27<\/strong>. in the gate<\/em> ] Lit. into the midst of the gate<\/em>, the space between the inner and outer gateways. But the publicity of the city gate was unsuited to a private conference, and the Sept. offers a more probable reading, “took him apart by the side of the gate.”<\/p>\n under the fifth rib<\/em> ] In the belly.<\/strong> See note on 2Sa 2:23<\/span>.<\/p>\n for the blood of Asahel his brother<\/em> ] Since Abner had slain Asahel in self-defence (ch. 2Sa 2:23<\/span>), Joab’s act was not justifiable on the score of blood-revenge. This was merely a convenient pretext for getting rid of a dangerous rival. He foresaw that if he allowed Abner to have the credit of placing the crown of Israel on David’s head, he would lose his own position and influence. Failing in his endeavour to persuade David that Abner was playing him false, with characteristic unscrupulousness he planned this deliberate and treacherous murder, as on a later occasion he murdered his rival Amasa (ch. 2Sa 20:10<\/span>).<\/p>\n Verse 27<\/span>. And smote him there<\/B><\/I>] Joab feared that, after having rendered such essential services to David, Abner would be made captain of the host: he therefore determined to prevent it by murdering the man, under pretense of avenging the death of his brother Asahel.<\/P> <\/P> The murder, however, was one of the most unprovoked and wicked: and such was the power and influence of this nefarious general, that the king dared not to bring him to justice for his crime. In the same way he murdered Amasa<\/I>, a little time afterwards. See 2Sa 20:10<\/span>. Joab was a cool-blooded, finished murderer. “Treason and murder ever keep together, like two yoke-devils.”<\/P> <\/p>\n In the gate; <\/B>in the entrance into the city before he came to the king; and in the place where conferences used to be. <\/P> Quietly; <\/B>with appearance of great civility and kindness. Or, secretly<\/I>, as having some matter of great importance to utter, which none but himself must hear. <\/P> Smote him there under the fifth rib; <\/B>as he did Asahel, 2Sa 2:23<\/span>. <\/P> For the blood of Asahel his brother; <\/B>to revenge the death of Asahel; and withal (though that be not here mentioned) to secure his own standing, and rid his hands of so great and powerful a competitor. And thus was Joabs design; but God had other designs in it, both to punish Abners manifest wickedness, and particularly his rebellion against David, and against God and his own conscience therein; and that David might not owe his kingdom to Abner, and to his revenge and treachery, but wholly to Gods wise and powerful providence. <\/P> <\/p>\n And when Abner was returned to Hebron<\/strong>,…. Alone, and not the twenty men with him; not to David’s court, but just to the city, to the gate of it:<\/p>\n Joab took him aside in the gate<\/strong>: where he was waiting for him, and met him; this was a public place, where people were continually passing and repassing, and where courts of judicature used to be held; wherefore Abner might think himself safe here with Joab, and have no suspicion at all of his design, and shows how fearless Joab was of God or men:<\/p>\n to speak with him quietly<\/strong>; peaceably, in a friendly manner, as all his gestures towards him showed; so that Abner made no difficulty of turning aside with him, supposing he had something to communicate to him from the king, which he had forgot:<\/p>\n and smote him under the fifth [rib], that he died<\/strong>; in the same place that Abner had smote his brother, of which see 2Sa 2:23<\/span>; and this he did:<\/p>\n for the blood of Asahel his brother<\/strong>; for Abner’s shedding his brother’s blood; but this was not the only reason, and perhaps not the chief; but, as Josephus h observes, because he was fearful if Abner was received into the friendship of the king, he would be preferred unto him, and take his place as general of the army, as being an older and more experienced officer; so Procopius Gazaeus, and Theodoret.<\/p>\n h Antiqu. l. 7. c. 1. sect. 5.<\/p>\n (27) Aside in the gate.<\/strong>The gateway was a customary place of conference in the East, and Joab there awaited Abners return; he then took him aside to some place of privacy, as the LXX. reads, by the side of the gate. On the phrase fifth rib, see Note on 2Sa. 2:23<\/span>. The reason for this cold-blooded and treacherous murder on the part of Joab is expressly said to be for the blood of Asahel his brother; but no doubt his revenge was quickened by jealousy.<\/p>\n 27<\/strong>. <\/strong> For the blood of Asahel <\/strong> This ostensibly, but doubtless another reason, was a jealous fear lest Abner should supersede him in office and power with David.<\/p>\n Joab Treacherously Gains Blood Revenge For The Death of His Brother Asahel And At The Same Time Rids Himself Of A Dangerous Rival ( 2Sa 3:27-30<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> ). <\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n We have to remember here that the desire and responsibility of relatives for blood revenge when a member of the family was killed was widespread throughout the Ancient Near East (it was the only policing system available). Indeed it was this responsibility and passionate desire to obtain revenge for the slaying of a relative that had caused God to set up Cities of Refuge where people who had slain another accidentally could take shelter in order to obtain a fair trial before the experienced Judges of the Cities of Refuge (Num 35:9-34<\/span>). The manslayer (however innocently) who did not reach a City of Refuge in time could have no guarantee of his safety. We remember how Gideon slew his noted captives when he discovered that they had been responsible for the deaths of his brothers (Jdg 8:18-21<\/span>). And here Asahel had been deliberately slain by an identified person during a war between ‘brothers’. It is quite apparent from the story that Joab and Abishai, Asahel’s brothers, actually considered it their duty to kill Abner. <\/p>\n The specific detailed rules concerning blood vengeance are not clear and would indeed have been seen differently by different people, so that while Abner probably considered that he had been perfectly justified in slaying a man whose sole intent had been to kill him after a battle, Joab clearly did not see it in that way. Furthermore the fact that Joab escaped punishment for slaying Abner suggests that most agreed with him. Indeed Abner himself had recognised that that might be so (2Sa 2:22<\/span>), but was probably confident that his safe conduct protected him, especially as Hebron was a City of Refuge. Joab, on the other hand, no doubt argued that his responsibility as the brother of the person who had been killed overrode any safe conduct, because while the safe conduct provided protection politically, it did not provide protection in a matter of personal, family vengeance. It will also be noted that he slew Abner while he was ‘in the midst of the gate’, that is, before he had entered the City of Refuge. It was no doubt because he had these reasons that he was able to escape direct punishment, however angry David was. No one living in that day could have denied the right of blood vengeance. It was too firmly rooted in society. That was why David put Joab’s punishment in YHWH’s hands. <\/p>\n Analysis. <\/p>\n a <\/strong> And when Abner was returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into the midst of the gate to speak with him quietly, and smote him there in the body, so that he died, for the blood of Asahel his brother (2Sa 3:27<\/span>). <\/p>\n b <\/strong> And afterward, when David heard it, he said, “I and my kingdom are guiltless before YHWH for ever of the blood of Abner the son of Ner, let it fall on the head of Joab, and on all his father’s house, and let there not fail from the house of Joab one who has an issue, or who is a leper, or who leans on a staff, or who falls by the sword, or who lacks bread” (2Sa 3:28-29<\/span>). <\/p>\n a <\/strong> So Joab and Abishai his brother slew Abner, because he had killed their brother Asahel at Gibeon in the battle (2Sa 3:30<\/span>). <\/p>\n Note that in ‘a’ Joab slew Abner in revenge for the blood of Asahel his brother, and in the parallel Joab and Abishai are described as having done it together because it was seen as a joint responsibility. In ‘b’ and centrally we have David’s declaration of his freedom from guilt in the eyes of YHWH and asks for the punishment to fall on Joab and his seed, demonstrating how angry he felt at what Joab had done.. <\/p>\n 2Sa 3:27<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ‘<\/strong> And when Abner was returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into the midst of the gate to speak with him quietly, and smote him there in the body, so that he died, for the blood of Asahel his brother.’ <\/p>\n When Abner returned to Hebron, believing that David wished to have further consultation, he was met outside the city by Joab who drew him into the area within the gate purportedly so as to speak to him privately. It is clear that he had no thought that Joab intended him harm. As Joab was well aware it was not until he was through the gate that he could have claimed that he was protected by it being a City of Refuge. Thus he slew him ‘in the midst of the gate’. Note the emphasis on the fact that it was blood vengeance. It was ‘for the blood of Asahel his brother’. Abner had been a marked man from the moment that he had done it. <\/p>\n 2Sa 3:28-29<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ‘<\/strong> And afterward, when David heard it, he said, “I and my kingdom are guiltless before YHWH for ever of the blood of Abner the son of Ner, let it fall on the head of Joab, and on all his father’s house, and let there not fail from the house of Joab one who has an issue, or who is skin-diseased, or who leans on a stout staff, or who falls by the sword, or who lacks bread.” ’ <\/p>\n But David was not at all pleased. While he no doubt recognised that Joab had had the right to blood revenge he clearly considered that he should have observed the safe conduct that he had given to Abner so as not to put him in a difficult position. He recognised that it could put him in a very bad light with the elders of Israel. So he openly declared his own freedom, and the freedom of his kingship, from guilt in the eyes of YHWH ‘for ever’, and called for YHWH’s judgment on Joab and his house. <\/p>\n It is this curse that definitely confirms David’s innocence and genuine anger, and reveals how bitter he felt at Joab’s betrayal. It was a curse on his own relations. ‘One who had an issue’ would be permanently unclean (see Lev 15:2<\/span>). It refers to a urinary disease. To be skin-diseased was also to be permanently unclean. In David’s eyes nothing could have been worse. It prevented close contact with the worship of YHWH. One who leaned on a stout staff was permanently lame, which again prevented their entry into the main court of the Tabernacle ‘before YHWH’. To be slain by the sword would be direct revenge for what had happened to Abner, and was a common enough fate in those days. To lack bread would indicate total poverty, in itself often seen as a judgment of YHWH. <\/p>\n 2Sa 3:30<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ‘<\/strong> So Joab and Abishai his brother slew Abner, because he had killed their brother Asahel at Gibeon in the battle.’ <\/p>\n The writer then summarises the position and the reason for Abner’s death (which clears David of any responsibility for it). The mention of Abishai probably indicates that he had been aware of Joab’s plan and had agreed with it. How far they were justified is open to question. Both would probably have felt that a skilled warrior like Abner could have disarmed Asahel or just wounded him. And as it had been during a civil war it could reasonably be argued that it was simply murder during an illegal war which Abner had commenced. Besides, as we have already seen, slaying someone during warfare seemingly did not remove bloodguilt (Jdg 8:18-21<\/span>). So technically Joab would have been seen as in the right by many if not all of the people. This explains why he was allowed to ‘get away with it’. It was in fact a basic and ancient right that none could deny, and it was one that even David dared not question, even though his own view on the matter was slightly different (1 Kins 3:5<\/span>). The fact is that it was too strongly embedded in the thinking of the day. Indeed his reaction against it was courageous, given the current thinking, and demonstrated his disapproval of what Joab had done, whether because he felt that Joab had been disloyal to him, or because he felt that Joab had had other motives, such as getting rid of his rival for the position of commander-in-chief. But to see David as lax in his treatment of Joab is to apply the ideas of our own day to his day which is not justifiable. He could not deny him the right to blood vengeance which all saw as self-evident. <\/p>\n 2Sa 3:27<\/span><\/em><\/strong>. <\/strong>For the blood of Asahel his brother<\/em><\/strong><\/strong> How empty and ill-founded are the purposes of vain man! Abner, who promises kingdoms, (2Sa 3:10<\/span>.) cannot secure to himself one single hour of life. David had sent him away, <\/em>and he departed in peace; <\/em>but being called back by Joab, <\/em>he fell. Envy, doubtless, and jealousy of Abner’s merit with David in gaining over the tribes to him, were principal motives to this base action, as well as revenge for the blood of Asahel. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n 2Sa 3:27 And when Abner was returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gate to speak with him quietly, and smote him there under the fifth [rib], that he died, for the blood of Asahel his brother.<\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n Ver. 27. To speak with him quietly.<\/strong> ] Or, Peaceably, or privately. Tremellius rendereth it imprudeutem,<\/em> unwitting: the LXX, , by a fallacy. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n And smote him under the fifth rib.<\/strong> ] Basely and treacherously, but not without divine providence: that David might come a fairer way to the kingdom, than by Abner’s perfidy. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n For the blood of Asahel his brother.<\/strong> ] This was the pretext, and might be some cause; but the main reason was, lest Abner should by David be promoted above him.<\/p>\n took him: 2Sa 20:9, 2Sa 20:10, Deu 27:24, 1Ki 2:5, 1Ki 2:32 <\/p>\n quietly: or, peaceably, Jer 41:2, Jer 41:6, Jer 41:7 <\/p>\n and smote: Joab was afraid that Abner, after rendering such essential service to David, would be made the general of the army; and therefore, under pretence of avenging the death of his brother, he treacherously assassinated the unsuspecting and too-confiding Abner, and such was the power of this cool-blooded and nefarious murderer, that the king dared not bring him to justice for his crime. But, while Joab’s conduct cannot be too severely reprobated, the justice of God is apparent in Abner’s punishment; who, from ambition, had pertinaciously, against his conscience, opposed the declared will of God; and was induced by base resentment to desert Ish-bosheth, and offer his services to David. See note on 2Sa 3:6, and see note on 2Sa 4:6. <\/p>\n for the blood: 2Sa 2:19-23 <\/p>\n Reciprocal: Gen 4:8 – talked Exo 21:14 – slay Num 35:20 – if he thrust 1Sa 14:50 – the name of the captain 1Sa 26:5 – Abner 2Sa 2:22 – how then 2Sa 2:23 – the fifth rib 2Sa 3:12 – my hand 2Sa 3:25 – that he came 2Sa 4:11 – require 2Sa 11:16 – he assigned 2Sa 11:21 – Thy servant 2Sa 13:26 – let my brother 2Sa 14:19 – of Joab 1Ch 11:6 – Joab 1Ch 21:6 – Joab 1Ch 27:21 – Abner Neh 6:2 – Come Psa 55:23 – bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days Pro 7:26 – General Pro 10:18 – that hideth Pro 26:26 – Whose hatred is covered by deceit Jer 9:8 – one Jer 41:1 – they did Hos 6:8 – polluted with blood Mat 26:48 – Whomsoever<\/p>\n And when Abner was returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gate to speak with him quietly, and smote him there under the fifth [rib], that he died, for the blood of Asahel his brother. 27. in the gate ] Lit. into the midst of the gate, the space between the inner and … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Samuel 3:27”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8120"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8120\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"