2 Samuel 3:8

2Sa 3:8 Then was Abner very wroth for the words of Ishbosheth, and said, [Am] I a dog’s head, which against Judah do shew kindness this day unto the house of Saul thy father, to his brethren, and to his friends, and have not delivered thee into the hand of David, that thou chargest me to day with a fault concerning this woman?

Ver. 8. Am I a dog’s head?] An persona canina sum? Am I so worthless and abject? as some sense it; what! a dog, or a dog-keeper? Others, Am I so given to lust and lasciviousness, as dogs are? Thus Deu 23:18, the price of a bitch, that is, of a whore, which, as a suit-bitch, is followed up and down by her libidinous {lecherous} paramours. Aristogiton, an Athenian orator, was for this cause called Dog: and it was not permitted to a dog to enter into the Acropolis or tower at Athens, for his heat in venery, and for his ill favour. Goats likewise came not there, saith Varro, unless for necessary sacrifice. {a}

{a} Plutarch.

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 3:8. Then was Abner very wroth — He accounted his merits so great, and was become so haughty, that he thought he might do any thing without reprehension; and said, Am I a dog’s head? — So contemptible a person that thou thinkest it a disgrace to thy family for me to have intercourse with thy father’s concubine. Whether Abner was guilty of the crime laid to his charge or not, does not appear; nor what ground Ish-bosheth had for the suspicion. But, however it was, it would have been prudent in him to have connived at it for the present, considering how much it was his interest not to dis-oblige Abner. And if the thing was false, and his jealousy groundless, it was very disingenuous and ungrateful to entertain unjust surmises of one who had ventured his all for him, and was certainly the best friend he had in the world. Who against Judah do show kindness unto the house of Saul — Is this my recompense for the kindness I have shown to thee and thy father’s house, and the good services I have done you? He magnifies his service with this, that it was against Judah, the tribe on which the crown was settled, and which would certainly have it at last. So that in supporting the house of Saul he acted both against his conscience and against his interest, for which he deserved a better requital than this. And yet, probably, he would not have been so zealous for the house of Saul, if he had not thereby gratified his own ambition, and hoped to find his own account in it. That thou chargest me with a fault concerning this woman? — That is, either that thou accusest me falsely concerning this matter; or that thou canst not wink at so small a fault (for so he esteemed it) as conversation with this woman, who, whatsoever she formerly was, is now so impotent and inconsiderable that she can neither serve nor disserve thy cause.

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

3:8 some Judean dog: Cp. 1 Sam 17:43. • by not handing you over to David: Abner had control over the life and death of Saul’s son.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Dost thou esteem me no more than a dog, for all my service done to thy father’s house?

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

Verse 8. Am I a dog's head] Dost thou treat a man with indignity who has been the only prop of thy tottering kingdom, and the only person who could make head against the house of David?

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

(8) Am I a dog’s head?—The translation of this clause is taken from the Vulg., and is hardly possible; it should rather be, Am I a dog’s head belonging to Judah?

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

8. Am I a dog’s head, &c.] Render, Am I a dog’s head belonging to Judah? This day do I shew kindness … and thou hast charged me! &c. i.e. Am I at once despicable and hostile to your interests? Nay, I am faithful to the house of Saul, otherwise I should long ago have made terms with David by surrendering you into his hands.

In the East in ancient times as at the present day, dogs, although used for guarding flocks and houses (Job_30:1; Isa_56:10), were chiefly seen prowling about towns in a half-wild condition, owning no master, living on offal and garbage. Cp. Psa_59:14-15; 1Ki_21:19; 1Ki_21:23-24; 1Ki_22:38. Hence the aversion with which they were regarded, and “dog” became (1), as here, a term of reproach and contempt; cp. 1Sa_17:43; 1Sa_24:14; 2Sa_9:8; 2Sa_16:9; 2Ki_8:13 : (2) an expression for fierce and cruel men (Psa_22:16): (3) a name for impure persons (Mat_7:6; Php_3:2; Rev_22:15). See Tristram’s Nat. Hist. of the Bible, p. 78.

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.

Then was Abner very wroth for the words of Ishbosheth,.... If false he had a good deal of reason for it; and if true, he thought he deserved better at his hands, than to be reproved for and upbraided with what he might think was a very small fault, and might easily be connived at, and especially in one that had been so serviceable to him:

and said, am I a dog's head; such a mean, vile, contemptible person with thee, as if no better than a dog, and as useless and as unserviceable as a dead dog, the head of a dog cut off; see Sa1 24:14 Sa2 9:8; or am I esteemed and to be treated as a head of dogs, a keeper of a pack of hounds, and not as a general of the armies of Israel? so Jarchi and others; but it seems rather to respect the filthy nature of a dog, that will couple with any; and so the sense is, am I such a filthy lustful creature that care not with whom I lie, no more, than a dog?

which against Judah do show kindness to the house of Saul thy father,

to his brethren, and to his friends; who in opposition to the tribe of Judah, which alone abode by David, had shown respect to the family of Saul, and all his friends, by his close attachment to Ishbosheth:

and have not delivered thee into the hand David; when it was in his power to have done it many a tithe:

that thou chargest me today with a fault concerning this woman? he neither denies nor owns the charge, and yet, by his not denying it, tacitly owns it; though, by his way of speaking, he suggests as if it was no fault at all, at least a very trifling one, and such as ought not to have been mentioned to him, considering the services he had done to Ishbosheth and his family.

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

The words against Judah are very obscure. If the text be correct, the words would seem to be Ish-bosheth’s, who in his anger had charged Abner with being a vile partisan of Judah: Abner retorts, “Am I (as you say) a dog’s head which belongeth to Judah, or on Judah’s side! This day I show you kindness, etc., and this day thou chargest me with a fault, etc.”

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

Concubine. To marry the king’s widow was deemed an attempt upon the throne, 3 Kings ii. 22. Hence Solomon was so displeased at Adonias, ver. 24. Some think that Isboseth formed the accusation on mere conjecture; but Abner does not deny the fact. (Calmet) --- Dog’s head: of no account, like a dead dog; (Haydock) or no better than a servant, who leads a dog. The Jews considered the dog as one of the vilest of animals, chap. ix. 8., and Job xxx. 1. --- Juda. This word is neglected by the Septuagint. Some would substitute Liduth, "to be cast away." (Calmet) --- God permits the defenders of a wrong cause to fall out, that the right one may be advanced. (Worthington)

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).

A dog’s head, i.e. a vile and contemptible creature, as a dog was. See Deu 23:18; 1Sa 24:14; 2Sa 9:8; 16:9; Job 30:1; Ecc 9:4. And a dog’s head is put for a dog by a synecdoche, usual both in the Hebrew and in other languages, as the head is oft put for the whole man in the Latin tongue. Which against Judah; so the particle lamed is well rendered, as el, which among the Hebrews is confessedly of the same nature and use, is used Ecc 9:14; Jer 34:7; Eze 13:9,20; Am 7:15.

Have not delivered thee into the hand of David, which I could oft and easily have done. That thou chargest me to-day with a fault concerning this woman; either, that thou accusest me falsely concerning this matter; or, that thou canst not wink at so small a fault (for so he esteemed it) as conversation with this woman, who, whatsoever she formerly was, is now so impotent and inconsiderable, that she can do thee no service, as I have done.

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

8. A dog’s head — A thing utterly contemptible, to be despised and cast aside as vile and mean. He shows the king that he must not lightly treat the man to whom he owes the kingdom.

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

Then was Abner very wroth. This extreme indignation on Abner"s part is not easy to understand; for he could scarcely have expected Ishbosheth to endure quietly what at least was a great insult. But probably the question, Wherefore hast thou gone in unto my father"s concubine? does not mean a mild expostulation on the king"s part, but the purpose to degrade Abner and strip him of his office. Probably after the defeat by Joab at Gibeon, the army was less satisfied with its leader, and his detractors may gladly have encouraged the king to use this opportunity for bringing Abner down to his proper place. Weak kings often try to play the strong man; but the attempt here only drove the imperious soldier to put the matter to the proof, and show that the strength was his. We know that David groaned all his life through under Joab"s iron will, and, though he tried, yet that he never succeeded in throwing off the yoke. But Joab never behaved unfaithfully to his sovereign as Abner did here, and his crimes were deeds of violence committed in David"s cause. Am I a dog"s head, which against Judah, etc.? The words literally are, Am I a dog"s head that is for Judah? and are rightly rendered in the Revised Version, Am I a dog"s head that belongeth to Judah? Am I at once worthless and a traitor, a thing of no account, and on the side of thy enemies? In the words that follow he protests, not so much his innocence as his great deserts. This day that is, at this very timeI am showing kindness unto the house of Saul and this day thou wouldest visit upon me that is, punish me forthe fault about this woman. I make and maintain thee as king, and thou wouldst play the king upon me, the kingmaker!

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

Am I a dog's head that belongs to Judah?

This question is used by Abner as an angry denial of Ishbosheth's accusation. It can be translated as a statement. AT: "I am not a traitor working for David!" (See: Rhetorical Question)

Am I a dog's head that belongs to Judah?

Abner speaks of himself as the head of a dog, which the Israelites considered to be loyal to anyone who fed them. Here "belongs to Judah" implies that Abner's loyalty is to Judah, to which David belonged, and not to Saul's house. AT: "Am I a traitor for Judah?" or "I am not a traitor working for David!" (See: Metaphor and Metonymy)

into the hand of David

Here "hand" represents the power to defeat. AT: "to be defeated by David" (See: Metonymy)

But now you accuse me of an offense concerning this woman?

Abner asks this question to rebuke Ishbosheth. It is unclear if Abner actually slept with Rizpah, or if he was falsely accused. Possible meanings are 1) Abner was guilty. AT: "You should not be upset that I slept with this woman!" or 2) Abner was not guilty. AT: "You should not think that I have slept with this woman!" (See: Rhetorical Question)

translationWords

anger

word

Judah

faithful

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

Am I the chief dog [watcher] for [the kingdom of] Yehudah? Am I at least as important as the chief dog watcher for Dovid. However, according to the cantillation which has the accent under [the word] ראׁשׁ and [the word] כֶּלֶב אָנׂכׅי coralled [together], then this is the explanation: The chief? Do I want to be a chief in your house? It is better for me to be a dog and an ordinary person in the house of Dovid. This is also Yonasan's translation.

From this day on should I [continue to] be kind. From now on [is it] proper for me to be kind to the house of Shaul and with all those who love him as I have done until now and I have not delivered you into the hand of Dovid?

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.