Click
here to show/hide instructions.
Instructions on how to use the page:
The commentary for the selected verse is is displayed below.
All commentary was produced against the King James, so the same verse from that translation may appear as well. Hovering your mouse over a commentary's scripture reference attempts to show those verses.
Use the browser's back button to return to the previous page.
Or you can also select a feature from the Just Verses menu appearing at the top of the page.
Selected Verse: 2 Samuel 2:10 - Strong Concordance
| Verse |
Translation |
Text |
| 2Sa 2:10 |
Strong Concordance |
Ishbosheth [0378] Saul's [07586] son [01121] was forty [0705] years [08141] old [01121] when he began to reign [04427] over Israel [03478], and reigned [04427] two [08147] years [08141]. But the house [01004] of Judah [03063] followed [0310] David [01732]. |
| |
King James |
Ishbosheth Saul's son was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David. |
Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse
| Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834] |
| Forty ... two - The numerals are somewhat strange. First, as regards the 40 years. Even assuming that Ish-bosheth's reign did not commence until five and a half years after Saul's death, which must have been the case if the two years in the text gives the true length of his reign, it is startling to hear of Saul's younger son being 35 years old at his father's death, born consequently some three years before his father's accession, and five years older than David, the bosom friend of his older brother Jonathan. The age, too, of Jonathan's child, Mephibosheth, who was five years old at his father's death, would lead one to expect rather a less age for his uncle. Next, as regards the two years. Since David (compare Sa2 2:11; and marginal references) reigned seven years in Hebron over Judah only, it follows, if the two years in the text are correct, either that an interval of five years elapsed between Ish-bosheth's death and David's being anointed "king over all Israel," or that a like interval elapsed between Saul's death and the commencement of Ish-bosheth's reign. Of the two the latter is the more probable, and has the advantage of diminishing Ish-bosheth's age by between five and six years. But the narrative in 2 Sam. 3; Sa2 4:1-12 of the "long war," of the birth of David's six sons, and of Abner's conspiracy and death, seems to imply a longer time than two years, in which case both the numerals would have to be corrected. |
| Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78] |
Length of the reigns of Ishbosheth over Israel, and David at Hebron. The age of Ishbosheth is given, as is generally the case at the commencement of a reign. He was forty years old when he began to reign, and reigned two years; whereas David was king at Hebron over the house of Judah seven years and a half. We are struck with this difference in the length of the two reigns; and it cannot be explained, as Seb. Schmidt, Clericus, and others suppose, on the simple assumption that David reigned two years at Hebron over Judah, namely up to the time of the murder of Ishbosheth, and then five years and a half over Israel, namely up to the time of the conquest of Jerusalem: for this is at variance with the plain statement in the text, that "David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah seven years and a half." The opinion that the two years of Ishbosheth's reign are to be reckoned up to the time of the war with David, because Abner played the principal part during the other five years and a half that David continued to reign at Hebron, is equally untenable. We may see very clearly from 2 Samuel 3-5 not only that Ishbosheth was king to the time of his death, which took place after that of Abner, but also that after both these events David was anointed king over Israel in Hebron by all the tribes, and that he then went directly to attack Jerusalem, and after conquering the citadel of Zion, chose that city as his own capital. The short duration of Ishbosheth's reign can only be explained, therefore, on the supposition that he was not made king, as David was, immediately after the death of Saul, but after the recovery by Abner of the land which the Philistines had taken on this side the Jordan, which may have occupied five years.
(Note: From the fact that in Sa2 2:10, Sa2 2:11, Ishbosheth's ascending the throne is mentioned before that of David, and is also accompanied with a statement of his age, whereas the age of David is not given till Sa2 5:4-5, when he became king over all Israel, Ewald draws the erroneous conclusion that the earlier (?) historian regarded Ishbosheth as the true king, and David as a pretender. But the very opposite of this is stated as distinctly as possible in Sa2 2:4. (compared with Sa2 2:8). The fact that Ishbosheth is mentioned before David in Sa2 2:10 may be explained simply enough from the custom so constantly observed in the book of Genesis, of mentioning subordinate lines or subordinate persons first, and stating whatever seemed worth recording with regard to them, in order that the ground might be perfectly clear for relating the history of the principal characters without any interruption.) |
| Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65] |
| Two years - Namely, before the following war broke out, which continued five years. |
| Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826 |
| Ish-bosheth - reigned two years - It is well observed that Ish-bosheth reigned all the time that David reigned in Hebron, which was seven years and six months. Perhaps the meaning of the writer is this: Ish-bosheth reigned two years before any but the tribe of Judah had attached themselves to the interest of David. Some think that Abner in effect reigned the last five years of Ish-bosheth, who had only the name of king after the first two years. Or the text may be understood thus: When Ish-bosheth had reigned two years over Israel, he was forty years of age. Houbigant, dissatisfied with all the common modes of solution, proposes to read ששית שנה shishshith shanah, six years, for the שתים שנים shetayim shanim, two years, of the text, which he contends is a solecism; for in pure Hebrew the words would be שתים שנה as they are everywhere read in the first book; and שנה is the reading of eleven of Kennicott's MSS., and nine of De Rossi's; but the number two is acknowledged by all the ancient versions, and by all the MSS. yet collated. The critical reader may examine Houbigant on the place. After all, probably the expedition mentioned in the succeeding verses is that to which the writer refers, and from which he dates. Ish-bosheth had reigned two years without any rupture with David or his men, till under the direction of Abner, captain of his host, the Israelites passed over Jordan, from Mahanaim to Gibeon, and being opposed by Joab, captain of David's host, that battle took place which is described in the following verses. |
1 And when Saul's [07586] son [01121] heard [08085] that Abner [074] was dead [04191] in Hebron [02275], his hands [03027] were feeble [07503], and all the Israelites [03478] were troubled [0926].
2 And Saul's [07586] son [01121] had [01961] two [08147] men [0582] that were captains [08269] of bands [01416]: the name [08034] of the one [0259] was Baanah [01196], and the name [08034] of the other [08145] Rechab [07394], the sons [01121] of Rimmon [07417] a Beerothite [0886], of the children [01121] of Benjamin [01144]: (for Beeroth [0881] also was reckoned [02803] to Benjamin [01144]:
3 And the Beerothites [0886] fled [01272] to Gittaim [01664], and were sojourners [01481] there until this day [03117].)
4 And Jonathan [03083], Saul's [07586] son [01121], had a son [01121] that was lame [05223] of his feet [07272]. He was five [02568] years [08141] old [01121] when the tidings [08052] came [0935] of Saul [07586] and Jonathan [03083] out of Jezreel [03157], and his nurse [0539] took him up [05375], and fled [05127]: and it came to pass, as she made haste [02648] to flee [05127], that he fell [05307], and became lame [06452]. And his name [08034] was Mephibosheth [04648].
5 And the sons [01121] of Rimmon [07417] the Beerothite [0886], Rechab [07394] and Baanah [01196], went [03212], and came [0935] about the heat [02527] of the day [03117] to the house [01004] of Ishbosheth [0378], who lay [07901] on a bed [04904] at noon [06672].
6 And they came thither [0935] into the midst [08432] of the house [01004], as though they would have fetched [03947] wheat [02406]; and they smote [05221] him under the fifth [02570] rib: and Rechab [07394] and Baanah [01196] his brother [0251] escaped [04422].
7 For when they came [0935] into the house [01004], he lay [07901] on his bed [04296] in his bedchamber [02315] [04904], and they smote [05221] him, and slew [04191] him, and beheaded [05493] him, and took [03947] his head [07218], and gat them away [03212] through [01870] the plain [06160] all night [03915].
8 And they brought [0935] the head [07218] of Ishbosheth [0378] unto David [01732] to Hebron [02275], and said [0559] to the king [04428], Behold the head [07218] of Ishbosheth [0378] the son [01121] of Saul [07586] thine enemy [0341], which sought [01245] thy life [05315]; and the LORD [03068] hath [05414] avenged [05360] my lord [0113] the king [04428] this day [03117] of Saul [07586], and of his seed [02233].
9 And David [01732] answered [06030] Rechab [07394] and Baanah [01196] his brother [0251], the sons [01121] of Rimmon [07417] the Beerothite [0886], and said [0559] unto them, As the LORD [03068] liveth [02416], who hath redeemed [06299] my soul [05315] out of all adversity [06869],
10 When one told [05046] me, saying [0559], Behold, Saul [07586] is dead [04191], thinking to have brought [05869] good tidings [01319], I took hold [0270] of him, and slew [02026] him in Ziklag [06860], who thought that I would have given [05414] him a reward for his tidings [01309]:
11 How much more, when wicked [07563] men [0582] have slain [02026] a righteous [06662] person [0376] in his own house [01004] upon his bed [04904]? shall I not therefore now require [01245] his blood [01818] of your hand [03027], and take you away [01197] from the earth [0776]?
12 And David [01732] commanded [06680] his young men [05288], and they slew [02026] them, and cut off [07112] their hands [03027] and their feet [07272], and hanged them up [08518] over the pool [01295] in Hebron [02275]. But they took [03947] the head [07218] of Ishbosheth [0378], and buried [06912] it in the sepulchre [06913] of Abner [074] in Hebron [02275].
11 And the time [04557] [03117] that David [01732] was king [04428] in Hebron [02275] over the house [01004] of Judah [03063] was seven [07651] years [08141] and six [08337] months [02320].
10 Ishbosheth [0378] Saul's [07586] son [01121] was forty [0705] years [08141] old [01121] when he began to reign [04427] over Israel [03478], and reigned [04427] two [08147] years [08141]. But the house [01004] of Judah [03063] followed [0310] David [01732].
8 But Abner [074] the son [01121] of Ner [05369], captain [08269] of Saul's [07586] host [06635], took [03947] Ishbosheth [0378] the son [01121] of Saul [07586], and brought him over [05674] to Mahanaim [04266];
4 And the men [0582] of Judah [03063] came [0935], and there they anointed [04886] David [01732] king [04428] over the house [01004] of Judah [03063]. And they told [05046] David [01732], saying [0559], That the men [0582] of Jabeshgilead [03003] [01568] were they that buried [06912] Saul [07586].
4 David [01732] was thirty [07970] years [08141] old [01121] when he began to reign [04427], and he reigned [04427] forty [0705] years [08141].
5 In Hebron [02275] he reigned [04427] over Judah [03063] seven [07651] years [08141] and six [08337] months [02320]: and in Jerusalem [03389] he reigned [04427] thirty [07970] and three [07969] years [08141] over all Israel [03478] and Judah [03063].
11 And the time [04557] [03117] that David [01732] was king [04428] in Hebron [02275] over the house [01004] of Judah [03063] was seven [07651] years [08141] and six [08337] months [02320].
10 Ishbosheth [0378] Saul's [07586] son [01121] was forty [0705] years [08141] old [01121] when he began to reign [04427] over Israel [03478], and reigned [04427] two [08147] years [08141]. But the house [01004] of Judah [03063] followed [0310] David [01732].