2 Samuel 3:12

3:12 Then Abner sent messengers ¹  to David saying, “To whom does the land belong? Make an agreement ²  with me, and I will do whatever I can ³  to cause all Israel to turn to you.”

2 Samuel 2:8

David’s Army Clashes with the Army of Saul

2:8 Now Abner son of Ner, the general in command of Saul’s army, had taken Saul’s son Ish-bosheth ⁴  and had brought him to Mahanaim.

[3:12]  ¹ tn The Hebrew text adds here, “on his behalf.”

[3:12]  ² tn Heb “cut a covenant.” So also in vv. 13, 21.

[3:12]  ³ tn Heb “and behold, my hand is with you.”

[2:8]  ⁴ sn The name Ish-bosheth means in Hebrew “man of shame.” It presupposes an earlier form such as Ish-baal (“man of the Lord”), with the word “baal” being used of Israel’s God. But because the Canaanite storm god was named “Baal,” that part of the name was later replaced with the word “shame.”