Question 1

What did Abner call out to Joab from the hilltop (2 Samuel 2:25-26)?

Accepted Answer

With the Benjamites gathered around him on a hill, Abner called to Joab, asking whether the sword must keep killing forever, warning that it would end in bitterness, and asking how long before Joab told his troops to stop chasing their own brothers (2:25-26). Both armies were Israelites. Joab answered with an oath that if Abner had not spoken, the pursuit would have gone on until morning; then he sounded the horn, and the troops halted (2:27-28). The appeal recognized what Psalm 133:1 celebrates, that brothers should live in harmony, yet this was only a pause: the struggle between the two royal houses went on for a long time (3:1).

Question 2

What appeal did Abner make to Joab from the hilltop (2 Samuel 2:26)?

Accepted Answer

Abner asks whether the sword must devour without end and how long Joab will let his men pursue their brothers (2:26). The plea recognizes the fratricidal nature of the conflict, the opposite of the brotherly harmony of Psalm 133:1. Joab sounds the horn and halts the pursuit (2:27-28), but the conflict between Saul’s dynasty and David’s continues for a long time (3:1).

Question 3

True or False: In the fighting at Gibeon, Abner’s side lost far more men than David’s side (2 Samuel 2:30-31).

Accepted Answer

This is true. When Joab counted his troops, nineteen of David’s men were missing besides Asahel, while David’s men had killed 360 of the Benjamites with Abner (2:30-31). The battle had already been described as a defeat for Abner and Israel’s troops (2:17). The lopsided result points ahead to the next chapter, where David’s side keeps growing stronger and Saul’s keeps growing weaker (3:1), because the LORD was with David (5:10). Asahel was buried at Bethlehem in the tomb of his father, and Joab’s men returned to Hebron (2:32).

Question 4

True or False: The casualty figures at Gibeon show Abner’s forces suffered much heavier losses than David’s (2 Samuel 2:30-31).

Accepted Answer

This is true. David’s side lost nineteen men plus Asahel, while Abner’s side lost 360 Benjamites (2:30-31), confirming the defeat reported in 2:17. The outcome anticipates the pattern of 3:1, David strengthening and Saul’s house weakening, grounded in the LORD’s presence with David (5:10).

Question 5

Who made Ish-bosheth king over Israel, and where (2 Samuel 2:8-9)?

Accepted Answer

Abner, who had commanded Saul’s army and was a close relative of Saul (1 Samuel 14:50), took Ish-bosheth, one of Saul’s sons, moved him across to Mahanaim, and set him up as ruler of Gilead and the other tribes, over all Israel apart from Judah (2:8-10). The text says Abner made him king; it says nothing about the LORD choosing him. God had already rejected Saul and chosen David (1 Samuel 16:1), and Abner himself later admits that the LORD had sworn to give the kingdom to David (3:9-10). Ish-bosheth, then forty, reigned two years, while Judah followed David, who ruled from Hebron for seven and a half years (2:10-11).

Question 6

By whose action, and at what location, did Ish-bosheth become king over Israel (2 Samuel 2:8-9)?

Accepted Answer

Ish-bosheth’s kingship is Abner’s doing: Saul’s army commander and kinsman (1 Samuel 14:50) installs him at Mahanaim over Israel apart from Judah (2:8-9); he reigns two years, while David rules Judah from Hebron for seven and a half years (2:10-11). Nothing in the text attributes this to the LORD’s choice, in contrast to God’s explicit selection of David (1 Samuel 16:1). Abner later concedes that the LORD had sworn the kingdom to David (3:9-10), so his appointment of Ish-bosheth stood against God’s purpose that Abner himself acknowledged.

Question 7

What reason did Abner give when urging Asahel to stop chasing him (2 Samuel 2:22)?

Accepted Answer

Abner first told Asahel to turn aside and strip the gear from some other young soldier instead (2:21). When Asahel kept coming, Abner warned him again, asking why he should have to strike Asahel down and how he could then look Joab, Asahel’s brother, in the face (2:22). Abner foresaw that killing Asahel would make an enemy of Joab. His fear came true: Joab later killed Abner, and the narrator says plainly that it was because Abner had killed Asahel (3:27, 30).

Question 8

On what grounds did Abner try to dissuade Asahel from pursuing him (2 Samuel 2:22)?

Accepted Answer

Abner twice urges Asahel to break off, first offering him the spoil of another soldier (2:21) and then appealing to the consequences: why should he kill him, and how could he face his brother Joab (2:22)? Abner anticipates the blood feud that his killing of Asahel would create, and the narrative confirms it when Joab kills Abner on account of Asahel’s blood (3:27, 30).

Question 9

True or False: At Hebron, Judah’s men made David king over all twelve tribes of Israel (2 Samuel 2:4).

Accepted Answer

This is false. Judah’s men gathered at Hebron and anointed David as Judah’s king only (2:4). To anoint someone was to pour oil on his head to set him apart for an office God had given. Samuel had already anointed David among his brothers when he was a young man (1 Samuel 16:13), but David waited for the throne to come to him step by step. The rest of Israel followed Ish-bosheth for a time (2:8-10), and only later did the elders of all Israel come to Hebron and anoint David as king of the whole nation (2 Samuel 5:3).

Question 10

True or False: The anointing at Hebron made David king over all Israel (2 Samuel 2:4).

Accepted Answer

This is false. Judah’s men anointed David as king of Judah alone (2:4). Samuel’s earlier anointing (1 Samuel 16:13) designated him as God’s king, but the kingdom comes to him in stages: first Judah, while the northern tribes follow Ish-bosheth (2:8-10), and only later all Israel (2 Samuel 5:3).

Question 11

What does the text say about Asahel as he went after Abner (2 Samuel 2:18-19)?

Accepted Answer

Zeruiah’s three sons were at the battle: Joab, Abishai, and their brother Asahel (2:18). Zeruiah was David’s sister, so these three were David’s nephews (1 Chronicles 2:16). Asahel could run as fast as a gazelle, and he went after Abner without veering either way (2:18-19). He was later listed among the Thirty, David’s renowned warriors (2 Samuel 23:24). Joab led David’s men in this battle (2:13), while Asahel was the runner who chased Abner.

Question 12

How is Asahel characterized in his pursuit of Abner (2 Samuel 2:18-19)?

Accepted Answer

Zeruiah’s three sons, David’s nephews (1 Chronicles 2:16), were all present, and Asahel is singled out for his speed, compared to a gazelle, and for his single-minded pursuit of Abner, veering neither right nor left (2:18-19). He would later be counted among David’s mighty men (2 Samuel 23:24). His determination sets up the tragedy that follows.

Question 13

Beside the pool at Gibeon, who proposed that young men from each side fight before the commanders (2 Samuel 2:14)?

Accepted Answer

Abner’s forces and Joab’s forces met beside the pool at Gibeon, each on its own side. Abner suggested that young men from both armies fight a contest while the commanders watched, and Joab agreed (2:13-14). Twelve men from each side faced one another, and all of them fell together, so the place was given a name (2:15-16). What began as a contest led to an intense battle that day, in which David’s servants defeated Abner and the Israelite troops (2:17). Proverbs warns that starting a quarrel is like letting out a flood (Proverbs 17:14; compare 20:3), and the rest of the chapter shows how hard this fight was to stop.

Question 14

Who initiated the deadly contest of young men beside the pool at Gibeon (2 Samuel 2:14)?

Accepted Answer

Abner proposes the contest and Joab accepts (2:14). The twenty-four combatants kill one another, and the encounter escalates into a fierce battle in which David’s servants defeat Abner’s men (2:15-17). The episode illustrates the proverb that starting strife releases a flood (Proverbs 17:14; 20:3); Abner, who began it, will soon be pleading for it to stop (2:26).

Question 15

After Saul’s death, how did David decide where to go next (2 Samuel 2:1)?

Accepted Answer

Saul’s death opened the way for David, but he did not simply seize the moment. He asked the LORD whether he should move up to a town in Judah, and when the LORD said yes, he asked where; the LORD answered, Hebron (2:1). David had sought the LORD’s direction this way before, at Keilah and after the raid on Ziklag (1 Samuel 23:2; 30:8). His dependence on God fits the wisdom of trusting the LORD rather than one’s own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6). David then moved to Hebron with both of his wives and his men and their households (2:2-3).

Question 16

What did David do before relocating after Saul’s death (2 Samuel 2:1)?

Accepted Answer

Rather than act on his own initiative, David inquires of the LORD twice, first whether to go up to Judah and then to which town; the answer is Hebron (2:1). This continues David’s practice of seeking God’s direction (1 Samuel 23:2; 30:8) and models the trust commended in Proverbs 3:5-6. He settles there with his wives, his men, and their households (2:2-3).

Question 17

Why did David send a blessing to Jabesh-gilead’s men (2 Samuel 2:4-5)?

Accepted Answer

When David was told that Jabesh-gilead’s men had buried Saul, he sent messengers to bless them, because they had shown kindness to their lord Saul by burying him (2:4-5). At the end of 1 Samuel those men had traveled all night to recover the king’s body and those of his sons and give them burial (1 Samuel 31:11-13). Burial was itself counted as an act of kindness: Jacob asked Joseph to show him kindness and faithfulness by burying him outside Egypt (Genesis 47:29). David honors the loyalty of Saul’s own people rather than treating them as enemies.

Question 18

For what act did David bless Jabesh-gilead’s men (2 Samuel 2:4-5)?

Accepted Answer

David blesses Jabesh-gilead’s men for the kindness they showed Saul in burying him (2:4-5), recalling their night journey to recover the royal bodies (1 Samuel 31:11-13). Proper burial was itself an act of kindness and faithfulness, as Jacob’s request to Joseph shows (Genesis 47:29). David honors loyalty to Saul rather than punishing it.

Question 19

When Asahel would not turn away, Abner struck him with the back end of his spear and he died. What did Joab and Abishai do next (2 Samuel 2:23-24)?

Accepted Answer

Asahel refused to stop, so Abner struck him with the butt end of his spear, and he died where he fell; every soldier who reached that spot stopped there (2:23). Asahel’s brothers, Joab and Abishai, kept pursuing Abner until sunset (2:24). The death of their brother would shape what happened next. Later Joab and Abishai killed Abner because of Asahel (3:30), and on his deathbed David charged Joab with shedding blood in peacetime as revenge for a death in war (1 Kings 2:5). Asahel was killed in open battle after repeated warnings; Abner’s later death was a different matter.

Question 20

After Abner killed Asahel with the back end of his spear, how did Joab and Abishai respond (2 Samuel 2:23-24)?

Accepted Answer

Asahel falls after ignoring Abner’s warnings (2:23), and his brothers Joab and Abishai continue the pursuit until sunset (2:24). The killing plants the grievance that Joab and Abishai will later settle by murdering Abner (3:30), an act David will condemn as avenging wartime bloodshed in a time of peace (1 Kings 2:5).

Question 21

What did David ask the LORD to show Jabesh-gilead’s men (2 Samuel 2:6)?

Accepted Answer

David prayed that the LORD would show Jabesh-gilead’s men His loving devotion and His faithfulness; he also promised to show them the same favor himself (2:6). These are the very qualities the LORD named when He revealed Himself to Moses (Exodus 34:6) and that the psalmist praises (Psalm 117:2): God’s loyal, covenant-keeping love and His reliability. David then told them to be strong, since Saul was dead and Judah had anointed David as king (2:7).

Question 22

What blessing did David invoke from the LORD on Jabesh-gilead’s men (2 Samuel 2:6)?

Accepted Answer

David invokes on them the LORD’s loving devotion and His faithfulness, and he pledges his own favor in return (2:6). The pairing echoes the LORD’s self-revelation at Sinai (Exodus 34:6) and the praise of Psalm 117:2, the language of God’s covenant loyalty. David adds that Saul is dead and Judah has anointed him king (2:7).

2 Samuel 2 Study Notes: David Made King Over Judah

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