2 Samuel 2:26-28 - Abner called out to Joab, "Must the sword devour forever? Don't you realize that this will end in bitterness? How long before you order your men to stop pursuing their brothers?"
Joab answered, "As surely as God lives, if you had not spoken, the men would have continued the pursuit of their brothers until morning."
So Joab blew the trumpet, and all the men came to a halt; they no longer pursued Israel, nor did they fight any more.
I wonder if Abner was always known for understatement. "...this will end in bitterness." Ya think?
I wonder what the turning point was for General Abner to want a truce. He had lost more men than General Joab (360 to 19), but why hadn't he stopped earlier at, say, 213 to 6? I wonder why Joab was so agreeable. Why didn't he just finish them off? The battle seems to have been turned on and off like a faucet. "Okay, guys, we're done for the day. Time to go home."
I wonder if Joab personally blew the trumpet or if he had a designated trumpet-blower. Yes, it says, "Joab blew the trumpet," but that could be the equivalent of "Solomon built the Temple."
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