{"id":59498,"date":"2018-07-09T17:43:44","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T14:43:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-265\/"},"modified":"2023-02-09T09:01:55","modified_gmt":"2023-02-09T07:01:55","slug":"wall-265","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-265\/","title":{"rendered":"chapter-Prophets-II Samuel-2"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"chapter","wall_id":"265","date":"20260903","book":"II Samuel","chapter":"2","chapter_main_number":"265","books_group":"Prophets","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"59625","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"1","name":"JPS Audio Bible - II Samuel Chapter 1 ","post_title":"JPS Audio Bible - II Samuel Chapter 2","slug":"jps-audio-bible-ii-samuel-chapter-2","old_id":"59625","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34686,"post_title":"Soundcloud","slug":"soundcloud","old_id":"34686","first_name":"","last_name":"","description":"","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34656,"alt":"","title":"491","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","width":300,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","medium_large-width":300,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","large-width":300,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","1536x1536-width":300,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","2048x2048-width":300,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","post_full_size-width":300,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/491-2.jpg","home_baner-width":300,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"265","type_929":"4","show_author_image":true,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"JPS Audio Bible","tile_main_caption":"II Samuel 2","tile_main_caption_size":"2","tile_sub_caption":"Hear the daily chapter","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/929-bible\/JPS_Audio_Bible_II_Samuel_Chapter_2","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"II Samuel","chapter":"2","chapter_main_number":"265","date":"20260903","wall_id":"265"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":2,"id":"112456","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"Who Shot First? ","post_title":"Who Shot First?","slug":"who-shot-first","old_id":"112456","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":78133,"post_title":"Josh Blechner","slug":"josh-blechner","old_id":"78133","first_name":"Josh ","last_name":"Blechner ","description":"Josh first finished the Tanach during Yeshiva in Mevaseret Zion. He and his daughter studied the Tanach again for her bat mitzvah. Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group. When not studying for 929, Josh works as an in-house lawyer in New Jersey.","short_description":"Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group, and is an in-house attorney in New Jersey. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":78134,"alt":"","title":"josh blechner","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","width":276,"height":351,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-236x300.jpg","medium-width":236,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","medium_large-width":276,"medium_large-height":351,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","large-width":276,"large-height":351,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","1536x1536-width":276,"1536x1536-height":351,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","2048x2048-width":276,"2048x2048-height":351,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","post_full_size-width":276,"post_full_size-height":351,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","home_baner-width":276,"home_baner-height":351}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"265","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The opposing generals, Abner and Joab, start a new cycle of violence\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

In the original Star Wars there is a scene where Han Solo meets with Greedo at a bar. After a tense conversation, Han Solo shoots Greedo under the table.\u00a0 In the original version, Han Solo fires first, but in the later \u201cdirector\u2019s cut,\u201d George Lucas has Greedo pull his gun, so it looks like Han Solo shot in self-defense. This change created a huge controversy among Star Wars fanatics. Who shot first- Han or Greedo?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Today\u2019s chapter sets up a similar question. The text is a little ambiguous as to the status of the rift between Ish Boshet as king over Israel except for the tribe of David, and David as king over the tribe of Judah. The two seem to co-exist without any major battle. Ish Boshet is fearful of David, and David most likely is continuing his reticence to rock the boat too much and make the first move. Chapter 2 changes that.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But who is responsible? Abner, Ish Boshet\u2019s general, and Joab, David\u2019s general, meet at a pool with a unit of soldiers. Chaos ensues. Who shot first? Avner is the one who suggests that the troops \u201cplay.\u201d\u00a0 The meaning of the word is ambiguous. Did he mean that they should merely spar, or was this some sort of mini-battle- similar to David versus Goliath? The result is tragic: each set of sparring soldiers simultaneously kills the other.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Was Joab responsible? Perhaps he agrees with Abner because he has an ulterior motive. Maybe Abner meant for this to merely be a sparring practice, but Joab instructed his troops to kill. During the battle that comes after the fight, David\u2019s troops rout Ish Boshet's. That should have been enough. Everyone could have gone home to lick their wounds and lament the tragic start of the day. But that does not happen.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Asael, Joab\u2019s swift brother, starts chasing Abner. Is Asael to blame? Until this point the battle seems to be focused on the soldiers. Perhaps the generals were not directly involved. Asael raises the bar by relentlessly chasing Ish Boshet\u2019s general. Asael also does not heed Abner\u2019s warning to let him be. Instead Avner is forced into a defensive move. He stops short with his spear facing backwards and Asael runs directly into the blade. Had Asael given up pursuit or not run at all, his death could be avoided and Joab would not seek revenge.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Or perhaps it all circles back to Abner. As noted above, Abner started the bloodshed by suggesting war games. The text does not say that Asael had a weapon, so perhaps he meant to capture Abner or force Abner to end the battle. Abner could have harmed Asael without killing him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Who shot first? Perhaps the text is ambiguous to make all the parties culpable. The two kings wanted a cold war, but their generals made it heated it up.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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In our chapter, David with his wives Ahinoam and Abigail and soldiers, settles in Hebron, where the men of Judah anoint him their king (2:1-4). But Abner, Saul\u2019s army commander, has taken Ish-Bosheth, son of Saul and made him king over all Israel (verses 8-9). Abner and the soldiers of Ish-bosheth marched out, meeting Joab son of Zeruiah and the soldiers of David. They confronted one another at the pool of Gibeon. One group sat on one side of the pool, and the other group on the other side of the pool. Abner said to Joab, \u201cLet the young men come forward and play (vi-sahaqu<\/em>) before us.\u201d \u201cYes, let them,\u201d Joab answered. They came forward and were counted off, twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth and twelve of David\u2019s soldiers. Each one grasped his opponent\u2019s head [and thrust] his sword into his opponent\u2019s side and they fell together. And that place was called Helqat Ha-Tzurim <\/em>(\u201cThe Field of Flint Swords\u201d) (verses 12-16). Because all twenty-four young swordsmen died, so that neither side could claim symbolic victory without an engagement of all the two armies, a fierce battle ensued that day, and Abner and the men of Israel were routed by David\u2019s soldiers (verse 17).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

We have here a dramatic and tragic example of what came to be known as \u201cswordplay\u201d. It is curious that Scripture refers here to this kind of fatal fighting as \u201cplay\u201d (the basis meaning of the root S-H-Q). In many languages, including Hebrew, the word for \u201cplay\u201d is used to refer to the \u201cplaying of children\u201d, \u201cplaying a role\u201d in a \u201cplay\u201d \u2013 all activities that generally have less fatal results.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

On the basis of what Abner says to Joab in our chapter, \u201cLet the young men come forward and play before us\u201d (verse 14), the Midrash (Genesis Rabbah 53:11) comments that \u201cplay\u201d refers to the spilling of blood. An apparently later Midrashic work (Seder Eliyahu Rabbah, Chapter 13) launches into an extensive diatribe against \u201cplay\u201d, which it includes among other bad behaviors such as \u201cidle talk\u201d (sihah<\/em>) and \u201cflippancy\u201d (tiflut<\/em>). For as Rabbi Akiva says (Avot 3:17): \u201cPlayfulness (sehoq<\/em>) and levity (qalut rosh<\/em>) lead a man to sexual transgression (\u2018ervah<\/em>)\u201d. The Midrash goes on to depict God as sitting on His Throne of Glory, one third of the day He reads Scripture and recites Mishnah, one third of the day He imposes judgement and one third of the day He sustains the entire world. Thus, God has little time for \u201cplay\u201d (but compare Psalms 104:26 and Talmud Bavli Avodah Zarah 3b).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

These aggadot<\/em> clearly take a dim view of \u201cplay\u201d. However, the Aggadah itself is said to have \u201ca playful countenance\u201d (panim sohaqot la-aggadah<\/em> -- Pesiqta\u2019 de-Rav Kahana\u2019, Ba-Hodesh Ha-Shelishi 25). So, let us rejoice in the \u201cplayfulness\u201d of the Aggadah, while avoiding the more destructive and even dangerous possible consequences of \u201cplay\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: \u201cIsrael and Judah at War,\u201d The Morgan Crusader Bible of Louis IX (Maciejowski Bible) - Upper register, Folio 36 verso<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":59637,"alt":"","title":"2sam2-joab-abner fighting","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-joab-abner-fighting.jpg","width":690,"height":444,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-joab-abner-fighting-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-joab-abner-fighting-300x193.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":193,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-joab-abner-fighting.jpg","medium_large-width":690,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-joab-abner-fighting.jpg","large-width":690,"large-height":444,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-joab-abner-fighting.jpg","1536x1536-width":690,"1536x1536-height":444,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-joab-abner-fighting.jpg","2048x2048-width":690,"2048x2048-height":444,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-joab-abner-fighting.jpg","post_full_size-width":690,"post_full_size-height":444,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-joab-abner-fighting-653x420.jpg","home_baner-width":653,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Play","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Seriously?\u00a0","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":59637,"alt":"","title":"2sam2-joab-abner fighting","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-joab-abner-fighting.jpg","width":690,"height":444,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-joab-abner-fighting-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-joab-abner-fighting-300x193.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":193,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-joab-abner-fighting.jpg","medium_large-width":690,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-joab-abner-fighting.jpg","large-width":690,"large-height":444,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-joab-abner-fighting.jpg","1536x1536-width":690,"1536x1536-height":444,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-joab-abner-fighting.jpg","2048x2048-width":690,"2048x2048-height":444,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-joab-abner-fighting.jpg","post_full_size-width":690,"post_full_size-height":444,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-joab-abner-fighting-653x420.jpg","home_baner-width":653,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"II Samuel","chapter":"2","chapter_main_number":"265","date":"20260903","wall_id":"265"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"363","name":"Midrash","old_id":"763"},{"term_id":"897","name":"Killing","old_id":"1297"},{"term_id":"901","name":"Play","old_id":"1301"}]},{"order":5,"id":"59646","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Abner, The Anti-Joab ","post_title":"Abner, The Anti-Joab","slug":"abner-the-anti-joab","old_id":"59646","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34891,"post_title":"Miriam Gedwiser","slug":"miriam-gedwiser","old_id":"34891","first_name":"Miriam","last_name":"Gedwiser ","description":"Miriam Gedwiser teaches Talmud and Tanakh at Ramaz Upper Upper school and is a core faculty member at Drisha. She has a BA from the University of Chicago in the History and Philosophy of Science and a JD from NYU School of Law. She studied in the Drisha Scholars Circle as well as at other programs in Israel and Boston, and has taught at a variety of synagogues and Hillels. She previously practiced commercial litigation at a large law firm, and completed a judicial clerkship in the Southern District of New York","short_description":"Miriam Gedwiser teaches Talmud and Tanakh at Ramaz and at Drisha.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":60045,"alt":"","title":"Miriam Gedwiser 2 cropped","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Miriam-Gedwiser-2-cropped-1.jpg","width":453,"height":522,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Miriam-Gedwiser-2-cropped-1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Miriam-Gedwiser-2-cropped-1-260x300.jpg","medium-width":260,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Miriam-Gedwiser-2-cropped-1.jpg","medium_large-width":453,"medium_large-height":522,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Miriam-Gedwiser-2-cropped-1.jpg","large-width":453,"large-height":522,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Miriam-Gedwiser-2-cropped-1.jpg","1536x1536-width":453,"1536x1536-height":522,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Miriam-Gedwiser-2-cropped-1.jpg","2048x2048-width":453,"2048x2048-height":522,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Miriam-Gedwiser-2-cropped-1.jpg","post_full_size-width":453,"post_full_size-height":522,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Miriam-Gedwiser-2-cropped-1-364x420.jpg","home_baner-width":364,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"265","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Unlike Abner, Joab commands troops for his king\u2019s glory, not his own","post_main_content_content":"

We caught<\/span> our first glimpse of Joab<\/span><\/a> lurking behind his brother in I Sam. 26, but in today\u2019s chapter he emerges as his own formidable character.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Before we get to Joab, however, we must meet Abner son of Ner. Abner serves as something of a foil for Joab, and their interactions will haunt Joab for the rest of his life.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

After Saul\u2019s death, the people of Judah crown David their king, and David makes overtures to Saul\u2019s loyalists in Jabesh-gilead. Abner, Saul\u2019s general, knows that if the kingdom becomes unified under David, Abner will be out of a job (and possibly his life), so he \u201ctakes\u201d Saul\u2019s son Ish Bosheth and attempts to prop him up as Saul\u2019s successor. Abner is less Ish-boshet\u2019s general than Ish-boshet is Abner\u2019s king.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Abner and Joab and their men meet at the pool of Gibeon - perhaps intentionally, perhaps not, with the incidental nature of the meeting only highlighting how avoidable the tragedies that follow were.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Abner suggests that young men from the two sides come forward to \u201csport.\u201d 12 pairs of soldiers step forward to struggle, symbolically, over the right to rule the 12 tribes of Israel. It is unclear if Abner intended some sort of nonlethal jousting match, or a deadly serious symbolic combat (akin to what Goliath proposed back in I Sam. 17) that would ultimately prevent bloodshed by binding both sides to accept the outcome of the small match-up. In either case, the \u201csport\u201d is both deadly and inconclusive. The 24 men all succeed in killing their sparring partners, leading to the outbreak of an outright civil war.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cAbner and the men of Israel were routed by David\u2019s soldiers\u201d - While Abner takes center stage throughout the chapter on his side of the battle, the men under Joab\u2019s command are consistently referred to as belonging to David. Unlike Abner, Joab commands troops for his king\u2019s glory, not his own.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Through his initial suggestion, Abner implicitly places himself and Joab on a tier above the regular soldiers: two legitimate generals shaking hands, as it were, before their men set about trying to kill each other.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Joab\u2019s brother Asahel, however, seems to see it differently. Asahel chases Abner, refusing to be deterred even as Abner begs \u201cStop pursuing me, or I\u2019ll have to strike you down. How will I look your brother Joab in the face?\u201d Asahel rejects Abner\u2019s pretensions to be Joab\u2019s equal, instead hoping to finish off the upstart general, and with him the puppet kingship of Ish-boshet, once and for all.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

When Abner kills Asahel in self defense, Joab and his remaining brother Abishai give chase, until Abner convinces them that the toll to the Israelites as a whole from this relentless pursuit is simply too great. Joab has not given up his personal desire for revenge, but is convinced to put the needs of the nation ahead of them - for now.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In the next chapter, we will see how this uneasy suspension is shattered, changing Joab\u2019s life forever.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: Johann Christoph Weigel, Woodcut of the story from 2 Samuel 2, 1695 \/ wikimedia<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":59647,"alt":"","title":"2sam2-abner","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-abner.jpeg","width":189,"height":245,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-abner-150x150.jpeg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-abner.jpeg","medium-width":189,"medium-height":245,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-abner.jpeg","medium_large-width":189,"medium_large-height":245,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-abner.jpeg","large-width":189,"large-height":245,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-abner.jpeg","1536x1536-width":189,"1536x1536-height":245,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-abner.jpeg","2048x2048-width":189,"2048x2048-height":245,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-abner.jpeg","post_full_size-width":189,"post_full_size-height":245,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-abner.jpeg","home_baner-width":189,"home_baner-height":245}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Abner, The Anti-Joab","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Unlike Abner, Joab commands troops for his king\u2019s glory, not his own","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":59647,"alt":"","title":"2sam2-abner","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-abner.jpeg","width":189,"height":245,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-abner-150x150.jpeg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-abner.jpeg","medium-width":189,"medium-height":245,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-abner.jpeg","medium_large-width":189,"medium_large-height":245,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-abner.jpeg","large-width":189,"large-height":245,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-abner.jpeg","1536x1536-width":189,"1536x1536-height":245,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-abner.jpeg","2048x2048-width":189,"2048x2048-height":245,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-abner.jpeg","post_full_size-width":189,"post_full_size-height":245,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-abner.jpeg","home_baner-width":189,"home_baner-height":245}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"II Samuel","chapter":"2","chapter_main_number":"265","date":"20260903","wall_id":"265"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"835","name":"King","old_id":"1235"},{"term_id":"897","name":"Killing","old_id":"1297"},{"term_id":"900","name":"Joab","old_id":"1300"}]},{"order":6,"id":"59643","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Shame-Man ","post_title":"Shame-Man","slug":"shame-man","old_id":"59643","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":56290,"post_title":"Sandra Cohen","slug":"sandra-cohen","old_id":"56290","first_name":"Sandra ","last_name":"Cohen","description":"Rabbi Sandra Cohen teaches, provides pastoral care, and works in mental health outreach. She and her husband live in Denver, Colorado. ","short_description":"Rabbi Sandra Cohen teaches, provides pastoral care, and works in mental health outreach.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":56293,"alt":"","title":"Sandra Cohen","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Sandra-Cohen.jpg","width":279,"height":303,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Sandra-Cohen-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Sandra-Cohen-276x300.jpg","medium-width":276,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Sandra-Cohen.jpg","medium_large-width":279,"medium_large-height":303,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Sandra-Cohen.jpg","large-width":279,"large-height":303,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Sandra-Cohen.jpg","1536x1536-width":279,"1536x1536-height":303,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Sandra-Cohen.jpg","2048x2048-width":279,"2048x2048-height":303,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Sandra-Cohen.jpg","post_full_size-width":279,"post_full_size-height":303,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Sandra-Cohen.jpg","home_baner-width":279,"home_baner-height":303}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"265","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Every person has a name\r\ngiven to him by God\r\nand given to him by his father and mother\r\n\u00a0. . . \u00a0\u00a0by Zelda Mishkovsky","post_main_content_content":"

Naming is so important in Jewish tradition. Parents agonize over what to call their child.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Hebrew names all have meaning in the Torah, often they are explicitly connected to the character. Isaac\u2019s name is connected to Sarah\u2019s laughter at the time she learned she would bear a child. Jacob is a \u201cheel\u201d until he grows and is renamed \u201cIsrael,\u201d because he struggles with God and humans.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In our chapter, names and their meaning pop out at us, including my favorite name:\u00a0 Ishboshet \u201cShame Man.\u201d Sounds like a super-hero, or perhaps a villain in a Batman movie.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Shame-Man might have one of two powers, in my imagination.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

He might be the one who spreads shame wherever he goes. In this scenario, Ishboshet stops people in their tracks and fills them with self-doubt and negativity. Instead of acting to improve the world, people end up stuck, wondering if anything they do could possibly be worthwhile. Relationships end, as each person is convinced of his inadequacy. Slowly but surely shame paralyzes the world.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Or, Shame-Man might himself be filled with shame. His superpower might be self-loathing, self-doubt, self-fear. A role-model for those who wonder if each person is really created in the image of God. Shame-man withdraws from family, feeling unworthy of their love, disrupting those around him. His talents all go unused, because he doesn\u2019t believe he possesses anything worth sharing.\u00a0 People who knew him before his \u201csuper power\u201d of shame wonder where he went, why he no longer cares about anything around him. They even start to blame themselves, causing the shame to multiply, or become angry at Shame-Man, and then at themselves, for failing to \u201cfix\u201d him. Feeling of impotence spreads, and, once again, shame spreads and paralyzes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Shame is not guilt. Guilt is the feeling we experience after doing something that violates our values. Shame is a feeling we have about ourselves. Guilt is about an action; shame is about who we are.\u00a0 Guilt helps to motivate us to change: to apologize to those our actions have hurt, and then to behave differently in the future. Guilt leads to <\/span>teshuva<\/span><\/em>\/repentance.\u00a0 Shame tells us that who we are is bad. Shame looks deep into our <\/span>neshama<\/span><\/em>\/soul, and rejects it. It is unworthy, tainted, too horrible to be loved. Guilt can be remedied with action, while shame can\u2019t; it can only be hidden.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I know of no Ish-boshet today, yet, shame still abounds in our community. Stigmas of mental illness or addiction, for example, still prevents people from being seen and getting the support they deserve. A person is not \u201cbad\u201d or \u201cnot trying hard enough\u201d because she has recurrent depression; she has a serious illness and deserves our prayers and actual support.\u00a0 There is no shame in mental illness, but there might be plenty of guilt for many of us.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

So take notice of all, and let it be known that Shame-Man no longer dwells among us.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":59644,"alt":"","title":"2sam2-shame","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-shame.jpg","width":1920,"height":1483,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-shame-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-shame-300x232.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":232,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-shame-768x593.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":593,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-shame-1024x791.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":791,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-shame.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1186,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-shame.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1483,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-shame-1200x927.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":927,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-shame-544x420.jpg","home_baner-width":544,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Shame-Man","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Let it be known that Shame-Man no longer dwells among 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His poems have won twenty-two prizes in international poetry competitions, and he has twice been awarded fellowships from the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture.","short_description":"Yakov Azriel is an English language poet who lives in Israel","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":36670,"alt":"","title":"Yakov.Azriel.Photo","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668.jpg","width":1099,"height":1519,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-217x300.jpg","medium-width":217,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-741x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":741,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-741x1024.jpg","large-width":741,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668.jpg","1536x1536-width":1099,"1536x1536-height":1519,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668.jpg","2048x2048-width":1099,"2048x2048-height":1519,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-868x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":868,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Yakov.Azriel.Photo_-e1533158407668-304x420.jpg","home_baner-width":304,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"265","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"\"So David went up thither, and his two wives also, Ahinoam of Jezreel and \u2026\" (2 Samuel 2:2)","post_main_content_content":"

Am I asleep?\u00a0 My heart\u2019s awake; I hear<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Him knocking on my door, \u201c<\/span>I\u2019ve come, my love<\/span>,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Unlatch the lock and open the door, my dove<\/span>.\u201d<\/span><\/em>
\r\n<\/span>I hear his voice; or do I dream?\u00a0 I dare<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Not open, I have undressed, and lie here bare;<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>I\u2019ve washed my hands and feet, and wear no glove,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>No shoe; yet look \u2014 I see his hand above<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>The lock, and his shadow hiding in the air.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Leaping from hills of myrrh and frankincense,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>My husband comes to drink his wine of choice<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>And rest in beds of spices, among the throngs<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Of herbs and lilies of the valley, whose scents<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Awaken me tonight.\u00a0 I hear his voice<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Chanting my name, as he sings a song of songs.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: Aquarelle painting by Aharon April \"Song of Songs-Last,\" 2005 \/ wikimedia<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":95617,"alt":"","title":"sos1-love 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He holds a graduate certificate degree in Gender Studies from Utah State University, and is pursuing a PhD on the intersection between Jewish thought and gender studies at the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies. ","short_description":"Rabbi Tzvi Sinensky is the Director of Interdisciplinary Learning and Educational Outreach at the Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School in Livingston, NJ.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":56119,"alt":"","title":"tzvi_sinensky","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/tzvi_sinensky.jpg","width":240,"height":280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/tzvi_sinensky-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/tzvi_sinensky.jpg","medium-width":240,"medium-height":280,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/tzvi_sinensky.jpg","medium_large-width":240,"medium_large-height":280,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/tzvi_sinensky.jpg","large-width":240,"large-height":280,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/tzvi_sinensky.jpg","1536x1536-width":240,"1536x1536-height":280,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/tzvi_sinensky.jpg","2048x2048-width":240,"2048x2048-height":280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/tzvi_sinensky.jpg","post_full_size-width":240,"post_full_size-height":280,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/tzvi_sinensky.jpg","home_baner-width":240,"home_baner-height":280}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"265","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Starting from Ruth, acts of lovingkindness and loyalty are the bedrock of the Davidic dynasty","post_main_content_content":"

After mourning for Saul and Jonathan, David ascends to Hebron and is anointed there as king. Seeking to bring Saul\u2019s backers on board with his rule, David reaches out to the community of Jabesh Gilead:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

David was told about the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul. So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead and said to them, \u201cMay you be blessed of the Lord because you performed this act of faithfulness to your lord Saul and buried him. May the Lord in turn show you true faithfulness; and I too will reward you generously because you performed this act. Now take courage and be brave men; for your lord Saul is dead and the House of Judah have already anointed me king over them.\u201d (v. 4-7)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Perhaps most remarkable in this series of verses is their parallels to the language of the book of Ruth, in which Ruth remains with her mother-in-law Naomi, and ultimately marries Boaz, whose children continue Naomi\u2019s line. Naomi initially urges the women to return to their homes in Moab, exclaiming, \u201cMay the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me\u201d (Ruth 1:8). Boaz is introduced as a \u201cbrave man\u201d (Ruth 2:1). After Boaz makes sure to take care of Ruth by providing for her and Naomi, Naomi declares, \u201cBlessed be he of the Lord, who has not failed in His kindness to the living or to the dead\u201d (2:20). Boaz courts Ruth, calling her \u201ca brave woman\u201d (3:11). After Boaz and Ruth are married, the townspeople wish them that \u201cthey perform bravery in Efrat\u201d (4:12). All these closely parallel David\u2019s language in his communication with the people of Jabesh Gilead.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The essential storyline in Ruth concerns Boaz\u2019s kindness in redeeming and continuing the line of Naomi and her deceased husband Elimelekh. Accordingly, David\u2019s argument seems to be that David\u2019s line is, on some level, a continuation of that of Saul. He seeks not to replace Saul\u2019s dynasty but to continue it. Through their act of eternal kindness to Saul - for having buried him - the town\u2019s residents should merit that Saul\u2019s legacy be continued through the new kingdom of David.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Not only is this a savvy argument on the part of David, but it reflects a profound truth in another way as well. The book of\u00a0 Ruth closes by tracing Ruth and Boaz\u2019s lineage to David, suggesting that acts of lovingkindness and loyalty are the bedrock of the Davidic dynasty. David is making a similar argument here as well. By performing a \u201c<\/span>hesed shel emet<\/span><\/em>,\u201d an act of kindness that cannot be repaid, and burying their beloved King Saul, the residents of Jabesh Gilead were demonstrating not only their commitment to Saul but also to the values underlying the Davidic dynasty.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Accordingly, David encouraged them to view his own kingdom as consistent with the very values they had enacted in risking themselves to bury the disgraced body of their beloved King Saul.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":59650,"alt":"","title":"2sam2-jabesh-gilead-2","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-jabesh-gilead-2.jpg","width":322,"height":400,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-jabesh-gilead-2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-jabesh-gilead-2-242x300.jpg","medium-width":242,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-jabesh-gilead-2.jpg","medium_large-width":322,"medium_large-height":400,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-jabesh-gilead-2.jpg","large-width":322,"large-height":400,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-jabesh-gilead-2.jpg","1536x1536-width":322,"1536x1536-height":400,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-jabesh-gilead-2.jpg","2048x2048-width":322,"2048x2048-height":400,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-jabesh-gilead-2.jpg","post_full_size-width":322,"post_full_size-height":400,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-jabesh-gilead-2.jpg","home_baner-width":322,"home_baner-height":400}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"David 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He is the author of TANAKH: An Owner\u2019s Manual (Jerusalem: Urim\/Ktav, 2015).\r\n\r\n","short_description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34244,"alt":"","title":"sokolow","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","width":302,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-300x298.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":298,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","medium_large-width":302,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","large-width":302,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","1536x1536-width":302,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","2048x2048-width":302,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","post_full_size-width":302,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","home_baner-width":302,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"265","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Political drama, or warring family-clans?","post_main_content_content":"

Earlier (1 Samuel 11), the citizens of Jabesh-Gilead had been threatened by the Ammonites and they sought a champion to fight for their cause. Saul gathered an army of 330,000 soldiers and successfully defended them. We speculated there that Saul\u2019s concern over Jabesh-Gilead may have been due to his being descended from one of their local women, who was given in forced marriage to a Benjaminite. We now learn that that concern was repaid by Jabesh-Gilead, whose people took Saul and Jonathan\u2019s corpses down from the walls of Beisan, where they had been put on display by the Philistines, and brought them to a proper burial. David acknowledged their loyalty and called on them, successfully, to transfer their allegiance to him.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This call came on the background of an imminent war of succession that pitted David against Ish-Boshet, a surviving son of Saul, whose claim to the throne was supported by Abner, Saul\u2019s chief of military staff. (This is the second indication we have had that the names of biblical characters may be symbolic rather than actual. Ish-Boshet, Man of Shame, like Nabal, fool, do not strike me as names given at birth.)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The opposing forces met across a pool near Gibeon and hostilities began with a limited encounter between twelve soldiers from each side\u2014somewhat reminiscent of the one-on-one challenge between David and Goliath\u2014that was quickly followed by an all-out battle. The familial nature of the conflict is highlighted by the verse \u201cThere were three sons of Tzeruyah there that day: Joab, Avishay, and Asahel\u201d (18), the last named setting out in individual pursuit of Abner, who was able to strike him \u201con the fifth [rib]\u201d (near the heart) with the blunt end of his spear and kill him (23), bringing the conflict to a sudden end.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Overlooked, perhaps, in the proverbial fog of battle, is that Abner was Saul\u2019s cousin (see 1 Samuel 14: 51), just as David\u2019s forces were led by Joab, who was David\u2019s nephew (Tzeruyah<\/em> was one of David\u2019s sisters, cf. 1 Chronicles 2:16). This is not the last that we will hear of these warring clans (see 3:1).<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":59658,"alt":"","title":"2sam2-Family_Feud","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-Family_Feud.png","width":422,"height":243,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-Family_Feud-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-Family_Feud-300x173.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-Family_Feud.png","medium_large-width":422,"medium_large-height":243,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-Family_Feud.png","large-width":422,"large-height":243,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-Family_Feud.png","1536x1536-width":422,"1536x1536-height":243,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-Family_Feud.png","2048x2048-width":422,"2048x2048-height":243,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-Family_Feud.png","post_full_size-width":422,"post_full_size-height":243,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-Family_Feud.png","home_baner-width":422,"home_baner-height":243}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"All In The Family","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Political drama, or warring family-clans?","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":59658,"alt":"","title":"2sam2-Family_Feud","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-Family_Feud.png","width":422,"height":243,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-Family_Feud-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-Family_Feud-300x173.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-Family_Feud.png","medium_large-width":422,"medium_large-height":243,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-Family_Feud.png","large-width":422,"large-height":243,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-Family_Feud.png","1536x1536-width":422,"1536x1536-height":243,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-Family_Feud.png","2048x2048-width":422,"2048x2048-height":243,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-Family_Feud.png","post_full_size-width":422,"post_full_size-height":243,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/2sam2-Family_Feud.png","home_baner-width":422,"home_baner-height":243}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"II Samuel","chapter":"2","chapter_main_number":"265","date":"20260903","wall_id":"265"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"379","name":"Family","old_id":"779"},{"term_id":"434","name":"War","old_id":"834"}]},{"order":11,"id":"59624","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Take His Armor! ","post_title":"Take His Armor!","slug":"take-his-armor","old_id":"59624","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":54356,"post_title":"Robert Alter","slug":"robert-alter","old_id":"54356","first_name":"Robert ","last_name":"Alter","description":"Robert Alter is the Class of 1937 Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley, where he has taught since 1967. He has written over twenty books, focusing on such topics as the European novel from the 18th century to the present, contemporary American fiction, and modern Hebrew literature. He has also written extensively on the literary aspects of the Bible. His most recent work is his monumental three volume translation of the entire Hebrew Bible - The Hebrew Bible, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019 - from which the selections in 929 are taken. 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Norton & Co., 2019.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":54357,"alt":"","title":"robert alter","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","width":184,"height":275,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","medium-width":184,"medium-height":275,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","medium_large-width":184,"medium_large-height":275,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","large-width":184,"large-height":275,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","1536x1536-width":184,"1536x1536-height":275,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","2048x2048-width":184,"2048x2048-height":275,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","post_full_size-width":184,"post_full_size-height":275,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","home_baner-width":184,"home_baner-height":275}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"265","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Abner tries to warn off his pursuer","post_main_content_content":"

2:21 \u201cAnd Abner said to him, \u2018swerve you to your right or your left and seize for yourself one of the lads, and take you his armor.\u2019 But Asahel did not want to turn away from him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Commentary: This noun, <\/span>halitsah<\/span><\/em>, appears only here and in the Samson story. It is rendered in modern translations, erroneously, as \u201ctunic,\u201d \u201cgarment,\u201d or even \u201cbelt,\u201d but as we know from the <\/span>Iliad<\/span><\/i>, it is rather armor that a warrior takes from a slain foe on the battlefield. (The King James Version actually gets it right here but not in the Samson story.) The word is related to <\/span>haluts<\/span><\/em>, vanguard, and the vanguard fighters would surely have worn armor.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

From: Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible,<\/em> vol. 2: Prophets, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019, ad loc. By permission of the author.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"From Robert Alter's Bible Translation and Commentary","tile_main_caption":"Take His Armor!","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Abner tries to warn off his pursuer","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"II Samuel","chapter":"2","chapter_main_number":"265","date":"20260903","wall_id":"265"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":12,"id":"112480","color":"#f6edf6","size":"2","name":"The Tanakh Podcast-IISam2","post_title":"The Tanakh Podcast-IISam2","slug":"the-tanakh-podcast-iisam2","old_id":"112480","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33692,"post_title":"Alex Israel","slug":"33692-2","old_id":"33692","first_name":"Alex","last_name":"Israel","description":"Alex Israel teaches Tanakh at the Pardes Institute, Yeshivat Eretz Hatzvi and Matan, Jerusalem. 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\u201cYoav: Ruthless Murder or Loyal Soldier of Faith?<\/a><\/u>\u201d by Evan Sheinhait: Explore this enigmatic figure as the Rabbis saw him.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cMusic in the Hebrew Bible\u201d<\/a><\/u> by Jamie Fisher: What is the importance of music in Tanakh?<\/p>","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Go deeper into the chapter....","tile_main_caption":"Source Sheets - II Samuel 2","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Links to learning resources","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":42232,"alt":"","title":"sefaria-words-sunburst","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","width":608,"height":395,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst-300x195.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":195,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","medium_large-width":608,"medium_large-height":395,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","large-width":608,"large-height":395,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","1536x1536-width":608,"1536x1536-height":395,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","2048x2048-width":608,"2048x2048-height":395,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","post_full_size-width":608,"post_full_size-height":395,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/sefaria-words-sunburst.png","home_baner-width":608,"home_baner-height":395}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"Sefaria word sunburst visualization","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"II Samuel","chapter":"2","chapter_main_number":"265","date":"20260903","wall_id":"265"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":15,"id":"59623","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Points to Ponder - II Samuel 2 ","post_title":"Points to Ponder - II Samuel 2","slug":"points-to-ponder-ii-samuel-2","old_id":"59623","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":38102,"post_title":"929-English","slug":"929-english","old_id":"38102","first_name":"","last_name":"929-English","description":"","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":38333,"alt":"","title":"\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5.png","width":1513,"height":860,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-300x171.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":171,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-768x437.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":437,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-1024x582.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":582,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5.png","1536x1536-width":1513,"1536x1536-height":860,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5.png","2048x2048-width":1513,"2048x2048-height":860,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-1200x682.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":682,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-739x420.png","home_baner-width":739,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"265","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"

    \r\n\t
  1. Keeping his distance<\/em>. Abner crowns Ishboshet at Machanaim, and not at Givat Shaul. Perhaps because he was trying to stay as far away from David as possible; perhaps because the trans-Jordan was more his home court.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  2. A fatal game<\/em>. What was Abner\u2019s intention when he suggested: \u201c\u201cLet the young men come forward and sport before us\u201d (verse 14). A friendly wrestling match? A duel? A symbolic display of single combat (like David and Goliath) - that was meant to save more extensive bloodshed? The commentators and scholars have a field day.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  3. 360:19 (+ Asahel) - Advantage David (Joab)<\/em>. Those are the numbers of casualties on the two sides (verses 30-31). The very one-sided number explains why Joab had to be the responsible adult and declare a cease fire.<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  4. Must the sword devour forever?<\/em> (verse 26). The answer: no! Or at least that\u2019s what Abner says. We\u2019ve got to stop the carnage, and it is in our hands. Or in this case, in Joab\u2019s.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>","post_main_content_image":{"id":86314,"alt":"","title":"Points to ponder","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"II Samuel 2","tile_main_caption":"Points to Ponder","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Insights and questions for personal reflection and group discussion","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":86314,"alt":"","title":"Points to ponder","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Points-to-ponder-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"II Samuel","chapter":"2","chapter_main_number":"265","date":"20260903","wall_id":"265"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false}],"hide_acf":true,"home_image":false,"home_posts":false,"home_posts_title":"","posts_home":[],"static_cube_title":"","static_cube_brief":"","static_cube_color":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall\/59498"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/wall"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}