2 Samuel 2:12

12 Abner, the son of Ner, left Mahanaim and went to Gibeon. The men of Ish-Bosheth, the son of Saul, went with him.

2 Samuel 2:12 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 2:12

And Abner the son of Ner
Who was before captain of Saul's host, and now of Ishbosheth's:

and the servants of Ishbosheth the son of Saul;
who seem to be not only his domestic servants, that waited upon him, or his courtiers, but his whole army by what follows:

went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon;
came from the city on the other side Jordan, where perhaps they had been two years past, concerting schemes to bring all Israel under the government of Ishbosheth; in which they had succeeded, only Judah stood out with David; and in order to reduce that tribe, they passed over Jordan and came to Gibeon, a city in Benjamin. See ( Joshua 18:25 ) .

2 Samuel 2:12 In-Context

10 Ish-Bosheth was 40 years old when he became king over Israel. He ruled for two years. But the people of Judah followed David.

11 David was king in Hebron over the people of Judah for seven and a half years.

12 Abner, the son of Ner, left Mahanaim and went to Gibeon. The men of Ish-Bosheth, the son of Saul, went with him.

13 Joab, the son of Zeruiah, and David's men also went out. All of them met at the pool in Gibeon. One group sat down on one side of the pool. The other group sat on the other side.

14 Then Abner said to Joab, "Let's have some of the young men get up and fight. Let's tell them to fight hand to hand in front of us." "All right. Let them do it," Joab said.