2 Samuel 3:33

33 The king sang a funeral song for Abner: Should Abner die like a godless fool?

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 told Joab and all the people with him, "Tear your clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourn for Abner." King David followed the open casket.

32 They buried Abner in Hebron. The king cried loudly at Abner's grave, and all the people cried.

33 The king sang a funeral song for Abner: Should Abner die like a godless fool?

34 Your hands were not tied. Your feet were not chained. You fell as one falls in front of wicked men. And all the people continued to cry for him.

35 That entire day all the people tried to get David to eat some food. But David had taken an oath: "May God strike me dead if I taste any food or anything else before the sun goes down."