2 Samuel 2:14

14 Abner said to Joab, "Let the young men come up and fight in our presence." And Joab said, "Let them come up."

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 Abner the son of Ner and the servants of Ish-Bosheth the son of Saul went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.

13 Then Joab the son of Zeruiah and the servants of David went out, and they met at the pool of Gibeon. The one group sat on one side of the pool, and the other sat on the other side.

14 Abner said to Joab, "Let the young men come up and fight in our presence." And Joab said, "Let them come up."

15 So they came forward and passed by in number: twelve for Benjamin and for Ish-Bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve from the servants of David.

16 Then each seized his {opponent} by the head and [each thrust] his sword in the side of his opponent, so they fell together. So they called the name of that place Helkath Hazzurim, which [is] in Gibeon.