2 Samuel 2:27

27 And Joab said, By the living God, if you had not given the word, the people would have gone on attacking their countrymen till the morning.

2 Samuel 2:27 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 2:27

And Joab said, as God liveth
Which was the form of an oath, swearing by the living God:

unless thou hadst spoken;
that is, these words in ( 2 Samuel 2:14 ) ; "let the young men arise and play", that he had not given the challenge to fight:

surely then in the morning the people had gone up everyone from
following his brother;
they would have gone away and never fought at all; they were not desirous of shedding their blood, and following after them to slay them: thus he lays the blame upon Abner, and makes him to be the cause and beginner of the war. Some render the particle by "if", and give the sense, that if he had spoken what he last did sooner, the people would long before this time have desisted from pursuing them; for it was not from a thirst after their blood, and a desire to luke vengeance on them, that they pursued them, but to bring them to submission, and lay down their arms; for they could not in honour retreat until they desired it; but the former sense seems best, and is the general sense of the Jewish commentators.

2 Samuel 2:27 In-Context

25 And the men of Benjamin came together after Abner in one band, and took their places on the top of a hill.

26 Then crying out to Joab, Abner said, Are fighting and destruction to go on for ever? do you not see that the end will only be bitter? how long will it be before you send the people back and make them give up attacking their countrymen?

27 And Joab said, By the living God, if you had not given the word, the people would have gone on attacking their countrymen till the morning.

28 So Joab had a horn sounded, and all the people came to a stop, and gave up going after Israel and fighting them.

29 And all that night Abner and his men went through the Arabah; they went over Jordan and through all Bithron and came to Mahanaim.