2 Samuel 2:27

2Sa 2:27 And Joab said, [As] God liveth, unless thou hadst spoken, surely then in the morning the people had gone up every one from following his brother.

Ver. 27. Unless thou hadst spoken,] q.d., Thou mayest thank thyself for the hurt that is done: for thou first madest the challenge. Aequum est ut faber quas fecit compedes ipse gestet.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Sa 2:27. Unless thou hadst spoken, &c. — Made the motion that they should fight, giving a rash challenge; surely in the morning the people had gone up — The armies had parted in peace, without any act of hostility: it was thou, not I, that gave the first occasion of this fight. This plainly shows that Joab’s instructions were not to begin hostilities, and that Abner was the sole cause of the war. Had it not been for him, all things might have been settled by an amicable agreement that very morning. Some, however, understand Joab’s words differently: they consider him as swearing solemnly, that inasmuch as Abner had given the challenge, and proposed fighting, if he had not also begun the parley for cessation, he and his men would have pursued him and Ish-bosheth’s vanquished army the whole night.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

If thou hadst not provoked them to battle, as verse 14.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 27. And Joab said] The meaning of this verse appears to be this: If Abner had not provoked the battle, (see 2Sa 2:14), Joab would not have attacked the Israelites that day; as his orders were probably to act on the defensive. Therefore the blame fell upon Israel.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(27) Unless thou hadst spoken.—Joab’s reply to Abner admits of either of two interpretations: (1) Joab seeks to throw the whole blame of the conflict upon Abner, by saying that if he had not proposed the combat between the champions (2Sa_2:14) there would have been no battle, but “the people” of both sides would have separated peaceably at Gibeon; or (2), as the phrase is more generally and more probably under. stood, that Joab had intended to keep up the pursuit only until the following morning, but as Abner already sued for mercy, he was content, and would stop now.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

27. unless thou hadst spoken] Abner found fault with Joab for continuing the pursuit. Joab retorts that Abner himself was to blame for the commencement of the battle. Unless thou hadst spoken (2Sa_2:14), and challenged us to fight, the armies might have separated this morning without coming to blows. Joab believed that the civil war might have been avoided by timely negotiation. This explanation is the simplest, and fits the context best. Another way of taking it is, Unless thou hadst spoken, and asked for a cessation of hostilities, then to-morrow morning, but not before, the people, &c.; i.e. Joab boasts that his compliance with Abner’s request was no sign of weakness on his part, for he might have continued the pursuit until morning. But this meaning is less obvious, and less suitable as an answer to Abner.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Joab said, as God liveth,.... Which was the form of an oath, swearing by the living God:

unless thou hadst spoken; that is, these words in Sa2 2:14; "let the young men arise and play", that he had not given the challenge to fight:

surely then in the morning the people had gone up everyone from following his brother; they would have gone away and never fought at all; they were not desirous of shedding their blood, and following after them to slay them: thus he lays the blame upon Abner, and makes him to be the cause and beginner of the war. Some render the particle by "if", and give the sense, that if he had spoken what he last did sooner, the people would long before this time have desisted from pursuing them; for it was not from a thirst after their blood, and a desire to luke vengeance on them, that they pursued them, but to bring them to submission, and lay down their arms; for they could not in honour retreat until they desired it; but the former sense seems best, and is the general sense of the Jewish commentators.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Joab’s speech means either “unless thou hadst spoken (challenged us to fight, 2Sa 2:14), the people would have returned from the pursuit of their brethren (many hours ago, even) this morning;” or, “If thou hadst not spoken (asked for peace, 2Sa 2:26), surely the people would have returned, etc., in the morning, i. e. would not have ceased the pursuit until the morning.” The latter interpretation is the more accordant with Joab’s boastful character.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

CHAPTER II.

Sooner. Hebrew, "If thou hadst not spoken," (Du Hamel) by challenging, ver. 14. (Josephus, &c.) (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Unless thou hadst spoken; unless thou hadst made the motion that they might fight, 2Sa 2:14. It was thou, not I, that gave the first occasion of this fight. Withal, he intimates that Abner was the sole cause of this war; and that if he had not given commission and command, the war had never been undertaken, but all things had been ended by an amicable agreement; which might have been made that very morning, if he had so pleased.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

27. Unless thou hadst spoken — As thou didst this morning, saying, “Let the young men arise and play.” 2Sa_2:14. That challenge provoked the war. Had it not been uttered the two armies would have separated without fight or bloodshed.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Unless thou hadst spoken, surely then in the morning the people had gone up; or as the Revised Version renders, had gone away, nor followed every man his brother. The Revised Version makes the sense more plain. Joab throws the whole blame, and rightly so, on Abner. David would under no circumstances have attacked Ishbosheth, and Joab with his men had marched to the tank of Gibeon simply to repel an invading force. When there, Joab, doubtless by David"s orders, had remained strictly on the defensive, and so unwilling were both armies to fight, that Abner had to resort to a most cruel scene of butchery in order to inflame their passions and force them to begin a conflict of brother against brother. But for Abner"s challenge, both armies would have separated as friends. And Joab still acts upon the same principle of forbearance, and gives the signal for stopping the pursuit. He was not a man of a tender heart, but he was wise and sensible, and fully aware that the slaughter of Abner and his men, even if he could have destroyed them all, would only have rankled in the minds of all Israel, and set them against David and his rule.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Unless, &c. - Unless thou hadst made the motion that they should fight, ver. 14. It was thou, not I, that gave the first occasion of this fight. Abner was the sole cause of this war; otherwise all things had been ended by an amicable agreement: which might have been made that very morning, if he had so pleased.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Joab replied, "If thou hadst not spoken (i.e., challenged to single combat, Sa2 2:14), the people would have gone away in the morning, every one from his brother," i.e., there would have been no such fratricidal conflict at all. The first כּי introduces the substance of the oath, as in Sa1 25:34; the second gives greater force to it (vid., Ewald, 330, b.). Thus Joab threw all the blame of the fight upon Abner, because he had been the instigator of the single combat; and as that was not decisive, and was so bloody in its character, the two armies had felt obliged to fight it out. But he then commanded the trumpet to be blown for a halt, and the pursuit to be closed.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

If you had not spoken. If only you had spoken this [way earlier] [The לא] is as [if it were written] לו, meaning it. Another [way] to interpret it is as it's plain meaning: if you had not spoken i.e. that which you said "Let the young soldiers get up and playfight."

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.