1And David mustered the people who were with him, and appointed commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds over them. 2And David sent out one third of the people under the hand of Joab, one third under the hand of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, and one third under the hand of Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the people, I shall proceed to go out with you myself also. 3But the people answered, You shall not go out! For if we flee away, they will not care about us; nor if half of us die, will they care about us; for you are like ten thousand of us now. You are now more help to us in the city. 4And the king said to them, I will do what is good in your eyes. So the king stood beside the gate, and all the people went out by hundreds and by thousands. 5And the king commanded Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, saying, Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom. And all the people heard when the king charged the commanders concerning Absalom. 6So the people went out into the field to meet Israel. And the battle was in the forest of Ephraim. 7The people of Israel were smitten there before the servants of David, and there was a great slaughter that day of twenty thousand. 8And the battle was scattered over the face of all the land, and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword had devoured. 9And Absalom was encountered before the servants of David. Absalom was riding on a mule, the mule went under the thick boughs of a great terebinth tree, and his head caught in the terebinth; so he was left hanging between the heavens and earth; and the mule which was under him went on. 10And a certain man saw it and reported to Joab, and said, Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in a terebinth tree! 11And Joab said to the man who reported to him, Behold, you have seen; and why did you not strike him there to the ground? I would have given you ten shekels of silver and a belt. 12And the man said to Joab, Though I were to receive a thousand shekels of silver in my hand, I would not put forth my hand against the king's son. For in our ears the king charged you and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Take heed that no one touches the young man Absalom! 13Otherwise I would have dealt falsely against my own soul. For there is nothing hidden from the king, and you yourself would have set yourself against me. 14And Joab said, I cannot wait before you. And he took three spears in his hand and thrust them through Absalom's heart, while he was still alive in the midst of the terebinth tree. 15And ten young men who bore Joab's armor surrounded Absalom, and struck and killed him. 16And Joab blew the shofar, and the people returned from pursuing Israel. For Joab had held back the people. 17And they took Absalom and cast him into a large pit in the forest, and laid a very large heap of stones over him. And all Israel fled, everyone to his tent. 18Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up a pillar for himself, which is in the King's Valley; for he thought, I have no son to keep my name in remembrance. He called the pillar after his own name. And to this day it is called Absalom's Monument. 19Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said, Let me run now and bear good news to the king, how Jehovah has avenged him of his enemies. 20And Joab said to him, You are not the man for tidings this day, but you shall bear good news another day. But today you shall not bear good news, because the king's son is dead. 21Then Joab said to Cushi, Go, tell the king what you have seen. So Cushi bowed himself to Joab and ran. 22And Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said again to Joab, But whatever happens, please let me also run after Cushi. And Joab said, Why will you run, my son, since you have no news ready? 23But whatever the case, he said, Let me run. So he said to him, Run. And Ahimaaz ran by way of the plain, and outran Cushi. 24Now David was sitting between the two gates. And the watchman went up to the roof over the gate, to the wall, lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was running alone. 25And the watchman cried out and reported to the king. And the king said, If he is alone, there is news in his mouth. And he proceeded to come and drew near. 26Then the watchman saw another man running, and the watchman called to the gatekeeper and said, There is another man running alone! And the king said, He also brings news. 27And the watchman said, It looks like the running of the first is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok. And the king said, He is a good man, and comes with good news. 28And Ahimaaz called out and said to the king, Peace! And he bowed down with his face to the earth to the king, and said, Blessed is Jehovah your God, who has delivered up the men who had lifted up their hand against my lord the king! 29And king said, Is the young man Absalom safe? Ahimaaz answered, When Joab sent the king's servant and me your servant, I saw a great tumult, but I did not know what it was about. 30And the king said, Turn aside and stand here. So he turned aside and remained standing. 31And then Cushi came, and Cushi said, Good news, my lord the king! For Jehovah has avenged you this day of all those who were rising up against you. 32And the king said to Cushi, Is the young man Absalom safe? And Cushi answered, May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who have risen up against you to do harm, be like that young man! 33And the king was disquieted, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept. And as he went, he said thus: O my son Absalom; my son, my son Absalom; O that I had died in your place! O Absalom my son, my son!
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 DAVID REVIEWING THE ARMIES. (
2Sam 18:1-4)
David numbered the people that were with him--The hardy mountaineers of Gilead came in great numbers at the call of their chieftains, so that, although without money to pay any troops, David soon found himself at the head of a considerable army. A pitched battle was now inevitable. But so much depending on the life of the king, he was not allowed to take the field in person; and he therefore divided his forces into three detachments under Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, the commander of the foreign guards.
5 GIVES THEM CHARGE OF ABSALOM. (
2Sam 18:5-13)
Deal gently for my sake with the young man, even with Absalom--This affecting charge, which the king gave to his generals, proceeded not only from his overwhelming affection for his children, but from his consciousness that this rebellion was the chastisement of his own crimes, Absalom being merely an instrument in the hand of retributive Providence;--and also from his piety, lest the unhappy prince should die with his sins unrepented of.
6 wood of Ephraim--This wood, of course, was on the east of Jordan. Its name was derived, according to some, from the slaughter of the Ephraimites by Jephthah--according to others, from the connection of blood with the trans-jordanic Manasseh.
7 the people of Israel were slain--This designation, together with the immense slaughter mentioned later, shows the large extent to which the people were enlisted in this unhappy civil contest.
8 the wood devoured more people than the sword--The thick forest of oaks and terebinths, by obstructing the flight, greatly aided the victors in the pursuit.
9 Absalom met the servants of David--or was overtaken. "It is necessary to be continually on one's guard against the branches of trees; and when the hair is worn in large locks floating down the back, as was the case with a young man of the party to which I belonged, any thick boughs interposing in the path might easily dislodge a rider from his seat, and catch hold of his flowing hair" [HARTLEY]. Some, however, think that the sacred historian points not so much to the hair, as to the head of Absalom, which, being caught while running between two branches, was enclosed so firmly that he could not disengage himself from the hold, nor make use of his hands.
the mule that was under him went away--The Orientals, not having saddles as we do, do not sit so firmly on the beasts they ride. Absalom quitting his hold of the bridle, apparently to release himself when caught in the oak, the mule escaped.
11 Joab said unto the man that told him, . . . I would have given thee ten shekels of silver, and a girdle--that is, would have raised him from the ranks to the status of a commissioned officer. Besides a sum of money, a girdle, curiously and richly wrought, was among the ancient Hebrews a mark of honor, and sometimes bestowed as a reward of military merit. This soldier, however, who may be taken as a fair sample of David's faithful subjects, had so great a respect for the king's wishes, that no prospect of reward would have tempted him to lay violent hands on Absalom. But Joab's stern sense of public duty, which satisfied him that there could be neither safety to the king, nor peace to the kingdom, nor security to him and other loyal subjects, so long as that turbulent prince lived, overcame his sensibilities, and looking upon the charge given to the generals as more befitting a parent than a prince, he ventured to disobey it.
14 HE IS SLAIN BY JOAB. (2Sa. 18:14-32)
he took three darts . . . and thrust them through the heart of Absalom--The deed, partially done by Joab, was completed by his bodyguard. Being a violation of the expressed wish, as well as of all the fond paternal feelings of David, it must have been deeply offensive to the king, nor was it ever forgotten (
1Kgs 2:5); and yet there is the strongest reason for believing that Joab, in doing it, was actuated by a sincere regard to the interests of David, both as a man and a monarch.
16 Joab blew the trumpet, . . . and held back the people--Knowing that by the death of the usurper there was no occasion for further bloodshed, he put an end to the pursuit and thereby evinced the temperate policy of his conduct. However harsh and unfeeling to the king Joab may appear, there can be no doubt that he acted the part of a wise statesman in regarding the peace and welfare of the kingdom more than his master's private inclinations, which were opposed to strict justice as well as his own interests. Absalom deserved to die by the divine law (
Deut 21:18,
Deut 21:21), as well as being an enemy to his king and country; and no time was more fitting than when he met that death in open battle.
17 they took Absalom, and cast him into a great pit . . . and laid a very great heap of stones upon him--The people of the East indicate their detestation of the memory of an infamous person by throwing stones at the place where he is buried. The heap is increased by the gradual accumulation of stones which passers-by add to it.
18 Absalom in his lifetime had reared up for himself a pillar--literally, "hand." In the valley of Jehoshaphat, on the east of Jerusalem, is a tomb or cenotaph, said to be this "pillar" or monument: it is twenty-four feet square, dome-topped, and reaches forty feet in height. This may occupy the spot, but cannot itself be the work of Absalom, as it evidently bears the style of a later architecture.
19 Then said Ahimaaz . . . Let me . . . run and bear the king tidings--The reasons why Joab declined to accept Ahimaaz' offer to bear intelligence of the victory to David, and afterwards let him go along with another, are variously stated by commentators--but they are of no importance. Yet the alacrity of the messengers, as well as the eager excitement of the expectants, is graphically described.
23 by the way of the plain--or ciccar, "circle." This word is only used elsewhere in connection with the valley of the Jordan. It is possible that there may have been a place or region so called on the tablelands of Gilead, as the Septuagint seems to indicate. Or Mahanaim may have been so situated, with the regard to the battlefield, as to be more easily accessible by a descent to the plain of the Jordan, than over the hills themselves. Or the word may signify (as EWALD explains) a manner of quick running [STANLEY].
24 David sat between the two gates--that is, in the tower-house on the wall that overhung the gate of Mahanaim. Near it was a watchtower, on which a sentinel was posted, as in times of war, to notify every occurrence. The delicacy of Ahimaaz' communication was made up by the unmistakable plainness of Cushi's. The death of Absalom was a heavy trial, and it is impossible not to sympathize with the outburst of feeling by which David showed that all thoughts of the victory he had won as a king were completely sunk in the painful loss he had sustained as a father. The extraordinary ardor and strength of his affection for this worthless son break out in the redundancy and vehemence of his mournful ejaculations.
