And three of the thirty chief men went down, and came to David in the harvest time unto the cave of Adullam: and the troop of the Philistines encamped in the valley of Rephaim.
Read Chapter 23
George Leo Haydock
AD 1849
Before this. The exploits performed before the death of Goliath have been recorded. The following took place soon after the taking of Jerusalem. Hebrew simply, "And three of the Schalischim came to David at harvest-time, (Paralipomenon more correctly, to the rocks,) and into the cave "(Calmet)
Three is undoubtedly the proper word, though the printed Hebrew copies have thirty in the text; except the most ancient edition of Ximenes, 1515, which retains three, with all the versions, and some Hebrew manuscripts and as the ver. 17. itself reads among would be better above; (ver. 23,) as the three officers aforesaid were not of the body of thirty, but of a still higher order.
Harvest. Hebrew el Kat sir, is never used elsewhere in this sense; and the Septuagint have left the latter word as a proper name, "at Kasoar "etsur seems to have been the original word, as in Paralipomenon, "to the rock. "Such places had frequently caverns or strong holds, 1 Kings xxiv. 1, 4.
Camp. The Septuagint also seem to have read méne, as in Paralipomenon, instead of eith, which never occurs, for "a troop. "(Kennicott)
This camp was distant from the station at Bethlehem, (Menochius) which was distant from Jerusalem "two hours travel. "(Maundrell)
Giants, or Raphaim, 2 Kings xxi. 18. (Menochius)
