2 Samuel 17:10

Then even the most valiant soldier with the heart of a lion will melt with fear, because all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man who has valiant men with him.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Hushai addresses Absalom during the war council, countering prior strategy by predicting panic among Absalom’s forces.

The words — The text foregrounds חַ֗יִל (Cha.yil), meaning strength, and הָ/אַרְיֵ֖ה (ha./'ar.Yeh), meaning lion, to depict the warrior’s courage that will ultimately fail.

The thread — This motif of martial resolve giving way to dread runs through Exodus 15:15, Joshua 2:9, and Genesis 49:9.

Why it lands — The verse requires acknowledging that established reputation and known force dictate outcomes, demanding a response that matches scale to threat.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

King James Version

And he also that is valiant, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, shall utterly melt: for all Israel knoweth that thy father is a mighty man, and they which be with him are valiant men.

Cross-references

Joshua 2:9 and said to them, “I know that the LORD has given you this land and that the fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who dwell in the land are melting in fear of you.
Genesis 49:9 Judah is a young lion—my son, you return from the prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness, who dares to rouse him?
Exodus 15:15 Then the chiefs of Edom will be dismayed; trembling will seize the leaders of Moab; those who dwell in Canaan will melt away,
Numbers 24:8 God brought him out of Egypt with strength like a wild ox, to devour hostile nations and crush their bones, to pierce them with arrows.
Deuteronomy 1:28 Where can we go? Our brothers have made our hearts melt, saying: ‘The people are larger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the heavens. We even saw the descendants of the Anakim there.’”
1 Samuel 18:17 Then Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab. I will give her to you in marriage. Only be valiant for me and fight the LORD’s battles.” But Saul was thinking, “I need not raise my hand against him; let the hand of the Philistines be against him.”
2 Samuel 1:23 Saul and Jonathan, beloved and delightful in life, were not divided in death. They were swifter than eagles; they were stronger than lions.
2 Samuel 23:20 And Benaiah son of Jehoiada was a man of valor from Kabzeel, a man of many exploits. He struck down two champions of Moab, and on a snowy day he went down into a pit and killed a lion.
Proverbs 28:1 The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.
Song of Solomon 3:7 Behold, it is Solomon’s carriage, escorted by sixty of the mightiest men of Israel.