Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
2 Samuel 2:12-28
Abner And Israel Seek To Win The Whole Kingdom For Ish-bosheth And Are Soundly Defeated (2 Samuel 2:12).
Having finally established Ishbosheth as king over Israel Abner now turned his attention to bringing Judah back into the fold. In his view, as a Saulide and a Benjaminite, Ishbosheth was the rightful heir to the whole of the kingdom, i.e. to the throne of ‘all Israel'. Thus in his eyes David was a usurper, and especially so as he could still be looked on as a vassal of the Philistines.
It would appear that the Philistines took little notice of this situation. They were indeed no doubt delighted that what remained of Israel was divided up into two parts, and even moreso because one part was under one whom they saw as their own vassal king. They were probably quite satisfied in their own minds that David could look after things at his end, and such ‘border wars' were after all happening all the time. Why then should they interfere? Especially as it simply meant that David and Israel were both weakening each other. (They would, of course, interfere later when David took over the whole kingdom and they felt that things were getting out of hand).
We might actually feel that Abner was very foolish in his decision. What real chance did a weakened Israel have against David's superbly trained force? But we should remember that he did not see David and his men from our viewpoint. He saw him as a treacherous renegade, who had previously made him look small in the eyes of Saul (1 Samuel 26:13), and who had taken advantage of Israel's defeat at the hands of the Philistines to persuade a desperate Judah to appoint him as king. Thus now that he had satisfactorily instated Ish-bosheth as king, which had probably taken quite a bit of persuasion, he felt that the next step must be to bring Judah into submission. He had not had the opportunity to realise that this time he would in fact be coming up against an efficient fighting machine which had proved itself time and again. As far as he was concerned David had always been a renegade ‘on the run'. Thus in his ignorance he was confident that a weakened Israel, even though still recovering from their heavy losses at the hands of the Philistines, (and we should remember that they had then lost almost the whole of their own standing army), should nevertheless easily be able to cope with a rebellious Judah under a renegade king.
Analysis.
a And Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon, and Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out, and met them 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 (2 Samuel 2:12).
b And Abner said to Joab, “Let the young men, I pray you, arise and play before us.” And Joab said, “Let them arise” (2 Samuel 2:14).
c Then they arose and went over by number, twelve for Benjamin, and for Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David, and they caught every one his fellow by the head, and thrust his sword in his fellow's side so that they fell down together, which was the reason why that place was called Helkath-hazzurim, which is in Gibeon (2 Samuel 2:15).
d And the battle was very hard that day, and Abner was beaten, and the men of Israel, before the servants of David (2 Samuel 2:17).
e And the three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel, and Asahel was as light of foot as a wild roe (2 Samuel 2:18).
f And Asahel pursued after Abner, and in going he turned not to the right hand nor to the left from following Abner, and Abner looked behind him, and said, “Is it you, Asahel?” And he answered, “It is I” (2 Samuel 2:19).
g And Abner said to him, “Turn you aside to your right hand or to your left, and you lay hold on one of the young men, and take for yourself his armour” (2 Samuel 2:21 a).
h But Asahel would not turn aside from following him (2 Samuel 2:21 b).
g And Abner said again to Asahel, “You turn aside from following me, for why should I smite you to the ground? How then should I hold up my face to Joab your brother?” (2 Samuel 2:22).
f However that might be he refused to turn aside, which was why Abner, with the hinder end of the spear, smote him in the body, so that the spear came out behind him, and he fell down there, and died in the same place (2 Samuel 2:23 a)
e And it came about that as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died, stood still, but Joab and Abishai pursued after Abner, and the sun went down when they were come to the hill of Ammah, which lies before Giah by the way of the wilderness of Gibeon (2 Samuel 2:23).
d And the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together behind Abner, and became one band, and stood on the top of a hill
c And Abner called to Joab, and said, “Shall the sword devour for ever? Do you not know that it will be bitterness in the latter end? How long will it be then, before you bid the people return from following their brothers?” (2 Samuel 2:25).
b And Joab said, “As God lives, if you had not spoken, surely then in the morning the people had gone away, nor followed every one his brother” (2 Samuel 2:27).
a So Joab blew the trumpet, and all the people stood still, and no longer pursued after Israel, nor did they fight any more (2 Samuel 2:28).
Note that in ‘a' Abner brings Israel's forces to Gibeon with the purpose of invading Judah, and is met by the forces of David under his general Joab, while in the parallel Israel's forces are on the run and it is Joab who is in control of affairs. In ‘b' it is Abner's words which commence hostilities, and in the parallel Joab points out that none of it would have started unless Abner had spoken as he did. In ‘c' the sword devours men on both sides, and in the parallel Abner asks if the sword is to be allowed to devour for ever. In ‘d' Abner and his men were beaten before David's men, and in the parallel Abner and his men rally on top of a hill. In ‘e' Joab, Abishai, and Asahel were going into battle, and in the parallel Asahel died, and Joab and Abishai were pursuing the enemy. In ‘f' Asahel was not willing to turn aside from following Abner, and in the parallel he died because of his refusal to do so. In ‘g' Abner pleads with him to turn aside from following him, and in the parallel he does the same. Centrally in ‘h' Asahel persisted and would not turn aside with the result that he was going on to his death, a death that would have grave consequences, both for Abner (2 Samuel 3:30), and later for Joab (2 Samuel 3:39; 1 Kings 2:5).
‘ And Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.'
Having established the kingship of Ish-bosheth in Mahanaim, Abner gathered Ish-bosheth's warriors and advanced over the Jordan to Gibeon in Benjamin. Gibeon was in Benjaminite territory and Abner, a Benjaminite himself, no doubt hoped to gather further support there. His final purpose was to advance on Judah.
‘ And Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out, and met them 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.'
News of the Israelite movements had reached David through his spies, and he responded by sending out Joab, the son of Zeruiah (David's sister) to Gibeon, along with his men, in order to prevent any attempted movement on Judah. Arriving there they encamped on the opposite side of a large reservoir to Abner and his men and waited to see what Abner would do. The next move would be up to him.
‘ And Abner said to Joab, “Let the young men, I pray you, arise and play before us.” And Joab said, “Let them arise.” '
What Abner then did was basically a declaration of war. As had happened in the case of Goliath and Israel (1 Samuel 17) he called on Joab to send out warriors to meet his champions. The grim old warrior spoke jestingly of ‘play, but there was no real intention of ‘play'. It was to be a fight to the death. Whoever won would prove that YHWH was on their side.
‘ Then they arose and went over by number, twelve for Benjamin, and for Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David.'
Agreement was then reached that each side would submit twelve warriors, twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth and twelve for Judah and David. Presumably victory would be seen as going to the one left standing at the end.
‘ And they caught every one his fellow by the head, and thrust his sword in his fellow's side so that they fell down together, which was the reason why that place was called Helkath-hazzurim, which is in Gibeon.'
We know nothing about the practises which were followed in Israel with regard to such affairs, but the description suggests that certain accepted procedures were followed. Seemingly the aim was to seize the opponents head or beard, and then slay him with a sword. But the men were all so expert that each immediately slew his opponent, and all twenty four died simultaneously together. It was a grim business. Others see the description as simply signifying the ferocity of the battle as they struggled for the mastery. Either way the result was a draw. Neither side had gained the advantage. But the result was that war was now inevitable. By this action the battle had begun. Nothing could now prevent it from going forward. Blood had been shed.
The ferocity of the encounter, which must have shaken many on both sides, was such that from then on that place was named Helkath-hazzurim which meant “field of the sharp edges.” It would not be forgotten for a long time.
‘And the battle was very hard that day, and Abner was beaten, and the men of Israel, before the servants of David.'
Battle then commenced and was hard fought all day, until at length the forces of Abner had to admit defeat before David's warriors and fled the field.
‘ And the three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel, and Asahel was as light of foot as a wild roe.'
The three sons of David's sister were all participants in the battle, and one of them, Asahel the youngest, was fleet of foot. The result was that once the enemy had fled he determinedly set off after Abner with a view to catching up with him and killing him, and thus leaving the Israelite army leaderless and Ish-bosheth without his general. Ignoring Abner's great reputation as a warrior as of no account he had the confidence of a young man that he would be able to slay him.
‘ And Asahel pursued after Abner, and in going he turned not to the right hand nor to the left from following Abner.'
Indeed he was so determined to kill Abner that he allowed nothing and no one to hinder him in his chase. In his confidence in his own abilities he refused to deviate from his chosen path. His whole thought was fixed on Abner.
‘ Then Abner looked behind him, and said, “Is it you, Asahel?” And he answered, “It is I.” '
Checking behind him as he ran, Abner felt that he recognised in the dim light of the forest the warrior who was chasing him and slowly overtaking him, and so he called back, “Is it you, Asahel?” The reply immediately came to him out of the semi-darkness, ‘Yes, it's me.' (Wrong grammar perhaps, but what most would say).
‘And Abner said to him, “Turn you aside to your right hand or to your left, and you lay hold on one of the young men, and take for yourself his armour.” But Asahel would not turn aside from following him.
Abner, who had no doubt in his mind about his ability to deal with the young man without any difficulty, regretted that he should be putting himself in such danger and pleaded with him to desist and find an easier target. He was loth to kill Joab's brother and begged him rather to find honour by slaying someone more on his own level, and taking his armour.
‘But Asahel would not turn aside from following him.'
Asahel would not, however, be put off his purpose. He wanted the glory of being the man who had slain Abner, and probably also genuinely recognised how important such a victory would be for his side.
‘ And Abner said again to Asahel, “You turn aside from following me, for why should I smite you to the ground? How then should I hold up my face to Joab your brother?” '
Recognising that Asahel was getting even nearer, Abner again pleaded with him to change his mind and seek out someone else. He probably had a soft spot for Asahel, and stressed that he really did not want to kill Joab's brother, for it would mean that he could never look Joab straight in the eye again.
‘However that might be he refused to turn aside, which was why Abner, with the hinder end of the spear, smote him in the body, so that the spear came out behind him, and he fell down there, and died in the same place.'
But Asahel was not to be dissuaded, and steadily decreased the distance between himself and Abner in order to stab him in the back as he ran. However, as he approached the wily old warrior thrust accurately back with his spear and it went straight through him. The spear was probably pointed at both ends. And the result was that he died immediately, falling where he was.
‘And it came about that as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died, stood still.'
The pursuing Davidides who came up to that spot during the chase stopped when they saw the body of Asahel in order to do him honour, before proceeding with the chase, for he was a man greatly admired. This appears to have been the custom with a fallen hero as we see from 2 Samuel 20:12. It must be assumed that certain rites were then observed.
‘ But Joab and Abishai pursued after Abner, and the sun went down when they were come to the hill of Ammah, which lies before Giah by the way of the wilderness of Gibeon.'
Meanwhile Joab and Abishai led their men on in the pursuit after Abner and Israel, and as the sun went down they came to the hill of Ammah (‘aqueduct'), which is before Giah (‘gusher') on ‘the road of the wilderness of Gibeon'. None of the sites are identifiable.
‘ And the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together behind Abner, and became one band, and stood on the top of a hill.'
Recognising that the pursuit was continuing, and that their men were therefore being mowed down as they ran, Abner gathered the Benjaminites who were with him (or some who had come to joint them) and formed a single unit on the top of a hill. His aim may well have been to draw attention to them so that the remainder of his forces could escape, as well as to be able to speak to Joab.
‘ Then Abner called to Joab, and said, “Shall the sword devour for ever? Do you not know that it will be bitterness in the latter end? How long will it be then, before you bid the people return from following their brothers?”
Then Abner called to Joab and asked him whether he really wanted to go on slaughtering his brothers. ‘Shall the sword devour for ever' is a reminder of what the sword had done in verse 16. And then he pointed out the intense bitterness that always results from civil war, especially when it is pursued aggressively, and asked how long it would be before Joab ceased the pursuit.
‘ And Joab said, “As God lives, if you had not spoken, surely then in the morning the people had gone away, nor followed every one his brother.” '
In view of the fact that Abner had commenced the battle Joab thought that this was a bit of a cheek, and pointed out to him that if he had not originally called for the battle to start by arranging the competition between the two sets of twelve warriors (2 Samuel 2:14), then both sides would have gone away peacefully on the following morning with no one pursuing anyone else. The fault therefore lay totally at Abner's door.
‘ So Joab blew the trumpet, and all the people stood still, and no longer pursued after Israel, nor did they fight any more.'
Joab, however, recognised the truth of what Abner had said. He knew that David would not be pleased if he antagonised the Israelites unnecessarily. So he blew the ram's horn in order to indicate the cessation of the pursuit, and to call the men together ready for the return home. And being well-disciplined the men responded immediately. The pursuit was over and the killing stopped. The invasion of Judah had also been prevented.