2 Samuel 2
2
David Anointed King Over Judah
1#1Sa 23:2; 30:31After this, David consulted the Lord, asking, “Shall I go to one of the cities of Judah?”
The Lord responded to him, “Go up.”
David asked, “Where should I go?”
And He said, “Hebron.”
2#1Sa 25:42–43; 30:5So David went up there, along with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite. 3#1Sa 27:2–3; 30:1And David brought the men who were with him, each man with his household, and they lived in the cities of Hebron. 4#1Sa 31:11–13; 2Sa 5:5Then the men of Judah came and there anointed David as king over the house of Judah, and they informed David that it was the men of Jabesh Gilead who had buried Saul.
5#1Sa 23:21; Ru 2:20So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh Gilead saying, “May you be blessed by the Lord, you who have shown this loyalty to your lord Saul by burying him. 6Now may the Lord show you loyalty and faithfulness, even as I deal kindly with you who have done this thing. 7Now may your hands be strong and may you be courageous, since your lord Saul is dead and the house of Judah has anointed me as king over them.”
War Between the Houses of David and Saul
1Ch 3:1–4
8#1Sa 14:50; Ge 32:2However, Abner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Saul, had taken Ish-Bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim. 9He installed him as king over Gilead, the Ashurites, Jezreel, Ephraim, and Benjamin, over Israel in its entirety.
10Ish-Bosheth the son of Saul was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he ruled for two years. However, the house of Judah followed David. 11#1Ki 2:11The length of time during which David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.
12#Jos 18:25; 10:12Abner the son of Ner, with the servants of Ish-Bosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim toward Gibeon. 13#2Sa 8:16; 1Ch 2:16And Joab the son of Zeruiah, with the servants of David, went out in order to meet together at the pool of Gibeon. They sat down, one group on one side of the pool and the other group on the side of the pool opposite them.
14#2Sa 2:17Abner suggested to Joab, “Let the young men come forward and compete before us.”
And Joab replied, “Let them come.”
15So they stepped forward and were counted, twelve from Benjamin and Ish-Bosheth and twelve from the servants of David. 16Each one grabbed his opponent by the head and thrust his sword in his opponent’s side; so they fell down together. Therefore that place was called Helkath Hazzurim, which is at Gibeon.
17#2Sa 3:1The fighting was very fierce that day, but Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by the servants of David.
18#1Ch 12:8; Hab 3:19Now the three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel; and Asahel was as fast as a wild gazelle. 19So Asahel pursued Abner, and as he went, he did not turn to the right hand or to the left from following Abner. 20Abner looked behind him and said, “Is that you, Asahel?”
He answered, “It is I.”
21Abner said to him, “Turn aside to your right or left, overtake one of the young men, and take his equipment for yourself,” but Asahel was not willing to desist.
22#2Sa 3:27Abner continued still to reason with Asahel, “Abandon your pursuit. Why should I strike you down? How then could I show my face to your brother Joab?”
23#2Sa 3:27; 4:6But he refused to desist. So Abner struck him in the abdomen with the butt of his spear, so that the spear came out of his back. He fell there and died on the spot. When all of the others came to the place where Asahel fell and died, they halted.
24But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner. As the sun was setting, they came to the hill of Ammah, which is next to Giah on the way to the Wilderness of Gibeon. 25The sons of Benjamin gathered to the rear of Abner into a single formation, and they took their stand atop one of the hills.
26#Jer 46:10; 46:14Abner called to Joab, “Must the sword consume forever? Do you not understand that a bitter taste will result in the end? How long will you refuse to command the people to withdraw from chasing their brothers?”
27#2Sa 2:14; Pr 17:14Joab responded, “As God lives, I assure you that if you had not said this, the people would have each pursued his brother throughout the night.”
28So Joab blew a trumpet, and all the people stood still. They pursued Israel no longer, nor did they continue to fight anymore.
29#2Sa 2:8So Abner and his men traveled through the Arabah all that night, crossed the Jordan, and marched all morning until they returned to Mahanaim.
30Joab refrained from pursuing Abner, but instead mustered all of the people. There were nineteen men besides Asahel missing from among the servants of David. 31But the servants of David routed Benjamin and the men of Abner; three hundred and sixty of their men died. 32They carried Asahel back and interred him in his father’s tomb, which was at Bethlehem. Then Joab and his men traveled throughout the night and reached Hebron at dawn.
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Military Bible Association
2 Samuel 2
2
David Is Anointed King of Judah
1Later David asked the Lord for advice. David said, “Should I take control#2:1 take control Literally, “go up against.” of any of the cities of Judah?”
The Lord said to David, “Yes.”
David asked, “Where should I go?”
The Lord answered, “To Hebron.”
2So David and his two wives moved to Hebron. (His wives were Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, who had been the wife of Nabal from Carmel.) 3David also brought his men and their families. All of them made their homes in Hebron and the towns nearby.
4The men of Judah came to Hebron and anointed David to be the king of Judah. Then they told David, “The men of Jabesh Gilead buried Saul.”
5David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh Gilead. These messengers told the men in Jabesh: “The Lord bless you, because you have shown kindness to your lord Saul by burying him.#2:5 burying him The bodies of both Saul and Jonathan were burned and their bones were buried. See 1 Sam. 31:12. 6The Lord will be kind and true to you, and so will I. 7Now be strong and brave. Your lord, Saul, is dead, but the tribe of Judah has anointed me to be their king.”
Ish Bosheth Becomes King
8Abner son of Ner was the captain of Saul’s army. Abner took Ish Bosheth#2:8 Ish Bosheth In the ancient Greek version and 1 Chron. 8:33; 9:39, his name is Ish Baal or Eshbaal. Later Hebrew scribes substituted Bosheth (“shame”) for Baal (“Lord”), because Baal was also the name for a Canaanite god. son of Saul to Mahanaim 9and made him king of Gilead, Asher, Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin, and all Israel.#2:9 Israel Sometimes this means the whole country, Judah and Israel. Here, it means only the tribes that were not united with Judah.
10Ish Bosheth son of Saul was 40 years old when he began to rule over Israel. He ruled Israel two years, but the tribe of Judah followed David. 11David ruled over the tribe of Judah from Hebron for seven years and six months.
The Deadly Contest
12Abner son of Ner and the officers of Ish Bosheth son of Saul left Mahanaim and went to Gibeon. 13Joab, Zeruiah’s son, and the officers of David also went to Gibeon. They met Abner and Ish Bosheth’s officers at the pool of Gibeon. Abner’s group sat on one side of the pool. Joab’s group sat on the other side.
14Abner said to Joab, “Let’s have the young soldiers get up and have a contest here.”
Joab said, “Yes, let’s have a contest.”
15So the young soldiers got up. The two groups counted their men for the contest. They chose twelve men from the tribe of Benjamin to fight for Ish Bosheth son of Saul, and they chose twelve men from David’s officers. 16Each of the men grabbed his opponent’s head and stabbed him in the side with his sword, and then they fell down together. That is why this place in Gibeon is called “The Field of the Sharp Knives.”#2:16 The Field of the Sharp Knives Or “Helkath Hazzurim.” 17That contest turned into a terrible battle and David’s officers defeated Abner and the Israelites that day.
Abner Kills Asahel
18Zeruiah had three sons, Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Asahel was a fast runner, as fast as a wild deer. 19Asahel ran straight toward Abner and began chasing him. 20Abner looked back and asked, “Is that you, Asahel?”
Asahel said, “Yes, it’s me.”
21Abner didn’t want to hurt Asahel, so he said to Asahel, “Stop chasing me—go after one of the young soldiers. You could easily take his armor for yourself.” But Asahel refused to stop chasing Abner.
22Abner again said to Asahel, “Stop chasing me, or I will have to kill you. Then I will not be able to look your brother Joab in the face again.”
23But Asahel refused to stop chasing Abner. So Abner used the back end of his spear and pushed it into Asahel’s stomach. The spear went deep into Asahel’s stomach and came out of his back. Asahel died right there.
Joab and Abishai Chase Abner
Asahel’s body lay on the ground. Everyone who came that way stopped to look at Asahel, 24but Joab and Abishai#2:24 Joab and Abishai Brothers of Asahel, the man who Abner killed. See verse 18. continued chasing Abner. The sun was just going down when they came to Ammah Hill. (Ammah Hill is in front of Giah on the way to the desert of Gibeon.) 25The men from the tribe of Benjamin gathered around Abner at the top of the hill.
26Abner shouted to Joab and said, “Must we fight and kill each other forever? Surely you know that this will only end in sadness. Tell the people to stop chasing their own brothers.”
27Then Joab said, “As surely as God is alive, if you had not said something, people would still be chasing their brothers in the morning.” 28So Joab blew a trumpet, and his people stopped chasing the Israelites. They did not try to fight the Israelites anymore.
29Abner and his men marched all night through the Jordan Valley. They crossed the Jordan River and then marched all day until they came to Mahanaim.
30Joab stopped chasing Abner and turned back. Joab had gathered his men and learned that 19 of David’s officers were missing, including Asahel. 31But David’s officers had killed 360 of Abner’s men from the tribe of Benjamin. 32David’s officers took Asahel and buried him in the tomb of his father at Bethlehem.
Joab and his men marched all night. The sun came up just as they reached Hebron.
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