Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Samuel 2:12
And Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.
12 17. War between Ish-bosheth and David. The Combat at Gibeon
12. went out ] The technical expression for going to war. Cp. 1Sa 18:30. After establishing Ish-bosheth’s power over all Israel, Abner turned his arms against Judah, and marched with his army from Ish-bosheth’s capital, Mahanaim, to Gibeon, where David’s army under the command of Joab met him.
to Gibeon ] The site of Gibeon (= belonging to, or built on, a hill) is fixed with certainty on a rounded hill five miles N.W. of Jerusalem, which still bears the name El-Jib. Gibeon was the largest of the four cities of the Hivites (Jos 10:2), famous for the stratagem by which its inhabitants procured a treaty from Joshua (Jos 9:3 ff.). It was in the territory of Benjamin (Jos 18:25), and specially assigned to the priests (Jos 21:17). Here Amasa met his death by the treacherous hand of Joab (2Sa 20:5-10). It gained its chief importance in the reigns of David and Solomon, as the great centre of worship at which the Tabernacle and the Altar of Burnt-offering were set up before the building of the Temple (2Ch 1:3; 2Ch 1:5), at which Solomon celebrated his accession with solemn sacrifices, and God appeared to him in vision (1Ki 3:4-15).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
This expedition to Gibeon may have been for the purpose of shifting his metropolis to his own tribe of Benjamin, and to his family place, Gibeah of Saul, close to Gibeon, with the further purpose of attacking the kingdom of David. To go out 2Sa 2:12-13 is a technical phrase for going out to war 1Sa 18:30.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
2Sa 2:12-13
The servants of Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, went out . . . the servants of David went out.
Taking sides
Guizot, in his life of St. Louis of France, says that the latter had many vassals who were also vassals of the King of England, and that many subtle and difficult questions arose as to the extent of the service which they owed to these kings. At length the French King commanded all those nobles who held lands in English territory to appear before him, and then he said to them, As it is impossible for any man living in my kingdom and having possession in England rightly to serve two masters, you must either attach yourselves altogether to me, or inseparably to the King of England. After saying this, he gave them a certain day by which to make their choice.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
The servants of Ish-bosheth, i.e. his officers and commanders, and their army.
To Gibeon, in the country of Benjamin, Jos 18:25, near Judah, to fight with Davids army, and to bring back the rest of the kingdom to Sauls house.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
12. Abner . . . and the servants ofIsh-bosheth . . . went out from Mahanaim to GibeonThis townwas near the confines of Judah, and as the force with which Abnerencamped there seemed to have some aggressive design, David sent anarmy of observation, under the command of Joab, to watch hismovements.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And Abner the son of Ner,…. Who was before captain of Saul’s host, and now of Ishbosheth’s:
and the servants of Ishbosheth the son of Saul; who seem to be not only his domestic servants, that waited upon him, or his courtiers, but his whole army by what follows:
went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon; came from the city on the other side Jordan, where perhaps they had been two years past, concerting schemes to bring all Israel under the government of Ishbosheth; in which they had succeeded, only Judah stood out with David; and in order to reduce that tribe, they passed over Jordan and came to Gibeon, a city in Benjamin. See Jos 18:25.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
War between the supporters of Ishbosheth and those of David. – 2Sa 2:12, 2Sa 2:13. When Abner had brought all Israel under the dominion of Ishbosheth, he also sought to make Judah subject to him, and went with this intention from Mahanaim to Gibeon, the present Jib, in the western portion of the tribe of Benjamin, two good hours to the north of Jerusalem (see at Jos 9:3), taking with him the servants, i.e., the fighting men, of Ishbosheth. There Joab, a son of Zeruiah, David’s sister (1Ch 2:16), advanced to meet him with the servants, i.e., the warriors of David; and the two armies met at the pool of Gibeon, i.e., probably one of the large reservoirs that are still to be found there (see Rob. Pal. ii. pp. 135-6; Tobler, Topogr. v. Jerusalem, ii. pp. 515-6), the one encamping upon the one side of the pool and the other upon the other.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
The Contest at Gibeon. 2Sa. 2:12-16
12 And Abner the son of Ner, and the servants og Ishbosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.
13 And Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out, and met together by the pool of Gibeon: and they sat down, the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side of the pool.
14 And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men now arise, and play before us. And Joab said, Let them arise.
15 Then there arose and went over by number twelve of Benjamin, which pertained to Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David.
16 And they caught every one his fellow by the head, and thrust his sword in his fellows side; so they fell down together: wherefore that place was called Helkath-hazzurim, which is in Gibeon.
11.
Who brought on the fighting at Gibeon? 2Sa. 2:12
Gibeon was five or six miles north of Jerusalem and a small distance to the west. It is situated on a knoll with terraced slopes. The village itself stands among striking remains of antiquity. Some hundred paces from the village to the east is a large reservoir with a spring. Further down and among the olive trees are the remains of another and larger reservoir, which collected the overflow water from the first reservoir. More than likely this farther reservoir is the pool mentioned in verse thirteen. Thus Joab was in Abners territory. Joab was the aggressor. Later incidents would also cause a judge to point the finger of accusation at Joab. Were he introduced a bit differently, none would have difficulty in deciding who brought on the fighting. The way in which Joab was introduced into the narrative was common of the time; nothing different should be expected.
12.
What was the play? 2Sa. 2:14
The play mentioned was nothing more than the customary round of individual contests held before a battle. To speak of what occurred at this time as play is most certainly sarcastic. The word Helkath-Hazzurim as it stands means field of the sword edges. It is appropriate that this name is applied to the scene of the conflict in which twelve champions from the army of Joab and twelve champions from the army of Abner perished together, each slaying his fellow. Variations of this word have come to mean field of the crafty, field of the ambush, and field of the adversaries. The form of the word together with its meaning as it now stands in the text of the Bible is probably correct.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(12) To Gibeon.Gibeon, in the territory of Benjamin, had become noted in the original conquest of the land as the only city which succeeded, though by craft, in making a league with the conquerors (Joshua 9). It was five and a half miles north-west from Jerusalem, and at a long distance both from Mahanaim and from Hebron. Here the generals of the rival monarchs met, possibly by design, but more likely each engaged in the effort to extend their respective masters sway over the tribe of Benjamin.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
THE BATTLE OF GIBEON, 2Sa 2:12-32.
12. Went out from Mahanaim That is, marched out from the capital of the kingdom of Ishbosheth. Having been successful in bringing all the northern and eastern tribes to acknowledge Ishbosheth as king, Abner seems to have thought to bring over the tribe of Judah also. He at least began the fight. Gibeon The modern el-Jib, a few miles northwest of Jerusalem. See on Jos 9:3.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Abner And Israel Seek To Win The Whole Kingdom For Ish-bosheth And Are Soundly Defeated ( 2Sa 2:12-28 ).
Having finally established Ishbosheth as king over Israel Abner now turned his attention to bringing Judah back into the fold. In his view, as a Saulide and a Benjaminite, Ishbosheth was the rightful heir to the whole of the kingdom, i.e. to the throne of ‘all Israel’. Thus in his eyes David was a usurper, and especially so as he could still be looked on as a vassal of the Philistines.
It would appear that the Philistines took little notice of this situation. They were indeed no doubt delighted that what remained of Israel was divided up into two parts, and even moreso because one part was under one whom they saw as their own vassal king. They were probably quite satisfied in their own minds that David could look after things at his end, and such ‘border wars’ were after all happening all the time. Why then should they interfere? Especially as it simply meant that David and Israel were both weakening each other. (They would, of course, interfere later when David took over the whole kingdom and they felt that things were getting out of hand).
We might actually feel that Abner was very foolish in his decision. What real chance did a weakened Israel have against David’s superbly trained force? But we should remember that he did not see David and his men from our viewpoint. He saw him as a treacherous renegade, who had previously made him look small in the eyes of Saul (1Sa 26:13-16), and who had taken advantage of Israel’s defeat at the hands of the Philistines to persuade a desperate Judah to appoint him as king. Thus now that he had satisfactorily instated Ish-bosheth as king, which had probably taken quite a bit of persuasion, he felt that the next step must be to bring Judah into submission. He had not had the opportunity to realise that this time he would in fact be coming up against an efficient fighting machine which had proved itself time and again. As far as he was concerned David had always been a renegade ‘on the run’. Thus in his ignorance he was confident that a weakened Israel, even though still recovering from their heavy losses at the hands of the Philistines, (and we should remember that they had then lost almost the whole of their own standing army), should nevertheless easily be able to cope with a rebellious Judah under a renegade king.
Analysis.
a
b And Abner said to Joab, “Let the young men, I pray you, arise and play before us.” And Joab said, “Let them arise” (2Sa 2:14).
c Then they arose and went over by number, twelve for Benjamin, and for Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David, and they caught every one his fellow by the head, and thrust his sword in his fellow’s side so that they fell down together, which was the reason why that place was called Helkath-hazzurim, which is in Gibeon (2Sa 2:15-16).
d And the battle was very hard that day, and Abner was beaten, and the men of Israel, before the servants of David (2Sa 2:17).
e And the three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel, and Asahel was as light of foot as a wild roe (2Sa 2:18).
f And Asahel pursued after Abner, and in going he turned not to the right hand nor to the left from following Abner, and Abner looked behind him, and said, “Is it you, Asahel?” And he answered, “It is I” (2Sa 2:19-20).
g And Abner said to him, “Turn you aside to your right hand or to your left, and you lay hold on one of the young men, and take for yourself his armour” (2Sa 2:21 a).
h But Asahel would not turn aside from following him (2Sa 2:21 b).
g And Abner said again to Asahel, “You turn aside from following me, for why should I smite you to the ground? How then should I hold up my face to Joab your brother?” (2Sa 2:22).
f However that might be he refused to turn aside, which was why Abner, with the hinder end of the spear, smote him in the body, so that the spear came out behind him, and he fell down there, and died in the same place (2Sa 2:23 a)
e And it came about that as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died, stood still, but Joab and Abishai pursued after Abner, and the sun went down when they were come to the hill of Ammah, which lies before Giah by the way of the wilderness of Gibeon (2Sa 2:23-24).
d And the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together behind Abner, and became one band, and stood on the top of a hill
c And Abner called to Joab, and said, “Shall the sword devour for ever? Do you not know that it will be bitterness in the latter end? How long will it be then, before you bid the people return from following their brothers?” (2Sa 2:25-26).
b And Joab said, “As God lives, if you had not spoken, surely then in the morning the people had gone away, nor followed every one his brother” (2Sa 2:27).
a So Joab blew the trumpet, and all the people stood still, and no longer pursued after Israel, nor did they fight any more (2Sa 2:28).
Note that in ‘a’ Abner brings Israel’s forces to Gibeon with the purpose of invading Judah, and is met by the forces of David under his general Joab, while in the parallel Israel’s forces are on the run and it is Joab who is in control of affairs. In ‘b’ it is Abner’s words which commence hostilities, and in the parallel Joab points out that none of it would have started unless Abner had spoken as he did. In ‘c’ the sword devours men on both sides, and in the parallel Abner asks if the sword is to be allowed to devour for ever. In ‘d’ Abner and his men were beaten before David’s men, and in the parallel Abner and his men rally on top of a hill. In ‘e’ Joab, Abishai, and Asahel were going into battle, and in the parallel Asahel died, and Joab and Abishai were pursuing the enemy. In ‘f’ Asahel was not willing to turn aside from following Abner, and in the parallel he died because of his refusal to do so. In ‘g’ Abner pleads with him to turn aside from following him, and in the parallel he does the same. Centrally in ‘h’ Asahel persisted and would not turn aside with the result that he was going on to his death, a death that would have grave consequences, both for Abner (2Sa 3:30), and later for Joab (2Sa 3:39; 1Ki 2:5-6).
2Sa 2:12
‘ And Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.’
Having established the kingship of Ish-bosheth in Mahanaim, Abner gathered Ish-bosheth’s warriors and advanced over the Jordan to Gibeon in Benjamin. Gibeon was in Benjaminite territory and Abner, a Benjaminite himself, no doubt hoped to gather further support there. His final purpose was to advance on Judah.
2Sa 2:13
‘ And Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out, and met them by the pool of Gibeon, and they sat down, the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side of the pool.’
News of the Israelite movements had reached David through his spies, and he responded by sending out Joab, the son of Zeruiah (David’s sister) to Gibeon, along with his men, in order to prevent any attempted movement on Judah. Arriving there they encamped on the opposite side of a large reservoir to Abner and his men and waited to see what Abner would do. The next move would be up to him.
2Sa 2:14
‘ And Abner said to Joab, “Let the young men, I pray you, arise and play before us.” And Joab said, “Let them arise.” ’
What Abner then did was basically a declaration of war. As had happened in the case of Goliath and Israel (1 Samuel 17) he called on Joab to send out warriors to meet his champions. The grim old warrior spoke jestingly of ‘play, but there was no real intention of ‘play’. It was to be a fight to the death. Whoever won would prove that YHWH was on their side.
2Sa 2:15
‘ Then they arose and went over by number, twelve for Benjamin, and for Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David.’
Agreement was then reached that each side would submit twelve warriors, twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth and twelve for Judah and David. Presumably victory would be seen as going to the one left standing at the end.
2Sa 2:16
‘ And they caught every one his fellow by the head, and thrust his sword in his fellow’s side so that they fell down together, which was the reason why that place was called Helkath-hazzurim, which is in Gibeon.’
We know nothing about the practises which were followed in Israel with regard to such affairs, but the description suggests that certain accepted procedures were followed. Seemingly the aim was to seize the opponents head or beard, and then slay him with a sword. But the men were all so expert that each immediately slew his opponent, and all twenty four died simultaneously together. It was a grim business. Others see the description as simply signifying the ferocity of the battle as they struggled for the mastery. Either way the result was a draw. Neither side had gained the advantage. But the result was that war was now inevitable. By this action the battle had begun. Nothing could now prevent it from going forward. Blood had been shed.
The ferocity of the encounter, which must have shaken many on both sides, was such that from then on that place was named Helkath-hazzurim which meant “field of the sharp edges.” It would not be forgotten for a long time.
2Sa 2:17
‘And the battle was very hard that day, and Abner was beaten, and the men of Israel, before the servants of David.’
Battle then commenced and was hard fought all day, until at length the forces of Abner had to admit defeat before David’s warriors and fled the field.
2Sa 2:18
‘ And the three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel, and Asahel was as light of foot as a wild roe.’
The three sons of David’s sister were all participants in the battle, and one of them, Asahel the youngest, was fleet of foot. The result was that once the enemy had fled he determinedly set off after Abner with a view to catching up with him and killing him, and thus leaving the Israelite army leaderless and Ish-bosheth without his general. Ignoring Abner’s great reputation as a warrior as of no account he had the confidence of a young man that he would be able to slay him.
2Sa 2:19
‘ And Asahel pursued after Abner, and in going he turned not to the right hand nor to the left from following Abner.’
Indeed he was so determined to kill Abner that he allowed nothing and no one to hinder him in his chase. In his confidence in his own abilities he refused to deviate from his chosen path. His whole thought was fixed on Abner.
2Sa 2:20
‘ Then Abner looked behind him, and said, “Is it you, Asahel?” And he answered, “It is I.” ’
Checking behind him as he ran, Abner felt that he recognised in the dim light of the forest the warrior who was chasing him and slowly overtaking him, and so he called back, “Is it you, Asahel?” The reply immediately came to him out of the semi-darkness, ‘Yes, it’s me.’ (Wrong grammar perhaps, but what most would say).
2Sa 2:21 a
‘And Abner said to him, “Turn you aside to your right hand or to your left, and you lay hold on one of the young men, and take for yourself his armour.” But Asahel would not turn aside from following him.
Abner, who had no doubt in his mind about his ability to deal with the young man without any difficulty, regretted that he should be putting himself in such danger and pleaded with him to desist and find an easier target. He was loth to kill Joab’s brother and begged him rather to find honour by slaying someone more on his own level, and taking his armour.
2Sa 2:21 b
‘But Asahel would not turn aside from following him.’
Asahel would not, however, be put off his purpose. He wanted the glory of being the man who had slain Abner, and probably also genuinely recognised how important such a victory would be for his side.
2Sa 2:22
‘ And Abner said again to Asahel, “You turn aside from following me, for why should I smite you to the ground? How then should I hold up my face to Joab your brother?” ’
Recognising that Asahel was getting even nearer, Abner again pleaded with him to change his mind and seek out someone else. He probably had a soft spot for Asahel, and stressed that he really did not want to kill Joab’s brother, for it would mean that he could never look Joab straight in the eye again.
2Sa 2:23 a
‘However that might be he refused to turn aside, which was why Abner, with the hinder end of the spear, smote him in the body, so that the spear came out behind him, and he fell down there, and died in the same place.’
But Asahel was not to be dissuaded, and steadily decreased the distance between himself and Abner in order to stab him in the back as he ran. However, as he approached the wily old warrior thrust accurately back with his spear and it went straight through him. The spear was probably pointed at both ends. And the result was that he died immediately, falling where he was.
2Sa 2:23 b
‘And it came about that as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died, stood still.’
The pursuing Davidides who came up to that spot during the chase stopped when they saw the body of Asahel in order to do him honour, before proceeding with the chase, for he was a man greatly admired. This appears to have been the custom with a fallen hero as we see from 2Sa 20:12. It must be assumed that certain rites were then observed.
2Sa 2:24
‘ But Joab and Abishai pursued after Abner, and the sun went down when they were come to the hill of Ammah, which lies before Giah by the way of the wilderness of Gibeon.’
Meanwhile Joab and Abishai led their men on in the pursuit after Abner and Israel, and as the sun went down they came to the hill of Ammah (‘aqueduct’), which is before Giah (‘gusher’) on ‘the road of the wilderness of Gibeon’. None of the sites are identifiable.
2Sa 2:25
‘ And the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together behind Abner, and became one band, and stood on the top of a hill.’
Recognising that the pursuit was continuing, and that their men were therefore being mowed down as they ran, Abner gathered the Benjaminites who were with him (or some who had come to joint them) and formed a single unit on the top of a hill. His aim may well have been to draw attention to them so that the remainder of his forces could escape, as well as to be able to speak to Joab.
2Sa 2:26
‘ Then Abner called to Joab, and said, “Shall the sword devour for ever? Do you not know that it will be bitterness in the latter end? How long will it be then, before you bid the people return from following their brothers?”
Then Abner called to Joab and asked him whether he really wanted to go on slaughtering his brothers. ‘Shall the sword devour for ever’ is a reminder of what the sword had done in verse 16. And then he pointed out the intense bitterness that always results from civil war, especially when it is pursued aggressively, and asked how long it would be before Joab ceased the pursuit.
2Sa 2:27
‘ And Joab said, “As God lives, if you had not spoken, surely then in the morning the people had gone away, nor followed every one his brother.” ’
In view of the fact that Abner had commenced the battle Joab thought that this was a bit of a cheek, and pointed out to him that if he had not originally called for the battle to start by arranging the competition between the two sets of twelve warriors (2Sa 2:14-15), then both sides would have gone away peacefully on the following morning with no one pursuing anyone else. The fault therefore lay totally at Abner’s door.
2Sa 2:28
‘ So Joab blew the trumpet, and all the people stood still, and no longer pursued after Israel, nor did they fight any more.’
Joab, however, recognised the truth of what Abner had said. He knew that David would not be pleased if he antagonised the Israelites unnecessarily. So he blew the ram’s horn in order to indicate the cessation of the pursuit, and to call the men together ready for the return home. And being well-disciplined the men responded immediately. The pursuit was over and the killing stopped. The invasion of Judah had also been prevented.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
David’s War with Ishbosheth
v. 12. And Abner, the son of Ner, and the servants of Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon; v. 13. And Joab, the son of Zeruiah, v. 14. And Abner said to Joab, v. 15. Then there arose and went over by number twelve of Benjamin, which pertained to Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David, v. 16. And they caught every one his fellow, v. 17. And, v. 18. And there were three sons of Zeruiah there, v. 19. And Asahel pursued after Abner, v. 20. Then Abner looked behind him and said, Art thou Asahel? v. 21. And Abner said to him, Turn thee aside to thy right hand or to thy left, and lay thee hold on one of the young men, v. 22. And Abner said again to Asahel, v. 23. How-beit he, v. 24. And Joab also and Abishai pursued after Abner, v. 25. And the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together after Abner, v. 26. Then Abner called to Joab and said, Shall the sword devour forever, v. 27. And Joab said, As God liveth, unless thou hadst spoken, v. 28. So Joab blew a trumpet, and all the people stood still, v. 29. And Abner and his men walked all that night through the plain, v. 30. And Joab returned from following Abner; and when he had gathered all the people together, there lacked of David’s servants nineteen men and Asahel, v. 31. But the servants of David had smitten of Benjamin and of Abner’s men, so that three hundred and threescore men died. v. 32. And they took up Asahel, and buried him in the sepulcher of his father, which was in Bethlehem,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
(12) And Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. (13) And Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out, and met together by the pool of Gibeon: and they sat down, the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side of the pool. (14) And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men now arise, and play before us. And Joab said, Let them arise. (15) Then there arose and went over by number twelve of Benjamin, which pertained to Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David. (16) And they caught everyone his fellow by the head, and thrust his sword in his fellow’s side; so they fell down together: wherefore that place was called Helkathhazzurim, which is in Gibeon. (17) And there was a very sore battle that day; and Abner was beaten, and the men of Israel, before the servants of David.
This Abner was uncle to Saul, and no doubt covered his pretence under a sense of duty: but what a flimsy covering in opposition to the sovereignty of God. The first meeting of the two armies appears to have been by way of challenge. Similar perhaps to that of more modern duels, in which men to avoid the sneer of fools, venture to brave Omni potency, and plunge unsent and uncalled before their time into everlasting misery; of everyone of which it may be said, as was in after days said of this very Abner; Died Abner as a fool dieth! 2Sa 3:33 . The sinful play, as it is here called, soon became serious work, and terminated in a bloody battle, so that the place of the slain was called Helkath-hazzurim; that is, the field of hardy men.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
2Sa 2:12 And Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.
Ver. 12. Went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. ] The same with Gibeah of Saul; hither he came with his host, to chastise Judah for their revolt from the house of Saul.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Sword-Play to the Death
2Sa 2:12-23
For seven and a half years David reigned over the house of Judah. He was in the prime of life, thirty years of age, and seems to have given himself to the consolidation of his kingdom and the quiet sanctities of the home. He maintained throughout those years that spirit of quiet expectancy of which his psalms so often speak. In this, he reminds us of our Lord, who is depicted as sitting at His Fathers side till His foes become His footstool.
From Hebron, the city of fellowship, bands of mighty men went forth to fight with Ishbosheth, just as the warriors of the Cross have, in every age, gone forth to engage in deadly conflict with unbelief and sin. Asahels death reminds us of Stephens martyrdom. But the end is not yet! The Churchs warfare is not against flesh and blood, but against the wicked spirits that rule the darkness of the world. Her weapons, therefore, are not carnal but spiritual, and particularly that of all-prayer, Eph 6:10-20.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
am 2951, bc 1053, An, Ex, Is, 438
Mahanaim: 2Sa 17:14, Gen 32:2
Gibeon: Jos 9:3, Jos 10:2, Jos 10:4, Jos 10:12, Jos 18:25
Reciprocal: 2Sa 2:29 – Mahanaim 2Ki 10:3 – fight for
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2Sa 2:12-13. Abner and the servants of Ish-bosheth went out to Gibeon They passed over Jordan into the country of Benjamin, where Gibeon was, (Jos 18:25,) to fight with Judah, and to bring them into subjection to Sauls son. It ought to be remarked, that David did not begin any hostility, but waited to see how God would dispose of things in his favour. And Joab and the servants of David went out To oppose the designs of the Israelites, Joab being the chief commander of Davids forces. And met together by the pool of Gibeon Where the two opposite armies put themselves in a posture for battle.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
5. The conflict between Abner and Joab 2:12-32
Travelers can visit the pool of Gibeon today. It lies about three miles northwest of Gibeah.
"The pool is a cylindrical shaft thirty-seven feet in diameter and thirty-five feet deep. Its five-feet-wide spiral stairway, which winds downward around the inside wall of the pool in a clockwise direction, continues below the floor level to an additional depth of forty-five feet." [Note: Youngblood, p. 825.]
There the forces of Ish-bosheth and David met for a peace conference (2Sa 2:13). Abner broke off the peace talks, however, by suggesting that the two sides determine which of them would win in a battle by champions (cf. 1 Samuel 17). [Note: See F. Charles Fensham, "The Battle Between the Men of Joab and Abner as a Possible Ordeal by Battle?" Vetus Testamentum 20:3 (July 1970):356-57.] Twelve soldiers from each side (2Sa 2:15), perhaps representing each of the twelve tribes, engaged in hand-to-hand combat to decide the leadership of the nation. The fight was a draw, so the battle between the two armies escalated. Joab’s men finally got the upper hand. Abner warned Asahel twice to stop pursuing him and to fight with someone he might be able to defeat (2Sa 2:21-22). He evidently wanted to avoid a blood feud with Joab’s family that might go on for generations. Nevertheless Asahel kept pushing Abner who finally killed him rather than simply knocking him out. It is unclear whether Abner turned to face Asahel and slew him with the butt end of his spear, or slew him with his back toward Asahel as he ran from him, or stopped suddenly and Asahel ran into the butt end of Abner’s spear. [Note: Anderson (p. 45) preferred the first option, A. R. S. Kennedy (Samuel, p. 201) the second, and H. W. Hertzberg (I & II Samuel: A Commentary, p. 252) the third.]
"’Every man’ who ’stopped when he came’ to the place where Asahel had died (2Sa 2:23) does not refer to travelers or others who stop to pay their respects, as many commentators believe (e.g., Baldwin, Hertzberg), but to David’s men, Asahel’s pursuers, who stand transfixed in horror at the death of a fallen comrade . . ." [Note: Youngblood, p. 826. Cf. 20:12.]
Many of David’s soldiers stopped, but Joab and Abishai continued to pursue Abner. The other soldiers from Benjamin, Saul and Abner’s tribe, rallied around Abner, and the hostility climaxed when they took a stand to defend themselves on a hilltop (2Sa 2:25). Abner tried to call a truce (2Sa 2:26), but Joab correctly blamed him for starting the conflict in the first place (2Sa 2:27; cf. 2Sa 2:14). Joab agreed to the truce, however, and both armies went home. Abner’s side lost 360 soldiers in this fight, and 19 of Joab’s men died.
This incident accounts for the personal hostility that later resulted in Abner’s death and the disintegration of Ish-bosheth’s throne. Note that David played no part in it. God worked through Joab and Abner to place His anointed on the throne of all Israel. This passage shows how hostilities between the two factions in Israel escalated, as they often do in modern nations, neighborhoods, and families. First, the opposing parties stopped talking (2Sa 2:12). Next, they started fighting (2Sa 2:13). Then, Asahel kept pushing (2Sa 2:23). Finally, Abner insisted on defending himself (2Sa 2:23).
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
CHAPTER III.
BEGINNING OF CIVIL WAR.
2Sa 2:12-32
THE well-meant and earnest efforts of David to ward off strife and bring the people together in recognizing him as king were frustrated, as we have seen, through the efforts of Abner. Unmoved by the solemn testimony of God, uttered again and again through Samuel, that He had rejected Saul and found as king a man after His own heart; unmoved by the sad proceedings at Endor, where, under such awful circumstances, the same announcement of the purpose of the Almighty had been repeated; unmoved by the doom of Saul and his three sons on Mount Gilboa, where such a striking proof of the reality of God’s judgment on his house had been given; unmoved by the miserable state of the kingdom, overrun and humiliated by the Philistines and in the worst possible condition to bear the strain of a civil war, – this Abner insisted on setting up Ishbosheth and endeavouring to make good his claims by the sword. It was never seen more clearly how “one sinner destroyeth much good.”
As to the immediate occasion of the war, David was quite innocent, and Abner alone was responsible; but to a feeling and patriotic heart like David’s, the war itself must have been the occasion of bitter distress. Did it ever occur to him to think that in a sense he was now brought; against his will, into the position which he had professed to King Achish to be willing to occupy, or that, placed as he now was in an attitude of opposition to a large section of his countrymen, he was undergoing a chastisement for what he was rash enough to say and to do then?
In the commencement of the war, the first step was taken by Abner. He went out from Mahanaim, descended the Jordan valley, and came to Gibeon, in the tribe of Benjamin, a place but a few miles distant from Gibeah, where Saul had reigned. His immediate object probably was to gain such an advantage over David in that quarter as would enable him to establish Ishbosheth at Gibeah, and thus bring to him all the prestige due to the son and successor of Saul. We must not forget that the Philistines had still great influence in the land, and very likely they were in possession of Gibeah, after having rifled Saul’s palace and appropriated all his private property. With this powerful enemy to be dealt with ultimately, it was the interest of Abner to avoid a collision of the whole forces on either side, and spare the slaughter which such a contest would have involved. There is some obscurity in the narrative now before us, both at this point and at other places. But it would appear that, when the two armies were ranged on opposite sides of the ”pool” or reservoir at Gibeon, Abner made the proposal to Joab that the contest should be decided by a limited number of young men on either side, whose encounter would form a sort of play or spectacle, that their brethren might look on, and, in a sense, enjoy. In the circumstances, it was a wise and humane proposal, although we get something of a shock from the frivolous spirit that could speak of such a deadly encounter as “play.”
David was not present with his troops on this occasion, the management of them being entrusted to Joab, his sister’s son. Here was another of the difficulties of David – a difficulty which embarrassed him for forty years. He was led to commit the management of his army to his warlike nephew, although he appears to have been a man very unlike himself. Joab is much more of the type of Saul than of David. He is rough, impetuous, worldly, manifesting no faith, no prayerfulness, no habit or spirit of communion with God. Yet from the beginning he threw in his lot with David; he remained faithful to him in the insurrection of Absalom; and sometimes he gave him advice which was more worthy to be followed than his own devices. But though Joab was a difficulty to David, he did not master him. The course of David’s life and the character of his reign were determined mainly by those spiritual feelings with which Joab appears to have had no sympathy. It was unfortunate that the first stage of the war should have been in the hands of Joab; he conducted it in a way that must have been painful to David; he stained it with a crime that gave him bitter pain.
The practice of deciding public contests by a small and equal number of champions on either side, if not a common one in ancient times, was, at any rate, not very rare. Roman history furnishes some memorable instances of it: that of Romulus and Aruns, and that of the Horatii and the Curiatii; while the challenge of Goliath and the proposal to settle the strife between the Philistines and the Hebrews according to the result of the duel with him had taken place not many years before. The young men were accordingly chosen, twelve on either side; but they rushed against each other with such impetuosity that the whole of them fell together, and the contest remained undecided as before. Excited probably by what they had witnessed, the main forces on either side now rushed against each other; and when the shock of battle came, the victory fell to the side of David, and Abner and his troops were signally defeated. On David’s side, there was not a very serious loss, the number of the slain amounting to twenty; but on the side of Abner the loss was three hundred and sixty. To account for so great an inequality we must remember that in Eastern warfare it was in the pursuit that by far the greatest amount of slaughter took place. That obstinate maintenance of their ground which is characteristic of modern armies seems to have been unknown in those times. The superiority of one of the hosts over the other appears usually to have made itself felt at the beginning of the engagement; the opposite force, seized with panic, fled in confusion, followed close by the conquerors, whose weapons, directed against the backs of the fugitive, were neither caught on shields, nor met by counter-volleys. Thus it was that Joab’s loss was little more than the twelve who had fallen at first, while that of Abner was many times more.
Among those who had to save themselves by flight after the battle was Abner, the captain of the host. Hard in pursuit of him, and of him only, hastened Asahel, the brother of Joab. It is not easy to understand all the circumstances of this pursuit. We cannot but believe that Asahel was bent on killing Abner, but probably his hope was that he would get near enough to him to discharge an arrow at him, and that in doing so he would incur no personal danger. But Abner appears to have remarked him, and to have stopped his flight and faced round to meet him. Abner seems to have carried sword and spear; Asahel had probably nothing heavier than a bow. It was fair enough in Abner to propose that if they were to be opponents, Asahel should borrow armour, that they might fight on equal terms. But this was not Asahel’s thought. He seems to have been determined to follow Abner, and take his opportunity for attacking him in his own way. This Abner would not permit; and, as Asahel would not desist from his pursuit, Abner, rushing at him, struck him with such violence with the hinder end of his spear that the weapon came out behind him. “And Asahel fell down there, and died in the same place; and it came to pass that as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died stood still.” Asahel was a man of consequence, being brother of the commander of the army and nephew of the king. The death of such a man counted for much, and went far to restore the balance of loss between the two contending armies. It seems to have struck a horror into the hearts of his fellow-soldiers; it was an awful incident of the war. It was strange enough to see one who an hour ago was so young, so fresh and full of life, stretched on the ground a helpless lump of clay; but it was more appalling to remember his relation to the two greatest men of the nation – David and Joab. Certainly war is most indiscriminate in the selection of its victims; commanders and their brothers, kings and their nephews, being as open to its catastrophes as anyone else. Surely it must have sent a thrill through Abner to see among the first victims of the strife which he had kindled one whose family stood so high, and whose death would exasperate against him so important a person as his brother Joab.
The pursuit of the defeated army was by-and-bye interrupted by nightfall. In the course of the evening the fugitives somewhat rallied, and concentrated on the top of a hill, in the wilderness of Gibeon. And here the two chiefs held parley together. The proceedings were begun by Abner, and begun by a question that was almost insolent. “Abner called to Joab and said, Shall the sword devour forever? knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end? how long shall it be ere thou bid the people return from following their brethren?” It was an audacious attempt to throw on Joab and Joab’s master the responsibility of the war. We get a new glimpse of Abner’s character here. If there was a fact that might be held to be beyond the possibility of question, it was that Abner had begun the contest. Had not he, in opposition to the Divine King of the nation, set up Ishbosheth against the man called by Jehovah? Had not he gathered the army at Mahanaim, and moved towards Gibeon, on express purpose to exclude David, and secure for his nominee what might be counted in reality, and not in name only, the kingdom of Israel? Yet he insolently demanded of Joab, “Shall the sword devour forever?” He audaciously applies to Joab a maxim that he had not thought of applying to himself in the morning – “Knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end?” This is a war that can be terminated only by the destruction of one half of the nation; it will be a bitter enough consummation, which half soever it may be. Have you no regard for your “brethren,” against whom you are fighting, that you are holding on in this remorseless way?
It may be a marvellously clever thing, in this audacious manner, to throw upon an opponent all the blame which is obviously one’s own. But no good man will do so. The audacity that ascribes its own sins to an opponent is surely the token of a very evil nature. We have no reason to form a very high opinion of Joab, but of his opponent in this strife our judgment must be far worse. An insincere man, Abner could have no high end before him. If David was not happy in his general, still less was Ishbosheth in his.
Joab’s answer betrayed a measure of indignation. “As God liveth, unless thou hadst spoken, surely then in the morning the people had gone up every one from following his brother.” There is some ambiguity in these words. The Revised Version renders, ”If thou hadst not spoken, surely then in the morning the people had gone away, nor followed everyone his brother.” The meaning of Joab seems to be that, apart from any such ill-tempered appeal as Abner’s, it was his full intention in the morning to recall his men from the pursuit, and let Abner and his people go home without further harm. Joab shows the indignation of one credited with a purpose he never had, and with an inhumanity and unbrotherliness of which he was innocent. Why Joab had resolved to give up further hostilities at that time, we are not told. One might have thought that had he struck another blow at Abner he might have so harassed his force as to ruin his cause, and thus secure at once the triumph of David. But Joab probably felt very keenly what Abner accused him of not feeling; that it was a miserable thing to destroy the lives of so many brethren. The idea of building up David’s throne on the dead bodies of his subjects he roust have known to be extremely distasteful to David himself. Civil war is such a horrible thing, that a general may well be excused who accepts any reason for stopping it. If Joab had known what was to follow, he might have taken a different course. If he had foreseen the “long war” that was to be between the house of Saul and the house of David, he might have tried on this occasion to strike a decisive blow, and pursued Abner’s men until they were utterly broken. But that day’s work had probably sickened him, as he knew it would sicken David; and leaving Abner and his people to make their way across the Jordan, he returned to bury his brother, and to report his proceedings to David at Hebron.
And David must have grieved exceedingly when he heard what had taken place. The slaughter of nearly four hundred of God’s nation was a terrible thought; still more terrible it was to think that in a sense he had been the occasion of it – it was done to prevent him from occupying the throne. No doubt he had reason to be thankful that when fighting had to be done, the issue was eminently favourable to him and his cause. But he must have been grieved that there should be fighting at all. He must have felt somewhat as the Duke of Wellington felt when he made the observation that next to the calamity of losing a battle was that of gaining a victory. Was this what Samuel had meant when he came that morning to Bethlehem and anointed him in presence of his family? Was this what God designed when He was pleased to put him in the place of Saul? If this was a sample of what David was to bring to his beloved people, would it not have been better had he never been born? Very strange must God’s ways have appeared to him. How different were his desires, how different his dreams of what should be done when he got the kingdom, from this day’s work! Often he had thought how he would drive out the enemies of his people; how he would secure tranquility and prosperity to every Hebrew homestead; how he would aim at their all living under their vine and under their fig-tree, none making them afraid. But now his reign had begun with bloodshed, and already desolation had been carried to hundreds of his people’s homes. Was this the work, O God, for which Thou didst call me from the sheep-folds? Should I not have been better employed “following the ewes great with young,” and protecting my flock from the lion and the bear, rather than sending forth men to stain the soil of the land with the blood of the people and carry to their habitations the voice of mourning and woe?
If David’s mind was exercised in this way by the proceedings near the pool of Gibeon, all his trust and patience would be needed to wait for the time when God would vindicate His way. After all, was not his experience somewhat like that of Moses when he first set about the deliverance of his people? Did he not appear to do more harm than good? Instead of lightening the burdens of his people, did he not cause an increase of their weight? But has it not been the experience of most men who have girded themselves for great undertakings in the interest of their brethren? Nay, was it not the experience of our blessed Lord Himself? At His birth the angels sang, “Glory to God in the highest; on earth peace; goodwill to men!” And almost the next event was the massacre at Bethlehem, and Jesus Himself even in His lifetime found cause to say, “Think not that I am come to send peace on the earth; I am not come to send peace, but a sword.” What a sad evidence of the moral disorder of the world! The very messengers of the God of peace are not allowed to deliver their messages in peace, but even as they advance toward men with smiles and benedictions, are fiercely assailed, and compelled to defend themselves by violence. Nevertheless the angels song is true. Jesus did come to bless the world with peace. ”Peace I leave with you; My peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth give I unto you.” The resistance of His enemies was essentially a feeble resistance, and that stronger spirit of peace which Jesus brought in due time prevailed mightily in the earth. So with the bloodshed in David’s reign. It did not hinder David from being a great benefactor to his kingdom in the end. It did not annul the promise of God. It did not neutralize the efficacy of the holy oil. This was just one of the many ways in which his faith and his patience were tried. It must have shown him even more impressively than anything that had yet happened the absolute necessity of Divine direction in all his ways. For it is far easier for a good man to bear suffering brought on himself by his actions, than to see suffering and death entailed on his brethren in connection with a course which has been taken by him.
In that audacious speech which Abner addressed to Joab, there occurs an expression worthy of being taken out of the connection in which it was used and of being viewed with wider reference. “Knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end?” Things are to be viewed by rational beings not merely in their present or immediate result, but in their final outcome, in their ultimate fruits. A very commonplace truth, I grant you, this is, but most wholesome, most necessary to be cherished. For how many of the miseries and how many of the worst sins of men come of forgetting the “bitterness in the latter end” which evil beginnings give rise to! It is one of the most wholesome rules of life never to do to-day what you shall repent of to-morrow. Yet how constantly is the rule disregarded! Youthful child of fortune, who are reveling to-day in wealth which is counted by hundreds of thousands, and which seems as if it could never be exhausted, remember how dangerous those gambling habits are into which you are falling; remember that the gambler’s biography is usually a short, and often a tragic, one; and when you hear the sound of the pistol with which one like yourself has ended his miserable existence, remember it all began by disregarding the motto, written over the gambler’s path, “Knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end? ” You merry-hearted and amusing companion, to whom the flowing bowl, and the jovial company, and the merry jest and lively song are so attractive, the more you are tempted to go where they are found remember that rags and dishonour, dirt and degradation, form the last stage of the journey, – “the latter end bitterness” of the course you are now following. You who are wasting in idleness the hours of the morning, remember how you will repent of it when you have to make up your leeway by hard toil at night. I have said that things are to be viewed by rational beings in their relations to the future as well as the present. It is not the part of a rational being to accumulate disaster, distress, and shame for the future. Men that are rational will far rather suffer for the present if they may be free from suffering hereafter. Benefit societies, life insurance, annuity schemes – what are they all but the devices of sensible men desirous to ward off even the possibility of temporal “bitterness in the latter end”? And may not this wisdom, this good sense, be applied with far more purpose to the things that are unseen and eternal? Think of the “bitterness in the end” that must come of neglecting Christ, disregarding conscience, turning away from the Bible, the church, the Sabbath, grieving the Spirit, neglecting prayer I Will not many a foretaste of this bitterness visit you even while yet you are well, and all things are prospering with you? Will it not come on you with overpowering force while you lie on your death-bed? Will it not wrap your soul in indescribable anguish through all eternity?
Think then of this “bitterness in the latter end”! Now is the accepted time. In the deep consciousness of your weakness, let your prayer be that God would restrain you from the folly to which your hearts are so prone, that, by His Holy Spirit, He would work in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.