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2 Samuel 2:17

in 2 Samuel 2

The battle that day was intense, and Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by the servants of David.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And the battle was very sore that day; and Abner was beaten, and the men of Israel, before the servants of David.

KJV

And there was a very sore battle that day; and Abner was beaten, and the men of Israel, before the servants of David.

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This verse in 2 Samuel 2

Commentary

5 notes on this verse

This site's exposition

Abner and the men of Israel were defeated

The mock combat becomes a full battle, and Abner is beaten before the servants of David. It is the first defeat named in the war between the two houses. It sets the pattern 3:1 will state: David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Asahel, the brother of Joab and cousin-german to David, was one of the principal commanders of David's forces, and was famous for swiftness in running: he was as light of foot as a wild roe (

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

And there was a very sore battle that day,.... When the twenty four men fell together, and no decision could be made thereby, or any triumph on either side, both armies drew up in battle array, and fought very furiously: and Abner was beaten, and the men of Israel, before the servants of David; the army under him had the worst of it, and were routed, and obliged to flee before the army of David under the command of Joab.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saul's host took Ish-bosheth--Here was the establishment of a rival kingdom, which, however, would probably have had no existence but for Abner. Ish-bosheth--or "Esh-baal" (1Ch 8:33;

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

Neither side had the advantage in the combat of twelve a side; hence, the quarrel was fought out with great fierceness by the two armies, and the victory was won by David.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

On the verses either side of this one

The Plain of Swords. Yonasan translates the plain of Killing on account of the swords just like you say [in Scriptures] (Tehilim, 44) 2 Rashi is showing how the word צוּר, sharpness, is used in reference to a sword. "You also turned back the sharpness of his sword."
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on II Samuel 2:16:1, via Sefaria, The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 7 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

14 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַתְּהִ֧יand it was

    vatehiH1961 →3559 times

  • הַמִּלְחָמָ֛הthe battle

    hamilchamahH4421 →320 times

  • קָשָׁ֥הsevere

    kashahH7186 →

  • עַד־up to

    ʾad-H5704 →1261 times

  • מְאֹ֖דmuchness

    meodH3966 →300 times

  • בַּיּ֣וֹםon the day

    baiyomH3117 →2304 times

  • הַה֑וּא<the> that

    hahu'H1931 →1879 times

  • וַיִּנָּ֤גֶףand he was defeated

    vaiyinagefH5062 →49 times

  • אַבְנֵר֙Abner

    ʾavnerH74 →63 times

  • וְאַנְשֵׁ֣יand [the] men of

    veansheiH582 →566 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael

    yisraelH3478 →2507 times

  • לִפְנֵ֖י<to> before

    lifneiH6440 →2123 times

  • עַבְדֵ֥י[the] servants of

    ʾavdeiH5650 →799 times

  • דָוִֽד׃David

    davidH1732 →999 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

3 in all, six open

The walk

5 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    2 Samuel 3:1

    Now the war between the house of Saul and the house of David was protracted. And David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.

    it leads to

    • 1 Kings 14:30

      There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam throughout their days.

    • Proverbs 4:18–19

      The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday.

    • Job 8:7

      Though your beginnings were modest, your latter days will flourish.

    • Ephesians 6:12

      For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

    • Job 17:9

      Yet a righteous one holds to his way, and the one with clean hands grows stronger.

Where this verse is studied

About 2 Samuel

Combat between Soldiers of Ish-bosheth and David — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Combat between Soldiers of Ish-bosheth and David — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
2 Samuel: the study guide →Read 2 Samuel 2 →

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in 2 Samuel 2 →