The present section begins with Yahweh's destruction of Saul's line and ends with a summary of David's fecundity. In the middle we find the record of David's anointing as king over Judah (2:1-7). In 1:1-3:5 we see the Israelites turning to David as their king. They saw David as their source of deliverance and blessing. Furthermore David's forces were overcoming those of Saul.
First Samuel 31 and 2 Samuel 1 record the transition that took place in the royal leadership of Israel. 1 Samuel 31 contains the factual account of Saul's death.
"Without doubt this portion [of 2 Samuel, i.e., chapters 2-8] forms the crux of the book. Here the fertility motif reaches a peak. The thesis of the author--that Israel is blessed with fertility when the nation (and the epitome of the nation, the king) is following the covenant--is demonstrated in these chapters. The king, the ark (representing the presence of God and the Word of God, the covenant), and fertility are all intertwined in a beautifully artistic way."22
David again expressed his dependence on God by asking in prayer where God wanted him to relocate. He realized that he could not make the wisest choice alone since he did not have God's perspective. He wanted God to use him most effectively, so he allowed God to place him in that spot. The territory of Judah was the logical choice since that was David's tribal homeland and where he had the greatest acceptance (cf. 1 Sam. 30:26-30).23Verse 1 gives the key to David's triumphs, namely, his dependance on God. Verse 2 gives the key to his tragedy, namely, his relationships with women (cf. Gen. 2:24). This was David's second anointing (in 1011 B.C.; cf. 1 Sam. 16:13). It represented a formal acknowledgment that the people of Judah viewed David as the Lord's anointed.
"The much later crisis of I Kings 12 suggests that the Davidic hold on the north is never deeply established. In our chapter we are given two episodes of David's attentiveness to the north. One (vv. 4b-7) is a peaceable act of friendship. The other (vv. 8-32) is an act of confrontation and hostility."24
The people of Jabesh-gilead were very loyal to Saul (cf. 1 Sam. 11:1-13; 31:11-13). David took special pains to express his sorrow over Saul's death to those residents to show that the antagonism that had existed between Saul and himself was one-sided. If he could win their favor, David could gain a foothold of support in northern Israel. We see in these verses how David sought peace and unity with those who had been loyal to Saul in Israel. First, he took the initiative in contacting them (v. 5a). Second, he paid them a sincere compliment (v. 5b). Third, he obliquely reminded them that he was now the Lord's anointed (v. 6). Finally, he offered a "treaty of friendship"(vv. 6b-7).25
"David wishes to take Saul's place as suzerain of Jabesh-Gilead. Since treaties did not automatically continue in force when a new king took the throne, it was necessary for David actively to seek a renewal of the pact."26
David's support at this time came mainly from the Judahites. Hostilities had existed between the Israelites in the northern tribes and those in the South for many generations.27
David's overtures to the Jabesh-gileadites were very important. Saul's commander-in-chief and cousin, Abner, was working to install Saul's youngest son, Ish-bosheth (called Eshbaal in 1 Chron. 9:39), as his father's successor. This was not a move that Yahweh had ordained (cf. 1 Sam. 13:14). David was God's anointed. Abner, Saul's cousin, was simply doing what was customary in the ancient Near East and in the process securing his own future, he hoped. Mahanaim was only 16 miles south of Jabesh-gilead in Transjordan. It became the center of Saul's supporters at this time (cf. v. 29).
Abner's initiative ignited conflict between Saul's and David's houses that occupied the writer's attention in 2:8-32. This section is chiastic in its arrangement and focuses on Abner's killing of Asahel (vv. 18-23).28Whereas David was seeking peace and unity (vv. 4b-7, Abner was seeking power and victory (vv. 8-32; cf. Ps. 120:7).
Ish-bosheth (lit. man of shame, boshet, "shame,"being substituted for baal, "lord,"on occasion, cf. 1 Chron. 8:33; 9:39; Jer. 3:24; 11:13; Hos. 9:10) appears only in chapters 2-4. He may be the Ishvi of 1 Samuel 14:49. Since he did not die in battle with Saul and his brothers, he may have been somewhat cowardly. This possibility may find support in the fact that Abner, rather than he, was the real leader of Saul's forces. The people of Judah made David their king (v. 4), but Abner singlehandedly made Ish-bosheth king over "all Israel"(v. 9). This was not God's will since God had chosen David to succeed Saul (1 Sam. 13:14). Abner's act fueled conflict between the northern and southern inhabitants of the land.
"The distinctive concepts of Judah and Israel' evolved during David's kingdom in Hebron, and after a period of reunification these entities were allowed to live on in the United Monarchy, though without an official division."29
When David eventually became king of all Israel and Judah, seven and one-half years later, he ended Ish-bosheth's two-year reign. Evidently it took Abner over five years to establish Ish-bosheth on Israel's throne. Abner put his personal preferences and cultural precedent (that a son of Saul would succeed his father) over God's will. Consequently life became very complicated and problems followed in Israel, as always when people behave as Abner did.
Travelers can visit the pool of Gibeon today. It lies about three miles northwest of Gibeah.
"The pool is a cylindrical shaft thirty-seven feet in diameter and thirty-five feet deep. Its five-feet-wide spiral stairway, which winds downward around the inside wall of the pool an a clockwise direction, continues below the floor level to an additional depth of forty-five feet."30
There the forces of Ish-bosheth and David met for a peace conference (v. 13). Abner broke off the peace talks, however, by suggesting that the two sides determine which of them would win in a battle by champions (cf. 1 Sam. 17).31Twelve soldiers from each side (v. 15), perhaps representing each of the twelve tribes, engaged in hand-to-hand combat to decide the leadership of the nation. The fight was a draw so the battle between the two armies escalated. Joab's men finally got the upper hand. Abner warned Asahel twice to stop pursuing him and to fight with someone else that he might be able to defeat (vv. 21-22). He evidently wanted to avoid a blood feud with Joab's family that might go on for generations. Nevertheless Asahel kept pushing Abner who finally killed him rather than simply knocking him out.
"Every man' who stopped when he came' to the place where Asahel had died (v. 23) does not refer to travelers or others who stop to pay their respects, as many commentators believe (e.g., Baldwin, Hertzberg), but to David's men, Asahel's pursuers, who stand transfixed in horror at the death of a fallen comrade . . ."32
Many of David's soldiers stopped, but Joab and Abishai continued to pursue Abner. The other soldiers from Benjamin, Saul and Abner's tribe, rallied around Abner, and the hostility climaxed when they took a stand to defend themselves on a hilltop (v. 25). Abner tried to call a truce (v. 26), but Joab correctly blamed him for starting the conflict in the first place (v. 27; cf. v. 14). Joab agreed to the truce and both armies went home. Abner's side lost 360 soldiers in this fight, and 19 of Joab's men died.
This incident accounts for the personal hostility that later resulted in Abner's death and the disintegration of Ish-bosheth's throne. Note that David played no part in it. God worked through Joab and Abner to place His anointed on the throne of all Israel. This passage shows how hostilities between the two factions in Israel escalated, as they often do in modern nations, neighborhoods, and families. First, the opposing parties stopped talking (v. 12). Next, they started fighting (v. 13). Then, Asahel kept pushing (v. 23). Finally, Abner insisted on defending himself (v. 23).
The first verse in this chapter summarizes 2:8-32. The point of the remaining verses is that during the seven and one-half years that David ruled Judah he grew stronger because God was blessing him.33David resorted to further polygamy even though God had commanded Israel's kings not to multiply wives (Deut. 17:17). He undoubtedly married the women mentioned to cement political alliances, as was common in the ancient Near East.34
The site of Gesher (v. 3) was northeast of the Sea of Chinnereth (Galilee) and north of Jabesh-gilead. The Israelites were to make no covenants with the inhabitants of the Promised Land (Exod. 23:32; 34:12). That is where the king of Gesher lived. Perhaps if David had relied less on foreign alliances he would not have had to fight as many battles with his neighbors as he did. Unfortunately he spent a large portion of his total reign as king fighting battles.
