2 Samuel 2:24-32
New English Translation
24 So Joab and Abishai chased Abner. At sunset they came to the hill of Ammah near Giah on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon. 25 The Benjaminites formed their ranks[a] behind Abner and were like a single army, standing at the top of a certain hill.
26 Then Abner called out to Joab, “Must the sword devour forever? Don’t you realize that this will turn bitter in the end? When will you tell the people to turn aside from pursuing their brothers?” 27 Joab replied, “As surely as God lives, if you had not said this, it would have been morning before the people would have abandoned pursuit[b] of their brothers.” 28 Then Joab blew the ram’s horn and all the people stopped in their tracks.[c] They stopped chasing Israel and ceased fighting.[d] 29 Abner and his men went through the rift valley[e] all that night. They crossed the Jordan River[f] and went through the whole region of Bitron[g] and came to Mahanaim.
30 Now Joab returned from chasing Abner and assembled all the people. Nineteen of David’s soldiers were missing, in addition to Asahel. 31 But David’s soldiers had slaughtered the Benjaminites and Abner’s men—in all, 360 men had died! 32 They took Asahel’s body and buried him in his father’s tomb at Bethlehem. Joab and his men then traveled all that night and reached Hebron by dawn.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Samuel 2:25 tn Heb “were gathered together.”
- 2 Samuel 2:27 tn The Hebrew verb נַעֲלָה (naʿalah) used here is the Niphal perfect third person masculine singular of עָלָה (ʿalah, “to go up”). In the Niphal this verb “is used idiomatically, of getting away from so as to abandon…especially of an army raising a siege…” (see S. R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text and the Topography of the Books of Samuel, 244).
- 2 Samuel 2:28 tn Heb “stood.”
- 2 Samuel 2:28 tn Heb “they no longer chased after Israel and they no longer fought.”
- 2 Samuel 2:29 sn The rift valley is a large geographic feature extending from Galilee to the Gulf of Aqaba. Here only a section of the Jordan Valley is in view.
- 2 Samuel 2:29 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
- 2 Samuel 2:29 tn Heb “and they went, all the Bitron.” The meaning of the Hebrew word “Bitron,” which is used only here in the OT, is disputed. The translation above follows BDB 144 s.v. בִּתְרוֹן in taking the word to be a proper name of an area east of the Jordan. A different understanding was advocated by W. R. Arnold, who took the word to refer to the forenoon or morning; a number of modern scholars and translations have adopted this view (cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV, CEV, NLT). See W. R. Arnold, “The Meaning of בתרון,” AJSL 28 (1911-1912): 274-83 and HALOT 167 s.v. In this case one could translate “and they traveled all morning long.”
2 Samuel 2:24-32
Amplified Bible
24 But Joab and Abishai [Asahel’s brothers] pursued Abner. When the sun was going down, they came to the hill of Ammah, which is in front of Giah on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon. 25 And the sons of [the tribe of] Benjamin gathered together behind Abner and became one troop, and took their stand on the top of a hill. 26 Then Abner called to Joab, “Must the sword devour forever? Do you not know that it will be bitter in the end? How long [will it be] before you tell the people to stop pursuing their brothers?” 27 Joab said, “As God lives, if you had not spoken, then the people certainly would have stopped pursuing their brothers in the morning.” 28 So Joab blew the trumpet; and all the people halted and no longer pursued Israel, nor did they fight anymore. 29 Then Abner and his men went through the Arabah (desert region) all that night, crossed the Jordan, went through Bithron and walked the whole morning and came to Mahanaim [where Ish-bosheth ruled Israel].
30 Joab returned from pursuing Abner; and when he had gathered all the people together, nineteen of David’s servants were missing, besides Asahel. 31 But the servants of David had struck down many of Benjamin and Abner’s men; so that three hundred and sixty men died. 32 And they picked up [the body of] Asahel and buried him in the tomb of his father in Bethlehem. Then Joab and his men walked all night and they arrived in Hebron at daybreak.
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