A common misinterpretation views this as a heroic or strategic escape showcasing Abner's endurance and cleverness, ignoring the catastrophic losses his forces suffered—over 360 men slain compared to David's 19—turning a humiliating flight into a triumph; others might allegorize it as a spiritual journey of perseverance through 'the plain' and 'Bithron' (meaning 'broken' land), detached from its historical context of tribal civil war and divine sovereignty in establishing David's throne, or confuse Mahanaim's location, overlooking its role as a Transjordan stronghold signaling Abner's weakened position.
II Samuel 2:29
King James Version (1769)
29 And Abner and his men walked all that night through the plain, and passed over Jordan, and went through all Bithron, and they came to Mahanaim.
This verse depicts the desperate overnight retreat of Abner and his surviving men after a devastating battle with David's forces led by Joab, crossing the Jordan River through the rugged Bithron region to reach the safety of Mahanaim, Ishbosheth's capital; it underscores the heavy toll of the civil war, with Abner's army decimated from 360,000 to a mere remnant, illustrating the futility of strife between Israel's tribes and the gradual ascendancy of David's kingdom as God fulfills His promise to establish David's rule.