2 Samuel 3:33

33 And the king made a song of grief for Abner and said, Was the death of Abner to be like the death of a foolish man?

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 And David said to Joab and all the people who were with him, Go in grief and put haircloth about you, in sorrow for Abner. And King David went after the dead body.

32 And they put Abner's body to rest in Hebron; and the king and all the people were weeping loudly by the resting-place of Abner's body.

33 And the king made a song of grief for Abner and said, Was the death of Abner to be like the death of a foolish man?

34 Your hands were free, your feet were not chained: like the downfall of a man before evil men, so was your fall. And the weeping of the people over him went on again.

35 And the people came to make David take food, while it was still day, but David with an oath said, May God's punishment be on me if I take a taste of bread or any other thing till the sun has gone down!