“And when the children of Ammon saw that they stank before David, the children of Ammon sent and hired the Syrians of Bethrehob, and the Syrians of Zoba, twenty thousand footmen, and of king Maacah a thousand men, and of Ishtob twelve thousand men.”
My Notes
What Does 2 Samuel 10:6 Mean?
The Ammonites have realized they've made a catastrophic diplomatic error. In the preceding verses, their king Hanun humiliated David's ambassadors by shaving half their beards and cutting their garments — a profound insult in the ancient Near East. Now they understand the consequence: "they stank before David." The Hebrew ba'ash means to become odious, to make oneself repulsive — they've made themselves an unbearable offense to a powerful king.
Rather than apologize or negotiate, they double down. They hire mercenaries — twenty thousand Syrian footmen from Beth-rehob and Zobah, a thousand men from the king of Maacah, and twelve thousand from Ish-tob. The total mercenary force is thirty-three thousand soldiers, bought to fight a war the Ammonites started with an act of petty cruelty. The cost of pride keeps escalating.
The pattern is instructive: insult, realization of consequences, and then escalation instead of repentance. The Ammonites could have sent an embassy of apology. They could have returned David's men with honor and reparations. Instead, they spent enormous resources hiring an army to defend a decision they should have reversed. Pride turned a diplomatic incident into a regional war.
Reflection Questions
- 1.When have you escalated a conflict rather than apologize, even when you knew you were wrong?
- 2.What does the Ammonites' response reveal about the true cost of pride in relationships?
- 3.Is there a situation in your life right now where a simple apology could prevent an escalating war?
- 4.Why does admitting fault feel more costly than it actually is — and what do you lose by refusing to do it?
Devotional
The Ammonites knew they'd messed up. The text says so plainly — they saw that they stank before David. They had full awareness that they'd crossed a line. And their response wasn't to make it right. It was to hire thirty-three thousand soldiers to avoid having to admit they were wrong.
That's what pride does. It calculates that the cost of escalation is less humiliating than the cost of apology. And it's always wrong about the math. The Ammonites will lose this war, lose their mercenary allies, and eventually lose their kingdom. Every resource they poured into avoiding accountability was wasted. An apology would have cost them nothing but ego. The war cost them everything.
You've probably done your own version of this. You said something hurtful. You made a bad decision. You know you're wrong. And instead of the simple, painful work of saying "I was wrong, and I'm sorry," you escalated. You defended the indefensible. You recruited allies to validate your position. You spent emotional and relational capital on a war that an honest conversation could have prevented. How much has your pride cost you? Not just in the moment, but in the relationships, the trust, the peace you burned through because apologizing felt like losing? The Ammonites hired an army. What have you hired to avoid saying sorry?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And when the children of Ammon saw that they stank before David,.... Or had made themselves odious to him, as it is…
Stank ... - A strong figure for to be odious or detested. Compare the marginal references The Syrians of Beth-rehob - If…
The children of Ammon saw that they stank - That is, that their conduct rendered them abominable. This is the Hebrew…
Here we have, I. The preparation which the Ammonites made for war, Sa2 10:6. They saw they had made themselves very…
Defeat of the Ammonites and their Syrian allies
6. that they stank Lit. that they had made themselves stink: had brought…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture