Bible Strands
2 Samuel 19:32
Barzillai was quite old, eighty years of age, and since he was a very wealthy man, he had provided for the king while he stayed in Mahanaim.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator describes Barzillai’s situation as King David prepares to return across the Jordan after his exile, immediately before David offers to house and support him in Jerusalem. Barzillai, who has been hosting the royal court in Mahanaim, is presented as a figure concluding his material support of the king’s return.
The words — The Hebrew phrase זָקֵן מְאֹד (za.Ken me.'Od) literally renders “he was old very,” emphasizing advanced age, while כִלְכַּל (khil.kal) translates to “he had supplied” or “provided for,” highlighting the concrete nature of his hospitality.
The thread — The motif of aged strength and wealth appears in Deuteronomy 34:7, where Moses retains vitality at one hundred twenty, and in Job 1:3 and 1 Samuel 25:2, which similarly document patriarchal wealth to establish credibility.
Why it lands — The text records a factual accounting of age and provision before any royal promise is made, requiring the reader to recognize the historical weight of Barzillai’s support without embellishment. It asks the reader to note that the king’s gratitude is grounded in documented, not merely implied, loyalty.
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
Now Barzillai was a very aged man, even fourscore years old: and he had provided the king of sustenance while he lay at Mahanaim; for he was a very great man.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 34:7 Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak, and his vitality had not diminished.
- 1 Samuel 25:2 Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. He was a very wealthy man with a thousand goats and three thousand sheep, which he was shearing in Carmel.
- Job 1:3 and he owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and a very large number of servants. Job was the greatest man of all the people of the East.
- Proverbs 16:31 Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is attained along the path of righteousness.
- Genesis 5:27 So Methuselah lived a total of 969 years, and then he died.
- Genesis 9:29 So Noah lived a total of 950 years, and then he died.
- Genesis 25:7 Abraham lived a total of 175 years.
- Genesis 47:28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years, and the length of his life was 147 years.
- Genesis 50:26 So Joseph died at the age of 110. And they embalmed his body and placed it in a coffin in Egypt.
- 2 Samuel 17:27 When David came to Mahanaim, he was met by Shobi son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites, Machir son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim.