2 Samuel 2:9

Made him king. The coronation of Ish-bosheth as king over Israel was due to the determined purpose of Abner. Long associated with Saul, Abner had come to hate the man whom God had chosen as king. He was unprincipled, a man who was devoted to his own low, selfish interests rather than the interests of the people or the will of the Lord.

He would rather bring about a division of the kingdom and distress upon the nation than accept David as king.

Over Gilead. The description of the territory over which Ish-bosheth ruled begins with the region surrounding the capital, Mahanaim, and then extends to the more distant areas. With the exception of Gilead all the sites are on the west of the Jordan, with Benjamin in the south in the area north of Jerusalem.

Ashurites. It is not clear what people are meant. The reference may be to members of the tribe of Asher (see Judges 1:32). The LXX has “Thasiri” and the Vulgate and the Syriac “Geshur.” Ish-bosheth was accepted first in Gilead and later extended his rule “over all Israel.”