^2:1Afterward David inquired of the Lord, “Should I go up to one of the cities of Judah?” The Lord told him, “Go up.” David asked, “Where should I go?” The Lord replied,¹ “To Hebron.” ^2:2So David went up, along with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail, formerly the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. ^2:3David also brought along the men who were with him, each with his family. They settled in the cities² of Hebron. ^2:4The men of Judah came and there they anointed David as king over the people³ of Judah.

David was told,⁴ “The people⁵ of Jabesh Gilead are the ones who buried Saul.” ^2:5So David sent messengers to the people of Jabesh Gilead and told them, “May you be blessed by the Lord because you have shown this kindness⁶ to your lord Saul by burying him. ^2:6Now may the Lord show you true kindness!⁷ I also will reward you,⁸ because you have done this deed. ^2:7Now be courageous⁹ and prove to be valiant warriors, for your lord Saul is dead. The people of Judah have anointed me as king over them.”

David’s Army Clashes with the Army of Saul

^2:8Now Abner son of Ner, the general in command of Saul’s army, had taken Saul’s son Ish-bosheth¹⁰ and had brought him to Mahanaim. ^2:9He appointed him king over Gilead, the Geshurites,¹¹ Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin, and all Israel. ^2:10Ish-bosheth son of Saul was forty years old when he began to rule over Israel. He ruled two years. However, the people¹² of Judah followed David. ^2:11David was king in Hebron over the people of Judah for seven and a half years.¹³

^2:12Then Abner son of Ner and the servants of Ish-bosheth son of Saul went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. ^2:13Joab son of Zeruiah and the servants of David also went out and confronted them at the pool of Gibeon. One group stationed themselves on one side of the pool, and the other group on the other side of the pool. ^2:14Abner said to Joab, “Let the soldiers get up and fight¹⁴ before us.” Joab said, “So be it!”¹⁵

^2:15So they got up and crossed over by number: twelve belonging to Benjamin and to Ish-bosheth son of Saul, and twelve from the servants of David. ^2:16As they grappled with one another, each one stabbed his opponent with his sword and they fell dead together.¹⁶ So that place is called the Field of Flints;¹⁷ it is in Gibeon.

^2:17Now the battle was very severe that day; Abner and the men of Israel were overcome by David’s soldiers.¹⁸^2:18The three sons of Zeruiah were there—Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. (Now Asahel was as quick on his feet as one of the gazelles in the field.) ^2:19Asahel chased Abner, without turning to the right or to the left as he followed Abner.

^2:20Then Abner turned and asked, “Is that you, Asahel?” He replied, “Yes it is!” ^2:21Abner said to him, “Turn aside to your right or to your left. Capture one of the soldiers¹⁹ and take his equipment for yourself!” But Asahel was not willing to turn aside from following him. ^2:22So Abner spoke again to Asahel, “Turn aside from following me! I do not want to strike you to the ground.²⁰ How then could I show²¹ my face in the presence of Joab your brother?” ^2:23But Asahel²² refused to turn aside. So Abner struck him in the abdomen with the back end of his²³ spear. The spear came out his back; Asahel²⁴ collapsed on the spot and died there right before Abner.²⁵ Everyone who now comes to the place where Asahel fell dead pauses in respect.²⁶

^2:24So Joab and Abishai chased Abner. At sunset they came to the hill of Ammah near Giah on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon. ^2:25The Benjaminites formed their ranks²⁷ behind Abner and were like a single army, standing at the top of a certain hill.

^2:26Then Abner called out to Joab, “Must the sword devour forever? Don’t you realize that this will turn bitter in the end? When will you tell the people to turn aside from pursuing their brothers?” ^2:27Joab replied, “As surely as God lives, if you had not said this, it would have been morning before the people would have abandoned pursuit²⁸ of their brothers!” ^2:28Then Joab blew the ram’s horn and all the people stopped in their tracks.²⁹ They stopped chasing Israel and ceased fighting.³⁰^2:29Abner and his men went through the Arabah all that night. They crossed the Jordan River³¹ and went through the whole region of Bitron³² and came to Mahanaim.

^2:30Now Joab returned from chasing Abner and assembled all the people. Nineteen of David’s soldiers were missing, in addition to Asahel. ^2:31But David’s soldiers had slaughtered the Benjaminites and Abner’s men—in all, 360 men had died! ^2:32They took Asahel’s body and buried him in his father’s tomb at Bethlehem.³³ Joab and his men then traveled all that night and reached Hebron by dawn. ^3:1However, the war was prolonged between the house of Saul and the house of David. David was becoming steadily stronger, while the house of Saul was becoming increasingly weaker.

^3:2Now sons were born to David in Hebron. His firstborn was Amnon, born to Ahinoam the Jezreelite. ^3:3His second son¹ was Kileab, born to Abigail the widow² of Nabal the Carmelite. His third son was Absalom, the son of Maacah daughter of King Talmai of Geshur. ^3:4His fourth son was Adonijah, the son of Haggith. His fifth son was Shephatiah, the son of Abitail. ^3:5His sixth son was Ithream, born to David’s wife Eglah. These sons³ were all born to David in Hebron.

Abner Defects to David’s Camp

^3:6As the war continued between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner was becoming more influential⁴ in the house of Saul. ^3:7Now Saul had a concubine named Rizpah daughter of Aiah. Ish-bosheth⁵ said to Abner, “Why did you have sexual relations with⁶ my father’s concubine?”⁷

^3:8These words of Ish-bosheth really angered Abner and he said, “Am I the head of a dog that belongs to Judah? This very day I am demonstrating⁸ loyalty to the house of Saul your father and to his relatives⁹ and his friends! I have not betrayed you into the hand of David. Yet you have accused me of sinning with this woman today!¹⁰^3:9God will severely judge Abner¹¹ if I do not do for David exactly what the Lord has promised him,¹²^3:10namely, to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and to establish the throne of David over Israel and over Judah all the way from Dan to Beer Sheba!” ^3:11Ish-bosheth¹³ was unable to answer Abner with even a single word because he was afraid of him.

^3:12Then Abner sent messengers¹⁴ to David saying, “To whom does the land belong? Make an agreement¹⁵ with me, and I will do whatever I can¹⁶ to cause all Israel to turn to you.” ^3:13So David said, “Good! I will make an agreement with you. I ask only one thing from you. You will not see my face unless you bring Saul’s daughter Michal when you come to visit me.”¹⁷

^3:14David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth son of Saul with this demand:¹⁸ “Give me my wife Michal whom I acquired¹⁹ for a hundred Philistine foreskins.” ^3:15So Ish-bosheth took her²⁰ from her husband Paltiel²¹ son of Laish. ^3:16Her husband went along behind her, weeping all the way to Bahurim. Finally Abner said to him, “Go back!”²² So he returned home.

^3:17Abner advised²³ the elders of Israel, “Previously you were wanting David to be your king.²⁴^3:18Act now! For the Lord has said to David, ‘By the hand of my servant David I will save²⁵ my people Israel from²⁶ the Philistines and from all their enemies.’ ”

^3:19Then Abner spoke privately²⁷ with the Benjaminites. Abner also went to Hebron to inform David privately²⁸ of all that Israel and the entire house of Benjamin had agreed to.²⁹^3:20When Abner, accompanied by twenty men, came to David in Hebron, David prepared a banquet for Abner and the men who were with him. ^3:21Abner said to David, “Let me leave so that I may go and gather all Israel to my lord the king so that they may make an agreement³⁰ with you. Then you will rule over all that you desire.” So David sent Abner away, and he left in peace.

Abner Is Killed

^3:22Now David’s soldiers³¹ and Joab were coming back from a raid, bringing a great deal of plunder with them. Abner was no longer with David in Hebron, for David³² had sent him away and he had left in peace. ^3:23When Joab and all the army that was with him arrived, Joab was told: “Abner the son of Ner came to the king; he sent him away, and he left in peace!”

^3:24So Joab went to the king and said, “What have you done? Abner³³ has come to you! Why would you send him away? Now he’s gone on his way!³⁴^3:25You know Abner the son of Ner! Surely he came here to spy on you and to determine when you leave and when you return³⁵ and to discover everything that you are doing!”

^3:26Then Joab left David and sent messengers after Abner. They brought him back from the well of Sirah. (But David was not aware of it.) ^3:27When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside at the gate as if to speak privately with him. Joab then stabbed him³⁶ in the abdomen and killed him, avenging the shed blood of his brother Asahel.³⁷

^3:28When David later heard about this, he said, “I and my kingdom are forever innocent before the Lord of the shed blood of Abner son of Ner! ^3:29May his blood whirl over³⁸ the head of Joab and the entire house of his father!³⁹ May the males of Joab’s house⁴⁰ never cease to have⁴¹ someone with a running sore or a skin disease or one who works at the spindle⁴² or one who falls by the sword or one who lacks food!”

^3:30So Joab and his brother Abishai killed Abner, because he had killed their brother Asahel in Gibeon during the battle.

^3:31David instructed Joab and all the people who were with him, “Tear your clothes! Put on sackcloth! Lament before Abner!” Now King David followed⁴³ behind the funeral bier. ^3:32So they buried Abner in Hebron. The king cried loudly⁴⁴ over Abner’s grave and all the people wept too. ^3:33The king chanted the following lament for Abner:

“Should Abner have died like a fool?

^3:34Your hands⁴⁵ were not bound,

and your feet were not put into irons.

You fell the way one falls before criminals.”

All the people⁴⁶…

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Footnotes

1 Heb “he said.” The referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
2 The expression “the cities of Hebron” is odd; we would expect the noun to be in the singular, if used at all. Although the has the expected reading “in Hebron,” the is clearly the more difficult reading and should probably be retained here.
3 Heb “house.”
4 Heb “and they told David.” The subject appears to be indefinite, allowing one to translate the verb as passive with David as subject.
5 Heb “men.”
6 Or “loyalty.”
7 Or “loyalty and devotion.”
8 Heb “will do with you this good.”
9 Heb “let your hands be strong.”
10 The name Ish-bosheth means in Hebrew “man of shame.” It presupposes an earlier form such as Ish-baal (“man of the Lord”), with the word “baal” being used of Israel’s God. But because the Canaanite storm god was named “Baal,” that part of the name was later replaced with the word “shame.”
11 The here reads “the Ashurite,” but this is problematic if it is taken to mean “the Assyrian.” Ish-bosheth’s kingdom obviously was not of such proportions as to extend to Assyria. The renders the word as “the Geshurite,” while the has “of the house of Ashur.” We should probably emend the Hebrew text to read “the Geshurite.” The Geshurites lived in the northeastern part of the land of Palestine.
12 Heb “house.”
13 Heb “And the number of the days in which David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.”
14 Heb “play.” What is in view here is a gladiatorial contest in which representative groups of soldiers engage in mortal combat before the watching armies. Cf. “perform for us”; “hold (have ) a contest before us”; “put on an exhibition of hand-to-hand combat.”
15 Heb “let them arise.”
16 Heb “and they grabbed each one the head of his neighbor with his sword in the side of his neighbor and they fell together.”
17 The meaning of the name “Helkath Hazzurim” (so ; , , similar) is not clear. relates the name to the Hebrew term for “side,” and this is reflected in “the Field of the Sides”; the Greek OT revocalizes the Hebrew to mean something like “Field of Adversaries.” Cf. also , “Field of Swords”; “Field of Daggers.”
18 Heb “servants.” So also elsewhere.
19 Heb “young men.” So also elsewhere.
20 Heb “Why should I strike you to the ground?”
21 Heb “lift.”
22 Heb “he”; the referent (Asahel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
23 Heb “the.” The article functions here as a possessive pronoun.
24 Heb “he”; the referent (Asahel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
25 Heb “him”; the referent (Abner) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
26 Heb “and they stand.”
27 Heb “were gathered together.”
28 The Hebrew verb נַעֲלָה (na’alah) used here is the Niphal perfect 3rd person masculine singular of עָלָה (’alah, “to go up”). In the Niphal this verb “is used idiomatically, of getting away from so as to abandon … especially of an army raising a siege …” (see S. R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text and the Topography of the Books of Samuel, ).
29 Heb “stood.”
30 Heb “they no longer chased after Israel and they no longer fought.”
31 The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
32 Heb “and they went, all the Bitron.” The meaning of the Hebrew word “Bitron,” which is used only here in the OT, is disputed. The translation above follows 144 בִּתְרוֹן in taking the word to be a proper name of an area east of the Jordan. A different understanding was advocated by W. R. Arnold, who took the word to refer to the forenoon or morning; a number of modern scholars and translations have adopted this view (cf. , , , , ). See W. R. Arnold, “The Meaning of בתרון,” 28 (1911–1912): 274–83. In this case one could translate “and they traveled all morning long.”
33 For location see ; ; ; .
1 The Hebrew text does not have the word “son.” So also in vv. 3–5.
2 Heb “wife.”
3 The Hebrew text does not have “sons.”
4 Heb “was strengthening himself.” The statement may have a negative sense here, perhaps suggesting that Abner was overstepping the bounds of political propriety in a self-serving way.
5 The Hebrew of the reads simply “and he said,” with no expressed subject for the verb. It is not likely that the text originally had no expressed subject for this verb, since the antecedent is not immediately clear from the context. We should probably restore to the Hebrew text the name “Ish-bosheth.” See a few medieval Hebrew , Aquila, Symmachus, Theodotion, and . Perhaps the name was accidentally omitted by homoioarcton. Note that both the name Ishbosheth and the following preposition אֶל (’el) begin with the letter alef.
6 Heb “come to”; , “gone in to”; “been intimate with”; “sleep with.”
7 This accusation against Abner is a very serious one, since an act of sexual infringement on the king’s harem would probably have been understood as a blatant declaration of aspirations to kingship. As such it was not merely a matter of ethical impropriety but an act of grave political significance as well.
8 Heb “I do.”
9 Heb “brothers.”
10 Heb “and you have laid upon me the guilt of the woman today.”
11 Heb “So will God do to Abner and so he will add to him.”
12 Heb “has sworn to David.” The , with the exception of the recension of Origen, adds “in this day.”
13 Heb “he”; the referent (Ish-bosheth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
14 The Hebrew text adds here, “on his behalf.”
15 Heb “cut a covenant.” So also in vv. 13, 21.
16 Heb “and behold, my hand is with you.”
17 The words “when you come to see my face,” though found in the Hebrew text, are somewhat redundant given the similar expression in the earlier part of the verse. The words are absent from the .
18 Heb “to Ish-bosheth son of Saul saying.” To avoid excessive sibilance (especially when read aloud) the translation renders “saying” as “with this demand.”
19 Heb “whom I betrothed to myself.”
20 Heb “sent and took her.”
21 In 1 Sam 25:44 this name appears as “Palti.”
22 Heb “Go, return.”
23 Heb “the word of Abner was with.”
24 Heb “you were seeking David to be king over you.”
25 The present translation follows the , the , and in reading “I will save,” rather than the “he saved.” The context calls for the 1st person common singular imperfect of the verb rather than the 3rd person masculine singular perfect.
26 Heb “from the hand of.”
27 Heb “into the ears of.”
28 Heb “also Abner went to speak into the ears of David in Hebron.”
29 Heb “all which was good in the eyes of Israel and in the eyes of all the house of Benjamin.”
30 After the cohortatives, the prefixed verbal form with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.
31 Heb “And look, the servants of David.”
32 Heb “he”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
33 Heb “Look, Abner.”
34 The adds “in peace.”
35 Heb “your going out and your coming in.” The expression is a merism. It specifically mentions the polar extremities of the actions but includes all activity in between the extremities as well, thus encompassing the entirety of one’s activities.
36 Heb “and he struck him down there [in] the stomach.”
37 Heb “and he [i.e., Abner] died on account of the blood of Asahel his [i.e., Joab’s] brother.”
38 Heb “and may they whirl over.” In the Hebrew text the subject of the plural verb is unexpressed. The most likely subject is Abner’s “shed blood” (v. 28), which is a masculine plural form in Hebrew. The verb חוּל (khul, “whirl”) is used with the preposition עַל (’al) only here and in Jer 23:19; 30:23.
39 4QSama has “of Joab” rather than “of his father” read by the .
40 Heb “the house of Joab.” However, it is necessary to specify that David’s curse is aimed at Joab’s male descendants; otherwise it would not be clear that “one who works at the spindle” refers to a man doing woman’s work rather than a woman.
41 Heb “and may there not be cut off from the house of Joab.”
42 The expression used here is difficult. The translation “one who works at the spindle” follows a suggestion of S. R. Driver that the expression pejoratively describes an effeminate man who, rather than being a mighty warrior, is occupied with tasks that are normally fulfilled by women (S. R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text and the Topography of the Books of Samuel, ; cf. “one unmanly”; “fit only to do a woman’s work”; “cowards”). But P. K. McCarter, following an alleged Phoenician usage of the noun to refer to “crutches,” adopts a different view. He translates the phrase “clings to a crutch,” seeing here a further description of physical lameness (II Samuel [], ). Such an idea fits the present context well and is followed by , , and , although the evidence for this meaning is questionable. According to 2:915–16, the noun consistently refers to a spindle in Phoenician, as it does in Ugaritic (see 468).
43 Heb “was walking.”
44 Heb “lifted up his voice and wept.” The expression is a verbal hendiadys.
45 The translation follows many medieval Hebrew manuscripts and several ancient versions in reading “your hands,” rather than “your hand.”
46 4QSama lacks the words “all the people.”