2 Samuel 2:29 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And Abner and his men went all that night through the Arabah. They crossed the Jordan, and marching the whole morning, they came to Mahanaim.

NIV: All that night Abner and his men marched through the Arabah. They crossed the Jordan, continued through the morning hours and came to Mahanaim.

NASB: Abner and his men then went through the Arabah all that night; so they crossed the Jordan, walked all morning, and came to Mahanaim.

CSB: So Abner and his men marched through the Arabah all that night. They crossed the Jordan, marched all morning, and arrived at Mahanaim.

NLT: All that night Abner and his men retreated through the Jordan Valley. They crossed the Jordan River, traveling all through the morning, and didn’t stop until they arrived at Mahanaim.

KJV: 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.

NKJV: Then Abner and his men went on all that night through the plain, crossed over the Jordan, and went through all Bithron; and they came to Mahanaim.

Joab has agreed to Abner's heartfelt request for an end to the battle. Joab's army has killed 360 men in Abner's command, (2 Samuel 2:31), and Abner begged Joab to stop the killing of Israelite brothers. Joab agreed, but Abner may have been suspicious that Joab would not keep to that. After all, Abner had killed Joab's brother Asahel (2 Samuel 2:23).

Abner and his surviving men from the tribe of Benjamin don't stop to rest for the night. They take off marching through the Arabah, another name for the Jordan Rift Valley. They would have had to drop into it through the pass at Micmash (1 Samuel 10:5). They eventually cross over the Jordan River, likely at the ford at Adam (Joshua 2:7) and arrive back at Ish-bosheth's capital of Mahanaim the next day.

Joab has only lost 20 soldiers to Abner's 360, but he's equally eager to get home. He and his army take his brother to Bethlehem, where they bury him with his father. They continue to Hebron, where David has his capital (2 Samuel 2:30–32).

The war has only begun. Abner's stubborn insistence that Israel belongs to Saul's son Ish-bosheth and not God's chosen David will keep the sides fighting for another two years. As in this battle, Abner's army will continue to fail while David's grows even stronger (2 Samuel 3:1).

Second Samuel 2:29–32 begins a description of David's increasing power. The army of Saul's son Ish-bosheth has gone to battle against David's men and lost. The numbers given here illustrate how badly the attempt went. Throughout the civil war, David will continue to grow stronger. This not only applies to his army and power, but also to his family: he will add three wives, including a princess, and several sons (2 Samuel 3:1–5). After two years, Ish-bosheth's general will defect and give David all of Israel (2 Samuel 3:6–21).

David returns to Israel, where he is anointed king over Judah, and settles in Hebron. Abner declares Saul's son Ish-bosheth king over Israel. David blesses the men of Jabesh-gilead for burying Saul's remains. Abner, leading Ish-bosheth's men, faces off against Joab, leading David's fighters, at Gibeon. In a fierce, one-sided battle, Abner kills Joab's brother, but David's men overwhelm Abner's Benjaminite fighters, losing twenty but killing 360. Abner and the survivors prepare for a last stand on the hill of Ammah, but Joab calls off the battle when Abner pleads with him to stop. Both sides return home.

Saul and three of his sons are dead (1 Samuel 31:1–4). David becomes king of Judah, and Saul's son Ish-bosheth is king of the remaining tribes. When the two sides meet in battle, Ish-bosheth's army fares poorly. David continues to grow stronger over two years of fighting. Ish-bosheth's general Abner appears to make a futile attempt to take the crown from his king, then starts the work to peacefully hand David the crown of Israel (2 Samuel 3:1–12).

Second Samuel continues the story of David, who will become king over Judah. The other tribes of Israel are resistant, eventually sparking a civil war. David wins and makes Jerusalem his capital. Early success is followed by moral failure and controversy in David's house. The book of 1 Kings will begin by detailing David's decline and death.