=13.= _at Pas-dammim_] Perhaps the same place as “Ephes-dammim” which is mentioned in 1 Samuel xvii. 1 as the gathering-place of the Philistines. It was in the south-west of Judah. _barley_] Samuel “lentils.” The two words resemble each other in Hebrew and might be confused by an unwary scribe. ¹⁴And they stood in the midst of the plot, and defended it, and slew the Philistines; and the LORD saved them by a great victory¹. ¹ Hebrew _salvation_. =14.= _they stood_] The subject of the verb in 2 Samuel xxiii. 12 is Shammah, here David and Eleazar together. ¹⁵And three of the thirty chief went down to the rock to David, into the cave of Adullam; and the host of the Philistines were encamped in the valley of Rephaim. =15.= _to the rock_] Samuel “in the harvest-time.” Probably both readings are wrong, and the original form of the verse was perhaps _And three of the thirty went down at the beginning of harvest to David_, etc. (see Driver, _Notes on Hebrew text of Samuel_², p. 366). _the cave of Adullam_] So also in 1 Samuel xxii. 1; 2 Samuel xxiii. 13. In verse 16 below, and in 1 Samuel xxii. 4 it is called the “hold.” Probably “the ‘hold’ was a tangle of hill and forest, in the centre of which the ‘cave of Adullam’ served as David’s headquarters” (Barnes, _Expositor_, January, 1914): the whole forming an admirable retreat for men acquainted with its intricacies. An identification with a commanding hill in the Shephelah, called “_Aid-el-ma_,” has been suggested (see G. A. Smith, _Historical Geography of the Holy Land_ pp. 229, 230, note). _the valley of Rephaim_] Probably the broad depression traversed by the road from Jerusalem to Beth-lehem. See Joshua xv. 8 (“vale of Rephaim” Revised Version; “valley of the giants” Authorized Version). ¹⁶And David was then in the hold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Beth-lehem. ¹⁷And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me water to drink of the well of Beth-lehem, which is by the gate! =16.= _in the hold_] compare note on _the cave of Adullam_ (verse 15). ¹⁸And the three brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Beth-lehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: but David would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto the LORD, ¹⁹and said, My God forbid it me, that I should do this: shall I drink the blood of these men that¹ have put their lives in jeopardy? for with _the jeopardy of_ their lives they brought it. Therefore he would not drink it. These things did the three mighty men. ¹ Hebrew _with their lives_. =18.= _brake through the host_] or _camp_. The word “host” in the Hebrew regularly means a host encamped, not a host embattled. Perhaps this exploit took place by night; compare the deed of David and Abishai (1 Samuel xxvi. 6‒12). _poured it out_] i.e. as a libation-offering.