2 Samuel 2:12
ESV
Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.
NIV
Abner son of Ner, together with the men of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, left Mahanaim and went to Gibeon.
NASB
Now Abner the son of Ner, went from Mahanaim to Gibeon with the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul.
CSB
Abner son of Ner and soldiers of Ish-bosheth son of Saul marched out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.
NLT
One day Abner led Ishbosheth’s troops from Mahanaim to Gibeon.
KJV
And Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.
NKJV
Now Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ishbosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.
What does 2 Samuel 2:12 mean?
It's interesting that there is no recorded effort by David's to take control of Israel by military force before Ish-bosheth becomes king. Rather, David used gifts (1 Samuel 30:26–31), psalms (2 Samuel 17–27), and letters of blessings (2 Samuel 2:4–7) to try to win the Israelites' hearts. It only worked with Judah (2 Samuel 2:4). Considering Ish-bosheth became king of Israel by the word of Saul's military commander, Abner, war is now inevitable.Even so, we aren't told why they start fighting now. Abner is a great warrior; he's been Saul's commander since before David defeated Goliath (1 Samuel 17:55). Representing David's side is Joab, David's nephew and commander (1 Chronicles 2:13–17).
Joab brought his brothers, Abishai and Asahel. When the Ziphites betrayed David's location to Saul and God allowed David to sneak into Saul's camp, Abishai went with him. When they reached Saul, sound asleep in the center of his sleeping army, Abner was sleeping next to him. David and Abishai stole Saul's spear, retreated a safe distance away, and mocked Abner for leaving his king defenseless (1 Samuel 26).
Gibeon is just northwest of Jerusalem, placing it between David's capital at Hebron and Ish-bosheth's capital at Mahanaim. The Gibeonites are not Israelites, but descendants of the Amorites. The Amorites tricked Joshua into letting them live amidst the Israelites peacefully (Joshua 9). Even so, Gibeon is an extremely important strategic city: it's where the tabernacle moved to after Saul killed the priests at Nob (1 Chronicles 16:39–40).
