שמואל ב ג׳:י״ד-ל׳

מעם איש. תרגם יונתן: מלות בעלה:

From [her] man. Yonasan translated "from the company of her husband."

הלוך ובכה. על מצוה ההולכת ממנו, שכל אותן השנים נעץ חרב בינו לבינה במטה, ולא נכשל בה:

Following and crying. Over the good deed [about to be] leaving him because all those years he thrust a sword into the bed [separating] between him and her and he did not stumble [into sinful intimacy] with her.¹³Shaul did not consider her married to Dovid because he considered Dovid’s Kiddushin having been done using a loan which is an invalid Kiddushin. However, in fact, Dovid had used regular material wealth as his means for Kiddushin which made Dovid halachically married to Michal. This meant that Paltiel Ben Loyish was living in the same house with another man’s wife. For all those years Paltiel made sure never to touch her and thus was spiritually elevated by subduing his lustful inclination. Now that she was leaving, he was saddenned to no longer have the opportunity for this type of spiritual greatness. (Sanhedrin, ibid).

ודבר אבנר היה. קודם לכן:

And the word of Avner was [sent] Before this [incident with Paltiel]

אמר אל דוד. על דוד, ואינו זז ממשמעות אל:

Said about Dovid. About Dovid, and this is not [an instance of the usual] meaning of the word, אל, "to".

מהגדוד. פשטו בגדוד, לשלול על האויב:

From an attack. They sprung, attacking to take spoils from the enemy.

מבור הסרה. שם מקום ורבותינו אמרו (סנהדרין מט א): בור וסירה גרמו לו לאבנר שיהרג, על שלא החזיק דברי דוד בצפחת המים אשר לקח מראשותיו של שאול, וגם על כנף המעיל של שאול אמר שמא אחד מן הסירים (קוצים) נאחז בו וקרעו:

From Bor HaSiroh. The name of a place [But] the Rabbis said: A well and a thorn caused Avner to be killed, by not grasping unto the deeds of Dovid, by [ignoring] the jug of water that [Dovid] took from [under] the head of Shaul¹⁴This is reference to Shmuel I, 26,12 where Dovid was being pursued by Shaul and Avner. Dovid found them sleeping and hence vulnerable. Not wanting to harm them but wanting to show Shaul he had been there, Dovid took the spear and the jug of water that was underneath Shaul’s head. and also [by ignoring] the corner of Shaul's garment¹⁵This is a reference to Shmuel I, 24,5 where Shaul, in pursuit of Dovid, stopped temporarily inside the cave where Dovid was hiding with his men. Dovid did not kill him but surreptitiously caught off the corner of Shaul’s garment. [Avner dismissed this and] he said "Perhaps one of the thorns caught upon [the garment] and tore it.

אל תוך השער. לפני סנהדרין, להשפט על דם עשהאל אחיו:

Within the gate. [Yoav brought Avner] before a sanhedrin to be judged¹⁶The word שַׁעַר often refers to judges who usually hold court at the gate of the city, cf. Devorim 22,15. for the [spilling of] blood of his brother, Asoel.

בשלי. בשגגה, שלא הבין אבנר שבלבו להרגו, וסרס המקרא, ויטהו יואב בשלי, אל תוך השער לדבר אתו:

Deceptively. In a mistake provoking [way] so that Avner would not realize that it is in [Yoav's] heart to kill him. Cut up the verse [to rearrange it's words as follows] "and Yoav steered him deceptively to go within the gate to talk to him."

יחולו. ינוחו, יחולו דמי אבנר על מקרא שלפניו הוא מוסב, שאמר 'נקי אני וממלכתי מדמי אבנר', יחולו דמיו על ראש יואב, 'דמי' הנזכרים במקרא שלפניו:

[The guilt] should fall. The [guilt of the] blood of Avner should rest, should fall. [This verse is] referring back to the preceding verse that stated, I and my kingdom are innocent from [the guilt of] the blood of Avner [The guilt of] his blood should fall on the head of Yoav. The blood [of Avner] that was mentioned in the previous verse.

ומחזיק בפלך. נשען על מקלו מחמת חולי הרגלים:

[A lame person] who leans on a cane. Who leans on his cane because of diseased feet.

הרגו לאבנר. כמו את אבנר, ודומה לו (ישעיהו לח יד): 'עשקה לי ערבני', עשקה אותי ; וכן (במדבר יב יג): 'רפא נא לה', רפא אותה ; וכמוהו (דברי הימים-ב יז ז): שלח לשריו לבן חיל לעובדיה וגו' ללמד בערי יהודה, ופתרונו, שלח את שריו את בן חיל:

Killed Avner. [As if to say] Avner¹⁷Without the ל because it is the object of the verse’s verb “killed.” Whereas Avner with the prefix ל would usually mean “to Avner.” and similar to it [we find] "Snatch me, be my surety" (Yeshaiya 38, 14), Snatch me¹⁸Not “to me” despite the verse using the word לי. and also similarly (Bamidbar 12,13), "Please heal her" Heal her¹⁹Not “to her” despite the verse using the word לָהּ. and similarly to this (Divrei Hayomin II, 17, 7) "He sent his officers, Ben Chayil, and Ovadiah… to teach in the cities of Yehudah and it's meaning is: He sent his officers, Ben Chayil.²⁰Not “to his officers, to Ben Chayil” despite the verse using the prefix ל.