2 Samuel 3:30 - Printer Friendly

ESV: So Joab and Abishai his brother killed Abner, because he had put their brother Asahel to death in the battle at Gibeon.

NIV: (Joab and his brother Abishai murdered Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel in the battle at Gibeon.)

NASB: So Joab and his brother Abishai killed Abner because he had put their brother Asahel to death in the battle at Gibeon.

CSB: Joab and his brother Abishai killed Abner because he had put their brother Asahel to death in the battle at Gibeon.

NLT: So Joab and his brother Abishai killed Abner because Abner had killed their brother Asahel at the battle of Gibeon.

KJV: So Joab and Abishai his brother slew Abner, because he had slain their brother Asahel at Gibeon in the battle.

NKJV: So Joab and Abishai his brother killed Abner, because he had killed their brother Asahel at Gibeon in the battle.

In 2 Samuel 3:26–30, Joab avenges his brother Asahel. Two years prior, as Israel fought with Judah, Abner, Israel's army commander, reluctantly killed the brother of Judah's commander in self-defense (2 Samuel 2:19–23). Abner now wants to convince the tribes of Israel to accept David as their king (2 Samuel 3:12–19). But Joab remembers his brother and murders Abner. David must act quickly to keep the deal alive. He disavows Joab's actions and writes a short psalm of lament for Abner (2 Samuel 3:31–39).

In 2 Samuel 3, God arranges for all of Israel to accept David as king. Abner, the former commander of Saul's army, turns against David's rival, Ish-bosheth, after an argument about a woman. Abner persuades the elders of Israel to take David as their king and arrives in Hebron to deliver the news. Joab, the commander of David's army, is furious because Abner killed his brother Asahel. When Abner leaves, Joab murders him. David declares a curse on Joab and his descendants and publicly mourns for Abner, demonstrating to all that he had nothing to do with Abner's death.

In 2 Samuel 3, the civil war winds down. Abner, Saul's cousin, made Saul's son Ish-bosheth king. Abner commands the army of Israel. Joab, David's nephew, commands Judah's army. They have been locked in a civil war for two years, not least because Abner killed Joab's brother in self-defense (2 Samuel 2). When Abner realizes he can't take the throne from Ish-bosheth, he arranges for Israel to follow David before he's killed by Joab. Not long after, Ish-bosheth is murdered, and David is made king of all Israel (2 Samuel 4:1—5:4).

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.

Accessed 11/7/2025 1:20:55 AM