Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
2 Samuel 23:8 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 8. 8These be the names of the mighty men whom David had: The Tachmonite that sat in the seat, chief among the captains; the same was Adino the Eznite: he lift up his spear against eight hundred, whom he slew at one time.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
The KJV follows a difficult Masoretic hero name and deed, while ancient Greek and 1 Chronicles preserve Jashobeam and different wording; the roster cannot be reconstructed by silent harmonization.
Read It With
- 2 Samuel 23:8–12
Read 2 Samuel 23:8 with 23:8–12. The wording “These be the names of the mighty men whom David had: The Tachmonite that sat in the seat…” supplies one opening in the thought unit and establishes its first action or speech; the surrounding verses supply the causes, responses, and outcome summarized here: Textually difficult hero notices celebrate Josheb-basshebeth, Eleazar, and Shammah for holding ground and credit the LORD with great victory.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “The First Three Stand in Battle,” 2 Samuel 23:8 opens the thought unit and establishes its first action or speech through the wording “These be the names of the mighty men whom David had: The Tachmonite that sat in the seat….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: The hero notices resume the appendix's battle memories after the just-ruler oracle and credit David's servants and the LORD with victory. The oracle is adjacent framing, not the cause of the recalled battles.
Follow the Context
- Opening movement: Textually difficult hero notices celebrate Josheb-basshebeth, Eleazar.
- Developing movement or outcome: Shammah for holding ground and credit the LORD with great victory.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“These be the names of the mighty men whom David had: The Tachmonite that sat in the seat…”
In plain language: The KJV follows a difficult Masoretic hero name and deed, while ancient Greek and 1 Chronicles preserve Jashobeam and different wording; the roster cannot be reconstructed by silent harmonization.
2 Samuel 23:8 opens the thought unit and establishes its first action or speech by recording “These be the names of the mighty men whom David had: The Tachmonite that sat in the seat….” This line matters because the KJV follows a difficult Masoretic hero name and deed, while ancient Greek and 1 Chronicles preserve Jashobeam and different wording; the roster cannot be reconstructed by silent harmonization.
Why it matters: This wording carries a material textual, literary, historical, royal-power, violence, consent, trauma, covenant, reception, or misuse boundary.
How certain? probableWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
2 Samuel 23:8 does not permit the wording “These be the names of the mighty men whom David had: The Tachmonite that sat in the seat…” to be read apart from the selected verse's context. The difficult hero names and deeds do not permit silent harmonization, make violent acclaim a timeless virtue, or authorize readers to reproduce ancient warrior actions.
What Remains True
Faithful leadership is measured by truth, restraint, justice, repair, and the treatment of people with less power rather than by title, victory, popularity, or narrative prominence. In this unit, that truth is tested by the concrete movement: Textually difficult hero notices celebrate Josheb-basshebeth, Eleazar, and Shammah for holding ground and credit the LORD with great victory. In 2 Samuel 23:8, the concrete line “These be the names of the mighty men whom David had: The Tachmonite that sat in the seat…” keeps that truth accountable to the narrated evidence.
How It Can Shape Life
- The evidence to keep visible in this verse is “These be the names of the mighty men whom David had: The Tachmonite that sat in the seat….” Honor courage without hiding textual uncertainty or the people affected by combat; document variants, avoid inflated certainty, and distinguish military skill from complete moral approval. This response follows from the unit's own pattern—Textually difficult hero notices celebrate Josheb-basshebeth, Eleazar, and Shammah for holding ground and credit the LORD with great victory.
Teach It Back
Explain 2 Samuel 23:8's role in 23:8–12. Paraphrase “These be the names of the mighty men whom David had: The Tachmonite that sat in the seat…”, name the ancient royal or household horizon, state one material uncertainty, keep one vulnerable or affected person visible, and identify one conclusion the verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read 2 Samuel 23:8–12 — The First Three Stand in BattleSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
Do not claim more certainty than this verse permits: The KJV follows a difficult Masoretic hero name and deed, while ancient Greek and 1 Chronicles preserve Jashobeam and different wording; the roster cannot be reconstructed by silent harmonization.
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 23:8-12, 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, 23:8-12
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 23:8-12
Open source ↗