The Meaning of 2 Samuel 5:18 Explained

2 Samuel 5:18

KJV: The Philistines also came and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim.

YLT: and the Philistines have come, and are spread out in the valley of Rephaim.

Darby: And the Philistines came and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim.

ASV: Now the Philistines had come and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

The Philistines  also came  and spread  themselves in the valley  of Rephaim. 

What does 2 Samuel 5:18 Mean?

Context Summary

2 Samuel 5:13-25 - Jehovah's Victories Over The Philistines
David's prosperity led to luxurious living and sensual indulgence, out of which sprang the troubles of his after-life, 2 Samuel 5:13; 2 Samuel 5:15.
The Philistines watched the acquisition of Jerusalem with profound anxiety. It was against their policy for David to be the head of a united nation. It would seem that their first onset drove him back to the cave of Adullam, 2 Samuel 5:17. This was a startling reversal of fortune, but it was salutary that, now as ever, David should learn how dependent he was on God, and that God, who had given him so much, might at any time withdraw his gifts. Loneliness, failure, solitude are necessary for us all! Twice David sought direction as to the ordering of the fight. On the first occasion, the command was, Go up; on the second, Thou shalt not go up. In the first battle the Philistine position was carried by assault; in the second it was turned by ambush. The movement in the trees suggests the footfalls of angel-squadrons. Oh, for the quick ear to detect the goings-forth of God's help, and grace to bestir ourselves to follow! [source]

Chapter Summary: 2 Samuel 5

1  The tribes come to Hebron and anoint David over Israel,
4  David's age
6  Taking Zion from the Jebusites, he dwells in it
11  Hiram sends to David,
13  Eleven sons are born to him in Jerusalem
17  David, directed by God, smites the Philistines at Baal-perazim
22  And again at the mulberry trees

What do the individual words in 2 Samuel 5:18 mean?

And the Philistines went and deployed themselves in the Valley of the Rephaites
וּפְלִשְׁתִּ֖ים בָּ֑אוּ וַיִּנָּטְשׁ֖וּ בְּעֵ֥מֶק רְפָאִֽים

וּפְלִשְׁתִּ֖ים  And  the  Philistines 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, masculine plural
Root: פְּלִשְׁתִּי  
Sense: an inhabitant of Philistia; descendants of Mizraim who immigrated from Caphtor (Crete?) to the western seacoast of Canaan.
בָּ֑אוּ  went 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
וַיִּנָּטְשׁ֖וּ  and  deployed  themselves 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Nifal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: נָטַשׁ  
Sense: to leave, permit, forsake, cast off or away, reject, suffer, join, spread out or abroad, be loosed, cease, abandon, quit, hang loose, cast down, make a raid, lie fallow, let fall, forgo, draw.
בְּעֵ֥מֶק  in  the  Valley 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: עֵמֶק  
Sense: valley, vale, lowland, open country.
רְפָאִֽים  of  the  Rephaites 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine plural
Root: רְפָאִים 
Sense: giants, Rephaim.