2 Samuel 2:1-7. David anointed King over Judah at Hebron. His message to the Gileadites 1. _after this_ After the defeat of Israel and the death of Saul and Jonathan, David saw that the way was clear for the fulfilment of God's promise that he should be king. Still he desired divine direction how t... [ Continue Reading ]
_Ahinoam Abigail_ Cp. 1 Samuel 25:42-43. The _Jezreel_to which Ahinoam belonged was a city in the mountains of Judah near Carmel and Juttah.... [ Continue Reading ]
_in the cities of Hebron_ The towns and villages of the district round Hebron.... [ Continue Reading ]
_the men of Judah came_ An assembly of David's own tribe was held in order to elect him king. No doubt he had previously secured the support of the elders. Cp. 1 Samuel 30:26. _they anointed David_ David had already been anointed privately by Samuel to mark God's choice of him as the future king, bu... [ Continue Reading ]
_the_Lord _shew kindness and truth unto you_ Kindness and truth, i.e. _mercy_and _faithfulness_, are attributes of God's character often coupled together. See Exodus 34:6; Psalms 25:10; Psalms 40:11; Psalms 57:3; Psalms 86:15, &c. _I also will requite you this kindness_ Render, I ALSO WILL SHEW YOU... [ Continue Reading ]
_be ye valiant_ The following clause, which might be rendered "for _though_your master Saul is dead, _yet_the house of Judah, &c.," makes it plain that David hoped the men of Jabesh would join him, and hold the land of Gilead against the Philistines until he could come to their aid. As however Gilea... [ Continue Reading ]
Ish-bosheth set up by Abner as a rival to David 8. _Abner_ Both by his relationship of first cousin to Saul (1 Samuel 14:50, note), and by his office as commander of the army, Abner was marked out as the natural champion of Saul's house. _took_ Better, HAD TAKEN. The historian goes back to relate... [ Continue Reading ]
_Gilead_ Here apparently, as in Joshua 22:9, Gilead includes the whole district occupied by the Israelites to the E. of the Jordan, and not merely the central portion of it, between the S. end of the Lake of Gennesaret and the N. end of the Dead Sea. _the Ashurites_ Probably an alternative form or a... [ Continue Reading ]
_forty years old_ This statement is surprising, even if we reduce Ish-bosheth's age at Saul's death to 34½, by supposing that his accession is dated 5½ years after that event; and it is possible that the numeral has been corrupted in transcription. As it stands, it involves a double difficulty. (_a_... [ Continue Reading ]
War between Ish-bosheth and David. The Combat at Gibeon 12. _went out_ The technical expression for going to war. Cp. 1 Samuel 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 Gibeo... [ Continue Reading ]
_Joab the son of Zeruiah_ The eldest of David's three nephews, the son of his sister Zeruiah (1 Chronicles 2:16). Next to the king himself he occupies the most conspicuous position in the history of David's reign. Already he appears to have acted as commander-in-chief of the army, though his formal... [ Continue Reading ]
_Let the young men now arise_ "Young men" here means "servants" or "soldiers." Cp. ch. 2 Samuel 4:12. Desirous to avoid the horrors of a civil war, which would weaken the whole nation in the face of its common enemy the Philistines, perhaps also prompted by friendly relations with Joab, Abner propos... [ Continue Reading ]
_there arose and went over by number_ A fixed number from either side met on neutral ground between the two armies. _of Benjamin_ Saul's own tribe provided the champions for his cause. Cp. 2 Samuel 2:25.... [ Continue Reading ]
_And they caught_, &c. Self-defence was forgotten in the ferocity of the struggle, and all the combatants fell together by a mutual slaughter. _Helkath-hazzurim_ This obscure name is variously explained as _the field_or _plat, (a) of sharp edges_, in allusion to the swords which proved so fatal; _... [ Continue Reading ]
_And there was a very sore battle that day_ The combat of champions having proved indecisive, a severe general engagement took place, ending in the defeat of Abner's forces.... [ Continue Reading ]
The Death of Asahel 18. _three sons of Zeruiah_ The standing designation of David's nephews, to shew their relationship to him (1 Chronicles 2:16). _as a wild roe_ The wild roe or GAZELLE, which still abounds in Palestine, is celebrated for its swiftness, grace, beauty, and gentleness. Cp. 1 Chron... [ Continue Reading ]
_take thee his armour_ Probably, as in Judges 14:19, HIS SPOIL: i.e. if Asahel was desirous of spoil, he might find it elsewhere, instead of attacking a practised warrior at the risk of his life.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Turn thee aside_ Asahel was probably a mere stripling, and no match for Abner, who, wishing to avoid a feud with Joab and an obstacle to making favourable terms with David on the fall of Saul's house, again exhorted Asahel to abandon the pursuit. _hold up my face to Joab_ Meet him with the steady... [ Continue Reading ]
_with the hinder end of the spear_ Abner defended himself in this way with a view to disable rather than kill Asahel. But the butt-end of the spear, pointed or shod with iron to be stuck in the ground (1 Samuel 26:7; Hom. _Il._X. 153), dealt a fatal blow. _under the fifth rib_ The E. V. follows the... [ Continue Reading ]
The Pursuit. Asahel's burial 24. _Joab also_, &c. AND JOAB and Abishai continued the pursuit, in contrast to those who halted at the scene of Asahel's death. _the hill of Ammah … Giah_ Nothing is known of these places, but the minuteness of topographical detail is an indication that the history wa... [ Continue Reading ]
_the children of Benjamin_ The men of Saul's tribe shew themselves prepared to fight for his son's cause to the last. Cp. 2 Samuel 2:15. _became one troop_ The word means properly a _knot_or _band_. Abner chose a strong position in which to rally the remnant of his scattered forces into a solid pha... [ Continue Reading ]
_that it will be bitterness in the latter end_ Either, that the final struggle of desperate men when driven to bay will be the fiercest; or, that any further prosecution of the contest will merely aggravate the bitterness of hostility between the tribes.... [ Continue Reading ]
_unless thou hadst spoken_ Abner found fault with Joab for continuing the pursuit. Joab retorts that Abner himself was to blame for the commencement of the battle. _Unless thou hadst spoken_(2 Samuel 2:14), and challenged us to fight, _the armies might have separated this morning without coming to b... [ Continue Reading ]
_neither fought they any more_ For the time being only. It was not the final end of the war, which lasted for a long time afterwards (ch. 2 Samuel 3:1).... [ Continue Reading ]
_walked all that night_ Fearing a renewal of hostilities they made good their retreat at once. _through the plain_ THE ARÂBÂH, or "desert tract which extends along the valley of the Jordan from the Dead Sea to the Lake of Gennesareth, now called by the Arabs El-Ghor." Stanley, _Sinai and Pal._p. 48... [ Continue Reading ]
_in the sepulchre of his father … in Beth-lehem_ The only reference to Zeruiah's husband, who appears from this notice to have been a Bethlehemite. Josephus calls him _Suri_(Σουρί). _went all night_ Clearly the night after Asahel's burial, not the night after the battle. The fighting was not over t... [ Continue Reading ]