Then she said, “They used to say in former times, ‘Let them but ask counsel at Abel,’ and so they settled a matter.
We have here the conclusion of Sheba's attempt. I. The rebel, when he had rambled over all the tribes of Israel, and found them not so willing, upon second thoughts, to follow him, as they had been upon a sudden provocation to desert David (having only picked up a few like himself, that sided with him), at length entered Abel-Beth-maacah, a strong city in the...
Commenting on 2 Samuel 20:14-22
Then she spake, saying, they were wont to speak in old time,.... It was a common saying, a proverbial expression among the ancient sages: saying, they shall surely ask counsel at Abel, and so they ended the matter. Abel, it seems, had been a city so famous for wise and prudent men, that it was common for the inhabitants of other cities, in the several...
They were wont to speak in old time--The translation of the Margin gives a better meaning, which is to this effect: When the people saw thee lay siege to Abel, they said, Surely he will ask if we will have peace, for the law (Deu 20:10) prescribes that he should offer peace to strangers, much more then to Israelitish cities; and if he do this...