· Translation: KJV

2 Samuel 17:9Behold, he is now hidden in some pit, or in some other place. It will happen, when some of them have fallen at the first, that whoever hears it will say, 'There is a slaughter among the people who follow Absalom!'

The setting

Jerusalem, ~1000 BC. Night council meeting. Hushai warns of David's guerrilla tactics while secretly loyal to the fugitive king.

The emotion here: calculating fear while maintaining false loyalty

The original word

bôr (בּוֹר) — deep pit or cistern, often used as prison or trap

Why it matters

David learned guerrilla warfare during his 7 years fleeing from Saul

Read with care

What most readers miss in 2 Samuel 17:9

Hushai is David's spy giving deliberately bad military advice to Absalom

Common misconceptionPeople think this is just military strategy, but it's actually a father's broken heart expressed through his spy's warnings about his own son's hunt for him.

Bible Genome reading

2 Samuel 17:9 — Bible Genome reading

SpeakerHushai
EraUnited Kingdom
Primary emotionanxious
Literary typedialogue

Emotional genome

Comfort power10%
Quotability40%
Memorability50%
Crisis relevance80%
Standalone30%
Themes:strategywarfarecasualties

In context

No verse stands alone.

Read the conversation around it.

Open 2 Samuel 17

2 Samuel 17:9 comes from the book of 2 Samuel, written during the United Kingdom period. These words are attributed to Hushai. The dominant emotion in this verse is anxious, with a comfort power of 10% and a tone that is urgent. It belongs to the dialogue genre of biblical literature. Key themes include strategy, warfare, casualties. Notable phrases: hidden in some pit; some of them have fallen.

Your reflection

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