Won a name for himself: although certain interpreters take this as a reference to the setting up of some sort of monument (Anchor Bible), it is more likely that it is a reference to becoming famous, as is the case with the similar expression in 7.23.

Slew: as in verse 5 above, this rather archaic English word has been translated by the more common verb “killed” in New Revised Standard Version.

The Valley of Salt: the location of this valley is unknown, but there are several possibilities to the south or southwest of the Dead Sea. The problem for the translator is to determine the relationship between “valley” and “salt.” The idea hidden by the preposition “of” is probably that there were places where salt deposits and brackish water were found. Such places were unfavorable to agricultural pursuits and were usually considered to be unfit for human beings to live in (Deut 29.23; Job 39.6; and Jer 17.6). The translation may thus read “the valley where salt is found.” Compare also 2 Kgs 14.7 and the Hebrew superscription at the beginning of Psalm 60.

There is a textual problem in this verse. The Masoretic Text says “… when he returned from smiting the Syrians in the Valley of Salt eighteen thousand.” But the context seems to require the name “Edom” rather than “Syria” (the two names look very similar in Hebrew). And 2 Kgs 14.7 refers to the Valley of Salt in connection with Edom rather than Syria. Numerous translations correct the Hebrew text on the basis of the Septuagint to read “when he returned, he smote Edom” (so Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible). Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament suggests that the original text probably read “when he returned from smiting Syria, he smote Edom,” and that the words “Syria, he smote” were accidentally omitted by a scribe. But since no manuscript support exists for this reading, Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives a {B} rating to the Masoretic Text and recommends that it be translated, and that a footnote be used to explain what the original reading probably was. Despite the recommendation of Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament that this corrected reading be included in a footnote and not in the text itself, translators are urged to follow the models of Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch and include this corrected reading in the text itself:

• David gained great fame when, having returned from an expedition against the Syrians, he defeated eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.

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 .