Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

2:1-3 With Saul no longer pursuing him and Ziklag burned, David, after inquiring of the Lord (as in 1 Sam. 23:2), moves to the Hebron area with his family and men. His wives were from the region, and he had sent parts of the spoil from his battle with the Amalekites to the elders of the area (1 Sam. 30:26-31). Hebron was the most important city of southern Judah and not far from Bethlehem. It was associated with Abraham (Gen. 13:18; 23:2; 25:10) and was a Levitical city (Josh. 21:13).

2:4 Judah has apparently decided that having a king is a good thing; but rather than seeking out a relative of Saul (who was from the tribe of Benjamin, 1 Sam. 9:1), the people choose one of their own as king, the hero David, who was chosen by the Lord (1 Sam. 16:1-23; 25:30). Even in Saul's time, Judah formed a separate part of the army (1 Sam. 11:8; 15:4), and now it was prepared to act independently from the rest of Israel.

2:4b-7 See 1 Sam. 31:11-13. David seems to be presenting himself as Saul's successor and suggesting that Jabesh-gilead should enter into a treaty relationship with Judah; Gilead, however, soon becomes part of Ish-bosheth's kingdom (2 Sam. 2:8-9). David is not motivated by mere politics when he sends messengers to Jabesh-gilead. He is moved by their faithfulness toward their mutual sovereign and wants to reward them with blessings from the Lord and with his own work on their behalf.

2:8-9 Abner tries to continue Saul's kingdom, even on a reduced scale. (For Abner, see note on 1 Sam. 14:50-51.) Saul's son Ish-bosheth appears as Eshbaal in the genealogies in 1 Chron. 8:33; 9:39. It is uncertain whether he is the Ishvi of 1 Sam. 14:49. (For his name, see note on 2 Sam. 4:4.) From these verses and 3:9, it appears that Ish-bosheth was little more than a puppet for Abner. Mahanaim, a city on the Jabbok River, was apparently the capital of Gilead. The fact that the capital had to be in Transjordan suggests the precariousness of Ish-bosheth's reign. Gilead and the Ashurites and Jezreel refers to the northern and Transjordanian part of the country, Ephraim and Benjamin to the central and main part. Ish-bosheth did not necessarily have real control over all this area, especially since the Philistines apparently were in the Jezreel Valley (1 Sam. 31:7). All Israel is a summary description of the area just mentioned.

2:10-11 For a time, there are two kings in the land of Israel. David has apparently decided that his allegiance to Saul as God's anointed king does not extend to Saul's descendants, as succeeding events will show. For example, in 4:11 he refers to Ish-bosheth just as a "righteous man," not as a king or an anointed one. Ish-bosheth reigned two years, but David's reign as king at Hebron in Judah lasted seven and a half years. It probably took some time after Ish-bosheth's death for Israel to recognize David (5:1); the period when David was king in Hebron over all Israel before capturing Jerusalem (5:5) may also be included in the seven years and six months.

2:12 Gibeon is about 6 miles (9.7 km) north-northwest of Jerusalem. The "pool" (v. 13) is probably the huge round cistern cut into the rock on the north side of the site of Gibeon. Excavations at Gibeon have uncovered an elaborate water system. One part of the system is a large, circular shaft (37 feet [11 m] in diameter), which was cut into bedrock to a depth of 82 feet (25 m). At the bottom was the water table that formed a pool. The pool was reached by a staircase also cut into the limestone. This is probably the pool mentioned in the present text (cf. Jer. 41:12).

2:13 This marks the first appearance of Joab the son of Zeruiah, though Abishai was referred to as his brother in 1 Sam. 26:6. Joab was commander over the army (2 Sam. 8:16) and appears frequently in 2 Samuel, often as a mover of events. Since Abner knows him and his brothers well (2:20-22), Joab probably came to Saul's court soon after David's rise to prominence. He was one of the three sons (Joab, Abishai, and Asahel) of David's sister Zeruiah, and thus was David's nephew (v. 18). Joab's father probably died young, since he had a grave in Bethlehem (v. 32) and it was unusual for a man to be known by his mother's name. Zeruiah is not identified in Samuel, but according to 1 Chron. 2:16, she and Abigail, the mother of Amasa (2 Sam. 17:25), were sisters of David and his brothers. Abigail is identified in 2 Sam. 17:25 as "the daughter of Nahash, sister of Zeruiah." Therefore, it appears that Abigail and probably Zeruiah were maternal half-sisters of David by an earlier marriage of their mother. (David's sister Abigail is a different Abigail from Nabal's wife, who later became David's wife; see note on 1 Sam. 25:3.)

2:17 This transitional verse connects the first episode, dealing with the fight at Gibeon, and the second episode, where the death of Asahel is recounted. After this episode, the enmity between the surviving sons of Zeruiah and Abner, the killer of Asahel, will be a major factor.

2:19 Asahel was one of David's mighty warriors, "one of the thirty" (23:24; see also 1 Chron. 11:26; 27:7).

2:23 Abner, an experienced warrior, apparently stopped suddenly, thrusting his spear backward so forcefully that it went right through Asahel's body as he ran into it.

2:28 Here, as in 18:16 and 20:22, Joab uses a trumpet to summon an army to mark the end of fighting after a victory.

2:29 The Arabah is part of the Jordan Valley rift that is south of the Dead Sea.

3:1-4:12 Chapters 3-4 describe the slow steps of the process whereby David grew stronger and stronger (3:1) and thus became king over all Israel. A major concern of the author is to show that David was not guilty of involvement in the death of Abner or Ish-bosheth.

3:2-5 A list of David's sons born in Hebron. David's sons Amnon and Absalom come to the fore in chs. 13-18, and the struggle for the succession between Adonijah and Solomon is described in 1 Kings 1-2. The other sons are not mentioned in the narratives of Samuel-Kings. It is assumed that Chileab (called Daniel in 1 Chron. 3:1) died young, since he is not mentioned as a possible successor in 1 Kings 1. After the deaths of Amnon (2 Sam. 13:28-29) and Absalom (18:15), Adonijah is apparently the eldest surviving son of David. Geshur was north of the area controlled by Saul's house, so David's marriage with the daughter of its king was one of the steps in strengthening him against Ish-bosheth (3:1). Absalom apparently named a daughter after his mother Maacah (1 Kings 15:2; 2 Chron. 11:20-22).

3:6-39 Abner, after a quarrel with Ish-bosheth, convinces the elders of Israel that they should go with David. But Abner is killed by Joab. The author repeatedly stresses that David had not consented to this (vv. 21, 26, 28, 37); indeed, since Abner was plotting to make David king of Israel, it would seem that David would have had nothing to gain and something to lose from Abner's death.

3:7 Saul's concubine Rizpah had borne him two sons. She would later protect their bodies after their deaths (ch. 21). Taking a king's wives seems to have been considered a prerogative of the throne (see 12:8; 16:21-22; 1 Kings 2:22), though that is not necessarily what Abner had in mind, even if the accusation about his relationship with Rizpah was true.

3:9-10 As Saul's general, Abner must have known about Saul's recognition of David as his successor (1 Sam. 24:20). People in general also seem to have had knowledge about a promise of God to David (2 Sam. 3:18; see also 1 Sam. 24:4; 25:30).

3:12-13 David clearly does not mind taking the Israelite kingdom from Ish-bosheth, and he stresses his closeness to Saul as Saul's son-in-law. In 1 Sam. 18:25-27, David gave Saul 200 Philistine foreskins though Saul had demanded only 100 as a bride-price, so the extra hundred was in essence a gift. David here just states that he has legally paid the bride-price. Apparently because David never divorced Michal even though her father Saul had given her to another man (1 Sam. 25:44), he still describes her as his wife. David presumably expects Abner to support David's argument when the matter is discussed in Ish-bosheth's court.

3:17-19 The Israelites, even the members of Saul's own tribe of Benjamin, seem to think they are getting nowhere with Ish-bosheth as king.

3:22-30 Here, as in 18:14 and 20:10, the motive for Joab's actions in killing Abner can be seen either as concern for David's position (3:25), concern for his own position (esp. since David had not told him what was going on, v. 23), personal revenge (v. 30), or a mixture. The readers are not told exactly what part Abishai (v. 30) plays, but he seems to have been a loyal supporter of his brother Joab (see 10:9-12; 18:2; 20:6-10; see also note on 8:13-14).

3:25 Know your going out and your coming in mainly refers to military actions (as in 1 Sam. 18:13). In other words, Joab claims that Abner came as a spy.

3:26 Sirah is about 2.5 miles (4 km) north of Hebron.

3:27 into the midst of the gate. City gates were elaborate structures.

3:28-39 Joab is apparently too important and useful for David to punish him for killing Abner, so he does the best he can by cursing him, having a funeral for Abner, and publicly mourning and chanting a lament for him. This is the only funeral described in detail in the OT. As elsewhere, tearing clothes, wearing sackcloth, and fasting are features of mourning. All Israel refers to Abner's own countrymen. It was important for David and his future kingdom that "all Israel" know it was not the king's will to put to death Abner son of Ner (see note on 1 Sam. 14:50-51).

3:29 One who holds a spindle is one forced to do the work of spinning, i.e., in that culture, a woman.

3:36 everything that the king did pleased all the people. The remarkable result of God's blessing on these initial days of David's reign.

4:1-12 Chapter 4 relates the death of Saul's son, the rival king Ish-bosheth.

4:2-3 Beeroth is about 2 miles south of Gibeon and is one of the cities, led by Gibeon, that tricked Joshua into making a treaty with them (Josh. 9:17). The Beerothites had probably fled to Gittaim (which according to Neh. 11:33 was a city in Benjamin) at the time Saul put the Gibeonites to death (see 2 Sam. 21:1). Apparently after that the Benjaminites, including Rimmon and his family, came to live there. If this is correct, it suggests that the incident of the Gibeonites occurred early in Saul's reign, since Rimmon, the father of Baanah and Rechab, is described as being "from Beeroth." This passage stresses that those who killed Ish-bosheth were not partisans of David but were from Saul's own tribe.

4:4 The information about Mephibosheth is probably put here to show why there was no move to make him king after Ish-bosheth's death--he was still a child, and he was crippled. He is further mentioned in 9:1-13; 16:1-4; 19:24-29; and 21:7. (The Mephibosheth in 21:8 is a different person, the son of Saul and Rizpah.) Apparently his real name was "Merib-baal" (1 Chron. 8:34; 9:40). Because "baal" could mean "lord" in general, the name probably referred to the Lord of Israel (as in 2 Sam. 5:20), but at some point, in order to avoid using the name of the god Baal, it was euphemistically changed in Samuel to "Mephibosheth," boshet meaning "shame." Similarly, Saul's son Ish-bosheth is called "Eshbaal" in 1 Chron. 8:33 and 9:39, but "Ish-bosheth" in Samuel; and Jerubbaal (Judg. 9:1, 57) is called "Jerubbesheth" in 2 Sam. 11:21.

4:7 This verse is an expansion of the previous verse.

4:8 Saul, your enemy, who sought your life. It is true that Saul had sought David's life. Nevertheless, David had already rejected killing Saul (1 Sam. 24:4-6; 26:8-9), and furthermore, that did not provide an excuse to kill a "righteous man" (2 Sam. 4:11).

4:10-11 This refers to the incident in 1:13-16. The Amalekite had at least given the excuse that Saul had requested his own death, but Ish-bosheth's death was outright murder. Yet David says nothing here about Ish-bosheth as the Lord's anointed.

4:12 Unlike the case of Joab, there is no problem with executing the killers of Ish-bosheth. For hanging a body after death, see 21:6 and Josh. 10:26.

5:1-25 It is not clear how soon the events of ch. 5 followed those of ch. 4 (see note on 2:10-11). Presumably the deaths of Abner and Ish-bosheth caused a shock among David's supporters in the north (3:19) and caused them to put off accepting David as king. Some of the shock seems to have remained at the time this account was written. David apparently just bided his time, waiting for the elders of Israel to decide that they wanted him as king.

5:1-5 At last, David is accepted and anointed as king over the entire house of Israel. First, messengers from all the tribes come and ask him to become king; then the elders of Israel come themselves. David makes a covenant with them as representatives of the nation (cf. 1 Sam. 10:25), and they anoint him king over Israel (cf. 1 Sam. 11:15). David is one of them (see Deut. 17:15), he is a proven military leader, and he is the chosen of the Lord. Many critical scholars argue that the Bible contains little historically reliable information regarding David and his rule. Some believe it is mere fabrication. But no persuasive evidence contradicting the biblical account has been found. In 1993, an inscription was found at Tell Dan that mentions the "house of David," and it dates to the ninth century b.c. The term "house of David" may also appear on the Moabite stone that comes from the same century.

5:1 we are your bone and flesh. Even though there is a distinct division between Judah and the rest of Israel, they still recognize each other as kin (cf. "brothers," 2:26-27).