2 Samuel 3:33

33 plangensque rex Abner ait nequaquam ut mori solent ignavi mortuus est Abner

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 dixit autem David ad Ioab et ad omnem populum qui erat cum eo scindite vestimenta vestra et accingimini saccis et plangite ante exequias Abner porro rex David sequebatur feretrum

32 cumque sepelissent Abner in Hebron levavit rex vocem suam et flevit super tumulum Abner flevit autem et omnis populus

33 plangensque rex Abner ait nequaquam ut mori solent ignavi mortuus est Abner

34 manus tuae non sunt ligatae et pedes tui non sunt conpedibus adgravati sed sicut solent cadere coram filiis iniquitatis corruisti congeminansque omnis populus flevit super eum

35 cumque venisset universa multitudo cibum capere cum David clara adhuc die iuravit David dicens haec faciat mihi Deus et haec addat si ante occasum solis gustavero panem vel aliud quicquam