2 Samuel 2:2 - Printer Friendly

ESV: So David went up there, and his two wives also, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel.

NIV: So David went up there with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel.

NASB: So David went up there, and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite.

CSB: So David went there with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail, the widow of Nabal the Carmelite.

NLT: David’s two wives were Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal from Carmel. So David and his wives

KJV: So David went up thither, and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail Nabal's wife the Carmelite.

NKJV: So David went up there, and his two wives also, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite.

With the Lord's direction and blessing, David moves his wives and his men from the Philistine city of Ziklag to the city of Hebron in Judah. Saul's crusade to kill David came to an end when he died, freeing David up to move toward taking his place as king over Israel, as God anointed him to do (1 Samuel 16:1).

The move brings David and his two wives nearer to the places they grew up. Hebron is not far from David's hometown of Bethlehem. Ahinoam, his first wife after Michal was taken from him by Saul (1 Samuel 25:44), is from Jezreel. The wise and beautiful Abigail, widowed when the Lord struck her foolish husband dead (1 Samuel 25:36–38), is from Carmel (1 Samuel 27:3). Carmel is also reasonably close to Hebron.

The inclusion of David's wives helps illustrate David's growing power. When he becomes king of Judah (2 Samuel 2:4), he has two wives. Nearer the time he becomes king of all Israel, David will have five wives and several sons (2 Samuel 3:2–5). When he is king, he will add even more (2 Samuel 5:13–16). To God, the multiple wives are unnecessary and possibly harmful if they follow foreign gods (Deuteronomy 17:17). To the people of the time, it's proof of David's power.

Second Samuel 2:1–4 depicts the moment David becomes king of Judah. David and his men had plundered the Amalekites when they rescued their families, and David sent some of the treasure to the elders in Judah (1 Samuel 30:16–31). With Saul dead, David becomes king of Judah—but not yet over all Israelites. David already executed the man who boasted he killed Saul. David then sent a lament across the land (2 Samuel 1). Next, he publicly thanks the men who rescued Saul's and his sons' bodies from the Philistines (2 Samuel 2:4–7). It seems David is trying to win favor with the Israelites peacefully. Sadly, peace won't last.

David returns to Israel, where he is anointed king over Judah, and settles in Hebron. Abner declares Saul's son Ish-bosheth king over Israel. David blesses the men of Jabesh-gilead for burying Saul's remains. Abner, leading Ish-bosheth's men, faces off against Joab, leading David's fighters, at Gibeon. In a fierce, one-sided battle, Abner kills Joab's brother, but David's men overwhelm Abner's Benjaminite fighters, losing twenty but killing 360. Abner and the survivors prepare for a last stand on the hill of Ammah, but Joab calls off the battle when Abner pleads with him to stop. Both sides return home.

Saul and three of his sons are dead (1 Samuel 31:1–4). David becomes king of Judah, and Saul's son Ish-bosheth is king of the remaining tribes. When the two sides meet in battle, Ish-bosheth's army fares poorly. David continues to grow stronger over two years of fighting. Ish-bosheth's general Abner appears to make a futile attempt to take the crown from his king, then starts the work to peacefully hand David the crown of Israel (2 Samuel 3:1–12).

Second Samuel continues the story of David, who will become king over Judah. The other tribes of Israel are resistant, eventually sparking a civil war. David wins and makes Jerusalem his capital. Early success is followed by moral failure and controversy in David's house. The book of 1 Kings will begin by detailing David's decline and death.