2 Samuel 2:14
in 2 Samuel 2Then Abner said to Joab, “Let us have the young men get up and compete before us.” “Let them get up,” Joab replied.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men, I pray thee, arise and play before us. And Joab said, Let them arise.
KJV
And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men now arise, and play before us. And Joab said, Let them arise.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 2
Commentary
5 notes on this verseLet the young men - play before us - This was diabolical play, where each man thrust his sword into the body of the other, so that the twenty-four (twelve on each side) fell down dead together! But this was the signal for that sanguinary skirmish which immediately took place.
This site's exposition
Let the young men now arise, and play before us
on 2 Samuel 2:14-16
Abner proposes that the young men arise and play before them, and Joab agrees, but the game is twelve against twelve with swords, and every pair falls together, each man's blade in his fellow's side. The place is named Helkath-hazzurim from what happened there, a field remembered by its dead rather than by any victor. What began as a contest between champions ends as mutual slaughter with no survivor on either side of the pairs.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
He speaks like a vain-glorious and cruel man, and a soldier of fortune, that esteemed it a sport to see men wounding and killing one another. So this he designed, partly for their mutual recreation and trial of skill; and partly, that by this occasion they might be engaged in a battle. But he is unworthy the name of a man, who is thus prodigal of human blood.
He meant, "Let them fight before us," when he said, "Let them play before us." Fools thus make a mock at sin. but he is unworthy the name of a man that can be thus prodigal of human blood, that can thus throw about firebrands, arrows, and death, and say, Am not I in sport?
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Abner said to Joab, Let the young men now arise, and play before us--Some think that the proposal was only for an exhibition of a little tilting match for diversion.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אַבְנֵר֙ | ʾavner | Abner | H74 → | 63 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יוֹאָ֔ב | yoav | Joab | H3097 → | 144 times |
| יָק֤וּמוּ | yakumu | let them arise | H6965 → | 628 times |
| נָא֙ | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| הַנְּעָרִ֔ים | hanearim | the young men | H5288 → | 239 times |
| וִֽישַׂחֲק֖וּ | visachaku | and let them play | H7832 → | 36 times |
| לְפָנֵ֑ינוּ | lefaneinu | <to> before us | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| וַיֹּ֥אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יוֹאָ֖ב | yoav | Joab | H3097 → | 144 times |
| יָקֻֽמוּ׃ | yakumu | let them arise | H6965 → | 628 times |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אַבְנֵר֙Abner
ʾavnerH74 →63 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יוֹאָ֔בJoab
yoavH3097 →144 times
יָק֤וּמוּlet them arise
yakumuH6965 →628 times
נָא֙please
na'H4994 →404 times
הַנְּעָרִ֔יםthe young men
hanearimH5288 →239 times
וִֽישַׂחֲק֖וּand let them play
visachakuH7832 →36 times
לְפָנֵ֑ינוּ<to> before us
lefaneinuH6440 →2123 times
וַיֹּ֥אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
יוֹאָ֖בJoab
yoavH3097 →144 times
יָקֻֽמוּ׃let them arise
yakumuH6965 →628 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
Proverbs 25:8do not bring hastily to court. Otherwise, what will you do in the end when your neighbor puts you to shame?
it leads to
- Matthew 5:25
Reconcile quickly with your adversary, while you are still on the way to court. Otherwise, he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and…
- Proverbs 17:14
To start a quarrel is to release a flood; so abandon the dispute before it breaks out.
- Proverbs 18:6
A fool’s lips bring him strife, and his mouth invites a beating.
- Proverbs 14:12
There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.
- Matthew 5:25
Through
Proverbs 20:18Set plans by consultation, and wage war under sound guidance.
it leads to
- Proverbs 24:6
Only with sound guidance should you wage war, and victory lies in a multitude of counselors.
- Luke 14:31
Or what king on his way to war with another king will not first sit down and consider whether he can engage with ten thousand men the one coming against him with twenty thousand?
- Proverbs 15:22
Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.
- Proverbs 24:6
Through
Proverbs 10:23The fool delights in shameful conduct, but a man of understanding has wisdom.
it leads to
- Proverbs 15:21
Folly is joy to one who lacks judgment, but a man of understanding walks a straight path.
- Proverbs 15:21
About 2 Samuel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.