So they came up to Baal-perazım. — And they: that is, David and his troops. Samuel, “And David came into Baal-perazim.” The locality is unknown. The prophet Isaiah (1 Chronicles 28:21) refers to these two victories of David: “For Jehovah shall rise up as in Mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act.” Such a reference proves the great moment of the events so briefly chronicled here.
God hath broken in upon mine enemies. — Samuel has “Jehovah” here and in 1 Chronicles 14:10 a, and again in 1 Chronicles 14:14-15. (See Note, 1 Chronicles 13:12.) True to his character, David owns the mighty hand of God in the results of his own valour. (Comp. 1 Chronicles 17:16, sqq.) He is conscious of being God’s instrument. Contrast the haughty self-confidence of the Assyrian conqueror (Isaiah 10:5-15).
By mine hand. — Samuel, “before me;” and so the Syriac and Arabic here. The Hebrew phrases are probably synonymous. (Comp. 1 Samuel 21:14, “in their hand,” i.e., before them.) In Arabic, “between the hands” means before. Our text seems the more original here.
Like the breaking forth of waters. — David’s forces probably charged down the slopes of Mount Perazim (Isaiah 28:21), like a mountain torrent, sweeping all before it.
They called. — An explanation of Samuel, which has “he [i.e., one] called.” The remark indicates the antiquity of the narrative. (Comp. the frequent verbal plays of this kind in the stories of the Book of Genesis.)
Baal-perazim. — Lord, or owner, of breaches, or breakings forth. “Baal” may refer to Jehovah (comp. 1 Chronicles 9:33, Note); and perâzîm may have also meant the fissures or gullies on the mountain-side. It is the plural of the word perez (1 Chronicles 13:11).