And Hadarezer sent, and brought out the Syrians that were beyond the river: and they came to Helam; and Shobach the captain of the host of Hadarezer went before them.
Hadarezer sent, and brought out the Syrians that were beyond the river, х 'Araam (H758); Septuagint, teen Surian ek tou peran tou potamou chalamak]. This prince had enjoyed a breathing-time after his defeat (2 Samuel 8:3); and, alarmed at the increasing power and greatness of David, as well as being an ally of the Ammonites, levied a vast army, not only in Syria, but in Mesopotamia, among his tributaries and vassals (2 Samuel 10:19), to invade the Hebrew kingdom. Shobach, his general, in pursuance of this design, had marched his troops as far as Helam, a border-town of Eastern Manasseh, when David, crossing the Jordan by forced marches, suddenly surprised, defeated, and dispersed them.