2 Samuel 2
2
David Made King over Judah
1So it happened after this that David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go up into one of the cities of Judah?” And the Lord said to him, “Go up.” David asked, “Where shall I go?” And He said, “To Hebron.” 2So David went up there [to Hebron] with his two wives also, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel [in Judah]. 3And David brought up his men who were with him, each one with his household; and they lived in the cities of Hebron. 4Then the men of Judah came and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah.
Then they told David, “It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul.” [1 Sam 31:11-13] 5So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead, and said to them, “May you be blessed by the Lord because you showed this graciousness and loyalty to Saul your lord (king), and buried him. 6Now may the Lord show lovingkindness and truth and faithfulness to you. I too will show this goodness to you, because you have done this thing. 7So now, let your hands be strong and be valiant; for your lord Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”
Ish-bosheth Made King over Israel
8Now [Saul’s cousin] Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, had taken Ish-bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to #2:8 A fortified city in Gilead east of the river Jordan.Mahanaim. 9He made him king over Gilead, over the Ashurites, over Jezreel, over Ephraim, over Benjamin, even over all Israel [except Judah]. 10Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, was forty years old when he became king over Israel, and he reigned for two years. But the house of Judah followed David. 11And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.
Civil War
12Now Abner the son of Ner and the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. 13Joab [David’s nephew] the son of Zeruiah and the servants of David also went out and met them by the pool of Gibeon. They sat down, with one group on one side of the pool and the other group on the other side of the pool. 14Then Abner said to Joab, “Let the young men now stand and #2:14 Lit make sport.have a contest before us.” And Joab said, “Let them stand.” 15So they stood up and went over by number, twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David. 16Each one of them seized his opponent by the head and thrust his sword into his opponents side; so they fell down together. Therefore that place was called Helkath-hazzurim [that is, the Field of Sides], which is in Gibeon. 17There was a very fierce battle that day, and Abner and the men of Israel were beaten before the servants of David.
18Three sons of Zeruiah [the half sister of David] were there: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was as light and swift-footed as one of the [wild] gazelles in the field. 19Asahel pursued Abner and did not turn to the right or to the left as he followed him. 20Then Abner looked behind him and said, “Is that you, Asahel?” He answered, “It is I.” 21So Abner said to him, “Turn to your right or to your left, and grab one of the young men and take his armor for yourself.” But Asahel was not willing to turn away from pursuing Abner. 22Abner repeated again, “Turn away from following me. Why should I have to strike you to the ground? How would I #2:22 Lit lift up my face.be able to face Joab your brother [and look him in the eye]?” 23But Asahel refused to turn away; so Abner struck him in the abdomen with the #2:23 Abner’s strength was legendary—there was a saying in Jewish tradition that it was easier to move a wall six cubits (nine feet) thick than to move one of Abner’s limbs.butt end of his spear, and the spear came out his back; and he fell there and died on that spot. And it came about that everyone who came to the place where Asahel fell and died, stood still [and reflected].
24But Joab and Abishai [Asahel’s brothers] pursued Abner. When the sun was going down, they came to the hill of Ammah, which is in front of Giah on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon. 25And the sons of [the tribe of] Benjamin gathered together behind Abner and became one troop, and took their stand on the top of a hill. 26Then Abner called to Joab, “Must the sword devour forever? Do you not know that it will be bitter in the end? How long [will it be] before you tell the people to stop pursuing their brothers?” 27Joab said, “As God lives, if you had not spoken, then the people certainly would have stopped pursuing their brothers in the morning.” 28So Joab blew the trumpet; and all the people halted and no longer pursued Israel, nor did they fight anymore. 29Then Abner and his men went through the Arabah (desert region) all that night, crossed the Jordan, went through Bithron and walked the whole morning and came to Mahanaim [where Ish-bosheth ruled Israel].
30Joab returned from pursuing Abner; and when he had gathered all the people together, nineteen of David’s servants were missing, besides Asahel. 31But the servants of David had struck down many of Benjamin and Abner’s men; so that three hundred and sixty men died. 32And they picked up [the body of] Asahel and buried him in the tomb of his father in Bethlehem. Then Joab and his men walked all night and they arrived in Hebron at daybreak.
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2 Samuel 2
2
1Sometime after this, David asked the Lord, “Should I go to one of the towns of Judah?”
“Yes, do it,” the Lord replied.
“Which one should I go to?” David asked.
“Go to Hebron,” said the Lord.
2So David moved there with his two wives, Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, Nabal's widow from Carmel. 3He also brought the men who were with him, along with their families, and they settled in the villages near Hebron. 4Then the men of Judah came to Hebron, and there they anointed David king of the people of Judah. When David found out that it was the men from Jabesh-gilead who had buried Saul, 5he sent messengers to them, saying, “May the Lord bless you, because you demonstrated your loyal love to Saul your master, and you buried him properly. 6Now may the Lord show you loyal love and trustworthiness, and I will also be good to you because of what you did for Saul. 7So be strong and be brave, for even though Saul your master is dead, the people of Judah have anointed me as their king.”
8However, Abner, son of Ner, commander of Saul's army, had taken Ishbosheth,#2:8. Ishbosheth. It is very unlikely that he was called this to his face. He is identified as “Eshbaal” in 1 Chronicles 8:33 and 1 Chronicles 9:39, which means “man of Baal.” However, the writer of this account here found it intolerable that the name of the king should include reference to the pagan god “Baal,” and so altered the name to Ishbosheth, meaning “man of shame.” son of Saul, to Mahanaim. 9There he set up Ishbosheth as king over Gilead, Asher, Jezreel, Ephraim, and Benjamin, in fact over all Israel.
10Ishbosheth, son of Saul, was forty when he became king over Israel, and he reigned for two years. However, the people of Judah were on David's side. 11David ruled in Hebron as king over the people of Judah for seven years and six months.
12One day Abner and Ishbosheth's men left Mahanaim and went to the town of Gibeon. 13Joab, son of Zeruiah, and David's men set off and met them at the pool of Gibeon, where they all sat down, facing each other across the pool.
14Abner said to Joab, “Let's have some of the men fight in hand-to-hand combat before us.”
“Fine,” Joab agreed.
15So twelve men came forward from each side—twelve for Benjamin and Ishbosheth, and twelve for David. 16Each man grabbed his opponent's head and drove his sword into his opponent's side so that they all fell down dead together. That's why this place in Gibeon is called the Field of Sword-edges.
17The battle that followed was hard-fought, but eventually Abner and his men were defeated by David's men.
18The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Asahel was a fast runner, like a gazelle racing across the open countryside. 19He chased after Abner with single-minded determination.#2:19. “Single-minded determination”: literally, “not turning to the right or to the left.” 20Abner looked back and asked, “Is that you, Asahel?”
“Yes, it's me,” Asahel replied.
21Abner told him, “Leave me alone! Go and fight somebody else and take his weapons for yourself!” But Asahel refused to stop chasing him.
22Abner warned Asahel again. “Stop chasing me!” he shouted. “Why do you want me to kill you? How could I ever face your brother Joab?”
23But Asahel wouldn't stop chasing him, so Abner drove the handle#2:23. The handle was often sharpened to a point so that it could be stuck into the ground. of his spear into his belly. It came out the back, and he fell down dead right there. Everyone who passed by stopped at the place where Asahel had fallen and died.
24But Joab and Abishai#2:24. Joab and Abishai were Asahel's brothers. set off to chase after Abner. By the time the sun went down they had got as far as the hill of Ammah near Giah, on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon. 25Abner's men from the tribe of Benjamin rallied to him there, forming a tight group around him standing at the top of the hill.
26Abner shouted to Joab: “Do we have to keep killing each other forever? Don't you realize that if we go on it'll only get worse? How long are you going to wait before you order your men to stop chasing their brothers?”
27“As God lives,” Joab replied, “if you had not said anything, my men would have continued chasing their brothers until the morning.” 28Joab blew the horn so all the men stopped—they didn't continue chasing or fighting the Israelites.
29All through the night Abner and his men marched through the Jordan Valley. They crossed the Jordan River, and continued all morning until they arrived back at Mahanaim.
30When Joab got back from chasing Abner, he gathered all the men together. Nineteen of David's men were missing in addition to Asahel. 31However, they had killed three hundred and sixty of Abner's men from the tribe of Benjamin. 32They took Asahel's body and buried him in his father's tomb in Bethlehem. Then they marched all through the night and reached Hebron at dawn.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com