41 matching verse commentaries
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Abner also spake in the ears of Benjamin,.... Of the inhabitants of the tribe of Benjamin, of which tribe he was, and among whom he had the greatest influence; and with whom it was necessary to take some pains, because of their attachment to the family of Saul, which was of that tribe; and being near to that of Judah, might give David a good...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
So Abner came to David to Hebron, and twenty men with him,.... Before he went privately to him, and conferred with him, but now, having gained so many of the Israelites in favour of David, he appeared more publicly and brought perhaps some of the principal of the nation with film, to join in the league and covenant to be made: and David made Abner...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Abner said to David, I will arise and go,.... Into the several parts of the land of Israel: and will gather all Israel unto my lord the king; the princes of the several tribes, and the elders of the people, their heads and principal men: that they may make a league with thee; come into the league and covenant now made with Abner, and those...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And, behold, the servants of David and Joab came from [pursuing] a troop,.... A troop of robbers, that made an incursion into the land, taking the advantage of a civil war between Israel and Judah; such as the Edomites, Amalekites, and especially the Philistines; which Joab hearing of went out in pursuit of them, and overtook them: and brought in...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
When Joab and all the host that [was] with him were come,.... To Hebron, or rather to David's court; for their coming to the city is before mentioned; this must be understood not of the whole army, of all the common soldiers, but of the chief officers, who with Joab came to court, to wait upon David, and report their success: they told Joab,...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Then Joab came to the king,.... To the apartment where he was; perhaps he was told the above at his first entering into the king's palace, by some in waiting, before he came to the king, which filled him with wrath, so that he came to him in a passion: and said to him, what hast thou done? which was very insolent in a subject to say to his prince:...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Thou knowest Abner the son of Ner,.... Thou canst not be ignorant what a cunning deceitful man he is, nor of his designs; or dost thou not know? art thou ignorant? so read the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions, with an interrogation: that he came to deceive thee: with false hopes, or to lead into wrong measures with an...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And when Joab was come out from David,.... Which perhaps he did at once, as soon as ever he had spoken his mind, and flew out of the room in a great passion, not waiting for the king's answer, since we read of none returned; though it may be the king disdained to give him one, or cared not to confer with him while in his passion, until it...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And when Abner was returned to Hebron,.... Alone, and not the twenty men with him; not to David's court, but just to the city, to the gate of it: Joab took him aside in the gate: where he was waiting for him, and met him; this was a public place, where people were continually passing and repassing, and where courts of judicature used to be held;...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And afterward, when David heard [it],.... That Joab had sent to fetch Abner back, and that he had stabbed him in the gate of the city, and he was dead; it was some time after it was done that the news of it was brought to David; this circumstance is observed, the more to clear the king from any concern in this affair: he said; in a public manner,...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Let it rest on the head of Joab,.... That is, the blood of Abner, who was the shedder of it; let the guilt of it be charged to him, and let punishment for it be inflicted on him: and on all his father's house; on Abishai his brother, and other relations that might be privy to the death of Abner, and advising to it, and ready to assist in it if...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
So Joab and Abishai his brother slew Abner,.... For though it was only Joab that gave him the thrust of which he died, Abishai was in the secret, and was consenting and advising to his death, and so an accessory to it; and might be present, ready to assist in it, if occasion required; and so Josephus (k) expressly says, that Abishai his brother...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And David said to Joab, and to all the people that [were] with him,.... To his whole court, Joab being present: for he did not flee, nor was he laid hold on in order to be brought to justice; which shows how great his power was, and that he was too hard for David, as in 2 Samuel 3:39; however this he did, he enjoined his whole court, and Joab...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And they buried Abner in Hebron,.... According to the Jewish account of places of burial (s), he was buried in the midst of the city, though burying places were generally without; and so Fuller (t) places this in his map; whether the cave of Machpelah, which was near Hebron, was now used for a burying place, is not certain: and the king lifted up...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And the king lamented over Abner,.... Delivered an elegy or funeral oration, which he had composed on this occasion, as Josephus (u) suggests: for he had cried and wept before, but now he expressed something as follows: and said, died Abner as a fool dieth? the meaning of the interrogation is, he did not; the Targum is "did Abner die as wicked men...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Thy hands [were] not bound, nor thy feet put into fetters,.... As malefactors are when they are taken up for any crime, and especially when proved upon them, and condemned for it, and brought forth to be executed. This was not his case, and had he been aware of the design against him, as his hands and feet were at liberty, he might have defended...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And when all the people came to cause David to eat meat while it was yet day,.... The custom was to bury in the daytime, and after the funeral was over to provide and send in food to the relations of the deceased, and come and eat with them; as was also the usage with the Greeks and Romans (w); [See comments on Jeremiah 16:5] and [See comments on...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And all the people took notice [of it],.... Not only of his oath, that he would not eat food till evening, but of his whole conduct at the funeral of Abner; the sorrow he expressed for his death, and the oration he made on account of it, in which he pretty severely reflected on his murderer: and it pleased them; that he showed such a concern for...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
For all the people and all Israel understood that day,.... Not the people of Judah only, but of Israel also, to whom the knowledge of these things came; they knew and were satisfied by his conduct and behaviour, by his words and actions: that it was not of the king to slay Abner the son of Ner; it was not by the counsel or advice of the king, as...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And the king said unto his servants,.... His courtiers, giving a reason why he mourned as he did; or "had said" (w), and so is a reason why the people concluded, and were fully satisfied, he had no hand in his death; but the first is best, because what follows was said not to the people at the grave, but to his servants at court: know ye not that...