The remainder of Chapter 21 deals with several battles between the Israelites and the Philistines. These particular battles probably occurred during the latter years of David's reign because we find him running out of strength on one occasion.
"Once again there was a battle between the Philistines and Israel. David went down with his men to fight against the Philistines, and he became exhausted." (2 Samuel 21:15) He no longer has the strength of a young or middle aged man. His spirit is willing to go out and fight the enemy but his flesh is too weak to endure the hardships of battle. One of the Philistines notices David is at a disadvantage and yells out a threat to him as he charges toward him to deliver a killing blow. "And Ishbi-Benob, one of the descendants of Rapha, whose bronze spearhead weighed three hundred shekels and who was armed with a new sword, said he would kill David. But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to David's rescue, he struck the Philistine down and killed him." (2 Samuel 21:16-17a)
Ishbi-Benob is a descendant of Raphah, which means he is a man of unusually large stature. We have previously seen the descendants of Raphah (the Rephaites) referred to as "giants". The largest man mentioned in the Bible, King Og of Bashan, was a Rephaite and it was said in Deuteronomy 3:11 that he required a bed that was just over fourteen feet long. We don't know how large Ishbi-Benob is but he's a formidable opponent due to both his size and presumed youth, for it's likely he's several decades younger than David who is estimated to be at least sixty years old by now. If David's nephew Abishai had not been fighting near the king and keeping a watchful eye on him, Ishbi-Benob might have fulfilled his threat to kill David. But Abishai saves David's life.
This incident is considered too close of a call to allow something like it to happen again. After the battle is over in which Ishbi-Benob was killed, the soldiers tell David that from now on he must protect himself and Israel by not charging into battle with the men. "Then David's men swore to him, saying, 'Never again will you go out with us to battle, so that the lamp of Israel will not be extinguished." (2 Samuel 21:17b) An experienced, battle-hardened warrior like David might have taken offense at his men suggesting he is no longer in tip-top shape for fighting. But the soldiers phrase their statement in such a way as to remind him that his safety means Israel's safety. They do not want to lose their leader and guide (their "lamp", as they put it). There's no indication he disagreed with their words. It is clear to him that in the interest of national security it is best if he is not struck down on the battlefield. It is best for the nation's spiritual security as well, for David is a king who loves the Lord. He has made mistakes, some of which were quite large and became very publicly known, but his willingness to repent and turn from his mistakes is publicly known too.
The Philistines regroup after being defeated in the battle that took place in verses 15-17 and they attack Israel again. "In the course of time, there was another battle with the Philistines, at Gob. At that time Sibbekai the Hushathite killed Saph, one of the descendants of Rapha." (2 Samuel 21:18) A mighty warrior of the region of Hushah, Sibbekai, slays a giant named Saph in this battle. 1 Chronicles 20 contains a parallel account to what we're studying in 2 Samuel 21 and it states that after this battle, "the Philistines were subjugated". (1 Chronicles 20:4b) We don't know whether it was all or part of the Philistine territories that were forced to pay tribute to Israel after this battle. But the Philistines rise up against their conquerors again with another giant at the forefront.
The next giant to be defeated is the brother of the late Goliath who was slain by David. "In another battle with the Philistines at Gob, Elhanan son of Jair the Bethlehemite killed the brother of Goliath the Gittite, who had a spear with a shaft like a weaver's rod." (2 Samuel 21:19)
After Goliath's brother is killed in battle, yet another giant steps up to fight. We are given an interesting tidbit of information regarding his appearance. "In still another battle, which took place at Gath, there was a huge man with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot---twenty-four in all. He also was descended from Rapha. When he taunted Israel, Jonathan son of Shimeah, David's brother, killed him." (2 Samuel 21:20-21) This man has what is known as "polydactyly", which is the term for having extra digits, and it's not an uncommon hand and foot abnormality. There's no reason to doubt the Biblical account of this man having twenty-four digits because some form of polydactyly occurs at least once in every 1,000 births, although some websites state it occurs more often (once in every 500 to 700 births) and some claim it happens less often (once in every 2,000 births). Still, it's plain to see that it's not unusual for a person to have one or more extra digits on their hands and feet.
Four giants are taken down in the verses we've studied today. This must have been a huge blow to the Philistines. "These four were descendants of Rapha in Gath, and they fell at the hands of David and his men." (2 Samuel 21:22) I believe the Philistines employed giants for the intimidation factor as well as for their fighting power. But not one of these giants has been able to defeat a soldier of the army of Israel because, as David said when he faced down Goliath, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied." (1 Samuel 17:45) No giant is too big to defeat when the Lord is on our side!
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