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Bible Commentaries

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible
2 Samuel 3





This chapter begins with the continuation of the war between the house of Saul and the house of David, 2 Samuel 3:1; and gives an account of the wives of David, and his sons by them, 2 Samuel 3:2; of a quarrel between Ishbosheth and Abner, 2 Samuel 3:6; and of Abner's proposal to make a league with David; but David would not see his face unless Michal his wife was returned to him, who was accordingly, 2 Samuel 3:12; and of the interest Abner made with the elders of Israel in favour of David, which he reported to him, and promised to make more, 2 Samuel 3:17; but Joab returning from a pursuit, and with great spoil, just as Abner departed, and hearing of it, chided David for letting him go, and privately sent for him back, and treacherously murdered him, 2 Samuel 3:22; from which murder David cleared himself and his kingdom, and for it made dreadful imprecations on Joab and his family, 2 Samuel 3:28; and buried Abner with great lamentation, expressing much concern for his death, and the high opinion he had of him, 2 Samuel 3:31.

Verse 1




Verse 2

And unto David were sons born in Hebron,.... He was married before he came there, had wives in his state of exile, but had no children by them there, at least no sons; if any, only daughters:


Verse 3

And the second, Chileab, of Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite,.... That is: who had been the wife of Nabal. This son's name is called Daniel, 1 Chronicles 3:1; and was the first name he had, and which his father gave him, because as if he should say, "God hath judged me", and pleaded the cause of his reproach from Nabal, 1 Samuel 25:39; but why he should be called Chileab is not easy to say; the name is commonly thought to signify "like unto his father", or "all father": had all the features of his father, and was exceedingly like him; the Jews have a fabulous story concerning thisF23Jarchi, Kimchi, & Abarbinel in loc. , not worth relating:

and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah, the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; in 1 Samuel 27:8 we read of David's invading the land of the Geshurites; and the Jews sayF24Tanchuma apud Abarbinel in loc. that he then took the daughter of this king captive, and she being a beautiful woman married her, after made a proselyte according to the law in Deuteronomy 21:10; but it should be observed that David slew all the women of that country, and left not any alive; and besides that lay to the south of Judah, whereas this Geshur, of which Talmai was king, was a part of Syria, 2 Samuel 15:8; and lay to the north of the land of Israel; and with this king David hereby entered into an alliance, to strengthen his interest against Ishbosheth in those parts; of the trouble he met with from Absalom, see 2 Samuel 13:1, &c. contrary to the expectations he had raised when he gave him the name of Absalom, or Leabsalom, as in 1 Chronicles 3:2; that is, one given "for his father's peace".

Verse 4

And the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith,.... The same that usurped the throne before his father's death, to anticipate Solomon, and died by his order, 1 Kings 1:5,


Verse 5

And the sixth, Ithream, by Eglah David's wife,.... Who also is not spoken of in any other place; only, in a like chronological account as the former, it is remarked that the mother of this only is called David's wife; the reason of which is supposed to be, either because she was a person of no note, and had nothing else to distinguish her; but the same may be said of the two foregoing; or because she was his beloved wife, his heifer, as her name signifies; hence the JewsF25T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 21. 1. Hieron. Trad. Heb. in 2 Reg. fol. 77. F. take her to be Michal his first wife, whom he greatly loved, and who, though she had no children after her contempt of David for playing before the ark, unto the day of her death, yet might have before: but it should be observed, that as yet she was not returned to David in Hebron; and when she was returned, did not seem to continue there long enough to have a son there; and besides, being his first wife, would not be reckoned last; but still more foreign is another notion of the JewsF26In Kimchi & Ben Gersom in loc. , that she was Saul's widow, who though she might not be married to another might be married to a king, as David was; and this they suppose receives some confirmation from 2 Samuel 12:8; but after all it may be this phrase "David's wife", as some have observed, by a figure the rhetoricians call "zeugma", or "hypozeugma", is to be joined to everyone of the women before mentioned, 2 Samuel 3:2, who were his wives, and so called to distinguish them from his concubines, by whom he had sons also. Polygamy, or plurality of wives, which David gave into, is no favourable part of his character.

Verse 6

And it came to pass, while there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David,.... As long as that continued, as it did until the following quarrel happened between Ishbosheth and Abner:


Verse 7

And Saul had a concubine, whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah,.... By whom he had two sons, 2 Samuel 21:8. JosephusF1Antiqu. l. 7. c. 1. sect. 4. calls her father's name Sibathus:

and Ishbosheth said to Abner; though the word "Ishbosheth" is not in the text, it is rightly supplied; for no other can be supposed to speak:


Verse 8

Then was Abner very wroth for the words of Ishbosheth,.... If false he had a good deal of reason for it; and if true, he thought he deserved better at his hands, than to be reproved for and upbraided with what he might think was a very small fault, and might easily be connived at, and especially in one that had been so serviceable to him:






Verse 9

So do God to Abner, and more also,.... He wishes the worst of evils to himself, such as he cared not to name; but left them to be supposed what he meant as utter ruin and destruction of himself, soul and body:


Verse 10

To translate the kingdom from the house of Saul,.... Which was what the Lord had sworn to do, 1 Samuel 15:28; and which Abner now threatens to do, insolently taking that to himself which belonged to the Lord, and as if he could not do it without him:



Verse 11



Verse 12

And Abner sent messengers to David on his behalf,.... On his own account, and not on the account of Ishbosheth, or the people of Israel; but to obtain terms for himself, or in his own name, as representing him and standing in his stead; or secretly, as Kimchi explains it, unknown to Ishbosheth, or the people of Israel. The Targum is,"out of his place;'he sent them from the place where he was, from Mahanaim:

saying, whose is the land? the land of Israel, is it not thine, David? verily it is; to whom does it belong but unto thee, to whom the Lord has given it? not to any of Saul's posterity: this he ordered the messengers to say in the first place, in order to ingratiate himself to David, and gain his messengers an audience. The Targum is,"I swear by him that made the earth;'so Jarchi says, it is an oath by him whose the earth is, even by the living God, whose is the earth, and the fulness thereof:



Verse 13

And he said, well, I will make a league with thee,.... He accepted of the offer, he was ready and willing to enter into a covenant of friendship with him, and forgive all past offences:



except thou first bring Michal, Saul's daughter, when thou comest to see my face; he insisted on it that Michal, Saul's daughter, and his wife, should be brought along with him, and presented to him; this was the preliminary to the league and covenant; if this was not complied with, the proposal would not be attended to. This shows the great affection David retained for his first wife, though he had had six since, see 2 Samuel 3:2, and though she had lived with another man, 1 Samuel 25:44; as also his great regard to the honour of Saul's family, that one of them might share with him in the grandeur of the kingdom; though this also might be a piece of policy in him, to gain the friends of Saul's family to him.

Verse 14

And David sent messengers to Ishbosheth, Saul's son,.... When Abner's messengers returned to him, and acquainted him with the condition of David's entering into a league with him, it is highly probable that Abner sent them or others to David, to let him know that he could not do this of himself; that it was advisable for him to write to Ishbosheth, whose sister she was, and demand her of him; and that then he would use his interest with Ishbosheth to grant it, and this method David took:

saying, deliver me my wife Michal, which I espoused to me for an hundred foreskins of the Philistines; two arguments he made use of to enforce his demand; one is, that it was his wife he required, to whom he had a right, and no other man; and the other is, that he had purchased her at a great expense, at the risk of his life, in slaying an hundred Philistines, whose foreskins he paid in for her at the instance of Saul; he mentions but one hundred, though he gave two hundred as her dowry, no more being required than one hundred; see 1 Samuel 18:25. Josephus very wrongly says six hundredF2Antiqu. l 7. c. 1. sect. 4. ; the Syriac and Arabic have here two hundred.

Verse 15

And Ishbosheth sent and took her from her husband,.... Her second husband, to whom Saul had given her, 1 Samuel 25:44,

even from Phaltiel the son of Laish; he is called Phalti in 1 Samuel 25:44.

Verse 16

And her husband went with her along weeping behind her,.... Because of his great affection to her, unwilling to part with her, but forced to it at the command of the king her brother:

to Bahurim; a city in the tribe of Benjamin, 2 Samuel 19:16; perhaps the same with Almon, Joshua 21:18; these two words being of the same signification; and the Targum has it hero Almuth; so Alemeth in 1 Chronicles 6:60. It seems to be the same JosephusF3Antiqu. l. 7. c. 9. sect. 7. calls Bachures, and says it was not far from Jerusalem. BuntingF4Travels, p. 144. says it was something more than a mile towards the northeast, and at this time is a fair castle strongly fortified, standing in a high place, and in the valley near it, at the stone Bohan, Joshua 15:6; see 2 Samuel 17:18,


Verse 17

And Abner had communication with the elders of Israel,.... Had a conference with the chiefs of the several tribes about the affairs of the kingdom:

saying, ye sought for David in time past to be king over you; that is, at the death of Saul, and not before; for it was pretty generally known throughout the kingdom that David was anointed by Samuel and Saul himself had declared that he knew the kingdom would come to him; so that upon his death it was the general expectation and desire of the people that the government would devolve upon him, as it doubtless would, if Abner had not set up one of Saul's house, and persuaded the Israelites to own him their king.

Verse 18

Now then do it,.... Make him your king, and I shall no longer oppose it as I have done:



Verse 19




Verse 20

So Abner came to David to Hebron, and twenty men with him,.... Before he went privately to him, and conferred with him, but now, having gained so many of the Israelites in favour of David, he appeared more publicly and brought perhaps some of the principal of the nation with film, to join in the league and covenant to be made:

and David made Abner and the men that were with him a feast; not only in honour to them, as great personages, especially Abner, and as expressive of reconciliation; but as a token of the covenant they were entering into, and for the confirmation of it; it being usual to have feasts when covenants were made; see Genesis 26:28.

Verse 21

And Abner said to David, I will arise and go,.... Into the several parts of the land of Israel:



and that thou mayest reign over all that thine heart desireth: which he supposed reached to all the people of the house of Israel and of Judah, though David had not expressed any eager and impatient desire of government, but waited the Lord's time to be put into the possession of the whole kingdom of Israel:


Verse 22

And, behold, the servants of David and Joab came from pursuing a troop,.... A troop of robbers, that made an incursion into the land, taking the advantage of a civil war between Israel and Judah; such as the Edomites, Amalekites, and especially the Philistines; which Joab hearing of went out in pursuit of them, and overtook them:


but Abner was not with David in Hebron: when Joab and his army entered the city with their booty:


Verse 23

When Joab and all the host that was with him were come,.... To Hebron, or rather to David's court; for their coming to the city is before mentioned; this must be understood not of the whole army, of all the common soldiers, but of the chief officers, who with Joab came to court, to wait upon David, and report their success:



Verse 24

Then Joab came to the king,.... To the apartment where he was; perhaps he was told the above at his first entering into the king's palace, by some in waiting, before he came to the king, which filled him with wrath, so that he came to him in a passion:



why is it that thou hast sent him away, and he is quite gone? or "going, is gone"F5וילך הלוך "et abiit eundo", Pagninus, Montanus. ; is clean gone off, when he ought to have been laid hold on as a traitor, and put in irons.

Verse 25

Thou knowest Abner the son of Ner,.... Thou canst not be ignorant what a cunning deceitful man he is, nor of his designs; or dost thou not know? art thou ignorant? so read the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions, with an interrogation:




Verse 26

And when Joab was come out from David,.... Which perhaps he did at once, as soon as ever he had spoken his mind, and flew out of the room in a great passion, not waiting for the king's answer, since we read of none returned; though it may be the king disdained to give him one, or cared not to confer with him while in his passion, until it subsided; or chose not to provoke him more, for it is plain he had great power over him; which generals of armies at this time very much assumed, see 2 Samuel 3:39;

he sent messengers after Abner; in the name of the king, as Abarbinel rightly supposes, and so JosephusF6Antiqu. l. 7. c. 1. sect. 5. ; for otherwise it can hardly be thought he would have returned on a message from Joab only, who he knew bore him ill will:

which brought him again from the well of Sirah; which might have its name from the thorns and briers that grew about it. JosephusF7Ibid. calls it Besira, and says it was twenty furlongs or two and an half miles from Hebron:


Verse 27

And when Abner was returned to Hebron,.... Alone, and not the twenty men with him; not to David's court, but just to the city, to the gate of it:



and smote him under the fifth rib, that he died; in the same place that Abner had smote his brother, of which see 2 Samuel 2:23; and this he did:

for the blood of Asahel his brother; for Abner's shedding his brother's blood; but this was not the only reason, and perhaps not the chief; but, as JosephusF8Antiqu. l. 7. c. 1. sect. 5. observes, because he was fearful if Abner was received into the friendship of the king, he would be preferred unto him, and take his place as general of the army, as being an older and more experienced officer; so Procopius Gazaeus, and Theodoret.

Verse 28


he said; in a public manner, in open court, before all his princes; he called God to witness, and, as JosephusF9Antiqu. l. 7. c. 1. sect. 6. says, stretching out his right hand to God, he cried aloud:


Verse 29

Let it rest on the head of Joab,.... That is, the blood of Abner, who was the shedder of it; let the guilt of it be charged to him, and let punishment for it be inflicted on him:



one that hath an issue; a gonorrhoea, which was reckoned infamous, and very impure, according to the Jewish law, and rendered persons unfit for society; see Leviticus 15:1,

or that is a leper; whose disease was very loathsome and infectious, and shut him out of the company of men; see Leviticus 13:1,




Verse 30

So Joab and Abishai his brother slew Abner,.... For though it was only Joab that gave him the thrust of which he died, Abishai was in the secret, and was consenting and advising to his death, and so an accessory to it; and might be present, ready to assist in it, if occasion required; and so JosephusF11Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 7. c. 1. sect. 6.) expressly says, that Abishai his brother was with him when he drew his sword, and smote him:


Verse 31

And David said to Joab, and to all the people that were with him,.... To his whole court, Joab being present: for he did not flee, nor was he laid hold on in order to be brought to justice; which shows how great his power was, and that he was too hard for David, as in 2 Samuel 3:39; however this he did, he enjoined his whole court, and Joab also, to express public mourning on this account:


and mourn before Abner; before his corpse, as carried to the grave, when it was usual to make great lamentations: see Acts 8:2,

and King David himself followed the bier; or "bed"F12המטה της κλινης, Sept. "lectum", Piscator. on which his body was laid, and carried to the grave. On these the rich and noble among the Greeks and Romans were carried, and those of the meaner sort on biersF14Salmuth. ad Pancirol. par. 1. tit. 62. p. 343. Kirchman. de Funer. Roman. l. 2. c. 9. p. 375. ; and so with the Jews; See Gill on Luke 7:14; some of which were gilded with gold, and were made of ivory, and had ivory feetF15Alstorph. de lect. vet. c. 19. p. 149. ; that of Herod's was all of gold, inlaid with precious stones, and the body covered with purple, and followed by his sons and kindred, the soldiers going before armed, and their leaders followingF16Joseph. de Bello Jud. l. 1. c. 33. sect. 9. ; the bier or bed with the Romans was sometimes carried by six persons, sometimes by eight or moreF17Kirchman. ut supra. (de Funer. Roman. l. 2. c. 9. p. 375.) . It was not usual for kings, as the Jews sayF18Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 2. sect. 3. Maimon in Hilchot Ebel. c. 7. sect. 7. David de Pomis, Lexic. fol. 119. 4. , to attend a funeral, to go out of the doors of their palace after their own dead, and much less others; but David did this to satisfy the people, and to root out of their mind all suspicion of his having any hand in Abner's death; and to show that he was not slain by his will, and with his consent.

Verse 32

And they buried Abner in Hebron,.... According to the Jewish account of places of burialF19Cippi Heb. p. 8. , he was buried in the midst of the city, though burying places were generally without; and so FullerF20Pisgah-Sight, &c. in the Map of Judah. places this in his map; whether the cave of Machpelah, which was near Hebron, was now used for a burying place, is not certain:



Verse 33

And the king lamented over Abner,.... Delivered an elegy or funeral oration, which he had composed on this occasion, as JosephusF21Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 7. c. 1. sect. 6.) suggests: for he had cried and wept before, but now he expressed something as follows:

and said, died Abner as a fool dieth? the meaning of the interrogation is, he did not; the Targum is"did Abner die as wicked men die?'no, he did not; he did not die for any wickedness he had been guilty of; he did not die as a malefactor, whose crime has been charged and proved in open court, and sentence of condemnation pronounced on him righteously for it; but he died without anything being laid to his charge, and much less proved, and without judge or jury; he was murdered in a clandestine, insidious, and deceitful manner; so the word "fool" is often taken in Scripture for a wicked man, especially in the book of Proverbs; the Septuagint version leaves the word untranslated,"died Abner according to the death of Nabal?'no; but it could hardly be thought that David would mention the name of any particular person on such an occasion.

Verse 34




Verse 35

And when all the people came to cause David to eat meat while it was yet day,.... The custom was to bury in the daytime, and after the funeral was over to provide and send in food to the relations of the deceased, and come and eat with them; as was also the usage with the Greeks and RomansF23Vid. Kirchman. de Funer. Roman, l. 4. c. 5. & 6. ; See Gill on Jeremiah 16:5 and See Gill on Jeremiah 16:7; and kings themselves used to attend those feasts; for the Jews sayF24Misn. ut supra. (Sanhedrin, c. 2. sect. 3.) David de Pomis ut supra. (Lexic. fol. 119. 4.) ,"when they cause him (the king) to eat, all the people sit upon the ground, and he sits upon the bed;'but in this case David refused to eat with them:



Verse 36

And all the people took notice of it,.... Not only of his oath, that he would not eat food till evening, but of his whole conduct at the funeral of Abner; the sorrow he expressed for his death, and the oration he made on account of it, in which he pretty severely reflected on his murderer:



Verse 37

For all the people and all Israel understood that day,.... Not the people of Judah only, but of Israel also, to whom the knowledge of these things came; they knew and were satisfied by his conduct and behaviour, by his words and actions:


Verse 38

And the king said unto his servants,.... His courtiers, giving a reason why he mourned as he did; or "had said"F23יואמר "nam dixerat", Junius & Tremellius. , and so is a reason why the people concluded, and were fully satisfied, he had no hand in his death; but the first is best, because what follows was said not to the people at the grave, but to his servants at court:

know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel? a "prince", being of the royal family, his father was Saul's uncle, and he his own cousin; a "great" man, being general of the army, a very valiant and skilful commander, a man of great wisdom and parts. David says nothing of his grace and virtue, only of his grandeur, his high birth and civil excellencies; he praises him in what he was commendable, and proceeds no further; and this was sufficient to show there was just cause of mourning on civil accounts; and this they might easily know and perceive, that the fall or death of such a man, which had that day happened in Israel, was a public loss, and matter of lamentation; and the rather as he was employing all his excellent talents in civil affairs, and all his interest in the people of Israel, to unite them to Judah, and bring them under the government of David.

Verse 39


and these men, the sons of Zeruiah, be too hard for me; his sister's sons, Joab and Abishai, they were a check upon him; he could not do what he would, their influence was so great, both in the court and in the camp; the one was general of the army, and the other a considerable officer in it, and both variant men, and very respectable among the people, for their achievements in war, and the success they had; so that they were very much out of the reach of David to bring them to justice, without shaking his kingdom; and therefore in point of prudence he thought it best to connive at this fact until he was more established in the kingdom. Whatever may be said for this conduct, it is certain he was too dilatory, and which did not sit easy upon his mind, and therefore gave it in charge to Solomon before his death not to suffer Joab to go to his grave in peace, 1 Kings 2:5. Some take these words, "weak" and "hard", in a different sense, that David was weak or "tender"F24רך "tener", Pagninus, Montanus. , as it may be rendered, tenderhearted, of a merciful disposition, and therefore spared Abner when he was in his hands, though he had done him so much harm, who was the Lord's anointed; but these men, his sister's sons, were of cruel tempers, more unmerciful than he, and therefore slew him; but the first sense seems best:



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Gill, John. "Commentary on 2 Samuel 3:4". "The New John Gill Exposition of the Entire Bible". 1999.

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