2 Samuel 3:22-39

Joab Kills Abner

22 Just then the servants of David arrived with Joab from a raid, bringing much spoil with them. But Abner was not with David at Hebron, for David had dismissed him, and he had gone away in peace. 23 When Joab and all the army that was with him came, it was told Joab, "Abner son of Ner came to the king, and he has dismissed him, and he has gone away in peace." 24 Then Joab went to the king and said, "What have you done? Abner came to you; why did you dismiss him, so that he got away? 25 You know that Abner son of Ner came to deceive you, and to learn your comings and goings and to learn all that you are doing."

26 When Joab came out from David's presence, he sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the cistern of Sirah; but David did not know about it. 27 When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gateway to speak with him privately, and there he stabbed him in the stomach. So he died for shedding the blood of Asahel, Joab's brother. 28 Afterward, when David heard of it, he said, "I and my kingdom are forever guiltless before the LORD for the blood of Abner son of Ner. 29 May the guilt fall on the head of Joab, and on all his father's house; and may the house of Joab never be without one who has a discharge, or who is leprous, or who holds a spindle, or who falls by the sword, or who lacks food!" 30 So Joab and his brother Abishai murdered Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel in the battle at Gibeon.

31 Then David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, "Tear your clothes, and put on sackcloth, and mourn over Abner." And King David followed the bier. 32 They buried Abner at Hebron. The king lifted up his voice and wept at the grave of Abner, and all the people wept. 33 The king lamented for Abner, saying,

"Should Abner die as a fool dies?

34 Your hands were not bound,

your feet were not fettered;

as one falls before the wicked

you have fallen."

And all the people wept over him again. 35 Then all the people came to persuade David to eat something while it was still day; but David swore, saying, "So may God do to me, and more, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun goes down!" 36 All the people took notice of it, and it pleased them; just as everything the king did pleased all the people. 37 So all the people and all Israel understood that day that the king had no part in the killing of Abner son of Ner. 38 And the king said to his servants, "Do you not know that a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel? 39 Today I am powerless, even though anointed king; these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too violent for me. The LORD pay back the one who does wickedly in accordance with his wickedness!" (2 Samuel 3:22-39, NRSV)

The following comments are repeated here with editing and supplement from August 1, 2007 (Wednesday in the week of the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost, references for the week of the Sunday closest to July 27, Year One):

At the close of yesterday’s reading, Abner, formerly Saul’s and Ishbaal’s (Ish-bosheth’s) commander, has switched over to David’s side, or so it would seem. “Abner also spoke directly to the Benjaminites; then Abner went to tell David at Hebron all that Israel and the whole house of Benjamin were ready to do” (2 Sam. 3:19). According to Shimon Bar-Efrat, “Abner even succeeds in persuading Benjamin, the tribe of Ish-bosheth (and Abner himself), to replace their king with a non-Benjaminite” (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, on 2 Sam. 3:19). So “when Abner came with twenty men to David at Hebron, David made a feast for Abner and the men who were with him” (v. 20), and Abner promised, “Let me go and rally all Israel to my lord the king, in order that they may make a covenant with you and that you may reign over all that your heart desires” (v. 21a). “So David dismissed Abner,” we are told, “and he went away in peace” (v. 21b–in peace, supposedly–but Joab, the apparent leader of David’s men (cf. 2:13), is unaware of these developments. Steven L. McKenzie remarks on the words “In peace, the writer emphasizes (perhaps too much) David’s noninvolvement in Abner’s death” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., augmented, 2007, on 2 Sam. 3:21; cf. the repetitions in vv. 22, 23).

As today’s reading opens, “the servants of David [arrive] with Joab from a raid, bringing much spoil with them” (v. 22a). They arrive too late to see Abner, for “Abner was not with David at Hebron, for David had dismissed him, and he had gone away in peace” (v. 22b, cf. 21b). “When Joab and all the army that was with him came,” says the narrator, “it was told Joab, ‘Abner son of Ner came to the king, and he has dismissed him, and he has gone away in peace’ ” (v. 23). But Joab has a score to settle with Abner, who killed his brother Asahel (2:19-23), and he confronts the king. “Then Joab sent to the king and said, ‘What have you done? Abner came to you; why did you dismiss him, so that he got away?” (v. 24), And he adds, “You know that Abner son of Ner came to deceive you, and to learn your comings and goings and to learn all that you are doing” (v. 25). McKenzie says, “Joab accuses Abner of spying” (McKenzie, on v. 25). According to Bar-Efrat, “Joab accuses both David and Abner: David, that he let the enemy commander go, and Abner, that he came to spy on David” (op. cit., on vv. 24-25).

Joab determines–without David’s knowledge, we are led to believe–to take action on his own. “When Joab came out from David's presence, he sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the cistern of Sirah; but David did not know about it” (v. 26). “When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gateway to speak with him privately (yl9w0,Ba, baššelî ), and there he stabbed him in the stomach. So he died for shedding the blood of Asahel, Joab's brother” (v. 27). “Instead of privately [so NJPS 1985, 1999],” says Bar-Efrat, “the Heb. may be translated ‘misleadingly’ (cf. 2 Kings 4:28)” (op. cit., on v. 27). The word translated “privately” here is a hapax legomenon (a word that appears only once in the Hebrew Bible, cf. William L Holladay, A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, 1971, 10^th corrected impression 1988, s.v. *yl9w4: yl9w,, *š ^elî: šelî ). But the related verb in 2 Kings 4:28, which occurs only once in the hifil, meaning “lull (with false hopes)” (ibid., s.v. hlw, š-l-h), is translated “Did I not say, Do not mislead me?” (2 Kgs 4:28 NRSV, cf. “Didn’t I say: ‘Don’t mislead me’?” NJPS). According to McKenzie, “The writer stresses that Joab, seeking to avenge his brother (2:18-23) acted alone. Some have suggested that Joab also feared losing his position as army commander to Abner (see 19:13; 20:8-10)” (op. cit., on v. 27). “Joab strikes Abner in the belly,” says Bar-Efrat, “just as Abner struck Asahel in the belly” (loc. cit.).

When David learns what Joab has done, he avows his innocence in the matter. “I and my kingdom are forever guiltless before the LORD for the blood of Abner son of Ner,” he says (v. 28), and he curses Joab: “May the guilt fall on the head of Joab, and on all his father's house; and may the house of Joab never be without one who has a discharge, or who is leprous, or who holds a spindle, or who falls by the sword, or who lacks food!” (v. 29). David takes no further action against Joab now, but uses him as the commander of his armies (as noted in 19:13; 20:8-20, above). On his deathbed, however, he reminds Solomon of Joab’s actions here. “Moreover you [Solomon] know also what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me, how he dealt with the two commanders of the armies of Israel, Abner son of Ner, and Amasa son of Jether, whom he murdered, retaliating in time of peace for blood that had been shed in war, and putting the blood of war on the belt around his waist, and on the sandals on his feet” (1 Kgs. 2:5). And the dying David charges Solomon with putting Joab to death for these “crimes,” the general who had remained loyal to David during the revolt of Absalom. “Act therefore according to your wisdom,” says David to Solomon, “but do not let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace” (1 Kgs. 2:6). So Joab is killed (vv. 28-35). But in the present context, the narrator summarizes. “So Joab and his brother Abishai murdered Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel in the battle at Gibeon” (2 Sam. 3:30).

When David learns of Abner’s murder, he calls for mourning, saying “to Joab and to all the people who were with him, ‘Tear your clothes, and put on sackcloth, and mourn over Abner’ ” (2 Sam. 3:31a). “Joab, the murderer,” says Bar-Efrat, “is obliged to participate in the mourning. Rending clothes and wearing sackcloth were signs of grief” (op. cit., on v. 31). David takes the lead in mourning by following the bier (v. 31b), lifting up his voice and weeping at Abner’s grave, as “all the people wept” (v. 32), and voicing his grief in poetic lines:

Should Abner die as a fool dies?

Your hands were not bound,

your feet were not fettered;

as one falls before the wicked

you have fallen. (2 Sam. 3:33b, 34, NRSV)

The lament is briefer and less eloquent that David’s lament over Saul and Jonathan (1:17-27), for whom he clearly had stronger feelings. But upon hearing these lines from David, “all the people wept over him [Abner] again” (v. 34e).

The writer continues to picture a scene in which David is overcome by grief in verses that, according to McKenzie, “continue to stress (perhaps too strongly) David’s lack of involvement in Abner’s death” (op. cit., on vv. 35-39). The people try to persuade David to eat, but he strongly refuses. “So may God do to me, and more, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun goes down!” (v. 35). People seem to appreciate David’s demeanor and attitude (v. 36), and, says the writer, “all the people and all Israel understood that day that the king had no part in the killing of Abner son of Ner” (v. 37). “Do you not know,”says David to his servants, “that a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel?” (v. 38). He laments his lack of power to prevent such actions, at least in this instance. “Today I am powerless, even though anointed king; these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too violent for me” (v. 39a). And he further pronounces a curse upon them. “The LORD pay back the one who does wickedly in accordance with his wickedness!” (v. 39b). Bar-Efrat says, “David explains why he does not punish Joab and Abishai, leaving that to the LORD” (op. cit., on v. 39).

Acts 16:16-24

Paul and Silas Imprisoned at Philippi

16 One day, as we were going to the place of prayer, we met a slave-girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners a great deal of money by fortune-telling. 17 While she followed Paul and us, she would cry out, "These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation." 18 She kept doing this for many days. But Paul, very much annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And it came out that very hour.

19 But when her owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities. 20 When they had brought them before the magistrates, they said, "These men are disturbing our city; they are Jews 21 and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to adopt or observe." 22 The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates had them stripped of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with rods. 23 After they had given them a severe flogging, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to keep them securely. 24 Following these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. (Acts 16:16-24, NRSV)

On September 17, 2008 (Wednesday in the week of the Sunday closest to September 14, Year Two), comments were repeated from August 1, 2007 (Wednesday in the week of the Sunday closest to July 27, Year One), when they were repeated with some editing and supplement from September 20, 2006 (Wednesday in the week of the Sunday closest to September 14, Year Two). The revised comments are repeated again here:

When Paul and company arrived in Philippi, “on the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there” (Acts 16:13). For a while, at least, this continued as their meeting place. So it was on the way “to the place of prayer,” when, as Luke says, “we met a slave-girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners a great deal of money by fortune-telling” (v. 16). According to Beverly Roberts Gaventa, the words “spirit of divination” are literally “a spirit of the python” (pneu:ma puvqwna, pneuma pythōna), which was associated with the Delphic oracle” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Acts 16:16).

This was the beginning of “many days” when she would follow them and cry out, “These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation” (vv. 17-18a). We might wonder whether Paul–or perhaps some modern preacher–would welcome this free publicity. But Paul would have none of it, and considering the source, he turned to exorcism. “Paul, very much annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, ‘I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.’ And it came out that very hour” (v. 18b). But this action of Paul had repercussions. The girl’s owners had lost her as a source of income, so “they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities” (v. 19). The accusation is unusual. Later in Thessalonica (Acts 17:5-7) and Corinth (18:12-17), Paul’s opposition will come from the Jews, but here the charge is that they “are disturbing our city; they are Jews and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to adopt or observe” (16:20-21). According to Gaventa, “The charge against Paul and Silas manipulates opinion by characterizing them as outsiders” (ibid., on v. 21). Here, the Judeo-Christian tradition confronts paganism. According to Christopher R. Matthews, “Acts frowns on making money by magical or supernatural means (see 8:18-24; 19:25n)” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., augmented, 2007, on Acts 16:19). His cross-reference is to the comments on burning books of magic later at Ephesus (19:19). Matthews says, “The story makes it clear that the name [i.e. the Christian way] does not belong to the realm of magic. On a number of occasions Acts attempts to distinguish Christian miracle working from the activities of religious charlatans and profiteers” (on 19:15-16). . When “the crowd joined in attacking them . . . the magistrates had them stripped of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with rods” (v. 22). And after this “severe flogging, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to keep them securely” (v. 23). The jailor follows the instructions of the magistrates (v. 24a, cf. v. 20), “and put[s] them in the innermost cell and fasten[s] their feet in the stocks” (v. 24b). From the Roman perspective, they should be totally secure–barring such events as earthquakes–but that comes later (v. 26).

This would be one of the “far more imprisonments, with countless floggings” to which Paul later refers in 2 Corinthians 11:23, but it is the only imprisonment reported by Luke prior to the time when he was taken into custody in Jerusalem (Acts 21). This one example of such an imprisonment reminds us of Luke’s pattern of giving one extensive description of various kinds of situations, for example, one example of an extensive sermon by Paul in a synagogue (13:16-41), and another of a sermon to a Gentile audience (17:22-31).

Tomorrow’s reading is about the miraculous deliverance of Paul and Silas from prison, but for now we leave them in prison.

Mark 6:47-56

Jesus Walks on the Sea

47 When evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. 48 When he saw that they were straining at the oars against an adverse wind, he came towards them early in the morning, walking on the sea. He intended to pass them by. 49 But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out; 50 for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid." 51 Then he got into the boat with them and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, 52 for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

53 When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat. 54 When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him, 55 and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. 56 And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed. (Mark 6:47-56, NRSV)

On January 30, 2009 (Friday in the week of the Third Sunday after the Epiphany, Year One, comments were repeated from February 29, 2008 (Friday in the week of the Second Sunday of Lent, Year Two), when comments were repeated with some additions from January 26, 2007 (Friday in the week of the Third Sunday after the Epiphany, Year One) and August 1, 2007 (Wednesday in the week of the Sunday closest to July 27, Year One), when comments on Mark’s version of Jesus’ Walking on the Water were combined, revised and supplemented from January 28, 2005 (Friday in the week of the Third Sunday after the Epiphany, Year One) and from March 24, 2006 (Friday in the week of the Third Sunday of Lent, Year Two). The combined comments are repeated again here:

At this point in Mark’s narrative, Luke breaks off, apparently to introduce material from other sources (cf. Lk. 1:1-4). Luke will rejoin Mark’s narrative with the account of Peter’s Confession (Mk 8:27-30; Mt. 16:13-20; Lk. 9:18-21; Jn. 6:66-71). In a somewhat unusual development, for a few episodes, John’s sequence corresponds to Mark’s but Luke’s does not: Jesus Walking on Water (Mt. 14:22-23; Mk. 6:45-52; Jn. 6:16-21), Healings at Gennesaret (Mt. 14:34-36; Mk. 6:53-56; cf. Jn. 6:22-25, with arriving after crossing the sea and crowds, but no specific reference to healings), and, after a gap in John and his long report of Jesus’ discussion of the Bread of Life, Peter’s confession (see above). For parallel accounts of Jesus walking on the water, the crossing and landing, and the healings at Gennesaret, see the separate file, Walking on the Water.

After being present at the feeding of the five thousand, you would think the disciples would begin to understand–but they did not (Mk. 6:52). Jesus sent them across the sea in the boat (v. 45; cf. Mt. 14:22; Jn. 6:17a), and he dismissed the crowds and went up the mountain to pray (Mk. 6:46; Mt. 14:23a). “When evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he [Jesus] was alone on the land” (Mk. 6:47; cf. Mt. 14:23b; Jn. 6:17b). The sea became stormy, with “an adverse wind” (Mk. 6:48a; cf. Mt. 14:24; Jn. 6:18). Soon “he [Jesus] came towards them early in the morning, walking on the sea” (Mk. 6:48b; cf. Mt. 14:25; Jn. 6:19a). That “he intended to pass them by” (Mk. 6:48c) is explained as describing “the way Jesus appeared to his disciples” (Elwyn E. Tilden and Bruce M. Metzger, NOAB, 2^nd ed., 1994, on Mk. 6:48). Mark adds that “when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out; for they all saw him and were terrified” (Mk. 6:49-50a; cf. Mt. 14:26; Jn. 6:19b). Responding to their terror, Jesus says, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid” (Mk. 6:50b; cf. Mt. 14:27; Jn. 6:20). So far, except for the specific destination (Bethsaida, Mk. 6:45; Capernaum, Jn. 6:17), the details of the story are in essential agreement. But Matthew alone includes Peter’s venture of faith to walk on the water too (Mt. 14:28-29), his sudden fright, his beginning to sink, and his cry for help, “Lord, save me!” (v. 30). Jesus, of course, reaches out to catch Peter, chiding him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” (v. 31). In John, after Jesus’ reassuring words, “It is I; do not be afraid” (Jn. 6:20; cf. Mk. 6:50b; Mt. 14:27), the boat immediately arrives at their destination (Jn. 6:21). Matthew and Mark report that the wind ceased (Mt. 14:32; Mk. 6:51), and while Mark reports their failure to understand “about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened” (Mk. 6:52), Matthew says that “those in the boat worshiped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God’” (v. 33).

John Marsh discusses John’s account of the disciples on the lake. He notes that

recently some scholars have questioned whether [the] traditional assumption [of a miraculous action in walking on the water] is right, and not simply on general grounds of suspicion of the miraculous element as such, but on particular grounds of the actual telling of the story. Paradoxically it seems that the main points of the story can be regarded as made whether the walking on the water be regarded as miraculous or not. (Saint John, Westminster Pelican Commentaries, 1968, p. 288, on Jn. 6:16-21)

He adds, however, that

The present writer is inclined to the view that both the synoptic stories of walking on the water and this in the fourth gospel are intended to be accounts of miracles. The synoptics seem to use them to illustrate their conviction that Jesus possessed the power, ascribed in the Old Testament to Yahweh, of having his way ‘through the sea’ and ‘his path through the great waters’ although his ‘footprints were not seen’ (Psalm 77:19); in a word their miracles are basically theological statements about the person of Jesus Christ. And this, with much more manifest self-consciousness, is the purpose of John’s narrative. (ibid., p. 289)

Marsh also says, “The present writer is confident that the evangelist would not be so concerned with the outcome of a twentieth-century debate about the possibility and extent of miracle as with the question, much more important to him [apparently, to the evangelist], as to the sole sufficiency of Christ as the satisfaction of the real hunger that men experience as men” (ibid., p. 290).

Vincent Taylor, after noting various views about the Crossing of the Lake, says,

It may well be true that homiletical and doctrinal motives have left their mark in such details as the picture of Christ walking on the waters, the sudden dropping of the wind when He enters the boat, and the blindness of heart of the disciples, and it is possible that the first narrators found in the narrative a symbolism which pointed to the death, resurrection and parousia of Jesus; but the basic assumption of actual events remembered and interpreted is fully justified. (The Gospel according to St. Mark, 1959, p. 326 on Mk. 6:45-52)

While these accounts do not have Jesus chide the disciples as a group for lack of faith, Jesus does so address Peter (Mt. 14:31), and Mark ends the story saying that the disciples did not understand (Mk. 6:52). But the next scene, when many were healed (Mk. 6:56; Mk. 14:36) ought to have been an encouragement to their faith. How easy it is to let our own faith dwindle when we face “an adverse wind” (v. 48).

After Jesus and the disciples has crossed the lake, the disciples by boat (Mk. 6:45, 47, 51, 53), and Jesus in part by “walking on the sea” (v. 48), they emerge from the boat and anchor it (v. 53), and Jesus is immediately recognized. “When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him” (v. 54), and they take of advantage of the situation by bring people for healing, as they “rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was” (v. 55). The excitement continues as, “wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed” (v. 56). C. Clifton Black, revised by Adela Yarbro Collins, refers to Matthew 14:34-36 and calls this Markan passage “a transitional ‘summary report’ ” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Mk. 6:53-56). Compare the “Healings at Gennesaret” portion of the separate file Walking on the Water (noted above).

Taylor had earlier commented on these verses as follows:

This section is a narrative composed by Mark on the basis of tradition. In this respect it resembles iii. 7-12. . . . It is not, however, a purely literary and imaginative sketch. There are good reasons for this view. The connection with the preceding story of the Crossing is good, and there is reason to believe that the Feeding of the Five Thousand, the Crossing, and the Landing, attested twice over by Mark (vi. 3056 and viii. 1-10) and by John (vi. 1-25), formed a fixed series in the earliest tradition. . . . Again, the narrative vividly pictures the Galilean Ministry and is distinctive in that no teaching is mentioned, but a rapid and mysterious journeying from place to place. That the section is composed by Mark is shown by the vocabulary . . . but the picture of the people running to and fro and carrying their sick on pallets to any place where rumour said Jesus was, and the description of what happened when He entered villages, cities and hamlets, is best accounted for by tradition based upon knowledge. (op. cit., pp. 331-332, on Mk. 6:53-56).

M. Eugene Boring, without specific reference to Taylor (whose commentary on Mark is included in Boring’s Bibliography), appears to be aware of this interpretation by Taylor (cf. Boring, Mark; A Commentary. The New Testament Library, 2006, pp. 142-143, on Mk. 4:35-36). Boring agrees with Taylor that this summary is Mark’s own composition, for he says Mark “composes his own summaries highlighting Jesus’ deeds of power (1:32-34, 39; 3:7-`1; 6:54-56)” (p. 195 in an Excursus on Miracle Stories in Mark), and relates it to pre-Markan tradition, but with less certainty than Taylor (pp. 142-143, as cited above). In my opinion, we have good reason to believe that Mark here, as elsewhere makes use of reliable tradition about Jesus’ ministry.

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net