Chapter 2 of Shmuel Bet opens David's path to kingship, and right at the outset it reveals to us the secret of his greatness. Let us note that throughout the entire journey David never seized the kingship by force, and in this he differed from Shaul. This was David's advantage over Shaul's level. At first he did not seek the kingship at all: Shmuel the prophet came and anointed him, and it was not David who pursued the matter. Even after the anointing he behaved toward Shaul as a faithful servant, fighting his wars and never trying to rebel against him. Even when Shaul pursued him and he had two opportunities to kill him and take the kingship that had already been promised to him, he did not raise his hand against the anointed of Hashem. And even after Shaul's death he did not pounce upon the kingdom as one who finds great spoil: he even executed the one who brought news of Shaul's death, to show that the deed was unacceptable to him, and he went on to lament over him. Now, when the kingship is being handed to him on a silver platter, there is no one like David who does anything without asking Hashem. David has brakes, he holds himself back and inquires of the Urim VeTumim.
וַיְהִי אַחֲרֵי־כֵן וַיִּשְׁאַל דָּוִד בַּה' לֵאמֹר הַאֶעֱלֶה בְּאַחַת עָרֵי יְהוּדָה וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֵלָיו עֲלֵה וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד אָנָה אֶעֱלֶה וַיֹּאמֶר חֶבְרֹנָה׃ - And it came to pass after this that David inquired of Hashem, saying, Shall I go up into one of the cities of Yehuda? And Hashem said to him, Go up. And David said, Where shall I go up? And He said, To Chevron.
David is currently outside the Land, after having fled to Achish king of Gat, and now he wishes to enter. What in fact is the question? The question is that perhaps the kingship belongs to Shaul's son, and as we will soon see, he did indeed seize the kingship. If so, by entering the Land I place myself once again in a situation of danger: just as I was pursued by the father, I will continue to be pursued by the son. That is sufficient reason not to enter. Therefore the first question is "Shall I go up into one of the cities of Yehuda," and the answer is "Go up."
And why ask twice? He could have asked in a single question: shall I go up and to where. But as we have explained in the past, with the Urim VeTumim one does not ask two questions at once, but one question each time. Therefore he first asked "Shall I go up," and when he received a positive answer he asked the next question: to where shall I go up? And he was answered: to Chevron.
וַיַּעַל שָׁם דָּוִד וְגַם שְׁתֵּי נָשָׁיו אֲחִינֹעַם הַיִּזְרְעֵלִית וַאֲבִיגַיִל אֵשֶׁת נָבָל הַכַּרְמְלִי׃ - So David went up there, and his two wives also, Achinoam the Yizre'elit, and Avigayil the wife of Naval the Karmeli.
After David receives a message from Hashem to go up, he fears nothing. He does not say: I will first go up alone, scout out the terrain, see what is happening, and if all is well I will bring the wives and children. If Hashem tells me to go up, I trust one hundred percent. He goes and takes his wives with him as well, showing that he trusts in Hashem one hundred percent.
וַאֲנָשָׁיו אֲשֶׁר־עִמּוֹ הֶעֱלָה דָוִד אִישׁ וּבֵיתוֹ וַיֵּשְׁבוּ בְּעָרֵי חֶבְרוֹן׃ - And his men who were with him David brought up, every man with his household, and they dwelt in the cities of Chevron.
One more point: David brought his men up with him, and we would have expected him to settle them around him as a defensive force. After all, you should be aware that Shaul's son is here and is trying to seize the kingship. But David trusts in Hashem, and his men, who are the six hundred who accompanied him, a genuine military force, he does not settle around himself but disperses them throughout the cities of Chevron. Hashem told me to go up, I have nothing to worry about, and I do not need them around me.
וַיָּבֹאוּ אַנְשֵׁי יְהוּדָה וַיִּמְשְׁחוּ־שָׁם אֶת־דָּוִד לְמֶלֶךְ עַל־בֵּית יְהוּדָה וַיַּגִּדוּ לְדָוִד לֵאמֹר אַנְשֵׁי יָבֵישׁ גִּלְעָד אֲשֶׁר קָבְרוּ אֶת־שָׁאוּל׃ - And the men of Yehudah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Yehudah. And they told David, saying: The men of Yavesh Gilad were the ones who buried Shaul.
Just as Hashem told him, so it comes to pass: he arrives at Chevron, and the men of Yehudah anoint him king. But why specifically the men of Yehudah and not all of Israel? Because the kingship is delayed for seven years, during which David sat in Chevron, and only afterward did he begin to reign in Yerushalayim. The reason will become clear as we continue: Avner ben Ner proceeds to crown the son of Shaul. And why did he do so? Because in the prophecy of Yaakov Avinu it says "and kings shall come forth from your loins" - in the future tense, meaning that the kings are destined to be born. At that time Binyamin had not yet been born, and so the meaning is that kings are destined to come forth from Binyamin. And how many kings had come forth from Binyamin until now? Only one, Shaul. And if it says "kings," and the minimum plural is two, this proves that there must be another king. Avner said: I need to take action to crown the second king. Avner was a great Torah scholar, a giant in Torah, and also a great warrior, and this is how he expounded. And although he had many interests in expounding this way, in this case the interpretation was correct. Therefore David does not reign immediately, but for seven years over Yehudah alone, and during those years Ish Boshet reigns.
Another matter: it was customary in their times that a new king would kill everyone who had been connected to the previous king. The reason is simple: whoever was ever connected to the monarchy, that germ has clung to him, he will always feel that he belongs to the monarchy and will always try to carry out a coup and seize the kingship anew. David did not act this way. Yehonatan had made David swear that he would not harm his sons and his family, and David swore to him. Not that David needed the oath; David would not have done such a thing. Rather, the practice stemmed from very logical reasons of fear of rebellion against the monarchy. And here we see that David is anointed king over Yehudah alone, who are members of his family.
And when they tell him "the men of Yavesh Gilad who buried Shaul," one would think David should say: they helped Shaul, who was my enemy, and not only do I have no need to do them a kindness, but perhaps I ought to pursue them, for they are among those who aided my enemies. But the verse teaches that David not only did not become angry with them, and the news did not stir up any resentment in him, but on the contrary, he even encouraged them.
וַיִּשְׁלַח דָּוִד מַלְאָכִים אֶל־אַנְשֵׁי יָבֵישׁ גִּלְעָד וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵיהֶם בְּרֻכִים אַתֶּם לַה' אֲשֶׁר עֲשִׂיתֶם הַחֶסֶד הַזֶּה עִם־אֲדֹנֵיכֶם עִם־שָׁאוּל וַתִּקְבְּרוּ אֹתוֹ׃ - And David sent messengers to the men of Yavesh Gilad and said to them: Blessed are you to Hashem, that you performed this kindness with your master, with Shaul, and buried him.
There are two aspects here: "with your master" - a kindness obligated because he was their master, and "with Shaul" - because he was Hashem's chosen one. And therefore he blesses them. And what was the kindness? Shaul's body had been fastened to the wall of Beit Shean, and they went at night in secret, took down the body, and buried it. And why specifically them? Because it was Shaul who saved the men of Yavesh Gilad from Nachash when he came against them, at the beginning of his reign. They remembered this kindness of his, and therefore went and saved his honor.
וְעַתָּה יַעַשׂ־ה' עִמָּכֶם חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת וְגַם אָנֹכִי אֶעֱשֶׂה אִתְּכֶם הַטּוֹבָה הַזֹּאת אֲשֶׁר עֲשִׂיתֶם הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה׃ - And now may Hashem do with you kindness and truth, and I too will do with you this good, because you did this thing.
By the measure with which a person measures, he is measured. You performed kindness, and Hashem will do kindness with you in exchange for kindness. And what is "and truth"? When the Holy One, blessed be He, repays kindness to a person, this is truth, as though the Holy One, blessed be He, becomes obligated in it. Measure for measure is truth with the Holy One, blessed be He: it is not merely "you do kindness and I will do kindness with you," but if you do kindness, says the Holy One, blessed be He, as it were, I am obligated to do kindness with you. This is an aspect of truth. Hashem will do with you a kindness whose essence is truth, and will repay you your kindness in accordance with what you did with Shaul.
And David adds and informs them: not only Hashem, but I too am ready to do good with you as you did with him, good and deliverance. For why did you act toward him? Because he saved you from the hand of Chanun ben Nachash. David tells them: I now see it as an obligation upon myself to continue to save you, to help you and to be at your aid against your enemies. Do not think that there is any grievance against you for what you did; on the contrary, I strengthen your hands and tell you not to fear that Shaul is gone, for I will be here in his place to help and support you.
וְעַתָּה תֶּחֱזַקְנָה יְדֵיכֶם וִהְיוּ לִבְנֵי־חַיִל כִּי־מֵת אֲדֹנֵיכֶם שָׁאוּל וְגַם־אֹתִי מָשְׁחוּ בֵית־יְהוּדָה לְמֶלֶךְ עֲלֵיהֶם׃ - And now let your hands be strengthened, and be valiant men, for your master Shaul is dead, and the house of Yehudah has also anointed me king over them.
He tells them: There is no one to fight on your behalf, so you must strengthen yourselves. And if you should say: If so, we will fight alone with no help at hand? To this he continues: "And moreover the house of Yehuda have anointed me king over them." And since they anointed me king, there will be someone to be with you and support you; even though Shaul is gone, I am still here and I will do my best to help you as much as I can.
וְאַבְנֵר בֶּן־נֵר שַׂר־צָבָא אֲשֶׁר לְשָׁאוּל לָקַח אֶת־אִישׁ בֹּשֶׁת בֶּן־שָׁאוּל וַיַּעֲבִרֵהוּ מַחֲנָיִם׃ - And Avner son of Ner, captain of Shaul's army, took Ish Boshet son of Shaul and brought him over to Machanayim.
Avner son of Ner did not really want David's kingship. He was one of Shaul's men, and even when Shaul's heart softened at the sight of the corner of the robe that David had cut off when he could have killed him, Avner said to him: Do not be impressed, apparently the corner of your robe was torn by a thorn, David found it, and now he comes and shows it as if he could have killed you. And likewise when David took the water jug and the spear from the camp at night, he and his lad, Avner found excuses: when the lads went to draw water from the well they forgot the jug there, or it fell from them, and David took it out and now comes and shows it as if he could have killed you. That is why David said to him there: "Will you not answer, Avner" - what excuses will you offer now? You said a thorn, what will you claim now? And David did not know that the other excuses had not been closed off, and that here too he would find himself an excuse about a jug that had fallen.
Here too Avner understands that his future lies not with David but with the house of Shaul, especially since he had gone with Shaul all this time, and presumably David would not take him as captain of the army. In this he erred, and as we will see later he will eventually come to recognize that David is willing to accept him, and will come to be received by him. This move will not end well, but in the end he will indeed understand that David is willing to accept him. Yet at this stage he thinks he has nothing to look forward to with David, and so he takes Ish Boshet son of Shaul and brings him over to Machanayim, and crowns him according to that same teaching of "and kings shall come forth from your loins."
וַיַּמְלִכֵהוּ אֶל־הַגִּלְעָד וְאֶל־הָאֲשׁוּרִי וְאֶל־יִזְרְעֶאל וְעַל־אֶפְרַיִם וְעַל־בִּנְיָמִן וְעַל־יִשְׂרָאֵל כֻּלֹּה׃ - And he made him king over the Gilad and over the Ashuri and over Yizreel and over Efrayim and over Binyamin and over all Israel.
The verse teaches that the coronation was gradual. First "over the Gilad," for in Gilad dwell the men of Yavesh Gilad, among Shaul's lovers. When one crowns a king, one begins with the people close to him. And from there he slowly strengthens Ish Boshet's power over the Ashuri, in Yizreel, in Efrayim and in Binyamin, until in the end he succeeded in crowning him over all Israel.
And see that this is not simple: David sits in Yehuda and sees with his own eyes how someone is going and taking control of this nation. An ordinary person would by no means have stayed silent. An ordinary person would have gone out and waged wars, and argued: You perhaps do not know, but I was anointed king. Yet David does nothing: when Hashem wants, I will be king. I did not seek the kingship, Hashem told me I would be king, and when my time comes I will reign. This is a lofty and immense virtue, a tremendous power of restraint that David had and Shaul did not. Shaul could not hold himself back when Shmuel told him to wait seven days until he came, and not to offer the burnt offering before him. And when he saw the spoil in the war of Amalek he could not restrain the people, and he and the people took of the spoil. And here David restrains himself. For this Hashem chose David and rejected the kingship of Shaul.
בֶּן־אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה אִישׁ־בֹּשֶׁת בֶּן־שָׁאוּל בְּמָלְכוֹ עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵל וּשְׁתַּיִם שָׁנִים מָלָךְ אַךְ בֵּית יְהוּדָה הָיוּ אַחֲרֵי דָוִד׃ - Ish Boshet son of Shaul was forty years old when he became king over Israel, and he reigned two years; only the house of Yehuda followed David.
וַיְהִי מִסְפַּר הַיָּמִים אֲשֶׁר הָיָה דָוִד מֶלֶךְ בְּחֶבְרוֹן עַל־בֵּית יְהוּדָה שֶׁבַע שָׁנִים וְשִׁשָּׁה חֳדָשִׁים׃ - And the number of the days that David was king in Chevron over the house of Yehuda was seven years and six months.
The verses seemingly contradict one another. Ish Boshet reigns over Israel, David reigns over Yehuda, and both began to reign on the same day. David reigns over Yehuda seven years and six months, and Ish Boshet reigns over Israel only two years. There are here five years in which Israel has no ruler. What happened during those years?
The Radak explains: "the kingdom was left idle for five years," meaning that during these five years there was no king over Israel. But this is difficult to understand: if there is no king, why does Hashem not let David reign? If David's time to reign had come, he should have begun reigning already, so why is he ruling over Yehuda alone? And why does the nation wait five years and not go to crown David, when they have no king?
The Malbim disagrees with the Radak and explains differently: there are two types of kingship, absolute kingship and partial kingship. When it says "and he reigned two years," it refers to absolute kingship over all of Israel. But afterward, when the kingdom weakened and war broke out between the house of Shaul and the house of David, as we will see in the coming pesukim, the kingdom of Ish Boshet contracted and weakened, and it was no longer an absolute kingship, so it cannot be called "reigning." According to this, Ish Boshet actually reigned seven years, but the complete kingship lasted only two years, and the final five years were years in which his kingship was not absolute. The reason for this is explained in the coming pesukim.
וַיֵּצֵא אַבְנֵר בֶּן־נֵר וְעַבְדֵי אִישׁ־בֹּשֶׁת בֶּן־שָׁאוּל מִמַּחֲנַיִם גִּבְעוֹנָה׃ - And Avner son of Ner and the servants of Ish Boshet son of Shaul went out from Machanayim to Givon.
This pasuk on its own has no special significance, but it is a preparation for the next pasuk. The Radak explains that they crowned Ish Boshet at Machanayim, and from there they went to Givon.
וְיוֹאָב בֶּן־צְרוּיָה וְעַבְדֵי דָוִד יָצְאוּ וַיִּפְגְּשׁוּם עַל־בְּרֵכַת גִּבְעוֹן יַחְדָּו וַיֵּשְׁבוּ אֵלֶּה עַל־הַבְּרֵכָה מִזֶּה וְאֵלֶּה עַל־הַבְּרֵכָה מִזֶּה׃ - And Yoav son of Tzeruya and the servants of David went out, and they met them together at the pool of Givon, and these sat on one side of the pool and those on the other side of the pool.
They meet them by chance at the pool of Givon, and they sit there on both sides.
וַיֹּאמֶר אַבְנֵר אֶל־יוֹאָב יָקוּמוּ נָא הַנְּעָרִים וִישַׂחֲקוּ לְפָנֵינוּ וַיֹּאמֶר יוֹאָב יָקֻמוּ׃ - And Avner said to Yoav, "Let the young men rise now and play before us," and Yoav said, "Let them rise."
See where boredom leads. Avner says: we have here young men trained in war. And generals love wars; whenever there is a political debate over whether to fight or not, the generals are in favor of the battle. Why? Until now he has trained on dry land, and he wants the real thing, the live one. So he says to him: our young men are trained in war, let them rise and play a little. The intention was only to play, that no harm should come of it, but that they should show their strength, that we would see a wrestling match, that we would see who is stronger than whom.
וַיָּקֻמוּ וַיַּעַבְרוּ בְמִסְפָּר שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר לְבִנְיָמִן וּלְאִישׁ בֹּשֶׁת בֶּן־שָׁאוּל וּשְׁנֵים עָשָׂר מֵעַבְדֵי דָוִד׃ - And they rose and crossed over by number, twelve for Binyamin and for Ish Boshet son of Shaul, and twelve from the servants of David.
First twelve from Binyamin crossed over, and why twelve? Because, as it were, the twelve tribes of Israel are with him, the majority is on his side. And because he brought twelve, twelve of David's servants crossed over as well. And who started this battle? Avner. And whose men rose first? Avner's men, who were eager for battle. And David's men only followed them, for apparently they did not want to appear afraid, and therefore they too sent twelve young men.
וַיַּחֲזִקוּ אִישׁ בְּרֹאשׁ רֵעֵהוּ וְחַרְבּוֹ בְּצַד רֵעֵהוּ וַיִּפְּלוּ יַחְדָּו וַיִּקְרָא לַמָּקוֹם הַהוּא חֶלְקַת הַצֻּרִים אֲשֶׁר בְּגִבְעוֹן׃ - And each seized his fellow by the head and thrust his sword into his fellow's side, and they fell together, and that place was called Chelkat HaTzurim, which is in Givon.
From the "sport" they eventually came to a real battle of war. Even though their aim was not to kill, since there was no decisive outcome they began to fight with swords, and through the swords they killed one another: each young man killed his fellow, and it was not that one side managed to overcome the other.
וַתְּהִי הַמִּלְחָמָה קָשָׁה עַד־מְאֹד בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא וַיִּנָּגֶף אַבְנֵר וְאַנְשֵׁי יִשְׂרָאֵל לִפְנֵי עַבְדֵי דָוִד׃ - And the battle was very fierce that day, and Avner and the men of Israel were defeated before the servants of David.
After they came to bloodshed and it was still unclear who the victor was, they moved from the young men to the older ones in order to reach a decision, and from here a great battle arose between Avner from the men of Ish Boshet and Yoav from the men of David. And why was it specifically Avner who was defeated? The Sages say: because he was the one who started the war and made sport with the blood of the young men. A dreadful and terrible thing, how can you play with human lives? And the Sages say that this is also the reason Avner ultimately died by the sword: since he made sport with the blood of the young men, in the end his own blood was spilled.
וַיִּהְיוּ־שָׁם שְׁלֹשָׁה בְּנֵי צְרוּיָה יוֹאָב וַאֲבִישַׁי וַעֲשָׂהאֵל וַעֲשָׂהאֵל קַל בְּרַגְלָיו כְּאַחַד הַצְּבָיִם אֲשֶׁר בַּשָּׂדֶה׃ - And there were three sons of Tzeruyah there, Yoav, Avishai, and Asahel, and Asahel was swift of foot like one of the gazelles that are in the field.
Note something interesting: "Yoav son of Tzeruyah" - Tzeruyah is a woman, and usually a person is called by his father's name. Why are they called here by their mother's name? The answer is that Tzeruyah was David's sister, and they were David's nephews, and therefore throughout they were with David. And it always seems that David could not stand up to them: "The sons of Tzeruyah are too hard for me." They caused him much trouble, and especially Yoav, who did many things against David's commands and David could not stand up to him. Therefore David left the matter of Yoav to his son Shlomo who reigned after him, and told him: you shall deal with Yoav according to the judgment fitting for him. And we will learn further on what exactly happened and why he deserved it.
All three of them were great warriors, and Asahel's distinction was that he was swift of foot like one of the gazelles that are in the field. The Sages say that when he ran, it appeared as if he were stepping on the tops of the stalks of grain, like Naftali; from his great speed it appeared as if he were running through the air and not touching the ground at all. Scripture introduces this to us in order to explain why he relied on the lightness of his running so that he could keep pursuing Avner, and also succeed in killing him.
וַיִּרְדֹּף עֲשָׂהאֵל אַחֲרֵי אַבְנֵר וְלֹא־נָטָה לָלֶכֶת עַל־הַיָּמִין וְעַל־הַשְּׂמֹאול מֵאַחֲרֵי אַבְנֵר׃ - And Asahel pursued Avner, and he did not turn to go to the right or to the left from following Avner.
Asahel pursues Avner in order to kill him, for they are now standing in battle. He is swift of foot, and therefore he is the only one who managed to come so close to Avner. However, even though he was swift of foot, we find no equal to Avner's might. They said of Avner that had there been a place to grip the world, he would have lifted it. This is certainly a way of exaggeration, but it expresses the idea: what immense and mighty strength Avner had.
וַיִּפֶן אַבְנֵר אַחֲרָיו וַיֹּאמֶר הַאַתָּה זֶה עֲשָׂהאֵל וַיֹּאמֶר אָנֹכִי׃ - And Avner turned around and said, Is this you, Asahel? And he said, It is I.
וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ אַבְנֵר נְטֵה לְךָ עַל־יְמִינְךָ אוֹ עַל־שְׂמֹאלֶךָ וֶאֱחֹז לְךָ אֶחָד מֵהַנְּעָרִים וְקַח־לְךָ אֶת־חֲלִצָתוֹ וְלֹא־אָבָה עֲשָׂהאֵל לָסוּר מֵאַחֲרָיו׃ - And Avner said to him, Turn aside to your right or to your left, and seize for yourself one of the young men and take for yourself his spoils, but Asahel would not turn aside from following him.
Asael here has the status of a pursuer (rodef), for he is chasing after Avner to kill him, while Avner from the outset has no interest in killing Asael, as we will soon see why. Yet for a man to abandon the chase midway is a shame and a disgrace, since he returns empty handed. Therefore Avner says to him: turn aside, seize one of the young men and take his gear, meaning take his garments, his shield and his spear, and thereby you will not have returned empty handed, and you will be able to say that you were not chasing Avner at all, but rather one of the young men. You will come out of the matter with honor. In short: Avner is handing him a ladder to climb down from the tree.
The Radak explains differently: "seize one of the young men" means go with one of the young men so that he will be company and an escort for you on the way back, for if you are afraid to return alone, take one of the young men to accompany you. And should you say: but what if I fear that on the way he will kill me? To this he says "and take his gear," meaning take his weapons and then you will be sure that he will not kill you.
וַיֹּסֶף עוֹד אַבְנֵר לֵאמֹר אֶל־עֲשָׂהאֵל סוּר לְךָ מֵאַחֲרָי לָמָּה אַכֶּכָּה אַרְצָה וְאֵיךְ אֶשָּׂא פָנַי אֶל־יוֹאָב אָחִיךָ׃ - And Avner said again to Asael: Turn aside from following me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How then could I lift up my face to Yoav your brother?
He pleads with him: turn aside from following me. Why should I strike you to the ground, when I could kill you in a single moment. And he adds: how could I lift up my face to Yoav your brother? I hold Yoav your brother in high regard, I have a friendship with him, and I do not want to do a deed after which I could not lift up my face to him. Therefore I plead with you: turn back.
וַיְמָאֵן לָסוּר וַיַּכֵּהוּ אַבְנֵר בְּאַחֲרֵי הַחֲנִית אֶל־הַחֹמֶשׁ וַתֵּצֵא הַחֲנִית מֵאַחֲרָיו וַיִּפֹּל־שָׁם וַיָּמָת תַּחְתָּו וַיְהִי כָּל־הַבָּא אֶל־הַמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר־נָפַל שָׁם עֲשָׂהאֵל וַיָּמֹת וַיַּעֲמֹדוּ׃ - But he refused to turn aside, and Avner struck him with the butt of the spear in the belly, so that the spear came out behind him, and he fell there and died on the spot. And it came to pass that all who came to the place where Asael had fallen and died stood still.
The Malbim points out a precise distinction: in verse 21 it says "Asael was not willing (avah) to turn aside from following him," and here it says "he refused (vayema'en) to turn aside." What is the difference? "Avah" is a term of the heart: what a man desires is the will of his heart. At first, when Avner told him to turn aside, "he was not willing": his heart did not want to turn aside, and he insisted on continuing to run. But now, when Avner said to him "why should I strike you to the ground," he is already beginning to be afraid, and consequently his heart already desires to turn back, only that with his mouth he continues to refuse. He had climbed too high a tree and cannot climb down: his heart already wants to turn back, but what a disgrace it would be for me if I turned back, and so I will continue. That is why it says here "he refused" and not "he was not willing."
The Malbim further explains: there was here the status of a pursuer, and in the law of the pursuer the halacha is that one must save the victim by wounding the pursuer in one of his limbs. There is a halacha that if a man is pursuing his fellow to kill him, even if he is not pursuing me but rather I see Reuven pursuing Shimon, I may chase after Reuven and say to him: leave him alone, and if you do not leave him alone I will strike you. And the law is that I am forbidden to kill the pursuer, but only to try to wound him in one of his limbs. And if I saw that I could not wound him in one of his limbs, or that he was far off and I tried but did not succeed, only then am I permitted also to kill him. That is: if I tried to disable him and did not succeed, I am permitted also to kill.
Back during the First Intifada, Rabin gave orders to shoot only at the legs, yet the soldiers kept hitting the head. They held a debriefing with the soldiers, and they said: what can we do, we shoot at the legs, but at the very moment I shoot at the legs he bends down to pick up a stone. He said: fine, then shoot into the air. And again they see people with bullets in the chest. He asked: what is this? They told him: we shot into the air of the lungs.
And here: "Avner struck him with the butt of the spear," not with the point of the spear but with its rear part, which is the part meant to disable and not to kill. Only that he struck a dangerous place: "in the belly," a place on which the gall bladder and the liver hang, a place of mortal danger, until the spear came out behind him, and he fell and died on the spot, meaning immediately. And since he struck backwards, he could not see how he was striking. On this there is a discussion in the Gemara whether Avner had the status of a murderer in this matter or not. Yoav claimed that he had the status of a murderer: how is it possible that you aimed at the belly? Aiming at the belly can only be done deliberately. Why did you not strike him in the leg, why not in the arm? And Avner claimed that the blow to the belly was not deliberate, but rather he struck backwards, and therefore he does not have the status of a murderer.
וַיִּרְדְּפוּ יוֹאָב וַאֲבִישַׁי אַחֲרֵי אַבְנֵר וְהַשֶּׁמֶשׁ בָּאָה וְהֵמָּה בָּאוּ עַד־גִּבְעַת אַמָּה אֲשֶׁר עַל־פְּנֵי־גִיחַ דֶּרֶךְ מִדְבַּר גִּבְעוֹן׃ - And Yoav and Avishai pursued after Avner, and the sun was setting, and they came to the hill of Amah, which lies before Giach along the way to the wilderness of Givon.
We saw that the men were running, and whoever reached the place and saw the corpse of Asael whom Avner had killed would stand there. And as a result of their standing there, there were men who were delayed.
וַיִּתְקַבְּצוּ בְנֵי־בִנְיָמִן אַחֲרֵי אַבְנֵר וַיִּהְיוּ לַאֲגֻדָּה אֶחָת וַיַּעַמְדוּ עַל רֹאשׁ־גִּבְעָה אֶחָת׃ - And the children of Binyamin gathered together behind Avner and became one band, and they stood on the top of a hill.
The children of Binyamin prepare themselves for battle and gather together, and when you are gathered together you are far readier for combat. They also choose a strategic position and stand on the top of the hill.
וַיִּקְרָא אַבְנֵר אֶל־יוֹאָב וַיֹּאמֶר הֲלָנֶצַח תֹּאכַל חֶרֶב הֲלוֹא יָדַעְתָּה כִּי־מָרָה תִהְיֶה בָּאַחֲרוֹנָה וְעַד־מָתַי לֹא־תֹאמַר לָעָם לָשׁוּב מֵאַחֲרֵי אֲחֵיהֶם׃ - And Avner called to Yoav and said: Shall the sword devour forever? Do you not know that it will be bitter in the end? How long will it be before you tell the people to turn back from pursuing their brothers?
What does he mean? The purpose of war is to see who will prevail, who will emerge victorious. Avner says to him: here you have already achieved that purpose, you are the victors and there is no dispute. If so, is the purpose that the sword should devour forever and for all time? Killing is not a goal in itself; the aim of the slaying is to win the battle, and once you have won, continuing the fight is pointless.
Furthermore: when the war achieves something, we succeeded in conquering, we succeeded in winning, even though bloodshed is a bitter thing, in the end there is a sweet taste, the taste of victory that we managed to prevail. But where the killing and the war are without any purpose, only a bitter thing remains with nothing to sweeten it in the end. This is "do you not know that it will be bitter in the end": if the aim is to win and you have already won, the sweetness at the end covers over the bitterness; but here there is only bitterness, for the victory is already behind you, and what will you gain by continuing to kill? Only the bitter taste will remain.
And he adds: "how long will it be before you tell the people to turn back from pursuing their brothers." Even if in a war against enemies you say: I will wipe them all out as revenge, or so that next time they will not come again, and for whatever reason you wish to keep on killing, in a war between brothers this should not be done. After all, these are their own brothers, and what point is there here in destroying and killing?
וַיֹּאמֶר יוֹאָב חַי הָאֱלֹהִים כִּי לוּלֵא דִּבַּרְתָּ כִּי אָז מֵהַבֹּקֶר נַעֲלָה הָעָם אִישׁ מֵאַחֲרֵי אָחִיו׃ - And Yoav said: As God lives, had you not spoken, then surely from the morning the people would have gone up, each from pursuing his brother.
Yoav says to him: I did not start the quarrel, you started it. Had you not spoken in the morning and said "let the young men now arise and play before us," already in the morning we would each have left his brother and parted in peace. You started it, and now suddenly you come to speak to me about the bitterness that will be in the end? Where were you in the morning? Why did you not think then about the bitterness that would come in the end? See what damage you caused.
וַיִּתְקַע יוֹאָב בַּשּׁוֹפָר וַיַּעַמְדוּ כָּל־הָעָם וְלֹא־יִרְדְּפוּ עוֹד אַחֲרֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְלֹא־יָסְפוּ עוֹד לְהִלָּחֵם׃ - And Yoav blew the shofar, and all the people stood still, and they no longer pursued after Israel, and they did not continue to fight anymore.
Even so, Yoav had enough good sense. He blew the shofar, and they did not continue to pursue those who were fleeing, nor did they continue to attack those who were now standing on the hill ready for battle. Therefore "and they did not continue to fight anymore."
וְאַבְנֵר וַאֲנָשָׁיו הָלְכוּ בָּעֲרָבָה כֹּל הַלַּיְלָה הַהוּא וַיַּעַבְרוּ אֶת־הַיַּרְדֵּן וַיֵּלְכוּ כָּל־הַבִּתְרוֹן וַיָּבֹאוּ מַחֲנָיִם׃ - And Avner and his men went through the Arava all that night, and they crossed the Jordan, and went through all the Bitron, and came to Machanayim.
The chapter opens with David inquiring of the Urim veTumim even as the kingship is being handed to him, going up to Chevron in complete trust with his wives, settling his men throughout the cities of Chevron, and blessing the men of Yavesh Gilad who had done kindness with Shaul. Facing him stands Avner, who understood that "and kings shall come forth from your loins" required an additional king from Binyamin, and who gradually crowned Ish Boshet over Israel, while David reigned seven years and six months over Yehuda alone and lifted not a finger to hasten his time. The gap between the two years of Ish Boshet and the seven of David is explained by the Radak as a kingship that lapsed, and by the Malbim as a distinction between an absolute kingship and a partial one that was weakened on account of the war. And this was the war that began from the "sport" of the young men at the pool of Givon and rolled into bloodshed, into the death of Asael at the hand of Avner, and into its conclusion with the blowing of Yoav's shofar. Two guiding lines run through the chapter: David's power of restraint, on account of which Hashem chose him and rejected Shaul, and opposite him Avner, who made sport with the blood of young men, and in the end his own blood was spilled.