But: this conjunction is apparently intended to show the contrast between the action of all the other people (who stood still before the body of Asahel) and that of the two brothers of the slain man, who immediately began to chase the killer. The following verses, however, suggest that Joab’s troops continued the chase with Joab and Abishai.

The hill of Ammah … before Giah: the names Ammah and Giah do not appear elsewhere in the Bible. The exact geographic location referred to here is therefore rather difficult to determine with any precision. Ammah was apparently a hill in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin where the land begins to slope toward the wilderness of the Jordan valley. Before Giah is literally “opposite Giah” (Revised English Bible). This is taken to mean “to the east of Giah” by several versions (New American Bible and New Jerusalem Bible as well as Good News Translation). The word usually rendered Giah may mean “valley,” as in New American Bible, or “water channel.” But this is not certain, so it is better to translate it as a name as most versions do.

Wilderness: the word so translated in Revised Standard Version is usually rendered “desert” in Good News Translation and New International Version, but here Good News Translation has “wilderness,” while New International Version has “wasteland.” Some other renderings are “pastures” (Revised English Bible) and “empty land” (New Century Version). But if “desert” (as in New Jerusalem Bible and New American Bible) is a permissible translation in other contexts, it is difficult to see why it is not acceptable here.

Gibeon: some commentators find it strange that the fighters would still be near Gibeon (see verse 13) after an apparently long chase. They have suggested that the original text probably said “Geba,” as in New American Bible. The strength of this suggestion is that Gibeon is not in or near a desert region, but that Geba is. Geba is located eight kilometers (five miles) to the east of Gibeon. Most versions, however, retain “Gibeon,” and there is little significant textual evidence to the contrary.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .