And Joab drew nigh, and the people that were with him, unto the battle against the Syrians,.... Fell upon them; attacked them first, began the battle with them; rightly judging, that if they, being hired soldiers, were closely pressed, they would give way, which would discourage the Ammonites, who depended much upon them; and the fight, according to Josephus x, lasted some little time, who says, that Joab killed many of them, and obliged the rest to turn their backs and flee, as follows:
and they fled before him: the Syriac and Arabic versions in this verse, and in all others in this chapter where the word "Syrians" is used, have "Edomites", reading "Edom" instead of "Aram", the letters ר "R" and ד "D" in the Hebrew tongue being very similar.
x Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 7. c. 6. sect. 2.)