285 David Becomes King the crown in accordance with the custom that the successor takes possession of the wives and concubines of the deceased or dethroned king ( cf . 2 Sam 12 : 8 ; 15 : 20 – 23 ; 1 Kgs 2 : 13 – 25 ) . Offended and angry, Abner sharply retorts : Am I a dog’s head, which pertains to Judah ? Till this day, I show kindness to the house of Saul your father, to his kinsmen, and to his friends, and I have not delivered you into the hand of David, nevertheless you charged me today with a fault concerning this woman . So may God do to Abner, and more also grant him, as the Lord has sworn to David, that exactly what I will do to him to David ] that is, to transfer the kingdom from the house of [ Saul and to establish the house of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan to Beersheba . What does Abner mean in his rhetorical question : “Am I a dog’s pertaining to Judah ? ” If it is just a metaphor of “a ) ראש כלב ( head worthless dog”, then one has to follow the Septuagint and...
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