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:

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.”

What is 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.