2 Samuel 2:14

14 And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men, I pray thee, arise and play before us. And Joab said, Let them arise.

2 Samuel 2:14 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 2:14

And Abner said to Joab
Perceiving he made no motion towards an engagement with him, his orders from David being only to act on the defensive, and avoid as much as possible the effusion of blood:

let the young men now arise, and play before us;
with their swords after the manner of gladiators or duellers; that it might appear who were best skilled in the use of the sword, and who were the bravest, stoutest, and most courageous; and this he proposed in a way of bravado, and in order to bring on a battle, or to decide the quarrel between them; and this bloody barbarous exercise Abner calls play, as if it was a diversion and pastime to see men wounding and killing one another:

and Joab said, let them arise;
he accepted the challenge, not caring to be hectored and bullied by Abner.

2 Samuel 2:14 In-Context

12 And Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.

13 And Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out, and met them by the pool of Gibeon; and they sat down, the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side of the pool.

14 And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men, I pray thee, arise and play before us. And Joab said, Let them arise.

15 Then they arose and went over by number: twelve for Benjamin, and for Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David.

16 And they caught every one his fellow by the head, and [thrust] his sword in his fellow's side; so they fell down together: wherefore that place was called Helkath-hazzurim, which is in Gibeon.