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
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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