²³And he slew an Egyptian, a man of great stature, five cubits high; and in the Egyptian’s hand was a spear like a weaver’s beam; and he went down to him with a staff, and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and slew him with his own spear. ²⁴These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and had a name among the three mighty men. =23.= _of great stature_] Samuel has a better reading, “a goodly man” (man of presence), “goodliness” according to the Hebrews consisting in being well-built for warlike exercises. _a staff_] Hebrew _shēbhet_, i.e. the “rod” or “club” carried by shepherds as a defence against wild-beasts; Psalms ii. 9 (“rod”); xxiii. 4 “rod”); 2 Samuel xviii. 14 (“darts”). This “rod” had a point at one end, so that it could on occasion be used as a stabbing weapon. ²⁵Behold, he was more honourable than the thirty, but he attained not to the _first_ three: and David set him over his guard¹. ¹ Or, _council_. =25.= _more honourable than the thirty_] On the phrase, see verse 21, note. The verse probably comes from some poem written in praise of Benaiah. Compare xxvii. 6. _guard_] The same Hebrew word, _mishma‘ath_, is translated “council” in the margin here and also in 1 Samuel xxii. 14. The literal meaning is “obedience”; it seems both here and in Samuel (1 Samuel xxii. 14) to designate those who executed the king’s commands, i.e. his ministers. (_Minister_ = “servant.”) ²⁶Also the mighty men of the armies; Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan the son of Dodo of Beth-lehem; =26.= _Asahel_] Whose death at the hands of Abner, the general of Ishbosheth, was the cause of the famous feud between Abner and Joab, compare 2 Samuel ii. 18 ff., iii. 27. _Elhanan_] Called here (= 2 Samuel xxiii. 24) “son of Dodo,” but perhaps to be identified with “Elhanan the son of Jair” of xx. 5 (= 2 Samuel xxi. 19, where _Jaare-oregim_ is an error for _Jair_ [see Driver, _Samuel_², pp. 367, 368]). ²⁷Shammoth¹ the Harorite, Helez the Pelonite²; ¹ In 2 Samuel xxiii. 25, _Shamah the Harodite_. ² In 2 Samuel xxiii. 26, _Paltite_. =27.= _the Harorite_] Read, =the Harodite= (so Samuel). Compare Judges vi. 23, vii. 1, whence it appears that Harod was in (or near) the valley of Jezreel. Compare also 1 Chronicles xxvii. 8 (“Shamhuth the Izrahite”), where the same person seems to be meant. “Elika the Harodite” (Samuel) is not found in Chronicles. _Helez the Pelonite_] Compare xxvii. 10, where he is described as a captain of the children of Ephraim. In 2 Samuel xxiii. 26 however it is Helez _the Paltite_, i.e. (apparently) “the inhabitant of Beth-pelet” in the south of Judah (Joshua xv. 27). ²⁸Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, Abiezer the Anathothite; =28.= _Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite_] Compare xxvii. 9. For _Tekoa_ see 2 Chronicles xx. 20, note.