Verse Lens · Concise explanation
2 Samuel 23:21 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 21. 21And he slew an Egyptian, a goodly man: and the Egyptian had a spear in his hand; but 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.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
2 Samuel 23:21 contributes this particular line to the movement: “And he slew an Egyptian, a goodly man: and the Egyptian had a spear in his hand; but…”.
Read It With
- 2 Samuel 23:18–23
Read 2 Samuel 23:21 with 23:18–23. 2 Samuel 23:21 advances “Abishai and Benaiah Receive Ranked Honor” through the concrete textual step “And he slew an Egyptian, a goodly man: and the Egyptian had a spear in his hand; but…”. The complete unit establishes this movement: Abishai's and Benaiah's violent exploits win renown and office without placing them among the first three.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Keeping “Abishai and Benaiah Receive Ranked Honor” as its own unit preserves its agents, moral stakes, and narrative turn before the next movement begins. At 2 Samuel 23:21, “And he slew an Egyptian, a goodly man: and the Egyptian had a spear in his hand; but…” supplies this verse's distinct action, speech, image, or interpretive turn.
What Remains True
Covenant hope and truthful memory require accountable power, grief that names loss, protection for vulnerable people, and refusal to call political success innocence. In 2 Samuel 23:21, the concrete line “And he slew an Egyptian, a goodly man: and the Egyptian had a spear in his hand; but…” keeps that truth accountable to the narrated evidence.
How It Can Shape Life
- Evaluate leadership by truth, consent, restraint, repair, and the treatment of people with less power; preserve evidence and survivor voices instead of protecting a celebrated reputation. Keep 2 Samuel 23:21 inside 23:18–23, preserve the people and costs it names or obscures, and do not convert its wording into royal immunity or a modern political mandate.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read 2 Samuel 23:18–23 — Abishai and Benaiah Receive Ranked HonorSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: 2 Samuel 23:18-23, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 2 Samuel
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, repeated verbs, names, syntax, and the base text behind translation and textual discussion.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/2Sam.xml, 23:18-23
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: 2 Samuel with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Unit-bounded wording, older-English clarification, textual witnesses, syntax, names, numbers, and major historical or literary notes actually printed for these verses.
Exact location: NET Bible 2 Samuel PDF, printed pp. 580–582, translation and all translator notes attached to 23:18-23
Open source ↗