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However, Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul’s army, had taken Ishbosheth,[a] the son of Saul, to Mahanaim and made him king over Gilead, Ashuri,[b] and Jezre’el, and over Ephraim, Benjamin, and all Israel. 10 Ishbosheth, Saul’s son, was forty years old when he became king over Israel, and he reigned for two years.

But the house of Judah followed David. 11 David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah for seven years and six months.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 2:8 Ishbosheth means man of shame. There is evidence (1 Chronicles 8:33-34) that his name originally was Ishbaal, man of Baal or man of the lord. In 2 Samuel bosheth, which means shame, is sometimes substituted for baal in personal names.
  2. 2 Samuel 2:9 Ashuri is the reading of the Hebrew. Ashuri is not the name of a known place. Perhaps this is a reference to the tribe of Asher. The Syriac and Latin read Geshur, a reading that makes geographic sense.

War Between the Houses of David and Saul(A)

Meanwhile, Abner(B) son of Ner, the commander of Saul’s army, had taken Ish-Bosheth(C) son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim.(D) He made him king over Gilead,(E) Ashuri(F) and Jezreel, and also over Ephraim, Benjamin and all Israel.(G)

10 Ish-Bosheth son of Saul was forty years old when he became king over Israel, and he reigned two years. The tribe of Judah, however, remained loyal to David. 11 The length of time David was king in Hebron over Judah was seven years and six months.(H)

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