Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
2 Samuel 3:31-39
David Laments The Death of Abner And Demonstrates His Innocence In The Matter (2 Samuel 3:31).
In this final passage in the chapter David makes clear his grief over the death of Abner, thus establishing his innocence, and emphasises what a great man he had been. He also writes a lament so as the better to express his feelings. He then finishes by making it quite clear that he does not approve of his commander-in chiefs political tactics and attitude.
Analysis.
a And David said to Joab, and to all the people who were with him, “Rend your clothes, and gird yourselves with sackcloth, and mourn before Abner” (2 Samuel 3:31 a)
b And king David followed the bier (2 Samuel 3:31 b).
c And they buried Abner in Hebron, and the king lifted up his voice, and wept at the grave of Abner (2 Samuel 3:32 a).
d And all the people wept (2 Samuel 3:32 b).
e And the king lamented for Abner, and said,
“Should Abner die as a fool dies?
Your hands were not bound,
Nor your feet put into fetters.
As a man falls before the children of iniquity,
So did you fall” (2 Samuel 3:33 a).
d And all the people wept again over him (2 Samuel 3:34 b).
c And all the people came to cause David to eat bread while it was yet day, but David swore, saying, “God do so to me, and more also, if I taste bread, or anything else, until the sun is down.” And all the people took notice of it, and it pleased them, as whatever the king did pleased all the people (2 Samuel 3:35).
b So all the people and all Israel understood that day that it was not of the king to slay Abner the son of Ner (2 Samuel 3:37).
a And the king said to his servants, “Do you not know that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel? And I am this day weak, though anointed king, and these men the sons of Zeruiah are too hard for me. YHWH reward the evildoer according to his wickedness” (2 Samuel 3:38).
Note that in ‘a' David calls on Joab to weep for Abner, and declares his own innocence, while in the parallel he declares that Joab is too hard for him which is why as a king he is made weak. In ‘b' David followed the bier, and in the parallel the people recognised that the death of Abner was not the result of David's decision. In ‘c' the king wept at the grave of Abner, and in the parallel he fasted and refused to eat food until the day was done. In ‘d' all the people wept, and in the parallel they all wept over Abner again. Centrally in ‘e' we have David's lament for Abner.
‘ And David said to Joab, and to all the people who were with him, “Rend your clothes, and gird yourselves with sackcloth, and mourn before Abner.” And King David followed the bier.
David now called on Joab and all the people who were with him to ritually tear their clothes, put on sackcloth and act as mourners before Abner's coffin. They were to show outward respect and grief at the great man's death and so indicate that the death had not been official policy.
This mourning was not excluded for Joab because David was ensuring by it that it was being officially recognised before all the world (whatever might have been true in Joab's private thoughts), that Joab had slain Abner, not out of malice, but out of loyalty to his own family and its honour. Joab had simply done what most of them would have seen themselves as called upon to do (In that sense it had been true that ‘Abner died as a fool dies'. He knew the custom). For in those days it was seen as incumbent on someone to avenge the violent death of a close relative by slaying the one who had done it. A careful reading of Numbers 35 brings out that even an ‘unintentional' manslayer was seen as having, according to the custom of the time, to be sought out and put to death in order to maintain the family honour, without any blame being attached to the ‘avenger of blood'. The City of Refuge was thus provided in order to prevent this from happening to an innocent manslayer. So if such a one was caught outside a City of Refuge (as Abner had allowed himself to be, even if only by the width of a gate) he would have only himself to blame. It was a method of controlling cold-blooded murder, by ensuring that the guilty party would know that he would be brought to justice in a time when there were no police to investigate such matters. Indeed if on examination at the City of Refuge the killing was found to have been murder in cold blood, then the City of Refuge provided no sanctuary. The killer would be expelled and thus become vulnerable to the Avengers of blood.
It is, however, important to recognise that this ‘avenging of blood' was not a requirement of God's Law. What God's Law did was provide a way by which innocent manslayers could avoid being put to death by the relatives of the dead man without their case even being heard.
“And King David followed the bier.” While the majority of the mourners would go ahead of the coffin, David, even though he was the king, followed humbly behind as a mark of respect to the dead man. This is the first reference to ‘King David' as such.
‘ And they buried Abner in Hebron, and the king lifted up his voice, and wept at the grave of Abner; and all the people wept.'
Abner was thus buried in Hebron, and the king then wept loudly over his grave. Loud weeping was seen as an essential mark of respect at a funeral, and often professionals would be paid to do it. But here professionals were not needed. ‘All the people wept.' It was a clear indication that the death had not been officially condoned and was lamented by all.
‘And the king lamented for Abner, and said,
“Should Abner die as a fool dies?
Your hands were not bound,
Nor your feet put into fetters.
As a man falls before the children of iniquity,
So did you fall.”
David then composed and rendered a lamentation over Abner. It was a further indication of his innocence with regard to what had happened. The reference to Abner ‘dying as a fool dies' may well have had in mind that he should have been more wary of Joab. The suggestion is that he died because he was not alert and ready to defend himself when he should have been. His very greatness may well have made him careless when, knowing Joab, he should have known that Joab would not rest until he was dead. Certainly it indicates that he should have been more aware and not so trusting. The remainder of the lamentation then indicates that he was caught napping. He had not been bound or fettered so that he could not defend himself. Then he might have been excused. Rather he had fallen prey to evil men whom he had unwisely trusted, even when he had had his sword at his side. The suggestion is that he had too easily discounted Joab. David does not specifically call Joab and Abishai ‘workers of iniquity, but he gets very close to it and by it indicates his disapproval of what they had done.
‘And all the people wept again over him.'
Then it is stressed that all the people continued to weep over Abner. The mourning was loud and prolonged. Abner was being given a royal send off.
‘ And all the people came to cause David to eat bread while it was yet day; but David swore, saying, “God do so to me, and more also, if I taste bread, or anything else, until the sun is down.” '
Once the funeral was over the people became concerned for David because he had not eaten all day. But when they tried to persuade him to eat he refused, and swore that he would eat nothing until after sundown. It was out of respect for Abner. He was determined that all should see the genuineness of his mourning.
‘ And all the people took notice of it, and it pleased them, as whatever the king did pleased all the people.'
As he had hoped ‘all the people' noted his actions and were pleased because it indicated the integrity of the king and his innocence of all charges of treachery. He had after all little to gain by it. The writer then indicates that indeed all that David did pleased the people. They recognised him as an honourable man and worthy of being a king in Israel.
‘ So all the people and all Israel understood that day that it was not of the king to slay Abner the son of Ner.'
For that day all recognised, including the whole people of Israel, that it had not been the intention of David that Abner be slain. Indeed, the truth is that he had nothing at all to gain by it. But what is clear is to us is that by Abner's death David was saved by YHWH from being part of a coup that might well have caused great bitterness among many in Israel, and was especially saved from the charge that he had displaced the true heir of Saul.
‘ And the king said to his servants, “Do you not know that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel? And I am this day weak, though anointed king, and these men the sons of Zeruiah are too hard for me. YHWH reward the evildoer according to his wickedness.” '
David then made clear his real feelings about the actions of Joab and Abishai. He emphasised what a great and princely man Abner had been, and how great therefore the evil had been in slaying him. He felt that in a sense it had even weakened him as king, because thereby he had lost a valuable and capable ally and an astute general. Furthermore it accentuated the fact that a king in Israel could not just do whatever he wanted. However he felt about things he had to obey the Laws and customs, even though he was the anointed king, and that even though sometimes they could be made use of by harsh men in order to achieve their ambitions within the Law. He was restricted to carrying out what was seen by all as just. And that meant that he could do nothing against Joab and Abishai because they had strictly adhered to the customs of the people even if they had ignored what they knew to be his desire.
The suggestion that Joab and Abishai, his sister's sons, were ‘too hard' for him indicated his disapproval of their merciless attitude. In his view they had failed to recognise that sometimes justice must be tempered by mercy. Nevertheless what he also wanted them to recognise was that YHWH, Who knows the hearts of all men, would judge men in terms of the hardness or otherwise of their hearts. There would be no such weakness in Him. Thus he prayed that YHWH would ‘reward the evildoer according to his wickedness'. He committed them to the judgment of YHWH. There is a warning to us all in this that in demanding our rights at all costs we too may well often simply be revealing our own wickedness and the unpleasant truth about ourselves.