Charles Ellicott Commentary 2 Samuel 2:14

"And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men, I pray thee, arise and play before us. And Joab said, Let them arise." — 2 Samuel 2:14 (ASV)

Let the young men. — To avoid unnecessary bloodshed between the tribes of a common parentage, and also, perhaps, to prevent the weakening of the nation in the face of their common Philistine foe, Abner proposes that the struggle should be decided by a combat between a few champions chosen on either side, and Joab immediately accepts the proposal. Hervey (Speaker’s Commentary) aptly compares this combat to that of the Horatii and Curiatii, under strikingly similar circumstances and with similar results, as described by Livy (I., 100 10:25).