and he made him king over Gilead and the Ashurites and Jezreel and Ephraim and Benjamin and all Israel.
Here is, I. A rivalship between two kings - David, whom God made king, and Ishbosheth, whom Abner made king. One would have thought, when Saul was slain, and all his sons that had sense and spirit enough to take the field with him, David would come to the throne without any opposition, since all Israel knew, not only how he had signalized himself, but...
Commenting on 2 Samuel 2:8-17
And he made him king over Gilead,.... Which lay beyond Jordan, and included the tribes of Gad and Reuben, and the half tribe of Manasseh; these he prevailed upon to acknowledge Ishbosheth, their king, and proclaimed him king over them: and over the Ashurites: that is, those of the house or tribe of Asher, as the Targum, and indeed none else can well be thought...
over Gilead--used in a loose sense for the land beyond Jordan. Ashurites--the tribe of Asher in the extreme north. Jezreel--the extensive valley bordering on the central tribes. over all Israel . . . But Judah--David neither could nor would force matters. He was content to wait God's time and studiously avoided any collision with the rival king, till, at the lapse of two years, hostilities were threatened from that quarter.