The great stone which is in Gibeon: Gibeon was located about ten kilometers (or about six miles) to the north of Jerusalem and was in the territory of Benjamin, which would have been friendly to Sheba. The mention of the great stone, using the definite article, shows that it was a well-known landmark. Another similar landmark is mentioned in 1 Sam 6.15 and 18.

Came to meet them: this may mean either “caught up with them” (Contemporary English Version) coming from Jerusalem or, as in New Jerusalem Bible, “met them, coming the other way,” implying that he had been with Sheba and was definitely a sympathizer with the rebellion. The events that follow make it quite clear that Joab considered Amasa a traitor, but perhaps this was only because he failed to assemble the army within three days as David had instructed him. Nevertheless, in languages that require translators to decide which direction Amasa was going, it may be better to state that he was coming from the opposite direction.

Now introduces an explanation by the writer that includes a description of his clothing and of the instrument he eventually used to kill Amasa. From here to the end of this verse the meaning of the Hebrew is not clear.

Was wearing a soldier’s garment: literally “was girded with his garment his clothing.” Though the exact sense is not clear, Revised Standard Version probably expresses the basic meaning according to the context. Another way of speaking of a soldier’s garment is to say that he had on “his apparel of war” (Goldman) or, putting it in more modern terms, that he was “dressed for combat.” The girdle was a kind of belt worn around the waist that could have held a sheath in which a sword or a dagger could be kept. On the word girdle see 18.11 and 1 Sam 18.4.

While most English versions use the word sword here, some indicate that it was a “dagger” (Contemporary English Version, New International Version, Knox, and Anderson). In view of the events described, it seems more logical that the instrument used may have been shorter than what people usually think of as a sword.

As he went forward it fell out: the meaning of the words so translated are debated by scholars. Some think the meaning is as in Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation. Apparently Joab deliberately let the instrument fall to the ground in order to put his enemy at ease so that he would not suspect what was about to happen. Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente states explicitly that the sword “fell to the ground,” but in light of the difficulties of understanding this verse, it will be better not to be so specific unless the receptor language requires it. Some interpreters change the Hebrew text here in light of the Septuagint to say “and it came out and fell” (Osty-Trinquet), but the Masoretic Text should be followed.

Some interpreters, however, do not think that the Hebrew means that the sword fell to the ground. Rather, Joab had his tunic pulled up and girded around his waist, and the sword fell out of its sheath into the folds of the tunic. If this interpretation is followed, then the weapon that Joab uses in verse 10 is the same sword mentioned here and is not a second sword that he was hiding, nor is it the fallen sword that he had picked up from the ground (see the comments on the New Jerusalem Bible translation of verse 10).

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 .