2 Samuel 2:23

Howbeit he refused to turn aside: wherefore Abner with the hinder end of the spear smote him under the fifth rib, that the spear came out behind him; and he fell down there, and died in the same place: and it came to pass, that as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died stood still.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Benson Commentary

2 Samuel 2:23. He fell down there and died — So Asahel’s swiftness, which he presumed on so much, only forwarded his fate: with it he ran upon his death, instead of running from it. As many as came to the place stood still — Ceased from the pursuit; fearing, perhaps, the same fate if they followed further; or staying out of respect to Asahel, that his body might not be exposed to any indignity.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

2:18-24 Death often comes by ways we least suspect. We are often betrayed by the accomplishments we are proud of! Asahel's swiftness, which he presumed so much upon, did him no service, but hastened his end.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

With the hinder end ... - i. e. the wooden end, which was more or less pointed to enable the owner to stick it in the ground 1 Samuel 26:7.

The fifth rib - The word so rendered here (and in marginal references) means the abdomen, and is not etymologically connected with the Hebrew for five, as the translation "fifth rib" supposes, but with a verb meaning to be fat, or strong.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

2Sa 2:19-32. Asahel Slain.

19-32. Asahel pursued after Abner—To gain the general's armor was deemed the grandest trophy. Asahel, ambitious of securing Abner's, had outstripped all other pursuers, and was fast gaining on the retreating commander. Abner, conscious of possessing more physical power, and unwilling that there should be "blood" between himself and Joab, Asahel's brother, twice urged him to desist. The impetuous young soldier being deaf to the generous remonstrance, the veteran raised the pointed butt of his lance, as the modern Arabs do when pursued, and, with a sudden back thrust, transfixed him on the spot, so that he fell, and lay weltering in his blood. But Joab and Abishai continued the pursuit by another route till sunset. On reaching a rising ground, and receiving a fresh reinforcement of some Benjamites, Abner rallied his scattered troops and earnestly appealed to Joab's better feelings to stop the further effusion of blood, which, if continued, would lead to more serious consequences—a destructive civil war. Joab, while upbraiding his opponent as the sole cause of the fray, felt the force of the appeal and led off his men; while Abner probably dreading a renewal of the attack when Joab should learn his brother's fate, and vow fierce revenge, endeavored, by a forced march, to cross the Jordan that night. On David's side the loss was only nineteen men, besides Asahel. But of Ish-bosheth's party there fell three hundred and sixty. This skirmish is exactly similar to the battles of the Homeric warriors, among whom, in the flight of one, the pursuit by another, and the dialogue held between them, there is vividly represented the style of ancient warfare.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

The hinder end of the spear was sharp-pointed, after the manner.

Under the fifth rib; the seat of the liver and bowels, where wounds are mortal.

In the same place; upon the spot, not being able to go one step further.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Howbeit, he refused to turn aside,.... Determined on making him his captive if possible.

Wherefore Abner, with the hinder end of the spear; he had in his hand, which seems to have had a pike at both ends; so that with the hinder end of it, next to Asahel, he thrust it at him, without turning to him: and

smote him under the fifth rib; the place where hang the gall and liver, as the Jewish commentators from their Talmud (i) observe. There are twelve ribs, seven of which are called true ones, and five spurious; if this was the fifth of the seven, the spear must pierce the breast (k), and strike the seat of life, the heart and lungs; if the fifth from the eighth and first of the spurious ones, then wounding the hypochondria, it must pass to the vital bowels of the abdomen, which seems to be the case here (l): according to some (m) this is meant of the inferior ribs, which we call the short ribs, and any of these five are called the fifth rib; and Abner must strike him in the right side, because he was behind him, and which stroke must be deadly, because he struck him through the liver:

that the spear came out behind him: the thrust was so violent that the spear went through him, and came out at his back:

and he fell down and died in the same place; he fell at once, and died on the spot immediately:

and it came to pass, that as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died stood still; that is, such of David's men who were in the pursuit after the Israelites, when they came to the spot, and saw Asahel dead, they had no power to proceed in the pursuit, being so troubled and grieved at the death of him.

(i) T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 49. 1.((k) "Transadigit costas, et crates pectoris ensom". Virgil. Aeneod. l. 12. ver. 506. (l) Vid. Scheuchzer. Physic. Sacr. vol. 3. p. 501. (m) Weemse's Portrait of Man, p. 24.

Geneva Study Bible

Howbeit he refused to turn aside: wherefore Abner with the hinder end of the spear smote him under the {m} fifth rib, that the spear came out behind him; and he fell down there, and died in the same place: and it came to pass, that as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died stood still.

(m) Some read, in those parts where the lively parts lie, the heart, lungs, liver, and gall bladder.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

23. with the hinder end of the spear] Abner defended himself in this way with a view to disable rather than kill Asahel. But the butt-end of the spear, pointed or shod with iron to be stuck in the ground (1 Samuel 26:7; Hom. Il. X. 153), dealt a fatal blow.

under the fifth rib] The E. V. follows the Jewish commentators in thus rendering a word which occurs in three other passages of this book (2 Samuel 3:27, 2 Samuel 4:6, 2 Samuel 20:10) and nowhere else. In the belly is however the more probable meaning.

stood still] Riveted to the spot with awe and grief, mourning the untimely fate of the young hero. Cp. ch. 2 Samuel 20:12.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 23. - The fifth rib. This rendering here and in other places arises from the derivation of the word from the numeral five, but this notion has long been abandoned, and the word is now known to be formed from a verb signifying "to be fat or stout." Really it means the abdomen, and is so translated in the LXX. and Vulgate, while the Syriac gives only the general sense, and renders "the breast." In the same place; Hebrew, under him; that is, immediately. So violent was the blow that Asahel dropped down dead without a struggle. So tragic was his fate, and so great the affection of David's men for the young warrior, that the pursuit ceased, and all, as they came up, remained standing by the side of the corpse. 2 Samuel 2:23

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

But when he still refused to depart in spite of this warning, Abner wounded him in the abdomen with the hinder part, i.e., the lower end of the spear, so that the spear came out behind, and Asahel fell dead upon the spot. The lower end of the spear appears to have been pointed, that it might be stuck into the ground (vid., 1 Samuel 26:7); and this will explain the fact that the spear passed through the body. The fate of the young hero excited such sympathy, that all who came to the place where he had fallen stood still to mourn his loss (cf. 2 Samuel 20:12).