2 Samuel 2:21

And Abner said to him, Turn thee aside to thy right hand or to thy left, and lay thee hold on one of the young men, and take thee his armour. But Asahel would not turn aside from following of him.

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Abner	אַבְנֵ֗ר 'av.Ner	H74	Abner · proper noun, a man's name
said	וַיֹּ֧אמֶר vai.Yo.mer	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
aside	נְטֵ֤ה ne.Teh	H5186	to stretch or spread out · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
hand	יְמִֽינְךָ֙ ye.mi.ne.Kha	H3225	the right hand or side (leg · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
left	שְׂמֹאלֶ֔ךָ se.mo.Le.kha	H8040	properly · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
hold	וֶאֱחֹ֣ז ve.'e.Choz	H270	to seize (often with the accessory idea of holding in p… · conjunction + verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
one	אֶחָד֙ 'e.Chad	H259	properly · noun, common feminine singular absolute
men	מֵֽהַנְּעָרִ֔ים me.ha.ne.'a.Rim	H5288	(concretely) a boy (as active) · preposition + definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
take	וְקַח ve.kach-	H3947	to take (in the widest variety of applications) · conjunction + verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
armour	חֲלִצָת֑וֹ cha.li.tza.To	H2488	spoil · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
Asahel	עֲשָׂהאֵ֔ל 'a.sa.h.'El	H6214	Asahel · proper noun, a man's name
would	אָבָ֣ה 'a.Vah	H14	to breathe after · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
aside	לָס֖וּר la.Sur	H5493	to turn off (literal or figurative) · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
following	מֵאַחֲרָֽיו me.'a.cha.Rav	H310	properly · preposition + cardinal number, masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Judges 14:19 And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave change o…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Samuel 2:18-24

We have here the contest between Abner and Asahel. 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 (Sa2 2:18); this he got the name of by swift pursuing, not swift flying. Yet, we may suppose, he was not comparable to Abner as a skilful experienced soldier; we must therefore observe, I. How rash he was in aiming to make Abner his prisoner. He pursued after him, and no other, Sa2 2:19. Proud of his relation to David and Joab, his own swiftness, and the success of his party, no less a trophy of victory would now serve the young warrior than Abner himself…

Read the whole note in the console

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Samuel 2:19

ASAHEL SLAIN. (Sa2 2:19-32) Asahel pursued after Abner--To gain the general's armor was deemed the grandest trophy. Asahel, ambitious of securing Abner's, had outstripped all other pursuers, and was fast gaining on the retreating commander. Abner, conscious of possessing more physical power, and unwilling that there should be "blood" between himself and Joab, Asahel's brother, twice urged him to desist. The impetuous young soldier being deaf to the generous remonstrance, the veteran raised the pointed butt of his lance, as the modern Arabs do when pursued, and, with a sudden back thrust, transfixed him on the spot, so that he fell, and lay weltering in his blood. But Joab and Abishai contin…

Read the whole note in the console

Adam Clarke on 2 Samuel 2:21

Take thee his armor - It seems Asahel wished to get the armor of Abner as a trophy; this also was greatly coveted by ancient heroes. Abner wished to spare him, for fear of exciting Joab's enmity; but as Asahel was obstinate in the pursuit, and was swifter of foot than Abner, the latter saw that he must either kill or be killed, and therefore he turned his spear and ran it through the body of Asahel. This turning about that he might pierce him is what we translate "the hinder end of his spear." This slaying of Asahel cost Abner his life, as we shall find in the next chapter.

Dictionary and topics

Abner — Father of light; i.e., “enlightening”, the son of Ner and uncle of Saul. He was commander-in-chief of Saul’s army (1 Sam. 14:50; 17:55; 20:25). He first introduced David to the court of Saul after…
Cord — Frequently used in its proper sense, for fastening a tent (Ex. 35:18; 39:40), yoking animals to a cart (Isa. 5:18), binding prisoners (Judg. 15:13; Ps. 2:3; 129:4), and measuring ground (2 Sam. 8;2;…
Ish-bosheth — Man of shame or humiliation, the youngest of Saul’s four sons, and the only one who survived him (2 Sam. 2-4). His name was originally Eshbaal (1 Chr. 8:33; 9:39). He was about forty years of age…
Joab — Jehovah is his father. (1.) One of the three sons of Zeruiah, David’s sister, and “captain of the host” during the whole of David’s reign (2 Sam. 2:13; 10:7; 11:1; 1 Kings 11:15). His father’s name…
Abner · Loyalty of, to the house of Saul — Loyalty of, to the house of Saul
Arms, Military · Of the vanquished: Taken off them — Of the vanquished: Taken off them
Asahel · 1. Nephew of David, and one of his — 1. Nephew of David, and one of his
Homicide · .Abner — .Abner
Joab · . — .
War · Civil — Civil

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

2 Samuel 2:21

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Samuel 2:18-24

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Samuel 2:19

Adam Clarke on 2 Samuel 2:21

Dictionary and topics

2 Samuel 2:21

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Samuel 2:18-24

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Samuel 2:19

Adam Clarke on 2 Samuel 2:21

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on 2 Samuel 2:21

Keil & Delitzsch on 2 Samuel 2:20-22

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 2 Samuel 2:20-22

Rashi on 2 Samuel 2:16