2 Samuel 2

Some time after this, David asked the LORD, "Should I go up to one of the towns of Judah?" The LORD told him, "Go up." David asked, "Where should I go?" The LORD answered, "To Hebron."

1And it came to pass after this, that David enquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And the LORD said unto him, Go up. And David said, Whither shall I go up? And he said, Unto Hebron.

Note"Asked the LORD" describes a formal procedure, not private prayer: a priest carried a sacred object (the ephod, holding lots called Urim and Thummim) and put yes-or-no questions to God through it. That is why the answers here come back one short phrase at a time. Hebron is a town in the hill country about twenty miles south of Jerusalem, the largest settlement in Judah, David's own tribe.

2So David went up to Hebron, and his two wives went with him: Ahinoam from Jezreel, and Abigail, who had been the wife of Nabal of Carmel.

2So David went up thither, and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail Nabal’s wife the Carmelite.

NoteAbigail's first husband, Nabal, was a rich sheep owner near Carmel in Judah who refused David's men supplies and died soon after; David then married his widow. Jezreel here is a town in southern Judah, not the better-known valley in the north.

3David also brought up the men who were with him, each one with his family, and they settled in the towns around Hebron.

3And his men that were with him did David bring up, every man with his household: and they dwelt in the cities of Hebron.

4Then the men of Judah came to Hebron, and there they poured oil on David to make him king over the people of Judah. Someone told David, "It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul."

4And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying, That the men of Jabeshgilead were they that buried Saul.

NotePouring olive oil on a man's head was the public ceremony that installed him in office; "anointed" in older Bibles means exactly this. Note that only Judah, David's own tribe, does it, the rest of Israel does not. Jabesh-gilead's act mattered because the Philistines had hung Saul's body on a city wall after killing him; men from Jabesh crossed the Jordan by night, took the body down, and buried it. They owed Saul: he had rescued their town early in his reign.

5So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead with this message: "May the LORD bless you, because you showed this kindness to Saul, your master, by burying him.

5And David sent messengers unto the men of Jabeshgilead, and said unto them, Blessed be ye of the LORD, that ye have shewed this kindness unto your lord, even unto Saul, and have buried him.

6Now may the LORD show you steady love and faithfulness. And I will repay you for this kindness too, because you have done this.

6And now the LORD shew kindness and truth unto you: and I also will requite you this kindness, because ye have done this thing.

Note"Steady love and faithfulness" translates a fixed Hebrew pair (hesed we'emet) used of loyalty between parties bound to each other, a king to his subjects, a family to its dead. It means dependable commitment that is acted on, not warm feeling.

7So now be strong and be brave. Your master Saul is dead, but the people of Judah have poured oil on me to make me their king."

7Therefore now let your hands be strengthened, and be ye valiant: for your master Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah have anointed me king over them.

8Meanwhile Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul's army, took Saul's son Ishbosheth and brought him across to the town of Mahanaim.

8But Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saul’s host, took Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim;

NoteAbner was Saul's cousin as well as his army commander, which is why he, rather than anyone else, can install a surviving son. "Ishbosheth" means roughly "man of shame"; other passages call the same man Ishbaal or Eshbaal, and copyists appear to have replaced the element "baal" (a title for a god) with "bosheth," shame. Mahanaim lay east of the Jordan, well away from the Philistine forces that had just destroyed Saul's army in the north.

9There he made Ishbosheth king over Gilead, over the Ashurites, over Jezreel, over Ephraim, over Benjamin, and over all Israel.

9And made him king over Gilead, and over the Ashurites, and over Jezreel, and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over all Israel.

NoteThis is a list of territories, moving from east of the Jordan (Gilead) to the northern valleys and hill country. "The Ashurites" is uncertain: ancient versions read the tribe of Asher or the region of Geshur, and translators disagree. "All Israel" here means everything except Judah.

10Ishbosheth, Saul's son, was forty years old when he became king over Israel, and he ruled for two years. But the people of Judah followed David.

10Ishbosheth Saul’s son was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David.

NoteThe numbers in this verse and the next do not line up: Ishbosheth reigns two years while David reigns in Hebron seven and a half. Explanations vary (a gap before Ishbosheth was installed, or a damaged number) and the text as it stands leaves the difference unexplained.

11David was king in Hebron over the people of Judah for seven years and six months.

11And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

12One day Abner son of Ner marched out from Mahanaim to Gibeon with the men who served Ishbosheth son of Saul.

12And Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.

NoteGibeon was a town about six miles northwest of Jerusalem, inside the territory of Benjamin, Saul's own tribe, and so friendly ground for Abner. The "pool" was a large rock-cut water shaft, a landmark and a natural meeting point.

13Joab son of Zeruiah marched out with David's men, and the two groups met at the pool of Gibeon. They sat down facing each other, one group on each side of the pool.

13And 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.

14Abner said to Joab, "Let the young men get up and fight in front of us." Joab said, "Let them get up."

14And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men now arise, and play before us. And Joab said, Let them arise.

NoteThe Hebrew word is the ordinary one for sport or play, used of games and contests. Abner is proposing that a fixed number of champions from each side fight in front of the two armies, a recognized way of settling a dispute without a full battle. It goes wrong in the next two verses.

15So they got up and were counted off: twelve men from Benjamin, who served Ishbosheth son of Saul, and twelve of David's men.

15Then 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.

16Each man grabbed his opponent by the head and shoved his sword into his opponent's side, so they all fell down dead together. That is why that place in Gibeon is called Helkath-hazzurim.

16And they caught every one 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.

NoteHelkath-hazzurim means something like "field of sword-edges," or possibly "field of flints" or "field of sides", the Hebrew is unclear, and the name is preserved because it stuck to the spot. All twenty-four men kill each other simultaneously, so the contest settles nothing.

17The fighting that day turned into a fierce battle, and Abner and the men of Israel were beaten by David's men.

17And there was a very sore battle that day; and Abner was beaten, and the men of Israel, before the servants of David.

18Zeruiah's three sons were there: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Asahel could run as fast as a wild gazelle.

18And there were three sons of Zeruiah there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel: and Asahel was as light of foot as a wild roe.

NoteZeruiah was David's sister, so Joab, Abishai, and Asahel were David's nephews. They are named after their mother rather than their father throughout the books of Samuel, which is unusual and unexplained. Naming the three brothers here sets up what follows: killing one of them puts Abner in a blood feud with the other two.

19Asahel chased after Abner. He did not turn aside to the right or the left, but kept running straight after him.

19And Asahel pursued after Abner; and in going he turned not to the right hand nor to the left from following Abner.

20Abner looked back and said, "Is that you, Asahel?" He answered, "It is."

20Then Abner looked behind him, and said, Art thou Asahel? And he answered, I am.

21Abner said to him, "Turn aside to your right or your left. Grab one of the young men and take his gear for yourself." But Asahel would not stop chasing him.

21And 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, and take thee his armour. But Asahel would not turn aside from following of him.

NoteStripping a defeated enemy's weapons and armor was the normal prize of victory, kept or sold by the man who took them. Abner is offering Asahel an easier target with a payoff attached, so that he can claim a trophy without either of them being killed.

22Abner warned Asahel again, "Stop chasing me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How could I ever face your brother Joab again?"

22And Abner said again to Asahel, Turn thee aside from following me: wherefore should I smite thee to the ground? how then should I hold up my face to Joab thy brother?

NoteUnder the custom of blood vengeance, a killing obliged the dead man's nearest male relative to hunt down the killer. Abner knows that if he kills Asahel he will have Joab after him for life; that, and not squeamishness, is what "how could I face your brother" means.

23But Asahel refused to turn aside. So Abner drove the back end of his spear into Asahel's belly, and it came out through his back. Asahel fell there and died on the spot. Everyone who came to the place where he had fallen and died stopped there.

23Howbeit he refused to turn aside: wherefore Abner with the hinder end of the spear smote him under the fifth rib, that the spear came out behind him; and he 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.

NoteA spear had a metal-shod butt at the rear, pointed so it could be driven into the ground; that is the end Abner uses, striking backwards while running. The King James "under the fifth rib" is a guess at a Hebrew word that means the soft part of the belly. Men stopping at the spot is a mark of shock at who has fallen.

24But Joab and Abishai kept chasing Abner. The sun was going down when they reached the hill of Ammah, which faces Giah on the road to the wilderness of Gibeon.

24Joab also and Abishai pursued after Abner: and the sun went down when they were come to the hill of Ammah, that lieth before Giah by the way of the wilderness of Gibeon.

25The men of Benjamin gathered behind Abner, formed one group, and took their stand on the top of a hill.

25And the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together after Abner, and became one troop, and stood on the top of an hill.

26Then Abner called out to Joab, "Is the sword going to keep killing forever? Don't you know this will end in bitterness? How long before you tell your men to stop chasing their own countrymen?"

26Then Abner called to Joab, and said, Shall the sword devour for ever? knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end? how long shall it be then, ere thou bid the people return from following their brethren?

NoteBoth armies are Israelites, and the men pursuing and the men fleeing come from neighboring tribes. Abner's point is that a fight between kinsmen has no end point: whoever wins, the families on both sides are left owing each other blood.

27Joab answered, "As surely as God lives, if you had not spoken, my men would have kept chasing their countrymen until morning."

27And Joab said, As God liveth, unless thou hadst spoken, surely then in the morning the people had gone up every one from following his brother.

28So Joab blew the ram's horn, and all the men stopped. They chased Israel no farther and did no more fighting.

28So Joab blew a trumpet, and all the people stood still, and pursued after Israel no more, neither fought they any more.

NoteThe ram's horn was the standard battlefield signal instrument. A single blast on it was the recognized order to break off an engagement, and troops responded to it as to a bugle call.

29Abner and his men marched all that night through the Arabah valley. They crossed the Jordan River, went on through the whole Bithron area, and came to Mahanaim.

29And Abner and his men walked all that night through the plain, and passed over Jordan, and went through all Bithron, and they came to Mahanaim.

NoteThe Arabah is the deep rift valley running along the Jordan River. Bithron is otherwise unknown; the Hebrew may be a place name or may mean "the ravine" or "the whole forenoon," and translators split between them. The march takes Abner's men from west of the Jordan back across it to Mahanaim, roughly a twenty-mile night journey.

30Joab came back from chasing Abner and gathered all his men together. Besides Asahel, nineteen of David's men were missing.

30And Joab returned from following Abner: and when he had gathered all the people together, there lacked of David’s servants nineteen men and Asahel.

31But David's men had struck down three hundred and sixty men of Benjamin who were with Abner.

31But the servants of David had smitten of Benjamin, and of Abner’s men, so that three hundred and threescore men died.

32They took up Asahel's body and buried him in his father's tomb in Bethlehem. Then Joab and his men marched all night and reached Hebron at daybreak.

32And they took up Asahel, and buried him in the sepulchre of his father, which was in Bethlehem. And Joab and his men went all night, and they came to Hebron at break of day.

NoteBurial in the ancestral tomb, a family cave or rock chamber reused over generations, was the proper end for an Israelite, as opposed to being left where he fell. Bethlehem is David's home town, which is where Zeruiah's family also belonged.