· Translation: KJV

2 Samuel 23:11After him was Shammah the son of Agee a Hararite. The Philistines were gathered together into a troop, where there was a plot of ground full of lentils; and the people fled from the Philistines.

The setting

Lehi, Israel, ~1000 BC. Shammah watches his entire army flee from Philistines over a field of lentils — beans worth defending...

The emotion here: setting up the contrast between cowardice and coming heroism

The original word

adashim (עֲדָשִׁים) — lentils, red beans that were crucial protein for common people

Why it matters

Lentils were poor man's protein; this 'small' field fed families through winter

Read with care

What most readers miss in 2 Samuel 23:11

Everyone fled from a LENTIL field — what seems worthless to some is life-sustaining to others

Common misconceptionPeople mock fighting over 'just lentils,' but this was winter food for families — Shammah defended people's survival, not crops.

The thread continues

Verses that echo 2 Samuel 23:11

Bible Genome reading

2 Samuel 23:11 — Bible Genome reading

SpeakerNarrator
EraUnited Kingdom
Primary emotionresting
Literary typenarrative

Emotional genome

Comfort power30%
Quotability40%
Memorability50%
Crisis relevance40%
Standalone50%
Themes:military organizationpreparation

In context

No verse stands alone.

Read the conversation around it.

Open 2 Samuel 23

2 Samuel 23:11 comes from the book of 2 Samuel, written during the United Kingdom period. The setting is the battlefield. These words are attributed to Narrator. The dominant emotion in this verse is resting, with a comfort power of 30% and a tone that is reverent. It belongs to the narrative genre of biblical literature. Key themes include military organization, preparation. Notable phrases: plot of ground full of lentils.

Your reflection

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