2 Samuel 2:13

And Joab the son of Zeruiah,.... A sister of David, and this her son was general of David's army: and the servants of David, went out; that is, his army went out from Hebron to Gibeon, which was

And Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out, and met together by the pool of Gibeon: and they sat down, the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side of the pool.

Went out, to battle. Quest. How could or durst this one tribe oppose all the rest? Answ. First, This tribe was very numerous and valiant of themselves, and they had a king of extraordinary courage, and conduct, and success. Secondly, There were great numbers of the other tribes which favoured them, as appears from 1Ch 12. Thirdly, They had the encouragement of special promises of God, made both to their tribe and to David. Met together, i. e. met the opposite army, and put themselves into a posture for battle.

2 Samuel 2:13 And Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David, went out, and met together by the pool of Gibeon: and they sat down, the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side of the pool.Ver. 13. And then sat down.] David and his men were loath to fight, unless it were in their own necessary defence. He remembered his oath to Saul, not to attempt against his house: and therefore came not hither himself in person, but sent Joab, with directions to hold off till needs must.

(13) Joab the son of Zeruiah.—Zeruiah was David’s sister (1 Chronicles 2:16), and Joab the most prominent of her three distinguished sons. Subsequently, by his successful leading of the forlorn hope in the siege of Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 11:6; comp. 2 Samuel 5:8), he became permanently established as commanaer-in-chief of David’s army. He was undoubtedly among “the brethren of David” who came down to him at the cave of Adullam (1 Samuel 22:1), though he is not mentioned by name, like his brother Abishai (1 Samuel 26:6-9), in the narrative of David’s outlawry. The pool of Gibeon is a large reservoir or tank, arranged to store the overflow from a subterranean reservoir fed by a spring in the rocky hill-side. Its ruins still remain, about 120 feet long by 100 broad. The hostile forces halted in full sight of each other on the opposite sides of the pool.

13. Joab the son of Zeruiah] The eldest of David’s three nephews, the son of his sister Zeruiah (1 Chronicles 2:16). Next to the king himself he occupies the most conspicuous position in the history of David’s reign. Already he appears to have acted as commander-in-chief of the army, though his formal appointment to that post was the reward of his valour at the capture of Jebus (1 Chronicles 11:6; 2 Samuel 8:16). In this capacity he (a) conducted the war against the Syrians and Ammonites (2 Samuel 10:7); (b) completed the conquest of Edom (1 Kings 11:15-16); (c) defeated the Ammonites in a second war, and took their capital (2 Samuel 11:1; 2 Samuel 12:26). With a too ready subservience he carried out David’s plan for getting rid of Uriah (2 Samuel 11:14 ff.), a service which increased his influence over David, by giving him the possession of his guilty secret. (See Blunt’s Undesigned Coincidences, Part II. ch. II.) We find Him scheming to secure the restoration of Absalom to David’s favour (2 Samuel 14), yet remaining loyal to David in Absalom’s rebellion (2 Samuel 18:2). The vindictive unscrupulousness of his character is illustrated by his murder of Abner in revenge for the death of Asahel (2 Samuel 3:27); of Absalom, in spite of David’s express command (2 Samuel 18:14); of Amasa, who was appointed to supersede him (2 Samuel 20:10). Too valuable to be dispensed with, too fierce to be controlled, he was a continual source of vexation to David (2 Samuel 3:39), who gave Solomon a dying charge not to leave his crimes unpunished (1 Kings 2:5-6). His complicity in Adonijah’s rebellion filled up the measure of his iniquity, and he met a traitor’s death in spite of his taking sanctuary at the altar in Gibeon (1 Kings 2:28-34). by the pool of Gibeon] “A few rods from the village [of El-Jib], just below the top of the ridge towards the north, is a fine fountain of water. It is in a cave excavated in and under the high rock, so as to form a large subterranean reservoir. Not far below it, among the olive trees, are the remains of another open reservoir, perhaps 120 feet in length by 100 in breadth.” Robinson, Bibl. Res. I. 455. The “pool of Gibeon” may well be the waters of this fountain and reservoir. It is again referred to in Jeremiah 41:12 as “the great waters that are in Gibeon.” they sat down] i.e. halted and encamped.

On the east of the hill (El-jib, the ancient Gibeon) is a copious spring, which issues in a cave excavated in the limestone rock, so as to form a large reservoir.

13. Joab — Who here appears as leader of David’s men, but was not made captain of his hosts till after the capture of the Jebusites. Chap. 2 Samuel 5:8, and 1 Chronicles 11:6.