2 Samuel 2:8

(8) But Abner the son of Ner. —According to 1Chronicles 9:36 , Ner was the brother of Kish, Saul’s father. Abner was therefore the cousin-german of Saul, and had been made by him the commander in chief of his army ( 1Samuel 14:51 ). He was thus, both by kindred and office, strongly attached to the house of Saul. He had been with Saul in his pursuit of David, and may have resented David’s address to him on that occasion ( 1Samuel 26:14-16 ). There is no statement of the time that had elapsed after the death of Saul before Ish-bosheth was set up as king by Abner, but it was probably four or five years, for the following reasons: Ish-bosheth reigned only two years ( 2Samuel 2:10 ), but David appears to have been acknowledged as king over all Israel soon after his death, and had then reigned over Judah alone seven and a half years. Again, at the death of Saul all the northern part of the country was under the control of the Philistines, and some time must have elapsed before the Israelites would have been in condition to make themselves a new king; and, finally, Ish-bosheth was the youngest of Saul’s sons, born apparently some time after he came to the throne, and he was now forty years old ( 2Samuel 2:10 ), Saul himself having reigned about forty years ( Acts 13:21 ).

Ish-bosheth.—Called in 1Chronicles 8:33; 1Chronicles 9:39, “Eshbaal” (the fire of Baal), just as his nephew, Mephibosheth (2Samuel 4:4), is called in the same places Meribaal, and Gideon’s surname Jerubbaal (Judges 6:32; Judges 8:35) is changed to Jerubbesheth (2Samuel 11:21). These names compounded with Baal may have been originally given, as certainly was the case with Jerubbaal, in consequence of the manful opposition to idolatry of those who bore them, and have been subsequently changed to a compound with “bosheth” (shame), in view of the sequel of their histories; or, on the other hand, in the case of Saul’s family the compound with Baal may have been a later name, given in view of their opposition to the divinely appointed king, and to mark God’s utter rejection of the house of Saul. Mahanaim, famous in the story of Jacob (Genesis 32:2), was on the east of the Jordan, and not far from the brook Jabbok. A Levitical city (Joshua 21:38), in comparative safety from the Philistines, was well chosen by Abner for the coronation and residence of his new king. Mahanaim afterwards became the place of refuge for David in his flight from Absalom (2Samuel 17:24). The expression “brought him over” refers to the crossing of the Jordan.

2 Samuel 2:8 . Abner took Ish-bosheth — Abner was not only Saul’s general, but his near kinsman also, and in this instance his interest and ambition, and perhaps also envy, strongly influenced him. He knew that Ish-bosheth, if advanced to the sovereignty, would only have the name of a king, while he himself had the power. It appears, however, sufficiently from the sequel of his history, that he was well acquainted with David’s divine designation to the throne; but should he now submit to it he must no more hope for the chief command of the army. Joab was in possession of that under David, and well deserved to be so; and it was not probable he would displace him, a tried friend and a near kinsman, (being the son of Zeruiah, David’s sister,) to make way for an inveterate enemy newly reconciled. Nor was this all; Ish-bosheth was Abner’s near kinsman; whom, if he did not support, the interest of his tribe and of his family must fall with his own. Add to all this, that Abner commanded under Saul in all the expeditions he made against David; and it appears sufficiently from the history that David was greatly an over-match for him in all military conduct.

Thus envy, ambition, interest, and personal pique led him to espouse the cause of Ish- bosheth, whom he brought over Jordan with him to Mahanaim, a place in the tribe of Gad, ( Joshua 13:26 ,) which he chose for his residence, the better to gain that part of the country to his interest, to be more out of the reach of David’s and the Philistines’ incursions, and to have the better opportunity of recruiting his army among a people not only brave and courageous, but well affected to the cause he had espoused. See Delaney.

8–11. Ish-bosheth set up by Abner as a rival to David 8 . Abner ] Both by his relationship of first cousin to Saul ( 1 Samuel 14:50 , note), and by his office as commander of the army, Abner was marked out as the natural champion of Saul’s house. took ] Better, had taken. The historian goes back to relate events immediately succeeding the battle of Gilboa. Abner had escaped from the fatal field and carried Ish-bosheth with him across the Jordan, whither it would seem there was a general retreat, while the country west of the Jordan was abandoned to the Philistines ( 1 Samuel 31:7 ). Ish-bosheth ] Saul’s fourth son, not previously mentioned, was a mere tool in the hands of Abner. His original name, as given in the genealogies in 1 Chronicles 8:33 ; 1 Chronicles 9:39 , was Esh-baal (= man of Baal ), but this has been changed to Ish-bosheth (= man of shame ), to avoid the scandal of pronouncing the name of the false god Baal. Compare the substitution of Mephibosheth for Meribbaal ( 2 Samuel 4:4 ; 1 Chronicles 8:34 ), and Jerubbesheth for Jerubbaal ( 2 Samuel 11:21 ; Jdg 8:35 ), and see Hosea 9:10 ; Jeremiah 11:13 . There are indications that Esh-baal was the original reading here, and the change may have been made in books commonly read, while the original form was retained in the genealogy.

As regards the origin of the name, it is a question whether it was a relic of the old Baal worship, or whether baal (=lord) was at one time used as a title of Jehovah until discredited by idolatry ( Hosea 2:16 ). to Mahanaim ] Mahanaim (= two hosts ), “the spot consecrated by the presence of God in primeval times, where Jacob had divided his people into ‘two hosts,’ and had seen the ‘two hosts’ of the angelic vision” ( Genesis 32:2 ; Genesis 32:10 ), was chosen by Abner as the capital of Ish-bosheth’s kingdom. Afterwards it became the retreat of David when he fled from Absalom (ch. 2 Samuel 17:24 ), and at that time was a fortified town with walls and gates (ch. 2 Samuel 18:24 ). It was situated on the frontier between Gad and Manasseh ( Joshua 13:26 ; Joshua 13:30 ), but its exact position has not been identified with certainty. Canon Tristram places it at Mahneh , a few miles E. of Jabesh-Gilead ( Land of Israel , p. 474).

Verse 8. - Abner . This hero had been present at the battle of Gilboa, and probably had rallied many of the defeated Israelites, and made as much resistance as was possible to the onward march of the Philistines. And as soon as he had effected his retreat into the region beyond the Jordan, his power would be supreme. There was no one there to oppose the commander-in-chief of what remained of Saul's army. Certainly all that remained of Saul's body guard of three thousand men would gather round Abner, and as the Philistines did not push their pursuit further than the Jordan, he was free to do as he chose. Nor would there be any opposition. Abner was bound to do his best for Saul's family, and the people would feel this, and approve of his conduct in standing up for the children of their king. Moreover, David by his conduct had made himself an object of suspicion to all the valiant men who had formed Saul's army, and these would be the more embittered against him by their defeat. Ishbosheth . This name signifies "man of shame," that is, "man of the shameful thing," the idol.

Originally he was named Eshbaal ( 1 Chronicles 8:33 ; 1 Chronicles 9:39 ), that is "man of Baal," the word esh being merely a dialectic variation for ish , equivalent to "man." At this early date Baal was not the specific name of any idol, but simply meant "lord," "master," "husband." In the earlier books of the Bible we find the word used of many local deities, who were lords of this or that, but had nothing in common with the Phoenician Baal, whose worship Ahab attempted to introduce into Israel. From that time Baal became a term of reproach, and Bosheth, "the shame," was substituted for it in the old names of which it had formed part. Thus Gideon is still called Jerubbaal in 1 Samuel 12:11 , but the title is transformed into Jerubbesheth, or more correctly, Jerubbosheth, "let the shame plead," in 2 Samuel 11:21 . Originally, therefore, the name Ishbaal had no discreditable meaning, but signified, "man of the Lord," or, as Ewald supposes, "lordly man." It was not till long afterwards, when Israel had been horrified by Jezebel's doings, that Baal, except in the sense of "husband," became an ill-omened word. Jonathan, whose own name, "Jehovah's gift," in Greek Theodore, is proof sufficient that Saul's family were worshippers of the true God, called his son's name Meribbaal, "the Lord's strife" ( 1 Chronicles 8:34 ). In some strange way this was altered into Mephibosheth, that is, "from the face of the shameful thing" (ch. 2 Samuel 4:4. etc.).

Partly out of envy and malice against David; and partly out of his own ambition and desire of rule, because he knew that Ish-bosheth would have only the name of king, whilst he had the power. Ish-bosheth, called also Esh-baal , 1 Chronicles 8:33 9:39 ; it being usual with the Hebrews, instead of Baal, the name of false gods, to put Bosheth, which signifies shame , or confusion , or a shameful thing ; as appeareth by comparing Judges 9:53 , with 2 Samuel 11:21 ; and 2 Samuel 4:4 , with 1 Chronicles 8:31 ; and from Jeremiah 3:21 Hosea 9:10 . Mahanaim; a place beyond Jordan, whither he carried him; partly to secure those brave and valiant men of Jabesh-gilead to himself; and principally because this place was most remote from David, and from the Philistines too; and therefore here he might recruit his forces with less disturbance than in other places.