II Samuel 3

שמואל ב׳ פרק ג׳

Section: נביאים · נביאים ראשונים | Book: II Samuel | Chapter: 3 of 24 | Day: 79 of 742

Date: May 1, 2026

קלאוד על הנ״ך

Chapter 3 spans the long arc from civil war to attempted reconciliation, and from reconciliation to murder. It opens with a single summary verse — “the war between the House of Shaul and the House of David was long-drawn-out; David kept growing stronger, while the House of Shaul grew weaker” — and closes with David weeping at the gate of Hebron over the corpse of Avner ben Ner. Between those two endpoints lies the chapter’s whole emotional and political journey: a kingdom that should have come together by negotiation has instead been baptized in fratricidal blood for a second time, and David, newly poised to inherit all of Israel, finds himself once again forced to dissociate publicly from a killing he did not order. The narrator’s framing in verses 1 and 39 — the kingdom growing in strength, the king confessing weakness — is one of the chapter’s many studied ironies.

The list of David’s six sons born at Hebron (verses 2-5) is placed where it is, Radak suggests, because the narrative is about to turn toward Avner’s defection and David’s ascent; the catalogue marks the foundation of David’s house at the moment the larger House of Israel is about to come to him. Each name carries narrative weight: Amnon, the firstborn, will violate Tamar; Avshalom, the third, will rebel and die; Adoniyah, the fourth, will attempt to seize the throne in David’s old age. The narrator is naming the dramatis personae of every domestic catastrophe to come. Rashi and Radak preserve the rabbinic reading that “Kil’av” (verse 3) is so called because his face was made to resemble David’s exactly, in order to silence those who whispered that Avigail was already pregnant by Naval when David married her. Metzudat David’s gloss on Eglah as “wife of David” — emphasized in the Hebrew construct — supports the midrashic identification of Eglah with Michal, the cherished wife. The list quietly reminds the reader that David, while ruling only Yehudah, is already establishing a dynasty.

The break between Avner and Ish-Boshet (verses 6-11) is the political pivot of the chapter. Ish-Boshet accuses Avner of taking Ritzpah, Shaul’s concubine, and the accusation is loaded: as Rashi and Radak both explain, the widow or concubine of a king is forbidden to a commoner because to take her is to lay claim to the throne. (The same logic will later govern the story of Avshalom and David’s concubines, and the story of Adoniyah’s request for Avishag.) Whether or not Avner actually slept with Ritzpah is not the narrator’s concern; what matters is that Ish-Boshet has finally found the courage to challenge his general, and Avner explodes. His outburst — “Am I a dog’s head, of all things, who belongs to Yehudah?” — mocks Ish-Boshet’s ingratitude with bitter sarcasm, and concludes with an oath that flips the entire political map: as God swore to David, so shall I now do for him, transferring the kingdom from the House of Shaul and establishing David’s throne over Israel and Yehudah from Dan to Be’er Sheva. Ish-Boshet, the text says with devastating brevity, could not say a word in reply, “because he feared him.” The puppet has finally tried to pull on his strings, and the puppeteer has cut them.

Avner’s negotiation with David proceeds through three carefully orchestrated stages. First the messengers, with the cryptic oath formula “to whom does the land belong?” (verse 12) — a phrase Rashi and Metzudat David read as an oath by the One to whom the earth belongs. Then David’s precondition: the return of Michal bat Shaul, his wife, taken from him during Shaul’s lifetime and given to Paltiel ben Layish (verses 13-16). The brief image of Paltiel walking weeping behind Michal as far as Bachurim, until Avner curtly orders him to turn back, is one of Tanakh’s most piercing minor portraits; Rashi, citing Sanhedrin, explains his tears as mourning for the mitzvah he had observed for years — placing a sword in the bed between himself and Michal so as never to touch another man’s wife. Then Avner’s diplomatic mission to the elders of Israel and to Binyamin (verses 17-19), where he retroactively reframes their long-standing desire for David’s kingship as the divine plan they had recognized all along. Radak observes the political subtlety here: Avner himself had been the obstacle, but he now presents himself as the agent of a consensus that had already formed beneath his feet. The feast at Hebron (verse 20), the dismissal “in peace” repeated three times in verses 21-23, and Avner’s parting promise to gather all Israel to David, all signal that the long civil war is about to end without further bloodshed.

Yoav’s return from a raid breaks the moment open. His confrontation with David (verses 24-25) is insubordinate in a way no commander should be permitted — “What have you done? Avner came to deceive you, to spy out your every move” — and his subsequent action is worse. Without David’s knowledge (“ve-David lo yada”), Yoav sends messengers to recall Avner from Bor ha-Sirah and assassinates him at the gate of Hebron, striking him in the stomach in cold imitation of Avner’s own killing of Asael. Rashi (citing Sanhedrin 49a) reads “el tokh ha-sha’ar” as a courtroom — Yoav summoned Avner under pretense of a legal proceeding for the blood of Asael — but the narrator’s verdict is unambiguous: the killing is “for the blood of Asael his brother” combined with the political fact that Avner was now Yoav’s rival as David’s chief commander. Radak preserves the rabbinic give-and-take: Avner had pleaded with Asael and struck him only with the butt of the spear, and Yoav’s response was that Avner could have aimed for a non-vital limb. The legal status of the killing is contested — there were no witnesses, no warning — and as the chapter’s last verse will admit, that very technicality is what shields Yoav. David’s elaborate public dissociation (verses 28-39) is the longest single sequence in the chapter and bears the weight of his political survival. He pronounces a curse on Yoav’s house — a curse Radak says was fulfilled in five generations of Davidic descendants who suffered in those exact ways. He orders Yoav and the troops to rend their clothes and lead the funeral procession in sackcloth. He himself walks behind the bier. He weeps aloud at the grave. He chants a kinah whose opening line, “Should Avner have died as a naval dies?” — a churl’s death, Rashi says, a death by sword without battle — announces with poetic precision that this was murder, not justice. He fasts publicly until sunset. The narrator twice records the people’s perception (verses 36-37): they recognized that the killing was not of David’s making, that “it was not the king’s will to kill Avner ben Ner.” David’s closing line is one of the great political confessions of Tanakh: “Anokhi ha-yom rakh u-mashu’ach melekh, ve-ha-anashim ha-eleh bnei Tzeruyah kashim mimeni” — I am still tender today, though anointed king, and these men, the sons of Tzeruyah, are too hard for me. Targum Yonatan glosses “rakh” as hedyot, a commoner who has only just been elevated; Metzudat David explains that since the killing lacked witnesses and warning, no court could execute Yoav, and David was forced to consign the matter to heaven. The line foreshadows the rest of David’s reign. The sons of Tzeruyah will repeatedly do what David cannot bring himself to forbid, and the unfinished business of Avner’s blood will still be on David’s lips in his deathbed instructions to Shlomo a generation later.

פרק ג׳ · Chapter 3

פסוק א׳ · Verse 1

Hebrew:

וַתְּהִ֤י הַמִּלְחָמָה֙ אֲרֻכָּ֔ה בֵּ֚ין בֵּ֣ית שָׁא֔וּל וּבֵ֖ין בֵּ֣ית דָּוִ֑ד וְדָוִד֙ הֹלֵ֣ךְ וְחָזֵ֔ק וּבֵ֥ית שָׁא֖וּל הֹלְכִ֥ים וְדַלִּֽים׃ {ס}        

English:

The war between the House of Saul and the House of David was long-drawn-out; but David kept growing stronger, while the House of Saul grew weaker.

פסוק ב׳ · Verse 2

Hebrew:

(וילדו) [וַיִּוָּלְד֧וּ] לְדָוִ֛ד בָּנִ֖ים בְּחֶבְר֑וֹן וַיְהִ֤י בְכוֹרוֹ֙ אַמְנ֔וֹן לַאֲחִינֹ֖עַם הַיִּזְרְעֵאלִֽת׃

English:

aThe list of David’s wives and sons in vv. 2–5 differs somewhat from the parallel list in 1 Chron. 3.1–3. The narrative in v. 1 is resumed in v. 6. Sons were born to David in Hebron: His first-born was Amnon, by Ahinoam of Jezreel;

פסוק ג׳ · Verse 3

Hebrew:

וּמִשְׁנֵ֣הוּ כִלְאָ֔ב (לאביגל) [לַאֲבִיגַ֕יִל] אֵ֖שֶׁת נָבָ֣ל הַֽכַּרְמְלִ֑י וְהַשְּׁלִשִׁי֙ אַבְשָׁל֣וֹם בֶּֽן־מַעֲכָ֔ה בַּת־תַּלְמַ֖י מֶ֥לֶךְ גְּשֽׁוּר׃

English:

his second was Chileab, by Abigail wife of Nabal the Carmelite; the third was Absalom son of Maacah, daughter of King Talmai of Geshur;

פסוק ד׳ · Verse 4

Hebrew:

וְהָרְבִיעִ֖י אֲדֹנִיָּ֣ה בֶן־חַגִּ֑ית וְהַחֲמִישִׁ֖י שְׁפַטְיָ֥ה בֶן־אֲבִיטָֽל׃

English:

the fourth was Adonijah son of Haggith; the fifth was Shephatiah son of Abital;

פסוק ה׳ · Verse 5

Hebrew:

וְהַשִּׁשִּׁ֣י יִתְרְעָ֔ם לְעֶגְלָ֖ה אֵ֣שֶׁת דָּוִ֑ד אֵ֛לֶּה יֻלְּד֥וּ לְדָוִ֖ד בְּחֶבְרֽוֹן׃ {פ}

English:

and the sixth was Ithream, by David’s wife Eglah. These were born to David in Hebron.

פסוק ו׳ · Verse 6

Hebrew:

וַיְהִ֗י בִּֽהְיוֹת֙ הַמִּלְחָמָ֔ה בֵּ֚ין בֵּ֣ית שָׁא֔וּל וּבֵ֖ין בֵּ֣ית דָּוִ֑ד וְאַבְנֵ֛ר הָיָ֥ה מִתְחַזֵּ֖ק בְּבֵ֥ית שָׁאֽוּל׃

English:

During the war between the House of Saul and the House of David, Abner supported the House of Saul.

פסוק ז׳ · Verse 7

Hebrew:

וּלְשָׁא֣וּל פִּלֶ֔גֶשׁ וּשְׁמָ֖הּ רִצְפָּ֣ה בַת־אַיָּ֑ה וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ אֶל־אַבְנֵ֔ר מַדּ֥וּעַ בָּ֖אתָה אֶל־פִּילֶ֥גֶשׁ אָבִֽי׃

English:

Now Saul had a concubine named Rizpah, daughter of Aiah; and [Ish-bosheth] said to Abner, “Why have you lain with my father’s concubine?”

פסוק ח׳ · Verse 8

Hebrew:

וַיִּ֩חַר֩ לְאַבְנֵ֨ר מְאֹ֜ד עַל־דִּבְרֵ֣י אִֽישׁ־בֹּ֗שֶׁת וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ הֲרֹ֨אשׁ כֶּ֥לֶב אָנֹ֘כִי֮ אֲשֶׁ֣ר לִֽיהוּדָה֒ הַיּ֨וֹם אֶעֱשֶׂה־חֶ֜סֶד עִם־בֵּ֣ית ׀ שָׁא֣וּל אָבִ֗יךָ אֶל־אֶחָיו֙ וְאֶל־מֵ֣רֵעֵ֔הוּ וְלֹ֥א הִמְצִיתִ֖ךָ בְּיַד־דָּוִ֑ד וַתִּפְקֹ֥ד עָלַ֛י עֲוֺ֥ן הָאִשָּׁ֖ה הַיּֽוֹם׃ {ס}        

English:

Abner was very upset by what Ish-bosheth said, and he replied, “Am I a dog’s head from Judah?bfrom Judah Meaning of Heb. uncertain. Here I have been loyally serving the House of your father Saul and his kin and friends, and I have not betrayed you into the hands of David; yet this day—over this woman—you reproach me!

פסוק ט׳ · Verse 9

Hebrew:

כֹּֽה־יַעֲשֶׂ֤ה אֱלֹהִים֙ לְאַבְנֵ֔ר וְכֹ֖ה יֹסִ֣יף ל֑וֹ כִּ֗י כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר נִשְׁבַּ֤ע יְהֹוָה֙ לְדָוִ֔ד כִּי־כֵ֖ן אֶעֱשֶׂה־לּֽוֹ׃

English:

May God do thus and more to Abner if I do not do for David as GOD swore to him—

פסוק י״ · Verse 10

Hebrew:

לְהַעֲבִ֥יר הַמַּמְלָכָ֖ה מִבֵּ֣ית שָׁא֑וּל וּלְהָקִ֞ים אֶת־כִּסֵּ֣א דָוִ֗ד עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ וְעַל־יְהוּדָ֔ה מִדָּ֖ן וְעַד־בְּאֵ֥ר שָֽׁבַע׃

English:

to transfer the kingship from the House of Saul, and to establish the throne of David over Israel and Judah from Dan to Beer-sheba.”

פסוק י״א · Verse 11

Hebrew:

וְלֹא־יָכֹ֣ל ע֔וֹד לְהָשִׁ֥יב אֶת־אַבְנֵ֖ר דָּבָ֑ר מִיִּרְאָת֖וֹ אֹתֽוֹ׃ {ס}        

English:

[Ish-bosheth] could say nothing more in reply to Abner, because he was afraid of him.

פסוק י״ב · Verse 12

Hebrew:

וַיִּשְׁלַח֩ אַבְנֵ֨ר מַלְאָכִ֧ים ׀ אֶל־דָּוִ֛ד ��ַּחְתָּ֥ו לֵאמֹ֖ר לְמִי־אָ֑רֶץ לֵאמֹ֗ר כׇּרְתָ֤ה בְרִֽיתְךָ֙ אִתִּ֔י וְהִנֵּה֙ יָדִ֣י עִמָּ֔ךְ לְהָסֵ֥ב אֵלֶ֖יךָ אֶת־כׇּל־יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃

English:

Abner immediatelycimmediately Meaning of Heb. uncertain. sent messengers to David, saying, “To whom shall the land belong?” and to say [further],d”To whom shall the land belong?” and to say [further] Meaning of Heb. uncertain. “Make a pact with me, and I will help you and bring all Israel over to your side.”

פסוק י״ג · Verse 13

Hebrew:

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר ט֔וֹב אֲנִ֕י אֶכְרֹ֥ת אִתְּךָ֖ בְּרִ֑ית אַ֣ךְ דָּבָ֣ר אֶחָ֡ד אָנֹכִי֩ שֹׁאֵ֨ל מֵאִתְּךָ֤ לֵאמֹר֙ לֹא־תִרְאֶ֣ה אֶת־פָּנַ֔י כִּ֣י ׀ אִם־לִפְנֵ֣י הֱבִיאֲךָ֗ אֵ֚ת מִיכַ֣ל בַּת־שָׁא֔וּל בְּבֹאֲךָ֖ לִרְא֥וֹת אֶת־פָּנָֽי׃ {ס}        

English:

He replied, “Good; I will make a pact with you. But I make one demand upon you: Do not appear before me unless you bring Michal daughter of Saul when you come before me.”

פסוק י״ד · Verse 14

Hebrew:

וַיִּשְׁלַ֤ח דָּוִד֙ מַלְאָכִ֔ים אֶל־אִֽישׁ־בֹּ֥שֶׁת בֶּן־שָׁא֖וּל לֵאמֹ֑ר תְּנָ֤ה אֶת־אִשְׁתִּי֙ אֶת־מִיכַ֔ל אֲשֶׁר֙ אֵרַ֣שְׂתִּי לִ֔י בְּמֵאָ֖ה עׇרְל֥וֹת פְּלִשְׁתִּֽים׃

English:

David also sent messengers to Ish-bosheth son of Saul, to say, “Give me my wife Michal, for whom I paid the bride-priceebride-price Cf. Exod. 22.15; Deut. 20.7; 22.23–29. of one hundred Philistine foreskins.”fone hundred Philistine foreskins Cf. 1 Sam. 18.27 (where the number is given as “two hundred”).

פסוק ט״ו · Verse 15

Hebrew:

וַיִּשְׁלַח֙ אִ֣ישׁ בֹּ֔שֶׁת וַיִּקָּחֶ֖הָ מֵ֣עִֽם אִ֑ישׁ מֵעִ֖ם פַּלְטִיאֵ֥ל בֶּן־[לָֽיִשׁ] (לוש)׃

English:

So Ish-bosheth sent and had her taken away from [her] husband,g[her] husband As in the Septuagint, Vulgate, and Targum. Or “the other man involved.” Cf. 1 Sam. 25.44. Paltiel son of Laish.

פסוק ט״ז · Verse 16

Hebrew:

וַיֵּ֨לֶךְ אִתָּ֜הּ אִישָׁ֗הּ הָל֧וֹךְ וּבָכֹ֛ה אַחֲרֶ֖יהָ עַד־בַּחֻרִ֑ים וַיֹּ֨אמֶר אֵלָ֥יו אַבְנֵ֛ר לֵ֥ךְ שׁ֖וּב וַיָּשֹֽׁב׃

English:

Her husband walked with her as far as Bahurim, weeping as he followed her; then Abner ordered him to turn back, and he went back.

פסוק י״ז · Verse 17

Hebrew:

וּדְבַר־אַבְנֵ֣ר הָיָ֔ה עִם־זִקְנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לֵאמֹ֑ר גַּם־תְּמוֹל֙ גַּם־שִׁלְשֹׁ֔ם הֱיִיתֶ֞ם מְבַקְשִׁ֧ים אֶת־דָּוִ֛ד לְמֶ֖לֶךְ עֲלֵיכֶֽם׃

English:

Abner had conferred with the elders of Israel, saying, “You have wanted David to be king over you all along.

פסוק י״ח · Verse 18

Hebrew:

וְעַתָּ֖ה עֲשׂ֑וּ כִּ֣י יְה��וָ֗ה אָמַ֤ר אֶל־דָּוִד֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר בְּיַ֣ד ׀ דָּוִ֣ד עַבְדִּ֗י הוֹשִׁ֜יעַ אֶת־עַמִּ֤י יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ מִיַּ֣ד פְּלִשְׁתִּ֔ים וּמִיַּ֖ד כׇּל־אֹיְבֵיהֶֽם׃

English:

Now act! For GOD has said concerning David: I will deliverhI will deliver So many mss. and versions; most mss. and editions have “[God] has delivered.” My people Israel from the hands of the Philistines and all its other enemies through My servant David.”

פסוק י״ט · Verse 19

Hebrew:

וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר גַּם־אַבְנֵ֖ר בְּאׇזְנֵ֣י בִנְיָמִ֑ין וַיֵּ֣לֶךְ גַּם־אַבְנֵ֗ר לְדַבֵּ֞ר בְּאׇזְנֵ֤י דָוִד֙ בְּחֶבְר֔וֹן אֵ֤ת כׇּל־אֲשֶׁר־טוֹב֙ בְּעֵינֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וּבְעֵינֵ֖י כׇּל־בֵּ֥ית בִּנְיָמִֽן׃

English:

Abner also talked with the Benjaminites; then Abner went and informed David in Hebron of all the wishes of Israel and of the whole House of Benjamin.

פסוק כ׳ · Verse 20

Hebrew:

וַיָּבֹ֨א אַבְנֵ֤ר אֶל־דָּוִד֙ חֶבְר֔וֹן וְאִתּ֖וֹ עֶשְׂרִ֣ים אֲנָשִׁ֑ים וַיַּ֨עַשׂ דָּוִ֧ד לְאַבְנֵ֛ר וְלַאֲנָשִׁ֥ים אֲשֶׁר־אִתּ֖וֹ מִשְׁתֶּֽה׃

English:

When Abner came to David in Hebron, accompanied by twenty men, David made a feast for Abner and the men with him.

פסוק כ״א · Verse 21

Hebrew:

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אַבְנֵ֣ר אֶל־דָּוִ֡ד אָק֣וּמָה ׀ וְֽאֵלֵ֡כָה וְאֶקְבְּצָה֩ אֶל־אֲדֹנִ֨י הַמֶּ֜לֶךְ אֶת־כׇּל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל וְיִכְרְת֤וּ אִתְּךָ֙ בְּרִ֔ית וּמָ֣לַכְתָּ֔ בְּכֹ֥ל אֲשֶׁר־תְּאַוֶּ֖ה נַפְשֶׁ֑ךָ וַיְשַׁלַּ֥ח דָּוִ֛ד אֶת־אַבְנֵ֖ר וַיֵּ֥לֶךְ בְּשָׁלֽוֹם׃

English:

Abner said to David, “Now I will go and rally all Israel to Your Majesty. They will make a pact with you, and you can reign over all that your heart desires.” And David dismissed Abner, who went away unharmed.

פסוק כ״ב · Verse 22

Hebrew:

וְהִנֵּה֩ עַבְדֵ֨י דָוִ֤ד וְיוֹאָב֙ בָּ֣א מֵֽהַגְּד֔וּד וְשָׁלָ֥ל רָ֖ב עִמָּ֣ם הֵבִ֑יאוּ וְאַבְנֵ֗ר אֵינֶ֤נּוּ עִם־דָּוִד֙ בְּחֶבְר֔וֹן כִּ֥י שִׁלְּח֖וֹ וַיֵּ֥לֶךְ בְּשָׁלֽוֹם׃

English:

Just then David’s soldiers and Joab returned from a raid, bringing much plunder with them; Abner was no longer with David in Hebron, for he had been dismissed and had gone away unharmed.

פסוק כ״ג · Verse 23

Hebrew:

וְיוֹאָ֛ב וְכׇל־הַצָּבָ֥א אֲשֶׁר־אִתּ֖וֹ בָּ֑אוּ וַיַּגִּ֤דוּ לְיוֹאָב֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר בָּֽא־אַבְנֵ֤ר בֶּן־נֵר֙ אֶל־הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ וַֽיְשַׁלְּחֵ֖הוּ וַיֵּ֥לֶךְ בְּשָׁלֽוֹם׃

English:

When Joab and the whole force with him arrived, Joab was told that Abner son of Ner had come to the king, had been dismissed by him, and had gone away unharmed.

פסוק כ״ד · Verse 24

Hebrew:

וַיָּבֹ֤א יוֹאָב֙ אֶל־הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ וַיֹּ֖אמֶר מֶ֣ה עָשִׂ֑יתָה הִנֵּה־בָ֤א אַבְנֵר֙ אֵלֶ֔יךָ לָמָּה־זֶּ֥ה שִׁלַּחְתּ֖וֹ וַיֵּ֥לֶךְ הָלֽוֹךְ׃

English:

Joab went to the king and said, “What have you done? Here Abner came to you; why did you let him go? Now he has gotten away!

פסוק כ״ה · Verse 25

Hebrew:

יָדַ֙עְתָּ֙ אֶת־אַבְנֵ֣ר בֶּן־נֵ֔ר כִּ֥י לְפַתֹּתְךָ֖ בָּ֑א וְלָדַ֜עַת אֶת־מוֹצָֽאֲךָ֙ וְאֶת־[מ֣וֹבָאֶ֔ךָ] (מבואך) וְלָדַ֕עַת אֵ֛�� כׇּל־אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַתָּ֖ה עֹשֶֽׂה׃

English:

Don’t you know that Abner son of Ner came only to deceive you, to learn your comings and goings and to find out all that you are planning?”

פסוק כ״ו · Verse 26

Hebrew:

וַיֵּצֵ֤א יוֹאָב֙ מֵעִ֣ם דָּוִ֔ד וַיִּשְׁלַ֤ח מַלְאָכִים֙ אַחֲרֵ֣י אַבְנֵ֔ר וַיָּשִׁ֥בוּ אֹת֖וֹ מִבּ֣וֹר הַסִּרָ֑ה וְדָוִ֖ד לֹ֥א יָדָֽע׃

English:

Joab left David and sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the cistern of Sirah; but David knew nothing about it.

פסוק כ״ז · Verse 27

Hebrew:

וַיָּ֤שׇׁב אַבְנֵר֙ חֶבְר֔וֹן וַיַּטֵּ֤הוּ יוֹאָב֙ אֶל־תּ֣וֹךְ הַשַּׁ֔עַר לְדַבֵּ֥ר אִתּ֖וֹ בַּשֶּׁ֑לִי וַיַּכֵּ֤הוּ שָׁם֙ הַחֹ֔מֶשׁ וַיָּ֕מׇת בְּדַ֖ם עֲשָׂהאֵ֥ל אָחִֽיו׃

English:

When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside within the gate to talk to him privately;iprivately Meaning of Heb. uncertain. there he struck him in the belly. Thus [Abner] died for shedding the blood of Asahel, Joab’sjJoab’s Heb. “his.” brother.

פסוק כ״ח · Verse 28

Hebrew:

וַיִּשְׁמַ֤ע דָּוִד֙ מֵאַ֣חֲרֵי כֵ֔ן וַיֹּ֗אמֶר נָקִ֨י אָנֹכִ֧י וּמַמְלַכְתִּ֛י מֵעִ֥ם יְהֹוָ֖ה עַד־עוֹלָ֑ם מִדְּמֵ֖י אַבְנֵ֥ר בֶּן־נֵֽר׃

English:

Afterward, when David heard of it, he said, “Both I and my kingdom are forever innocent before GOD of shedding the blood of Abner son of Ner.

פסוק כ״ט · Verse 29

Hebrew:

יָחֻ֙לוּ֙ עַל־רֹ֣אשׁ יוֹאָ֔ב וְאֶ֖ל כׇּל־בֵּ֣ית אָבִ֑יו וְֽאַל־יִכָּרֵ֣ת מִבֵּ֣ית יוֹאָ֡ב זָ֠ב וּמְצֹרָ֞ע וּמַחֲזִ֥יק בַּפֶּ֛לֶךְ וְנֹפֵ֥ל בַּחֶ֖רֶב וַחֲסַר־לָֽחֶם׃

English:

May [the guilt] fall upon the head of Joab and all his father’s house. May the house of Joab never be without someone suffering from a discharge or an eruption, or a male who handles the spindle,ka male who handles the spindle I.e., doing only what would have been viewed as women’s work. or one slain by the sword, or one lacking bread.”—

פסוק ל׳ · Verse 30

Hebrew:

וְיוֹאָב֙ וַאֲבִישַׁ֣י אָחִ֔יו הָרְג֖וּ לְאַבְנֵ֑ר עַל֩ אֲשֶׁ֨ר הֵמִ֜ית אֶת־עֲשָׂהאֵ֧ל אֲחִיהֶ֛ם בְּגִבְע֖וֹן בַּמִּלְחָמָֽה׃ {ס}        

English:

Now Joab and his brother Abishai had killed Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel during the battle at Gibeon.—

פסוק ל״א · Verse 31

Hebrew:

וַיֹּ֩אמֶר֩ דָּוִ֨ד אֶל־יוֹאָ֜ב וְאֶל־כׇּל־הָעָ֣ם אֲשֶׁר־אִתּ֗וֹ קִרְע֤וּ בִגְדֵיכֶם֙ וְחִגְר֣וּ שַׂקִּ֔ים וְסִפְד֖וּ לִפְנֵ֣י אַבְנֵ֑ר וְהַמֶּ֣לֶךְ דָּוִ֔ד הֹלֵ֖ךְ אַחֲרֵ֥י הַמִּטָּֽה׃

English:

David then ordered Joab and all the troops with him to rend their clothes, gird on sackcloth, and make lament before Abner;lbefore Abner I.e., in the procession for Abner. and King David himself walked behind the bier.

פסוק ל״ב · Verse 32

Hebrew:

וַיִּקְבְּר֥וּ אֶת־אַבְנֵ֖ר בְּחֶבְר֑וֹן וַיִּשָּׂ֧א הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ אֶת־קוֹל֗וֹ וַיֵּבְךְּ֙ אֶל־קֶ֣בֶר אַבְנֵ֔ר וַיִּבְכּ֖וּ כׇּל־הָעָֽם׃ {ס}        

English:

And so they buried Abner at Hebron; the king wept aloud by Abner’s grave, and all the troops wept.

פסוק ל״ג · Verse 33

Hebrew:

וַיְקֹנֵ֥ן הַמֶּ֛לֶךְ אֶל־אַבְנֵ֖ר וַיֹּאמַ֑ר הַכְּמ֥וֹת נָבָ֖ל יָמ֥וּת אַבְנֵֽר׃

English:

And the king intoned this dirge over Abner,“Should Abner have died the death of a churl?

פסוק ל״ד · Verse 34

Hebrew:

יָדֶ֣ךָ לֹא־אֲסֻר֗וֹת וְרַגְלֶ֙יךָ֙ לֹא־לִנְחֻשְׁתַּ֣יִם הֻגָּ֔שׁוּ כִּנְפ֛וֹל לִפְנֵ֥י בְנֵֽי־עַוְלָ֖ה נָפָ֑לְתָּ וַיֹּסִ֥פוּ כׇל־הָעָ֖ם לִבְכּ֥וֹת עָלָֽיו׃

English:

Your hands were not bound,Your feet were not put in fetters;But you fell as one fallsBefore treacherous men!”And all the troops continued to weep over him.

פסוק ל״ה · Verse 35

Hebrew:

וַיָּבֹ֣א כׇל־הָעָ֗ם לְהַבְר֧וֹת אֶת־דָּוִ֛ד לֶ֖חֶם בְּע֣וֹד הַיּ֑וֹם וַיִּשָּׁבַ֨ע דָּוִ֜ד לֵאמֹ֗ר כֹּ֣ה יַֽעֲשֶׂה־לִּ֤י אֱלֹהִים֙ וְכֹ֣ה יֹסִ֔יף כִּ֣י אִם־לִפְנֵ֧י בוֹא־הַשֶּׁ֛מֶשׁ אֶטְעַם־לֶ֖חֶם א֥וֹ כׇל־מְאֽוּמָה׃

English:

All the troops came to urge David to eat something while it was still day; but David swore, “May God do thus to me and more if I eat bread or anything else before sundown.”

פסוק ל״ו · Verse 36

Hebrew:

וְכׇל־הָעָ֣ם הִכִּ֔ירוּ וַיִּיטַ֖ב בְּעֵינֵיהֶ֑ם כְּכֹל֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשָׂ֣ה הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ בְּעֵינֵ֥י כׇל־הָעָ֖ם טֽוֹב׃

English:

All the troops took note of itmtook note of it Meaning of Heb. uncertain. and approved, just as all the troops approved everything else the king did.njust as … king did Meaning of Heb. uncertain.

פסוק ל״ז · Verse 37

Hebrew:

וַיֵּדְע֧וּ כׇל־הָעָ֛ם וְכׇל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֑וּא כִּ֣י לֹ֤א הָֽיְתָה֙ מֵֽהַמֶּ֔לֶךְ לְהָמִ֖ית אֶת־אַבְנֵ֥ר בֶּן־נֵֽר׃ {ס}        

English:

That day all the troops and all Israel knew that it was not by the king’s will that Abner son of Ner was killed.

פסוק ל״ח · Verse 38

Hebrew:

וַיֹּ֥אמֶר הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ אֶל־עֲבָדָ֑יו הֲל֣וֹא תֵֽדְע֔וּ כִּֽי־שַׂ֣ר וְגָד֗וֹל נָפַ֛ל הַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּ֖ה בְּיִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃

English:

And the king said to his soldiers, “You well know that a prince, a great man in Israel, has fallen this day.

פסוק ל״ט · Verse 39

Hebrew:

וְאָנֹכִ֨י הַיּ֥וֹם רַךְ֙ וּמָשׁ֣וּחַ מֶ֔לֶךְ וְהָאֲנָשִׁ֥ים הָאֵ֛לֶּה בְּנֵ֥י צְרוּיָ֖ה קָשִׁ֣ים מִמֶּ֑נִּי יְשַׁלֵּ֧ם יְהֹוָ֛ה לְעֹשֵׂ֥ה הָרָעָ֖ה כְּרָעָתֽוֹ׃ {פ}

English:

And today I am weak, even though anointed king; those involved, the sons of Zeruiah, are too savage for me. May GOD requite the wicked for their wickedness!”

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