2 Samuel 3
Introduction
Chapter 3 marks the turning point of the civil war: Abner, Saul's general and the power behind Ish-bosheth's throne, defects to David, only to be murdered by Joab before the union is complete. The chapter sets two kinds of power beside each other: David's patient, theologically grounded authority, exercised through covenant and restraint, and Joab's hard, personal power, exercised through blood vengeance and initiative. The tension between them, captured in the line "these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too fierce for me," runs through the books of Samuel.
David's conduct in this chapter accords with the book's standard of kingship. He sends Abner away in peace, publicly mourns his murder, explicitly disavows any part in it, and fasts until sunset. The narrator confirms that "all Israel knew that it had not been the king's will to put to death Abner son of Ner." David has much to gain from Abner's death, since the Saulide coalition collapses with him, and the appearance of innocence costs him little. Yet the text presents his mourning as genuine and his powerlessness before Joab as real. The gap between what David knows to be right and what Joab does is a recurring feature of the David narrative.
David's Growing House and Abner's Quarrel with Ish-bosheth (vv. 1–11)
1 Now the war between the house of Saul and the house of David was protracted. And David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker. 2 And sons were born to David in Hebron: His firstborn was Amnon, by Ahinoam of Jezreel; 3 his second was Chileab, by Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel; his third was Absalom, the son of Maacah daughter of King Talmai of Geshur; 4 his fourth was Adonijah, the son of Haggith; his fifth was Shephatiah, the son of Abital; 5 and his sixth was Ithream, by David's wife Eglah. These sons were born to David in Hebron. 6 During the war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner had continued to strengthen his position in the house of Saul. 7 Now Saul had a concubine named Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. So Ish-bosheth questioned Abner, "Why did you sleep with my father's concubine?" 8 Abner was furious over Ish-bosheth's accusation. "Am I the head of a dog that belongs to Judah?" he asked. "All this time I have been loyal to the house of your father Saul, to his brothers, and to his friends. I have not delivered you into the hand of David, but now you accuse me of wrongdoing with this woman! 9 May God punish Abner, and ever so severely, if I do not do for David what the LORD has sworn to him: 10 to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and to establish the throne of David over Israel and Judah, from Dan to Beersheba." 11 And for fear of Abner, Ish-bosheth did not dare to say another word to him.
1 And the war between the house of Saul and the house of David was long. David grew stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul became weaker and weaker. 2 Sons were born to David at Hebron: his firstborn was Amnon, by Ahinoam the Jezreelite; 3 and his second, Chileab, by Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite; and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; 4 and the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital; 5 and the sixth, Ithream, by Eglah, David's wife. These were born to David at Hebron. 6 And while there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner was making himself strong in the house of Saul. 7 Now Saul had a concubine whose name was Rizpah the daughter of Aiah. And Ish-bosheth said to Abner, "Why have you gone in to my father's concubine?" 8 Then Abner was very angry over the words of Ish-bosheth and said, "Am I a dog's head of Judah? To this day I keep showing loyalty to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers and to his friends, and I have not given you into the hand of David. And yet you charge me today with a fault concerning a woman! 9 May God do so to Abner and more also, if I do not accomplish for David what the LORD has sworn to him: 10 to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and to establish the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan to Beersheba." 11 And Ish-bosheth could not answer Abner another word, because he feared him.
Notes
The son list serves narrative as well as genealogical purposes. These names foreshadow later trouble: Amnon will rape Tamar; Absalom will kill Amnon and then rebel against David; Adonijah will attempt to seize the throne. The sons born at Hebron belong to a household shaped by the accumulation of wives and concubines, as was common among ancient Near Eastern kings, and that household complexity will yield some of the book's deepest troubles.
Accessing a king's concubine was effectively a claim to the throne. The same logic appears when Absalom publicly takes David's concubines in 2 Samuel 16:21-22. Ish-bosheth's accusation against Abner may be groundless, or it may be shrewd: if Abner is positioning himself to control the kingdom, sleeping with Rizpah would signal that ambition. Abner's fury, "am I a dog's head of Judah?" employs an idiom of contempt. His anger suggests the charge struck near a sensitive point.
Abner's oath — כֹּה יַעֲשֶׂה אֱלֹהִים לְאַבְנֵר וְכֹה יֹסִיף לוֹ — "may God do so to Abner and more also" — is a self-imprecatory oath, leaving the specific curse unstated, as was customary. What follows is significant: Abner announces that he will transfer the kingdom to David. He claims to know "what the LORD has sworn to him," thereby acknowledging David's divine election, which he has resisted for years. Ish-bosheth's silence confirms that the king of Israel has no real power; Abner has been the effective power all along.
Abner Negotiates with David (vv. 12–21)
12 Then Abner sent messengers on his behalf to say to David, "To whom does the land belong? Make your covenant with me, and surely my hand will be with you to bring all Israel over to you." 13 "Good," replied David, "I will make a covenant with you. But there is one thing I require of you: Do not appear before me unless you bring Saul's daughter Michal when you come to see me." 14 Then David sent messengers to say to Ish-bosheth son of Saul, "Give me back my wife, Michal, whom I betrothed to myself for a hundred Philistine foreskins." 15 So Ish-bosheth sent and took Michal from her husband Paltiel son of Laish. 16 Her husband followed her, weeping all the way to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, "Go back." So he returned home. 17 Now Abner conferred with the elders of Israel and said, "In the past you sought David as your king. 18 Now take action, because the LORD has said to David, 'Through My servant David I will save My people Israel from the hands of the Philistines and of all their enemies.'" 19 Abner also spoke to the Benjamites. Then he went to Hebron to tell David all that seemed good to Israel and to the whole house of Benjamin. 20 When Abner and twenty of his men came to David at Hebron, David held a feast for them. 21 Then Abner said to David, "Let me go at once, and I will gather all Israel to my lord the king, that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may rule over all that your heart desires." So David dismissed Abner, and he went in peace.
12 And Abner sent messengers to David on his behalf, saying, "To whom does the land belong? Make your covenant with me, and behold, my hand will be with you to bring all Israel over to you." 13 And he said, "Good; I will make a covenant with you. But one thing I require of you: you shall not see my face unless you first bring Michal the daughter of Saul when you come to see my face." 14 Then David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, saying, "Give me my wife Michal, for whom I paid a bridal price of a hundred foreskins of the Philistines." 15 And Ish-bosheth sent and took her from her husband Paltiel the son of Laish. 16 But her husband went with her, weeping after her all the way to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, "Go back." And he returned. 17 And Abner conferred with the elders of Israel, saying, "For some time past you have been seeking David as king over you. 18 Now then do it, for the LORD has promised David, 'By the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines and from the hand of all their enemies.'" 19 Abner also spoke to the Benjamites. Then Abner went to tell David at Hebron all that seemed good to Israel and to the whole house of Benjamin. 20 When Abner came with twenty men to David at Hebron, David made a feast for Abner and the men who were with him. 21 And Abner said to David, "I will arise and go and will gather all Israel to my lord the king, that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may reign over all that your heart desires." So David sent Abner away, and he went in peace.
Notes
David's condition for the covenant, the return of Michal, has both personal and political dimensions. Michal was his first wife, taken from him by Saul and given to Paltiel (1 Samuel 25:44). Reclaiming her restores David's dynastic connection to the house of Saul: as Saul's son-in-law, his claim to the kingdom gains a formal basis in Israelite law. The political purpose is plain; whether his motive is also personal is left for the reader to judge.
The scene of Paltiel following Michal "weeping all the way to Bahurim" is brief and affecting. He is not a major figure, only a man who loved his wife and was ordered to give her back. His grief is real; Abner's dismissal, "go back," is abrupt. The text records his love without comment. Michal's own feelings are left unspoken; she will speak for herself in the next chapter's scene with David.
Abner's speech to the elders of Israel amounts to this: you always knew David was the right king; now act on it. The appeal to the LORD's promise, "by the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel," acknowledges the prophetic word that has guided events since 1 Samuel 16. Abner, who spent years opposing David, now becomes his advocate, driven by personal anger at Ish-bosheth yet speaking what is theologically true.
Joab Murders Abner (vv. 22–30)
22 Just then David's soldiers and Joab returned from a raid, bringing with them a great plunder. But Abner was not with David in Hebron, because David had sent him on his way in peace. 23 When Joab and all his troops arrived, he was informed, "Abner son of Ner came to see the king, who sent him on his way in peace." 24 So Joab went to the king and said, "What have you done? Look, Abner came to you. Why did you dismiss him? Now he is getting away! 25 Surely you realize that Abner son of Ner came to deceive you and to track your movements and all that you are doing." 26 As soon as Joab had left David, he sent messengers after Abner, who brought him back from the well of Sirah. But David was unaware of it. 27 When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab pulled him aside into the gateway, as if to speak to him privately, and there Joab stabbed him in the stomach. So Abner died on account of the blood of Joab's brother Asahel. 28 Afterward, David heard about this and said, "I and my kingdom are forever guiltless before the LORD concerning the blood of Abner son of Ner. 29 May it whirl over the head of Joab and over the entire house of his father, and may the house of Joab never be without one having a discharge or skin disease, or one who leans on a staff or falls by the sword or lacks food." 30 (Joab and his brother Abishai murdered Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel in the battle at Gibeon.)
22 Just then the servants of David arrived with Joab from a raid, bringing much spoil with them. But Abner was not with David at Hebron, for David had sent him away and he had gone in peace. 23 When Joab and all the army that was with him came, it was told Joab, "Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he sent him away, and he has gone in peace." 24 Then Joab went to the king and said, "What have you done? Behold, Abner came to you. Why did you send him away so that he has now gone? 25 You know that Abner the son of Ner came to deceive you and to learn your movements and to learn all that you are doing." 26 When Joab came out from David's presence, he sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the well of Sirah. But David did not know about it. 27 And when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into the middle of the gate to speak with him privately, and there he struck him in the stomach, so that he died, for the blood of Asahel his brother. 28 Afterward, when David heard of it, he said, "I and my kingdom are forever guiltless before the LORD for the blood of Abner the son of Ner. 29 May it fall on the head of Joab and on all his father's house, and may the house of Joab never be without one who has a discharge or who is leprous or who holds a spindle or who falls by the sword or who lacks bread." 30 So Joab and Abishai his brother killed Abner, because he had put their brother Asahel to death in the battle at Gibeon.
Notes
Joab's argument to David, that Abner came to spy, may be sincere suspicion or a post hoc rationalization. The text does not decide the point. What it does make clear is that "David did not know" about Abner's recall: the king is explicitly cleared of what his general does on his own.
The murder takes place "in the gate" — בְּתוֹךְ הַשַּׁעַר — the public center of civic life, under the pretense of a private conversation. The gate was the place of legal proceedings and public business. Murder there is therefore doubly transgressive: it violates both hospitality, since Abner came as a guest, and the integrity of civic space. Joab does what David twice refused to do: kill a man under the guise of friendship, at the moment when he is most vulnerable.
David's curse on Joab's house — "never be without one who has a discharge, or a leper, or who holds a spindle, or falls by the sword, or lacks bread" — gathers many forms of misfortune: illness, weakness, military death, and poverty. David cannot execute Joab without endangering the loyalty of his army, so he can only curse him and place his disapproval on record.
David's Public Mourning for Abner (vv. 31–39)
31 Then David ordered Joab and all the people with him, "Tear your clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourn before Abner." And King David himself walked behind the funeral bier. 32 When they buried Abner in Hebron, the king wept aloud at Abner's tomb, and all the people wept. 33 And the king sang this lament for Abner: "Should Abner die the death of a fool? 34 Your hands were not bound, your feet were not fettered. As a man falls before the wicked, so also you fell." And all the people wept over him even more. 35 Then all the people came and urged David to eat something while it was still day, but David took an oath, saying, "May God punish me, and ever so severely, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun sets!" 36 All the people took note and were pleased. In fact, everything the king did pleased them. 37 So on that day all the troops and all Israel were convinced that the king had no part in the murder of Abner son of Ner. 38 Then the king said to his servants, "Do you not realize that a great prince has fallen today in Israel? 39 And I am weak this day, though anointed as king, and these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too fierce for me. May the LORD repay the evildoer according to his evil!"
31 Then David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, "Tear your clothes and put on sackcloth and mourn before Abner." And King David walked behind the bier. 32 They buried Abner at Hebron, and the king wept aloud at Abner's tomb, and all the people wept. 33 And the king lamented for Abner and said, "Should Abner die as a fool dies? 34 Your hands were not bound, your feet were not put in chains. As one falls before the wicked you have fallen." And all the people wept over him again. 35 Then all the people came to urge David to eat bread while it was still day. But David swore, saying, "God do so to me and more also, if I taste bread or anything else until the sun sets!" 36 All the people took notice of it, and it pleased them — indeed, everything the king did pleased all the people. 37 And all the people and all Israel understood that day that it was not the king's intention to put Abner the son of Ner to death. 38 The king said to his servants, "Do you not know that a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel? 39 And I am this day weak, though anointed king. These men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too hard for me. The LORD repay the evildoer according to his wickedness!"
Notes
David's lament for Abner — הֲכְמוֹת נָבָל יָמוּת אַבְנֵר — "should Abner die as a fool dies?" — is a short, pointed poem. A "fool" (נָבָל — the same root as Nabal of 1 Samuel 25:25) dies through his own stupidity or wickedness. Abner did not die that way: his hands were not bound, he was not caught in wrongdoing, and he was not executed for cause. He was killed treacherously by a man who feigned friendship. David's lament is both genuine grief and public vindication.
David's fasting until sunset is a public act of mourning, visible to all the people. The narrator's comment, "everything the king did pleased all the people," carries both description and irony: David's grief is public, and it has political effect. The narrator does not suggest that it is false; David's tears at the tomb argue otherwise.
The final verse — "these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too hard for me" — קָשִׁים מִמֶּנִּי בְּנֵי צְרוּיָה — is a confession of weakness, unusual in royal literature. David acknowledges that he cannot control his own general. Joab is a political fact: too powerful, too entrenched, too necessary to the army to remove without serious cost. This tension, between what is right and what is politically possible, will mark David's reign. The LORD is left to "repay the evildoer"; David cannot.