The Meaning of 2 Samuel 10:15 Explained

2 Samuel 10:15

KJV: And when the Syrians saw that they were smitten before Israel, they gathered themselves together.

YLT: And Aram seeth that it is smitten before Israel, and they are gathered together;

Darby: And when the Syrians saw that they were routed before Israel, they gathered themselves together.

ASV: And when the Syrians saw that they were put to the worse before Israel, they gathered themselves together.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And when the Syrians  saw  that they were smitten  before  Israel,  they gathered  themselves together. 

What does 2 Samuel 10:15 Mean?

Context Summary

2 Samuel 10:1-19 - The Penalty Of Rejecting Kindness
A Jewish tradition tells us that Nahash, Hanun's father, had shown kindness to David by sheltering one of his brothers, when the king of Moab treacherously massacred the rest of the family. Civility is the daughter of Piety. The son had inherited his father's throne but not his spirit. He was misled by foolish advisers to offer a gross insult, not only to the ambassadors, but to the king and nation whom they represented.
Let us, however, contrast our Lord's dealings with those who ill-treated Him in the person of His disciples. When they had been refused by a certain village of the Samaritans, they appealed for fire from heaven; but Jesus reminded them that the dispensation in which Elijah had lived was past. The disciples were the children of a new age, and the only fire with which they could deal was that of love, Luke 9:54, etc. Yes, and afterward the baptism of the Holy Spirit was given to Samaria, perhaps to those very villages, Acts 8:1-40. It used to be said that the best way to secure the tenderest kindness of the great and saintly Archbishop Leighton was to show him a discourtesy. He had not followed his great Master in vain. [source]

Chapter Summary: 2 Samuel 10

1  David's messengers, sent to comfort Hanun are villainously treated
6  The Ammonites, strengthened by the Syrians, overcome by Joab and Abishai
15  Shobuch, making a new supply of the Syrains at Helam, is slain by David

What do the individual words in 2 Samuel 10:15 mean?

And when saw Syria that they had been defeated by Israel and they gathered together
וַיַּ֣רְא אֲרָ֔ם כִּ֥י נִגַּ֖ף לִפְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וַיֵּאָסְפ֖וּ יָֽחַד

וַיַּ֣רְא  And  when  saw 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: רָאָה 
Sense: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.
אֲרָ֔ם  Syria 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֲרָם 
Sense: Aram or Syria the nation.
כִּ֥י  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
נִגַּ֖ף  they  had  been  defeated 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: נָגַף  
Sense: to strike, smite.
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
וַיֵּאָסְפ֖וּ  and  they  gathered 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Nifal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: אָסַף 
Sense: to gather, receive, remove, gather in.
יָֽחַד  together 
Parse: Adverb
Root: יַחַד 
Sense: union, unitedness adv.