Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of 2 Samuel
Chapter 2: David Enquired of the LORD
With Saul dead, David does not seize the throne but asks: 'Shall I go up?' Guided step by step to Hebron, he is anointed king over Judah and honors the men who buried Saul. But Abner sets up a rival king over the rest of Israel, and a long and bitter war between the two houses begins.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of 2 Samuel chapter 2. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Chapter 2 opens the reign of David, first over Judah alone, and sets the stage for the long struggle before he rules all Israel. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
David Anointed Over Judah (2 Samuel 2:1-7)
David enquires of the LORD, is led to Hebron and crowned king over Judah, and blesses the men of Jabesh-gilead for their kindness to Saul.
Shall I Go Up?
"And it came to pass after this, that David enquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And the LORD said unto him, Go up. And David said, Whither shall I go up? And he said, Unto Hebron. So David went up thither, and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail Nabal's wife the Carmelite. And his men that were with him did David bring up, every man with his household: and they dwelt in the cities of Hebron. And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying, That the men of Jabeshgilead were they that buried Saul. And David sent messengers unto the men of Jabeshgilead, and said unto them, Blessed be ye of the LORD, that ye have shewed this kindness unto your lord, even unto Saul, and have buried him. And now the LORD shew kindness and truth unto you: and I also will requite you this kindness, because ye have done this thing. Therefore now let your hands be strengthened, and be ye valiant: for your master Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah have anointed me king over them."
Word Study
"enquired of the LORD," Hebrew sha'al ba-YHWH (שָׁאַל בַּיהוָה), "asked of the LORD." The moment Saul is dead and the throne is within reach, David does not grasp it, he enquires (sha'al). "Shall I go up?" And even when told to go up, he asks again, "Whither?" This is the mark of the man after God's own heart, and the great contrast with Saul, who at the end "enquired not of the LORD" (1 Chronicles 10:14). David had refused to seize the crown by killing Saul; now he refuses to seize it even by his own initiative. He waits on God's word for every step, and God directs him to Hebron, a name meaning "fellowship" or "association," and a city of ancient covenant, where Abraham had dwelt and was buried. The believer who has learned to wait on God in the wilderness does not abandon that dependence when the door opens; he keeps enquiring. "In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths" (Proverbs 3:6). The kingdom given by God is entered by the path of asking, not grasping.
Explanation
The long years of waiting are over, yet David does not presume. He asks the LORD whether to return to Judah, and where, and is directed to Hebron. There the men of Judah anoint him king, the second of his three anointings (the first by Samuel in secret, this over Judah, and later over all Israel). His first royal act is one of grace: he sends word to the men of Jabesh-gilead, blessing them for their courageous kindness in burying Saul, and pledging to repay it. It is a striking gesture, honoring loyalty shown to the very king who had hunted him, and quietly wooing the northern tribes toward himself. David begins his reign as he had lived his exile, dependent on God and generous to others, ruling first over Judah while the rest of Israel remains to be won.
Gospel Focus
David reigns first over Judah alone, though anointed to rule all Israel; the full kingdom is his by promise but not yet in his hand. So it is with great David's greater Son. Jesus is even now "crowned with glory and honour" (Hebrews 2:9) and reigns over all who own Him as King, His willing people, while the world at large has not yet bowed. He is King by right and by the Father's decree, yet the day when "every knee should bow" (Philippians 2:10) is still to come. The believer lives in this "already and not yet," serving a King enthroned but not yet universally acknowledged. And notice how David comes to his throne: by enquiring, waiting, and grace, not by force. The kingdom of God advances the same way, not by the sword of self-will but by the patient purpose of God. Wait on Him, ask His way, and He will bring you, in His time, to your Hebron.
Abner Sets Up Ishbosheth (2 Samuel 2:8-17)
Abner crowns Saul's surviving son over the northern tribes, and the two houses clash at the pool of Gibeon.
The Field of Sword-Edges
"But Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saul's host, took Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim; And made him king over Gilead, and over the Ashurites, and over Jezreel, and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over all Israel. Ishbosheth Saul's son was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David. And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months. And Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. And Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out, and met together by the pool of Gibeon: and they sat down, the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side of the pool. And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men now arise, and play before us. And Joab said, Let them arise. Then there arose and went over by number twelve of Benjamin, which pertained to Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David. And they caught every one his fellow by the head, and thrust his sword in his fellow's side; so they fell down together: wherefore that place was called Helkathhazzurim, which is in Gibeon. And there was a very sore battle that day; and Abner was beaten, and the men of Israel, before the servants of David."
Word Study
"Helkathhazzurim," Hebrew Chelqath hatstsurim (חֶלְקַת הַצֻּרִים), "the field of the sharp swords," or "the field of strong men." The grim name given to the place, "Helkathhazzurim," memorializes a savage scene: twelve pairs of young men seizing one another by the head and running each other through, so that all twenty-four "fell down together." What Abner called "play" was mutual slaughter, brother against brother in Israel. The name marks the tragedy of civil strife, where the sword devours not the enemy of God but one's own kin. This is the fruit of a kingdom set up by human hands against the LORD's choice. For Abner's act was pure human politics: he "took" Ishbosheth and "made him king," a throne of man's making set against the throne of God's anointing. Whenever men prop up what God has set aside, the result is division and blood. "From whence come wars and fightings among you?" asks the apostle; they come "of your lusts" (James 4:1). The field of sharp swords is what men reap when they resist the King God has chosen.
Explanation
Against God's clearly anointed king, Abner, Saul's powerful army commander, sets up a rival: Ishbosheth, a surviving son of Saul, made king over the northern tribes from Mahanaim. So the nation is divided, Judah following David, the rest following the puppet of Abner. David reigns in Hebron seven and a half years while this struggle plays out. The two armies meet at the pool of Gibeon, and Abner proposes a contest, twelve against twelve, a deadly "sport" that ends with all twenty-four dead, giving the place its dark name. It ignites a full battle in which Abner and the men of Israel are beaten by David's servants. The chapter shows the sad reality of a house divided: even after the LORD has made His choice plain, human ambition prolongs the conflict, and Israelite blood is spilled by Israelite hands.
Gospel Focus
The rival kingdom of Ishbosheth is a picture of every throne set up in opposition to God's anointed King. Abner knew, as we later learn from his own mouth, that the LORD had sworn to give the kingdom to David (chapter 3), yet he resisted the divine choice to keep his own power, and the result was years of needless war and bloodshed. So it has ever been: men set up their own rule, their own "Ishbosheth," against the true King, and the fruit is strife. The Lord Jesus is God's anointed King, and "the kings of the earth set themselves... against the LORD, and against his anointed" (Psalm 2:2), but the LORD who has "set my king upon my holy hill" (Psalm 2:6) will prevail, and every rival throne will fall. The wise response is not to resist the King but to "kiss the Son" (Psalm 2:12) and be reconciled. Every heart is a kingdom; is Christ enthroned there, or does some Ishbosheth of self still sit on the throne that belongs to Him?
The Death of Asahel (2 Samuel 2:18-32)
Swift Asahel refuses to turn from chasing Abner and is killed, and Abner pleads for the bitter fighting to stop.
Shall the Sword Devour For Ever?
"And there were three sons of Zeruiah there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel: and Asahel was as light of foot as a wild roe. And Asahel pursued after Abner; and in going he turned not to the right hand nor to the left from following Abner. Then Abner looked behind him, and said, Art thou Asahel? And he answered, I am. And Abner said to him, Turn thee aside to thy right hand or to thy left, and lay thee hold on one of the young men, and take thee his armour. But Asahel would not turn aside from following of him. And Abner said again to Asahel, Turn thee aside from following me: wherefore should I smite thee to the ground? how then should I hold up my face to Joab thy brother? Howbeit he refused to turn aside: wherefore Abner with the hinder end of the spear smote him under the fifth rib, that the spear came out behind him; and he fell down there, and died in the same place: and it came to pass, that as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died stood still. Joab also and Abishai pursued after Abner: and the sun went down when they were come to the hill of Ammah, that lieth before Giah by the way of the wilderness of Gibeon. And the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together after Abner, and became one troop, and stood on the top of an hill. Then Abner called to Joab, and said, Shall the sword devour for ever? knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end? how long shall it be then, ere thou bid the people return from following their brethren? And Joab said, As God liveth, unless thou hadst spoken, surely then in the morning the people had gone up every one from following his brother. So Joab blew a trumpet, and all the people stood still, and pursued after Israel no more, neither fought they any more. And Abner and his men walked all that night through the plain, and passed over Jordan, and went through all Bithron, and they came to Mahanaim. And Joab returned from following Abner: and when he had gathered all the people together, there lacked of David's servants nineteen men and Asahel. But the servants of David had smitten of Benjamin, and of Abner's men, so that three hundred and threescore men died. And they took up Asahel, and buried him in the sepulchre of his father, which was in Bethlehem. And Joab and his men went all night, and they came to Hebron at break of day."
Word Study
"Shall the sword devour for ever?" Hebrew akal (אָכַל), "to eat, consume, devour." Abner's cry, "Shall the sword devour (akal) for ever? knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end?", is the sober voice of one who has seen where strife leads. The sword, once drawn among brethren, has an appetite; it consumes and consumes, and its end is bitterness. It is a wise word, though from a self-serving man, and it stops the day's slaughter. Yet the irony is heavy: the death of swift Asahel, killed reluctantly by Abner in self-defense, plants a seed of vengeance in Joab's heart that will later devour Abner himself (chapter 3). The sword's appetite is not so easily satisfied. Here is a warning against the whole spirit of retaliation and endless feud: "bitterness in the latter end." The believer is called to break the cycle, "avenge not yourselves... overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:19, 21), for the sword of vengeance, left to run, devours for ever and leaves only bitterness.
Explanation
Among David's men are the three sons of Zeruiah, David's nephews: Joab, Abishai, and the swift-footed Asahel. In the rout, Asahel single-mindedly chases Abner, refusing every warning to turn aside and take easier prey. Abner, a seasoned warrior, does not want to kill the young man, both for his own sake and for fear of the blood feud with Joab it would spark. But Asahel will not relent, and Abner, driving the butt of his spear backward, runs him through. The pursuit continues until Abner rallies his men on a hilltop and appeals to Joab to end the carnage before it grows more bitter. Joab agrees and sounds the retreat. The toll is counted: David lost twenty men, Abner three hundred and sixty. Asahel is carried home and buried at Bethlehem, and Joab marches through the night to Hebron, carrying, though we do not yet see it, the seed of a grudge that will bear deadly fruit.
Gospel Focus
Asahel's death and Abner's warning together preach against the deadly appetite of strife and vengeance. Asahel's headlong, unyielding pursuit, refusing every chance to turn aside, cost him his life; there is a zeal that will not be counseled, and it ends in ruin. And the sword that took Asahel would, through Joab's revenge, take Abner in turn, and Joab's own violence would one day return upon his head. "Bitterness in the latter end" is the harvest of the unforgiving heart. The gospel calls us out of this cycle altogether. Christ, wounded, "reviled not again" (1 Peter 2:23); He broke the chain of retaliation by absorbing wrong rather than repaying it, and by His cross made peace. His people are to be peacemakers, not sword-wielders in private feud, laying down vengeance and pursuing reconciliation, "if it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men" (Romans 12:18). Do not let the sword devour for ever in your heart; let the Prince of Peace still it.
Chapter 2 in Review
2 Samuel 2 opens David's reign. With Saul dead, David does not grasp the throne but enquires of the LORD, and is guided to Hebron, where the men of Judah anoint him king. His first act is grace: he blesses the men of Jabesh-gilead for burying Saul. But the kingdom is not yet whole. Abner, Saul's captain, sets up a rival king, Ishbosheth, over the northern tribes, and a long war between the two houses begins. The armies clash at the pool of Gibeon, where a deadly contest gives "Helkathhazzurim" its grim name, and in the rout the swift Asahel is killed by Abner, planting a seed of vengeance in Joab. Abner's plea, "Shall the sword devour for ever?", finally halts the day's bloodshed.
For the Apostolic reader, David reigning first over Judah alone, anointed to rule all Israel but not yet enthroned over all, images the greater Son of David, now crowned with glory and reigning over His willing people while the world has yet to bow. The rival throne of Ishbosheth pictures every rule set up against God's anointed, which yields only strife; the wise response is to kiss the Son, not resist Him. And the devouring sword of Gibeon warns against the bitter appetite of vengeance, from which the Prince of Peace has come to deliver us.
- David enquired of the LORD even with the throne in reach; he entered the kingdom by asking, not grasping.
- David reigns first over Judah alone, a picture of Christ crowned and reigning while all is not yet subdued.
- Abner's man-made throne against God's anointed yielded only division and blood; kiss the Son, do not resist.
- "Shall the sword devour for ever?" Vengeance and feud end in bitterness; the Prince of Peace breaks the cycle.
Questions for Reflection
- Do you enquire of God for your next step, even when the way seems obviously open?
- Is Christ fully enthroned in your heart, or does some "Ishbosheth" of self still hold the throne?
- Is there a feud or grudge devouring you? How would the Prince of Peace have you end it?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). The Hebrew terms are standard and can be checked in any Hebrew lexicon. Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- David enquires and is anointed at Hebron; the King crowned but not yet over all: 2 Samuel 2:1-7; 1 Chronicles 10:14; Proverbs 3:6; Hebrews 2:9; Philippians 2:10.
- The rival throne of Ishbosheth; resisting God's anointed: 2 Samuel 2:8-17; Psalm 2:2; Psalm 2:6; Psalm 2:12; James 4:1.
- The death of Asahel; the devouring sword of vengeance: 2 Samuel 2:18-32; Romans 12:18-21; 1 Peter 2:23.