2 Samuel 2:10

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) About 32 years is the most that can be assigned to Saul's reign (see note on 1 Samuel 13:1, and Introd. to 1 Sam. p. 23, so that it represents his youngest son as born before his accession, which is improbable. (b) Ish-bosheth's eldest brother Jonathan seems to have been about the same age as David, and therefore not much more than thirty at the time of his death.

two years The duration of Ish-bosheth's reign is probably reckoned from the time when Abner succeeded in establishing his authority over allIsrael. Five years and a half were occupied with the reconquest of the land from the Philistines, and these two years synchronize with the last two of David's reign at Hebron. No great interval seems to have elapsed between the deaths of Abner and Ish-bosheth, and David's recognition as king of Israel.