When Abner was returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into the middle of the gate to speak with him quietly, and struck him there in the body, so that he died, for the blood of Asahel his brother. Afterward, when David heard it, he said, “I and my kingdom are guiltless before Yahweh forever of the blood of Abner the son of Ner. Let it fall on the head of Joab, and on all his father’s house. Let there not fail from the house of Joab one who has a discharge, or who is a leper, or who leans on a staff, or who falls by the sword, or who lacks bread.” So Joab and Abishai his brother killed Abner, because he had killed their brother Asahel at Gibeon in the battle. David said to Joab, and to all the people who were with him, “Tear your clothes, and clothe yourselves with sackcloth, and mourn in front of Abner.” King David followed the bier. They buried Abner in Hebron; and the king lifted up his voice, and wept at Abner’s grave; and all the people wept. The king lamented for Abner, and said, “Should Abner die as a fool dies? Your hands weren’t bound, and your feet weren’t put into fetters. As a man falls before the children of iniquity, so you fell.” All the people wept again over him.
All the people came to urge David to eat bread while it was yet day; but David swore, saying, “God do so to me, and more also, if I taste bread, or anything else, until the sun goes down.”
All the people took notice of it, and it pleased them; as whatever the king did pleased all the people. So all the people and all Israel understood that day that it was not of the king to kill Abner the son of Ner. The king said to his servants, “Don’t you know that a prince and a great man has fallen today in Israel? I am weak today, though anointed king. These men, the sons of Zeruiah are too hard for me. May Yahweh reward the evildoer according to his wickedness.”
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv27, 28, 30, 31, 33, 35, 36, 39 Or, secretly.
Or, secretly.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv27–39 2Sa 3:27 And when Abner was returned to Hebron,…
2Sa 3:27 And when Abner was returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gate to speak with him quietly, and smote him there under the fifth [rib], that he died, for the blood of Asahel his brother.
Ver. 27. To speak with him quietly.] Or, Peaceably, or privately. Tremellius rendereth it imprudeutem, unwitting: the LXX, εν παραλογισμω, by a fallacy.
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And smote him under the fifth rib.] Basely and treacherously, but not without divine providence: that David might come a fairer way to the kingdom, than by Abner’s perfidy.
For the blood of Asahel his brother.] This was the pretext, and might be some cause; but the main reason was, lest Abner should by David be promoted above him.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39 In the gate; in the entrance into the city…
In the gate; in the entrance into the city before he came to the king; and in the place where conferences used to be.
Quietly; with appearance of great civility and kindness. Or, secretly, as having some matter of great importance to utter, which none but himself must hear.
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Smote him there under the fifth rib; as he did Asahel, 2Sa 2:23.
For the blood of Asahel his brother; to revenge the death of Asahel; and withal (though that be not here mentioned) to secure his own standing, and rid his hands of so great and powerful a competitor. And thus was Joab’s design; but God had other designs in it, both to punish Abner’s manifest wickedness, and particularly his rebellion against David, and against God and his own conscience therein; and that David might not owe his kingdom to Abner, and to his revenge and treachery, but wholly to God’s wise and powerful providence.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv27–39 And when Abner was returned to Hebron,.... Alone, and…
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:
Joab took him aside in the gate: where he was waiting for him, and met him; this was a public place, where people were continually passing and repassing, and where courts of judicature used to be held; wherefore Abner might think himself safe here with Joab, and have no suspicion at all of his design, and shows how fearless Joab was of God or men:
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to speak with him quietly; peaceably, in a friendly manner, as all his gestures towards him showed; so that Abner made no difficulty of turning aside with him, supposing he had something to communicate to him from the king, which he had forgot:
and smote him under the fifth rib, that he died; in the same place that Abner had smote his brother, of which see Sa2 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 Josephus (h) 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.
(h) Antiqu. l. 7. c. 1. sect. 5.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 36, 38, 39 Let it, &c. - But would not a resolute…
Let it, &c. - But would not a resolute punishment of the murderer himself have become David better, than this passionate imprecation on his posterity?
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv27, 29, 31, 33, 36, 39 Verse 27. And smote him there] Joab feared that,…
Verse 27. And smote him there] Joab feared that, after having rendered such essential services to David, Abner would be made captain of the host: he therefore determined to prevent it by murdering the man, under pretense of avenging the death of his brother Asahel.
The murder, however, was one of the most unprovoked and wicked: and such was the power and influence of this nefarious general, that the king dared not to bring him to justice for his crime. In the same way he murdered Amasa, a little time afterwards. See 2Sa 20:10. Joab was a cool-blooded, finished murderer. "Treason and murder ever keep together, like two yoke-devils."
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv28, 30, 31, 33, 35, 36, 38, 39 2Sa 3:28-29. When David heard it, he said, I…
2Sa 3:28-29. When David heard it, he said, I and my kingdom are guiltless — Josephus says, he lifted up his hands to God, and, with a loud voice, cried out publicly that God knew he was innocent in this matter; and therefore he trusted God would not let him and his kingdom suffer for it. And on all his father’s house — David’s indignation at the fact transported him much too far in making him wish that all Joab’s family might suffer for it, which was contrary to the law of God. See Deu 24:16. “Methinks,” says Henry, “a resolute punishment of the murderer himself would better have become David than this passionate imprecation of God’s judgments upon his posterity.” But, perhaps, the words are to be considered as a prediction rather than as an imprecation. Accordingly, Houbigant renders them, but it shall or will rest upon the head of Joab, and on all his father’s house, and there will not fail, &c.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv29, 33, 34, 35 The curse of David proves that Joab was not…
The curse of David proves that Joab was not justified as blood-revenger or Goel 2Sa 3:27 in taking away Abner’s life.
That leaneth on a staff - Rather, a crutch. The phrase denotes one lame or infirm. For similar instances of hereditary disease and poverty as a punishment of great sin, see 1Sa 2:31-33, 1Sa 2:36; 2Ki 5:27; Joh 9:2.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 38, 39 Middle. Septuagint, "sides." --- Brother; (who had been wounded…
Middle. Septuagint, "sides." --- Brother; (who had been wounded in the same place) a just punishment of Abner’s licentiousness. (Salien) --- This was given out as the pretext of the murder; but envy seems to have been the chief promoter. (Menochius) --- Joab treated Amasa in the same manner, chap. xx. 10. Ambition was his god. (Calmet) --- Abisai was ready to assist him to murder Abner, ver. 30. Thus the fairest prospects of union seemed to vanish, and David was sincerely grieved, as he manifested in the most decided manner, confessing it was only the want of power which prevented him from bringing these merciless and potent brothers, his own nephews, to immediate punishment, ver. 39. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv31, 33 David said to Joab, and to all the people…
David said to Joab, and to all the people that were with him, Rend your clothes, and gird you with sackcloth--David's sorrow was sincere and profound, and he took occasion to give it public expression by the funeral honors he appointed for Abner.
King David himself followed the bier--a sort of wooden frame, partly resembling a coffin, and partly a hand-barrow.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv27, 29, 30, 32, 33, 34, 39 27. For the blood of Asahel — This ostensibly,…
27. For the blood of Asahel — This ostensibly, but doubtless another reason, was a jealous fear lest Abner should supersede him in office and power with David.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 37, 38 27. in the gate] Lit. into the midst of…
27. in the gate] Lit. into the midst of the gate, the space between the inner and outer gateways. But the publicity of the city gate was unsuited to a private conference, and the Sept. offers a more probable reading, “took him apart by the side of the gate.”
under the fifth rib] In the belly. See note on 2Sa_2:23.
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for the blood of Asahel his brother] Since Abner had slain Asahel in self-defence (ch. 2Sa_2:23), Joab’s act was not justifiable on the score of blood-revenge. This was merely a convenient pretext for getting rid of a dangerous rival. He foresaw that if he allowed Abner to have the credit of placing the crown of Israel on David’s head, he would lose his own position and influence. Failing in his endeavour to persuade David that Abner was playing him false, with characteristic unscrupulousness he planned this deliberate and treacherous murder, as on a later occasion he murdered his rival Amasa (ch. 2Sa_20:10).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34, 35, 39 (27) Aside in the gate.—The gateway was a customary…
(27) Aside in the gate.—The gateway was a customary place of conference in the East, and Joab there awaited Abner’s return; he then took him “aside” to some place of privacy, as the LXX. reads, “by the side of the gate.” On the phrase “fifth rib,” see Note on 2Sa_2:23. The reason for this cold-blooded and treacherous murder on the part of Joab is expressly said to be “for the blood of Asahel his brother;” but no doubt his revenge was quickened by jealousy.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39 Joab took him aside in the gate. As we…
Joab took him aside in the gate. As we read in 2Sa_18:24 of David sitting "between the two gates," and of "the roof over thegate," and in ver. 33 of "the chamber over the gate," Ewald"s idea of there being a roofed inner space, with a guard room over it, as in the mediaeval gate towers in German towns, is probably right. As the "two gates" would make the space between them gloomy, the spot would just suit Joab"s purpose. He meets Abner, therefore, in a friendly manner, and drawing him aside, as if to converse with him apart from the people going in and out, there assassinates him. The place was so public that the deed must have been witnessed by multitudes, though the gloom, felt the more by them from the contrast with the bright glare of sunshine outside, had given Joab the opportunity of drawing his sword without Abner"s observing it. For the blood of Asahel his brother. Joab"s act was in accordance with Oriental feeling; and the duties of the avenger of blood might with some straining be made to cover his retaliation for an act done by Abner in self-defence. (Num_35:26, Num_35:27) It is remarkable that Hebron was itself a city of refuge, (Jos_20:7) and this may have led Joab to murder him in the gate, before he had actually entered. Still, Abner did not expect any such retribution, and supposing that Joab knew of the purpose that had brought him to Hebron, he could not suppose that he would be so indifferent to his master"s interests as to put a summary stop to the negotiations for uniting the tribes under David. As it was, this deed brought upon David an evil name, and four or five years had to elapse before the tribes could be induced to take him for their king. Even then his hold over them was far less than it would otherwise have been; for though the shock was gradually got over, yet the suspicion still dung to him. And if the deed was Joab"s own act, still David had contributed to it by underhand dealings. His very fear of Joab had caused him to wrong his able general, and given him just cause for resentment.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv33, 34, 36, 38, 39 Died Abner as a fool dieth?
2Sa_3:33
Died Abner as a fool dieth?
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The fools death
There are two or three different renderings of our text. Some take it thus--Died Abner as a wicked man? And then the answer is, No, he did not. He fell by the foul hand of deliberate and deceitful murder. Others render the text--Shall Abner die like a fool? That is, Shall he be unpitied? Shall his fall be unsung? Shall his murder be unrevenged? There is a good deal to show for this rendering; because David, directly afterward, pronounces an awful imprecation on the house of Joab. But the third rendering, which we prefer, and which we shall take, is the one which we have here in our text: Died Abner as a fool dieth? That is, Can it be true that such a man as Abner, with all his mental power and all his martial prowess--can it be true that Abner, of all men, died like a fool? The next verse, you will see, explains the reference. His hands free, his feet, unfettered, and yet Abner the warrior falls down before the spear of Joab. Died Abner as a fool dieth? I think we may generally take for granted that in young manhood there is always a love of honest dealing. In fact, if any one who calls himself a man objects to plain, straightforward dealing, the sooner he changes his name the better. Surely no young man in his senses here will differ from us in the statement that no matter how successful a man may be in many aspects, yet his life is an utter failure if at the end he dies a fools death. We recognize the fact that die we must. And I take it that, a true young man would far sooner face a fact like this, and would far sooner hear the preacher boldly deal with it, than attempt the foolish task of escaping an unpleasant subject by not referring to it. What was the mark of folly about Abners death?
I. His strange simplicity and wonderful credulity. I do marvel at Abner--certainly David did--that he, of all men, should have been so easily gulled, for we know no other word that so exactly conveys the thought of our mind. Abner had been continually by the kings side. He must have known, therefore, that the art of political speaking is to conceal your thoughts, and that nature only gives courtiers tongues to shroud by language the intentions of the heart. Strange that a man like Abner, who had passed through such a school as two courts, should have so readily believed the message which Joab sent him. Now, is it not marvellous how unsuspicious men are of sins designs? They are shrewd enough in other things. I have no doubt that many of you are sharp, keen, acute men of business. Your books will testify that you do not make very many bad debts. You can see through a man as quickly as most; yet how strange it is that often those who are shrewdest in other things are most deluded as to the nature of sins designs! As Homer describes in his Odyssey, there are the sirens on the rocks, who sing so sweetly that, if a Ulysses is to be kept from running his craft right on their rugged brows, the men must lash him to the mast and ply their oars with desperate earnestness, for the music of the sirens makes a deadly calm, and leaves no breath of air to fill the sails and take the vessel from her danger. And so sin seems to sing like an enchantress; and the shrewdest and the cleverest men are irresistibly, almost imperceptibly, drawn toward it; and they who would see through a deception of another sort in a moment seem, like Abner, utterly blinded in this respect, What Satan raves to accomplish is to be revenged on God through Gods creatures. Is it likely, then, that such a Joab as this can have any good intent when he says to thee by some sin, Come, let us talk quietly in the gate? And yet how willingly a man will turn aside with any sin! A man is both ruined and saved through faith. I confess that when first I heard that statement I was rather startled. I did not at first see its force, and I said, Stay! There is a mistake. You mean that a man is saved through faith and is ruined by unbelief. The answer I received was: That is true; so also is it that a man is either saved or lost by faith. If the faith be in God, through Christ, then that faith saves; but, on the other hand, if it is the faith which a man places in the representations made by Satan and sin, that faith damns him. It was our first parents faith in the words of the serpent that spread ruin over Gods new-made world. And so I doubt not that there are many here concerning whom it may be said, as it was of Abner: Shall that man die as the fool dieth? So keen in everything else, shall he be credulous enough to be led by so simple a snare as that set by the enemy? Yet so is it.
II. Now note the next thing in his folly--his unusual advantages. I think David specially thought of these when he burst out into the cry, Died Abner as a fool died? You glean this from the 34th verse, Thy hands were not bound, nor thy feet put into fetters. Abner was a prisoner to nobody but himself. No cord bound those mighty arms of his; no iron fetters were upon his feet; and yet he might us well have been born without hands or feet for all the good they were to him. Hands unused, feet unemployed, he stands still like a fool to be killed. Oh! is it not so with many? I ask you, have not your advantages been unused? Let me ask thee, if thou weft to die and be lost wouldst thou not have to acknowledge that, in this respect, thou hast certainly played the fool, for thy, hands are not bound nor thy feet in fetters? You are not bound with ignorance. It may be that there are some of you here who know the story of the gospel as well as the preacher. It may be that there are others of you here who could stand on this platform and run through all the main doctrines of the Word. What, and will you, with all this knowledge of the truth, yet die as the fool dieth--with unfettered feet and hands at liberty? I know not your history, but it would be a strange thing if there are not hundreds here who have been armed by holy precept. Your Bible may be at the bottom of your box now, just as it was thrown in three years ago, when you left your home in the country. Not a few of you have been armed by noble examples. Have you not had a holy, noble, heavenly example in her who gave you birth, and who, perhaps, is at this moment before the throne? Then let me ask you, why die as a fool? It your hands be not bound, and you know the difference between right and wrong, if you have been armed by holy precept, and if you have been blessed with a heavenly example, why shall it ever be said of you, Died Abner as a fool dieth? As Caesar Borgia lay dying fast he looked up, and, with clenched hands, muttered through his teeth the words, I have provided for everything throughout life except death. And, doubtless, there are many here who can take up Caesar Borgias words as describing their own mad folly. Then, I ask you, if you die without hope, may it not be said as a requiem over you, Died Abner as a fool dieth?
III. Now note, next, that his very position made the folly of his death the greater. Oh, Abner, if you had refused to speak to Joab outside the city gates and insisted on entering them first, even Joab would not have dared to violate the sanctity of that citadel. Thou wouldst have been safe. I may be mistaken, but I think I am not. As far as my own feelings are concerned, the nearer a person is to safety when he dies the sadder is his death. It is sad enough for the sailor to go down in mid-Atlantic, when there are only the winds to howl his requiem, and when no eye looks down upon his struggles but that of the seagull whirling round and round upon the wings of the hurricane. It is sad enough to sink down with only the shriek of the sea-bird in your ear; but, I think, it is sadder far to go down just outside the harbours mouth, with a thousand eyes upon you and a thousand hands ready to help if they can. Sad enough for the traveller in the desert, parched with thirst and pinched with hunger, to lay him down in the burning dust to die, with only the vulture hovering over him in air which quivers with intensity of heat. But when we read some time back of one being literally starved to death in the great metropolis, when there were wealth all round, food in abundance and a thousand persons ready to vie with each other as to who should go to his rescue first, it seemed to me the climax of horror to die in the midst of plenty. Died Abner as a fool dieth--credulous, with advantages unused, and on the very threshold of safety? God save us from such folly. Shall yonder Abner, who has been the child of prayer for thirty years, die a fools death? Said a godly mother to a son who used to worship in this place, and is at the present time at the other end of the world, Ah, my boy, if ever you get into perdition, it will be over ten thousand mothers prayers that she places in front of you as barriers. It may be that there are some here who, though most deeply sunk in sin, yet know full well that there is no night nor morning but the cry goes up to heaven, Lord, save my boy! And shall Abner, the child of so many prayers, die the fools death? (A. G. Brown.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v36 was good in their eyes.
pleased
was good in their eyes.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv27, 28, 31, 33, 35, 37 the middle of the gate
the middle of the gate
This refers to one of the gates in the city wall at Hebron. As the UDB implies, city gates were constructed as part of buildings set into the city walls. Inside the passageway were doors leading to side rooms, where guests could be received and business and judicial proceedings could be conducted. It was probably in one of these rooms that Joab murdered Abner.
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the blood of Asahel
Here "blood" is associated with the death of Asahel. AT: "the death of Asahel" (See: Metonymy)
Asahel
This is the name of a male person. (See: How to Translate Names)
translationWords
Hebron
gate
avenge
blood
brother
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37, 39 3:27 as if to speak with him privately: Joab…
3:27 as if to speak with him privately: Joab accused Abner of deception (3:25), but he used deception himself to lure Abner to his death. • in revenge: Joab was motivated by the practice of blood vengeance, avenging the death of a kinsman by killing the killer.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.