Bible History 7.1: King of Judah

2:8-11 -- David's message arrived too late. Abner, the shamed chief of the bodyguard whom David had rebuked at the last confrontation with Saul, had taken the last survivor of Saul's family, Ishbaal, and presented him as the new king. Some time later, scribes changed that name to Ishbosheth, when it became politically incorrect to use the word baal in its original context. While it had a variety of applications, ranging from simply the term a woman called her husband, to any man of importance, it was the religious use of the term for addressing the pagan gods of the Canaanites that brought the term into disrepute. Thus, baal ("lord") was usually rewritten bosheth ("shame").

Abner's quick action was a sin, for it was widely known that God had chosen David as the next king. Oddly, he chose the town of Mahanaim, meaning "Two Camps" -- an obvious symbolic meaning in this case. David was reluctant to press his claim on an unwilling population. The text describes how Ishbaal was recognized first in Gilead, then the whole tribe of Asher, the residents of Jezreel Valley, then Ephraim, and finally Benjamin. His reign lasted but two years, though there was a lag in switching everyone's allegiance over to David. Thus, David stayed in Hebron a total of 7-and-a-half years.

2:12-17 -- Abner went with troops to press Ishbaal's claim. They camped at Gibeon, Saul's former royal city. Joab, as Abner's counterpart, brought David's troops to meet them, presumably for battle. The two men met to parley, facing each other over the Pool of Gibeon, a landmark situated in an open field, unknown today. Abner suggested they hold a contest. This was somewhat similar to what was suggested by Goliath when he demanded Israel send for a representative champion to face him. In this case, it was a dozen from each side. They clashed in the open field nearby. Joab's troops must have had the better training, for they all used the same tactic. Rather than facing off as we might expect, David's men simply tackled their opponents, grabbed them by the head and stabbed the soft space between the rib cage and the pelvic girdle. The scribes notes that was the origin of its name in his day: The Field of Sharp Swords. As was often the case, the results of the contest stirred the rest of the troops to attack with assurance. Abner's troops fled the field.

2:18-23 -- No one can say with certainty why Joab and his brothers are named as sons of their mother, Zeruiah. Such a reference to maternal parents was quite rare in ancient times. A good guess would be that she had been widowed at least once between their births. At any rate, the third brother, Asahel, was particularly fleet of foot. He took it upon himself to focus his pursuit on Abner. Abner warned him off, to no avail. Fast as Asahel may have been, Abner was a much stronger fighter. He simply stopped, planted his feet, and without turning thrust his spear straight behind him. Since the head of the spear was typically facing forward, the butt end was what Asahel ran upon. This would have been the heavier sort of spear, also called a lance, versus the lighter javeline. Javelins were thrown in combat, but too light for hand-to-hand fighting. Most heavy spears had a short taper on the butt end to enable planting it in the ground briefly when the first onslaught of enemy lines clashed. This was also the best way to defeat horses drawing chariots. Asahel was being foolish in pursuing Abner, and seeing him fallen pretty much slowed the momentum of pursuit.

2:24-29 -- A bit further behind in their pursuit, Asahel's elder brothers were also determined to catch Abner, the leader of the opposition army. By the time they caught up with him, he was at the top of hill above them. The scribe's description was well known in his day, but lost to us now. The fierce Benjamite troops rallied to Abner, taking a commanding position on the hilltop. He called to Joab below and warned the tide of battle could turn at any moment. Joab's answer indicates he realized that things had gone far enough. He remarked that his troops would have pushed on until dawn, as was their normal tactics. Since Abner suggested a truce, he was willing to go along. The verbal exchange indicates to the reader the sun was going down. Abner's remaining troops marched all night back across the Jordan to Mahanaim.

2:30-32 -- Joab assembled his troops for a body count, and noted a loss of 19 men, plus his brother Asahel. For their loss, they netted a solid victory, having killed 360 of Abner's men. They would have stripped the slain of weapons and armor as a standard practice, so the count of enemy fallen would be rather precise. For their part, they also marched overnight, returning to Hebron at dawn. As a man of noble birth, it is noted the body of Asahel was carried back and placed in his father's tomb in Bethlehem, which was on the way back to Hebron.