain the different terms.
Verse MT 17:14 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 17:14
Absalom and every man of Israel said, “Hushai the Archite’s counsel is better than Ahithophel’s.” YHWH had commanded that Ahithophel’s good counsel be frustrated, so that YHWH might bring calamity upon Absalom.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 17:14
Absalom and every man of Israel said, “Hushai the Archite’s counsel is better than Ahithophel’s.” The Lord had commanded that Ahithophel’s good counsel be scattered, so that the Lord might bring all these calamities upon Absalom.
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Greek has all the calamities, Hebrew singular calamity. Both expressly attribute the frustration of effective counsel to God’s purpose against Absalom. Good concerns the proposal’s effectiveness in context.
Hidden messengers and provision in exile
Editorial Christian reading of loyalty amid danger. The human acts of concealment, warning, and hospitality remain concrete narrative events.
17:15–23 | The warning, the hiding place, and Ahithophel’s death
Verse MT 17:15 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 17:15
Hushai said to Zadok and Abiathar the priests, “Ahithophel advised Absalom and the elders of Israel in such and such a way, and I advised them in such and such a way.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 17:15
Hushai the Archite said to Zadok and Abiathar the priests, “Ahithophel advised Absalom and the elders of Israel in such and such a way, and I advised them in such and such a way.
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Greek repeats Hushai’s Archite designation. Both summarize rather than repeat the two speeches, preserving the repeated such and such formulation.
Verse MT 17:16 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 17:16
Now send quickly and tell David, ‘Do not spend tonight in the wilderness plains. Be sure to cross over, lest the king and all the people with him be swallowed up.’”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 17:16
Now send quickly and tell David, ‘Do not spend the night in Araboth of the wilderness. Hurry across, lest it swallow up the king and all the people with him.’”
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Hebrew has wilderness plains; Greek retains Araboth as a place designation. Greek’s active swallow verb has no expressed subject, represented by it rather than an invented pursuer. Hebrew uses a passive construction.
Verse MT 17:17 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 17:17
Jonathan and Ahimaaz were waiting at En-rogel. The female servant would go and inform them, and they would go and report to King David, for they could not be seen entering the city.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 17:17
Jonathan and Ahimaaz had been waiting at the spring of Rogel. The female servant went and informed them, and they went and reported to King David, for they could not be seen entering the city.
Classification & Notes
Similar
Text: Hebrew presents the relay arrangement with continuing or prospective actions; Greek narrates the servant’s report and uses vivid present verbs for the men, rendered as past narrative. Greek translates the spring element of En-rogel.
Verse MT 17:18 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 17:18
A young man saw them and told Absalom. The two hurried away and entered a man’s house in Bahurim. He had a well in his courtyard, and they went down into it.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 17:18
A young man saw them and told Absalom. The two hurried away and entered a man’s house in Bahurim. He had a pit in his courtyard, and they went down into it.
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Hebrew specifies a well; Greek uses a pit or cistern term. The discovery, flight, and hiding place otherwise agree.
Verse MT 17:19 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 17:19
The woman took a covering and spread it over the mouth of the well. She spread crushed grain over it, and nothing was discovered.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 17:19
The woman took a covering and spread it over the mouth of the pit. She cooled grain on it, and nothing was discovered.
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Hebrew describes spreading crushed grain; Greek says cooled. Grain renders its borrowed araphoth without specifying how the grain was prepared [D16]. Both say the hiding remained undiscovered.
Verse MT 17:20 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 17:20
Absalom’s servants came to the woman at the house and asked, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” The woman said to them, “They have crossed the watercourse.” They searched but did not find them, and returned to Jerusalem.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 17:20
Absalom’s servants came to the woman at the house and asked, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” The woman said to them, “They have gone a little beyond the water.” They searched but did not find them, and returned to Jerusalem.
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Hebrew mikal is uncertain; watercourse is provisional. Greek explicitly has a little beyond the water.
Rabbinic: Rashi on 17:20 acknowledges that mikal is otherwise unknown to him and infers a water current from context [R17].
Verse MT 17:21 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 17:21
After they left, the two came up from the well, went to King David, and reported to him. They said to David, “Rise and cross the water quickly, for this is what Ahithophel advised against you.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 17:21
After they left, the two came up from the pit, went to King David, and reported to him. They said to David, “Rise and cross the water quickly, for this is what Ahithophel advised concerning you.”
Classification & Notes
Similar
Text: Both retain the urgent plural commands, addressed through David to his company. Hebrew’s against and Greek’s concerning reflect their respective prepositions in this hostile context.
Verse MT 17:22 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 17:22
David and all the people with him rose and crossed the Jordan. By morning light not one was missing who had not crossed the Jordan.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 17:22
David and all the people with him rose and crossed the Jordan. By morning light not one who had not crossed the Jordan had escaped notice.
Classification & Notes
Similar
Text: Hebrew says none was missing; Greek none escaped notice. Both use a doubled negative formulation to account for the entire company’s crossing, without omitting the repeated Jordan.
Verse MT 17:23 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 17:23
Ahithophel saw that his counsel had not been carried out. He saddled his donkey, rose, and went home to his city. He gave instructions to his household, hanged himself, and died. He was buried in his father’s tomb.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 17:23
Ahithophel saw that his counsel had not been carried out. He saddled his donkey, rose, and went home to his city. He gave instructions to his household, hanged himself, and died. He was buried in his father’s tomb.
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: The sequence agrees. The text gives the rejected counsel as the narrative setting without supplying a further psychological explanation.
17:24–29 | The opposing camps and the provisions
Verse MT 17:24 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 17:24
David came to Mahanaim. Absalom crossed the Jordan, he and every man of Israel with him.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 17:24
David passed on to Mahanaim. Absalom crossed the Jordan, he and every man of Israel with him.
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: The different motion verbs preserve the same destinations and company.
Verse MT 17:25 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 17:25
Absalom appointed Amasa over the army in Joab’s place. Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra the Israelite, who had gone in to Abigail daughter of Nahash, sister of Zeruiah, Joab’s mother.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 17:25
Absalom appointed Amasa over the army in Joab’s place. Amasa was the son of a man named Jethro the Israelite, who had gone in to Abigail daughter of Nahash, sister of Zeruiah, Joab’s mother.
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Hebrew Ithra differs from Greek Iothor, rendered Jethro. Both checked texts say Israelite; neither is replaced with the Ishmaelite reading of 1 Chronicles 2:17. The kinship clause identifies Zeruiah as Joab’s mother.
Verse MT 17:26 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 17:26
Israel and Absalom camped in the land of Gilead.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 17:26
All Israel and Absalom camped in the land of Gilead.
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Greek explicitly adds all. Both place Absalom’s camp in Gilead.
Verse MT 17:27 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 17:27
When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites, Machir son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim brought provisions:
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 17:27
When David came to Mahanaim, Ouesbi son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites, Machir son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Greek Ouesbi is retained beside Hebrew Shobi because the form is uncertain. Hebrew brought provisions supplies the connection to the long list and its verb in verse 29; Greek’s list begins with its own brought in verse 28.
Verse MT 17:28 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 17:28
bedding, basins, pottery vessels, wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, beans, lentils, and roasted grain;
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 17:28
brought ten beds, rugs with pile on both sides, ten cauldrons, pottery vessels, wheat, barley, flour, barley meal, beans, and lentils,
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Greek adds the two counts of ten and double-pile rugs, and specifies cauldrons and barley meal. Hebrew repeats roasted grain; the repetition is retained rather than silently removed or turned into a numerical total.
Verse MT 17:29 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 17:29
also honey, curds, sheep, and cheeses from the herd. They brought these for David and the people with him to eat, for they said, “The people are hungry, weary, and thirsty in the wilderness.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 17:29
also honey, butter, sheep, and cheese from cattle. They brought these for David and the people with him to eat, for they said, “The people are hungry, exhausted, and thirsty in the wilderness.”
Classification & Notes
Similar
Text: Hebrew shephoth is uncertain: cheeses follows Rashi on 17:29, citing the Targum; BDB also considers cream [R17; D9]. Greek’s borrowed sapphoth is provisionally rendered cheese from its food context and lexical identification [D17]. Curds / butter renders the respective conventional terms without asserting a modern dairy process. Both repeat the act of providing food and the people’s three needs.