2 Samuel 2:30 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Joab returned from the pursuit of Abner. And when he had gathered all the people together, there were missing from David 's servants nineteen men besides Asahel.

NIV: Then Joab stopped pursuing Abner and assembled the whole army. Besides Asahel, nineteen of David’s men were found missing.

NASB: Then Joab returned from pursuing Abner; but he gathered all the people together, and nineteen of David’s servants were missing, besides Asahel.

CSB: When Joab had turned back from pursuing Abner, he gathered all the troops. In addition to Asahel, nineteen of David’s soldiers were missing,

NLT: Meanwhile, Joab and his men also returned home. When Joab counted his casualties, he discovered that only 19 men were missing in addition to Asahel.

KJV: 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.

NKJV: So Joab returned from pursuing Abner. And when he had gathered all the people together, there were missing of David’s servants nineteen men and Asahel.

After Saul's death, David made a careful foray into Judah. There, the elders made him king (2 Samuel 2:1–4). He settled in Hebron where he built up his army and his family (2 Samuel 3:2–5). Five years later, Saul's general Abner made Saul's son Ish-bosheth king over the rest of the tribes. David now has a rival, but it isn't Ish-bosheth: it's Abner. For some unexplained reason, He and David's general Joab fall into a battle. During the fighting, Abner reluctantly kills Joab's brother (2 Samuel 2:12–23).

But Abner's army is weary. They gather for one last stand on the top of a hill and wait for Joab. When he's within shouting distance, Abner asks for peace. It would be bitter, he says, for brother Israelites to continue fighting each other (2 Samuel 2:24–26).

Joab agrees. Despite a desire to avenge his brother's death, he must first bury Asahel him and the other nineteen soldiers he's lost. Both sides walk all night to go home, Joab taking a detour to bury Asahel (2 Samuel 2:27–32).

Abner is also Saul's cousin (1 Samuel 14:50). Joab, Asahel, and Abishai are David's nephews (2 Samuel 2:18). Joab is David's military commander. Abishai was the "chief of the three": David's three greatest warriors (2 Samuel 23:18). Asahel is one of the mighty men of David or "the Thirty" (2 Samuel 23:34). These are skilled, hardened soldiers. The war ahead will be fierce.

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.