Bibelkommentare

INTRODUCTION TO SECOND SAMUEL 3

This chapter begins with the continuation of the war between the house of Saul and the house of David, 2 Samuel 3:1; and gives an account of the wives of David, and his sons by them, 2 Samuel 3:2; of a quarrel between Ishbosheth and Abner, 2 Samuel 3:6; and of Abner's proposal to make a league with David; but David would not see his face unless Michal his wife was returned to him, who was accordingly, 2 Samuel 3:12; and of the interest Abner made with the elders of Israel in favour of David, which he reported to him, and promised to make more, 2 Samuel 3:17; but Joab returning from a pursuit, and with great spoil, just as Abner departed, and hearing of it, chided David for letting him go, and privately sent for him back, and treacherously murdered him, 2 Samuel 3:22; from which murder David cleared himself and his kingdom, and for it made dreadful imprecations on Joab and his family, 2 Samuel 3:28; and buried Abner with great lamentation, expressing much concern for his death, and the high opinion he had of him, 2 Samuel 3:31.

Now there was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David,.... The recent battle, though so much in favour of David, did not, put an end to the war between him and Ishbosheth, which lasted five years longer; for it was when Ishbosheth had reigned two years that that battle was fought, and he reigned five years longer; for not till his death, and when David had reigned above seven years in Hebron, was he made king over all Israel; and during this time peace was not made, but the war carried on; though perhaps not in pitched battles, of which we no more read, but in skirmishes:

but David waxed stronger and stronger; he having the advantage in all such skirmishes, and persons continually coming over to his side from the several tribes:

and the house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker: being always worsted whenever they skirmished with David's men, and by continual revolts from them. This is reckoned an emblem of the kingdoms of Christ and antichrist, the one increasing more and more, as it has and will do, and the other decreasing, and before long will be consumed; and of the two parties in a regenerate man, grace and indwelling sin, the one as to its exercise growing stronger and stronger, and the other as to its influence on the outward conversation weaker and weaker.

And unto David were sons born in Hebron,.... He was married before he came there, had wives in his state of exile, but had no children by them there, at least no sons; if any, only daughters:

and his firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; who being mentioned first, and her son his firstborn, seems to have been his wife before be took Abigail; he had not much comfort of this firstborn son of his; see 2 Samuel 13:1.

And the second, Chileab, of Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite,.... That is: who had been the wife of Nabal. This son's name is called Daniel, 1 Chronicles 3:1; and was the first name he had, and which his father gave him, because as if he should say, "God hath judged me", and pleaded the cause of his reproach from Nabal, 1 Samuel 25:39; but why he should be called Chileab is not easy to say; the name is commonly thought to signify "like unto his father", or "all father": had all the features of his father, and was exceedingly like him; the Jews have a fabulous story concerning this (w), not worth relating:

and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah, the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; in 1 Samuel 27:8 we read of David's invading the land of the Geshurites; and the Jews say (x) that he then took the daughter of this king captive, and she being a beautiful woman married her, after made a proselyte according to the law in Deuteronomy 21:10; but it should be observed that David slew all the women of that country, and left not any alive; and besides that lay to the south of Judah, whereas this Geshur, of which Talmai was king, was a part of Syria, 2 Samuel 15:8; and lay to the north of the land of Israel; and with this king David hereby entered into an alliance, to strengthen his interest against Ishbosheth in those parts; of the trouble he met with from Absalom, see 2 Samuel 13:1, &c. contrary to the expectations he had raised when he gave him the name of Absalom, or Leabsalom, as in 1 Chronicles 3:2; that is, one given "for his father's peace".

(w) Jarchi, Kimchi, & Abarbinel in loc. (x) Tanchuma apud Abarbinel in loc.

And the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith,.... The same that usurped the throne before his father's death, to anticipate Solomon, and died by his order, 1 Kings 1:5,

and the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital; of whom we read nowhere else.

And the sixth, Ithream, by Eglah David's wife,.... Who also is not spoken of in any other place; only, in a like chronological account as the former, it is remarked that the mother of this only is called David's wife; the reason of which is supposed to be, either because she was a person of no note, and had nothing else to distinguish her; but the same may be said of the two foregoing; or because she was his beloved wife, his heifer, as her name signifies; hence the Jews (y) take her to be Michal his first wife, whom he greatly loved, and who, though she had no children after her contempt of David for playing before the ark, unto the day of her death, yet might have before: but it should be observed, that as yet she was not returned to David in Hebron; and when she was returned, did not seem to continue there long enough to have a son there; and besides, being his first wife, would not be reckoned last; but still more foreign is another notion of the Jews (z), that she was Saul's widow, who though she might not be married to another might be married to a king, as David was; and this they suppose receives some confirmation from 2 Samuel 12:8; but after all it may be this phrase "David's wife", as some have observed, by a figure the rhetoricians call "zeugma", or "hypozeugma", is to be joined to everyone of the women before mentioned, 2 Samuel 3:2, who were his wives, and so called to distinguish them from his concubines, by whom he had sons also. Polygamy, or plurality of wives, which David gave into, is no favourable part of his character.

(y) T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 21. 1. Hieron. Trad. Heb. in 2 Reg. fol. 77. F. (z) In Kimchi & Ben Gersom in loc.

And it came to pass, while there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David,.... As long as that continued, as it did until the following quarrel happened between Ishbosheth and Abner:

that Abner made himself strong for the house of Saul; or was strongly in the interest of that house, and used his utmost endeavours to support and confirm it.

And Saul had a concubine, whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah,.... By whom he had two sons, 2 Samuel 21:8. Josephus (a) calls her father's name Sibathus:

and Ishbosheth said to Abner; though the word "Ishbosheth" is not in the text, it is rightly supplied; for no other can be supposed to speak:

wherefore hast thou gone in unto my father's concubine? and defiled her; though perhaps it was not so much the act of uncleanness that so much offended him, or the dishonour reflected on him and his family thereby, as it discovered an ambitious view in Abner to get the kingdom into his own hands, to which this was the leading step; see 1 Kings 2:22. Whether Abner was really guilty of this sin or no is not easy to determine; though, by his not absolutely denying it, it looks as if it was not merely a jealousy of Ishbosheth, or a false report made unto him; though, especially if he was not fully satisfied of it, it would have been his wisdom to have said nothing of it to him, since his continuance on the throne so much depended on him.

(a) Antiqu. l. 7. c. 1. sect. 4.