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a Or Merib-baal: See 4.4 note
b Or Merib-baal: See 4.4 note
c Gk Vg: Heb iniquity
d Gk: Heb lacks at the Jordan
e Gk: Heb all the people, the men of Israel
f Heb word
16.1–4 David receives the support of Ziba, Mephibosheth’s steward.
16.1 Ziba. See 9.2. Mephibosheth. See 4.4.
16.3 When he and David meet after the revolt has been quelled, Mephibosheth will deny Ziba’s accusation and accuse him of slander (see 19.24–30).
16.5–14 David endures Shimei’s curses with penitential submission to the Lord.
16.5 Bahurim. See note on 3.16. The family of the house of Saul was Matri (see 1 Sam 10.21).
16.7–8 Shimei’s words show that he holds David responsible for the blood of the house of Saul, i.e., for the death of many of his kin, including at least the seven sons and grandsons of Saul whom David executed at Gibeon (see ch. 21), but probably also Abner (see ch. 3) and Ishbaal (see ch. 4), and maybe Saul and Jonathan too (see 1 Sam 31; 2 Sam 2).
16.9 It is characteristic of Abishai (see 2.18) to think of a quick and violent solution to one of David’s problems; cf. 1 Sam 26.8. Dead dog. See 9.8; note on 1 Sam 24.14.
16.10–12 David’s attitude toward Abishai and the other ruthless sons of Zeruiah is expressed more fully in 3.29. Here as elsewhere, David is depicted as restrained and lenient in dealing with the kin and partisans of Saul—a depiction that protects him against charges like those made by Shimei in vv. 7–8; but according to 1 Kings 2.8–9, where the narrator’s concern is to defend Solomon’s actions rather than David’s, it was David’s deathbed wish that Shimei be executed for this “terrible curse.”
16.15–17.4 Meanwhile, back in Jerusalem Hushai undermines the counsel of Ahithophel.
16.16–19 Hushai’s dissembling pledge of allegiance to Absalom is filled with irony and double entendre; e.g., his acclamation Long live the king! is sincere, but he is not thinking of Absalom. David’s friend. See note on 15.37.
16.21–22 Absalom’s public arrogation of his father’s concubines, anticipated in Nathan’s warning (see 12.11), constitutes a claim to the throne (see 3.7; 12.8).
2 SAMUEL 17
1Moreover Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me choose twelve thousand men, and I will set out and pursue David tonight. 2I will come upon him while he is weary and discouraged, and throw him into a panic; and all the people who are with him will flee. I will strike down only the king, 3and I will bring all the people back to you as a bride comes home to her husband. You seek the life of only one man,a and all the people will be at peace.” 4The advice pleased Absalom and all the elders of Israel.
The Counsel of Hushai
5Then Absalom said, “Call Hushai the Archite also, and let us hear too what he has to say.” 6When Hushai came to Absalom, Absalom said to him, “This is what Ahithophel has said; shall we do as he advises? If not, you tell us.” 7Then Hushai said to Absalom, “This time the counsel that Ahithophel has given is not good.” 8Hushai continued, “You know that your father and his men are warriors, and that they are enraged, like a bear robbed of her cubs in the field. Besides, your father is expert in war; he will not spend the night with the troops. 9Even now he has hidden himself in one of the pits, or in some other place. And when some of our troopsb fall at the first attack, whoever hears it will say, ‘There has been a slaughter among the troops who follow Absalom.’ 10Then even the valiant warrior, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will utterly melt with fear; for all Israel knows that your father is a warrior, and that those who are with him are valiant warriors. 11But my counsel is that all Israel be gathered to you, from Dan to Beer-sheba, like the sand by the sea for multitude, and that you go to battle in person. 12So we shall come upon him in whatever place he may be found, and we shall light on him as the dew falls on the ground; and he will not survive, nor will any of those with him. 13If he withdraws into a city, then all Israel will bring ropes to that city, and we shall drag it into the valley, until not even a pebble is to be found there.” 14Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel.” For the LORD had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the LORD might bring ruin on Absalom.
Hushai Warns David to Escape
15Then Hushai said to the priests Zadok and Abiathar, “Thus and so did Ahithophel counsel Absalom and the elders of Israel; and thus and so I have counseled. 16Therefore send quickly and tell David, ‘Do not lodge tonight at the fords of the wilderness, but by all means cross over; otherwise the king and all the people who are with him will be swallowed up.’” 17Jonathan and Ahimaaz were waiting at Enrogel; a servant-girl used to go and tell them, and they would go and tell King David; for they could not risk being seen entering the city. 18But a boy saw them, and told Absalom; so both of them went away quickly, and came to the house of a man at Bahurim, who had a well in his courtyard; and they went down into it. 19The man’s wife took a covering, stretched it over the well’s mouth, and spread out grain on it; and nothing was known of it. 20When Absalom’s servants came to the woman at the house, they said, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” The woman said to them, “They have crossed over the brookc of water.” And when they had searched and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem.
21After they had gone, the men came up out of the well, and went and told King David. They said to David, “Go and cross the water quickly; for thus and so has Ahithophel counseled against you.” 22So David and all the people who were with him set out and crossed the Jordan; by daybreak not one was left who had not crossed the Jordan.
23When Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his donkey and went off home to his own city. He set his house in order, and hanged himself; he died and was buried in the tomb of his father.
24Then David came to Mahanaim, while Absalom crossed the Jordan with all the men of Israel. 25Now Absalom had set Amasa over the army in the place of Joab. Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra the Ishmaelite,d who had married Abigal daughter of Nahash, sister of Zeruiah, Joab’s mother. 26The Israelites and Absalom encamped in the land of Gilead.
27When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites, and Machir son of Ammiel from Lodebar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim, 28brought beds, basins, and earthen vessels, wheat, barley, meal, parched grain, beans and lentils,e 29honey and curds, sheep, and cheese from the herd, for David and the people with him to eat; for they said, “The troops are hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness.”
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a Gk: Heb like the return of the whole (is) the man whom you seek
b Gk Mss: Heb some of them
c Meaning of Heb uncertain
d 1 Chr 2.17: Heb Israelite
e Heb and lentils and parched grain
17.1–3 Although Hushai will mislead Absalom into believing otherwise, Ahithophel’s plan is sound; the best chance of defeating David is to attack while he is weary and discouraged, but if he is given time he will be able to draw on his extensive experience as a guerrilla warrior and organize a formidable resistance.
17.5–14 Using specious arguments Hushai persuades Absalom and his supporters to reject the plan of Ahithophel.
17.11 The key to Hushai’s strategy is to buy time for David; the size of Absalom’s army will not matter if David is able to deploy his expert warriors in rugged terrain. From Dan to Beer-sheba. See note on 3.9–10.
17.14 It was the narrator’s conviction that the shaping force in these events was the Lord’s determination to bring ruin on Absalom.
17.15–29 Absalom prefers Hushai’s counsel over that of Ahithophel, thus allowing David to escape and regroup.
17.15 David left Zadok and Abiathar behind in Jerusalem for the specific purpose of sending messages like this one (see 15.27–29).
17.16 Fords of the wilderness. See 15.28.
17.17 Jonathan and Ahimaaz, the sons of Zadok and Abiathar (see 15.27), carry the actual messages. Enrogel, the spring at the confluence of the Wadi Hinnom and the Wadi Kidron (see note on 15.23), not far south of the Gihon, the main spring that served Jerusalem.
17.18 Bahurim. See note on 3.16; 16.5.
17.20 Brook of water, obscure. The woman is perhaps saying that Ahimaaz and Jonathan have crossed the Jordan.
17.23 Ahithophel’s own city was Giloh (see 15.12); this report of his death may have had a shaping effect on Matthew’s account of the suicide of Judas, who also hanged himself (see Mt 27.5).
17.24 Mahanaim, once the capital of his enemy, Ishbaal (see 2.8), is now a place of refuge for David.
17.25 Amasa, a kinsman of David by marriage and therefore a Judahite; after the revolt David will attempt to placate Absalom’s Judahite supporters by putting Amasa in charge of the army (see 19.13). The information about Amasa’s parentage is textually uncertain; evidently he was the child of an Ishmaelite, i.e., a nomad, and a niece of David’s sister Zeruiah (see 1 Sam 26.6).
17.26 Land of Gilead, here simply the east bank of the Jordan; see notes on 1 Sam 10.27b; 13.7; 2 Sam 2.9.
17.27 Shobi son of Nahash, the Ammonite king introduced in 1 Sam 10.27, is mentioned nowhere else; it is possible that the help he gives David here is the act of loyalty David refers to at the time of Nahash’s death, which may have occurred after Absalom’s revolt (see note on 10.2). Machir, Lo-debar. See note on 9.4. In return for his help here, Barzillai will receive an invitation to live at court in Jerusalem (see 19.33); although he will decline, his sons will become houseguests of Solomon (see 1 Kings 2.7). Rogelim. Location unknown.
2 SAMUEL 18
The Defeat and Death of Absalom
1Then David mustered the men who were with him, and set over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. 2And David divided the army into three groups:a one third under the command of Joab, one third under the command of Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, and one third under the command of Ittai the Gittite. The king said to the men, “I myself will also go out with you.” 3But the men said, “You shall not go out. For if we flee, they will not care about us. If half of us die, they will not care about us. But you are worth ten thousand of us;b therefore it is better that you send us help from the city.” 4The king said to them, “Whatever seems best to you I will do.” So the king stood at the side of the gate, while all the army marched out by hundreds and by thousands. 5The king ordered Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, “Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.” And all the people heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders concerning Absalom.
6So the army went out into the field against Israel; and the battle was fought in the forest of Ephraim. 7The men of Israel were defeated there by the servants of David, and the slaughter there was great on that day, twenty thousand men. 8The battle spread over the face of all the country; and the forest claimed more victims that day than the sword.
9Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak. His head caught fast in the oak, and he was left hangingc between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him went on. 10A man saw it, and told Joab, “I saw Absalom hanging in an oak.” 11Joab said to the man who told him, “What, you saw him! Why then did you not strike him there to the ground? I would have been glad to give you ten pieces of silver and a belt.” 12But the man said to Joab, “Even if I felt in my hand the weight of a thousand pieces of silver, I would not raise my hand against the king’s son; for in our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, saying: For my sake protect the young man Absalom! 13On the other hand, if I had dealt treacherously against his lifed (and there is nothing hidden from the king), then you yourself would have stood aloof.” 14Joab said, “I will not waste time like this with you.” He took three spears in his hand, and thrust them into the heart of Absalom, while he was still alive in the oak. 15And ten young men, Joab’s armor-bearers, surrounded Absalom and struck him, and killed him.
16Then Joab sounded the trumpet, and the troops came back from pursuing Israel, for Joab restrained the troops. 17They took Absalom, threw him into a great pit in the forest, and raised over him a very great heap of stones. Meanwhile all the Israelites fled to their homes. 18Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up for himself a pillar that is in the King’s Valley, for he said, “I have no son to keep my name in remembrance” he called the pillar by his own name. It is called Absalom’s Monument to this day.
David Hears of Absalom’s Death
19Then Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, “Let me run, and carry tidings to the king that the LORD has delivered him from the power of his enemies.” 20Joab said to him, “You are not to carry tidings today; you may carry tidings another day, but today you shall not do so, because the king’s son is dead.” 21Then Joab said to a Cushite, “Go, tell the king what you have seen.” The Cushite bowed before Joab, and ran. 22Then Ahimaaz son of Zadok said again to Joab, “Come what may, let me also run after the Cushite.” And Joab said, “Why will you run, my son, seeing that you have no rewarde for the tidings?” 23“Come what may,” he said, “I will run.” So he said to him, “Run.” Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the Plain, and outran the Cushite.
24Now David was sitting between the two gates. The sentinel went up to the roof of the gate by the wall, and when he looked up, he saw a man running alone. 25The sentinel shouted and told the king. The king said, “If he is alone, there are tidings in his mouth.” He kept coming, and drew near. 26Then the sentinel saw another man running; and the sentinel called to the gatekeeper and said, “See, another man running alone!” The king said, “He also is bringing tidings.” 27The sentinel said, “I think the running of the first one is like the running of Ahimaaz son of Zadok.” The king said, “He is a good man, and comes with good tidings.”
28Then Ahimaaz cried out to the king, “All is well!” He prostrated himself before the king with his face to the ground, and said, “Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delivered up the men who raised their hand against my lord the king.” 29The king said, “Is it well with the young man Absalom?” Ahimaaz answered, “When Joab sent your servant,f I saw a great tumult, but I do not know what it was.” 30The king said, “Turn aside, and stand here.” So he turned aside, and stood still.
31Then the Cushite came; and the Cushite said, “Good tidings for my lord the king! For the LORD has vindicated you this day, delivering you from the power of all who rose up against you.” 32The king said to the Cushite, “Is it well with the young man Absalom?” The Cushite answered, “May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise up to do you harm, be like that young man.”
David Mourns for Absalom
33g The king was deeply moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept; and as he went, he said, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”
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a Gk: Heb sent forth the army
b Gk Vg Symmachus: Heb for now there are ten thousand such as we
c Gk Syr Tg: Heb was put
d Another reading is at the risk of my life
e Meaning of Heb uncertain
f Heb the king’s servant, your servant
g Ch 19.1 in Heb
18.1–18 In the ensuing battle, troops loyal to David defeat the followers of Absalom, who is killed by Joab.
18.2 Abishai. See 2.18. Ittai the Gittite. See 15.19–21.
18.3 David receives similar advice in 21.17.
18.5 This narrative seems to be addressed to citizens of Israel and especially Judah who were outraged by the battlefield execution of Absalom; in order to shield David from blame, the author gives special stress not only to his absence from the battle (vv. 3–5) but also to his insistence on the lenient treatment of Absal
om. Cf. note on 13.1–22.
18.6 Forest of Ephraim, perhaps a wooded region in Transjordan; it may have been settled by Ephraimites moving east from their home in the central hills.
18.8 A battle in which the forest claimed more victims…than the sword would be greatly to the advantage of David’s army, which in contrast to Absalom’s conscript militia was a professional fighting force with extensive experience of guerrilla warfare; this situation shows the cleverness of Hushai’s disingenuous advice to Absalom (see 17.5–14).
18.9 The mule was evidently the customary mount of royalty at this time (see 13.29). The traditional interpretation of Absalom’s accident, maintained by many modern scholars, is that he is caught in the tree by his remarkable hair (see 14.26), the cause of his pride now becoming the cause of his ruin.
18.18 Added by an editor to identify a monument known in his time (to this day). The King’s Valley, elsewhere called “the Valley of Shaveh” (Gen 14.17); it may have been the name of a broad section of the Wadi Kidron (see note on 15.23) or the place of its confluence with the Valley of Hinnom. No son conflicts with 14.27. The reference to Absalom’s Monument here has led to the designation of a spectacular tomb from the Hellenistic or Roman period in the Wadi Kidron as “Absalom’s Tomb.”
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