2 Samuel 17:11
ESV
But my counsel is that all Israel be gathered to you, from Dan to Beersheba, as the sand by the sea for multitude, and that you go to battle in person.
NIV
"So I advise you: Let all Israel, from Dan to Beersheba—as numerous as the sand on the seashore—be gathered to you, with you yourself leading them into battle.
NASB
But I advise that all Israel be fully gathered to you, from Dan even to Beersheba, like the sand that is by the sea in abundance; and that you personally go into battle.
CSB
Instead, I advise that all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba—as numerous as the sand by the sea —be gathered to you and that you personally go into battle.
NLT
I recommend that you mobilize the entire army of Israel, bringing them from as far away as Dan in the north and Beersheba in the south. That way you will have an army as numerous as the sand on the seashore. And I advise that you personally lead the troops.
KJV
Therefore I counsel that all Israel be generally gathered unto thee, from Dan even to Beersheba, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude; and that thou go to battle in thine own person.
NKJV
Therefore I advise that all Israel be fully gathered to you, from Dan to Beersheba, like the sand that is by the sea for multitude, and that you go to battle in person.
What does 2 Samuel 17:11 mean?
Absalom has stolen Israel's hearts and Jerusalem's throne. But he will never truly be king until his father, David, is destroyed. Ahithophel, considered the wisest and best strategist in Israel, has a plan. He'll lead a force of men to hunt David right away. This will catch David and those who fled Jerusalem with him unprepared and tired. Ahithophel's men will kill David and bring his servants back to Jerusalem. Then all Israel will be united under Absalom (2 Samuel 17:1–3).However, Hushai has infiltrated Absalom's court under David's command to thwart Ahithophel's plans (2 Samuel 15:32–37). Hushai claims David and his men are too experienced and angry to fall before the available troops. Ahithophel's army will melt in fear (2 Samuel 17:5–10). Absalom needs a bigger army, and he needs to lead it himself. Absalom won the nation by riding in a chariot to the city gates and talking to people (2 Samuel 15:1–6). Hushai says he can keep it by properly riding into battle.
Of course, it is terrible advice to miss striking David while unprepared. But with God's influence, Absalom and the elders will prefer this second plan (2 Samuel 17:14).
"Dan to Beersheba" was a figure of speech referring to all the land Israel encompassed. Beersheba was in the middle of Simeon's tribal territory, which was itself in the middle of Judah. Beersheba was on the border of the Negev, at a well near two wadis: seasonally dry creek beds. The city received just enough rainfall for agriculture, but anything south required irrigation. It wasn't the southernmost part of David's kingdom—that would be Kadesh-barnea—but it was the southernmost city that had the resources to sustain a larger population, and it was considered the capital of the Negev.
The "Dan" of the saying wasn't the tribe just northwest of Judah. It was a city southwest of Mt. Hermon, almost directly east of Tyre on the eastern border of Naphtali, just east of the Jordan River. Although Sidon in northern Asher was the northernmost city, the Israelites never controlled it or its sister-city Tyre (Judges 1:31). So, Dan was considered the northernmost city.
