2 Samuel 17 · Verse 25

2 Samuel 17:25

And Absalom made Amasa captain of the host instead of Joab: which Amasa was a man’s son, whose name was Ithra an Israelite, that went in to Abigail the daughter of Nahash, sister to Zeruiah Joab’s mother.
2 Samuel 17:25, King James Version

2 Samuel 17:25 in other translations

BSBAbsalom had appointed Amasa over the army in place of Joab. Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra, the Ishmaelite who had married Abigail, the daughter of Nahash and sister of Zeruiah the mother of Joab.
WEBAbsalom set Amasa over the army instead of Joab. Now Amasa was the son of a man whose name was Ithra the Israelite, who went in to Abigail the daughter of Nahash, sister to Zeruiah, Joab’s mother.
ASVAnd Absalom set Amasa over the host instead of Joab. Now Amasa was the son of a man, whose name was Ithra the Israelite, that went in to Abigal the daughter of Nahash, sister to Zeruiah, Joab’s mother.
YLTand Amasa hath Absalom set instead of Joab over the host, and Amasa is a man's son whose name is Ithra the Israelite who hath gone in unto Abigail, daughter of Nahash, sister of Zeruiah, mother of Joab;
DARBYAnd Absalom set Amasa over the host instead of Joab; which Amasa was the son of a man whose name was Jithra the Israelite, that went in to Abigail the daughter of Nahash, sister to Zeruiah, Joab's mother.
BBEAnd Absalom put Amasa at the head of the army in place of Joab. Now Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra the Ishmaelite, who had been the lover of Abigail, the daughter of Jesse, sister of Zeruiah, Joab's mother.
WebsterAnd Absalom made Amasa captain of the host instead of Joab: which Amasa was a man's son, whose name was Ithra, an Israelite, that went in to Abigail the daughter of Nahash, sister to Zeruiah, Joab's mother.

What does 2 Samuel 17:25 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
25. Amasa--By the genealogy it appears that this captain stood in the same relation to David as Joab, both being his nephews. Of course, Amasa was Absalom's cousin, and though himself an Israelite, his father was an Ishmaelite (1Ch 2:17). Nahash--is thought by some to be another name of Jesse, or according to others, the name of Jesse's wife.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 25 Amasa captain of the host - From the account in this verse, it appears that Joab and Amasa were sisters' children, and both nephews to David.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 2 Samuel 17:22-29

Ahithophel hanged himself for vexation that his counsel was not followed. That will break a proud man's heart which will not break a humble man's sleep. He thought himself in danger, concluding, that, because his counsel was not followed, Absalom's cause would fail; and to prevent a possible public execution, he does justice upon himself. Thus the breath is stopped, and the head laid low, from which nothing could be…

Read the full comment on 2 Samuel 17:22-29 →

2 Samuel 17:25 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְאֶת\־ve.'Etand <obj.>H853
עֲמָשָׂ֗א'a.ma.Sa'AmasaH6021
שָׂ֧םsamhe had appointedH7760
אַבְשָׁלֹ֛ם'av.sha.LomAbsalomH53
תַּ֥חַתTa.chatin place ofH8478
יוֹאָ֖בyo.'AvJoabH3097
עַל\־'al-overH5921
הַצָּבָ֑אha.tza.Va'the armyH6635
וַעֲמָשָׂ֣אva.'a.ma.Sa'and AmasaH6021
בֶן\־ven-[was] a son ofH1121
אִ֗ישׁ'Isha manH376
וּשְׁמוֹ֙u.she.Moand name hisH8034
יִתְרָ֣אyit.Ra'[was] JetherH3501
הַיִּשְׂרְאֵלִ֔יhai.yis.re.'e.Lithe IsraeliteH3481
אֲשֶׁר\־'a.Sher-whoH834
בָּא֙ba'he had goneH935
אֶל\־'el-intoH413
אֲבִיגַ֣ל'a.vi.GalAbigailH26
בַּת\־bat-[the] daughter ofH1323
נָחָ֔שׁna.ChashNahashH5176
אֲח֥וֹת'a.Chot[the] sister ofH269
צְרוּיָ֖הtze.ru.YahZeruiahH6870
אֵ֥ם'em[the] mother ofH517
יוֹאָֽב\׃yo.'AvJoabH3097

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 2 Samuel 17:25

  • 2 Samuel 19:13

    And say ye to Amasa, Art thou not of my bone, and of my flesh? God do so to me, and more also, if thou be not captain of the host before me continually in the room of Joab.

  • 1 Chronicles 2:13

    And Jesse begat his firstborn Eliab, and Abinadab the second, and Shimma the third,

  • 2 Samuel 20:9-12

    And Joab said to Amasa, Art thou in health, my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard with the right hand to kiss him. But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab’s hand: so he smote him therewith in the fifth rib, and shed out his bowels to the ground, and struck him not again; and he died. So Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba the son of Bichri. And one of Joab’s men stood by him, and said, He that favoureth Joab, and he that is for David, let him go after Joab. And Amasa wallowed in blood in the midst of the highway. And when the man saw that all the people stood still, he removed Amasa out of the highway into the field, and cast a cloth upon him, when he saw that every one that came by him stood still.

  • 2 Samuel 20:4

    Then said the king to Amasa, Assemble me the men of Judah within three days, and be thou here present.

  • 1 Chronicles 2:16-17

    Whose sisters were Zeruiah, and Abigail. And the sons of Zeruiah; Abishai, and Joab, and Asahel, three. And Abigail bare Amasa: and the father of Amasa was Jether the Ishmeelite.

  • 1 Kings 2:5

    Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet.

  • 1 Kings 2:32

    And the Lord shall return his blood upon his own head, who fell upon two men more righteous and better than he, and slew them with the sword, my father David not knowing thereof, to wit, Abner the son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Amasa.
19:13; 20:4,9-12
Ithra.
1Ch 2:16,17
Jether the Ishmaelite. Abigail. Heb. Abigal. Nahash. or,Jesse.
1Ch 2:13,16

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 2 Samuel 17:24

    Then David came to Mahanaim. And Absalom passed over Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him.

  • 2 Samuel 17:25

    And Absalom made Amasa captain of the host instead of Joab: which Amasa was a man’s son, whose name was Ithra an Israelite, that went in to Abigail the daughter of Nahash, sister to Zeruiah Joab’s mother.

  • 2 Samuel 17:26

    So Israel and Absalom pitched in the land of Gilead.

Read all of 2 Samuel 17

2 Samuel 17:25 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Y Absalom constituyó á Amasa sobre el ejército en lugar de Joab, el cual Amasa fué hijo de un varón de Israel llamado Itra, el cual había entrado á Abigail hija de Naas, hermana de Sarvia, madre de Joab.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et Absalom établit Amasa sur l’armée, à la place de Joab. Et Amasa était le fils d’un homme nommé Jithra, l’Israélite, qui était entré vers Abigaïl, fille de Nakhash et sœur de Tseruïa, mère de Joab.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und Absalom setzte Amasa an Joabs Statt über das Heer. Amasa war aber der Sohn eines Mannes, dessen Name Jithra war, der Israelit, der zu Abigail eingegangen war, der Tochter des Nahas, der Schwester der Zeruja, der Mutter Joabs.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Amasam vero constituit Absalom pro Joab super exercitum: Amasa autem erat filius viri qui vocabatur Jetra de Jezraëli, qui ingressus est ad Abigail filiam Naas, sororem Sarviæ, quæ fuit mater Joab.