2 Samuel 3:33

33 and the king sang a lament for Abner:^[a] Should Abner die as a fool dies?

2 Samuel 3:33 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 3:33

And the king lamented over Abner
Delivered an elegy or funeral oration, which he had composed on this occasion, as Josephus

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FOOTNOTES:

F21 suggests: for he had cried and wept before, but now he expressed something as follows:

and said, died Abner as a fool dieth?
the meaning of the interrogation is, he did not; the Targum is

``did Abner die as wicked men die?''

no, he did not; he did not die for any wickedness he had been guilty of; he did not die as a malefactor, whose crime has been charged and proved in open court, and sentence of condemnation pronounced on him righteously for it; but he died without anything being laid to his charge, and much less proved, and without judge or jury; he was murdered in a clandestine, insidious, and deceitful manner; so the word "fool" is often taken in Scripture for a wicked man, especially in the book of Proverbs; the Septuagint version leaves the word untranslated,

``died Abner according to the death of Nabal?''

no; but it could hardly be thought that David would mention the name of any particular person on such an occasion.

F21 Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 7. c. 1. sect. 6.)

2 Samuel 3:33 In-Context

31 David then ordered Joab and all the people who were with him, "Tear your clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourn over Abner." And King David walked behind the funeral procession.

32 When they buried Abner in Hebron, the king wept aloud at Abner's tomb. All the people wept,

33 and the king sang a lament for Abner: Should Abner die as a fool dies?

34 Your hands were not bound, your feet not placed in bronze [shackles]. You fell like one who falls victim to criminals. And all the people wept over him even more.

35 Then they came to urge David to eat bread while it was still day, but David took an oath: "May God punish me and do so severely if I taste bread or anything else before sunset!"

Footnotes

• [a]. 2 Sm 1:17