2 Samuel 2:32

2Sa 2:32 And they took up Asahel, and buried him in the sepulchre of his father, which [was in] Bethlehem. And Joab and his men went all night, and they came to Hebron at break of day.

Ver. 32. And buried him in the sepulchre of his father.] This they did, likely, after that they had first been with David at Hebron, to give him an account of that expedition.

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_2:32

They came to Hebron at break of day.

The break of day

Joab and his men walking all night towards Hebron, and reaching it at break of day. See in this a symbol of the pilgrimage of our earthly life, in what must be as darkness compared with the wondrous light to which we press, but reaching rest at last, yet not till the break of that golden day.

I. Are we pilgrims of the light, or of the night? Of both. Of the light as we press to reach it, as even now its beams fall on our pathway here, enlightening much that else might perplex. Yet must that light only make the remaining darkness felt. Is it not of the New Jerusalem that it is written, There shall be no night there? Can I say there is no night here--no night of sorrow, no pain, no burden clouding heart and mind? Even when life is brightest with us, the very sense of comfort and joy abides because we know that they have about them a heavenly atmosphere. They are to us God's gifts, and we know that He has in reserve still richer blessings. If we are in sorrow we yearn for God, and in joy we rest still in Him. There is always something before the Christian, a brighter life that is to be. We speak of the night of death. Henry Fawcett used to say that from the great illness which prostrated him for so long, he arose, having learnt, what he had recognised before, that death was not to be feared. Nay, more than this, for we need not speak only of the physical aspects of death: we may learn that in death there is not so much a passing into dark valleys--the valleys of the shadow, at all events, are past when death is reached--as a stepping into wondrous light. Death is an unveiling which lets in light and life to our poor human experience. Let us press on in the pilgrimage, though we walk all the night. There is the appointed path and the allotted time. To few will that time, in God's mercy, seem too long, so full is the night of quiet mercies, so little are we alone. But even if the way seem rough, and the hours dark, the night has its own appointed law and limit. Bear up, press on, and all shall be well.

II. The pilgrim shall reach a place of rest. And Joab and his men went all night, and they came to Hebron. Hebron is one of the most ancient cities of the world still standing. It is now a city of some 5,000 inhabitants. It has had many changes in its political history, and has once and again been in ruins. Abraham is called by the Mohammedans Khulil, the Friend--i.e., of God; and this, we are told by travellers, is the modern name of Hebron itself. It is the city of 'the Friend of God. Among our quiet resting-places God not seldom brings us to the places from which we can look back, marking the goodness and mercy which have followed us since that long past when near to the same spot we built with them some altar to the Lord. The Lord accepted the offering of ourselves; through the pilgrimage He has been with us.

III. For notice, lastly, the rest shall be reached at its appointed time. And Joab and his men went all night, and they came to Hebron at break of day. The eternal morning shall not be missed by any who follow on in the way of the Lord's choosing. Only be brave, be faithful, until the day break, and the shadows flee away. Often the shadows of some trouble or some anxiety pass away even here. New light is on our path; the way of lowly duty is plain. Whenever the day-break is upon us, it is only that we may turn, refreshed by rest, to the duty of the new day. (J. Gasquoine, B. A.)

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The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Sa 2:32. They took up Asahel, and buried him in the sepulchre of his father — The rest they buried in the field of battle. Thus are distinctions made on earth, even between the dust of some and of others! But in the resurrection no difference will be made, except between good and bad, which will remain for ever. Joab and his men went all night — Having carried Asahel to Beth-lehem and buried him there, they marched all the next night toward Hebron, Joab hastening home to give an account of his conduct to David.

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

(32) They took up Asahel.—The bodies of the ordinary soldiers were probably buried on the spot, but on account of Asahel’s position and near relationship to David, his body was carried to Bethlehem, for burial “in the sepulchre of his father.” It thus appears that Zeruiah’s husband (of whom there is no other mention) was also of Bethlehem. The burial must have taken place on the next day (see Note on 2Sa_2:30), and, with the previous march of ten miles, would have filled up that day. It was, therefore, twenty-four hours after the close of the battle before they were ready to start from Bethlehem. The night may have been chosen for the march to avoid the heat; and the distance from Bethlehem to Hebron was about thirteen miles.

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

32. in the sepulchre of his father … in Beth-lehem] The only reference to Zeruiah’s husband, who appears from this notice to have been a Bethlehemite. Josephus calls him Suri (Σουρί).

went all night] Clearly the night after Asahel’s burial, not the night after the battle. The fighting was not over till after sunset (2Sa_2:24), and it would have been impossible to collect the army, make necessary arrangements, and march a distance of at least 26 miles from Gibeon to Hebron, burying Asahel on the way. Joab no doubt spent the night at Gibeon, marched to Bethlehem the next day, and after burying his brother, hastened on to report himself to David at Hebron.

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 they took up Asahel,.... From the place where he fell; that is, Joab and Abishai, his brethren, as Josephus (w) relates; after they had buried the dead in the field of battle, they took up him:

and buried him in the sepulchre of his father, which was in Bethlehem: not in the city of Bethlehem, but without it, on the south side of it; so says Fuller (x),"southward, i.e. of Bethlehem, we find Asahel's sepulchre, who was buried in the grave of his father.''What was his father's name is not known, only his mother's name, Zeruiah, is mentioned in Scripture, a sister of David, and daughter of Jesse the Bethlehemite. Bethlehem was sixteen miles from Gibeon, according to Bunting (y).

And Joab and his men went all night; not the night following the battle, but the night following the next day, after he had been to Bethlehem, and buried his brother there; wherefore, lest David should think it long before he came, he travelled all night:

and they came to Hebron at break of day; where David was, which, according to the same writer (z), was twenty miles from Bethlehem.

(w) Antiqu. l. 7. c. 1. sect. 3. (x) Pisgah-Sight of Palestine, B. 2. c. 14. sect. 21. p. 301. (y) Travels, ut supra. (p. 145, 146.) (z) Travels, ut supra. (p. 145, 146.)

Next: 2 Samuel Chapter 3

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

Joab, having stopped the pursuit, passed the night with his army on the field of battle; the next morning he numbered the missing, and buried the dead; they carried the body of Asahel to Bethlehem and buried him there, and then joined David at Hebron. Hebron would be about 14 miles from Bethlehem, or about five hours’ march.

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

Day, after a march of ten hours. (Adrichomius) (Menochius)

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).

32. Came to Hebron at break of day — Literally, it became light to them, in Hebron. Perhaps the day after the burial of Asahel is meant, as it was sunset when the pursuit ceased. 2Sa_2:24. But it was not impossible for David’s men to have taken Asahel from the wilderness of Gibeon to Beth-lehem, a distance of twelve or fifteen miles, buried him, and gone on to Hebron, fourteen miles further, in the course of a single night. Joab and his hardy companions were used to long marches and rapid movements.

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

The sepulchre of his father, which was in Bethlehem. The Name of Zeruiah"s husband is never mentioned, but he was evidently of the same town as his wife, and at his death, when probably still young, he had received honourable sepulture. As Bethlehem is about eleven miles distant from Gideon, Joab probably marched thither straight from the battlefield, anti spent the next day in paying the last tribute of respect to his brother, and in refreshing his men. At nightfall he resumed his march to Hebron, which was fifteen miles further to the south, and where he would arrive on the morning following that on which Abner reached Mahanaim.

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

In Bethlehem - The rest they buried in the field of battle, but Asahel in the sepulchre of his father. Thus are distinctions made upon earth, even between the dust of some and of others! But in the resurrection no difference will be made but between good and bad; which will remain forever.

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

On the way back, David's men took up the body of Asahel, and buried it in his father's grave at Bethlehem. They proceeded thence towards Hebron, marching the whole night, so that they reached Hebron itself at daybreak. "It got light to them (i.e., the day dawned) at Hebron."

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.)