And when the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians were fled, then fled they also before Abishai, and entered into the city. So Joab returned from the children of Ammon, and came to Jerusalem.
When the Ammonites saw that the Syrians had run away, they also fled from Abishai and retreated into their city. So Joab left the battle against the Ammonites and returned to Jerusalem.
The writer is showing how the Ammonite army lost their courage and retreated when they saw their Syrian allies abandon them in battle.
📚 Historical Context
In the biblical narrative of 2 Samuel, King David of Israel sought to show kindness to Hanun, the new king of Ammon, by sending messengers after his father's death, but Hanun mistreated them, escalating tensions into a full-scale war with the Ammonites allying with the Syrians. Joab, as David's military commander, strategically divided his forces to battle both the Syrians and Ammonites simultaneously, and in this specific verse, after the Syrians retreated, the Ammonites fled back to their city, allowing Joab to withdraw victoriously to Jerusalem.
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