Chapter 8 of Shmuel Bet turns to the story of King David's wars against the surrounding enemies. After the chapters that dealt with the kingship, the bringing up of the Aron and the desire to build the Beit HaMikdash, we now reach a summary of the conquests: the Philistines, Moav, Aram, Edom and Amalek. As we will see, this is not merely a military account: Scripture gathers the spoils and the tributes here precisely because from them David amassed the silver, gold and copper designated for the building of the Beit HaMikdash. At the end of the chapter, the king's officers and the men of the government apparatus are listed.
The Meteg HaAmma from the Hand of the Philistines
וַיְהִי אַחֲרֵי־כֵן וַיַּךְ דָּוִד אֶת־פְּלִשְׁתִּים וַיַּכְנִיעֵם וַיִּקַּח דָּוִד אֶת־מֶתֶג הָאַמָּה מִיַּד פְּלִשְׁתִּים׃ - And it was afterwards that David struck the Philistines and subdued them, and David took Meteg HaAmma from the hand of the Philistines.
David strikes the Philistines and subdues them. The war against the Philistines, as we have seen throughout the book, is a bloody war that never ends: in every generation they rise up against us, and there is no rest from them. They are dealt a blow, and it is temporary until the next blow.
What is "Meteg HaAmma"? In Divrei HaYamim it says "and David took Gat from the hand of the Philistines," and from this we learn that Gat is what is called Meteg HaAmma. "Meteg" is like a staff with which a ruler dominates, and Gat was the metropolis of the Philistines, that is, their capital city. Indeed, among the Philistines we do not find a monarchy but rather governors, the five governors of the Philistines: Aza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Gat and Ekron. Only in Gat do we find a king: "Achish king of Gat," and precisely because Gat was the central city, their capital.
By the way, why is a "capital city" called "ir habira" in Hebrew? "Bira" in the language of Chazal means a palace. The capital city is the city in which the palace sits, like "Shushan HaBira," the place of the king's palace, and like the expression "the owner of the bira looked out at him," meaning the owner of the palace and castle. Gat was the capital city of the Philistines, and therefore it was called Meteg HaAmma: the staff, the central place from which they dominated all the Philistines.
The Radak brings the translation of Targum Yonatan: "Meteg HaAmma" - "the repair of the water channel." According to this it is possible that a water channel passed through the city, and they fixed it so that it would run outside the city and from there enter into the city. Therefore the city was called "Meteg HaAmma": the place into which they brought the water channel.
And there is a third explanation, a wonderful midrash in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer chapter 36. When Avimelech came to Yitzchak and said to him "we have surely seen that Hashem was with you," they said to him: we know that the Holy One, blessed be He, is destined to give you and your descendants all these lands, so make a covenant and an oath with us that your descendants will not inherit the land of the Philistines. Avimelech feared that Yitzchak would inherit his land as well. So Yitzchak made a covenant and oath with them. And how? He cut one amma from the meteg of the donkey he was riding on - "meteg" is the bridle, as in the expression "with bit and bridle its ornaments to restrain," by which one leads the donkey - and gave it to them so that it would be a sign in their hand of the covenant of the oath. This was their custom: when they made a covenant with a nation, they would place a certain object in the hand of the other party to serve as a sign for it.
And when King David wished to enter the land of the Philistines, he was unable to because of that covenant and oath of Yitzchak. He said: first I must take from them the sign of the covenant, which is Meteg HaAmma. We will take it from their hand, and only afterwards can I take their land. According to this, the verse here is a kind of inversion: first "and David took Meteg HaAmma from the hand of the Philistines," and only afterwards "and David struck the Philistines and subdued them" - for once he took from them the sign of the covenant, the obligation of the oath no longer stands, and it becomes possible to subdue them.
Measuring Moav with the Line
וַיַּךְ אֶת־מוֹאָב וַיְמַדְּדֵם בַּחֶבֶל הַשְׁכֵּב אוֹתָם אַרְצָה וַיְמַדֵּד שְׁנֵי־חֲבָלִים לְהָמִית וּמְלֹא הַחֶבֶל לְהַחֲיוֹת וַתְּהִי מוֹאָב לְדָוִד לַעֲבָדִים נֹשְׂאֵי מִנְחָה׃ - And he struck Moav and measured them with the line, laying them down on the ground, and he measured two lines to put to death and a full line to keep alive, and Moav became servants to David, bearers of tribute.
The Moavites whom he conquered he laid down on the ground, took a line of a certain length and began to measure those lying down. He measured one line, let us say for example fifty men; he measured a second line from end to end, another fifty; these two lines he took out to be put to death. Afterwards he measured a third line, and those he kept alive. And so he continued measuring: two to be put to death and one to be kept alive. (The numbers here are only for the sake of the illustration.) This is a very humiliating death: he lays them on the ground, measures, and according to the measure sends them to death.
And why did David do such a thing? The Sages explain: when David fled from Shaul, he feared that Shaul might harm his father, his mother and his brothers, for this was the accepted practice in their time - when someone was pursued by the king, the king would take his family members as hostages. What did David do? "And he brought them before the king of Moav" - he handed them over to him for safekeeping. But the king of Moav, instead of guarding the trust, murdered them all. By whose hand was Yishai killed? Many people asked and did not know: by the hand of the king of Moav. By whose hand were Kilav and all of David's brothers killed? By the king of Moav. Yishai died only because of the serpent's counsel, meaning there was no sin of his own that warranted it, yet it was the hand of the king of Moav that killed him. Therefore, in order to take revenge on them, David killed two thirds of them and left one third alive. And he was not careful to keep alive specifically the mighty warriors, but rather specifically those who would become for him bearers of tribute and submit before him.
Hadadezer king of Tzova and the monument at the Euphrates River
וַיַּךְ דָּוִד אֶת־הֲדַדְעֶזֶר בֶּן־רְחֹב מֶלֶךְ צוֹבָה בְּלֶכְתּוֹ לְהָשִׁיב יָדוֹ בִּנְהַר־פְּרָת׃ - And David struck Hadadezer son of Rechov, king of Tzova, as he went to restore his monument at the Euphrates River.
David strikes Hadadezer son of Rechov who reigned over Tzova, and when? "As he went to restore his monument at the Euphrates River." Here it is written "to restore his monument" and in Divrei HaYamim "to set up his monument." Hadadezer ruled at the Euphrates River, close to the border of Israel, and there he had a "yad" (a monument). And what is a "yad"? The Malbim explains, and we find the same by Shaul, "and behold, he is setting up for himself a monument": their practice was that when a king conquered another nation, he would set up a monument with a hand raised upward, as a sign of victory. So we saw with Moshe when he raised his hand, and so with Yehoshua who raised his staff upward. The raising of the hand indicates victory and might - "and Israel prevailed" - and the lowering of the hand shows lowliness. David had removed that monument, and now Hadadezer went "to restore his monument," to set the hand up there again so that his victory would once more be evident. And upon his return, David struck him.
Hamstringing the chariot horses and the prohibition of "he shall not accumulate horses"
וַיִּלְכֹּד דָּוִד מִמֶּנּוּ אֶלֶף וּשְׁבַע־מֵאוֹת פָּרָשִׁים וְעֶשְׂרִים אֶלֶף אִישׁ רַגְלִי וַיְעַקֵּר דָּוִד אֶת־כׇּל־הָרֶכֶב וַיּוֹתֵר מִמֶּנּוּ מֵאָה רָכֶב׃ - And David captured from him one thousand seven hundred horsemen and twenty thousand foot soldiers, and David hamstrung all the chariot horses, and left of them one hundred chariots.
David captures from him one thousand seven hundred horsemen and another twenty thousand foot soldiers, that is, men without horses. And why did he need to hamstring the chariot horses? Because it is said of the king, "he shall not accumulate horses." And how many are permitted? Enough for his chariot and enough for his war needs. And what is forbidden? The Gemara says: "he shall not accumulate horses" means idle horses, horses for which there is no need except to display the king's wealth, and they sit idle in the stable - that is forbidden. But horses that are used to go out to battle are permitted. And David, since he had no need for all that quantity, hamstrung the horses.
And with Shlomo HaMelech we saw that he stumbled in this. He said: I will accumulate horses but I will not bring the people down to Egypt in order to multiply horses - and in the end he multiplied horses and brought the people down to Egypt in order to multiply horses. And we also saw that Shlomo bought up the entire center of horse trade that was in Egypt, everything passed through him: he bought it all in advance and would sell the horses. It turns out that in the end he did bring the people down to Egypt. David did not want to stumble in this.
Aram Damascus and the garrisons
וַתָּבֹא אֲרַם דַּמֶּשֶׂק לַעְזֹר לַהֲדַדְעֶזֶר מֶלֶךְ צוֹבָה וַיַּךְ דָּוִד בַּאֲרָם עֶשְׂרִים־וּשְׁנַיִם אֶלֶף אִישׁ׃ - And Aram of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Tzova, and David struck down among Aram twenty two thousand men.
Aram of Damascus comes to aid Hadadezer, and David strikes down among them twenty two thousand men. This is an enormous number, almost equal to the number of all those who have fallen in Israel's wars until our own day, in a single battle.
וַיָּשֶׂם דָּוִד נְצִבִים בַּאֲרַם דַּמֶּשֶׂק וַתְּהִי אֲרָם לְדָוִד לַעֲבָדִים נוֹשְׂאֵי מִנְחָה וַיֹּשַׁע יְהֹוָה אֶת־דָּוִד בְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר הָלָךְ׃ - And David placed garrisons in Aram of Damascus, and Aram became servants to David, bearers of tribute, and Hashem delivered David wherever he went.
David appoints garrisons from among his men in Aram Damascus: officials placed to rule there and to collect the tax. Aram became for him a bearer of tribute, paying him a fixed tax year after year. And Hashem helped him: in all that he did he succeeded.
The Shields of Gold and Bronze - Treasures for the Beit HaMikdash
וַיִּקַּח דָּוִד אֵת שִׁלְטֵי הַזָּהָב אֲשֶׁר הָיוּ אֶל עַבְדֵי הֲדַדְעָזֶר וַיְבִיאֵם יְרוּשָׁלִָם׃ - And David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadadezer and brought them to Yerushalayim.
What are these "shields of gold"? They are the quivers for the arrows; and some explain that the reference is to golden shields. And why does the verse gather here all this detail of the conquests and the spoil? Because all of this comes in connection with David's desire to build the Beit HaMikdash. The verse comes to show from where David amassed silver and gold in such quantities for the building of the House: from the spoil of his wars against his enemies, from whom he brought back great wealth.
וּמִבֶּטַח וּמִבֵּרֹתַי עָרֵי הֲדַדְעָזֶר לָקַח הַמֶּלֶךְ דָּוִד נְחֹשֶׁת הַרְבֵּה מְאֹד׃ - And from Betach and from Berotai, cities of Hadadezer, King David took a very great quantity of bronze.
And here he continues and tells about the bronze. Whoever reads about the matter of the Beit HaMikdash sees that there was gold and bronze there in immense and enormous quantities. The "Sea" that Shlomo made was a giant basin, like a huge vat, and it stood upon oxen. From where did he have such great wealth? The verse shows you: "And from Betach and from Berotai, cities of Hadadezer, King David took a very great quantity of bronze." From this bronze Shlomo made the Sea, the pillars, and the bronze vessels.
Toi King of Chamat and His Tribute
וַיִּשְׁמַע תֹּעִי מֶלֶךְ חֲמָת כִּי הִכָּה דָוִד אֵת כׇּל־חֵיל הֲדַדְעָזֶר׃ - And Toi king of Chamat heard that David had struck down all the army of Hadadezer.
וַיִּשְׁלַח תֹּעִי אֶת־יוֹרָם־בְּנוֹ אֶל־הַמֶּלֶךְ־דָּוִד לִשְׁאׇל־לוֹ לְשָׁלוֹם וּלְבָרְכוֹ עַל אֲשֶׁר נִלְחַם בַּהֲדַדְעֶזֶר וַיַּכֵּהוּ כִּי־אִישׁ מִלְחֲמוֹת תֹּעִי הָיָה הֲדַדְעָזֶר וּבְיָדוֹ הָיוּ כְּלֵי־כֶסֶף וּכְלֵי־זָהָב וּכְלֵי נְחֹשֶׁת׃ - And Toi sent Yoram his son to King David to greet him and to bless him for having fought against Hadadezer and struck him down, for Hadadezer had been a man of wars with Toi; and in his hand were vessels of silver, vessels of gold, and vessels of bronze.
Toi king of Chamat hears that David struck down all the army of Hadadezer, and the matter pleases him. He sends Yoram his son to greet David and to bless him for having fought against Hadadezer and struck him down. And why is this so important to Toi? "For Hadadezer had been a man of wars with Toi" - there had been a war of many years between them, and when David strikes him, he has done Toi a great favor. Therefore he loaded his son with vessels of silver, vessels of gold, and vessels of bronze, as a gift to David: you have saved me great wealth by your war against Hadadezer.
גַּם־אֹתָם הִקְדִּישׁ הַמֶּלֶךְ דָּוִד לַיהֹוָה עִם־הַכֶּסֶף וְהַזָּהָב אֲשֶׁר הִקְדִּישׁ מִכׇּל־הַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר כִּבֵּשׁ׃ - These too King David consecrated to Hashem, together with the silver and gold that he had consecrated from all the nations that he had conquered.
מֵאֲרָם וּמִמּוֹאָב וּמִבְּנֵי עַמּוֹן וּמִפְּלִשְׁתִּים וּמֵעֲמָלֵק וּמִשְּׁלַל הֲדַדְעֶזֶר בֶּן־רְחֹב מֶלֶךְ צוֹבָה׃ - From Aram, and from Moav, and from the children of Ammon, and from the Pelishtim, and from Amalek, and from the spoil of Hadadezer son of Rechov, king of Tzovah.
David dedicated this tribute too to Hashem, and it joined the silver that David was gathering for the sake of the Beit HaMikdash: from Aram, from Moav, from the children of Amon, from the Pelishtim, from Amalek, and from the spoils of Hadadezer.
"And David made a name" - burying the fallen
וַיַּעַשׂ דָּוִד שֵׁם בְּשֻׁבוֹ מֵהַכּוֹתוֹ אֶת־אֲרָם בְּגֵיא־מֶלַח שְׁמוֹנָה עָשָׂר אָלֶף׃ - And David made a name for himself when he returned from smiting Aram in the Valley of Salt, eighteen thousand.
What was that "name" that David made? Chazal say: that he buried the slain whom he had killed in Edom, and in this he made a good name for Israel, for all would see that Israel bury even their enemies. When the nations of the world killed their enemies, they did not care if they were left as dung upon the surface of the field. Said David: we have a different ethic. "Beloved is man, for he was created in the image" - and from the moment you leave him as dung upon the surface of the field, there is, as it were, a harm to the image of God within him, for every person was created in that image. And note the precise wording: "Beloved is man," it does not say "Beloved is Israel." Therefore he went and buried the fallen.
And so we see in Sefer Melachim Alef, chapter 11: "And it was, when David was in Edom, when Yoav the commander of the army went up to bury the slain" - Yoav went up to bury the slain. And so too it will be in the future, in the war of Gog and Magog: for seven months they will bury the fallen of all the nations that come to fight against us.
Midrash: the claim of the children of Edom and Yoav's answer
The Midrash relates that when Yoav went to wage war against Aram, the children of Edom stood up against him and said to him: But did not the verse say "Do not provoke them" to war, so how suddenly do you come and fight against us? Yoav answered them: But did not the verse say "You are passing through the border of your brothers" - the Holy One, blessed be He, told us to pass through your border, and if you go according to the verse, you too must let us pass. But they refused.
Said Yoav: If we destroy Edom now, we will find neither food nor drink on our return, for they sit along the road. Rather, let us leave them until we strike Aram, and on the way back we will deal with them. This is why it says "And Yoav returned and struck Edom." Said the Holy One, blessed be He, to them: What do you gain by striking Edom little by little? Avishai son of Tzeruyah killed eighteen thousand and you twelve thousand - this one strikes eighteen and this one strikes twelve, and there is no real solution to the problem in this. When the time comes, I will finish them off and destroy them. It emerges that there were two wars here: one in which eighteen thousand were killed and one in which twelve thousand were killed. And the Holy One, blessed be He, says: Do not worry - "And the house of Esav shall be for straw and the house of Yosef for flame," and then they will consume them and none of them will remain.
וַיָּשֶׂם בֶּאֱדוֹם נְצִבִים בְּכׇל־אֱדוֹם שָׂם נְצִבִים וַיְהִי כׇל־אֱדוֹם עֲבָדִים לְדָוִד וַיּוֹשַׁע יְהֹוָה אֶת־דָּוִד בְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר הָלָךְ׃ - And he set garrisons in Edom, throughout all Edom he set garrisons, and all Edom became servants to David, and Hashem saved David wherever he went.
"Garrisons" - officials to collect the tax. And the verse is precise: "throughout all Edom he set garrisons": he did not leave a single city in which he did not place garrisons.
Justice and charity, and the division of roles with Yoav
וַיִּמְלֹךְ דָּוִד עַל־כׇּל־יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיְהִי דָוִד עֹשֶׂה מִשְׁפָּט וּצְדָקָה לְכׇל־עַמּוֹ׃ - And David reigned over all Israel, and David did justice and charity for all his people.
וְיוֹאָב בֶּן־צְרוּיָה עַל־הַצָּבָא וִיהוֹשָׁפָט בֶּן־אֲחִילוּד מַזְכִּיר׃ - And Yoav son of Tzeruyah was over the army, and Yehoshafat son of Achilud was the recorder.
Why are these verses placed next to each other? Our Sages say: what caused Yoav to be over the army? The fact that David did justice and charity for all his people. And what caused David to do justice and charity for all his people? The fact that Yoav son of Tzeruyah was over the army. There was a division of roles between them: David did justice and charity while Yoav was over the army. Through this David was no longer occupied with wars from that point on, and through this Yoav was not occupied with rendering law and justice.
"And Yehoshafat son of Achilud was the recorder" - he would remind the king which case had come before him first, and he was appointed over the book of records.
וְצָדוֹק בֶּן־אֲחִיטוּב וַאֲחִימֶלֶךְ בֶּן־אֶבְיָתָר כֹּהֲנִים וּשְׂרָיָה סוֹפֵר׃ - And Tzadok son of Achituv and Achimelech son of Evyatar were priests, and Serayah was scribe.
Tzadok and Achimelech were the chiefs of the priests, and Serayah was the king's scribe.
The Kereti and the Peleti, and David's sons as officials
וּבְנָיָהוּ בֶּן־יְהוֹיָדָע וְהַכְּרֵתִי וְהַפְּלֵתִי וּבְנֵי דָוִד כֹּהֲנִים הָיוּ׃ - And Benayahu son of Yehoyada was over the Kereti and the Peleti, and David's sons were officials.
Who are the Kereti and the Peleti? The Targum translates: the archers and the slingers, and Benayahu son of Yehoyada was appointed over them; this is according to the plain meaning. And some say that Kereti and Peleti are two families who were officers under the king's command and were among those who saw his face, and this was their name. And there is another interpretation: they were called Kereti and Peleti after the Urim and Tumim, by which their words were decisive (kortim) and their words were wondrous (mufla'im).
And what is the meaning of "and David's sons were priests"? Were they really priests? David was from the tribe of Yehudah! Our Sages say, and so too the Targum: "ravrevin," great ones. Just as one says of a person that he serves in a role, meaning a holder of office. David's sons were holders of positions and offices.
And so the Ralbag writes: officers and rulers, "and behold, this matter was a cause of many of the evils that came upon David, for had the matter not been so, Avshalom would not have rebelled and Amnon and Adoniyah would not have been killed, as will be seen with a little reflection; and among these things, had the king watched over the discipline of his sons, this would not have happened to them." David did not truly succeed in the upbringing of his sons, and one of the reasons for this, according to the Ralbag, is that he appointed them to all sorts of positions. As a result each of them felt himself to be of high standing, and each one wanted to seize the kingship: Avshalom rose up during his father's lifetime, and Adoniyah son of Chagit exalted himself to reign. And this caused many of the troubles that occurred in David's household. "And David's sons were priests" - serving in the positions that David gave them.
In summary:
The chapter sums up David's wars and his subduing of enemies on every side: the Pelishtim, from whom he took "Meteg HaAmah" - Gat, their capital city, and according to the Midrash the sign of Yitzchak's oath and covenant; Moav, which was punished measure for measure for the murder of the house of Yishai; Hadadezer and Aram, from whom gold and copper were taken in abundance; and Edom, in which David placed garrisons. The verse gathers together all the spoils and tributes because from them the treasures of the Beit HaMikdash were collected. And within the victories David's moral character stands out: the burial of the enemy's slain, because "beloved is man, who was created in the image of God," and above all "and David did justice and charity for all his people" - a kingdom whose strength lies in justice and charity, and not in the sword alone. And alongside this we also learned from the Ralbag a painful lesson: the appointment of the sons to positions of authority gave rise to the troubles in the house of David.