Helkath-hazzurim

Helkath-hazzurim, meaning "Field of Swords," was the site of a battle between David's men and those of Ish-bosheth, resulting in Abner's defeat (2Sa 2:16).

Helkath-hazzurim, meaning "Field of Swords" or "Field of Hostilities," was the name given to a site where a battle took place between the men of David and those of Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul (2Sa.2.16). After Saul's death, Ish-bosheth was proclaimed king over Israel, while David was anointed as king over Judah. The battle at Helkath-hazzurim was part of the ongoing conflict between the two factions. Twelve men from each side were chosen to fight in hand-to-hand combat, and they killed each other simultaneously. This led to a fierce battle in which David's men, under the leadership of Joab, defeated Abner and the men of Israel. The exact location of Helkath-hazzurim is not specified, but it was likely near Gibeon, where the two armies initially confronted each other (2Sa.2.13).

Plot of the sharp blades, or the field of heroes, (2 Sam. 2:16). After the battle of Gilboa, so fatal to Saul and his house, David, as divinely directed, took up his residence in Hebron, and was there anointed king over Judah. Among the fugitives from Gilboa was Ish-bosheth, the only surviving son of Saul, whom Abner, Saul’s uncle, took across the Jordan to Mahanaim, and there had him proclaimed king. Abner gathered all the forces at his command and marched to Gibeon, with the object of wresting Judah from David. Joab had the command of David’s army of trained men, who encamped on the south of the pool, which was on the east of the hill on which the town of Gibeon was built, while Abner’s army lay on the north of the pool. Abner proposed that the conflict should be decided by twelve young men engaging in personal combat on either side. So fiercely did they encounter each other that “they caught every man his fellow by the head, and thrust his sword in his fellow’s side; so they fell down together: wherefore that place was called Helkath-hazzurim.” The combat of the champions was thus indecisive, and there followed a severe general engagement between the two armies, ending in the total rout of the Israelites under Abner. The general result of this battle was that “David waxed stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker” (2 Sam. 3:1).