2 Samuel 3:28-34

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Samuel 3:33

The king lamented over Abner - This lamentation, though short, is very pathetic. It is a high strain of poetry; but the measure cannot be easily ascertained. Our own translation may be measured thus: - Died Abner as a fool dieth? Thy hands were not bound, Nor thy feet put into fetters. As a man falleth before the wicked. So hast thou fallen! Or thus: - Shall Abner die a death like to a villain's? Thy hands not bound, Nor were the fetters to thy feet applied. Like... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 3:22-30

( HEBRON .) The vengeance of Joab. [References: 1 . Among those who played a prominent part in David's reign the foremost man was his nephew Joab. He was possessed of great physical strength and daring, clear judgment and strong will, eminent military skill, and immense power over others; "a bold captain in bad times." With the ruder qualities of activity, courage, and implacable revenge, "he combined something of a more statesmanlike character, which brings him more nearly to a... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 3:28

I and my kingdom are guiltless. By this David means, not his royal house, but the people generally, who too often have to pay the penalty for the sins of their rulers (see 2 Samuel 21:1 ). Necessarily this is the case, wherever the crime is a state crime; but David protests that Abner's murder was a private crime, for which Joab and Abishai alone ought to suffer. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 3:29

Let it rest on the head of Joab. The Hebrew word is very strong, "Let it roll itself," or throw itself upon Joab's head. The force of the expression thus indicates the great excitement under which David was labouring; yet even so it was no slight matter to utter so bitter a curse upon a man so powerful, and whose military skill was so essential to the maintenance of his throne. To a man of David's strong sense of justice, it was a small matter that by Abner's murder the kingdom of the ten... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 3:30

Joab and Abishai his brother. Nothing is said of Abishai having taken part in the murder, but the words suggest that it was a premeditated act, and that Abishai was privy to it. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 3:31

David said to Joab. The excuse of the blood feud made it impossible for David to punish Joab further than by depriving him of his command; but he made him condemn his own deed by taking part in the public mourning for the man he had murdered. This mourning consisted in going in solemn procession, clad in sackcloth, before Abner's body, carried on a bier to the grave, while David followed as chief mourner; and the emphatic way in which he is called King David suggests the thought that he... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 3:31-35

( HEBRON .) David's lament over Abner. "As a fool dies should Abner die?— Thy bands unbound, Thy feet not set in fetters: As one falls before the wicked, thou didst fall!" On hearing of the death of Abner, David exhibited the same generous spirit as formerly at the death of Saul ( 2 Samuel 1:11 , 2 Samuel 1:12 ). 1 . He disclaimed (before his trusted servants, as afterwards, 2 Samuel 3:38 ) against having had any part therein; declaring, "I and my kingdom are... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 3:33

The king lamented . The word is the same as that used in 2 Samuel 1:17 . The word rendered "fool" is nabal (for which see 1 Samuel 25:25 ). The idea contained in the word is not that of mere silliness, but of worthlessness also; and thus in Psalms 14:1 we find that the nabal is also an atheist. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Samuel 3:34

Thy hands were not bound. Abner had been put to death by Joab for killing Asahel. But there had been no legal process. He had not been brought in fetters before a judge to be tried for the crime alleged, but murdered for private ends. And thus, "As a man falleth before the children of iniquity, so had he fallen," that is, by crime, and not by law. These words s re probably the refrain of the dirge, like those in 2 Samuel 1:19 , 2 Samuel 1:25 , 2 Samuel 1:27 , and were followed by the... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 2 Samuel 3:29

The curse of David proves that Joab was not justified as blood-revenger or Goel 2 Samuel 3:27 in taking away Abner’s life.That leaneth on a staff - Rather, a crutch. The phrase denotes one lame or infirm. For similar instances of hereditary disease and poverty as a punishment of great sin, see 1 Samuel 2:31-33, 1Sa 2:36; 2 Kings 5:27; John 9:2. read more

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