2 Samuel 2

1 Some time [after this, afterwards] later, David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Judah] inquired [asked, sought guidance] of the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God], “Should I go up [ascend, rise] to one [a single, unique] of the towns [cities, places of gathering] of Judah [the tribe descended from Judah, the son of Jacob]?” “Go up [ascend, rise],” the LORD [the supreme God, Creator] answered. Then David asked, “Where [in what direction, to what location] should I go [ascend, rise]?” “To Hebron [the place of alliance, a city in Judah],” replied the LORD. word study 2 So David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Judah] went there [to that place, thither] with his two [a pair, a duo] wives, Ahinoam [a woman of Jezreel, a Jezreelitess] of Jezreel [a city in Israel] and Abigail [a wise and kind woman, the daughter of an unnamed father] the widow [a woman whose husband has died] of Nabal [a foolish man, a Carmelite] of Carmel [a city in Israel, near Mount Carmel]. word study 3 David [the king of Judah, a leader] also took the men [individuals, males] who were with [accompanied, together] him, each with his household [family, relatives], and they settled [dwelt, lived] in the towns [cities, villages] near [close to, adjacent] Hebron [a city in Palestine, a place of rest]. word study 4 Then the men [people, individuals] of Judah came to Hebron, and there they anointed [poured oil on, set apart] David king [ruler, leader] over the house [family, tribe] of Judah. And they told [declared, informed] David, “It was the men [people, warriors] of Jabesh-gilead [a town in the Gilead region] who buried [laid to rest, interred] Saul [the first king of Israel].” word study 5 So David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Judah] sent messengers [representatives] to the men [individuals, humans] of Jabesh-gilead [a town in the territory of Gilead] to tell them, “The LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] bless [praise, honor] you, because you showed [demonstrated, made] this kindness [mercy, pity] to Saul [Shaul, the desired one, a Benjamite] your lord [master] when you buried [interred, laid to rest] him. word study 6 Now [at this time, in this moment] may the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God] show you [bestow upon you, grant to you] loving devotion [kindness, mercy] and faithfulness [truth, stability], and I [the speaker, David] will also [too, in like manner] show you [repay, recompense] the same favor [goodness, kindness, lovingkindness] because you have done [accomplished, made] this [specific, notable]. word study 7 Now then [at this time, in this moment], be strong [courageous, valiant] and courageous [having strength, being brave], for though Saul [master] your lord is dead [has passed away, perished], the house [family, tribe] of Judah has anointed [set apart, consecrated] me as their king [ruler, leader].” word study 8 Meanwhile, Abner son of Ner, the [ruler, captain] commander of Saul’s [host] army, took [to get, to capture] Saul’s son Ish-bosheth [Eshbaal, man of shame], moved him to [crossed over to] Mahanaim [two camps, a place of refuge], word study 9 and made him king [to reign, to rule] over Gilead [a rocky region], Asher [the Ashurites, a tribe of Israel], Jezreel [God sows, a place of growth], Ephraim [doubly fruitful, a tribe of Israel], and Benjamin [son of the right hand, a tribe of Israel]—over all [the whole, everything] Israel [the descendants of Jacob, God’s chosen people]. word study 10 Saul’s son [descendant, offspring] Ish-bosheth was forty [a significant period of time, marking a new era] years old when he began to reign [rule, advise, or counsel] over Israel [the symbolic name of Jacob, referring to his descendants], and he reigned [ruled as king] for two [a pair, a duality] years. The house [dwelling place, family home, or temple] of Judah [the tribe descended from Judah, son of Jacob], however, followed [was loyal to, came after] David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Judah]. word study 11 And the length [or period, duration] of time [season, era] that David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Judah] was king [ruler, monarch] in Hebron [a city in Palestine, a place of alliance] over [above, in charge of] the house [family, tribe] of Judah [a tribe descended from Judah, the son of Jacob] was seven years [a period of 12 months, a cycle of time] and six [a number of imperfection or incompleteness] months [a lunar cycle, a period of new moon to new moon]. word study 12 One day Abner [army captain] son of Ner and the servants [or slaves, attendants] of Ish-bosheth [Eshbaal] son of Saul marched out [went out, came out] from Mahanaim [two camps, a place east of the Jordan River] to Gibeon [a Levitical city, el-Jib]. word study 13 So Joab [son and military leader] son of Zeruiah, along with the servants [faithful attendants] of David, marched out and met them by the pool [a gathering place, a reservoir] of Gibeon. And the two camps took up positions [sat down, settled in] on opposite sides [facing each other, in unity and opposition] of the pool. word study 14 Then Abner [the army captain, cousin of King Saul] said to Joab [King David’s nephew and army general], “Let us have the young men [youths, from infancy to adolescence] get up [rise, stand up] and compete [play, engage in a contest] before us [in our presence, face to face].” “Let them get up [rise, stand up],” Joab [Jehovah is father] replied. word study 15 So they got up [rose, stood] and were counted off [went over by number, transitioned]—twelve [a dozen, twelve individuals] for Benjamin [son of the right hand, the youngest son of Jacob] and Ish-bosheth [Eshbaal] son of Saul [Shaul, the desired one], and twelve [a dozen, twelve individuals] for David [the beloved, youngest son of Jesse]. word study 16 Then each man [every individual, each warrior] grabbed his opponent [neighbor, fellow, companion] by the head [the topmost part of the body] and thrust his sword [cutting instrument, weapon] into his opponent’s side [the area of vulnerability], and they all fell [were defeated, collapsed] together [in unity, as one]. So this place [location, region], which is in Gibeon [a city of Benjamin, near Jerusalem], is called [named, designated] Helkath-hazzurim [Field of Swords, a place of battle]. word study 17 The battle [very sore, intense conflict] that day [a literal 24-hour period or a figurative space of time] was intense [severe, fierce], and Abner [a prominent Israelite, cousin of King Saul] and the men [individuals, humans] of Israel [Jacob’s descendants, God’s chosen people] were defeated [struck down, put to flight] by the servants [those who serve, attend] of David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Judah]. word study 18 The three sons of Zeruiah [an Israelite woman, sister of David] were there: Joab [Jehovah is father], Abishai [my father is Jesse], and Asahel [God-made]. Now Asahel was fleet [swift, light] of foot [the ability to move quickly] like a wild [untamed, free] gazelle [beauty, splendor; a gazelle], word study 19 and he chased [pursued with hostile intent, followed closely] Abner [the prominent Israelite, cousin of King Saul], not turning [stretching or spreading out, deviating] to the right [the direction of the right hand] or to the left [the north, the direction of the left hand] in his pursuit [chase, relentless following]. word study 20 And Abner [looked behind him, turned around] glanced back and said, “Is that you, Asahel [God-made, nephew of King David]?” “It is [I am, yes],” Asahel [nephew of King David, swift runner] replied. word study 21 So Abner told him, “Turn [to one side or the other] to your right or to your left, seize [lay hold on, grasp] one of the young men [youths, from infancy to adolescence], and take [get, capture] his equipment [armor, spoils of war] for yourself.” But Asahel [God-made, nephew of King David] would not stop [be willing to turn aside, depart from] chasing him. word study 22 Once again [a second time, still], Abner [the army captain, cousin of King Saul] warned Asahel [God-made, nephew of King David], “Stop [turn aside, depart from] chasing me [pursuing, following after]. Why [what reason, for what purpose] should I strike [smite, hit] you to the ground [the earth, the land]? How [in what way, by what means] could I show [lift up, raise] my face [presence, countenance] to your brother [male sibling, close relative] Joab [Jehovah is father, King David’s nephew]?” word study 23 But Asahel refused [to turn aside, to depart] to turn away; so Abner thrust [with the hinder end, the back part] the butt of his spear [a thrusting weapon, a lance] into his stomach [belly, abdomen], and it came out [emerged, protruded] his back, and he fell [was struck down, collapsed] dead [lifeless, deceased] on the spot [there, in that place]. And every man paused [stood still, halted] when he came to the place [location, site] where Asahel had fallen [been struck down, collapsed] and died [lost his life, perished]. word study 24 But Joab [King David’s nephew and army general] and Abishai [nephew of King David] pursued [to chase after, with hostile intent] Abner [cousin of King Saul, army captain]. By sunset [when the sun went down], they had gone as far as the hill [a small elevation] of Ammah [a location in Palestine, near Gibeon] opposite [before, in front of] Giah [a place in Palestine, meaning ’to break forth’] on the way [the road, path or journey] to the wilderness [a desert or open field, a place of solitude] of Gibeon [a Levitical city in Benjamin]. word study 25 The Benjamites [sons of the right hand, descendants of Benjamin] rallied to Abner [cousin of King Saul, army captain], formed a single unit [one band, a unified group], and took their stand [stood firmly, in a strong sense] atop a hill [on the top of a certain height, a small elevation]. word study 26 Then Abner [the army captain, cousin of King Saul] called out to Joab: “Must the sword [an instrument of war] devour [consume, destroy] forever [perpetually, without end]? Do you not realize [know, understand] that this will only end [result, conclude] in bitterness [pain, sorrow, distress]? How long [for what duration, until when] before you tell [command, instruct] the troops [army, warriors] to stop pursuing [chasing, following] their brothers [fellow Israelites, kin]?” word study 27 “As surely as God [Elohim, the supreme Creator] lives,” Joab [Jehovah is father, King David’s nephew and army general] replied, “if you had not spoken up [given the word, communicated], the troops would have continued pursuing [chasing, attacking] their brothers [male siblings, close relatives] until morning [the break of day, a new beginning].” word study 28 So Joab [the commander, King David’s nephew] blew the ram’s horn [a trumpet], and all [every single one] the troops stopped [stood still, ceased from pursuit]; they no longer [still, any more] pursued Israel [the nation, Jacob’s descendants] or continued [added to, further] to fight [engage in battle, war]. word study 29 And all [the entire duration] that night [period of darkness, adversity] Abner [cousin of King Saul, army captain] and his men [soldiers, warriors] marched [walked, traveled] through the Arabah [desert plain, wilderness] [near the Jordan River]. They crossed [passed over, transitioned] the Jordan [key location, river], marched [walked, journeyed] all [the whole] morning, and arrived [came, entered] at Mahanaim [two camps, place of refuge]. word study 30 When Joab [a prominent Israelite, nephew of King David] returned [to turn back, to come again] from pursuing [chasing, following after] Abner [cousin of King Saul, army captain], he gathered [to collect, to assemble] all [every single one, the entire group] the troops [people, men of war]. In addition to Asahel [God-made, swift], nineteen [nine and ten] of David’s [beloved king] servants [those who serve, attend, or minister] were missing [lacking, not present, unaccounted for], word study 31 but they had struck down [smitten, killed] 360 Benjamites [men of the tribe of Benjamin] who were with Abner [the army captain, cousin of King Saul]. word study 32 Later, they took Asahel [the swift one, God-made] and buried [interred, laid to rest] him in his father’s [paternal ancestor’s] tomb [sepulchre, grave] in Bethlehem [house of bread, city of David]. Then Joab [Jehovah is father, David’s nephew] and his men marched [walked, traveled] all [the entire] night [period of darkness, time of rest] and reached Hebron [city of alliance, place of friendship] at daybreak [dawn, when the day begins to shine]. word study