וַיִּקְרָ֨א אַבְנֵ֜ר אֶל־יוֹאָ֗ב וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ הֲלָנֶ֙צַח֙ תֹּ֣אכַל חֶ֔רֶב הֲל֣וֹא יָדַ֔עְתָּה כִּֽי־מָרָ֥ה תִהְיֶ֖ה בָּאַחֲרוֹנָ֑ה וְעַד־מָתַי֙ לֹֽא־תֹאמַ֣ר לָעָ֔ם לָשׁ֖וּב מֵאַחֲרֵ֥י אֲחֵיהֶֽם׃
Then Abner called to Joab, and said: ‘Shall the sword devour for ever? knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the end? how long shall it be then, ere thou bid the people return from following their brethren?’
Guide for the Perplexed
The consideration of the first process led to the figurative use of the verb in the sense of “consuming,” “destroying”; hence it includes all modes of depriving a thing of its form comp. “And the land of your enemies shall destroy (lit. eat) you” (Lev. 26:38); “A land that destroyeth (lit. eateth) the inhabitants thereof” (Num. 13:32); “Ye shall be destroyed (lit. eaten) with the sword” (Isa. 1:6); “Shall the sword destroy (lit. eat)” (2 Sam. 2:26); “And the fire of the Lord burnt among them, and destroyed (lit. ate) them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp” (Num. 11:1); “(God) is a destroying (lit. eating) fire” (Deut. 4:24), that is, He destroys those who rebel against Him, as the fire destroys everything that comes within its reach. Instances of this kind are very frequent.