Bible Strands
2 Samuel 23:15
David longed for water and said, “Oh, that someone would get me a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — David speaks aloud while stationed in a fortress while a Philistine garrison occupies Bethlehem. His statement expresses a personal desire for water from a specific location under enemy control.
The words — The Hebrew verb וַ/יִּתְאַוֶּ֥ה (va/yit'aveh) literally means "and he desired" or "he longed." It is paired with מִי (mi), "who?", framing a rhetorical question about obtaining the water.
The thread — The motif of water longing runs through Psalms 42:1 as spiritual thirst, Numbers 11:4 as communal craving, and John 4:14 as a contrast to Jesus’s living water.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that David’s subsequent refusal to drink the water (2 Samuel 23:16) treats the gift as too sacred to consume personally. It requires the reader to see that genuine devotion prioritizes reverence over personal gratification.
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 David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Beth–lehem, which is by the gate!
Cross-references
- John 4:14 But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.”
- Numbers 11:4 Meanwhile, the rabble among them had a strong craving for other food, and again the Israelites wept and said, “Who will feed us meat?
- Psalms 42:1 For the choirmaster. A Maskil of the sons of Korah. As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul longs after You, O God.
- Psalms 63:1 A Psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Judah. O God, You are my God. Earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You. My body yearns for You in a dry and weary land without water.
- Isaiah 41:17 The poor and needy seek water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the LORD, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
- Isaiah 44:3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and currents on the dry ground. I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring.
- John 4:10 Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God and who is asking you for a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
- John 7:37 On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.
- Psalms 119:81 My soul faints for Your salvation; I wait for Your word.