שמואל ב, פרק י״ב, פסוק ל״א

Following the deep national insult and the public humiliation of King David's messengers, the war against the Ammonites concludes with an unusually harsh punishment. David sought to strike fear into the surrounding nations, deterring them from ever attacking Israel again while restoring the nation's honor [רלב״ג, אברבנאל, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. To achieve this, the king subjected the defeated inhabitants to a series of severe measures involving heavy agricultural and construction tools. These included saws with dense, sharp teeth [רש״י, מצודת ציון, רד״ק], heavy iron harrows traditionally used for threshing grain [רש״י, מצודת ציון, רלב״ג], and iron axes designed for chopping wood or cutting heavy stones [רלב״ג, אברבנאל, מצודת ציון, רד״ק].

The primary approach among commentators is that David used these heavy implements to execute the city's residents in agonizing pain, cutting and splitting their flesh. However, a different perspective suggests that the king did not put the people to death. Instead, he forced them into hard labor, making them use these very tools for grueling physical work [ביאור שטיינזלץ].

The captives were also subjected to a punishment involving a brick kiln. The primary approach among commentators is that David burned the Ammonites inside a fiery furnace used for manufacturing bricks. This specific method of execution carries a deeper meaning, as it hints at the name of the Ammonite idol, Molech [מנחת שי]. Because the worship of Molech involved passing children through fire, David punished the Ammonites measure for measure, burning them exactly as they had burned their own children for their idol [רד״ק]. Other scholars offer a different view, suggesting the punishment involved dragging the residents in public disgrace through the muddy, brick-paved streets and alleys of the city [רש״י, רד״ק]. Finally, following the view that David only enslaved the population rather than killing them, this measure meant he forced the Ammonites into the difficult labor of brick-making, mirroring the harsh slavery the Israelites once endured in Egypt [ביאור שטיינזלץ].

This severe response was not limited to the capital city. The same measures were applied to every Ammonite city captured during the campaign [רד״ק]. Once the military operation was complete and the necessary deterrence was firmly established, King David and all the people returned to Jerusalem in a state of victory and joy [אברבנאל].