Outline of Chapter 2:

         Introduction         Matthew Henry Summarizes 2Samuel 2

         vv.     1–4b         David Rules Over Judah from Hebron

         vv.     4c–7          David honors the men of Jabesh-Gilead

         vv.     8–11         Ishbosheth Reigns over Northern and Eastern Israel

         vv.    12–17         Civil War between Abner and David’s Nephews

         vv.    18–23         Abner Kills Asahel, David’s Nephew

         vv.    24–29         A Temporary Truce is Called

         vv.    30–33         The Casualty Report to David

Charts, Maps and Short Doctrines:

         Introduction         Matthew Henry Summarizes 2Samuel 2

         v.       1              A Brief Summary of the Doctrine of Hebron

         v.       1              The Commentators Remark about Hebron

         v.       6              Genocides and Political Killings of the 20^th Century

         v.       7              Various Commentators on David’s Message to the Men of Jabesh Gilead

         v.       8              Summarizing What We Know About Abner

         v.       8              Why Abner is Motivated to Set up Ishbosheth as King Over Israel

         v.       8              Smith Summarizes the Doctrine of the City of Mahanaim

         v.       8              Why Mahanaim is Chosen as the New Capitol City

         v.       9              Ashurite, Geshurite or Asherite?

         v.       9              The Area over which Ishbosheth Ruled

         v.       9              The Reasons You Need a Pastor Teacher

         v.       9              Pastor Teachers You Should Avoid

         v.      10              How the Age of Ishbosheth Impacts other Numbers in Scripture

         v.      11              A Time-Line for the Divided Kingdom

         v.      11              Other Theories Dealing with the Length of Ishbosheth’s Reign

         v.      12              Why Abner Goes to Gibeon

         v.      16              Commentators Explain the Meaning of Helkath-Hazzurim

         v.      17              Abner’s Strategy

         v.      27              Commentators Interpret Joab’s Oath

         v.      29              Where is Bithron?

         v.      31              Gill on the Disparity of the Losses

         v.      32              The Mistakes of Joab

I ntroduction: This and the next chapter are easy to sum up in a couple of sentences. God sets up David as king over Judah (and, presumably, Simeon) in the capitol city Hebron. Abner (probably under Saul’s direction) sets up Ishbosheth as king over northern and central Israel. A civil war will ensue.

2Sam. 2 is fairly straightforward narrative, with a handful of minor difficulties in translation and interpretation. After it is clear that Saul is dead, David inquires of God as to where he should go and God guides him to go to Hebron to set up his headquarters to rule over Judah. Abner, Saul’s cousin and the commander of Saul’s army, is setting up Saul’s son, Ishbosheth to rule from Mahanaim in eastern Israel. Since Israel had been one entity and now was split, it is inevitable that the armies of both sides should meet, which is what occurs here.

You may recall that David was outside of Israel and probably outside of God’s geographical will. However, when he returned to Ziklag and found that his camp had been raided by Amalekites, David pulled himself together and turned toward God for guidance. In this chapter, David continues in that vein—he asks God for guidance, and God guides him to Hebron in Judah, where he is made king over Judah. You may wonder, why isn’t all Israel behind David at this time? Israel has just been beaten down by the Philistine army, which served to split all Israel right down the middle; above the Philistine victory is northern Israel and below it is Judah. With the Philistines living in some of the cities in central Israel, there is no united Israel. 2Sam. 2:1–4a

After being proclaimed king, David is told about the men of Jabesh-Gilead and how they risked their lives in order to honor Saul, whose body had been hung on a wall in Bethshan, and David sends them greetings and encouragement. David’s purpose here is to indicate to them that he sees this as heroic and he does not feel threatened that they supported their lord Saul. 2Sam. 2:4b–7

However, Abner took Saul’s son Ishbosheth east of the Jordan (Saul’s army was soundly defeated by the Philistines west of the Jordan), and he sets him up as king (probably at Saul’s request the morning that he died). Abner then took his army and he met David’s nephews and their army in Gibeon, which is in central Israel. We do not know the intervening events; we do not know where the Philistines are who are occupying this territory or the impact that these two mobile armies had on them. In this meeting between Abner and Joab (one of David’s nephews), it will be clear the Abner always has the upper hand; his experience is always evident. He will call the shots in this meeting. However, the meeting will end in a civil war between the two armies, and Abner will flee with Asahel, another of David’s nephews, close behind him. With Asahel gaining on Abner, Abner finally turns and deftly kills Asahel. Abner and Joab talk again, and Abner tells Joab that all that can be expected is more and more warfare between these civil factions. Joab, taken aback by the death of his brother, agrees to a temporary truce, and they return to their respective leaders. At the end of this chapter, we are told the body count. 2Sam. 2:12–32

David Rules Over Judah from Hebron

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:                       Note: I compare the Hebrew text to English translations of the Latin, Syriac and Greek texts (using the Douay-Rheims translation; George Lamsa’s translation, and Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton’s translation, respectively). When there are serious disparities between my translation and Brenton’s, I look at the Greek text of the Septuagint (the LXX) to see if a substantive difference actually exists (and I reflect these changes in the English rendering of the Greek text). Now and again, I update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.).

Masoretic Text                       And so he is after so, and so inquires David in Y^ehowah to say, “Should I go up into one of [the] cities of Judah?”

And so says Y^ehowah to him, “Go up.”

And so says David “Where do I go up?”

And so He says, “Hebron-ward.”

Septuagint                              And it came to pass after this that David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go up into one of the cities of Juda?” And the Lord said to him, “Go up.” And David said, “Where shall I go up?” And He said, “To Chebron.”

Significant differences:           None.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       Later, David asked the LORD, "Should I go back to one of the towns of Judah?" The LORD answered, "Yes." David asked, "Which town should I go to?" "Go to Hebron," the LORD replied.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                         After this, David asked the LORD, "Should I go to one of the cities of Judah?" "Go," the LORD answered him. "Where should I go?" David asked. "To Hebron," the LORD replied.

HCSB                                     Some time later, David inquired of the LORD: "Should I go to one of the towns of Judah?" The LORD answered him, "Go." Then David asked, "Where should I go?" "To Hebron," the LORD replied.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

LTHB                                     And it happened after this, David asked of Jehovah, saying, Shall I go up to one of the cities of Judah? And Jehovah said to him, Go up. And David said, Where shall I go up? And He said, To Hebron.

Young’s Updated LT             And it comes to pass afterwards, that David asks at Jehovah, saying, “Do I go up into one of the cities of Judah?” And Jehovah says unto him, “Go up.” And David says, “Whither do I go up?” And He says, “To Hebron.”

The gist of this verse?         David asks of God if he should go up into Judah and to which city. God tells David to go up to Hebron.

Translation: And it is afterwards... Recall that David is living in Philistine-controlled territory on the southwest border of Judah and Philistia. When Saul was pursuing David, David finally gave up staying in Judah and went up to Gath. The Philistine king of Gath gave David an area where he could stay (Ziklag), which was near southern Judah, but controlled by the Philistines. We have just witnessed David coming back into fellowship after his camp had been struck by the Amalekites (1Sam. 30:6). He and his men go after and they soundly defeat the Amalekites, recovering all of their personal possessions, their wives and children (1Sam. 30). At the same time, Saul was about to go into his last battle. In fact, simultaneous to David going after the Amalekites, Saul contacted a dead Samuel through a human medium, hoping to get a reprieve or some sort of guidance. Samuel did appear to Saul (if you don’t know why God allowed this, you need to go back to 1Sam. 28 and find out); and told him that he was about to die in battle. Saul did die in battle and an Amalekite comes to tell David about it, claiming to have taken Saul’s life, and hoping to be rewarded for doing so. David has this man executed, based upon his own testimony. Then David writes an ode to Saul and Jonathan, mourning their deaths. That takes us to where we begin this chapter. It is after these things that we find David calling upon God. Recall that Hebrews do not often think chronologically, so that when we have the words which we find here, we can assume that we are looking chronologically at a particular set of events.

Translation: ...that David inquires of Y^ehowah, saying,... You will recall that David had the means by which he could speak to Jehovah God. The last living priest, the very young man Abiathar, came to David, after Saul had slaughtered the priests at Nob. This man brought with him the Ephod of God, by which one could know the will of God. You will recall that, even though David had access to this Ephod, when he went into the Philistine-held territory, he did not consult with God. As we examined carefully during that time, it was clear that David was out of fellowship, and we covered that in points (1Sam. 27). However, David is now clearly back in fellowship, which means he wants to know what God wants him to do.

Translation:...“Should I go up into one of the cities of Judah?” God has named David as the next king of Israel. David is now just outside of Judah, hiding in a Philistine-controlled territory. Now that Saul is dead, David needs to know what to do next. It seems reasonable that he should return to Judah, but he will inquire of God whether or not he should do this.

Translation: And Y^ehowah answers him, “Go up.” God makes it clear that David should go up into Judah, into one of the cities of Judah. This quotation is interesting—instead of having the simple yes or no response, which is how we might view the responses to David’s questions, God tells David to, “Go up.” Because of what has occurred previously, I would assume that David is asking questions of God using the ephod and the young priest, Abiathar. We do not have any recorded incident where God speaks to David in a dream; God never speaks directly to David, at least up until this point in time. So, although I cannot unequivocally rule out the idea that God is speaking to David in a dream, there is no evidence of that, apart from God’s answers, which are very specific, rather than general yes or no answers. As we have discussed earlier, it is possible that there were ways to get a more detailed answer from the Ephod of God, although we have no idea as to how exactly that is done.

Translation: And David then says, “Where should I go up?” As discussed above, we are guessing that David is inquiring of God via the Ephod of God. This is based only upon what has occurred in the past; and based upon the fact that, at no time, has God spoken to David in a dream.

To me, this suggests that God somehow communicated information to Abiathar, more than simply yes or no from the ephod. There is no indication that David laid out before God a few dozen cities and asked God, should I go to this city? Yes or no? Although that is a possibility, that God says to David, “Go Up” and “Hebron” simply indicates that somehow, God is communicating a certain amount of limited information to David, and I would assume that would be through Abiathar, although he is not mentioned here.

Translation: And He says, “To Hebron.” In some manner which we cannot conclusively point to, God is able to clearly indicate to David just exactly where David should go—God tells David to go to Hebron. We covered the Doctrine of Hebron back in Joshua 14:15; however, let us briefly summarize it below.

As you might speculate, that God tells David to go to Hebron is quite spiritually significant—of all the cities of Israel, this one, in David’s time, would be seen as the city of the greatest spiritual significance. We, of course, from our point of view in history, see Jerusalem as being the holy city (if there is such a thing); however, Jerusalem was just another city at this time, primarily occupied by Jebusites.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       And so goes up David and also two of his wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail, wife of Nabal, the Carmelite;...

Septuagint                              And David went up there to Chebron, he and both his wives, Achinaam the Jezraelitess, and Abigaia the wife of Nabal the Carmelite,...

Significant differences:           Hebron is mentioned by name in the LXX, but not in the Hebrew. Context indicates that we are obviously speaking about going to Hebron.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       David went to Hebron with his two wives, Ahinoam and Abigail. Ahinoam was from Jezreel, and Abigail was the widow of Nabal from Carmel.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                         David went there with his two wives, Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail (who had been Nabal's wife) from Carmel.

HCSB                                      So David went there with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail, the widow of Nabal the Carmelite.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

LTHB                                     And David went up there, and also his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail the former wife of Nabal of Carmel.

Young’s Updated LT             And David goes up there, and also his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail wife of Nabal the Carmelite;...

The gist of this verse?          David goes up to Hebron, taking with him, his two wives.

Translation: Then David went up, along with his two wives,... In the book of Chronicles, we are told that David will have two sons in Hebron by these two wives: And these were the sons of David, who were born to him in Hebron. The first-born, Amnon, of Ahinoam of Jezreel. The second, Daniel, of Abigail of Carmel (1Chron. 3:1).

We have discussed having multiple wives in Deut. 17:17 21:15 Judges 8:30 1Sam. 1:2. To summarize, just because men in the past have had multiple wives does not mean that God approves of polygamy or that polygamy is as valid a life choice as monogamy. God made Eve for Adam; God did not make Eve, Sally, Jessie, and Molly. Throughout Scripture, principles of marriage are applied to one man and one woman; and some categories of men, e.g., kings, are prohibited from having multiple wives. Furthermore, despite what we men might see as advantages in having more than one wife, is clearly outweighed by the disadvantages. You may recall the wives of Elkanah. First of all, he had a favorite wife. Because of this, his second favorite wife gave his favorite a hard time—she found the one area in which she excelled and the favorite did not, and she rubbed that in. That caused continual tension in the household and the favorite wife was generally unhappy. When Elkanah’s favorite wife was unhappy, Elkanah was also unhappy. These circumstances did result to the birth of Samuel, but it was not the circumstances of having two wives which actually led to this birth—that was God’s will based upon a prayer of Hannah’s. As we will see later on in David’s life, his having several wives did not cure him of having a roving eye; and he got himself in serious trouble over a woman, despite the fact that he had several wives.

Translation: ...Ahinoam the Jezreelitess... We have Ahinoam named several times in Scripture, but with very little information. Jezreel will bear a son for David—Amnon—in Hebron (1Chron. 3:1). There are two cities named Jezreel: one up in Issachar and one in Judah (Joshua 15:56). Ahinoam would be from the one in Judah.

Translation: ...and Abigail, the wife of Nabal, the Carmelite;... Abigail is the wife we know a little about. David did some work for her husband, but he refused to settle accounts with David. David got extremely mad and was ready to kill Nabal; however, Abigail interceded, making sure that David got paid a reasonable amount, and apologizing profusely for her husband. When the husband finds out that this happened, and that he was nearly killed, he dies of heart failure (or some similar problem). Free of Nabal, Abigail marries David. We studied this back in 1Sam. 25.

Gill has an interesting take on this verse: [David brought with him] his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail, Nabal's wife, the Carmelite; who were beloved by him, and who had shared with him in his troubles, and which he took with him to partake of his honour and grandeur, wealth and riches; in which he was now a type of Christ. See Rom. 8:17. In fact, it is Gill’s interpretation here which lends great meaning to the verse before us. Henry adds, they endured tribulation along side of David and now would enjoy with him the fruits of the kingdom. I must admit that, I find it amazing that even a verse as innocuous as this can be fraught with great meaning.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       ...and his men who [are] with him brought up David; and a man and his house. And so they dwell in cities of Hebron.

Septuagint                              ...and the men that were with him, every one and his family; and they dwelt in the cities of Chebron.

Significant differences:           In the Hebrew, we repeat the phrase and David brought up; this is understood in the Greek. As usual, the actual impact to the context is minimal.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       David also had his men and their families come and live in the villages near Hebron.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                         David took his men and their families with him, and they settled in the towns around Hebron.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

LTHB                                     And David brought up his men of those who were with him, each man and his household. And they lived in the cities of Hebron..

Young’s Updated LT             ...and his men who are with him has David brought up—a man and his household—and they dwell in the cities of Hebron.

The gist of this verse?          Also the ex-patriots who were with David came with him to Hebron and they lived in Hebron.

Translation: ...and David [also] brought up his men who [are] with him... David was now safe from being attacked by Saul. He will not retire; he will not find a job and settle down. David will make Hebron his headquarters and he will operate out of Hebron as the king of Judah, as we will see in this chapter.

Translation: ...—each one and his household. You will recall that the Amalekites had taken the wives and children of David and his army—and these wives and children were recovered. This tells us that, despite the fact that these men supported David and despite the fact that they were on the run much of the time, they still had wives and children who traveled with them.

Translation: Then they lived in the towns of Hebron. You will recall that David was living in a Philistine-controlled area. He was given permission to dwell there by Achish king of Gath. David stayed there because Saul would continually come after him. However, now that the threat of Saul was past, David takes his men and they move to Hebron in Judah. They make their semi-permanent headquarters in Hebron and David will operate out of this city.

This verse tells us that these men lived in the towns of Hebron. Prior to this, they apparently had camped together as a military unit, ready to move at a moment’s notice. However, at this point, they essentially move into Hebron and into its outlying areas with the intent of staying there semi-permanently. This will be Judah’s capital city for awhile.

Again, this is a verse which may seem innocuous at first, but it parallels the sentiment found in Titus 2:12: If we suffer with Christ, we shall reign with him. Or Luke 22:29–30: “I bestow on you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one on Me, so that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom. And you will sit on thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel.”

I must admit to being conflicted with how to deal with this verse. The first half of it tells what happened to David after he came to Hebron—all of Judah recognized him as king over Judah. In the second half, we don’t really have a completely new topic, as these elders also tell David about the men of Jabesh-Gilead. However, for a few verses, we will deal with David and the heroes of Jabesh. I almost split the verse into two parts, but then I would have to figure out, if I further exegete portions of each part of the verse, then how do I number them? So, doing that seemed just a pain, unless I exegeted v. 4a as one whole, and v. 4b as one whole. Since I did not want to do that, I kept v. 4 together, but the New section heading will occur in the middle of v. 4.

Don’t be confused—there is nothing wrong with the verse, there are no contradictions that I am trying to iron out, and there is nothing difficult about the actual exegesis. My only difficulty is, topically separating this chapter, which is, certainly, a man-made separation (which is also true about verse separation and the chapter divisions).

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       And so come men of Judah and so they anoint there David to king over a house of Judah. And so they make known to David, to say, “Men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul.”

Septuagint                              And the men of Judea come, and anoint David there to reign over the house of Juda; and they reported to David, saying, The men of Jabis of the country of Galaad have buried Saul.

Significant differences: In the LXX, we have the verb reign; in the Hebrew, it is the noun king; which is almost identical to the verb to reign. There is the additional phrase in the country of which is found in the Greek. As usual, the differences are pretty insignificant.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                              The people of Judah met with David at Hebron and poured olive oil on his head to show that he was their new king. Then they told David, "The people from Jabesh in Gilead buried Saul."

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

HCSB                                     Then the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. They told David: "It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul."

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

LTHB                                     And the men of Judah came and anointed David king over the house of Judah there. And they told David, saying, It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul.

Young’s Updated LT             And the men of Judah come, and anoint there David for king over the house of Judah; and they declare to David, saying, “The men of Jabesh-Gilead are they who buried Saul.”

The gist of this verse?          Men from Judah come to David and anoint him as king over the house of Judah. They also tell him about what the men of Jabesh did on behalf of Saul.

Translation: Then men from Judah came... The Philistines had come and driven a wedge between northern and southern Israel. Judah was southern Israel, and Judah was where David was from. When David destroyed the Amalekites who invaded his camp, he sent much of their spoil to a dozen or so cities in Judah. Here we have a delegation of Judæan elders and officials who come to David in Hebron. They can speak for Judah (and, to some degree, for Simeon, which is in Judah).

Translation: ...and they anointed David there as [lit., to] king [or, to reign] over the house of Judah. You will recall that David was anointed by Samuel king over Israel; however, that was a private ceremony. Word eventually got around, and Saul’s continual attacks on David made it fairly clear that David was more than just an insurrectionist. Jonathan recognized that David would be king; Saul feared that David would replace him; so, throughout much of Israel, David becoming king must have been known, to some degree. By this second anointing, David actually becomes king, albeit, only over the house of Judah.

Because there is a Philistine wedge driven between northern and southern Israel, these men can only speak for the territory of Judah, which would include the territory of Simeon and possibly portions or all of Benjamin (it is in the general area of Benjamin where the Philistines drove a wedge between northern and southern Israel).

Some of these elders probably knew that rulership of Israel belonged in the hands of Judah, from Jacob’s blessing hundreds of years previous: Gen. 49:10 reads: “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until He comes to whom it belongs [or, until Shiloh comes]. The obedience of the peoples will be to Him.” That Saul, from the tribe of Benjamin, had become king, was probably confusing to them. As long as Judah is an independent nation (or as long as United Israel is independent), a man from the tribe of Judah would rule. Jesus Christ, from the tribe of Judah, is Shiloh, and it is to Him the ruler’s scepter belongs.

Throughout this chapter, there have been parallels between seemingly innocuous statements and things which will come to pass. So it is with the first half of v. 4: David had been anointed king over Israel by Samuel many years previous—perhaps as many as 10 or 20 years previous to our narrative. However, it is not until this time that David actually assumes authority over a portion of Israel (Judah). It is the same with our Lord Jesus Christ—He was anointed as the Christ of God, the Messiah of God; however, He did not assume His position of authority until after the cross, and at that point, He did not assume complete authority over all the earth—that will come with the Millennium (Heb. 2:7–8 reads: You made Him for a little while lower than the angels; You have crowned Him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under His feet." Now in putting everything in subjection to Him, He left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to Him). We have the same situation here: David is anointed king over Israel decades before he assumes that position; when he takes a position of authority, it is not complete and entire authority; and 7 years will pass (7 being a divine number representing perfection) until David takes control of all of Israel.

Matthew Henry makes a few comments about the tribe of Judah: The tribe of Judah had often stood by itself more than any other of the tribes. In Saul's time it was numbered by itself as a distinct body (1Sam. 15:4) and those of this tribe had been accustomed to act separately. They did so now; yet they did it for themselves only; they did not pretend to anoint him king over all Israel (as Judges 9:22), but only over the house of Judah. The rest of the tribes might do as they pleased, but, as for them and their house, they would be ruled by him whom God had chosen. These men chose not to presume that they spoke for all Israel; yet, at the same time, they were not willing to wait for the consensus of all the tribes. Recall the first chapter of Judges? After Joshua conquered the land, the tribes were then to conquer their individual territories. All of the tribes, save Judah and Simeon, seemed content to co-exist with Canaanites and Amalekites. Judges initiated the taking of their territory, asking Simeon to join them. This is how a tribe in a leadership role would act. Their anointing of David as king is a further act of leadership.

David honors the men of Jabesh-Gilead

This is something that I rarely do—make a sub-chapter division in the middle of a verse. However, even though this next portion of v. 4 is reasonably tied to what has come before, it still introduces a new subject: David showing respect to the men of Jabesh-Gilead for their retrieval of Saul’s body.

Translation: They also told David, saying, “[It was] the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul.” We do not get the entire conversation here. That is, these men did not show up, say, “Dave, you’re king now; oh, by the way the men from Jabesh-gilead buried Saul.” First of all, knowing of the riff between Saul and David, it is likely that no one initiated this conversation with David. Many probably figured that Saul was a topic which was off-limits. However, David had recently executed a man blamed for the death of Saul and, David’s first act as king, would be to honor Saul and to give him a proper burial, if this had not been done yet (recall that the Philistines had defeated Israel’s army, so it is reasonable for David to assume that Saul had not been properly buried or eulogized). So, as his first news conference as king, David himself probably inquired what happened to Saul’s body and asked for more details. It is possible that David, at this time, finds out that the Amalekite who claimed to kill Saul actually did not kill him.

In any case, it is certain David that is told about how Saul’s head was removed and taken to Philistia and how the Philistines hung up Saul’s body in Beth-shan as an insult to Saul. When Saul’s body was hung on the wall of Beth-shan, very likely a Philistine orator stood before it and read an historical accounting of Saul’s death, which account may have been posted as well. By the time that the news of the disposition of Saul’s body reached Jabesh Gilead, everyone in Beth-shan knew what had happened to Saul in battle. By this time, men in Judah knew the details of Saul’s death; and David, living outside of Judah and having been given a bogus story about Saul’s death, would not have known all of the details or the actual historical account.

All that we are told is, the men of Jabesh-gilead, loyal to Saul, and grateful to Saul, went and retrieved his body, at great risk to themselves, and gave him a proper burial. In fact, actually, all we are told here is that these men buried Saul’s body (greater details of Saul’s death and the treatment of his body are found in 1Sam. 30 and in 1Chron. 10—which does have some additional information in it—which details are probably told to David at this time). David is given more details about the men of Jabesh Gilead and their bravery in retrieving Saul’s body. In fact, it is reasonable to suppose that the details were slow in coming in this conference, the men of Judah being probably reticent to discuss Saul with David. In the previous chapter, David eulogized Saul and Jonathan in an ode which he wrote; and at this point in time, David is looking to give Saul a royal burial, if that had not been done yet.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       And so sends David messengers unto men of Jabesh-gilead; and so he says unto them, “Blessed [are] you to Y^ehowah whom you made the grace this with your adonai with Saul. And so you bury with him.

Septuagint                              And David sent messengers to the rulers of Jabis of the country of Galaad, and David said to them, “Blessed are you of the Lord, because you have wrought this mercy toward your lord, even toward Saul the anointed of the Lord, and you have buried him and Jonathan his son.

Significant differences: The first difference is, we have the men of Jabesh-gilead in the Hebrew and the rulers of Jabesh-gilead in the Greek. We have the relative pronoun in the Hebrew; however, it can be translated because, as we find in the Greek. The Latin applies the relative pronoun to the men who showed grace to Saul, which is quite reasonable and in complete agreement with the Hebrew. This really requires some additional discussion, which we will give in the Hebrew exegesis.

In the Hebrew, we have the preposition with, which can be rendered that way 90% of the time. However, in this case, rendering it toward as we find in the Greek is not too much of a stretch (it may have to do with the verb which is used).

Saul is given the title anointed of the Lord in the Greek, but not in the Hebrew. Jonathan is mentioned in the Greek, but not in the Hebrew. As we would expect, the Latin is in agreement with the Hebrew with regards to the additional text (that is, we do not find this additional text in the Hebrew or in the Latin).

There are an abnormal number of significant differences between the Greek and Hebrew texts here; however, note that this has little or no effect upon the actual overall meaning of this verse in context; and it has absolutely no effect upon any major or minor doctrine.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                              David sent messengers to tell them: The LORD bless you! You were kind enough to bury Saul your ruler,...

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                         So David sent messengers to the people of Jabesh Gilead. He said to them, "May the LORD bless you because you showed kindness to your master Saul by burying him.

HCSB                                     David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead and said to them, "The LORD bless you, because you have shown this special kindness to Saul your lord when you buried him.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

ESV                                       David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead and said to them, "May you be blessed by the LORD, because you showed this loyalty to Saul your lord and buried him.

Young’s Updated LT             And David sends messengers unto the men of Jabesh-Gilead, and says unto them, “Blessed are you of Jehovah, in that you have done this kindness with your lord, with Saul, that you bury him.

The gist of this verse?          David sends a message to the men of Jabesh, blessing them in the name of Jehovah because of their kindness toward Saul and his family, and because they honorably buried him.

Translation: So David then sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead... People react different when it comes to their competition, whether present, past or future. I recently saw the 2006 state of the union speech by President George W. Bush wherein he made a humorous remark concerning himself and President Clinton. The cameras flashed immediately to Hilary Clinton, who could be seen as Bush’s opposition in the Senate, and may be the next presidential candidate. She did not drop her guard for even a moment; she did not smile; she could not be seen appreciating or approving of anything which Bush said or did. David may be painted in opposition to Saul, and Saul saw David as his greatest threat. However, there were times when Saul acknowledged the truth—that David was a faithful servant and an honorable man. David could have ignored what was done to Saul—“That son of a bitch made my life miserable; I could not even carve out a place in southern Judah without Saul coming down with his whole damned army and threatening my life—and without provocation. He is a bastard, and whether his body rots in the ground or on some wall somewhere, I could give a flying frog.” A lesser man might even charge into Jabesh-gilead and round up those who took Saul’s body and kill them, as they might still be too loyal to Saul’s regime. However, David is not only gracious toward these men, but he honors them.

Let me give you another illustration from this day and time. I have seen current President Bush make mention of the relief efforts and the giving to southeast Asia because of the deadly tsunami of a couple years back; he always speaks of his father and President Clinton graciously—Bush never speaks respectfully of his father without mentioning President Clinton and speaking respectfully of him as well. I have seen the current President Bush making overtures to Senator Edward Kennedy as well, speaking of his illustrious career and contributions to the United States. This is a gracious attitude. Even though these men—President Clinton and Senator Kennedy—may be perceived by some as Bush’s enemies, and that Bush could take an adversarial position with them at every turn, he has chosen not to do so. Whatever your politics are, you should be able to recognize that Bush has been gracious to his political enemies and that this graciousness has rarely been returned. In the case of David, he does not even view Saul has his enemy, despite the fact that Saul had relentlessly pursued him year after year seeking his life. Insofar as I know, even in the current political climate, neither Republicans nor Democrats are seeking the lives of their opponents. However, to any impartial observer, all politics aside, it should be clear who is gracious and who is not.

Application: In your life, if you are a normal, growing believer, you will have a boat-load of detractors and enemies. It comes with the territory; it cannot be helped. You can choose how you deal with these enemies, but realize that Jesus Christ died for them just as He died for you. They might be lying sons-of-bitches, but you have an old sin nature as well. Jesus Christ forgave their sins, just as he has forgiven your sins. Whatever their personal opinion is of you is not an issue; whether they like your or hate you is not an issue—they are people for whom Jesus Christ died. You can choose to be ungracious to them and impolite, but realize that even the men who crucified Jesus and even the men who pulled out his hair and beard and beat His face to a bloody pulp—even those men He died for, and even those men, He prayed to God, “Forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” It is not your place to be indignant, retaliatory, underhanded, vengeful, or anything else of the sort—and I don’t care how vicious your enemies are. Jesus Christ has forgiven them all; and if you cannot forgive them, then at very least, you can keep your mouth shut. You don’t need to run them down or talk behind their backs. Realize that you are in a spiritual conflict; that your enemies may not realize that, or may not fully appreciate how they are involved in this conflict. If you have a little doctrine, then you know that this conflict is going on and you know that unseen forces are going to turn others against you. Do not take it personally. Do not retaliate. Do not speak ill of your enemies. Do not become angry. Do not assault them with mental, verbal or physical sins.

Application: I don’t want you to think that I am able to deal with all of my adversarial relationships perfectly. These things are a struggle for me too. In the same situation, I don’t know if I would sit stone-faced like Hilary Clinton, taking every opportunity to run down my opponent; or whether I would be more gracious, as Bush has been. I know that in this area, at times, I have been a complete failure. However, what I do know, from the study of the Word of God, is that there is a right way and a wrong way to deal with your enemies. Retaliation, inordinate competition and mental attitude sins are not the ways to deal with those who are against you.

Translation: ...and he said to them, “You [are] blessed with reference to Y^ehowah... I would have expected to find that they are blessed by Jehovah; however, these men who retrieved Saul’s body are blessed with reference to Jehovah. Whatever the exact meaning, it is clear that these men are blessed because they showed respect to the person of Saul and the office of king. David is also making it clear that he harbors no resentment against them for being faithful to Saul, their lord.

Translation: ...because you made [or, who made] this grace with your lord—with Saul;... This is a difficult portion of Scripture to translate. The relative pronoun can be used like an explanatory conjunction; therefore, it is legitimate to render this because. If translating this simply as a relative pronoun, then I would not expect the 2^nd person masculine plural verb, but the 3^rd person masculine singular (or plural) verb (however, for all I know, maybe the 2^nd person masculine plural is reasonable here, even though it follows the relative pronoun, which actually has no number, gender or person. We may want to loosely render this: ...you who manufactured this grace to your lord—even to Saul;... We have a repetition of the preposition, affixed to both Saul and to your lord; this allows for the rendering even to Saul.

Obviously, the entire town did not show up to retrieve Saul’s body, but certain men from Jabesh did. David is specifically addressing this message to those who were brave enough to risk their lives by going to Beth-shan. This message is to these men who are blessed by God. Perhaps this is the actual meaning of the Hebrew here.

Translation: ...and you buried him. The men of Jabesh-gildea showed great grace to Saul. They risked their lives in order to retrieve his body; and then they gave him a proper and formal burial (one would assume).

Clarke writes: This was a generous and noble act, highly indicative of the grandeur of David’s mind. He respected Saul as his once legitimate sovereign; he loved Jonathan as his most intimate friend. The former had greatly injured him, and sought his destruction; but even this did not cancel his respect for him, as the anointed of God, and as the king of Israel.

I should add that burial of the dead, although not mandated in Scripture, is respectful. Not only did God say, “You are dust, and to dust you will return” (Gen. 3:19b), but God Himself buried Moses when Moses died (Deut. 34:5–6).

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       And now [may] make Y^ehowah with you [all] grace and faithfulness and also I—I do with you the good the this who have done the word the this.

Septuagint                              And now may the Lord deal in mercy and truth towards you; and I also will requite towards you this good deed, because you have done this.

Significant differences: The only difference is the relative pronoun in the Hebrew is translated as an explanatory particle, which is legitimate, according to BDB.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                              ...and I pray that the LORD will be kind and faithful to you. I will be your friend because of what you have done.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

HCSB                                     Now, may the LORD show special kindness and faithfulness to you, and I will also show the same goodness to you because you have done this deed.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

ESV                                       Now may the LORD show steadfast love and faithfulness to you. And I will do good to you because you have done this thing.

WEB                             Now Yahweh show loving kindness and truth to you: and I also will reward you for this kindness, because you have done this thing.

Young’s Updated LT             And, now, Jehovah does with you kindness and truth, and also, I do with you this good because you have done this thing.

The gist of this verse?          David asks that Jehovah God show these men grace and faithfulness, and that he will treat them in grace as well, because they have done this thing (the retrieval of Saul’s body).

Translation: And now may Y^ehowah manufacture grace and faithfulness to [lit., with] you [all]... The apocopated form means that David is asking for God to be gracious and faithful to these men. David recognizes that what these men did required bravery and self-sacrifice, and that their motives were noble; and he calls for God to give them grace and to be faithful to them for this act.

Translation: ...and I will also manufacture this good... David is also going to be gracious and faithful towards those who have done this thing to Saul. God is asked to bless these men, and David said that he would as well.

David is making is clear to these men that, their loyalty and devotion to Saul is not perceived by him as a threat or as disloyalty to him in any way. Despots often gather up those they do not trust, those who supported their political rivals, and imprison or execute them. Even in modern history, in the 20^th century, we have examples of mass executions, some to solidify political power, and others simply out of hate.

Translation:...[to those] who have done this thing [for Saul]. David is going to direct gracious treatment toward those who were brave enough to retrieve Saul’s body. These men are seen as heroes and they are portrayed I this way. At no time is there even a hint that David views these men as potential enemies of his, even though another, less gracious person, would have portrayed them as such.

We like to think of ourselves as evolved, that, at one time, we were just monkeys swinging in the trees, and now we walk upright on the ground and are civilized. However, between the time of David and the 20^th century, some 3000 years have passed. We see how David deals with those who are potentially his political resistance and how political leaders of the 20^th century dealt with their real and potential political enemies. In terms of mercy, there is no evolution of humanity; it really comes down to individual character. There is no evolutionary difference between David and, for instance, Pol Pot; however, there is a great difference in their character and integrity.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Latin Vulgate                          Let your hands be strengthened, and be ye men of valour: for although your master Saul be dead, yet the house of Juda hath anointed me to be their king.

Masoretic Text                       And now are strong your hands and be to sons of strength for has died your adonai Saul and also me has anointed a house of Judah to king over them.”

Septuagint                              And now let your hands be made strong, and be mighty sons; for your master Saul is dead, and moreover the house of Juda have anointed me to be king over them.

Significant differences: None.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                              Saul is dead, but the tribe of Judah has made me their king. So be strong and have courage.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                         Now, be strong and courageous. Because your master Saul is dead, the tribe of Judah has anointed me to be their king."

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

MKJV                                     And now let your hands be strengthened, and be brave. For your master Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.

Young’s Updated LT             And now, are your hands strong, and be you for sons of valour, for your lord Saul. is dead, and also—me have the house of Judah anointed for king over them.”

The gist of this verse?          David comforts the men of Jabesh-gilead and also tells them that the men of Judah have anointed him king over them.

Translation: Therefore, [let] your hands be strengthened... I am not sure how to take this portion of v. 7. Do we understand this as David saying, “Your hands are strong” or “Let your hands be strong”? In any case, David is recognizing their courage and comforting them. Let me re-emphasize that, these men are potentially David’s enemies, as they have shown such devotion toward Saul; yet his message to them is one of praise; and here he asks that they be given even greater strength.

Translation: ...and be men of courage [lit., sons of courage]... David encourages them to be strong. This is his way of comforting them. Obviously, some of the men of Jabesh-gilead are very strong, as they took down Saul’s body from the wall in Beth-shan even though being found out would mean their lives. What David is asking for, is for these men to be strong, even though the army of Saul was defeated and Saul and his sons killed. Given these events, Israel could face a myriad of changes and difficulties in the near future. If what these men did became known to the Philistines, Jabesh Gilead could find itself under attack. David asks these men to face their future with the same strength and bravery that they have shown so far.

Translation: ...for your lord Saul has died. This is David stating the obvious; these men know that Saul has died, as they were the ones who carried his body into Jabesh-gilead for a proper burial. The reason that David emphasizes this is, to make it clear that they are without a king. They are now sheep without a shepherd. David phrases this as, “Be strong, even though your master Saul is dead.” As you may recall, Israel's primary reason for desiring a king was to be able to defend itself against hostile aggressions and outside invaders.

David also states this possibly hoping to gain their same loyalty; however, I don't see that as the primary reason for his saying that. Just because something can be politically advantageous or politically canny, does not mean that the person who did it had that in mind, or that was the primary consideration. If we have learned nothing about David, it is that he is patient and willing to wait on God before acting.

Translation: Furthermore, the house of Judah anointed me to [be] king over them.” David is speaking to the men of Jabesh-gilead, which is the other side of the Jordan river from the territory of Benjamin. David is looking, in part, to consolidate his power. This is not a power grab; David is not a man who desires great power, as we have seen him twice before refuse to kill Saul, even though Saul stood between him and the throne. David is a man of doctrine and it is important for Israel to remain united under one man. Each of the 12 tribes has its own territory and they often operated independently (e.g., in the early period of the Judges, some of the tribes acted to take the land given them by God and some did not).

What David is doing here is extending the olive branch of peace. Their faithfulness to Saul and their loyalty to Saul is not seen by him as a negative. David functions as though Saul's continual pursuit of him never happened. He realizes that this might be on the minds of some who support Saul; but it is not on David's mind. David is trying to convey that he sees their support of Saul and the rescue of his body as a noble act. David is not threatened by this, but rather encouraged. Therefore, David is both comforting them in their loss and extending his hand to them as king over Judah. Note that David does not arrogantly tell them, “And I am your king as well, like it or not.”

What is interesting is that David's primary focus in this message to them is commendation to them for their bravery and God's blessings to them. Any political aspirations David has (of, for instance, asking them to support him as king over the rest of Israel) are, at most, implied, but not outright stated and definitely not the focus or the objective of his message to them. Allow me to paraphrase his message: “God's blessings and my highest regards to you for your bravery and heroism. Be strong, even though your king has died in battle. I respectfully send this message to you as king of Judah.” If David made any clear political overtures—e.g., “If you guys are interested, then I'll be your king as well”—they have not been recorded herein. If there are any implications to be read into this letter, it would just as likely be that, “If the Philistines ever take action against you, I will come to your rescue.”