Biblical Hebrew

2 Samuel


       וַתִּקְרָא      אֶת־שְׁמוֹ  שְׁמוּאֵל      כִּי        מֵיְהוָה         שְׁאִלְתִּיו
  I have asked him    from YHWH   because   Samuel   his name   and she called
 

The name "Samuel" has two possible meanings.

   שֵׁם־אֱלֹהִים   "name of God" 
שָׁמַע־אֱלֹהִים    "God heard" 

Samuel was the last of the ruling judges in the Old Testament. 
He anointed Saul to be the first King of Israel and later anointed David. 



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Introduction
The Book of Samuel is a book in the Hebrew Bible 
and two books (1 Samuel and 2 Samuel) in the Christian 

Refer to the page 1 Samuel for notes on both the 
Books of Samuel.


The rest of this comprehensive Wikipedia article on the book can be read here.
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2 Samuel 3:29c
(An extract from BHFA Volume 5.)

  וּמַחֲזִיק            בַּפֶּלֶךְ   
                          on a crutch        and one who leans on


KJB      that leaneth on a staff,
NASB   who takes hold of a distaff,
ESV      who holds a spindle
NLT      who walks on crutches
NIV      who leans on a crutch

 
There are two ways in which the noun could be used to describe this curse.
a) This noun has now been identified from Ugaritic and Akkadian as the word for "spindle" or "distaff" (a stick or spindle onto which wool or flax is wound for spinning). The phrase used here was the common description of a woman involved in menial tasks. Should a Hittite soldier break his oath, it would result in the loss of his manhood. The oath describes this penalty in terms of the violator holding the spindle and mirror. This second curse in this verse then threatens Joab's house with decreased virility.

b) The second interpretation is that "distaff" is a derogatory euphemism for a cripple who requires a crutch. This is consistent with word "agad" ("staff") used to translate the noun in the Aramaic Targum attributed to Onkelos.
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2 Samuel 3:32b
(An extract from BHFA Volume 5.)

  וַיֵּבְךְּ      אֶל־      קֶבֶר       אַבְנֵר   
                  Abner       the grave of        at        and he wept


KJB     and wept at the grave of Abner;
NASB  and wept at the grave of Abner,
ESV     and wept at the grave of Abner,
NLT     and the king …. wept at his graveside.
NIV     and the king wept aloud at Abner's tomb.

 
One could say that "grave" refers of the place where physical corpses are laid to rest, and that the place where the immaterial part of the deceased goes would then be "Sheol."

Refer to Is 5:14 concerning the word "Sheol." 


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