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"I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: Very pleasant hast thou been unto me: Thy love to me was wonderful, Passing the love of women." (2Sam 1:26 ASV)
Starting with the immediate context of the verse itself, focusing on the word "love" first, and then "women" in love of women. Using the ASV-1901, considered a solid, if rigidly literal translation.
"love", H160 אַהֲבָה 'ahabah n-f. both occurrences of "love" in v26. A Hebrew word search using "TheWord" software, of solely human to human love gives as follows, including 2Samuel 1:26 -
1st
"And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love(H160) he had to her. And Jacob said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her." (Gen 29:20-21 ASV)
2nd
"And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his father's house. Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved(H160) him as his own soul." (1Sam 18:1-3 ASV)
3rd
"And Jonathan caused David to swear again, for the love(H160) that he had to him; for he loved him as he loved(H160) his own soul." (1Sam 20:17 ASV)
4th
"I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: Very pleasant hast thou been unto me: Thy love(H160) to me was wonderful, Passing the love(H160) of women." (2Sam 1:26 ASV)
5th
"Then Amnon hated her with exceeding great hatred; for the hatred wherewith he hated her was greater than the love(H160) wherewith he had loved her. And Amnon said unto her, Arise, be gone." (2Sam 13:15 ASV) ** Ammon loveth his sister Tamar; ravisheth her; then hateth and driveth her away, 2Sa 13:1-19
Those 5 passages are the ONLY occurrence of H160/love between humans from Genesis 1:1 through the end of 2 Kings. 1st & 2nd Samuel in the Hebrew canon were one book; 1st & 2nd Samuel and 1st & 2nd Kings in the Septuagint were 1, 2, 3 4 Kingdoms or Reigns.
H160/love - Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew-English Lexicon (1906):
"1 human (to human object) absolute Ecclesiastes 9:1,6 (both "" שִׂנְאָה) so Proverbs 10:12; Proverbs 15:17; compare Proverbs 27:5; see also Proverbs 17:9; of man toward man Psalm 109:4; Psalm 109:5; love for one's self (נַפְשׁוֺ) 1 Samuel 20:17; between man & woman Songs 2:4,5; Songs 5:8; Songs 8:6,7 (twice in verse); Proverbs 5:19 compare also 2 Samuel 1:26 (נָשִׁים ׳א); personified Songs 2:7; Songs 3:5; Songs 7:7; Songs 8:4; compare figurative use Songs 3:10; of mere sexual desire 2 Samuel 13:15..."
Now for the use of plural, "women" in 1st and 2nd Samuel; 1 Sam 1:26 being the only verse in the entire Bible with the phrase "love of women", but the plural word "women" is used 14 times in 1st and 2nd Samuel, and a couple of the uses when it comes to things associated with love are these:
The first mention of the plural "women":
"Now Eli was very old; and he heard all that his sons did unto all Israel, and how that they lay with the women that did service at the door of the tent of meeting." (1Sam 2:22 ASV)
David speaking, using the word "women":
"And the priest answered David, and said, There is no common bread under my hand, but there is holy bread; if only the young men have kept themselves from women. And David answered the priest, and said unto him, Of a truth women have been kept from us about these three days; when I came out, the vessels of the young men were holy, though it was but a common journey; how much more then to-day shall their vessels be holy?" (1Sam 21:4-5 ASV)
The church tradition for many centuries has been that the word "women" in 2 Sam. 1:26 is referring to the love of a wife or wives; or to the love of a mother. It is easy to see how that tradition started, by adding to the word of God. The Wycliffe and Douay-Rheims are both translated from the Latin translations that may go back as far as the 2nd century AD. The Latin added a complete sentence to 2 Sam. 1:26 in order to introduce a more familial type of love to the context. I'll quote the D-R:
"I grieve for thee, my brother Jonathan: exceeding beautiful, and amiable to me above the love of women. As the mother loveth her only son, so did I love thee." (2Sam 1:26 DRC)
That underlined sentence is not found in the Hebrew, in the Greek Septuagint nor in the Peshitta. It is added to God's word and we know what Scripture says about adding to his word:
"Every word of God is tried: He is a shield unto them that take refuge in him. Add thou not unto his words, Lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar." (Prov 30:5-6 ASV)
Christian commentaries down through the centuries have continued to say "love of women" in 2 Sam. 1:26 is referring to the love of wife, wives and mothers. If God, through David, wished to say that, the words were available.
In the ASV, the word "wife" or "wives" is found 39 times in 1st and 2nd Samuel, and "mother" is found 8 times in 1st and 2nd Samuel. If that is what was meant, the words were in frequent use at the time and could have been used in 2 Sam. 1:26. The fact this is a lament does not change the fact; poetic language is not meant to be misleading.
This account of Jonathan and David begins when teenager David, maybe 15-19, meets Jonathan who some say was at least 10 years older. Both men are courageous, strong, recognized warriors and Jonathan loves David and accepts him and honors him as his equal. They covenant together in love and mutual respect, like alter egos. Both men had families, Jonathan having a wife and sons and David had wives and concubines and sons.
The BDB states that in 2 Samuel 13:15... the word H160/love is used "of mere sexual desire". The passages are clear that some sexual desire or feelings were experienced between David and Jonathan and the vast majority of men know this is not that unusual or hard to understand, if they are honest with themselves.
Not only did adding the fraudulent sentence, "As the mother loveth her only son, so did I love thee", to 2 Sam. 1:26 violate Proverbs 30:5, 6; it would seem to violate the Ninth Commandment as well by attributing words to David that he did not state:
"Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor." (Exod 20:16 ASV)
Is perpetuating this idea by commentary, also to some degree a violation?
This post is in NO WAY meant to be supportive of the perversions of the LGBTQ movement!
Starting with the immediate context of the verse itself, focusing on the word "love" first, and then "women" in love of women. Using the ASV-1901, considered a solid, if rigidly literal translation.
"love", H160 אַהֲבָה 'ahabah n-f. both occurrences of "love" in v26. A Hebrew word search using "TheWord" software, of solely human to human love gives as follows, including 2Samuel 1:26 -
1st
"And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love(H160) he had to her. And Jacob said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her." (Gen 29:20-21 ASV)
2nd
"And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his father's house. Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved(H160) him as his own soul." (1Sam 18:1-3 ASV)
3rd
"And Jonathan caused David to swear again, for the love(H160) that he had to him; for he loved him as he loved(H160) his own soul." (1Sam 20:17 ASV)
4th
"I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: Very pleasant hast thou been unto me: Thy love(H160) to me was wonderful, Passing the love(H160) of women." (2Sam 1:26 ASV)
5th
"Then Amnon hated her with exceeding great hatred; for the hatred wherewith he hated her was greater than the love(H160) wherewith he had loved her. And Amnon said unto her, Arise, be gone." (2Sam 13:15 ASV) ** Ammon loveth his sister Tamar; ravisheth her; then hateth and driveth her away, 2Sa 13:1-19
Those 5 passages are the ONLY occurrence of H160/love between humans from Genesis 1:1 through the end of 2 Kings. 1st & 2nd Samuel in the Hebrew canon were one book; 1st & 2nd Samuel and 1st & 2nd Kings in the Septuagint were 1, 2, 3 4 Kingdoms or Reigns.
H160/love - Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew-English Lexicon (1906):
"1 human (to human object) absolute Ecclesiastes 9:1,6 (both "" שִׂנְאָה) so Proverbs 10:12; Proverbs 15:17; compare Proverbs 27:5; see also Proverbs 17:9; of man toward man Psalm 109:4; Psalm 109:5; love for one's self (נַפְשׁוֺ) 1 Samuel 20:17; between man & woman Songs 2:4,5; Songs 5:8; Songs 8:6,7 (twice in verse); Proverbs 5:19 compare also 2 Samuel 1:26 (נָשִׁים ׳א); personified Songs 2:7; Songs 3:5; Songs 7:7; Songs 8:4; compare figurative use Songs 3:10; of mere sexual desire 2 Samuel 13:15..."
Now for the use of plural, "women" in 1st and 2nd Samuel; 1 Sam 1:26 being the only verse in the entire Bible with the phrase "love of women", but the plural word "women" is used 14 times in 1st and 2nd Samuel, and a couple of the uses when it comes to things associated with love are these:
The first mention of the plural "women":
"Now Eli was very old; and he heard all that his sons did unto all Israel, and how that they lay with the women that did service at the door of the tent of meeting." (1Sam 2:22 ASV)
David speaking, using the word "women":
"And the priest answered David, and said, There is no common bread under my hand, but there is holy bread; if only the young men have kept themselves from women. And David answered the priest, and said unto him, Of a truth women have been kept from us about these three days; when I came out, the vessels of the young men were holy, though it was but a common journey; how much more then to-day shall their vessels be holy?" (1Sam 21:4-5 ASV)
The church tradition for many centuries has been that the word "women" in 2 Sam. 1:26 is referring to the love of a wife or wives; or to the love of a mother. It is easy to see how that tradition started, by adding to the word of God. The Wycliffe and Douay-Rheims are both translated from the Latin translations that may go back as far as the 2nd century AD. The Latin added a complete sentence to 2 Sam. 1:26 in order to introduce a more familial type of love to the context. I'll quote the D-R:
"I grieve for thee, my brother Jonathan: exceeding beautiful, and amiable to me above the love of women. As the mother loveth her only son, so did I love thee." (2Sam 1:26 DRC)
That underlined sentence is not found in the Hebrew, in the Greek Septuagint nor in the Peshitta. It is added to God's word and we know what Scripture says about adding to his word:
"Every word of God is tried: He is a shield unto them that take refuge in him. Add thou not unto his words, Lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar." (Prov 30:5-6 ASV)
Christian commentaries down through the centuries have continued to say "love of women" in 2 Sam. 1:26 is referring to the love of wife, wives and mothers. If God, through David, wished to say that, the words were available.
In the ASV, the word "wife" or "wives" is found 39 times in 1st and 2nd Samuel, and "mother" is found 8 times in 1st and 2nd Samuel. If that is what was meant, the words were in frequent use at the time and could have been used in 2 Sam. 1:26. The fact this is a lament does not change the fact; poetic language is not meant to be misleading.
This account of Jonathan and David begins when teenager David, maybe 15-19, meets Jonathan who some say was at least 10 years older. Both men are courageous, strong, recognized warriors and Jonathan loves David and accepts him and honors him as his equal. They covenant together in love and mutual respect, like alter egos. Both men had families, Jonathan having a wife and sons and David had wives and concubines and sons.
The BDB states that in 2 Samuel 13:15... the word H160/love is used "of mere sexual desire". The passages are clear that some sexual desire or feelings were experienced between David and Jonathan and the vast majority of men know this is not that unusual or hard to understand, if they are honest with themselves.
Not only did adding the fraudulent sentence, "As the mother loveth her only son, so did I love thee", to 2 Sam. 1:26 violate Proverbs 30:5, 6; it would seem to violate the Ninth Commandment as well by attributing words to David that he did not state:
"Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor." (Exod 20:16 ASV)
Is perpetuating this idea by commentary, also to some degree a violation?
This post is in NO WAY meant to be supportive of the perversions of the LGBTQ movement!
