ther.

B.C. cir. 1053.

Abner's Party Defeated.

went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. (13) And Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out, and met together 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. (14) And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men now arise, and play before us. And Joab

(12) And Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul,

Saul, and had been made by him the commander-inchief of his army (1 Sam. xiv. 51). He was thus, both by kindred and office, strongly attached to the house of Saul. He had been with Saul in his pursuit of David, and may have resented David's address to him on that occasion (1 Sam. xxvi. 14-16). There is no statement of the time that had elapsed after the death of Saul before Ish-bosheth was set up as king by Abner, but it was probably four or five years, for the following reasons: Ish-bosheth reigned only two years (verse 10), but David appears to have been acknowledged as king over all Israel soon after his death, and had then reigned over Judah alone seven and a half years. Again, at the death of Saul all the northern part of the country was under the control of the Philistines, and some time must have elapsed before the Israelites would have been in condition to make themselves a new king; and, finally, Ish-bosheth was the youngest of Saul's sons, born apparently some time after he came to the throne, and he was now forty years old (verse 10), Saul himself having reigned about forty years (Acts xiii. 21). Ish-bosheth.-Called in 1 Chron. viii. 33; ix. 39, "Eshbaal" (the fire of Baal), just as his nephew, Mephibosheth (2 Sam. iv. 4), is called in the same places Meribaal, and Gideon's surname Jerubbaal (Judges vi. 32; viii. 35) is changed to Jerubbesheth (2 Sam. xi. 21). These names compounded with Baal may have been originally given, as certainly was the case with Jerubbaal, in consequence of the manful opposition to idolatry of those who bore them, and have been subsequently changed to a compound with "bosheth" (shame), in view of the sequel of their histories; or, on the other hand, in the case of Saul's family the compound with Baal may have been a later name, given in view of their opposition to the divinely appointed king, and to mark God's utter rejection of the house of Saul.

Mahanaim, famous in the story of Jacob (Gen. xxxii. 2), was on the east of the Jordan, and not far from the brook Jabbok. A Levitical city (Josh. xxi. 38), in comparative safety from the Philistines, was well chosen by Abner for the coronation and residence of his new king. Mahanaim afterwards became the place of refuge for David in his flight from Absalom (chap. xvii. 24). The expression "brought him over" refers to the crossing of the Jordan.

(9) The Ashurites, and over Jezreel.-This verse apparently expresses the gradual extension of Ishbosheth's dominion as the country became freed from the Philistines. At first, his authority was established over Gilead-i.e., the country on the east of the Jordan; then "over the Ashurites." No satisfactory explanation

arose and went over by number twelve of Benjamin, which pertained to Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David. (16) And they

of this name as it stands has been found, but it is probably meant for Asherites, or the tribe of Asher, the reading of some MSS. and of the Chaldee Version; the name of this tribe standing for the whole region west of the Jordan, and north of the plain of Esdraelon; then southwards, "over Jezreel," the wide plain between the mountains of Gilboa and the little Hermon; then "over Ephraim," including the half-tribe of Manasseh; and, still southwards, "over Benjamin;" and finally, "over all Israel," excepting, of course, Judah.

(12) To Gibeon.-Gibeon, in the territory of Benjamin, had become noted in the original conquest of the land as the only city which succeeded, though by craft, in making a league with the conquerors (Josh. ix.). It was five and a half miles north-west from Jerusalem, and at a long distance both from Mahanaim and from Hebron. Here the generals of the rival monarchs met, possibly by design, but more likely each engaged in the effort to extend their respective masters' sway over the tribe of Benjamin.

(13) Joab the son of Zeruiah.-Zeruiah was David's sister (1 Chron. ii. 16), and Joab the most prominent of her three distinguished sons. Subsequently, by his successful leading of the forlorn hope in the siege of Jerusalem (1 Chron. xi. 6; comp. 2 Sam. v. 8), he became permanently established as commander-in-chief of David's army. He was undoubtedly among "the brethren of David" who came down to him at the cave of Adullam (1 Sam. xxii. 1), though he is not mentioned by name, like his brother Abishai (1 Sam. xxvi. 6-9), in the narrative of David's outlawry.

The pool of Gibeon is a large reservoir or tank, arranged to store the overflow from a subterranean reservoir fed by a spring in the rocky hill-side. Its ruins still remain, about 120 feet long by 100 broad. The hostile forces halted in full sight of each other on the opposite sides of the pool.

(14) Let the young men.-To avoid unnecessary bloodshed between the tribes of a common parentage, and also, perhaps, to prevent the weakening of the nation in the face of their common Philistine foe, Abner proposes that the struggle should be decided by a combat between a few champions chosen on either side, and Joab immediately accepts the proposal. Hervey (Speaker's Commentary) aptly compares this combat to that of the Horatii and Curiatii, under strikingly similar circumstances and with similar results, as described by Livy (I., c. x. 25).

(16) Helkath-hazzurim is interpreted in the margin "the field of strong men," but the etymology

Asahel Slain by Abner.

The Pursuit Stayed by Joab.

and thrust his sword in his fellow's side;

so they fell down together: wherefore that place was called1Helkath-hazzurim, which is in Gibeon. (17) And there was

(18) And there were three sons of Zeruiah there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel: and Asahel was as light 2 of foot 3 as a wild roe. (19) And Asahel pursued after Abner; and in going he turned not to the right hand nor to the left from following Abner. (20) Then

and the sun went down when they were come to the hill of Ammah, that lieth before Giah by the way of the wilderness of Gibeon.

(25) And the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together after Abner, and became one troop, and stood on the top of an hill. (26) Then Abner called to Joab, and said, Shall the sword devour

Abner.

But 5 Or, spoil.

thou Asahel? And he answered, I am. (21) And Abner said to him, Turn thee aside to thy right hand or to thy left, and lay thee hold on one of the young men, and take thee his 5 armour. Asahel would not turn aside from following of him. (22) And Abner said again to Asahel, Turn thee aside from following me: wherefore should I smite thee to the ground? how then should I hold up my face to Joab thy brother? (23) Howbeit he refused to turn aside: wherefore Abner with the hinder end of

is very doubtful. Most modern expositors understand it as meaning the field of sharp edges."

(17) A very sore battle.-The combat of the twelve on each side having decided nothing, the two hosts joined battle. Abner and the Israelites were worsted. The numbers engaged were probably not large, as the whole number of the slain was nineteen on David's side, and 360 on that of Israel (verses 30, 31). It was, however, a turning-point in the struggle.

(19) Asahel pursued after Abner.-Asahel, the youngest of the three nephews of David, took part in the battle with his elder brothers, and well knowing how completely the cause of Ish-bosheth depended upon Abner, pertinaciously sought him out in the pursuit. His great fleetness enabled him to overtake Abner and, coming behind him, endanger his life. Abner was unwilling to injure him, and only after remonstrating with him, and urging him to seek the spoil of some warrior more nearly his equal (verses 20-22), did he unwillingly slay him "with the hinder end of his spear." The spears were sharpened at the "hinder end" for the purpose of sticking them into the ground (1 Sam. xxvi. 7). Abner's reluctance to kill Asahel may have been partly on account of his extreme youth, but was chiefly through dread of the vengeance of Joab (verse 22). "The fifth rib" here, and wherever else it occurs (chaps. iii. 27; iv.6; xx. 10), should be translated abdomen.

(24) The hill of Ammah.-No identification of either Ammah or Giah has yet been made, but as it was "by the way of the wilderness of Gibeon," it may 65

(29) And Abner and his men walked all that night through the plain, and passed over Jordan, and went through all Bith

be conjectured that it was not far from that town, and hence that the pursuit was not long.

(25) The children of Benjamin.-The rest of Abner's force appears to have been hopelessly scattered in the flight, but he succeeded in rallying the Benjamites, his own and Saul's kinsmen, in a strong position" on the top of an hill."

(26) Abner called to Joab.-It may be that Abner was already considering the expediency of transferring his allegiance to the house of David, or, at least, had had enough experience of Ish-bosheth to see that it would be impossible to unite the tribes under his sway. At all events, his sense of the disastrous effects of civil war was doubtless quickened by his own defeat and present danger.

(27) Unless thou hadst spoken.--Joab's reply to Abner admits of either of two interpretations: (1) Joab seeks to throw the whole blame of the conflict upon Abner, by saying that if he had not proposed the combat between the champions (verse 14) there would have been no battle, but "the people" of both sides would have separated peaceably at Gibeon; or (2), as the phrase is more generally and more probably understood, that Joab had intended to keep up the pursuit only until the following morning, but as Abner already sued for mercy, he was content, and would stop now.

(28) Neither fought they any more-i.e., in this present campaign. In chap. iii. 1, it is said that "there was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David."

(29) Through the plain (or the Arabah).—The wilderness of Gibeon lay to the east of the town, and

ron, and they came to Mahanaim. (30) And Joab returned from following Abner: and when he had gathered all the people together, there lacked of David's servants nineteen men and Asahel. (31) But the servants of David had smitten of Benjamin, and of Abner's men, so that three hundred and threescore men died. (32) And they took up Asahel, and buried him in the sepulchre of his father, which was in Beth-lehem. And Joab and his men went all night, and they came to Hebron at break of day.

CHAPTER III.- (1) Now there was

Abner's flight had thus carried him towards the Jordan. He now passed up the valley of the Jordan (which the word here used generally designates), and, crossing at a ford, went "through all Bithron to Mahanaim." Bithron is evidently the name of a district on the east of the Jordan, but is not further known.

(30) Joab returned.-He cannot be supposed to have returned that day farther than to Gibeon, since it was already sunset (verse 24) before the pursuit ended. There, doubtless, he mustered his forces, and counted and buried the slain.

Nineteen men.-It is uncertain whether these numbers include the twelve champion combatants on each side. The great disparity of numbers slain on the two sides is to be accounted for partly by the advan tage given by bow and spear, the chief weapons of ancient warfare, to the pursuer over the pursued, and partly by the fact that Joab's men had been long trained under David in hardship and deeds of valour, while Abner's men were the remnants of Saul's defeated army.

(32) They took up Asahel.-The bodies of the ordinary soldiers were probably buried on the spot, but on account of Asahel's position and near relationship to David, his body was carried to Bethlehem, for burial "in the sepulchre of his father." It thus appears that Zerniah's husband (of whom there is no other mention) was also of Bethlehem. The burial must have taken place on the next day (see Note on verse 30), and, with the previous march of ten miles, would have filled up that day. It was, therefore, twenty-four hours after the close of the battle before they were ready to start from Bethlehem. The night may have been chosen for the march to avoid the heat; and the distance from Bethlehem to Hebron was about thirteen miles.

III.

(1) There was long war.-Not actual fighting of pitched battles, but a state of hostility, in which Ishbosheth and David each claimed the allegiance of the whole nation, and this continued until the death of Ishbosheth. During this time Ish-bosheth was too weak to carry on actual war, and David was content to abide the fulfilment of the promises of the Lord in His own good time.

Waxed stronger.-Time was working in David's favour, partly, doubtless, on account of Ish-bosheth's manifest incompetence, partly from a growing appreciation of the character and prowess of David, and a

David's Sons.

long war between the house of Saul and the house of David: but David waxed stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker.

(2) And unto David were sons born in Hebron and his firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; (3) and his second, Chileab, of Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite; and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; (4) and the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital; (5) and the sixth, Ithream, by Eglah David's wife. These were born to David in Hebron.

fuller realisation that he was the divinely appointed sovereign. In 1 Chron. xii. 19-22 there is an account of an important accession to David from the tribe of Manasseh on the eve of Saul's last battle, and a further mention of continued accessions to him "day by day." As the necessary result of this constant transference of strength to David, "the house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker."

(2–5) And unto David.-The list of David's sons born during his seven and a half years' reign in Hebron rather interrupts the continuity of the narrative, but is quite in accordance with the habit of the sacred historians to insert at the beginning or at some turningpoint in each reign statistics about the house or family of the king. (See 1 Sam. xiv. 49-51; 2 Sam. v. 13; 1 Kings iii. 1; xiv. 21; xv. 2, 9, &c.)

Amnon.-Written " Aminon" in chap. xiii. 20. His great crime and miserable end are related in chap.

xiii.

66

Chileab.-Called "Daniel" in 1 Chron iii. 1. None of the attempts to explain these as two forms of the same name have been successful. Either, therefore, 'Chileab" is an error of the scribe (all but the first letter being the same as the first three letters of the following word), or, more probably, Chileab had a double name. Nothing further is known of him, and as he does not appear in the subsequent troubles, it is supposed that he died early. These two sons were born of the wives whom David had taken while an outlaw.

Absalom.-His history, rebellion, and death are narrated in chaps. xiii.-xviii. His mother was "the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur," a petty province north-east of Bashan. How David was brought into connection with him, and whether this alliance had any political object or not, we are not told, but the fact that Absalom in his exile naturally sought refuge with his maternal grandmother (chap. xiii. 37) may have had a connection with David's subsequent campaigns in that region.

Adonijah.-After the death of his three elder brothers, Adonijah considered himself the rightful heir to the throne, and embittered the last days of his father by a rebellion (1 Kings i.). He was at last put to death by Solomon (1 Kings ii. 25).

Of the other two sons, Shephatiah and Ithream, and of the mothers of the last three, nothing is known, although there is an absurd Jewish tradition that "Eglah was another name for "Michal."

Abner Quarrels with Ish-bosheth,

name

(6) And it came to pass, while there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, that Abner made ch. 21. 10. himself strong for the house of Saul. (7) And Saul had a concubine, whose was a Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah and Ish-bosheth said to Abner, Wherefore hast thou gone in unto my father's concubine? (8) Then was Abner very wroth for the words of Ish-bosheth, and said, Am I a dog's head, which against Judah do show kindness this day unto the house of Saul thy father, to his brethren, and to his friends, and have not delivered thee into the hand of David, that thou chargest me to day with a fault concerning this woman? (9) So do God to Abner, and more also, except, as the LORD hath sworn to David, even so I do to him; (10) to translate

(6) Abner made himself strong.-It has already been noticed that the fortunes of the house of Saul depended entirely upon Abner, but the fact of Ishbosheth's great obligation to him is again mentioned here in explanation of the following story.

(7) Rizpah.-The name of this woman is associated with her strong and tender grief over the loss of her sons, recorded in chap. xxi. 8-11.

Wherefore hast thou gone in ?-The harem of an Eastern monarch was considered as the property of his successor, and therefore the taking of a woman belonging to it as the assertion of a claim to the throne. (See chaps. xii. 8; xvi. 21; 1 Kings ii. 22.) It is not probable that Abner had any such design, since he was exerting himself to maintain Ish-bosheth on the throne. But the king appears to have so regarded the act, as it is this implied charge of treachery that so greatly rouses the anger of Abner. The name of Ish-bosheth has dropped out of the Hebrew text, but appears in a few MSS., and is rightly restored in all the versions.

(8) Am I a dog's head ?-The translation of this clause is taken from the Vulg., and is hardly possible; it should rather be, Am I a dog's head belong. ing to Judah ?

(9) So do God to Abner.-The anger of Abner culminates in a solemn oath to transfer the kingdom to David, "as the Lord hath sworn to him." There is no record of a Divine oath to give the kingdom to David, but the prophetic declaration that God's choice of him was unalterable (1 Sam. xv. 29) may well have been considered to have the force of an oath. Abner does not propose to do this in order to fulfil the Divine will, for his words show that he had been acting hitherto in conscious opposition to that will, but to revenge himself for the insult now offered him. He had doubtless also become satisfied of his master's entire unfitness for the throne, and his power over Israel opened before him the prospect of high preferment from David.

(10) To translate the kingdom.-This sudden expression of Abner's resolve seems to imply that he had before had the matter under consideration, and shows that there was some ground for the reproach of Ish-bosheth. The following verse brings out clearly the utter weakness of Ish-bosheth.

and goes over to David. the kingdom from the house of Saul, and to set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan even to Beer-sheba. (11) And he could not answer Abner a word again, because he feared him.

(12) And Abner sent messengers to David on his behalf, saying, Whose is the land? saying also, Make thy league with me, and, behold, my hand shall be with thee, to bring about all Israel unto thee. (13) And he said, Well; I will make a league with thee: but one thing I require of thee, that is, Thou shalt not see my face, except thou first bring Michal Saul's daughter, when thou comest to see my face. (14) And David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth Saul's son, saying, Deliver me my wife Michal, which I espoused to me 'for an hundred

(12) Whose is the land ?-These words in themselves may be understood in either of two senses: (1) "Is not the land thine by promise?" or (2) "Who has the power to bring the land into subjection to whom he will except myself?" Since the question is put forward as the basis for making a league with Abner, the latter is evidently the sense intended, and it is quite in accordance with the pride and haughtiness of Abner's character. He proposes a league, that he may have a definite assurance of consideration for himself, and he makes this the price of exerting his influence on David's behalf. The repetition of the word "saying " has occasioned some difficulty to the commentators, but this disappears when it is remembered that the two clauses are separate parts of Abner's message. His messengers were charged first to represent the importance of Abner's influence, and then afterwards to say that he would exert it for David for a satisfactory consideration. (13) Except thou first bring Michal.-David consents to negotiate with Abner only on condition of the previous restoration of his lawful wife. Besides the justice of this demand (Michal having been wrongfully taken from him by Saul), and besides all question of affection towards one who had loved him and saved his life (1 Sam. xviii. 20; xix. 11-17), there were political reasons of importance for the demand. The demand itself showed to all Israel that he bore no malice against the house of Saul, and the restoration would again constitute him Saul's son-in-law, and thus further his claims to the throne; while it also showed publicly that he was in a condition to enforce his rights as against the house of Saul.

(14) To Ish-bosheth.-The demand is made upon the de facto king that all may be done legally, and David may not appear to be reclaiming his wife by force. At the same time, Ish-bosheth is thus compelled to acknowledge the wrong done to David and his inability to refuse his demand. It appears from verse 16 that Abner was employed to execute the command, and, in fact, the whole matter was really determined by him, the king being merely the official and legal instrument.

An hundred foreskins -David had actually delivered to Saul as her dowry two hundred, but only one