2Sa 2:14 | TNotes | STEP | 2:14 a few of our warriors: In the ancient world, enemy armies would sometimes choose individuals or small groups to fight each other as representative gladiators—a custom often referred to as champion warfare (see also 1 Sam 17 ). • fight hand to hand: The Hebrew term usually includes a component of play. A contest of champions might have been seen as a type of high-stakes game. In this instance, it settled nothing; the fighting expanded into a much wider confrontation with heavier casualties (2 Sam 2:17-32 ).

b1 Sam 17►

c2 Sam 2:17-32►

‏ 2 Samuel 2:14

2:14 ^a a few of our warriors: In the ancient world, enemy armies would sometimes choose individuals or small groups to fight each other as representative gladiators—a custom often referred to as champion warfare (see also 1 Sam 17 ^b).

• fight hand to hand: The Hebrew term usually includes a component of play. A contest of champions might have been seen as a type of high-stakes game. In this instance, it settled nothing; the fighting expanded into a much wider confrontation with heavier casualties (2 Sam 2:17-32 ^c).