2 Samuel 18:27

27 The watchman said, "I think the first man runs like Ahimaaz son of Zadok." The king said, "Ahimaaz is a good man. He must be bringing good news!"

2 Samuel 18:27 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 18:27

And the watchman said, me thinketh
Or, "I see" ^F2; I perceive, so it appears to me:

that the running of the foremost is like the running of Ahimaaz the son
of Zadok;
who it seems was well known, and famous for his manner of running and swiftness in it, having been employed in carrying expresses before from Jerusalem to David, and his army, wheresoever they were; and some of these persons thus employed were very swift; we read ^F3 of one that was a king's messenger, that went from Jerusalem to Tyre, on the first of Elul, or August, in a night and a day; which, according to Bunting ^F4 was an hundred miles: this watchman must be one of David's sentinels, who was well acquainted with the people about him:

and the king said, he [is] a good man, and cometh with good tidings;
he knew he was a man of courage, and therefore was not one that fled, but must be a messenger; and that he was well affected to him, and would never be the messenger of evil tidings to him.

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FOOTNOTES:

F2 (har yna) (egw orw) , Sept. "ego videns", Montanus; "video", Tigurine version.
F3 T. Hieros. Taanioth, fol. 68. 3.
F4 Travels, p. 200.

2 Samuel 18:27 In-Context

25 He shouted the news to the king. The king said, "If he is alone, he is bringing good news!" The man came nearer and nearer to the city.

26 Then the watchman saw another man running, and he called to the gatekeeper, "Look! Another man is running alone!" The king said, "He is also bringing good news!"

27 The watchman said, "I think the first man runs like Ahimaaz son of Zadok." The king said, "Ahimaaz is a good man. He must be bringing good news!"

28 Then Ahimaaz called a greeting to the king. He bowed facedown on the ground before the king and said, "Praise the Lord your God! The Lord has defeated those who were against you, my king."

29 The king asked, "Is young Absalom all right?" Ahimaaz answered, "When Joab sent me, I saw some great excitement, but I don't know what it was."