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![honour this such as his royal father had neither had, nor thought of. These,
though attendants in appearance, were, in effect, guards.
K&D, "2Sa_15:1-3
Absalom seeks to secure the people's favour. - 2Sa_15:1. Soon afterwards (this
seems to be the meaning of ןֵכּ י ֲֵרח ַא ֵמ as distinguished from ןֵכּ י ֲֵרה ַ;א cf. 2Sa_3:28)
Absalom set up a carriage (i.e., a state-carriage; cf. 1Sa_8:11) and horses, and
fifty men as runners before him, i.e., to run before him when he drove out, and
attract the attention of the people by a display of princely pomp, as Adonijah
afterwards did (1Ki_1:5). He then went early in the morning to the side of the
road to the gate of the palace, and called out to every one who was about to go to
the king “for judgment,” i.e., seek justice in connection with any matter in
dispute, and asked him, “Of what city art thou?” and also, as we may see from
the reply in 2Sa_15:3, inquired into his feelings towards the king, and then said,
“Thy matters are good and right, but there is no hearer for thee with the king.”
ַﬠ ֵמֹשׁ signifies the judicial officer, who heard complainants and examined into
their different causes, for the purpose of laying them before the king for
settlement. Of course the king himself could not give a hearing to every
complainant, and make a personal investigation of his cause; nor could his
judges procure justice for every complainant, however justly they might act,
though it is possible that they may not always have performed their duty
conscientiously.
CONSTABLE, "Absalom's conspiracy 15:1-12
Two sub-sections each begin with a reference to time (2 Samuel 15:1; 2 Samuel
15:7) and form a literary "diptych" (i.e., two complementary panels). [Note:
Fokkelman, p. 165.] The first six verses explain how Absalom undermined
popular confidence in the Lord's anointed for four years. The last six relate his
final preparations to lead a military revolution against David.
"Whatever the reason, he exhibited the same patient scheming and relentless
determination which he had already shown when he set out to avenge the rape of
his sister (chapter 13); the leopard had not changed his spots. His hatred for
Amnon at least had had some excuse, but now it became clear that he had no
affection for his father either. Apart from his love for his sister Tamar, he
appears to have been a cold, ruthless and above all ambitious man." [Note:
Payne, p. 227.]
Absalom spent four years (2 Samuel 15:7, probably 980-976 B.C.) quietly
planning a coup. That "four" is the correct number rather than "40" seems
clear from other chronological references. [Note: See the Septuagint, and
Josephus, 7:9:1.] He did this by securing military weapons and supporters (2
Samuel 15:1; cf. 1 Kings 1:5), criticizing his father's administration (2 Samuel
15:2-3), promising to rule better than David (2 Samuel 15:4), and exercising
personal charm and flattery (2 Samuel 15:5-6). David was at this time (980-976
B.C.) building his palace in Jerusalem, then constructing a new dwelling place
for the ark, and finally making preparations for the temple (2 Samuel 5:9-12).
This may be the reason David was not meeting the needs of his people as well as
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![he might have done. It probably accounts for David's surprise when Absalom's
coup began as well.
Perhaps Absalom chose Hebron as the place to announce his rebellion because
that was his birthplace, and his support was probably strongest there. Some in
Hebron may have resented David's moving his capital from there to Jerusalem.
[Note: Laney, p. 113.] Ahithophel (2 Samuel 15:12) was probably Bathsheba's
grandfather (2 Samuel 11:3; 2 Samuel 23:34). Ahithophel's support of Absalom
may suggest that the general public did not know about God's choice of David's
successor. Ahithophel came from a town in Judah (Joshua 15:51).
Absalom's rebellion against God's anointed king is similar to the reaction of the
Jews to Jesus, the Lord's Messiah. They did not want Him to reign over them.
Consequently Jesus departed from them and returned to heaven, from which he
will return to reign over them eventually.
HAWKER, "(1) ¶ And it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared him
chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him.
The whole life of Absalom seems to have been sinful. He multiplies his train of
horses and his chariots, with running footmen to grace his equipage; whereas the
Lord had strictly forbidden this to his people Israel. Deuteronomy 17:15.
Moreover, the Lord had told Israel by his servant Samuel, that the king they
would choose, but not of the Lord's approbation, would be of this very character,
to take pride in what the Lord had forbidden; and that he would oppress his
subjects in the number of his chariots, horsemen, and servants. So that these
things ought to have been enough to have made the people look shy upon
Absalom; whereas it appears that so far from it, these tended to win their
affections. See 1 Samuel 8:11, etc
PINK, "And it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared him chariots and
horses, and fifty men to run before him" (2 Sam. 15:1). The "after this" refers to
what now followed upon David’s receiving back into his favor the son who had
murdered a brother (14:33). If a spark of gratitude had burned in his breast,
Absalom would now have sought to do all in his power toward forwarding the
interests of his indulgent father. But alas, so far from strengthening the hands of
his royal parent, he sets to work to dethrone him. Absalom was now in the
position to develop his vile plan of deposing David. The methods he followed
thoroughly revealed what a godless and unscrupulous scoundrel he was. The
first thing here recorded of him at once intimated his utter contempt of God and
manifested his affinity with the heathen.
Jehovah requires His people to conduct themselves differently from the idolatrous
nations surrounding them, and therefore He gave, among others, this law for the
regulation of Israel’s king: But he shall not multiply horses to himself" (Deut. 17:16).
It was in accord with this, that, when the King of kings formally presented Himself to
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![COFFMAN 1-6, ""A chariot and horses, and fifty men to run before him" (2 Samuel
15:1). This ostentation by Absalom should have alerted David to his son's intentions.
Throughout history, the first step of any man seeking to usurp power was to procure
a bodyguard. Herodotus tells us how Pisistratus seized control of Athens by means of
that very procedure.[1] It was unusual for Israelites to ride in chariots drawn by
horses, and the practice was frowned upon by God's prophets. Samuel had warned
Israel that their king which they demanded would, "Take your sons and appoint them
to his chariots and to be horsemen, and to run before his chariots" (1 Samuel 9:11).
"Absalom probably learned this kind of display from his grandfather the pagan king
of Geshur, at whose court he had resided during the three years of his exile."[2]
By these bold actions, which were no doubt popular in Israel, Absalom was making a
bid to become king eventually and to be received as the heir-apparent to David. "Fifty
footmen running before him (in rich liveries we may suppose), thus giving notice of
his approach, would highly gratify his pride and the people's foolish fancy."[3]
However, Absalom had no intention of waiting until his father's death in order to
succeed him. "David had not taken any steps to designate a successor, and a rule of
succession had not been established for the monarchy. The death of Saul and
Jonathan had set a precedent against hereditary rule."[4]
"Oh that I were judge in the land" (2 Samuel 15:4). "He who himself should have
been judged to death for murder had the impudence to aim at being the judge of
others."[5] The arrogant conceit of this charlatan was not contained within any
boundaries whatever.
"Then every man ... might come to me, and I would give him justice" (2 Samuel 15:4).
"How much Absalom really cared for the rights of others may be seen in his arrogant
and crooked dealings with Joab (2 Samuel 14:28-33)."[6]
"Whenever a man came to do obeisance ... he took hold of him ... and kissed him" (2
Samuel 15:5). This was Absalom's way of feigning an "equality" with the people; he
interrupted their intentions to bow down before him by embracing and kissing them.
No doubt this type of flattery won him many adherents to his cause.
"It is a mistake to suppose that David altogether neglected his judicial duties. We
have just noted that the woman from Tekoa easily found access to the king's ears;
and, besides that, the reason Absalom had to arise early is that it was an early hour
when the king heard the suits brought before him. Note also that it was the plaintiffs
who were on their way to the king's tribunal whom Absalom accosted, and whom he
made to believe that he would have decided in their favor regardless of the merits of
the various cases."[7] Absalom's conduct in this underhanded attack against his
father was founded upon unscrupulous falsehood, deceit and hatred. Nevertheless,
due to David's sins and the sorrows brought upon him by God's punishments, it must
be considered very likely that to some degree David indeed had lost some of the
concern and efficiency which once marked his efforts before the evil times fell upon
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![him.
"Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel" (2 Samuel 15:6). His methods were
the same as that of any demagogue; he promised everyone whom he met that he
would give them what they wanted if only he were in authority. He pretended that he
was interested in justice for every one. "He showed interest in the private lives of the
people and made a pretence of protecting the poor and the lowly, insinuating that the
government was incompetent and that if he were in power everything would be
different."[8] All of this, of course, was as phony as similar pretensions by current
seekers of political office, but the people were deceived by it, reminding us of the
words of Voltaire who declared that, "The public is a ass"!
ELLICOTT, "1) Prepared him chariots and horses.—As a preparation for his
rebellion, it was necessary to impress the people with his wealth and splendour.
(Comp. 1 Kings 1:5, where Adonijah does the same thing.) This was the first use
in Israel of chariots and horses as a part of regal pomp.
LANGE, "2 Samuel 15:1. “After this.” The word here used (ןֵכ י ֲֵרח ַא ֵמ comp3:28)
shows that what is here related follows immediately[FN20] on the event narrated
in14:28–33. Absalom provides himself a state-chariot with its appurtenances
[fifty runners or footmen] in order thus to assume a royal appearance and to
attract the wondering attention of the people to himself. Comp. the similar
procedure of Adonijah, 1 Kings 1:5.
PETT, "Absalom Wins For Himself The Loyalty Of The People (2 Samuel
15:1-6).
Absalom had by now probably caught on to the fact that if he waited for David
to die the throne would be given to someone else. and that would explain why he
began to plan a coup. Initially his activity would only appear to be that of a
rather vain king’s son, but gradually it built up into something more insidious as
he began to convince the people that ‘if only he was in power’ all would get
justice. And yet even that might have been looked on by David with some
amusement as he saw it as being with the intention of building up support for
when David died. He had overlooked the traits that indicated that when Absalom
wanted anything, he was willing to do anything to obtain it.
At first sight all appears to go well for Absalom. Judah and Israel will be won
over, Ahithophel the Wise will join him in Hebron in order that together they
might commence the rebellion, and David will have to flee from Jerusalem for
his life, leaving the way wide open for Absalom into the capital. It is all part of
YHWH’s chastening of David for his great sins. But it will be made clear that
YHWH has not rejected David, and that because David’s heart is still right
towards him. Though he will chastise him severely (2 Samuel 7:14) he will then
enable him to retain the kingship, and the remainder of the account will indicate
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![trader the king, and especially when he should be king himself; this he did to
ingratiate himself into the affections of the people:
and stood beside the way of the gate; either of the king's palace, so Josephus
(d), or of the city, where courts of judicature are held: the former seems most
probable by what follows:
and it was so, that when any man that had a controversy came to the king
for judgment; that had a controversy with another man on any account, and came
to the king to have it decided according to law, or the rules of justice and equity:
then Absalom called unto him, and said, of what city art thou? which
question he asked, only to lead on to some further discourse:
and he said, thy servant is of one of the tribes; that is, of one of the cities of
the tribes of Israel, and not of a city of another nation.
HENRY, "(2.) A good opinion of his own fitness to rule. That the people might
say, “O that Absalom were a judge!” (and they are apt enough to desire changes), he
recommends himself to them, [1.] As very diligent. He rose up early, and appeared in
public before the rest of the king's sons were stirring, and he stood beside the way of
the gate, where the courts of judgment sat, as one mightily concerned to see justice
done and public business despatched. [2.] As very inquisitive and prying, and
desirous to be acquainted with every one's case. He would know of what city every
one was that came for judgment, that he might inform himself concerning every part
of the kingdom and the state of it, 2Sa_15:2. [3.] As very familiar and humble. If any
Israelite offered to do obeisance to him he took him and embraced him as a friend.
No man's conduct could be more condescending, while his heart was as proud as
Lucifer's. Ambitious projects are often carried on by a show of humility, Col_2:23.
He knew what a grace it puts upon greatness to be affable and courteous, and how
much it wins upon common people: had he been sincere in it, it would have been his
praise; but to fawn upon the people that he might betray them was abominable
hypocrisy. He croucheth, and humbleth himself, to draw them into his net, Psa_10:9,
Psa_10:10.
JAMISON 2-6, "Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the
gate — Public business in the East is always transacted early in the morning - the
kings sitting an hour or more to hear causes or receive petitions, in a court held
anciently, and in many places still, in the open air at the city gateway; so that, as
those whose circumstances led them to wait on King David required to be in
attendance on his morning levees, Absalom had to rise up early and stand beside the
way of the gate. Through the growing infirmities of age, or the occupation of his
government with foreign wars, many private causes had long lain undecided, and a
deep feeling of discontent prevailed among the people. This dissatisfaction was
artfully fomented by Absalom, who addressed himself to the various suitors; and
after briefly hearing their tale, he gratified everyone with a favorable opinion of his
case. Studiously concealing his ambitious designs, he expressed a wish to be invested
with official power, only that he might accelerate the course of justice and advance
the public interests. His professions had an air of extraordinary generosity and
disinterestedness, which, together with his fawning arts in lavishing civilities on all,
made him a popular favorite. Thus, by forcing a contrast between his own display of
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![public spirit and the dilatory proceedings of the court, he created a growing disgust
with his father’s government, as weak, careless, or corrupt, and seduced the
affections of the multitude, who neither penetrated the motive nor foresaw the
tendency of his conduct.
BENSON, "2 Samuel 15:2. Absalom rose up early — He accustomed himself to
rise betimes in the morning, that he might make a show of solicitude for the good
of the public, and of every private person. When any man came to the king for
judgment — The king, it appears, reserved all weighty causes for his own
hearing; and appeals were made to him from the other courts. Absalom called to
him — Preventing him with the offers of his assistance. And, as if he were ready
to make particular inquiry into the state of his cause, and intended, to take
peculiar care of his interest, kindly inquired concerning his city, family, situation
in life, and the place of his abode.
HAWKER, "Verses 2-6
(2) And Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate: and it was
so, that when any man that had a controversy came to the king for judgment,
then Absalom called unto him, and said, Of what city art thou? And he said, Thy
servant is of one of the tribes of Israel. (3) And Absalom said unto him, See, thy
matters are good and right; but there is no man deputed of the king to hear thee.
(4) Absalom said moreover, Oh that I were made judge in the land, that every
man which hath any suit or cause might come unto me, and I would do him
justice! (5) And it was so, that when any man came nigh to him to do him
obeisance, he put forth his hand, and took him, and kissed him. (6) And on this
manner did Absalom to all Israel that came to the king for judgment: so
Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.
It is awful to consider the depth of guilt and sin in the heart of man. Here is a
man wishing himself a Judge, that merited judgment, and punishment, for the
murder even of his own brother! Here is such a character aspiring to a crown,
and yet apparently so very humble as to embrace the poorest creature in the
kingdom. Dearest Jesus! hadst thou not come down from heaven to redeem our
nature, and hadst thou not sent thy blessed Spirit to renew our nature; what man
alive would have believed that the same seeds of sin as are here seen bringing
forth their deadly fruit in the instance of Absalom, are in every man's heart by
nature. Lord keep me from that evil man myself!
LANGE, "2 Samuel 15:2 sq. Vivid description of his condescending behaviour
(in contrast with his pompous appearance) to gain the favor of the people in
connection with their law-matters. [He “rose up early” in order to show his zeal
and get opportunities; and such legal business is usually attended to very early in
the East; Malcolm (quoted by Philippson) says that Oriental ministers hold their
levees at an hour when Western people of quality are not yet up.—Tr.]. The
“gate” here referred to is the gate of the royal palace, whither those came that
sought the decision of the king in law-matters. “For judgment,” that Isaiah, for
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![legal decision. The “hearer” is the judicial officer whose duty it was first to hear
and understand the people’s matters, and then lay them before the king, an
auscultator. For just decision everything depends on careful hearing and
understanding. But there is no hearer for thee on the part of the king.—Absalom
guards indeed against accusing the king himself of injustice; but he excites in the
minds of the people distrust of the king’s whole judicial practice by saying that
there was no regular judicial process for a good and just cause. Perhaps neglect
and partiality had crept in, so that Absalom could find some handle for his
charges, and avail himself of an already existing dissatisfaction. In the words:
See, thy matters are good and right, he gives (in order to win favor) a judicial
decision before thorough investigation has been made. Thy just cause, says
Hebrews, is not investigated; else thou would’st not lack a favorable decision.
[Absalom shows himself master of the art of political intriguing—he flatters the
people and brings charges against the rulers. Perhaps his insinuations were
directed in part against the princes his brothers, possibly against Solomon
(Patrick), whose age, however, at this time we do not know, or whether it had
been intimated that he was heir to the throne.—Tr.].
PETT, "2 Samuel 15:2
‘And Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate, and it was so, that,
when any man had a suit which should come to the king for judgment, then Absalom
called to him, and said, “Of what city are you?” And he said, “Your servant is of one of
the tribes of Israel.” ’
But he went further. Every day he would go down to the city gate (which was where
justice would normally be exercised) early in the morning and when anyone came by,
who had come to see the king in order to seek justice, he would begin to chat with
him and find out who he was and what his case was all about.
3 Then Absalom would say to him, "Look, your
claims are valid and proper, but there is no
representative of the king to hear you."
BARNES, "To flatter each man by pronouncing a favorable verdict in his case, to
excite a sense of grievance and discontent by censuring the king for remissness in
trying the causes brought before him by his subjects, and to suggest a sure and easy
remedy for all such grievances, namely, to make Absalom king; all this, coupled with
great affability and courtesy, which his personal beauty and high rank made all the
more effective, were the arts by which Absalom worked his way into favor with the
people, who were light and fickle as himself.
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![HENRY 4-6, "1. He wishes that he were a judge in Israel, 2Sa_15:4. He had all the
pomp and all the pleasure he could wish, lived as great and in as much ease as any
man could; yet this will not content him, unless he have power too: O that I were a
judge in Israel! He that should himself have been judged to death for murder has the
impudence to aim at being a judge of others. We read not of Absalom's wisdom,
virtue, or learning in the laws, nor had he given any proofs of his love to justice, but
the contrary; yet he wishes he were judge. Note, Those are commonly most ambitious
of preferment that are least fit for it; the best qualified are the most modest and self-
diffident, while it is no better than the spirit of an Absalom that says, O that I were a
judge in Israel!
2. He takes a very bad course for the accomplishing of his wish. Had he humbly
petitioned his father to employ him in the administration of justice, and studied to
qualify himself for it (according to the rule, Exo_18:21), no doubt he would have
been sure of the next judge's place that fell; but this is too mean a post for his proud
spirit. It is below him to be subordinate, though to the king his father; he must be
supreme or nothing. He wants to be such a judge that every man who has any cause
shall come to him: in all causes, and over all persons, he must preside, little thinking
what a fatigue this would be to have every man come to him. Moses himself could not
bear it. Those know not what power is that grasp at so much, so very much. To gain
the power he aims at, he endeavours to instil into the people's minds,
(1.) A bad opinion of the present administration, as if the affairs of the kingdom
were altogether neglected, and no care taken about them. He got round him all he
could that had business at the council-board, enquired what their business was; and,
[1.] Upon a slight and general enquiry into their cause, he pronounced it good: Thy
matters are right. A fit man indeed to be a judge, who would give judgment upon
hearing one side only! For he has a bad cause indeed that cannot put a good colour
upon it, when he himself has the telling of the story. But, [2.] He told them that it was
to no purpose to appeal to the throne: “There is no man deputed of the king to hear
thee. The king is himself old, and past business, or so taken up with his devotions
that he never minds business; his sons are so addicted to their pleasures that, though
they have the name of chief rulers, they take no care of the affairs committed to
them.” He further seems to insinuate what a great want there was of him while he
was banished and confined, and how much the public suffered by his exile; what his
father said truly in Saul's reign (Psa_75:3) he says falsely: The land and all the
inhabitants of it are dissolved, all will go to wreck and ruin, unless I bear up the
pillars of it. Every appellant shall be made to believe that he will never have justice
done him, unless Absalom be viceroy or lord-justice. It is the way of turbulent,
factious, aspiring men, to reproach the government they are under. Presumptuous
are they, self-willed, and not afraid to speak evil of dignities, 2Pe_2:10. Even David
himself, the best of kings, and his administration, could not escape the worst of
censures. Those that aim to usurp cry out of grievances, and pretend to design
nothing but the redress of them: as Absalom here.
(2.) A good opinion of his own fitness to rule. That the people might say, “O that
Absalom were a judge!” (and they are apt enough to desire changes), he recommends
himself to them, [1.] As very diligent. He rose up early, and appeared in public before
the rest of the king's sons were stirring, and he stood beside the way of the gate,
where the courts of judgment sat, as one mightily concerned to see justice done and
public business despatched. [2.] As very inquisitive and prying, and desirous to be
acquainted with every one's case. He would know of what city every one was that
came for judgment, that he might inform himself concerning every part of the
kingdom and the state of it, 2Sa_15:2. [3.] As very familiar and humble. If any
Israelite offered to do obeisance to him he took him and embraced him as a friend.
No man's conduct could be more condescending, while his heart was as proud as
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![Lucifer's. Ambitious projects are often carried on by a show of humility, Col_2:23.
He knew what a grace it puts upon greatness to be affable and courteous, and how
much it wins upon common people: had he been sincere in it, it would have been his
praise; but to fawn upon the people that he might betray them was abominable
hypocrisy. He croucheth, and humbleth himself, to draw them into his net, Psa_10:9,
Psa_10:10.
BENSON, "2 Samuel 15:4-6. Absalom said, O that I were made judge in the
land! — Though he was admitted to come to court, and see the king, he had no
office there, as, it seems, the rest of the king’s sons had. This he took ill, and
endeavoured to bring the people to do so too, by persuading them that, if he were
in authority, he would take speedy care to do them justice. When any man came
nigh to do him obeisance — To fall prostrate before him as the king’s son. He
put forth his hand and took him — That is, prevented him from prostrating
himself, and condescended even to salute him with a kiss. In this manner did
Absalom to all Israel — Robbed his father of the affections of the people, and
possessed himself of them; some admiring his beauty and gallantry; others his
courtesy and civility; and others being taken with his magnificent promises of
the noble things he would do if he were their king.
K&D, "2Sa_15:4
Absalom also said, “Oh that I might be judge in the land, and every one who had
a cause might come before me; I would procure him justice!” יִנ ֵמ ִשְׂי י ִמ is a wish:
“who might (i.e., oh that one might) appoint me judge,” an analogous expression
to ן ֵתִּי ot י ִמ (vid., Gesenius, §136, 1, and Ewald, §329, c.). ַילָﬠ placed before א ִָבי for
the sake of emphasis, may be explained from the fact that a judge sat, so that the
person who stood before him rose above him (comp. Exo_18:13 with Gen_18:8).
יק ִדּ ְצ ִ,ה to speak justly, or help to justice.
LANGE, "2 Samuel 15:4. “O that I were made Judges,” literally: “who will
make me judge!” (Ges. § 136, 1). “That to me [lit. “on me”], might come every
man.” The “to me” is put first for the sake of emphasis; Absalom contrasts
himself as just judge with the state of things under his father. לַﬠ (“on me”)
stands for ל ֶא (“to me”), or, the sentence is to be explained with Thenius from the
collective idea “all men” (ישׁ ִל־אָכּ): “In imagination Absalom sees the litigants
assembled around him;” comp. Exodus 18:13; Judges 3:19; 1 Samuel 22:6. The
phrase “on me” is not to be explained from the sitting of the judge and the people
standing around above him. [The phrase “come on me” is like English “press
on,” “lean on,” and implies probably that Absalom would bear their burdens, or
else, the proposition here = “at, near, with” (apud).—Tr.].—I would do him
justice.—Absalom here presumes on the people’s litigiousness and their
confidence in the justice each man of his own cause, and, having brought his
father’s judicial procedure into discredit with them, promises to do every man
justice. Vulg.: “I should judge justly.”
PETT, "2 Samuel 15:4
‘Absalom said moreover, “Oh that I were made judge in the land, that every man who
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![has any suit or cause might come to me, and I would do him justice!” ’
Having given his assurance to each one who came that had he been ruler they would
have succeeded in their case, Absalom would then proclaim for all within hearing to
hear that if only he were king in the land every man would be able to come to him
and would obtain justice, in other words would win his case.
5 Also, whenever anyone approached him to bow
down before him, Absalom would reach out his hand,
take hold of him and kiss him.
GILL, "And it was so, that when any man came nigh to him to do him
obeisance,.... To pay his respects, and bow to him, as being the king's son, a prince
of the blood, and heir to the crown, as was supposed:
he put forth his hand, and took him, and kissed him; he put out his hand and
shook hands with him, or took him about the neck and kissed him, and by this free,
familiar, affable, and courteous manner, strangely won upon and gained the
affections of the people, as follows. Fortunatus Schacchus (e) thinks he put forth his
hand to be kissed by them, and then kissed them, which was more than was usual.
K&D, "2Sa_15:5
And when any one came near to him to prostrate himself before him, he took him
by the hand and kissed him. It was by conduct of this kind that Agamemnon is said to
have secured the command of the Grecian army (Euripid. Iphig. Aul. v. 337ff.).
LANGE, "2 Samuel 15:5 sq. [Absalom’s affability]. He magnanimously puts aside the
honor gained by these arts, and attaches the people to him by a pretended
fraternization with every man. The result of these preparations for the purposed
insurrection: Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.—The phrase (ֵבל ַבנָגּ) may
also mean “to deceive the heart,” as in Genesis 31:20; but the connection shows that the
meaning here is “to steal the heart.” [Sept. very well: “made his own the heart,” ἰδιοποιεῖτο;
Vulg.: solicitabat corda.—Tr.]. He turned the hearts of the people by guile from his father to
himself. [Patrick: a most vile piece of flattery ( 2 Samuel 15:5), yet acceptable to the people.
So Plato (Rep. Lib. viii.), describes those as doing that would get possession of the
government; and see Aristotle Pol. V:4. Absalom’s beautiful person no doubt attracted the
people, as well as his condescending familiarity of manner.—Tr.]
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![BENSON, "2 Samuel 15:7. After forty years — That is, as some say, from the
change of the government into a monarchy, which change took place about ten
years before David began to reign. So that this fell out about the thirtieth year of
his reign. But the Syriac and Arabic, whom Houbigant follows, read, After four
years; that is, from the time of his father’s reconciliation with him. Josephus,
Theodoret, the manuscripts mentioned in the Benedictine edition of Jerome’s
version, the canon of the Hebrew verity, (supposed to be made about the ninth
century, and altered by some correcting hand,) the reading of the famous Latin
Bible of Sextus, the Latin manuscript in Exeter college library, marked C. 2. 13.,
and the ancient Latin manuscript written in Gothic characters, the variations of
which are published in Blanchini’s Vindiciæ, all have it, four; so that Grotius,
and, after him, Patrick, were well supported in having pronounced so decisively,
that it would admit of no doubt that an error had crept into the text, and that
instead of ,ארבעים arbagnim, forty, should be read ,ארבע arbang, four. See
Kennicott’s Dissert., vol. 2. p. 358, and Houbigant’s note. Let me go and pay my
vow which I have vowed to the Lord in Hebron — To wit, to perform there by
some solemn sacrifice. As Delaney is of opinion that a very grievous sickness of
David gave Absalom occasion to take the forementioned steps, so he thinks that
his father’s unexpected recovery, perhaps through God’s extraordinary
influence, broke Absalom’s measures for some time, and made him postpone his
wicked purpose. In the mean time, his popularity had all the field he could wish.
As all the people of Israel resorted to Jerusalem thrice in every year, on the three
solemn festivals, he had so often an opportunity of paying his court, and
insinuating his poison, till the infection spread through the whole body of the
realm, and wanted nothing but a fair occasion to display itself in all its malignity,
which Absalom sought by going to Hebron.
COFFMAN 7-11, ""At the end of four years" (2 Samuel 15:7). The KJV and
other ancient versions have "forty years" here instead of "four"; but the RSV is
doubtless correct here in following the Syriac and certain texts of the LXX.[9]
This indicates that it took Absalom four years from the time he was reconciled
with David to launch his attempted coup de etat.
"In Hebron" (2 Samuel 15:1,9,10). The reason for Absalom's choice of Hebron
as the place to launch his rebellion might have been complex. He was born in
Hebron and might have had many friends there. Young wrote that, "Hebron still
bore a grudge against David because he had moved the seat of his government to
Jerusalem. Also, the allied clans of the Negev, through whose good offices David
first mounted the throne, were jealous of the northern tribes who had become
the dominant partner in the united kingdom, and whose power had made them
very influential with the king."[10]
"Absalom sent secret messengers throughout all the tribes of Israel" (2 Samuel
15:10). "It is evident that much more elaborate preparations had been made for
this effort of Absalom to seize the throne than appears on the surface of this
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![concise narrative."[11]
"With Absalom went two hundred men from Jerusalem" (2 Samuel 15:11).
These were invited guests, probably the most influential and powerful men in
Jerusalem; but they were not co-conspirators with Absalom. Although ignorant
of Absalom's plans, they would have been supposed by the citizens of Hebron to
be Absalom's partisans. Furthermore, if they had, in any manner, objected to
Absalom's having himself proclaimed as king, they would have, at once, become
his hostages. This was a clever maneuver indeed.
ELLICOTT, "(7) After forty years.—The reading is certainly incorrect.
Absalom was born after David began his reign in Hebron, and his whole reign
was only forty years. Absalom therefore was not yet forty at his death. The
reading found in the Syriac and most MSS. of the Vulgate, and adopted by
Josephus, four years, is probably correct. It remains uncertain from what point
this four years is to be reckoned; probably it is from Absalom’s return to
Jerusalem.
Pay my vow . . . in Hebron.—We have no means of knowing whether this vow
was real or fictitious; certainly Absalom now uses it as a pretext, and yet there is
nothing improbable in his having actually made such a vow during his exile.
Hebron was the place of his birth and childhood, as well as a holy city from very
ancient times, and was thus a suitable place for the performance of his vow; it
was also at a convenient distance from Jerusalem, and had been the royal city of
David for the first seven years of his reign. It was thus well adapted to be the
starting place of Absalom’s rebellion, and it is not unlikely, moreover, that the
men of Hebron may have resented the transfer of the capital to Jerusalem, and
therefore have lent a willing ear to Absalom. Like many other culprits, Absalom
veils his crime under the cloak of religion, pretending submission to his father,
and receiving his blessing at the very moment when he is striking at his crown
and his life.
HAWKER, "Verses 7-9
(7) ¶ And it came to pass after forty years, that Absalom said unto the king, I
pray thee, let me go and pay my vow, which I have vowed unto the LORD, in
Hebron. (8) For thy servant vowed a vow while I abode at Geshur in Syria,
saying, If the LORD shall bring me again indeed to Jerusalem, then I will serve
the LORD. (9) And the king said unto him, Go in peace. So he arose, and went to
Hebron.
It is not very easy to ascertain the time from whence we are to calculate these
forty years. It cannot mean after forty years of David's reign; for his whole reign
was no more than forty; and it should seem that this rebellion broke out at least
ten years before the death of David. Some have thought that it means after forty
years that Israel had been governed by a king. And if so, this makes the
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![calculation to be just, as it happened in about the thirtieth year of David's reign.
Here is another proof of the fallacy of the human heart, to make religion a
covering for the basest designs. Was it not enough, Absalom, that you leveled a
dagger at your too kind and indulgent father; but must God himself be impiously
mocked in the attempt?
K&D 7-8, "Absalom's rebellion. - 2Sa_15:7, 2Sa_15:8. After the lapse of forty (?)
years Absalom said to the king, “Pray I will go (i.e., pray allow me to go) and
perform a vow in Hebron which I vowed to the Lord during my stay at Geshur”
(2Sa_15:8). The number forty is altogether unsuitable, as it cannot possibly be
understood either as relating to the age of Absalom or to the year of David's reign: for
Absalom was born at Hebron after David had begun to reign, and David only reigned
forty years and a half in all, and Absalom's rebellion certainly did not take place in
the last few weeks of his reign. It is quite as inappropriate to assume, as the terminus
a quo of the forty years, either the commencement of Saul's reign, as several of the
Rabbins have done, as well as the author of the marginal note in Cod. 380 of De
Rossi (שאול ,)למלכות or the anointing of David at Bethlehem, as Luther (in the
marginal note) and Lightfoot do; for the word “after” evidently refers to some event
in the life of Absalom, to which allusion has previously been made, namely, either to
the time of his reconciliation with David (2Sa_14:33), or (what is not so probable) to
the period of his return from Geshur to Jerusalem (2Sa_14:23). Consequently the
reading adopted by the Syriac, Arabic, and Vulgate, also by Theodoret and others,
viz., “four years,” must certainly be the correct one, and not “forty days,” which we
find in Codd. 70 and 96 in Kennicott, since forty days would be far too short a time
for maturing the rebellion. It is true, that with the reading ע ַ ְרፍ we should expect, as a
rule, the plural יםִנ ָ.שׁ At the same time, the numbers from two to ten are sometimes
construed with a singular noun (e.g., 2Ki_22:1; cf. Gesenius, §120, 2). The pretended
vow was, that if Jehovah would bring him back to Jerusalem, he would serve
Jehovah. הָּוהְת־י ֶא ד ַב ָ,ע “to do a service to Jehovah,” can only mean to offer a sacrifice,
which is the explanation given by Josephus. The Chethib יב ִשָׁי is not the infinitive, but
the imperfect Hiphil: si reduxerit, reduxerit me, which is employed in an unusual
manner instead of the inf. absol., for the sake of emphasis. The Keri שׁוּבָי would have
to be taken as an adverb “again;” but this is quite unnecessary.
LANGE, "2 Samuel 15:7. The statement of time: At the end of forty years, is certainly
wrong according to the connection. An immediate sequence of events being indicated
in 2 Samuel 15:1 [see on 2 Samuel 15:1 and translator’s note], the phrase “at the end
of” can only point to a previous occurrence in Absalom’s life—not, however, to his
return from Geshur, which is not important enough in the narrative to serve as
reckoning-point (terminus a quo) for a new series of events, but rather to his
reconciliation with David (14:33). But Absalom’s procedure here described ( 2
Samuel 15:1-6) up to his insurrection cannot have lasted forty years; and further,
such a space of time cannot be fitted into the history of David and Absalom, though
this would be allowable only in case there were here indicated some chronological-
historical point of support, as it has been attempted to find, for example, in
Absalom’s age at this time or in the duration of David’s reign. According to these
conjectures Absalom’s conspiracy must have occurred in the last days of David’s
reign, and this would be wholly unhistorical. The reading of Codd70,90 (Kennicott)
“forty days” is a violent attempt to remove the difficulty, and only introduces another
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![difficulty, since forty days is too short a time after Absalom’s reconciliation with his
father for all his preparations here described. We must read “four years” with Syr,
Arab, Vulg. [but Codex Amiatinus has “forty”—Tr.], Josephus, Theodoret (Capellus,
Grotius, Ewald, Thenius, Keil and others [Bib-Com.]).[FN21] [Others, (as Ussher,
Patrick, Cahen, Philippson) retain the number “forty,” and reckon it in various ways,
some from the beginning of David’s reign (Abarbanel), some from David’s
anointment by Samuel (Ussher and others), some from the people’s demand for a
king (Seder Olam); but the objection to all these is (as Erdmann above suggests) that
there is no hint in the text of so remote a terminus a quo as any of them; the time is
evidently reckoned from some near event. Though the number four is more probable
than forty, it is after all only a conjecture, though a well-supported one; the
chronology must here be regarded as uncertain.—Tr.].
PETT, "Absalom Attempts A Coup (2 Samuel 15:7-11).
Once he felt that he had won over sufficient men of Israel and Judah to his side
Absalom decided he would attempt a coup at Hebron. Hebron had been David’s
previous capital city and was the capital city of Judah, and the inhabitants of Hebron
may well have felt especially disaffected towards David because of his transfer of the
status of capital city to Jerusalem. It may well be that at this time the Tabernacle was
in Hebron, where a Tabernacle would have been set up by David when he was made
king of Judah. If so, it would later be transferred to Gibeon (1 Kings 3:4), possibly as
a result of what now happened. Being crowned at the Tabernacle (we are specifically
informed that Absalom was anointed as king - 2 Samuel 19:10) would add to his
legality in Israel’s eyes.
Analysis.
a And it came about at the end of forty years, that Absalom said to the king, “I
pray you, let me go and pay my vow, which I have vowed to YHWH, in Hebron” (2
Samuel 15:7).
b “For your servant vowed a vow while I abode at Geshur in Syria, saying, ‘If
YHWH shall indeed bring me again to Jerusalem, then I will serve YHWH” (2
Samuel 15:8).
c And the king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he arose, and went to Hebron (2
Samuel 15:9).
b But Absalom sent scouts throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “As soon
as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then you shall say, ‘Absalom is king in
Hebron.’ ” (2 Samuel 15:10).
a And with Absalom went two hundred men out of Jerusalem, who were
invited, and went in their simple innocence, and they knew nothing (2 Samuel 15:11).
Note that in ‘a’ Absalom wished to go to Hebron on a special occasion to pay his vow,
and in the parallel he did so accompanied by two hundred men. In ‘b’ his pretence is
that he is going to serve YHWH, and in the parallel his intended service of YHWH
will turn out to be a very different one than David had thought. Centrally in ‘c’ David
wishes him peace, and he goes off in order to rebel.
2 Samuel 15:7
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![someone was ‘forty years’ old, in other words was seen as mature enough for
marriage (Genesis 25:20; Genesis 26:34). It is very unlikely that in either case they
would literally have waited until they were forty years of age. But larger numbers
were used in this general kind of way. See also Joshua 14:7, where Joshua said of
himself that he was ‘forty years old’ when he was sent out as a spy into Canaan
(which if taken literally would mean that he began the conquest when he was seventy
eight years old), and compare the constant use of ‘forty years’ as indicating important
periods in the books of Judges, Samuel and Kings, where it is unlikely that we should
take them too literally (see Judges 3:11; Judges 5:31; Judges 8:28; Judges 13:1; 1
Samuel 4:18; 2 Samuel 2:10; 2 Samuel 5:4; 1 Kings 2:11; 1 Kings 11:42; 2 Kings 12:1).
They may well in these cases signify ‘a generation’. This is not to say that the figure is
‘incorrect’. It is, in the terms of the time when it was written, fully correct. It was
simply the Hebrew way of indicating a longish period which was complete in itself
(compare the similar use of ‘forty days’), something not simply confined to the
Hebrews. For we should remember that whereas we have been brought up to think
numerically, the majority of ancients were innumerate and saw larger numbers as
being used as adjectives in order to give an impression rather than as intended to be
numerically accurate. This verse is thus probably saying that Absalom, having
attained the age of maturity, wanted to go to Hebron to ‘pay his vow’. The age of
maturity may actually have been twenty, the age at which he became eligible to fight
for Israel (Numbers 1:3; etc), or twenty five, the age at which the Levite
apprenticeship began (Numbers 8:24), or even thirty when the Levite (and
presumably the priest) came to full maturity (Numbers 4:3; etc). Absalom was after
all one of the king’s ‘priests’. This would also make sense as explaining why at this
time he wished to fulfil his vow in order to be a true priest to YHWH, that is, to ‘serve
YHWH’.
8 While your servant was living at Geshur in Aram, I
made this vow: 'If the LORD takes me back to
Jerusalem, I will worship the LORD in Hebron. [2] ' "
CLARKE, "While I abode at Geshur in Syria - Geshur, the country of
Talmai, was certainly not in Syria, but lay on the south of Canaan, in or near Edom,
as is evident from Jdg_1:10; 1Sa_27:8; 2Sa_13:37. Hence it is probable that ארם
Aram, Syria, is a mistake for אדם Edom; ד daleth and ר resh being easily
interchangeable. Edom is the reading both of the Syriac and Arabic.
I will serve the Lord - Here he pretended to be a strict follower of Jehovah, even
while he was in a heathen country; and now he desires liberty to go and perform a
vow at Hebron, which he pretends to have made while he was resident at Geshur.
And all this was the more perfectly to organize his system of rebellion against his
venerable father.
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![having there assumed the crown) he considered it a peculiarly suitable place for
his being proclaimed king. He chose this place, not because there was
dissatisfaction at the removal of the royal residence to Jerusalem (Thenius and
Keil, following the “Exegetical Manual”), but because he could there count on a
numerous following from the tribe of Judah.[FN22] [We have here an example of
sacrificial feasting not in connection with the Tabernacle (as in David’s history 1
Samuel 20:6), an indication that the strict law of Leviticus ( Leviticus 17:3-4;
comp. Deuteronomy 12:13-14) was not in practical operation; else David would
have objected to sacrificing in Hebron.—Tr.].
PETT, "2 Samuel 15:8
“For your servant vowed a vow while I abode at Geshur in Aram (Syria), saying,
‘If YHWH shall indeed bring me again to Jerusalem, then I will serve YHWH.”
Absalom then explained how when he was in Geshur he had made a solemn vow
to YHWH that if He would restore him to his rightful position in Jerusalem, he
would ‘serve Him’. The verb ‘to serve’ can have a general significance of
obedience to YHWH (e.g. Deuteronomy 6:13) but it can also have the special
significance of ‘serving’ in a levitical or priestly fashion (e.g. Numbers 3:7;
Numbers 18:7). If the king’s sons were seen as ‘priests after the order of
Melchizedek’, and as connected with the sanctuary as intercessory priests (see on
2 Samuel 8:18), this would make good sense. Others see it as signifying his
intention to offer freewill sacrifices of thanksgiving. In the end, however, it was
only really an excuse to go to Hebron without arousing suspicion.
9 The king said to him, "Go in peace." So he went to
Hebron.
GILL, "And the king said unto him, go in peace,.... He gave him leave to go,
and wished happiness and prosperity might attend him:
so he arose and went to Hebron; with a company of men, whose number is after
mentioned.
K&D, "The king consented, and Absalom went to Hebron. Absalom had selected
this city, probably assigning as the reason that he was born there, but really because
his father David had been made king there, and also possibly because there may have
been many persons there who had been displeased by the removal of the court to
Jerusalem.
LANGE. "2 Samuel 15:9. David permits himself to be deceived by the pretence of a
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![Imperfect, since the sending out of emissaries might be synchronous with the
journey to Hebron, where Absalom’s accomplices had gotten everything in
readiness for proclaiming him king, else he could not have said: As soon as ye
hear the sound of the trumpet,[FN23] say, Absalom is become king in Hebron.
Absalom sent emissaries into all the tribes of Israel, to find out public opinion
and prepare for his attempt throughout the whole kingdom at the same time, he
having already gotten the favor of the people by the arts above-related, and
thrown his net over them. The emissaries had only to spread the net wider and
deeper, and then at the signal to draw it in and catch the people.
K&D 10-11, "When Absalom went to Hebron, he sent spies into all the tribes of
Israel to say, “When ye hear the sound of the trumpet, say, Absalom has become
king in Hebron.” We must suppose the sending the spies to have been
contemporaneous with the removal of Absalom to Hebron, so that ח ַל ְשׁ ַו is used quite
regularly, and there is no reason for translating it as a pluperfect. The messengers
sent out are called “spies,” because they were first of all to ascertain the feelings of
the people in the different tribes, and were only to execute their commission in places
where they could reckon upon support. The conspiracy had hitherto been kept very
secret, as we may see from the statement in 2Sa_15:11 : “With Absalom there had
gone two hundred men out of Jerusalem, invited (to the sacrificial festival), and
going in their simplicity, who knew nothing at all of the affair.” (ר ָב ָ ל־ ָⅴ ּאל: nothing
at all.)
PETT, "2 Samuel 15:10
‘But Absalom sent scouts throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “As soon as you
hear the sound of the trumpet, then you shall say, ‘Absalom is king in Hebron.’ ”
And it was from Hebron, where he was seemingly greeted as prospective king, (it is
apparent that a number of negotiation must have been going on meanwhile), that he
sent out messengers to selected groups with the news that when they heard the
blowing of the ram’s horns then they were to declare that ‘Absalom is king in
Hebron’. His coronation, when he would be anointed as king (2 Samuel 19:10), was
evidently imminent. This stress on ‘in Hebron’ might suggest that there was general
disaffection among many throughout the whole of Israel over David’s selection of a
Canaanite stronghold as his capital city, something which Absalom was taking
advantage of. Hebron at least was an ancient sanctuary of YHWH, and the home of
the Tabernacle, and ancient traditions die hard. Many would not have been pleased
with the change of emphasis to Jerusalem. Absalom was again playing the people for
all he was worth.
11 Two hundred men from Jerusalem had
accompanied Absalom. They had been invited as
guests and went quite innocently, knowing nothing
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![called — That is, that were invited by him to feast with him on his sacrifice, and
were such as he had picked out as fit for his purpose; principal persons of the
city, no doubt, and of some reputation with the king and people. These he took
with him that they might give a countenance to his undertaking, and cause the
people at first to think that he was acting in all this by his father’s consent and
approbation, as being now aged and infirm, and willing to resign the kingdom to
his son. They went in their simplicity, and knew not anything — Of his design,
but only went to attend him, and pay him respect as the king’s son, who did them
the honour to invite them to a holy feast. It is no new thing for good men to be
made use of by designing men, to put a colour on ill practices.
LANGE, "2 Samuel 15:11. The two hundred men that accompanied him were
not “poor, dependent people,” which would certainly have excited surprise, but
courtiers such as ususually accompanied kings and kings’ sons on their journeys
without causing remark. That these men might be perfectly at their ease, under
the impression that they were going to a sacrificial feast at Hebron, and that the
real purpose might the better be concealed from David, nothing was said to them
of Absalom’s design; they knew “nothing at all” of the matter. Taken by surprise
in Hebron by the sudden proclamation of Absalom as king, they must have
appeared to the people at Jerusalem and elsewhere as part of the royal retinue.
[Bib-Com. points out the extreme secrecy of the affair as explaining David’s
ignorance of it, and also Absalom’s taste for large entertainments.—Tr.]. 2
Samuel 15:12. Ahithophel appears as Absalom’s secret counsellor in the
contriving of the conspiracy, and so as traitor to David, whose counsellor he was.
His native city Giloh was near and south of Hebron ( Joshua 15:51; Joshua
15:54). The text reads literally: “He sent Ahithophel from his city,” that Isaiah,
he caused him to come. Either this expression is to be regarded as a pregnant
one=“he sent and brought” (Keil), or we must change the vowel-points.[FN24]
Why Ahithophel abandoned David is not said; probably from dissatisfaction and
ambition. [Patrick: “And it is supposed by the Jews that Ahithophel was
incensed against David for abusing Bathsheba, whom they take to have been his
grand-daughter, she being the daughter of Eliam (11:3), and Eliam being the son
of Ahithophel (23:34).”—So Blunt, Coincidences, Part II. (ix.)—Tr.]—No doubt
he had been slyly working at Giloh, and had prepared everything for
proclaiming Absalom. The conspiracy grew rapidly, and the people came to
Absalom in constantly increasing numbers. It is noticeable that it is in the tribe
of Judah that this defection from David is consummated. The elements of this so
astonishingly successful insurrection of Absalom were David’s grievous sins, his
weakness towards Amnon and Joab, the lacks of the royal government and the
consequent dissatisfaction among the people. [The expression: “while he offered
bloody offerings” is difficult. If the subject be Ahithophel, it does not appear why
his offering should be mentioned; or if, as is more probable, the subject is
Absalom, the reason for his sending for Ahithophel while he was offering is not
clear; we should rather have expected the latter to be present at the beginning of
the solemn sacrifice that was to pledge the conspirators. As the text stands, it
cannot be rendered: “he sent for Ahithophel to be present when he offered,” nor:
“and while he sacrificed, the conspiracy grew strong,” though something like one
of these renderings seems to be the meaning. The text is discussed in “Text, and
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![Gram.”—Grotius refers to the similar procedure of Civilis (pledging
conspirators at a feast), Tacit, Hist. IV:14.—Tr.]
ELLICOTT, "(11) Went in their simplicity.—The two hundred guests whom
Absalom had invited to take part with him in his sacrifices, were doubtless
prominent and influential citizens of Jerusalem. That they were entirely ignorant
of Absalom’s purposes shows the extreme secrecy with which the affair was
managed. Absalom, no doubt, hoped when he once had them at Hebron, to
secure them for his side, or, failing this, forcibly to prevent their opposition. In
any case it would appear to the people that they were with him, and he would
thus secure additional prestige.
PETT, "2 Samuel 15:11
‘And with Absalom went two hundred men out of Jerusalem, who were invited,
and went in their simple innocence, and they knew nothing.’
Absalom took with him ‘two hundred men’ out of Jerusalem, men who were in
simple innocence of what his motives were. Whether we take the two ‘hundreds’
as strictly numerical, or see it as indicating two family/clan or other groupings
(Israelites and Geshurites?), such an invitation indicated that this was being seen
as a very special occasion. And if it was so they were being taken in order to allay
suspicions. They would, however, no doubt have been selected because they were
known to be his ‘friends’.
12 While Absalom was offering sacrifices, he also sent
for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counselor, to
come from Giloh, his hometown. And so the
conspiracy gained strength, and Absalom's following
kept on increasing.
BARNES, "Ahithophel - It has been with great probability supposed that
Ahithophel was estranged from David by personal resentment for his conduct in the
matter of Bath-sheba and Uriah (see 2Sa_11:3).
While he offered sacrifices - Rather, that Absalom sent for Ahithophel to be
present when he offered the sacrifices; the intention being that all who partook of the
sacrifice should be bound together to prosecute the enterprise. Absalom, too, would
take advantage of the excitement of the great feast to inflame the ardour of the
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![think, was his grand-daughter, being the daughter of Eliam, 2 Samuel 11:3, and
Eliam the son of Ahithophel, 2 Samuel 23:34. It doubtless must have been matter
of great surprise and inexpressible affliction to David, to find the two men, whom
of all others he seems to have most loved and confided in, combining against him,
and compassing his death, Absalom and Ahithophel, his son and his counsellor.
While he offered sacrifices — Or, rather, after he had offered sacrifices: for it
seems he sent for him while he sat at dinner. And the conspiracy was strong —
Ahithophel was too cunning to discover himself till he saw all things favourable
and prosperous on the part of Absalom: and they both very well judged that his
accession to the conspiracy, in those circumstances, was the likeliest means to
ensure its success. For the people increased continually — Most of whom, it is
probable, intended no harm at first, perhaps not even to divest David of his
crown and dignity, much less to take away his life; but only to substitute
Absalom as a coadjutor to him, for the executing of the royal authority during
David’s life, and to be his successor after his death. However, it is evident they
did proceed so far, at last, as to design to kill David for their own greater
security. For so Ahithophel advised, and they all consented to it, 2 Samuel 17:2; 2
Samuel 17:4; which shows how dangerous it is to go out of the right way; for we
do not know down what horrid precipices we may fall afterward. And it may
serve as a warning to us never to begin any thing that is wrong, which may lead
us to commit that in the issue which we abhorred at the first, when we find we
cannot be safe in one wickedness, unless we commit a greater.
COFFMAN, ""He sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counselor, from his
city Giloh" (2 Samuel 15:12). Ahithophel was a very wise man, and if Absalom
had possessed enough intelligence to follow his counsel, he might easily have
triumphed over David.
"From his city Giloh" (2 Samuel 15:12). Some have supposed this place was
south or southwest of Hebron, but Willis identified it with, "The modern
Khirbert Jala approximately five miles northwest of Hebron."[12] It is very
significant that Ahithophel was available at the nearby city of Giloh when
Absalom called for him, instead of being in the city of Jerusalem where he
belonged as a confidential advisor of King David. From this Keil very logically
concluded that, "Ahithophel had been previously initiated into Absalom's plans
and had gone to his native city, merely that he might go to Absalom with greater
ease."[13] It appears from this that Ahithophel himself might have been one of
the principal architects of the rebellion. The reason usually assigned and which
we mentioned earlier, is that Ahithophel was the grandfather of Bathsheba and
that he hated David for David's treatment of her and for his murder of her
husband Uriah. Of course, there could have been some truth in this.
However, Ahithophel was far too wise a man to have joined the conspiracy
unless he had been quite sure of its success; and, no doubt, it would have been a
success if his advice had been followed. But he knew that if David was given time
to gather his forces the coup would fail; and when he saw that Absalom rejected
his advice, he promptly committed suicide.
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![But if the coup had been successful, did not Ahithophel foresee that Bathsheba
and her son Solomon, Ahithophel's great-grandson, would have been killed?
"Even if Bathsheba had been spared (through Ahithophel's influence), there is
no way that Absalom would have refrained from murdering Solomon."[14]
From these considerations we still find it very difficult to imagine why
Ahithophel consented to aid Absalom.
AND ALL THE WORLD WONDERED AFTER THE BEAST (Revelation 13:3)
To this writer, it seems that the above unrelated text from Revelation is an
appropriate designation of the popularity that came to Absalom, as related in 2
Samuel 15:13 below.
ELLICOTT, "(12) Sent for Ahithophel.—Giloh, the city of Ahithophel, was one
of the groups of towns just south of Hebron (Joshua 15:51), and Ahithophel may
have gone there in readiness to be summoned by Absalom. Why he deserted
David does not appear. It has been conjectured that he was aggrieved at David’s
treatment of Bath-sheba, who is supposed to have been his granddaughter. Bath-
sheba’s father was Eliam (2 Samuel 11:3) and Ahithophel had a son Eliam (2
Samuel 23:34), but there is no evidence that these were the same, and if they had
been, Ahithophel probably would have felt honoured rather than aggrieved that
his daughter should have been made queen. It is more likely that Ahithophel and
many others of the tribe of Judah were alienated because, in the rapidly growing
empire of David, their relative importance was of necessity constantly
diminishing. It is noteworthy that the rebellion was cradled in Judah, and seems
to have found there its chief strength.
There is a difference of opinion whether Psalms 41 was written on this occasion;
but its ninth verse certainly applies very pointedly to Ahithophel; and his
conduct, both in his treachery and his suicide, forms a striking parallel to that of
Judas, to whom this verse is applied in John 13:18. Many writers also consider
that Psalms 55 was composed with reference to Ahithophel.
While he offered sacrifices.—Absalom had arranged these, apparently with
pomp and circumstance, to continue through several days. This gave time for the
conspiracy to gain strength, and the accompanying feasting allowed Absalom an
excellent opportunity for using his popular arts, and with such success that “the
people increased continually with Absalom.”
PETT, "David Learns Of The Rebellion And Flees Jerusalem While Absalom
Enlists The Services of Ahithophel (2 Samuel 15:12-31).
Once messengers had gone out throughout Israel, and preparations had begun in
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![GILL, "And there came a messenger to David,.... Perhaps one of the two
hundred that went with Absalom, ignorant of his design; which, when discovered, he
disapproved of, and got away from him, and came to David, and informed him how
things were:
saying, the hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom; to make him king.
HENRY, "Here is, I. The notice brought to David of Absalom's rebellion, 2Sa_
15:13. The matter was bad enough, and yet it seems to have been made worse to him
(as such things commonly are) than really it was; for he was told that the hearts of
the men of Israel (that is, the generality of them, at least the leading men) were after
Absalom. But David was the more apt to believe it because now he could call to mind
the arts that Absalom had used to inveigle them, and perhaps reflected upon it with
regret that he had not done more to counterwork him, and secure his own interest,
which he had been too confident of. Note, It is the wisdom of princes to make sure of
their subjects; for, if they have them, they have their purses, and arms, and all, at
their service.
JAMISON, "2Sa_15:13-37. David flees from Jerusalem.
K&D, 13-14, "David's flight from Jerusalem. - 2Sa_15:13, 2Sa_15:14. When this
intelligence reached David, “The heart of the men of Israel is after Absalom” (ר ַהፍ הָי ָ,ה
as in 2Sa_2:10, to be attached to a person as king; see at 1Sa_12:14), he said to his
servants that were with him in Jerusalem, “Arise, let us flee, for there will be no
escape for us from Absalom! Make speed to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly,
and drive the calamity (the judgment threatened in 2Sa_12:10-11) over us, and
smite the city with the edge of the sword.” David was perhaps afraid that Jerusalem
might fall into Absalom's power through treachery, and therefore resolved to fly as
speedily as possible, not only in order to prevent a terrible massacre, but also to give
his own faithful adherents time to assemble.
CONSTABLE, "David's flight from Jerusalem 15:13-37
The people of Israel had formerly given the kingdom to David as a gift (2 Samuel
5:1-3), but now they took that gift from him (2 Samuel 15:13). [Note: Gunn,
"David and . . .," p. 22.] David knew that Absalom was popular with the people.
Evidently he fled Jerusalem to save his own life and to spare the capital from
destruction. Perhaps Absalom planned to destroy David's capital as well as to
kill the king and reassert Judean supremacy. Clearly David planned to return to
Jerusalem (2 Samuel 15:16). He was fleeing from an attack, not going into exile.
The Cherethites and Pelethites were David's bodyguard. The 600 men from Gath
(2 Samuel 15:18) were probably mercenary soldiers. These foreigners were loyal
to David even when his own son deserted him.
"Ancient kings quite often preferred to employ foreign bodyguards, since they
were unlikely to be affected by local political considerations or won over by local
political factions." [Note: Payne, p. 231.]
David later repaid Ittai, another former resident of Gath, for his loyalty by
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![making him commander of one-third of his army (2 Samuel 18:2). David urged
Ittai to return to Jerusalem and to remain loyal to him there (2 Samuel 15:19),
but Ittai insisted on accompanying the king. Ittai's commitment to David (2
Samuel 15:19-22) recalls Ruth's commitment to Naomi (Ruth 1:16-17). David
crossed the Kidron Valley immediately east of Zion and moved up the Mount of
Olives that lay on the other side of the valley. In this he anticipated the
movement of his descendant, Jesus Christ, who also crossed the Kidron Valley to
pray on Mt. Olivet during His passion (John 18:1).
At this time there were two leading priests in Israel: Zadok (who was also a
prophet, 2 Samuel 15:27) and Abiathar. Probably Zadok was responsible for
worship in Jerusalem where David built a new structure to house the ark.
Abiathar seems to have functioned for many years as David's personal chaplain.
Earlier Zadok had been in charge of the Gibeon sanctuary (1 Chronicles
16:39-42). God's "habitation" (2 Samuel 15:25) most likely refers to the new tent
David had recently completed in Jerusalem (cf. 1 Chronicles 15:1). These facts
suggest another reason for Absalom's rebellion and the support he enjoyed.
Many of the Israelites probably considered David's projects of building a new
tabernacle and bringing the ark into Jerusalem inappropriate, since Jerusalem
was a formerly Canaanite stronghold. Many other people may have shared
Michal's reaction (2 Samuel 6:16-20). [Note: Ibid., p. 185.]
David's complete submission to God's authority over his life is admirable (2
Samuel 15:26). The phrase "the fords of the wilderness" (2 Samuel 15:28)
probably refers to the place people forded the Jordan River near the wilderness
of Judah (cf. 2 Samuel 17:22). David did not believe superstitiously that the
presence of the ark would ensure his victory (cf. 1 Samuel 4:3).
David trudged up the Mount of Olives, attired for mourning (2 Samuel 15:30),
praying as he wept (2 Samuel 15:31). On Mt. Olivet David was still only a few
hundred yards from the City of David. It rises about 200 feet above the city to its
east. Walking barefoot (2 Samuel 15:30) symbolized "the shameful exile on
which he is now embarking (cf. Isaiah 20:2-3; cf. similarly Micah 1:8)." [Note:
Youngblood, p. 997.] David's friend (i.e., counselor) Hushai came from a family
that evidently lived on Ephraim's southern border between Bethel and Ataroth
(Joshua 16:2). [Note: Cf. Carl G. Rasmussen, Zondervan NIV Atlas of the Bible,
p. 227.] He was probably quite old.
Chapter 15 teaches us a lot about friendship. Absalom is the negative example,
and David's supporters as he left Jerusalem are the positive ones. David lost
Absalom as a friend because he failed to reach out to him in genuine forgiveness.
David won the friendship of many others in Israel because he had a heart for
God that expressed itself in lovingkindness for people (cf. Matthew 22:37-39).
This made people love David, and we see the marks of their friendship in their
dealings with David in this chapter. The king's servants modeled true service by
offering to do whatever David needed them to do (2 Samuel 15:15-18). Ittai
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![expressed his friendship by being a companion to David (2 Samuel 15:19-23).
Zadok and Abiathar became informants and made sure their friend had the
information he needed to guarantee his welfare (2 Samuel 15:24-29). Hushai was
willing to hazard his own safety to defend David in the presence of his enemies (2
Samuel 15:30-37). These people proved to be "sheltering trees" [Note: Samuel
Taylor Coleridge, "Youth and Age," in Poems That Live Forever, p. 256.] for
their friend in his hour of need.
"Meanwhile David showed a commendable attitude very much in contrast to
Absalom's arrogance. He was completely willing to submit to God's will (2
Samuel 15:25 f.), whatever that might prove to be. Such willingness to surrender
leadership at the right time is another hallmark of good leadership." [Note:
Payne, p. 232.]
HAWKER, "Verse 13-14
(13) ¶ And there came a messenger to David, saying, The hearts of the men of
Israel are after Absalom. (14) And David said unto all his servants that were
with him at Jerusalem, Arise, and let us flee; for we shall not else escape from
Absalom: make speed to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly, and bring evil
upon us, and smite the city with the edge of the sword.
David was a man of great personal bravery, wherefore then did he wish to flee?
No doubt he saw the hand of the Lord in the affliction. God had said, I will raise
up evil out of thine own house. 2 Samuel 12:11. Reader! that affliction which
comes immediately from the Lord, and as the correction of sin, throws down self-
confidence, and makes men cowards. It is sweet to see the hand of him that
corrects however, because as his name is, so is his mercy.
PINK, "There are few incidents in the checkered life of David more pathetic
than the one which is now to engage our attention, illustrating as it also does the
providential ups and downs and the alternating spiritual prosperity and
adversity which is the lot of God’s people on this earth. All is not unclouded
sunshine with them, nor is it unrelieved gloom and storm. There is a mingling of
both; joys and sorrows, victories and defeats, assistance from friends and
injuries from foes, smiles from the Lord’s countenance and the hidings of His
face. By such changes opportunities are afforded for the development and
exercise of different graces, so that we may, in our measure, "know how to be
abased and how to abound . . . both to be full and to be empty" (Phil 4:12); and
above all, that we may, amid varying circumstances, prove the unchanging
faithfulness of God and His sufficiency to supply our every need.
David was called to leave the lowly plains of Bethlehem to participate in the
honors of Saul’s palace. From tending the flock he became the conqueror of
Goliath and the popular hero of Israel. But soon Saul’s friendship was changed
to enmity, and David had to flee for his life, and for many weary months he was
hunted as a partridge on the mountains. Subsequently his fortunes were again
greatly altered, and from being an outcast he was crowned king of Israel. Then
he was enabled to capture Jerusalem, the stronghold of Zion, which became "the
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![throughout the country, wisely resolved on leaving Jerusalem.
BENSON, "2 Samuel 15:14. David said, Arise, and let us flee — As soon as he
had received information of what had passed, he saw the danger was instant, and
took his measures accordingly. He knew Absalom would lose no time to
accomplish his design, and that the nature of it required him to strike home at
once. David therefore orders his servants, soldiery, and friends, to depart from
Jerusalem immediately. For, though the fort of Zion was strong, and he might
have defended himself there for some time, yet he had not laid in provisions for a
long siege; and, if he had been once besieged there, Absalom would have got
speedy possession of his whole kingdom, whereas, if he marched abroad, he
might raise a considerable army for his defence. Besides, the greatest part of
Jerusalem could not be well defended against an enemy. And if it could, “he did
not care to expose a favourite city, built by himself, and the residence of the
tabernacle of God, to all the evils incident to sieges, and almost inseparable from
them. Nor, perhaps, did he incline to trust the inhabitants of a place so long
exposed to the taint of Absalom’s temptations.” This, some think, appears from
the 55th Psalm, which, they suppose, was meditated and poured out in prayer to
God upon the discovery of Absalom’s conspiracy. And from thence it is evident
that he had discerned the seeds and workings of a conspiracy in the city, and that
Ahithophel was at the bottom of it: and not only so, but that David foresaw his
sudden and sad end. — Delaney. For we shall not else escape from Absalom —
He was well acquainted with the young man’s impetuosity, and the madness of
the people, and therefore judged that the only method to be pursued, in order to
safety, was to give way to the fury of the flood, and not attempt to stem it in the
fulness of its overflowing.
LANGE, "2 Samuel 15:14. Up! let us flee. David’s immediate flight is to be
explained (according to the reason that he himself here gives) by the fact that
seized not with momentary fear (Thenius), but doubtless with sudden terror at
the unexpected revolution, he yet sees that the fulfilment of Nathan’s prophecy of
approaching “misfortune” (12:10, 11) is now beginning, that the punishment
cannot be warded off, and that to stay in Jerusalem will only occasion a storming
of the city with much bloodshed, which he wishes to avoid. “Against an
insurrection so vigorous, and yet so thoroughly groundless and unintelligible, the
best defence was to withdraw quietly and try to gain time; the first fright happily
gotten over, sober thought would soon return in many places” (Ewald). [How far
Jerusalem was now in condition to stand a siege (Zion was probably fortified), or
whether David had a well-organized standing army, and how much of the army
Absalom carried off, we do not know; David’s forces seem not to have received
any important addition after he left the city. Two reasons for leaving Jerusalem
would be: to spare the city the horrors of a siege, and to gain the advantage of his
military skill and of the discipline of his tried warriors in the open country.—
Tr.]—[ 2 Samuel 15:15. David’s servants (soldiers) declare themselves ready to
obey his commands—a comfortable faithfulness in the midst of general
defection.—Tr.]
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![COFFMAN 14-18, ""Lest he ... smite the city with the edge of the sword" (2
Samuel 15:14). Some have criticized David's forsaking Jerusalem; but, in all
probability, it was precisely that maneuver that saved his life and his throne. If
Absalom had promptly surrounded Jerusalem, David would have been trapped
and eventually defeated; but in the open country Absalom had nothing that
could stand against David and his men of war. "The fact that David's loyal
followers did not question his decision to leave Jerusalem indicates that his
decision was not based upon cowardice but upon the cold calculations of an
experienced military specialist."[15]
Besides that, David loved Jerusalem and did not wish to see it subjected to the
horrors of a siege. Also, Caird suggested that, "David must have been afraid of
treachery from within Jerusalem."[16] In the terrible sorrows of this rebellion,
David's character as "a man after God's own heart" is once more manifest,
especially in the beautiful, heart-moving Psalms which he wrote during these
hours of shame and grief.
"The six hundred Gittites" (2 Samuel 15:18). Some have questioned the identity
of these; but Keil stated that, "It is dear enough that these are the six hundred
old companions in arms of David who gathered around him during the days of
his flight from Saul, who emigrated with him to Gath, and later to Ziklag."[17]
These were the skilled soldiers who were capable of defeating an army ten times
their size. "Such seasoned troops would find Absalom's levies an easy prey."[18]
As a matter of fact, when it finally came down to fighting, Absalom lost tens of
thousands of his troops.
"Passed on before the king" (2 Samuel 15:18). "This refers to their crossing the
brook Kidron east of Jerusalem."[19]
PETT, "2 Samuel 15:14
‘And David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, “Arise, and
let us flee, for otherwise none of us will escape from Absalom. Make haste to
depart, lest he overtake us quickly, and bring down evil on us, and smite the city
with the edge of the sword.” ’
On receipt of this news David recognised that his wisest course would be to leave
Jerusalem, where he could have become entrapped by the arrival of Absalom’s
forces, and move immediately into an area over the Jordan which had not been
so affected by Absalom’s propaganda. From there he could then begin to
organise his own counter measures. Transjordan was regularly the place of
refuge for those who fled the central part of Israel, for the Transjordanians
were, to some extent at least, a unit in themselves and historically their loyalty
was not so tied in with the tribes on the western side of the Jordan. To quite a
large extent they saw themselves as having their own agenda. And they would
have been delighted at the thought that Mahanaim was being recognised once
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![Israel and Judah.
LANGE, "2 Samuel 15:17. “All the people,” all persons attached to the court,
including the numerous body of servants = “the whole household” ( 2 Samuel
15:16). They halted at “the farthest (or far) house” [Eng. A. V.: “a place that was
far off”] on the road to Mount Olivet, but this side the Kidron. So the German
phrase “the last cent” (der letzte Heller) used as a proper name to designate a
farm lying at the extremity of a region. Probably this designation had already
become a proper name among the people. [Bib. Com.: “very likely a fort
guarding the passage of the Kidron.” Others write: Beth-merhak.—Tr.]
PETT, "2 Samuel 15:17
‘And the king went forth, and all the people after him, and they tarried in Beth-
merhak.’
The king not only went forth with his household, but also with ‘all the people’,
that means, of course, all his followers in Jerusalem, not stopping until they came
to Beth-hermack (‘the house of the distances’) where they organised themselves
and regrouped. Beth-hermack may have been the name given to the last house in
the environs of greater Jerusalem which was seen as indicating its boundary. It
would be the natural place to wait for all who wanted to join them in their flight
as they arrived from different parts of the city and the countryside round about.
18 All his men marched past him, along with all the
Kerethites and Pelethites; and all the six hundred
Gittites who had accompanied him from Gath
marched before the king.
BARNES, "Passed on - Rather, “crossed” the Brook Kidron, as in 2Sa_15:22-23.
Gittites - During David’s residence in the country of the Philistines he attached
such a band to himself; and after the settlement of his kingdom, and the subjugation
of the Philistines, the band received recruits from Gath, perhaps with the king of
Gath’s consent. They were now under the command of Ittai the Gittite, a foreigner
2Sa_15:19, and “his brethren” 2Sa_15:20. The number 600 probably indicates that
this band or regiment of Gittites had its origin in David’s band of 600 1Sa_23:13;
1Sa_27:2. They were at first, it is likely, all Israelites, then Gittites mixed with
Israelites, and at last all Gittites.
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![we perish not?" (Jonah 3:9), or a "Who can tell whether God will be gracious to
me?" (2 Sam. 12:22), is far better than giving way to a spirit of hopelessness.
"Who knoweth if He will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind Him"
(Joel 2:14): there the soul must abide until more light from above break forth
upon it.
ELLICOTT, "(18) Cherethites . . . Pelethites.—See Note on 2 Samuel 8:18.
Gittites.—This word in its form would naturally mean men of Gath, and it has
therefore been understood by some commentators of a body of Philistines in
David’s service. But the term is distinctly explained here as meaning the “six
hundred men which came after him from Gath,” and called “Gittites” for that
reason, a body of men with whom the previous history of David has made us
very familiar. They had gathered to him during his outlawry (1 Samuel 22:1-2),
had been with him at Keilah (1 Samuel 23:13), in the wilderness of Paran (1
Samuel 25:13), and at Gath (1 Samuel 27:3), “came after him from Gath” to
Ziklag, and shared with him in his life and exploits there (1 Samuel 27:8; 1
Samuel 29:2; 1 Samuel 30:1-9), and went up with him to Hebron (2 Samuel 23),
and thence to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 5:6). They are generally supposed to have
afterwards constituted the body of “heroes” or “mighty men,” to whom frequent
reference is made (2 Samuel 10:7; 2 Samuel 16:6; 2 Samuel 20:7; 1 Kings 1:8).
The Vatican LXX. here, as often, adds considerably to the text.
LANGE, "2 Samuel 15:18. David having halted here with his immediate retinue
(of his household), caused first all his servants to pass by at his side (ָדוֹיל־ַ,)ﬠ then
his body guard and six hundred Gittites (who had followed him from Gath) to
pass before him, so that the latter formed the vanguard. On the “Cherethites and
Pelethites” comp8:18. As the “six hundred men that followed him from Gath”
are called “all the Gittites,” they must be those six hundred faithful companions-
in-arms that gathered about David during Saul’s persecution ( 1 Samuel 22:2; 1
Samuel 23:13; 1 Samuel 25:13), went with him to Gath ( 1 Samuel 27:2 sq.) and
settled with him in Ziklag ( 1 Samuel 27:8; 1 Samuel 29:2; 1 Samuel 30:1; 1
Samuel 30:9). Thence they marched with him to Hebron (2:3) and Jerusalem
(5:6). They are the same that are called “Gibborim” [heroes, mighty men] in16:6,
and appear as his military escort. Comp20:7; 23:8 sqq, where the Gibborim seem
to be identical with these. “They very probably formed, from the time that David
went to reside at Jerusalem, a special body, known as ‘the Gibborim,’ kept
always in full number (hence here also, six hundred), living in barracks at
Jerusalem (see Appendix to the Books of Kings, § 7), employed only in the most
important undertakings (10:7; 20:7, 9) the Old Guard, as it were, who here also
will protect the retreat of their lord with their stout, faithful bodies” (Thenius).
They are here called “the Gittites” because they were so called by the people, as
having followed David “from Gath on” (Keil). There is no necessity for read-
Gibborim instead of Gittites (Thenius), especially as all the versions have the
latter. [This reading is discussed in “Text. and Gram.” Some hold these
“Gittites” to be foreigners (Philistines) that had entered David’s service, as we
know many foreigners did; and this is probable, if we retain the present text. But
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![that the Gibborim were called “Gittites” (Keil) is not probable, and as there is no
account of such a body of Philistines having followed David from Gath (that
Isaiah, when he lived there), there is strong reason for reading Gibborim instead
of Gittites.—Tr.]
19 The king said to Ittai the Gittite, "Why should you
come along with us? Go back and stay with King
Absalom. You are a foreigner, an exile from your
homeland.
CLARKE, "Thou art a stranger, and also an exile - Some suppose that Ittai
was the son of Achish, king of Gath, who was very much attached to David, and
banished from his father’s court on that account. He and his six hundred men are
generally supposed to have been proselytes to the Jewish religion.
GILL, "Then said the king to Ittai the Gittite,.... Who was over the band of
Gittites, the six hundred men, 2Sa_15:22,
wherefore goest thou also with us? one should think the king should not have
discouraged any from joining and following him, when his numbers were not very
large, and the in such fear on account of Absalom:
return to this place; to Jerusalem, where his station was:
and abide with the king; with Absalom, who set himself up for king, and whom
the people perhaps had proclaimed as such in Hebron, where the conspiracy began:
for thou art a stranger, and also an exile; not a native of Israel, but of another
nation, and at a distance from it, and therefore not altogether under the same
obligations to attend David in his troubles as others were; and by this it seems that
he was a Gittite by nation, whatever the six hundred men were, and rather favours
the first sense given of them in 2Sa_15:18.
HENRY 19-20, "IV. His discourse with Ittai the Gittite, who commanded the
Philistine-proselytes.
1. David dissuaded him from going along with him, 2Sa_15:19, 2Sa_15:20. Though
he and his men might be greatly serviceable to him yet, (1.) He would try whether he
was hearty for him, and not inclined to Absalom. He therefore bids him return to his
post in Jerusalem, and serve the new king. If he was no more than a soldier of
fortune (as we say), he would be for that side which would pay and prefer him best;
and to that side let him go. (2.) If he was faithful to David, yet David would not have
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![truepatriotism, all the more remarkable because, in one sense, patriotism is not quite
the word to apply to Ittai, for he was a stranger and an alien, though a naturalised
Israelite. In him we have a singular instance of that devotion to a person which will
always be the leading characteristic of the Christian life. The legalist may be devoted
to a system; the moralist may be devoted to an idea; the real Christian will be devoted
to a Person, to the person of a living Christ.
II. Ittai was the kind of man that David wanted, and he is the kind of man that Christ
wants now. There are many people ready enough to make the Lord Jesus Christ a
kind of stepping-stone to help them into heaven. If they can make a convenience of
Him and He can serve their purpose in a dying hour, it is all very well. It is not such
as these the Lord wants. The "citizens of heaven" are men who are partakers of their
Master’s nobility.
III. It was the fact that David had received him as an exile that first bound Ittai’s
heart to him. We also are strangers and exiles. Christ gives us a home. Our adoption
into His family should be a motive power which will bear us through all the shocks of
the battle of life and make us "more than conquerors through Him that loved us."
W. Hay Aitken, Mission Sermons, 1st series, p. 168.
BENSON, "2 Samuel 15:19-20. Then said the king to Ittai the Gittite, &c. — He
seems to have been the commander of those six hundred men before mentioned.
And the Jews make him the son of Achish, king of Gath, who, they say, out of
religion and friendship came to David. Return to thy place — To Jerusalem,
where thy place of residence is. And abide with the king —
With Absalom, king by usurpation. For thou art a stranger and an exile — Not
much concerned in our affairs, and therefore thou oughtest not to be involved in
our troubles. And, as a stranger, thou mayest hope to be civilly treated by
Absalom. Whereas thou camest but yesterday — That is, very lately; should I
this day make thee go up and down with us? — Should I unsettle thee again so
soon? Seeing I go whither I may — Or, I know not whither, having now no
certain dwelling-place. Take back thy brethren — Thy countrymen the Gittites.
Mercy and truth be with thee — Since I am now unable to recompense thy
kindness and fidelity to me, my hearty prayer to God is, that he would show to
thee his mercy, in blessing thee with all sorts of blessings, and his faithfulness in
making good all these promises which he hath made, not to Israelites only, but to
all true-hearted proselytes, such as thou art.
COFFMAN, "The picture that emerges here is that of David standing by the
Brook Kidron, taking with him all of the city of Jerusalem who wished to
accompany him. "David compelled none. Those whose hearts were with
Absalom, to Absalom let them go, and so shall their doom be. They will soon
have enough of him. Christ enlists none but volunteers."[20]
Apparently, David was surprised by the arrival of Ittai and his company who
had come to Jerusalem only recently. That group should not be confused with
the Gittites mentioned a moment earlier. Those first mentioned were the faithful
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![was given command of one-third of the army (18:2), and stood along with Joab
and Abishai as an able general. It need not surprise us that a foreigner should
occupy such a military position; comp11:3, Uriah the Hittite. David advises this
faithful follower not to go with him, but to remain “with the king” at Jerusalem.
This phrase cannot mean: with him that is or will be king, according to God’s
will, whether it be David or Absalom (Keil, and so Seb. Schmidt: “it is not your
business to decide this contest: wait quietly, see whom God chooses and serve
him”), but it must be referred definitely to Absalom, who in David’s eyes is now
king de facto. Ewald: David gave him the friendly advice to stay in Jerusalem
with the new king. David thus neither recognizes Absalom as rightful king
(Böttch.), nor ironically so calls him = “with him who is acting as if he were
king” (Clericus). In this usurpation of the throne David recognizes and submits
to a divine dispensation, and so calls Absalom king.—The reason for his counsel
to Ittai: “For thou art a stranger and moreover an emigrant (exile) in thy place.
“Stranger” = not an Israelite; “emigrant or exile” (ֶהלֹ)גּ = one not in his native
land. The last phrase may be rendered: “for[FN26] thy place,” or “in respect to
thy place,” or may be taken to express a state of quiet (comp. Ges. § 154, 3 e).
The meaning is: “as a foreigner, thou needst not care who is king, or join either
side; stay where thou art.” The reading of Sept, Vulg, Syr, Arab.: “thou hast
come from thy place,” does not warrant us in changing the preposition “to” of
the Heb. into “from;” for, if the latter were the original text, it is hard to see how
the present difficult reading came. [The passage reads literally: “Return, and
abide with the king, for thou art a stranger and also an exile to thy place.” Eng.
A. V. transposes the last phrase, or supposes a parenthesis: “return to thy place
and abide,” etc. (and so Kimchi), and Bib-Com.: “Return and dwell with the
king (for thou art a foreigner and thou art an exile) at thy place” (i. e.
Jerusalem). Erdmann in his translation of the chapter (prefixed to the
Exposition) gives: “for thou art a stranger and moreover a man that has been
carried away from his place,” but here renders it quite differently: “for thou art
a stranger and an exile in thy place,” that Isaiah, remaining quietly in thy place
(Jerusalem, thy adopted home). Philippson: “thou art a stranger, etc., in respect
to thy place” (Gath, thy native place). The parenthesis of Eng. A. V. is
improbable, and Erdmann’s rendering in the Exposition is impossible; we must
adopt Philippson’s, or change the Prep. and read “from,” as Erdmann in his
translation. See the discussion in “Text. and Gram.”—Tr.]—Whether Ittai came
with his family ( 2 Samuel 15:22) and his kinsfolk ( 2 Samuel 15:20) to Jerusalem
as hostage (Thenius), or went over to David with other warriors (Ewald), cannot
be determined, as nothing is said thereon. But as he was a man in high position
and a distinguished military leader, and as David broke the Philistines’
supremacy in the last war with them (8:1), it is probable ( 2 Samuel 15:20 : “thou
camest yesterday”) that this victory of David’s was the occasion of his coming to
Jerusalem.
PETT, "2 Samuel 15:19
‘Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, “Why do you also go with us? Return,
and abide with the king, for you are a foreigner, and also an exile. Return to
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![thou hast shown favour and respect to me, and make good all his promises to thee,
who hast been true and faithful to me.
K&D, "“Thy coming is yesterday (from yesterday), and should I disturb thee to-
day to go with us, when I am going just where I go?” i.e., wherever my way may lie
(I go I know not whither; Chald.: cf. 1Sa_23:13). The Chethib ָך ֲנוּע ֲא is a copyist's error.
The thought requires the Hiphil ָך ֲיעִנ ֲא (Keri), as ַנוּע in the Kal has the intransitive
meaning, to totter, sway about, or move hither and thither. “Return and take thy
brethren back; grace and truth be with thee.” It is evidently more in accordance with
the train of thought to separate ְך ָ ִע from the previous clause and connect it with ת ֶמ ֱאֶו
ד ֶס ֶ,ח though this is opposed to the accents, than to adopt the adverbial interpretation,
“take back thy brethren with thee in grace and truth,” as Maurer proposes. (For the
thought itself, see Pro_3:3). The reference is to the grace and truth (faithfulness) of
God, which David desired that Ittai should receive upon his way. In the Septuagint
and Vulgate the passage is paraphrased thus: “Jehovah show thee grace and truth,”
after 2Sa_2:6; but it by no means follows from this that ָך ְ ִע ה ֶשׂ ֲעַו הָּוהְו has fallen out of
the Hebrew text.
LANGE, "2 Samuel 15:20. The sense is: “Shall 1 drag[FN27] thee, a stranger lately
come, and an exile, into my unquiet and precarious life?” Since I go whither I go,
without certain aim, “whither the way leads me” (Maurer). Comp. 1 Samuel 23:13.—
David wishes Ittai the favor and the faithfulness of God. From this and from Ittai’s
saying: “as the Lord lives,” it is probable that Ittai with his whole house had already
become a believer in the God of Israel. [From this expression we cannot infer
anything as to Ittai’s religious position, much less as to that of his family. Any
foreigner might believe in Jehovah as a deity and swear by His name (so Achish, 1
Samuel 29:6) without giving up his own gods. On general grounds it is not
improbable that Ittai accepted the God of Israel; but we have no information as to
any special religious depth or conversion in his history.—Tr.] It is doubtful whether
we should render: “carry thy brethren back with thee in grace and truth.” (Maurer),
or take the latter part separately: “with thee be grace and truth,” that Isaiah, God’s
(Keil); the accents favor the first, the connection of thought the second. Sept. and
Vulg. have: “and the Lord will do with thee grace and truth,” to which Vulg. adds:
“because thou hast shown grace and faithfulness,” whence Thenius (with Ew. and
Böttch. for the Sept. reading) will correspondingly change the Heb. text.[FN28] But
the words of Sept. and Vulg. seem to be an interpreting paraphrase, with the similar
words in2:5, 6, in mind. The text without this addition gives a good sense: “lead thy
brethren back; with thee be grace and faithfulness.”
PETT, "2 Samuel 15:20
“Inasmuch as you came but yesterday, should I this day make you go up and down
with us, seeing I go wherever I may? Return you, and take back your brothers. Mercy
and truth be with you.”
After all Ittai had only come to Jerusalem recently (although ‘yesterday’ was probably
not intended to be taken literally). How then could David expect him to share his
flight down to the Jordan rift and then into Transjordan, going wherever he felt it
necessary in order to avoid Absalom’s forces, not knowing what the outcome may be?
He might even never have the means by which to pay them. So David suggested that
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![LANGE, "2 Samuel 15:20. The sense is: “Shall 1 drag[FN27] thee, a stranger
lately come, and an exile, into my unquiet and precarious life?” Since I go
whither I go, without certain aim, “whither the way leads me” (Maurer). Comp.
1 Samuel 23:13.—David wishes Ittai the favor and the faithfulness of God. From
this and from Ittai’s saying: “as the Lord lives,” it is probable that Ittai with his
whole house had already become a believer in the God of Israel. [From this
expression we cannot infer anything as to Ittai’s religious position, much less as
to that of his family. Any foreigner might believe in Jehovah as a deity and swear
by His name (so Achish, 1 Samuel 29:6) without giving up his own gods. On
general grounds it is not improbable that Ittai accepted the God of Israel; but we
have no information as to any special religious depth or conversion in his
history.—Tr.] It is doubtful whether we should render: “carry thy brethren back
with thee in grace and truth.” (Maurer), or take the latter part separately: “with
thee be grace and truth,” that Isaiah, God’s (Keil); the accents favor the first, the
connection of thought the second. Sept. and Vulg. have: “and the Lord will do
with thee grace and truth,” to which Vulg. adds: “because thou hast shown grace
and faithfulness,” whence Thenius (with Ew. and Böttch. for the Sept. reading)
will correspondingly change the Heb. text.[FN28] But the words of Sept. and
Vulg. seem to be an interpreting paraphrase, with the similar words in2:5, 6, in
mind. The text without this addition gives a good sense: “lead thy brethren back;
with thee be grace and faithfulness.”
PETT, "2 Samuel 15:23
‘And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over. The
king also himself passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over,
towards the way of the wilderness.’
Meanwhile the whole country was in mourning. We are not necessarily to see
that they were weeping simply for David. They were indeed mainly weeping
because civil war was coming and they did not like what they saw ahead. (To
many it made little difference who was king as long as there was peace in the
land). They knew that civil war was especially hard on everyone. Meanwhile all
the people who were with David passed over the Wadi Kidron which was on the
edge of Jerusalem towards the east before reaching the Mount of Olives. They
were moving forward towards The Way of the Wilderness, the road which would
lead them via Jericho into Transjordan. The Wadi Kidron was dry in summer
but would flood with the winter rains.
24 Zadok was there, too, and all the Levites who were
with him were carrying the ark of the covenant of
God. They set down the ark of God, and Abiathar
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![offered sacrifices [3] until all the people had finished
leaving the city.
BARNES, "Abiathar went up - i. e., continued to ascend the Mount of Olives.
Abiathar was high priest 1Ki_2:35. Perhaps Zadok is addressed by David 2Sa_15:25
as the chief of those who were actually bearing the ark.
CLARKE, "Bearing the ark - The priests knew that God had given the kingdom
to David; they had no evidence that he had deposed him: they therefore chose to
accompany him, and take the ark, the object of their charge, with them.
GILL, "And, lo, Zadok also,.... The priest, as he is called, 2Sa_15:27,
and all the Levites were with him: with Zadok, or with David, and indeed with
both; but the former is rather meant here, being the immediate antecedent:
bearing the ark of the covenant of God: these were the Kohathite Levites,
whose business it was to bear the ark when carried from place to place, Num_3:31;
called the ark of the covenant, because the law which was the covenant between God
and the people, was put into it:
and they set down the ark of God: from off their shoulders, on which they
carried it:
and Abiathar went up; who was the high priest, and whose business it was to
attend the ark, and inquire before it, as occasion required; he went up very probably
to the mount of Olives, later mentioned, 2Sa_15:30,
until all the people had done passing out of the city; for from the top of that
mountain he could see the city of Jerusalem, and the people as they passed out of it,
and observe when they were all come out, or however ceased coming, and so knew
when it was a proper time to march forward.
HENRY, "Here we have, I. The fidelity of the priests and Levites and their firm
adherence to David and his interest. They knew David's great affection to them and
their office, notwithstanding his failings. The method Absalom took to gain people's
affections made no impression upon them; he had little religion in him, and therefore
they steadily adhered to David. Zadok and Abiathar, and all the Levites, if he go, will
accompany him, and take the ark with them, that, by it, they may ask counsel of God
for him, 2Sa_15:24. Note, Those that are friends to the ark in their prosperity will
find it a friend to them in their adversity. Formerly David would not rest till he had
found a resting-place for the ark; and now, if the priests may have their mind, the ark
shall not rest till David return to his rest.
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!["I will wait at the fords ... until word comes from you to inform me" (2 Samuel
15:28). There was also an excellent practical reason why David sent the ark and
its priestly and Levitical attendants back to Jerusalem. David would require
accurate and confidential information on Absalom's movements and other
developments of the rebellion; and he promptly arranged to procure such
information via the sons of the two priests mentioned here.
"May the Lord show steadfast love and faithfulness to you" (2 Samuel 15:20).
This is an unwelcome change from the text as given in ASV; KJV and NIV; and
Willis noted, "The last line of 2 Samuel 15:20 should read, `Mercy and truth be
with thee,' as in KJV, ASV, and NIV."[21]
"And Abiathar came up, and lo, Zadok came also, with all the Levites bearing
the ark of the covenant of God" (2 Samuel 15:24). We are pleased indeed that the
RSV has retained these words, thus effectively checkmating the old critical
dictum advanced in the last century to the effect that, "The Levites are unknown
to the Books of Samuel, so obviously (this mention of Levites) is a late
insertion."[22] Such opinions, of course, are unacceptable. The Levites are
mentioned in both Samuels, here and in 1 Samuel 6:15. Parallel accounts also
which are found in Kings and Chronicles indicate most emphatically that the
Levites during the reign of David fulfilled their usual purpose regarding the ark
of the covenant; and there is no good reason for supposing that they were not
involved here.
ELLICOTT, "(24) Zadok also.—Zadok appears here as in charge of the ark, and
David (2 Samuel 15:27) addresses him exclusively, while Abiathar is merely
mentioned. This gives no indication of the relations existing between the two, but
merely shows how matters went on this day of hurry and confusion. The
language is obscure, but probably means that Zadok and the Levites brought the
ark out of the city, and set it down while the multitude were assembling;
meantime Abiathar led the multitude forward up the Mount of Olives until they
had all come out of the city.
HAWKER, "Verses 24-26
(24) ¶ And lo Zadok also, and all the Levites were with him, bearing the ark of
the covenant of God: and they set down the ark of God; and Abiathar went up,
until all the people had done passing out of the city. (25) And the king said unto
Zadok, Carry back the ark of God into the city: if I shall find favour in the eyes
of the LORD, he will bring me again, and shew me both it, and his habitation:
(26) But if he thus say, I have no delight in thee; behold, here am I, let him do to
me as seemeth good unto him.
I have often admired the blessed frame of mind David was in, when he thus
expressed himself. Surely nothing but the grace and presence of the Lord with
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![him could have induced it at such a season. It is delightful to see that though the
Lord (according to his solemn declaration by Nathan) had raised evil out of his
own house, and though the Lord was correcting, he at the same time sustained
him under the pressure. His direction to Zadok is as high an evidence of David's
devotion and resignation, as we meet with in his whole history. Go Zadok, carry
back the Ark! what though I have not the symbol and representation of Jesus,
yet I shall have Jesus himself with me; and that will abundantly answer for all.
What the designs of my God are in this humbling, sorrowful providence, I know
not. Whether I shall ever see Jerusalem again, or whether I shall not; let my
Jesus choose for me, I have no choice myself. If I shall find favour in his eyes to
return, the Ark will be doubly sweet to my view; the habitation of God's house,
and all things pertaining to ordinances. But, if my God say nay to this, he will
not say nay to my soul in loving me. He hath spoken peace, and therefore will not
unsay it. Oh, Reader! what a frame of mind is here. Better to be thus in God's
hottest furnace, living upon Jesus, than at ease under any pleasing frames, or
supposed attainments of our own.
LANGE, "2 Samuel 15:24. Zadok (of the branch of Eleazar) with the priests took
the ark from its place ( 2 Samuel 6), brought it out to David, and set it down
where he halted (after passing the Kidron) on the declivity of the mount of
Olives, “to give the people that were yet coming on time to join the procession”
(Keil). On the other hand Abiathar (of the line of Eli [branch of Ithamar]) had
remained in the city “till the people had all passed over from the city.” He went
up, that Isaiah, of course, to the summit of Mount Olivet, where the ark was set
down; the rendering: “he sacrificed” (Schultz, Böttcher), is impossible, since the
verb ()עלה never has this meaning except in connection with the substantive
“burnt-offering” (ָהל)עוֹ [or some other offering, Isaiah 57:6.—Tr.], or without
reference to it in the connection; in the passages cited by Böttcher, 1 Samuel
2:28; 2 Samuel 24:22; 1 Kings 3:15, the context points to offering. Thenius
proposes to read: “and Abiathar waited,”[FN31] for which there is no necessity,
as the text in the connection (in respect to the locality) gives a good sense.—
[Böttcher: “And Zadok, etc., bearing the ark, etc., of God, and Abiathar the son
of Ahimelech at the head of all the Levites, and they set down the ark of God,
and Abiathar offered sacrifices until,” etc., an improbable reading, in which the
inserted clause is suggested by the Sept. ἀπὸ βαινὰρ = Abiathar. Wellhausen
acutely suggests that the words: “and Abiathar went up (or, offered sacrifices),”
are in the wrong place; the text reads: “they set down the ark till all the people,”
etc. It is hard to get any good sense from the present text, or to explain what part
Abiathar took in the proceedings. Some think he staid in the city till the ark was
set down; others (contrary to the text) that he preceded the ark, which was not
set down till he stopped. Probably Abiathar ought to be somehow connected with
Zadok in the bearing of the ark (see the plural “your” in 2 Samuel 15:27), and
perhaps in sacrificing; but we have not the means of satisfactorily restoring the
text.—Tr.]
PETT, "2 Samuel 15:24
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![not to be taken about from place to place, he knew not whither. And, 2d, Lest, if
he had carried it about with him everywhere, he should seem to trust in that
which was but the token of God’s presence, more than he did in God himself,
who had preserved him in the persecution of Saul, when he had not the ark with
him. But was he not exposing the priests to the violence of the usurper, by thus
sending them back to Jerusalem; especially as they had just given such evidence
of their fidelity to their king? To this it may be answered, that David hoped the
sacredness of their character would be a security to them against all violence. If I
find favour in the eyes of the Lord, &c. — If he shall be pleased to pardon the
sins for which he is now justly, although so severely, chastising me. He will bring
me again, and show me both it and his habitation — Will restore me to the
enjoyment of the privileges of his house, and the ordinances of his worship,
which I shall consider one of the greatest evidences of the return of his favour,
and one of the greatest blessings his goodness can confer upon me, even greater
than the being restored to my palace and throne. But if he say, I have no delight
in thee — I will not receive thee into my favour, nor restore thee to thy throne
and city, and to the enjoyment of my ordinances. Here I am — Ready to obey
him, and to submit to his will and pleasure concerning me. David saw plainly
that God, according to his threatening, had raised up this evil to him out of his
own house, and was punishing him for his sins, and he receives the chastisement
with resignation. “I imagine,” says Dr. Delaney, “I now hear him taking up the
same lamentation which Alphonsus the Wise, king of Arragon, afterward did
upon a like occasion: ‘I wonder not so much at my people’s ingratitude to me, as
at my own to God.’ Hence, in this spirit of humiliation, David would not presume
to have the ark, the symbol of the divine presence borne before him in that war:
that was an honour of which he deemed himself utterly unworthy. And,
therefore, referring himself and his affairs to the disposal of the Divine
Providence, he remanded Zadok and Abiathar back to the city with the ark.” Let
him do with me as seemeth him good — I have nothing to object; it is all well
that God doth. Thus ought we cheerfully to acquiesce in the will of God,
whatever befalls us. And that we may not complain of what is, let us see God’s
hand in all events. And that we may not be afraid of what shall be, let us see all
events in God’s hand.
LANGE, "2 Samuel 15:25 sqq. The ark sent back. David declares that he does
not need this sign of God’s gracious presence and protection. His reason for this
is expressed in the words [ 2 Samuel 15:26]: “if I find favor,” etc., wherein in
contrast with the visible sign of God’s presence he emphasizes His spiritual
nearness, on which everything depends, and gives himself unconditionally up to
the will of the Lord, whom he knows to be present, whose hand he sees in these
events, according to the announcement made him by Nathan. He resigns himself
to God in the proper sense of the word for “favor or disfavor.” David speaks
only to Zadok, who here (as in in 2 Samuel 15:24) appears as the officiating high-
priest at the head of the Levites. [But from 1 Kings 2:35 it seems that Abiathar
was the superior (Bib-Com., Bähr on “Kings” (Lange’s Bible-work), Patrick). It
is not improbable that some mention of Abiathar has here fallen out of the text
(see 2 Samuel 15:29); though it may be that in the distribution of duties the care
of the ark fell to Zadok. The two priests are throughout this narrative
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![represented as equally faithful to David.—Tr.]
PETT, "2 Samuel 15:25-26
‘And the king said to Zadok, “Carry back the ark of God into the city. If I shall
find favour in the eyes of YHWH, he will bring me again, and show me both it,
and his habitation, but if he say thus, ‘I have no delight in you’, behold, here am
I, let him do to me as seems good to him.” ’
But David was not happy at the thought that the Ark of God should be required
to join their wanderings. He had established it in a sacred Tent in Jerusalem,
and in his view that was where it belonged. And he had no doubt that YHWH
could help him from there. In his view to remove it would be an act of surrender
and an indication that he was not expecting to return. So he informed Zadok that
he should take it back to the city. As far as he was concerned all, including his
own future, was in YHWH’s hands and YHWH would do whatever He would,
no matter where His physical abode. Thus whether he himself was to find favour
at YHWH’s hands did not depend on the whereabouts of the Ark, for YHWH
was not limited and could work how and where He would. It simply depended on
YHWH’s own will and purpose. And that was what mattered. If YHWH was
intending to show favour to him then he would be brought safely back to the
place where the Ark dwelt, but if YHWH was, on the other hand, now saying ‘I
have no delight in you’, then he was willing to leave all in His hands. Let YHWH
do to him what seemed good. Emergencies like this always brought out the best
in David, and he was being reminded both of how dependent he was on YHWH,
and how universal was His power.
26 But if he says, 'I am not pleased with you,' then I
am ready; let him do to me whatever seems good to
him."
GILL, "But if he thus say, I have no delight in thee,.... As a king, or in his
temporal prosperity, though he might and had delight in him as a chosen vessel of
salvation, as a saint and child of God, and in his spiritual and everlasting welfare:
behold, here am I; his humble servant, ready to be, and do and suffer whatever is
his pleasure:
let him do to me as seemeth good unto him; strip me of all the ensigns of
royalty, dispossess me of my crown and kingdom, and dispose of me as seems good
in his sight; who is a sovereign Being, and has a right to do with his creatures what he
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![Observe, how strong confidence he put in the counsel of God's Seer, that is,
God's prophet; through whom the Lord might graciously be pleased to convey
instruction. And, Reader! have not we that which is better than a thousand Seers
now? even his holy word, which is a constant light to our feet, and a lamp to our
paths.
LANGE, "2 Samuel 15:27 sqq. [The king says to Zadok: Return to the city, and I
will await word from you at the fords.] The word הראה [Eng. A. V. seer] presents
great difficulties if we adopt the interrogative pointing, and render: “Seest thou
not?” (Grot.), where the insertion of the negative is unwarranted, or: “Seest
thou?” (De Wette), or: “Understandest thou?” namely, what I have just said
(Böttcher), which renderings are partly too heavy, partly superfluous. [These
translations take the word as Participle. Eng. A. V. takes it as a substantive, and
unwarrantably inserts a negative, leaving out which, the rendering: “art thou a
seer?” is grammatically possible, but not suitable to the circumstances.—Tr.]
Instead of the Interrogative particle (ֲה) we must read the Article (ָ,)ה and render:
“Thou seer,” that Isaiah, thou prophet, “since a high-priest might certainly bear
this higher, yet archaic name” (Ewald). The high-priest might well be called a
seer, because he received divine revelations through the Urim and Thummim.
David’s reason for so naming him here is found in his words in 2 Samuel 15:25
sqq. Zadok is to return to Jerusalem and learn God’s will through events, and
through him David is to learn whether the Lord will again take him into favor
and restore him to Jerusalem; that Isaiah, Zadok was to act as seer for him.—
[This interpretation is hardly conveyed by the words. Zadok was to act as
observer, as reporter or intermediary between Hushai and David, and in fact
does so act. But he performs none of the functions of the official Roeh or Seer,
and it is not easy to see why he should be so called. Usage forbids us to take the
word in its literal sense: “seeer” = observer. Wellhausen’s reading: “high-priest”
()ראש belongs to a later time, and that of the Sept. “see!” (ה ֵא ְ)ר seems to offer
fewer difficulties than any other.—Tr.]—Ahimaaz and Jonathan the sons of the
two high-priests are to be the messengers to bring news from Jerusalem; comp. 2
Samuel 15:28 and 2 Samuel 15:36.—In 2 Samuel 15:28 we retain (from17:6
comp. with19:19) the Kethib or text: “the fords of the wilderness” (instead of the
Qeri “plains”[FN32] [so Eng. A. V.], 2 Kings 25:5), the point where one passed
from the wilderness over the Jordan. Thither (to the west side of the Jordan)
David had to repair in order to escape any threatening danger by crossing the
river at one of the several fords in the vicinity; and there he would await
information from Jerusalem. Comp. the Jordan-fords, Joshua 2:7; Judges 3:28.
PETT, "2 Samuel 15:27
‘The king said also to Zadok the priest, “Are you not a seer? Return into the city
in peace, and your two sons with you, Ahimaaz your son, and Jonathan the son
of Abiathar.” ’
David then pointed out to Zadok that he was a seer. He was thus one who could
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![the olive trees that grew upon it, which is often mentioned in the New Testament,
and where our Lord Jesus Christ, the antitype of David, often was, in his state of
humiliation, Mat_26:30, and from whence he ascended to heaven after his
resurrection, Act_1:12; it was about a mile from Jerusalem, to the east of it:
and wept as he went up; thinking perhaps of the wickedness and rebellion of his
son, of his own hard case, to be obliged to quit his metropolis and palace, and make
his flight afoot; and perhaps also of his own sins, which were the cause of his
calamities:
and had his head covered; with his mantle, with which he enwraped himself as a
mourner, 2Sa_19:4; so the Egyptians used to cover their heads in mourning, and the
Romans in later times (q); so Megara in sorrowful circumstances is represented as
having her head covered with a garment (r):
and he went barefoot; in token of mourning also, and like one forlorn, and going
into captivity, see Isa_20:2,
and all the people that was with him covered every man his head; as David
did, and in imitation of him, and sympathizing with him; and which was sometimes
done when men were ashamed and confounded, Jer_14:3,
and they went up, weeping as they went up; the mount of Olivet, grieved for
their king, and the distresses and calamities that were coming upon them.
JAMISON, "David went up by the ascent of mount Olivet — The same
pathway over that mount has been followed ever since that memorable day.
had his head covered — with a mourning wrapper. The humility and
resignation of David marked strongly his sanctified spirit, induced by contrition for
his transgressions. He had fallen, but it was the fall of the upright; and he rose again,
submitting himself meekly in the meantime to the will of God [Chalmers].
K&D 30-31, "Ahithophel and Hushai. - 2Sa_15:30, 2Sa_15:31. When David was
going by the height of the olive-trees, i.e., the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went,
with his head covered, and barefooted, as a sign of grief and mourning (see Est_6:12;
Eze_24:17), and with the people who accompanied him also mourning, he received
intelligence that Ahithophel (see at 2Sa_15:12) was with Absalom, and among the
conspirators. ידִ ִה דִו ָדְו gives no sense; for David cannot be the subject, because the
next clause, “and David said,” etc., contains most distinctly an expression of David's
on receiving some information. Thenius would therefore alter ידִ ִה into the Hophal
דַ ֻ,ה whilst Ewald (§131, a) would change it into ידִ ֻ,ה an unusual form of the Hophal,
“David was informed,” according to the construction of the Hiphil with the
accusative. But although this construction of the Hiphil is placed beyond all doubt by
Job_31:37; Job_26:4, and Eze_43:10, the Hiphil is construed as a rule, as the
Hophal always is, with ְל of the person who receives information. Consequently דִו ָ
must be altered into דִו ָד ְ,ל and ידִ ִה taken as impersonal, “they announced to David.”
Upon receipt of this intelligence David prayed to the Lord, that He would “turn the
counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness,” make it appear as folly, i.e., frustrate it, - a
prayer which God answered (vid., 2Sa_17:1.).
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![BENSON, "2 Samuel 15:30. David went up by the ascent of mount Olivet, and
wept as he went up — To think that one who was the offspring of his own body
should thus lift up the heel against him, and reflecting on his own conduct in the
matter of Uriah, as the cause of this calamity. And had his head covered —
Through shame and confusion. And he went up barefoot — In testimony of his
deep sorrow and humiliation for the sins whereby he had procured this evil to
himself; for these were the habits of mourners; and to take a holy revenge upon
himself for his former delicacy and luxury. “A more memorable event, surely,
was never recorded in history, nor a more moving spectacle exhibited to mortal
eyes! A king, venerable for his years and victories; sacred in the characters, both
of his piety and prophecy; renowned for prowess, and revered for wisdom,
reduced to the condition of a fugitive! to a sudden and extreme necessity of
fleeing for his life, from the presence of his own son, his darling and delight; and
a whole country loudly lamenting his fate! In this condition, David went up the
mount, and when he reached the summit of it, fell down prostrate before God.
Josephus tells us, that when David reached the top of the mountain, he took a
view of the city, and prayed to God with abundance of tears. The reader will
perhaps think it worth his notice, that Josephus should tell us, that David wept
and viewed the city in the same spot from which, the evangelist informs us, our
blessed Saviour wept over it.” — Delaney. And is this the glorious king of Israel,
the beloved of God, the wise, the victorious David, who slew his ten thousands?
Strange change indeed! What has produced this sad reverse? Sin alone has
wrought all this! These are its baneful effects: he forgot the commandment of the
Lord his God, and from hence has flowed all this evil! You that plead an excuse
for sin, because David, the man after God’s own heart, fell into it; remember,
likewise, what bitter and grievous punishments he underwent for it. Are you
willing to pay such a price for sin? And yet, be assured, the inviolable laws of
God require you to pay it in one way or other.
COFFMAN, "This account of David's leaving the city of Jerusalem, barefoot and
with his head covered, weeping as he went was called by Tatum, "One of the
saddest passages in the Bible."[23]
"Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom" (2 Samuel 15:31). This
was a terrible blow indeed to David, as indicated by David's pouring out his
heartbreak in one of the Psalms written on this occasion. He responded to the
sad news with a prayer.
"O Lord turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness" (2 Samuel 15:31). God
answered his prayer at once. Hushai agreed to return to Jerusalem to keep David
informed of things he might hear there concerning Absalom's strategy,"[24] and
also to frustrate, if possible, the counsel of Ahithophel.
HAWKER, "(30) And David went up by the ascent of mount Olivet, and wept as
he went up, and had his head covered, and he went barefoot: and all the people
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![that was with him covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as
they went up.
How very suitable a frame was David now in! He saw the hand of God in this
affliction. This gave the additional bitterness to it. Moreover, be knew not what
the event might be. Either way, in success, or the contrary, it was full of evil. If
he conquered, it was a son, a beloved son, he subdued. If he fell himself, death
would be the consequence. In such a state, as a mourner, he might well go
barefoot and weeping. But Reader! can you accompany David in idea up the
ascent of Mount Olivet, and not recollect that holy mourner there, David's Lord?
Surely! no true believer in Christ can ever hear, or read, the name of Olivet,
without connecting with it Jesus, and his agonies there. That was the memorable
spot where thy Redeemer, my soul, sweat drops of blood, when the agony and
convulsion of his soul was so great in sustaining all the weight and pressure of
the divine justice due to thy sins, that David's grief for Absalom compared to it
was but as nothing. Here the powers of hell besieged him also, until it became
necessary that an angel from heaven should be dispatched to strengthen him.
And Reader! you will not forget, I hope, how the Son of God in that tremendous
hour in Olivet, was agitated backward and forward; when his whole soul was
exceeding sorrowful, even unto death; and when his few faithful disciples were
drenched in sleep, as if on purpose that no help, no comfort, should be afforded
him: and that, in redemption-work, of the people there should be none with him.
Isaiah 63:8.
LANGE, "2 Samuel 15:30. David went up the height of the olive trees, that
Isaiah, Mount Olivet [Eng. A. V.: the ascent (or acclivity) of Mount Olivet]. Deep
and loud mourning of David and all the faithful people that accompanied him.
“Covering the head” is the symbol of the mind sorrowfully sunk in itself, wholly
withdrawn from the outer world. Comp. Esther 6:12; Ezekiel 24:17. Of David it
is said besides that he went “barefoot,” “as a penitent” (Ewald), or: “to manifest
his humiliation in the sight of God” (Thenius).
PINK, "We resume at the point left off in our last. "The king said also unto
Zadok the priest, Art not thou a seer? return into the city in peace, and your two
sons with you, Ahimaaz thy son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. See, I will
tarry in the plain of the wilderness, until there come word from you to certify
me" (vv. 27, 28). Though they could not be permitted to minister unto him in
holy things, he does not disdain their services; they could further his interests by
returning to their post of duty, and from there acquaint him with developments
in Jerusalem. What implicit confidence in them was evidenced by this
experienced strategist, in revealing to them his immediate plans—the place
where he intended to remain for the time being! O that God’s servants today so
conducted themselves that those in trouble would not hesitate to confide in them
and seek their counsel. "Zadok therefore and Abiathar carried the ark of God
again to Jerusalem: and they tarried there" (v. 29). Blessed obedience: sinking
their own wishes, complying with the will of their master.
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![name of a family whose possessions were upon the southern boundary of the tribe of
Ephraim, between Bethel and Ataroth. Hushai was probably a very old man, as David
said to him (2Sa_15:33, 2Sa_15:34), “If thou goest with me, thou wilt be a burden to
me. But if thou returnest to the city and offerest Absalom thy services, thou canst
bring for me the counsel of Ahithophel to nought. If thou sayest to Absalom, I will be
thy servant, O king; servant of thy father (i.e., as regards this) I was that of old, but
now I am thy servant.” The ו before יִנ ֲא introduces the apodosis both times (vid.,
Ewald, §348, a.).
BENSON, "2 Samuel 15:32. The top of the mount, where he worshipped —
Looking, doubtless, toward Jerusalem, where the ark and tabernacle, which he
had made for it, were. Hushai, the Archite came to meet him — Probably he was
from Archi, a city in the tribe of Ephraim, (see Joshua 16:2,) and coming to
Jerusalem, was made one of David’s privy council because of his wisdom;
otherwise, it is not likely that Absalom would so readily have entertained him,
and admitted him to his secrets. The coming of Hushai just at this time seems to
have been ordered by God’s peculiar providence, in answer to David’s prayer
mentioned in the preceding verse. With his coat rent, and earth upon his head —
In token of his great sorrow on David’s account.
COFFMAN, ""When David came to the summit where God was worshipped" (2
Samuel 15:32). The words `where God was worshipped,' refer to the fact that
David and his company paused there to worship God, despite the fact of their
lives all being in the most serious jeopardy. DeHoff said, "David was in danger of
his life, but he stopped on Mount Olivet for prayer,"[25] a prayer, incidentally,
which was answered by the events in this paragraph almost instantaneously. Yes,
God was with David even in the manifold sorrows of this dreadful experience.
THE ECHO OF ALL THESE EVENTS IN THE PSALMS
"The rebellion of Absalom and the humiliating flight of David brought out all
the better parts of the king's character and set him once more before us as a man
after God's own heart; and this part of his life is richly illustrated by the Psalms
which he wrote during the pressure of this great affliction. Psalms 41 shows how
poignant was his anguish over Ahithophel's treachery."[26]
"Psalms 3 and Psalms 4 were David's morning and evening songs `when he fled
from Absalom his son.' David's grief at the loss of his privileges of worship in
Jerusalem. In Psalms 27, we have the contrast between Jehovah's abiding
goodness and the inconstancy of man; and Psalms 61 and Psalms 62 were
probably written at Mahanaim when David's anguish of mind had been
assuaged."[27] In our commentary on the Psalms, we have explored many such
thoughts as these.
ELLICOTT, "(32) Where he worshipped God.—Rather, where men worship.
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![That God ‘was worshipped’ at the top of the Mount of Olives is a reminder that
in David’s day there were still high places where YHWH was worshipped. As we
have seen previously, once the one sanctuary at Shiloh had ceased there were a
number of places where YHWH worship was carried on. It was fitting that at
such a place he would receive the answer to his prayers in such a specific way.
33 David said to him, "If you go with me, you will be a
burden to me.
CLARKE, "Then thou shalt be a burden unto me - It appears that Hushai
was not a warrior, but was a wise, prudent, and discreet man, who could well serve
David by gaining him intelligence of Absalom’s conspiracy; and he directs him to
form a strict confederacy with the priests Zadok and Abiathar, and to make use of
their sons as couriers between Jerusalem and David’s place of retreat.
GILL, "Unto whom David said,.... After he had heard what he had to say, and
what tidings he brought:
and if thou passest on with me; in his march and flight:
then thou shalt be a burden to me; being to be maintained by him; and David
having but scanty provisions, and so could not receive useless persons, as Hushai
might be, perhaps an old man, that could be of no service to him, and unfit for
travelling, and so would rather be an hinderance than an help unto him.
BENSON, "2 Samuel 15:33. If thou passest on with me, thou shalt be a burden,
&c. — For he was not provided, it seems, with sufficient support for his own
family; and Hushai, though famous as a counsellor in the cabinet, being
unpractised in the camp, and no soldier, could not be so useful to him in the
army as he might be at court. David therefore, conceives the idea of employing
him in endeavouring to defeat or render abortive the counsel of Ahithophel.
LANGE, "2 Samuel 15:30. David went up the height of the olive trees, that
Isaiah, Mount Olivet [Eng. A. V.: the ascent (or acclivity) of Mount Olivet]. Deep
and loud mourning of David and all the faithful people that accompanied him.
“Covering the head” is the symbol of the mind sorrowfully sunk in itself, wholly
withdrawn from the outer world. Comp. Esther 6:12; Ezekiel 24:17. Of David it
is said besides that he went “barefoot,” “as a penitent” (Ewald), or: “to manifest
his humiliation in the sight of God” (Thenius).
130](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/2samuel15commentary-160224024924/85/2-samuel-15-commentary-130-320.jpg)
Uploaded byGLENN PEASE
2 samuel 15 commentary
In 2 Samuel 15, Absalom plots to usurp his father's throne by displaying royal pomp with chariots, horses, and a retinue, effectively stealing the hearts of the Israelites through flattery and manipulation. His actions follow a period of reconciliation with King David, showcasing his ambition and pride as he seeks to undermine his father's reign. Absalom's rebellion serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of arrogance and the quest for power, reflecting patterns of distrust towards divinely ordained leadership.
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2 samuel 15 commentary
- 1. 2 SAMUEL 15COMMENTARY EDITED BY GLENN PEASE Absalom's Conspiracy 1 In the course of time, Absalom provided himself with a chariot and horses and with fifty men to run ahead of him. BARNES, "And it came to pass ... - The working out of Nathan’s prophecy (marginal reference) is the clue to the course of the narrative. How long after Absalom’s return these events occurred we are not told. CLARKE, "Absalom prepared him chariots and horses - After all that has been said to prove that horses here mean horsemen, I think it most likely that the writer would have us to understand chariots drawn by horses; not by mules or such like cattle. Fifty men to run before him - Affecting in every respect the regal state by this establishment. Of this man Calmet collects the following character: “He was a bold, violent, revengeful, haughty, enterprising, magnificent, eloquent, and popular prince; he was also rich, ambitious, and vain of his personal accomplishments: after the death of Amnon, and his reconciliation to his father, he saw no hindrance in his way to the throne. He despised Solomon because of the meanness of his birth, and his tender years. He was himself of the blood royal, not only by his father David, but also by his mother Maacah, daughter to Talmai, king of Geshur: and, doubtless, in his own apprehension, of sufficient age, authority, and wisdom, to sustain the weight of government. There was properly now no competitor in his way: Amnon, David’s first- born, was dead. Of Chileab, his second son by Abigail, we hear nothing; and Absalom was the third: see 2Sa_3:2-5. He, therefore, seemed to stand nearest to the throne; but his sin was, that he sought it during his father’s life, and endeavored to dethrone him in order to sit in his stead. GILL, "And it came to pass after this,.... After the reconciliation of David and Absalom, and the latter was admitted to court again: that Absalom prepared him chariots and horses; to make himself look grand and respectable among the people; perhaps he got these from his grandfather at Geshur in Syria: and fifty men to run before him; which added to his pomp and magnificence; and such great personages in later time have had; Nero the Roman emperor never 1
- 2. went on ajourney with less than a thousand calashes or chariots, and a great number of men that ran before him (c): and this was tacitly setting himself up for king, at least preparing for it, as Adonijah afterwards did in the same way and manner, 1Ki_ 1:5. HENRY, "Absalom is no sooner restored to his place at court than he aims to be in the throne. He that was unhumbled under his troubles became insufferably proud when they were over; and he cannot be content with the honour of being the king's son, and the prospect of being his successor, but he must be king now. His mother was a king's daughter; on that perhaps he valued himself, and despised his father, who was but the son of Jesse. She was the daughter of a heathen king, which made him the less concerned for the peace of Israel. David, in this unhappy issue of that marriage, smarted for his being unequally yoked with an unbeliever. When Absalom was restored to the king's favour, if he had had any sense of gratitude, he would have studied how to oblige his father, and make him easy; but, on the contrary, he meditates how to undermine him, by stealing the hearts of the people from him. Two things recommend a man to popular esteem - greatness and goodness. I. Absalom looks great, 2Sa_15:1. He had learned of the king of Geshur (what was not allowed to the kings of Israel) to multiply horses, which made him look desirable, while his father, on his mule, looked despicable. The people desired a king like the nations; and such a one Absalom will be, appearing in pomp and magnificence, above what had been seen in Jerusalem. Samuel had foretold that this would be the manner of the king: He shall have chariots and horsemen, and some shall run before his chariots (1Sa_8:11); and this is Absalom's manner. Fifty footmen (in rich liveries we may suppose) running before him, to give notice of his approach, would highly gratify his pride and the people's foolish fancy. David thinks that this parade is designed only to grace his court, and connives at it. Those parents know not what they do who indulge a proud humour in their children; for I have seen more young people ruined by pride than by any one lust whatsoever. JAMISON, "2Sa_15:1-9. Absalom steals the hearts of Israel. Absalom prepared him chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him — This was assuming the state and equipage of a prince. The royal guards, called runners, avant couriers, amounted to fifty (1Ki_1:5). The chariot, as the Hebrew indicates, was of a magnificent style; and the horses, a novelty among the Hebrew people, only introduced in that age as an appendage of royalty (Psa_32:9; Psa_66:12), formed a splendid retinue, which would make him “the observed of all observers.” BENSON, "2 Samuel 15:1. Absalom prepared him chariots, &c. — When he thought he had established himself in his father’s good affection, he began to take great state upon him, set up, as we now speak, a splendid equipage, and was royally attended, as being the king’s eldest son, (now Amnon was dead,) and next heir to the crown. For it seems Chileab, who was elder than he, 2 Samuel 3:3, was either dead also, or, through some cause, was incapable of the government. Absalom undoubtedly designed, by taking this course, to draw the eyes of the people to himself, who, as they were much in love with his beauty, so were doubtless mightily taken with this fine sight of chariots and horses, especially as it was unusual, not being allowed by the law. David was, however, so indulgent that, it seems, he took no notice of it. And fifty men to run before him — An 2
- 3. honour this suchas his royal father had neither had, nor thought of. These, though attendants in appearance, were, in effect, guards. K&D, "2Sa_15:1-3 Absalom seeks to secure the people's favour. - 2Sa_15:1. Soon afterwards (this seems to be the meaning of ןֵכּ י ֲֵרח ַא ֵמ as distinguished from ןֵכּ י ֲֵרה ַ;א cf. 2Sa_3:28) Absalom set up a carriage (i.e., a state-carriage; cf. 1Sa_8:11) and horses, and fifty men as runners before him, i.e., to run before him when he drove out, and attract the attention of the people by a display of princely pomp, as Adonijah afterwards did (1Ki_1:5). He then went early in the morning to the side of the road to the gate of the palace, and called out to every one who was about to go to the king “for judgment,” i.e., seek justice in connection with any matter in dispute, and asked him, “Of what city art thou?” and also, as we may see from the reply in 2Sa_15:3, inquired into his feelings towards the king, and then said, “Thy matters are good and right, but there is no hearer for thee with the king.” ַﬠ ֵמֹשׁ signifies the judicial officer, who heard complainants and examined into their different causes, for the purpose of laying them before the king for settlement. Of course the king himself could not give a hearing to every complainant, and make a personal investigation of his cause; nor could his judges procure justice for every complainant, however justly they might act, though it is possible that they may not always have performed their duty conscientiously. CONSTABLE, "Absalom's conspiracy 15:1-12 Two sub-sections each begin with a reference to time (2 Samuel 15:1; 2 Samuel 15:7) and form a literary "diptych" (i.e., two complementary panels). [Note: Fokkelman, p. 165.] The first six verses explain how Absalom undermined popular confidence in the Lord's anointed for four years. The last six relate his final preparations to lead a military revolution against David. "Whatever the reason, he exhibited the same patient scheming and relentless determination which he had already shown when he set out to avenge the rape of his sister (chapter 13); the leopard had not changed his spots. His hatred for Amnon at least had had some excuse, but now it became clear that he had no affection for his father either. Apart from his love for his sister Tamar, he appears to have been a cold, ruthless and above all ambitious man." [Note: Payne, p. 227.] Absalom spent four years (2 Samuel 15:7, probably 980-976 B.C.) quietly planning a coup. That "four" is the correct number rather than "40" seems clear from other chronological references. [Note: See the Septuagint, and Josephus, 7:9:1.] He did this by securing military weapons and supporters (2 Samuel 15:1; cf. 1 Kings 1:5), criticizing his father's administration (2 Samuel 15:2-3), promising to rule better than David (2 Samuel 15:4), and exercising personal charm and flattery (2 Samuel 15:5-6). David was at this time (980-976 B.C.) building his palace in Jerusalem, then constructing a new dwelling place for the ark, and finally making preparations for the temple (2 Samuel 5:9-12). This may be the reason David was not meeting the needs of his people as well as 3
- 4. he might havedone. It probably accounts for David's surprise when Absalom's coup began as well. Perhaps Absalom chose Hebron as the place to announce his rebellion because that was his birthplace, and his support was probably strongest there. Some in Hebron may have resented David's moving his capital from there to Jerusalem. [Note: Laney, p. 113.] Ahithophel (2 Samuel 15:12) was probably Bathsheba's grandfather (2 Samuel 11:3; 2 Samuel 23:34). Ahithophel's support of Absalom may suggest that the general public did not know about God's choice of David's successor. Ahithophel came from a town in Judah (Joshua 15:51). Absalom's rebellion against God's anointed king is similar to the reaction of the Jews to Jesus, the Lord's Messiah. They did not want Him to reign over them. Consequently Jesus departed from them and returned to heaven, from which he will return to reign over them eventually. HAWKER, "(1) ¶ And it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared him chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him. The whole life of Absalom seems to have been sinful. He multiplies his train of horses and his chariots, with running footmen to grace his equipage; whereas the Lord had strictly forbidden this to his people Israel. Deuteronomy 17:15. Moreover, the Lord had told Israel by his servant Samuel, that the king they would choose, but not of the Lord's approbation, would be of this very character, to take pride in what the Lord had forbidden; and that he would oppress his subjects in the number of his chariots, horsemen, and servants. So that these things ought to have been enough to have made the people look shy upon Absalom; whereas it appears that so far from it, these tended to win their affections. See 1 Samuel 8:11, etc PINK, "And it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared him chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him" (2 Sam. 15:1). The "after this" refers to what now followed upon David’s receiving back into his favor the son who had murdered a brother (14:33). If a spark of gratitude had burned in his breast, Absalom would now have sought to do all in his power toward forwarding the interests of his indulgent father. But alas, so far from strengthening the hands of his royal parent, he sets to work to dethrone him. Absalom was now in the position to develop his vile plan of deposing David. The methods he followed thoroughly revealed what a godless and unscrupulous scoundrel he was. The first thing here recorded of him at once intimated his utter contempt of God and manifested his affinity with the heathen. Jehovah requires His people to conduct themselves differently from the idolatrous nations surrounding them, and therefore He gave, among others, this law for the regulation of Israel’s king: But he shall not multiply horses to himself" (Deut. 17:16). It was in accord with this, that, when the King of kings formally presented Himself to 4
- 5. Israel, He appeared"meek and sitting upon an ass" (Matthew 21:5), so perfectly did He honor the Law in every detail. But Absalom was of a totally different type: arrogant, proud, self-willed. All the other sons of David rode upon mules (2 Sam. 13:19), but nothing less than "chariots and horses" would satisfy this wicked aspirant to the kingdom. The "fifty men to run before him" was a symbol of royalty: see 1 Samuel 8:11; 1 Kings 1:5. In acting thus, Absalom took advantage of his father’s fond attachment and basely traded upon his weakness. Unauthorized by the king, yet not forbidden by him, he prepared an imposing retinue, which gave him a commanding status before the nation. Finding himself unchecked by the king, he made the most of his position to seduce the hearts of the people. By means of underhand methods, Absalom now sought to turn toward himself the affection of his father’s subjects. From the employment of force (2 Sam. 14:30), he resorted to craftiness. As we have said before, these two are the leading characteristics of the devil: the violence of the "lion" and the guile of the "serpent," and thus it ever is with those whom he fully possesses. "And Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate: and it was so, that when any man that had a controversy came to the king for judgment, then Absalom called unto him, and said, Of what city art thou? And he said, Thy servant is of one of the tribes of Israel. And Absalom said unto him, See, thy matters are good and right; but there is no man deputed of the king to hear thee. Absalom said moreover, Oh that I were made judge in the land, that every man which hath any suit or cause might come unto me, and I would do him justice! And it was so, that when any man came nigh to him to do him obeisance, he put forth his hand, and took him, and kissed him. And in this manner did Absalom to all Israel that came to the king for judgment: so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel" (2 Sam. 15:2-6). A few explanatory comments are required upon some of the terms in the above verses. First, the "way of the gate" was the place of judgment, that is, of judicial assize (see Gen. 19:1; 23:10, 18; 34:20; Ruth 4:1). "Thy matters" in verse 3 signifies "thy suit or cause" as in verse 4. The obvious intention of Absalom in stationing himself at this important center was to ingratiate himself with the people. His "thy matters are good and right" to all and sundry alike, showed his determination to win them regardless of the requirements of justice or the claims of mercy. His "there is no one deputed of the king to hear thee" was a dastardly attempt to create prejudice and lower the sovereign in their eyes. His "O that I were made judge in the land" revealed the lusting of his heart; neither pleasure nor pomp contented him—he must have power too. His embracing of the common people (v. 5) was a display of (pretended) humility and geniality. "So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel," upon which Thomas Scott well said, "He did not gain their hearts by eminent services, or by a wise and virtuous conduct. But he affected to look great, as heir to the crown, and yet to be very condescending and affable to his inferiors: he pretended a great regard to their interests, and threw out artful insinuations against David’s administration; he flattered every one who had a cause to be tried, with the assurance that he had right on his side; that, if it went against him, he might be led to accuse David and the magistrates of injustice. Though Absalom knew not how to obey, and deserves to die for his atrocious crime, yet he expressed a vehement desire to be judge over all the land, and suggested that suits should not then be so tedious, expensive, and partially 5
- 6. decided as theywere. This he confirmed by rising early and by apparent application; though it was other people’s business, and not his own duty: and by such sinister arts, united with his personal attractions and address, he imposed upon multitudes all over the land to prefer so worthless a character to the wise, righteous, and pious David." Ere proceeding further let us pause and ask the question, What is there here for our own souls? This should ever be the principal concern of our minds as we read the Word of God. Its historical sections are full of important practical teaching: many valuable lessons may be learned therefrom if only we have hearts to receive them. Ah, that is the point on which so much turns. There must be a readiness and willingness on my part if I am to profit spiritually from what I peruse; and for that, there must be humility. Only a lowly heart will perceive that I am likely to be attracted by the same baits which led to the downfall of others; that I am liable to the same temptations they met with, and that unless I guard the particular gate at which the enemy succeeded in gaining an entrance into their souls, he will just as surely prevail over me. O for grace to heed the solemn warnings which are found in every incident we ponder. Now look again at what is recorded here. "Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel." Surely that is the sentence which should speak most loudly to us. It was not the open enemies of David that he wrought upon, but his subjects. It was not the Philistines whom he enlisted but the people of God whom he seduced. Absalom sought to sow the seeds of discontent in their minds, to alienate their affections from David, to render them disloyal to their king. Ah, is not the lesson plain? Is there not one who is ever seeking to seduce the subjects of Christ? tempting them to revolt from allegiance to His sceptre, endeavoring to allure them into his service. Learn, then, dear friend, to look beneath the surface as you read the Holy Scriptures, to see through the historical details to the underlying principles that are therein illustrated, to observe the motives which prompted to action; and then apply the whole to yourself. What had you done had you been one of those "men of Israel" whose hearts Absalom was seeking to divorce from David? The answer to that question would have turned entirely on one thing: was your heart satisfied with David? Of this tempter we read, "But in all Israel there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty: from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him" (2 Sam. 14:25), thus there was everything about his person to appeal to "the lust of the flesh." And as we have seen, "Absalom prepared him chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him," thus there was an appeal to "the lust of the eyes." Moreover, he promised to further the temporal interests of all who had "a controversy," that is, of all who considered they had a grievance and were being hardly dealt with: thus there was an appeal to "the pride of life" (1 John 2:16). Were those things more than sufficient to counterbalance the excellencies which David possessed? Again we say, Look beneath the historical characters and discern those whom they typified! When Satan comes to tempt the subjects of the antitypical David he assumes his most alluring character and dangles before us that which appeals either to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, or the pride of life. But mark it well, dear reader, that Satan’s baits have no attraction for those who are in communion with and finding their joy in the Lord. And he knows that full well, and therefore does he seek to stir up enmity against Him. He knows he cannot cause a regenerate soul to dislike the person of the Lord, so he endeavors to create dissatisfaction with His government over us. It was so in the type: "there is no man deputed of the king to hear thee." Ah, it is here we 6
- 7. most need tobe on guard: to resist every effort of Satan’s to bring us to murmur at the Lord’s providences. But we must turn from the spiritual application back again to the historical. And what of David during this time? He could hardly have been totally ignorant of the perfidy of his son: some tidings must have reached him of the treacherous plot now on foot to dispose him. Yet there is no hint that he took any steps to thwart Absalom. How, then, shall we account for his apathy? At the close of our last chapter we dwelt upon the strange passiveness which characterized David during this stage of his checkered career, suggesting that the explanation proffered by Alexander Maclaren was a most likely one and apparently confirmed by the Scriptures, namely, that during this period the king suffered from a severe and protracted sickness. That helpful writer called attention to the fact that many of the best commentators regard Psalms 41 and 55 as being composed by David at this time. Having already given his brief remarks upon the former, we will now reproduce those upon the latter; suggesting that Psalm 55 be read through at this point. "The fifty-fifth psalm gives some very pathetic additional particulars. It is in three parts: a plaintive prayer and portraiture of the psalmist’s mental distress (vv. 1-8); a vehement supplication against his foes, and indignant recounting of their treachery (vv. 9-16); and, finally a prophecy of the retribution that is to fall upon them (vv. 17-23). In the first and second portions we have some points which help to complete our picture of the man. For instance, his heart is ‘sore pained’ within him, the ‘terrors of death’ are on him, ‘fear and trembling’ are come to him, and ‘horror" has covered him. All this points, like subsequent verses, to his knowledge of the conspiracy before it came to a head. "The state of the city, which is practically in the hands of Absalom and his tools, is described with bold imagery. Violence and strife in possession of it, spies prowling about the walls day and night, evil and trouble in its midst, and destruction, oppression, and deceit—a goodly company—flaunting in its open spaces. And the spirit, the brain of the whole, is the trusted friend whom he had made his own equal, who had shared his secretest thoughts in private, who had walked next him in solemn processions to the temple. Seeing all this, what does the king do, who was once so fertile in resource, so decisive in counsel, so prompt in action? Nothing. His only weapon is prayer: ‘As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord will save me. Evening and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud; and He shall hear my voice. "He lets it all grow as it list, and only longs to be out of all the weary coil of troubles. ‘O that I had wings like a dove, then would I fly away and be at rest. Lo, I would flee far off, I would lodge in the wilderness. I would swiftly fly to my refuge from the raging wind, from the tempest.’ The languor of his disease, love for his worthless son, consciousness of sin, and submission to the chastisement through ‘one of his own house,’ which Nathan had foretold, kept him quiet, though he saw the plot winding its meshes round him. And in this submission patient confidence is not wanting, though subdued and saddened, which finds expression in the last words of this psalm of the heavy laden, "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee . . . I will trust in Thee.’" Much of what Absalom said to those whose hearts he stole had, no doubt, a measure of truth in it. The disorders and sorrows of David’s house had borne heavily on the 7
- 8. king: his energyflagged, his health was broken, and the influence of his throne proportionately weakened. Absalom saw the defects of his father’s government, and perceived that others saw them too, and quickly and meanly he took advantage of the situation, deprecating David and extolling himself. Yet David idolized Absalom, indeed, this was one of his chief failures, and bitterly was he now made to smart for cherishing such a viper in his bosom. He knew that Absalom was exalting himself. He knew that the calling of God was not with him, but with Solomon (2 Sam. 7:12; 12:25). He knew that Absalom was godless, that the flesh ruled him in all his ways; and yet, knowing all this, he interfered not to restrain him. "And it came to pass after forty years, that Absalom said unto the king, I pray thee, let me go and pay my vow, which I have vowed unto the Lord, in Hebron" (15:7). We are not sure from what point these forty years date, but certainly not from the time of David’s coronation, for in such a case we would now have arrived at the closing year of his reign, which is obviously not the case—see 2 Samuel 21:1. Possibly it is to be dated from the time of his first anointing (1 Sam. 16:13). At any rate, that which is most germane to our present line of meditation is, Absalom considered that his wicked plot was ripe for execution, hence he now proceeded to put the finishing touches to it. Nothing less than the kingdom itself was what he determined to seize. "For thy servant vowed a vow while I abode at Geshur in Syria, saying, If the Lord shall bring me again indeed to Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord. And the king said unto him, Go in peace. So he arose, and went to Hebron" (vv. 8, 9). Absalom’s duplicity and hypocrisy appear in all their hideousness. He cloaked his insurrection under the guise of offering sacrifice unto Jehovah (Deut. 23:21-23) in performance of a vow which he pretended to have made. He had no love for his parent and no fear for his God, for he dared now to mock His worship with a deliberate lie. He cunningly imposed upon his poor father’s hopes that at last his wayward son was becoming pious. No doubt David had often prayed for him, and now he supposed that his supplications were beginning to be answered. How delighted he would be to hear that Absalom desired to "serve the Lord," and therefore he readily gave his consent for him to go to Hebron. "But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, As soon as ye hear the sound of the trumpet, then ye shall say, Absalom reigneth in Hebron" (v. 10). Let this be a warning to parents not to assume too readily that their children have experienced the new birth, but wait to see the fruits of the same. Instead of journeying to Hebron in order to worship Jehovah, Absalom’s purpose was to be acclaimed monarch over Israel. "Hebron" was not only the place where he was born (2 Sam. 3:2,3) but it was also where David had commenced his reign (2 Sam. 5: 1-3). These "spies" that he sent forth were either his own trusted "servants" (14:30) or those whose hearts he had stolen from David and on whom he could now rely to further his evil scheme. Those who would hear this proclamation "Absalom reigneth" might draw whatever conclusion they pleased—that David was dead, or that he had relinquished the reins of government, or that the Nation at large preferred his attractive son. "And with Absalom went two hundred men out of Jerusalem, that were called, and they went in their simplicity, and they knew not any thing" (v. 11). No doubt these "two hundred men were persons of rank and prominence, being summoned to accompany the king’s son to a sacred feast. Absalom’s object was to awe the common people and give them the impression that David’s cause was now being deserted at 8
- 9. headquarters. Thus thesemen unwittingly countenanced Absalom’s evil devices, for their presence signified that they supported his treason. This is a fair sample of the methods employed by unprincipled politicians to further their selfish ends, getting many to join their ranks or party under a complete misconception of the leader’s real policy. "And Absalom sent for Ahithophel, the Gilonite, David’s counsellor, from his city, even from Giloh, while he offered sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong, for the people increased continually with Absalom" (v. 12). The man whose aid Absalom now sought was a renowned statesman, apparently no longer on friendly terms with David. He was a fit tool for the insurrectionist, though in the end God turned his counsel into foolishness. The sovereignty which God displays in His providences is as patent as it is awe-inspiring. As He graciously raises up those to befriend His people in the hour of their need, so He has appointed those who are ready to help the wicked in the furthering of their evil plans. As there was an Ittai loyal to David, so there was an Ahithophel to counsel Absalom. MACLAREN, "PARDONED SIN PUNISHED There was little brightness in David’s life after his great sin. Nathan had told him, even while announcing his forgiveness, that the sword should never depart from his house; and this revolt of Absalom’s may be directly traced to his father’s disgraceful crime. The solemn lesson that pardoned sin works out its consequences, so that ‘whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap,’ is taught by it. The portion of the story with which we are concerned has two stages,-the slow hatching of the plot, and its final outburst. I. 2Sa_15:1-6 give us the preparation of the mine. It takes four years, during which Absalom plays all the tricks usual to aspirants for the most sweet voices of the multitude. He seems to have been but a poor creature; but it does not take much brain to do a great deal of mischief. He was vain, headstrong, with a dash of craft and a large amount of ambition. He had no love for his father, and no ballast of high principle, to say nothing of religion. He was a spoiled child grown to be a man, with a child’s petulance and unreason, but a man’s passions. He loved his unfortunate sister, but it was as much wounded honour as love which led him to the murder of his elder brother Amnon. That crime cleared his way to the throne; and David’s half- and-half treatment of him after it, neither sternly punishing nor freely pardoning, set the son against the father, and left a sense of injury. So he became a rebel. The story tells very vividly how he adopted the familiar tactics of pretenders. How old, and yet how modern, it reads! We who live in a country where everybody is an ‘elector’ of some sort, and candidates are plentiful, see the same things going on, in a little different dress, before our eyes. Absalom begins operations by dazzling people with ostentatious splendour. In better days Samuel had trudged on foot, driving a heifer before him, to anoint his father; and royalty had retained a noble simplicity in the hands of Saul and David. But ‘plain living and high thinking’ did not suit Absalom; and he had gauged the popular taste accurately enough in setting up his chariot with its fifty runners. That was a show something like a king, and, no doubt, much more approved than David’s simplicity. But it was an evil omen to any one who looked below the surface. When luxury grows, devotion languishes. The senseless ostentation which creeps into the families of good men, and is sustained by their weak compliance with their spoiled children’s wishes, does a world of harm. We in Lancashire have a proverb, ‘Clogs, carriage, clogs,’ which puts into three words the 9
- 10. history of threegenerations, and is verified over and over again. How well Absalom has learned the arts of the office-seeker! Along with his handsome equipage he shows admirable devotion to the interests of his ‘constituents.’ He is early at the gate, so great is his appetite for work; he is accessible to everybody; he flatters each with the assurance that his case is clear; he gently drops hints of sad negligence in high quarters, which he could so soon set right, if only he were in power; and he will not have the respectful salutation of inferiors, but grasps every hard hand, and kisses each tanned cheek, with an affectation of equality very soothing to the dupes. ‘Electioneering’ is much the same all the world over; and Absalom has a good many imitators nearer home. There was, no doubt, truth in the charge he made against David of negligence in his judicial and other duties. Ever since his great sin, the king seems to have been stunned into inaction. The heavy sense of demerit had taken the buoyancy out of him, and, though forgiven, he could never regain the elastic energy of purer days. The psalms which possibly belong to this period show a singular passivity. If we suppose that he was much in the seclusion of his palace, a heavily-burdened and spirit-broken man, we can understand how his condition tempted his heartless, dashing son to grasp at the reins which seemed to be dropping from his slack hands, and how his passivity gave opportunity for Absalom’s carrying on his schemes undisturbed, and a colour of reasonableness to his charges. For four years this went on unchecked, and apparently unsuspected by the king, who must have been much withdrawn from public life not to have taken alarm. Nothing takes the spring out of a man like the humiliating sense of sin. The whole tone of David’s conduct throughout the revolt is, ‘I deserve it all. Let them smite, for God hath bidden them.’ To this resourceless, unresisting submission to his enemies, sin had brought the daring soldier. It is not old age that has broken his courage and spirit, but the consciousness of his foul guilt, which weighs on him all the more heavily because he knows that it is pardoned. II. The second part of our subject tells of the explosion of the long-prepared mine. It was necessary to hoist the flag of revolt elsewhere than in Jerusalem, and some skill is shown in choosing Hebron, which had been the capital before the capture of the Jebusite city, and in which there would be natural jealousy of the new metropolis. The pretext of the sacrifice at Hebron, in pursuance of a vow made by Absalom in his exile, was meant to touch David’s heart in two ways,-by appealing to his devotional feelings, and by presenting a pathetic picture of his suffering and devout son vowing in the land where his father’s wrath had driven him. It is not the first time that religion has been made the stalking-horse for criminal ambition, nor is it the last. Politicians are but too apt to use it as a cloak for their personal ends. Absalom talking about his vow is a spectacle that might have made the most unsuspecting sure that there was something in the wind. Such a use of religious observances shows more than anything else could do, the utter irreligion of the man who can make it. A son rebelling against his father is an ugly sight, but rebellion disguised as religion adds to the ugliness. David suspects nothing; or, if he does, is too broken to resist, and, perhaps glad at any sign of grace in his son, or pleased to gratify any of his wishes, sends him away with a benediction. What a parting,-the last, though neither knew it! The plot had spread widely in four years, and messengers had been sent through all Israel to summon its adherents to Hebron. If David had been as popular as in his early days, it would have been impossible for such a widely spread conspiracy to have come so near a head without some faithful soul having been found to tell him of it. But obviously there was much smouldering discontent, arising, no doubt, from such causes as the pressure of taxation, the gloom that hung over the king, the partial paralysis of justice, the transference of the capital, the weight of wars, and, at lowest, the craving for something new. Few reigns or lives set in unclouded brightness. The 10
- 11. western horizon isoften filled with a bank of blackness. Strangely enough, Absalom invited two hundred men to accompany him, who were ignorant of the plot. That looks as if its strength was outside Jerusalem, as was natural. These innocents were sufficiently associated with Absalom to be asked to accompany him, and, no doubt, he expected to secure their complicity when he got them away. Unsuspecting people are the best tools of knaves. It is better not to be on friendly terms with Absalom, if we would be true to David. The last piece of preparation recorded is the summoning of Abithophel to come and be the brain of the plot. He had been David’s wisest counsellor, and is probably the ‘familiar friend, in whom I trusted,’ whose defection the Psalmist mourns so bitterly, and whose treachery was a marvellous foreshadowing of the traitor who dipped in the dish with David’s Lord. Note that he had already withdrawn from Jerusalem to his own city, from which he came at once to Hebron. Absalom could flatter and play the well-worn tricks of a pretender, but a subtler, cooler head was wanted now, and the treacherous son was backed up by the traitor friend. ‘And the conspiracy was strong; for the people increased continually with Absalom.’ What a tragical issue to the joyous loyalty of early days! What a strange madness must have laid hold on the nation to have led them to prefer such a piece of petulance and vanity to their hero-poet-king! What did it mean? The answer is not far to seek, and it is the great lesson of this story. David’s sin was truly repented and freely forgiven, but not left unpunished. God is too loving to shield men from the natural consequences, in the physical and social world, of their sins. The penitent drunkard’s hand shakes, and his constitution is not renewed, though his spirit is. Only, punishment is changed into discipline, when the heart rests in the assurance of pardon, and is accepted as a token of a Father’s love. In every way God made of the vice the whip to scourge the sinner, and David, like us all, had to drink as he had brewed, though he was forgiven the sin. BI 1-37, "Absalom prepared him chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him. Absalom; or, the fast young man The Bible resembles a portrait gallery adorned with the faces of remarkable historic men, where every variety of feature and every type of character may be found. An imaginative person, visiting such a gallery, and gazing at the silent faces which look down upon him from the walls, until lost in the thoughts and reflections awakened by them, may fancy at length that they are alive. As we study the characters of the people there portrayed, we recognise in them permanent, types of different classes. As such they live again to us. We have known such persons; they have lived in our time; they have acted anew the parts, and displayed the qualities which of old distinguished or disgraced them. They reappear in every age. It is this typical character of the Bible that gives such value to this ancient book. In reading it, we forget that it is an old book. It seems a new book, from exhibiting the latest phases of human conduct, from setting before us moral qualities and actions which we recognise as familiar, and, connecting with them timely lessons for our instruction and warning. Such reflections are awakened by the perusal of the story of Absalom. It is a typical story, and he was a typical character and representative of what is called the fast young man. I. It teaches the vanity of personal beauty and outward show apart from moral worth. In the pictures of Hogarth, and other painters of society, we find that such superior beauty is the common heritage of the fast young man. It has been called a “fatal dower.” It is so regarded because it is apt to make the possessor the petted darling of 11
- 12. parents and friends,and liable to be spoiled by the thoughtless admiration and flattery lavished upon him. Thus an exaggerated estimate is placed upon mere physical charms. Beauty of face and form is set above the higher excellence of character, whereby vanity and frivolity of mind are engendered, and amiability of disposition and goodness of heart sacrificed. But there is truth in the homely adage that “Handsome is who handsome does,” and all beauty which is not united with fair doing is only a poor sham. II. The story of Absalom reveals the type of character that is most dangerous and dreadful. His was not an impulsive nature, hurried away by gusts of passion into sin. There is much allowance to be made for such hot-tempered spirits. The misdemeanours of which they are guilty are not, as a rule so reprehensible as those which are perpetrated by their authors in cold blood. They are more likely than the latter to be only escapades from virtue—exceptions to a course that is ordinarily straightforward and well-meaning. Absalom’s wickedness was deliberate and studied. His character is evinced in the way he avenged the outrage done by Amnon to his sister. III. This fast young man, of desperate type, becomes an intriguing politician. Absalom is the earliest specimen on record, we believe, of a finished demagogue. As we consider the subtle arts by which he courted popularity and wound himself into the favour of men—his attendance at the gate, where the king’s judgment seat was, his affability and condescension towards the people who brought causes for adjudication, and his pretended sympathy for their grievances on account of the delay of justice, we seem to have come upon the original model after which the modern opposition candidate has shaped himself It agrees with the character to be forever arraigning those in power for neglect of duty and malfeasance in office, and to promise a complete reformation in case the party of the critic is entrusted with the conduct of affairs. When the outs are in, and the ins are out, all wrong shall be righted, and the millennium will come. So Absalom laboured to make the flattered people believe. IV. Another aspect in which Absalom appears is that of a wayward, undutiful son. The fast young man causes agonising heartache to his aged father or distressed mother. In the eyes of the Jews, with their traditions of the patriarchal period and its form of government, where the father was both priest and ruler of his household, such a child was a monster of depravity, worthy only of death. Hence the emphasis put upon the fifth commandment, “the first commandment with promise;” hence the sternness of their legislation with respect to unfilial conduct, and the fearful denunciation their proverbs utter against it. “The eye that mocketh at his father,” says Agur, “and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it.” V. The story of Absalom contains another lesson, without which it would be incomplete, namely, the lesson of sin’s retribution. It is a striking example of the declaration: “As righteousness tendeth to life, so he that pursueth evil, pursueth it to his own death.” The last act of the tragedy is short and impressive. David and his adherents stayed not in their flight until they found shelter behind the walls of Mahanaim, in the land of Gilead. There opportunity was given to recover from panic, and organise their strength; and thither Absalom and his forces leisurely pursued them. (A. H. Charlton.) David and Absalom 12
- 13. I. In howmany ways men serve themselves in serving others. 1. We may serve ourselves, strengthen our position, advance our temporal interests, when we are truly serving others, But when we are doing them disservice, encouraging them, helping them, to evil, we are our own enemies as well as theirs. We have something higher than temporal interests to think of. Gold is far from everything. In the protest of conscience how the fine gold becomes dim! And when conscience is seared, and the heat dead to all sensibility, at what a cost has anything, how-ever desired by men, been secured. 2. We truly befriend ourselves by unselfishly serving others. And this we can do as we make everything a Divine service. Sometimes we may seem on the vanquished side, like true-hearted Ittai, staunch to David in his flight, but the end will justify us. To be on the side of honesty, truth, purity, is ever at the last to be on the side that wins. So he who forgets himself in doing the things right in the sight of God will be vindicated in the sight of the world as “good and faithful servant,” as having “well done” for himself as well as others. II. In absalom we see how the motive determines the value of conduct. This appears in his bearing towards Amnon. Similarly with Absalom’s conduct when seeking to ingratiate himself with the people. The animating motive of what we do should be tested by us. Could we read others as God reads us, could we “look at the heart” as He does, with what rejection would we meet much that is now welcomed by us! But if we cannot appraise the lives of others by their motives, and if they cannot thus appraise ours, there is One ever thus testing us. There is One who pierces every mask of hypocrisy. There is One who looks through our outward appearance of truth, purity, devotion, and sees whether there is a corresponding inward reality. With Him the motive makes the act. III. In Absalom we see to what cruel lengths unchecked ambition will lead a man. That was his ruling passion; the explanation, I think, of his long-delayed stroke at Amnon. Ambition goaded Absalom from crime to crime till lie had wrapped the land in the horrors of civil war—of all wars the most prolific in misery—and nerved him to assail a father’s life that he might, over his dead body, step up into the throne. It win not do for us to say that in all this there is no beacon to us. There are many thrones. Some of us, it may be, eager to get into one—to be over others; kings and queens of influence in our little kingdom. There can be ambition in a cottage as well as in a court. There may be wretched envy, the evil eyeing of an imagined rival, the wicked gladness that hears, and that with pretended reluctance retails the disparaging slander; the sty persistence that insinuates itself, or the rough resolution that tramples its way into the petty throne. God save us from such ambition! In His kingdom the thrones are for the lowly. IV. In David we see the threatened punishment for his sin. Penitent for his great wickedness in the matter of Uriah, his life had been spared, but the sword was not to depart from his house. Sin has broken him, even forgiven sin. A thing to be remembered. He may never have been wisely firm enough in the training of his children. But that feel transgression of his loosened the filial bond that bound his children to obedience, and encouraged them to crimes that laid his kingly head in the dust. Sin finds men out, even godly men. “Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap.” He who sows to the flesh, though he be a David, shall of the flesh reap corruption. Well, then, for us to “stand in awe and sin not.” V. In the darkness of calamity the better David shines to us. In the bowed, barefooted man weeping his way across the Kedron, and up Olivet, it is a king we see. It is David again. A Divine permission he recognises in all that is befalling him. He has no superstitious trust in the ark—let Zadok and Abiathar carry it back to 13
- 14. Jerusalem. In Godwas his trust. “Let Him do to me as seemeth good unto Him.” So on—one of the most pathetic figures of all history—goes weeping David-on towards the plains of the wilderness. And as he passes out of our sight do you not hear such words as these? Sorrow by sin! Peace by pardon! Blessed is the man whose transgression is forgiven! “Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (G. J. Coster.) Absalom: a study Untrained, except in self-admiration and self-indulgence, imperious, ambitious, quick to take offence and slow to forgive, hot with the riot of youthful blood, the young man—so fathered, so mothered, so brought up—is suddenly flung upon the world, and exposed to the temptations of a court in which the Uriah and Bathsheba scandal is being discussed in all its forms and incidents. And the first grave adventure he meets in it is the intolerable wrong and shame inflicted on his beautiful sister by the heir to the throne! Will not the king avenge so dreadful a crime? No; David is very wroth with Amnon, but does not care “to vex his spirit, because he is his first-born.” By all Eastern as well as by Hebrew law, then, public justice having failed, Absalom is the goel, the avenger of his sister; it is no crime, bug a duty, to wipe out her shame with blood. But as David will not “vex the spirit of Amnon, his son”—and there is a world of weak unfatherliness in that fatherly phrase—so neither will he suffer it to be vexed. Hence Absalom is left to brood over the wrong in silence for a couple of years, till, by a treacherous ruse, he makes way for his revenge, and Amnon is stabbed as he sits at his brother’s table and drinks his brother’s wine. We blame the deed, and, above all, the manner of the deed: but can we very severely blame the man? Not if we remember what the wrong was which he avenged, and how the world has always allowed a certain latitude to the avenger of such wrongs. Not if we remember that the justice, which the king ought to have been forward to execute, had been deliberately refused, and how imperative were the duties imposed on the goel both by Eastern custom and Hebrew law. Amnon was his half-brother, indeed—a thought which might well have given him pause; but have we yet to learn that brothers born in the harem are born enemies, rivals from the first to the last? And it was not Absalom’s fault that harem manners and jealousies had been introduced into Israel. If “beauty is a gift,” “beauty is also a snare.” To few has the gift been so largely accorded as to Absalom; to few has it proved a snare so deadly. In him the personal comeliness and vigour of Jesse’s line seems to have culminated. Of Absalom we are told simply that his beauty was without blemish and beyond compare; but it seems probable that it may have been of that rare type in the Hebrew race which stirs even them to an unwonted admiration. It may have been because of his rare and superb beauty that, while still a child, he was celled Absalom, “father of peace,” though he proved to be a “father of strife” rather than of peace; for it may not unnaturally have been thought that a child so exceptionally lovely would kindle smiles and win a kindly welcome wherever he went. It adds the last touch to our conception of his beauty if we note that it sprang from the most vigorous physical health, as his magnificent fell of hair indicates. For, then, we can only think of him as quick with life and energy, and accomplished in all the exercises of peace and of war. Now if we think of this young prince with his hereditary bias, his defective training, never taught to rule or deny himself, coming out into a lax world—tall, graceful, strong, his blue eyes swimming in light, his fair locks failing thickly on his broad shoulders—we shall understand that his very beauty may have been a fatal gift to him. Met with smiles, welcome, and an easy compliance with his whims and desires, on every hand, hardly any one saying “No” to him, he never saying “No” to himself, what wonder if he 14
- 15. became wilful, bold,insolent? What wonder if, his will once thwarted, he should kindle into a blaze; or, If he hid his fire, he should nurse and feed it till it found vent, and swept him beyond all bounds of law and duty? Is it not plain that position, training, temperament, habits, gifts, even the gift of beauty, all worked together to make him self-willed, capricious, restless, imperious, and, if crossed, violent and revengeful? Even in the brief space he occupies in the Sacred Record, we have many proofs that there was something reckless and desperate in the man, that he was apt to throw the reins on the neck of his lusts, and let them carry him where they would. That David and his men had some such suspicion of him, that they held him to be at least capable of an excessive and criminal violence in order to serve his ends, is proved by the fact that whoa an exaggerated report, of Amnon’s assassination reached them, when they were told, “Absalom hath slain all the king’s sons, there is not one of them left,” they found nothing incredible in the horrible rumour, but rent their clothes and cast themselves on the earth, and wept for the goodly young men cut off in their prime (2Sa_13:30-31.) If the tale were not true, it was only too likely to have been true. A touch of the same recklessness and desperation comes out in the manner in which he jogged the drowsy memory of Joab (2Sa_14:23.) It was by the intervention of Joab that Absalom was called back to Jerusalem from his three years’ banishment in Syria. It was on Joab’s intercession that he relied for an entire reconciliation with the king, who for two years after his return, refused to see his face. Joab may have been doing his best, or he may not. In any case he did not move fast enough for the imperious prince. He sends for Joab, therefore; but, Joab having no good tidings to give him, will not come. He sends a second time, and still Joab will not come. Whereupon he sends servants into Joab’s farm to fire his standing barley, and so compels the old warrior to wait upon him, and to listen to his complaint that he would rather die than continue to live such a life as his. But, of course, it, was in his long-planned and artfully prepared rebellion against his father and king that all that was vehement, self-willed, unrestrained in the man found full vent. With Absalom’s tragic end the bolt of retribution flew right home. And yet the pity of it! For, had Absalom been reared as hardily and piously as David was, in the home and on the hills of Bethlehem; had he been snubbed, laughed at, kept down, as David was, by a band of tall, stalwart brothers; had he, like David, been tried by stroke on stroke of adversity and undeserved reproach through all the opening years of manhood, there seems little reason to doubt that he might have been no worse a man morally than his father was; or, at least, no room to doubt that, by such a severe and pious training in duty and obedience, he might have been saved from the crimes by which his life was stained, and from the shame by which his memory is oppressed. In him, too, the spiritual man might have conquered the natural man at the last, and stilled and controlled the fever of his blood. As it is, we can but use his name “to point a moral,” for we can hardly add “and to adorn a tale.” And that moral is, of course, the immense danger of suffering the animal man in us to overget the spiritual man. The bias of our blood and temperament may not jump with his; our training may have been better than his; our faults, our passions, our gifts, may not resemble his; and certainly we arc not, most of us tempted to an indolent self-indulgence and self-will by a splendour of personal beauty and charm which makes it hard for any one to resist us. And yet no one who knows himself will doubt that the brute is strong in him; that he, too, has inherited cravings, passions, lusts, which must be subdued if he is to be saved from sins as fatal, if not as flagrant, as those of Absalom. And the flesh is not to be subdued and starved in any of us save as we feed and cherish the spirit. We can only overcome evil as we follow after that which is good. But if we seek to subdue the flesh by nourishing the spirit, whether in ourselves or in our children, He who makes large allowance for us all will largely and effectively help us all. (S. Cox, D. D.) 15
- 16. Absalom’s rebellion The monumentto Absalom in the valley of the Kidron is buried deep in stones, cast against it by the Jews, as through generations they have passed, in token of their execration of this unatural prince—the counterpart, in the Old Testament, of Judas in the New. These stones are the true monument of Absalom. Let us add our tribute to make it a prominent and permanent landmark in religious history. This instructive example is held up before us in great detail. It is a warning, especially to young men. The methods by which it was secured are carefully stated. The instance is particular; but the application is as general as mankind. I. Absalom perverted his natural advantages. He was a gifted and handsome young man; he came of a well-favoured stock, and he was its flower. He had a fine head of hair; he paid strict attention to it. It became a matter of national interest when Absalom cut his hair. He had a sheep-farm. We do not know the particulars of his clip of wool; but the weight of his annual poll of hair is carefully noted as two hundred shekels, or more than three pounds. The hair of Absalom represents all natural advantages. For personal gifts play an important part in securing success in this world. II. Absalom had a perverse energy of character. He had persistency of purpose in a high degree—a masterful trait. He was calculating and deep. He was a tenacious man. Many men of fine powers fail through want of tenacity. The good man in the famous ode of Horace was tenacious of his purpose. So our bad man, Absalom, did not fail here. When Amnon wronged his sister Tamar he concealed his resentment for two years. He bided his time. When he determined to undermine David’s throne he showed a like steadfastness of resolution. He rose promptly in the morning. David rose early to pray; Absalom rose early to plot. This course of patient, insidious plotting Absalom continued for months, perhaps for years, until he was known throughout the kingdom as the poor man’s friend. III. Absalom perverted the study of human nature. He studied the weaknesses of men. This is called by men of his base aims the study of men. The vices and the foibles are noted; the theory being that for one who would play effectively on this fine instrument what is especially necessary is a Wagnerian mastery of discords. The adventurer, the opposition politician, the quack doctor, the fortune-seeker, give themselves to men have succeeded as Absalom succeeded—in politics, in professional life, in Absalom’s study of human weakness. Upon this knowledge their success depends. IV. Absalom had unlimited and perverted self-assurance. With all his shrewdness in measuring others, he had no proper sense of his own weaknesses. To scrutinise the weaknesses of others he closed, so to speak, one eye—that one whose outlook was upon his own heart. Exaggerated self-confidence is typical of this class of men. To the ordinary man with his misgiving and fear of himself it is surprising, dazzling. His own modesty prepares him to yield to the most audacious and preposterous claims of another. Perhaps the wonderful physician can work a cure of the incurable. He says he can. And what hair he hast Perhaps the politician can redress the evils of society which have baffled the wisest statesmen. He says he can. He is a remarkable-looking man. Perhaps one can be safely given a place of trust, though it would seem as if he can have had no experience to fit him for its delicate duties. He says he is competent. There is a degree, and, it is an amazing degree oftentimes, to which men will give confidence to bare pretension. Absalom’s pretension was most shrewdly calculated. 16
- 17. V. Absalom PervertedThe Choice Of Counsellors. He chose sagacious, but evil advisers; masterly, but unprincipled. Ahithophel was the oddest statesman in the nation. Absalom improved the opportunity. He sent for Ahithophel. The bad old man came to him—a man after his own heart. We must recognise the dangerous wisdom of the councils of this world. This wisdom is necessary to worldly success. If one heeds it, he greatly increases his prospects of accomplishing all worldly aims. VI. Absalom perverted the use of religion. It has been suggested here that when David rose early to pray he and Absalom may have met. It may be that the crafty prince first shared his father’s devotions on the way to the gate. He saw the hold which religion had upon David and upon the nation. It would not answer for him to have the reputation of being irreligious; he must guard his religious standing. He made a religious excuse for visiting Hebron. It was a natural one. He had made a vow, he explained, while he was in Geshur in exile for the murder of Amnon. It was a nicely-calculated excuse. David believed in vows. He would look upon the handsome prince with heightened tenderness, touched by his manifest sensibility. Religion, in all times, is one of the readiest and most serviceable of cloaks. It especially serves the purposes of one who would win success in a religious community. Thus Satan comes among us disguised as an angel of light. VII. Absalom studiously secured the support of good men, with the same steady perseverance. He valued them. They could help him. He wanted the approval of such men at large in the nation. He despised them. He wanted them only as tools. But he knew the value to his cause of having men of character associated with his followers. The rebellion triumphed without a blow. It war one of the best considered and most brilliant enterprises in history. Absalom seemed to be repaid for all his self-denial, his unsavoury wiles, his clever hypocrisy, his long patience. He had reached his goal. He was king. Many society. You may be tempted to cherish the low aim. But look at Absalom at the goal of his hopes, in tile full flush of success! Even then who would take his place? What had he accomplished but the fatal perversion of a life capable of greatest things. Look into his heart, and try to conceive the thoughts which must have been there in the very exaltation of his triumph. Then look again upon that sombre background, the forest of Ephraim, the figure of a man dripping with blood from many wounds, hanging and swaying in the awful twilight in the terebinth tree, suspended by his beautiful hair. Ah! this, then, is a part of what Absalom was planning—that part of which he was all unconscious, but the inevitable end! Learn from this history how the noblest gifts may be perverted, industriously, painfully, fatally, to secure the false success. How are you using your life? your fine natural advantages? How are you treating the privileges of religion? Who are your chosen counsellors? For what aim of life are you fostering deep, tenacious, self-sacrificing purposes? What a man Absalom might have been with a right aim I What a man you may become if you set your heart on the one end worthy of a Son of God—to be a prince of the kingdom of tight; in love and loyalty and honour, to be one of the pillars of His temple. (Monday, Club Sermons.) The rebellion of Absalom I. Absalom’s conduct began in the exercise of the basest ingratitude. He assassinated Amnon at a banquet, and then fled to his grandfather’s city Geshur for a refuge. There he remained for some years; the popular soldier Joab caused the woman of Tekoa to go to David with a parable and an entreaty; and the king reluctantly permitted his son to return to Jerusalem, but he would not meet him in the palace. That gave Absalom a chance again. And now we have two lessons to learn at once. 17
- 18. 1. One isthis: what a man sows he must also reap. David’s boys divided up David’s crimes between them, and repeated his guilt there under his own roof. That was an instance of sowing the wind and reaping the whirlwind. It is wise to remember that harvests are greater than seed. 2. The second lesson is, there is no gain in discipline unless it leaves behind it a better heart. “Even after a shipwreck,” the old philosopher Seneca remarks, “there are hosts who still wilt seek the sea.” It is not for any man to say that affliction sanctifies; of itself it sours a heart which is not sanctified beforehand. And he has lost much who has lost a discipline at God’s hand; he has had all the weary pain of it without any of the good; he has had the roughness of the ploughing without any of the fruit from the furrows. II. This rebellion disclosed itself in the mere show of personal vanity. That is the only significance of such gorgeousness of equipage, and a half a hundred men to run before this conceited creature Absalom’s chariot. There is not a sign of patriotism in his course. So here we have another lesson to learn: all true leadership is taught by the discipline of endurance under fierce distress. It was with David as with Jesus Christ; he that is to be a Captain of salvation unto God’s people must consent, as our Divine Saviour consented, to be made “perfect through suffering.” III. This outbreak of Absalom was conducted with the hypocrisies of malicious deceit. How plausibly the man talked; how venomous were his insinuations; how false were his kisses; yet thus it was that he won the people’s hearts and undermined his father’s throne. The lesson that comes to us just here is: there can be no dependence on mere personal advantages unless they are put to a serviceable use. The record which is familiar to us all reminds us of the old commendations of Saul in the day when he came out before the people a head and shoulders above any one of those who cried “God save the king!” We have a kindling picture of Absalom’s attractions of person and form. The old honest historian of the Greeks says with a creditable frankness that Themistocles was able to make his insipid son, Cleophantes, a good horseman, but he failed in every particular when he endeavoured to make him a good man. And that same failure has been reached a great many times since. IV. That this insurrection was relentlessly continued through a long period of time. Not “forty years,” surely, as one of the verses seem to say; such a chapter can be found neither in David’s nor in Absalom’s biography. It is impossible to put the reckoning anywhere. Josephus states the time, with the authority of the Syriac and the Arabic version behind him, as being four years instead of forty. And that is long enough certainly for an ungrateful son to continue mischievously to plot against his father is so villianous a way. There can be no value in a noble lineage unless the position is employed nobly. Absalom had nothing to do with the item of his birth; it would be a credit to him or a shame according to what he should do with it. Honour and wealth from no condition rise. The Bible makes short work with primogeniture; in almost every instance the chieftainship goes away from the sons earliest born. Later history is suggestive. Cleanthes lived by watering gardens; Pythagoras was the child of a silversmith; Euripides was brought up to help his brothers till the fields; Demosthenes was the son of a cutler; Virgil’s father was a potter. There is no pretension more impertinent than that which is forcing itself forward on the merits of mere parentage and position: V. That this wild rebellion is consummated at last with a lie in the name of religion. This was at once the meanest and the shrewdest of all Absalom’s subterfuges. In order to cover his absence from suspicion, and put David off his guard in Jerusalem, he trumped up this pretext of an old vow. God sometimes leaves wicked people to the 18
- 19. retribution of apparentsuccess. Absalom comes to Jerusalem, is actually crowned as king, has a few military victories; then his downfall is swift and heavy; the triumph of traitors is short. In a part of one year is dissipated all the fortune of the four years the treacherous son had plotted against his father. Ahithophel closes his career with a suicide, and ere long the rebellion is ended; David sits in his throne and sings brighter songs even while he mourns in his heart. VI. We mention a few reflections concerning the death which this rebel prince died. 1. There is a limit beyond which patience, both human and Divine, cannot be expected to go. When the heart of this royal ingrate became fixed in his wickedness, the Lord simply withdrew from all interposition; so he was left to his fate; he died the rebel he had lived. Here is an inspired warning: “Some men’s sins are Open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after.” 2. When a false leader falls, he drags down his favourites in the failure. The most interesting feature of this story has always been the immediateness with which the rebellion subsided when those darts went through Absalom’s heart: What ultimately became of those who had perilled all their fortunes upon his success we are not informed. Their hopes failed; they had attributed many excellences to that young and beautiful prince; possibly they had not studied the future carefully, into the abysses of which they land now plunged. Hereafter they were outlaws and wanderers. 3. There can be no advantage in having “a fair chance” in life unless one hastens to improve it for the good of others. The fact is, we instinctively hold this man Absalom responsible all the more sternly because he had opportunities so fair and abused them so basely. His sin was the more heinous on account of his conspicuous position. 4. The hour of retribution is likely to be an hour of melancholy review. Confidence in the successful issue of evil purposes only deepens the humiliation of defeat. There is even to this day pointed out in the valley close by Jerusalem a lofty structure of stone called “Absalom’s Tomb.” The Scripture has given us a hint concerning its true origin, but not of its date: “Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself a pillar, which is in the king’s dale: for he said, I have no son to keep my name in remembrance: and he called the pillar after his own name: and it is called unto this day, Absalom’s place.” That particular structure is perhaps replaced by this: tradition says it is not a sepulchre, but a monument; and Josephus goes so far as to insist that it was called Absalom’s Hand,” and bore at its summit a hand as the symbol of power and victory. (C. S. Robinson, D. D.) Absalom’s rebellion After domestic broils and the violent death of Amnon in circumstances full of horror and disgrace, and after Absalom’s banishment and return, this adroit and unscrupulous man, impelled by his own ambition, and having no idea of co- operation with Deity in the punishment of evil, sets about dethroning his own father and, if possible, possessing himself of the crown. When one thing is radically wrong, other Wrong things follow in the train of it. Like woes, sins cluster. The city-gate was the place for the administration of justice (Rth_4:1), and those who were charged with dispensing it held court early in the day. On the approach to the court an anxious litigant is greeted with frank courtesy by the handsome and stately Absalom, 19
- 20. who with thedeepest interest inquires about his residence and his business. Won by the affability of such a distinguished and exalted questioner, the man tells his place and his grievance. The hollow courtier has the same story for each. He reaches a verdict without the trouble of a hearing of the case or the appearance of the other side. The man is delighted. He is at rest. And when the simple provincial, in addition to such intelligent sympathy with his wrongs, found himself taken by the hand and kissed by the handsome pretender, he was sure to go back to his own town and say that David had become useless as a king and was neglecting his duties, and that things never would be right until Absalom, who was as wise as he was elegant, filled the throne. Alas, poor human natural It is the same to-day that it was in David’s time. “Ambition,” as a word, comes from the Roman politicians going about in their canvass for votes, fawning upon and flattering the people. English ladies of rank have gone and coaxed and caressed butchers whom they scorned to secure their votes for their husbands or their proteges. Members of legislatures have kissed the children and hobnobbed with their parents to make reputation among them. Doctors have sat as “friends” by the bedside of the wealthy, hinted their regrets that more vigorous measures were not adopted and more hopeful views taken by the physicians in attendance, only dropping their smooth generalities when the device succeeded and they were called into consultation, and regard for their reputation compelled them to agree with the rest. It is all in the same line with the policy of the mean, smooth- mannered traitor who (v. 6) “stole the hearts of the men of Israel.” It took three years to carry out his schemes, make his party and arrange for his being proclaimed. So he made a pretence of going to Hebron, the old capital; which probably resented the loss of its prestige, where friends of his youth probably lived and could be counted upon, and where his father had been crowned. It is not needful to ask if his vow were a reality. He was now at his ease in lying, and could readily supply the details of v. 8. To keep up the show of things, Absalom offered sacrifices, in which all who partook were to be held as pledged to his support. Men of this sort will use religion for their own ends. History since the Reformation has many a sad case of rulers shaping their religious courses so as to secure popular sympathy. Meanwhile, and in order to have him at the banquet, Absalom invites Ahithophel, a man of influence, whose adhesion would carry great weight, as he was David’s counsellor. Absalom probably knew his feelings of discontent and dissatisfaction with David. Absalom’s plans now seemed sure to succeed. “The conspiracy was strong.” He had many friends throughout the tribes. The fascination of his personal approaches, the fair promises he had informally made, the relation he sustained to royalties already—all these things influenced the people, and his following “increased continually.” Ill-news will commonly travel fast. “A messenger”—from some friend perhaps—to David announced the extent of the movement, no doubt with details of Absalom’s plans as far as they were known or inferred. The afflicted king realised the danger, and at once decided upon flight. There were two good reasons for this: No preparation had been made for the defence of Jerusalem, and an attack on it would have been disastrous in the extreme. But such an assault would have been the natural and politic course of the rebels if David remained there and attempted to hold the city. It was both humane and politic to quit the capital. At the same time, the flight must be prompt and rapid, “lest he overtake us suddenly and bring evil upon us.” This suggests the second reason: Flight gave time for the development of events and for calm reflection on the part of the people, This shrewd view was held, it will be noticed, by Ahithophel (2Sa_17:1-2), and also by Hushai the Archite (2Sa_17:7-13). They looked at it simply as managers and political observers. The following points may be emphasised with profit:— 1. The home and the public welfare are inseparably linked. Samuel’s sons took bribes and proved unfit for continuing the system of judges. David’s family-life 20
- 21. was not asit Ought to have been, anal murder, widespread rebellion and slaughter, with indescribable dishonour and disgrace and danger to the kingdom, are the results. The suffering, too, falls on the sinning family first of all. 2. Bad morals on the part of rulers relax the ties of obedience and make government contemptible. The plausibilities of the rebel son drew their force from real faults of David’s administration. We may well pray for just and pure men in places of power. 3. But over and above these natural effects we have the just rule of Jehovah. David in his misery and penitence owns this. There is a difference between him and an enemy of God (2Sa_15:25-26). Hence his language regarding the cursing of Shimei (2Sa_16:11). 4. The life of Absalom speaks to both parents and children, setting in a clear light the weakness, folly, and sin of unreasoning parental indulgence, and on the other hand the atrocious character of ingratitude, selfishness and disobedience on the part of a child. Vices go in groups. They deaden sensibilities; one prepares for another. The impure and lustful will be ready for dishonesty, violence, and unnatural crime. (J. Hall, D. D.) An ungrateful son Everyone recognises that ingratitude is a grievous defect in a character. The ingrate is invariably condemned by the opinion of his fellows and by posterity. Who, for example, has not sympathised with poor Beethoven, when at the close of a laborious, self-sacrificing life his heart was broken by the knowledge that the boy to whom he had given all he possessed had repaid his love with cold selfishness and cruelty? There can only be one opinion as to the blameworthiness of the pampered ingrate. Ingratitude is all but universally regarded as one of the worst of faults. (J. R. Campbell.) A struggle for a crown “A man will venture a knock that is in reach of a crown.” The ambitious will run all risks of cruel wounds, and death itself to reach a throne; the prize hardens them against all hazards. Even so will every wise man encounter all difficulties for the crown of life; and when, by faith, he sees it within reach, he will count all afflictions light through which he wades to glory. “If we suffer, we shall also reign with him.” (C. H. Spurgeon.) Ambition The brilliant, but erratic, Marie Bashkertsheff, wrote in her diary: “It is the New Year. At the theatre, precisely at midnight, watch in hand, I wished nay wish in a single word, ‘Fame!’” This is frank, but tragic. Yet if men were equally honest with themselves and at New Year’s breaking, or any time of solemn impression, spoke their candid feelings, one would cry “Pleasure,” another “Gold,” another “Fame,” another “Power,” and, thank God, not a few would cry “To me to live is Christ.” Ambition in itself is not evil; all depends on its quality, its supreme aim. Paul had three ambitions, and each of them was noble and worthy of a Christ-purchased and Christ-possessed soul. 21
- 22. COFFMAN 1-6, ""Achariot and horses, and fifty men to run before him" (2 Samuel 15:1). This ostentation by Absalom should have alerted David to his son's intentions. Throughout history, the first step of any man seeking to usurp power was to procure a bodyguard. Herodotus tells us how Pisistratus seized control of Athens by means of that very procedure.[1] It was unusual for Israelites to ride in chariots drawn by horses, and the practice was frowned upon by God's prophets. Samuel had warned Israel that their king which they demanded would, "Take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be horsemen, and to run before his chariots" (1 Samuel 9:11). "Absalom probably learned this kind of display from his grandfather the pagan king of Geshur, at whose court he had resided during the three years of his exile."[2] By these bold actions, which were no doubt popular in Israel, Absalom was making a bid to become king eventually and to be received as the heir-apparent to David. "Fifty footmen running before him (in rich liveries we may suppose), thus giving notice of his approach, would highly gratify his pride and the people's foolish fancy."[3] However, Absalom had no intention of waiting until his father's death in order to succeed him. "David had not taken any steps to designate a successor, and a rule of succession had not been established for the monarchy. The death of Saul and Jonathan had set a precedent against hereditary rule."[4] "Oh that I were judge in the land" (2 Samuel 15:4). "He who himself should have been judged to death for murder had the impudence to aim at being the judge of others."[5] The arrogant conceit of this charlatan was not contained within any boundaries whatever. "Then every man ... might come to me, and I would give him justice" (2 Samuel 15:4). "How much Absalom really cared for the rights of others may be seen in his arrogant and crooked dealings with Joab (2 Samuel 14:28-33)."[6] "Whenever a man came to do obeisance ... he took hold of him ... and kissed him" (2 Samuel 15:5). This was Absalom's way of feigning an "equality" with the people; he interrupted their intentions to bow down before him by embracing and kissing them. No doubt this type of flattery won him many adherents to his cause. "It is a mistake to suppose that David altogether neglected his judicial duties. We have just noted that the woman from Tekoa easily found access to the king's ears; and, besides that, the reason Absalom had to arise early is that it was an early hour when the king heard the suits brought before him. Note also that it was the plaintiffs who were on their way to the king's tribunal whom Absalom accosted, and whom he made to believe that he would have decided in their favor regardless of the merits of the various cases."[7] Absalom's conduct in this underhanded attack against his father was founded upon unscrupulous falsehood, deceit and hatred. Nevertheless, due to David's sins and the sorrows brought upon him by God's punishments, it must be considered very likely that to some degree David indeed had lost some of the concern and efficiency which once marked his efforts before the evil times fell upon 22
- 23. him. "Absalom stole thehearts of the men of Israel" (2 Samuel 15:6). His methods were the same as that of any demagogue; he promised everyone whom he met that he would give them what they wanted if only he were in authority. He pretended that he was interested in justice for every one. "He showed interest in the private lives of the people and made a pretence of protecting the poor and the lowly, insinuating that the government was incompetent and that if he were in power everything would be different."[8] All of this, of course, was as phony as similar pretensions by current seekers of political office, but the people were deceived by it, reminding us of the words of Voltaire who declared that, "The public is a ass"! ELLICOTT, "1) Prepared him chariots and horses.—As a preparation for his rebellion, it was necessary to impress the people with his wealth and splendour. (Comp. 1 Kings 1:5, where Adonijah does the same thing.) This was the first use in Israel of chariots and horses as a part of regal pomp. LANGE, "2 Samuel 15:1. “After this.” The word here used (ןֵכ י ֲֵרח ַא ֵמ comp3:28) shows that what is here related follows immediately[FN20] on the event narrated in14:28–33. Absalom provides himself a state-chariot with its appurtenances [fifty runners or footmen] in order thus to assume a royal appearance and to attract the wondering attention of the people to himself. Comp. the similar procedure of Adonijah, 1 Kings 1:5. PETT, "Absalom Wins For Himself The Loyalty Of The People (2 Samuel 15:1-6). Absalom had by now probably caught on to the fact that if he waited for David to die the throne would be given to someone else. and that would explain why he began to plan a coup. Initially his activity would only appear to be that of a rather vain king’s son, but gradually it built up into something more insidious as he began to convince the people that ‘if only he was in power’ all would get justice. And yet even that might have been looked on by David with some amusement as he saw it as being with the intention of building up support for when David died. He had overlooked the traits that indicated that when Absalom wanted anything, he was willing to do anything to obtain it. At first sight all appears to go well for Absalom. Judah and Israel will be won over, Ahithophel the Wise will join him in Hebron in order that together they might commence the rebellion, and David will have to flee from Jerusalem for his life, leaving the way wide open for Absalom into the capital. It is all part of YHWH’s chastening of David for his great sins. But it will be made clear that YHWH has not rejected David, and that because David’s heart is still right towards him. Though he will chastise him severely (2 Samuel 7:14) he will then enable him to retain the kingship, and the remainder of the account will indicate 23
- 24. how it isYHWH Who will be instrumental in defeating and humiliating Absalom, and thwarting all his plans. Thus: · It is YHWH Who, when David learns that Ahithophel is aligned against him and prays for help, sends him Hushai the Archite who will confound the wisdom of Ahithophel (2 Samuel 15:31). · It is YHWH who causes Absalom to prefer the counsel of Hushai to that of Ahithophel, even though Ahithophel’s counsel is almost like that of God (2 Samuel 16:23; 2 Samuel 17:14). · It is YHWH who sends to David assurance of His goodwill, not only through the coming of Hushai, but also through the determined loyalty of Ittai the Gittite, through the Ark of God supervising his departure from Jerusalem, and through provisions being brought to him by Ziba the Saulide (2 Samuel 15:19 to 2 Samuel 16:4). · Even the forest itself fights against Absalom and Israel (2 Samuel 18:8), and it is the forest which will take Absalom captive and make him ready for the slaughter (2 Samuel 18:9). So Absalom’s defeat will finally be due to YHWH. On the other hand Absalom is also depicted as defeated by his vanity, as well as because he has rebelled against the anointed of YHWH. Thus: · He listened to Hushai because whereas Ahithophel offered him sound wisdom, Hushai offered him great glory (2 Samuel 17:11). · In striking contrast with David, he went into battle in person in order that the glory might be his (2 Samuel 17:26; 2 Samuel 18:3-4; 2 Samuel 18:9). · He entered the forest riding on a royal mule, a factor which led to his downfall (2 Samuel 18:9). · It was his flowing hair, of which he was so proud, that finally sealed his fate (2 Samuel 18:9-10). So, as so often in history, it is God’s sovereign activity and man’s rebellion and folly which go hand in hand in order to accomplish God’s purposes, which was in this case the chastening of David because of his gross sins and complacency, and the destruction of those who rebelled against His Anointed. Analysis of 2 Samuel 15:1-6. a And it came about after this, that Absalom prepared him a chariot and horses, and fifty men to run before him (2 Samuel 15:1). b And Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate, and it 24
- 25. was so, that,when any man had a suit which should come to the king for judgment, then Absalom called to him, and said, “Of what city are you?” And he said, “Your servant is of one of the tribes of Israel”. And Absalom said to him, “See, your matters are good and right, but there is no man deputed of the king to hear you” (2 Samuel 15:2-3). c Absalom said moreover, “Oh that I were made judge in the land, that every man who has any suit or cause might come to me, and I would do him justice!” (2 Samuel 15:4). b And it was so, that, when any man came near to do him obeisance, he put forth his hand, and took hold of him, and kissed him. And in this manner did Absalom to all Israel who came to the king for judgment (2 Samuel 15:5-6 a). a So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel (2 Samuel 15:6 b). Note that in ‘a’ Absalom puts on a show of splendour and in the parallel he steals the hearts of the men of Israel. In ‘b’ he seeks to subvert those who come for justice to Jerusalem, and in the parallel he seeks to win their heart’s response. Centrally in ‘c’ he declares what a good ruler he would be. 2 Samuel 15:1 ‘And it came about after this, that Absalom prepared him a chariot and horses, and fifty men to run before him.’ Absalom’s first move was to increase his reputation in the popular mind by travelling in a chariot and horses preceded by fifty runners. This display of pomp, common with many kings of the day, was intended to indicate to the people how important he was (compare 1 Kings 1:5-6; 1 Samuel 8:11). It underlined to them his supreme royal status. (Ordinary people are often impressed by great display). 2 He would get up early and stand by the side of the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone came with a complaint to be placed before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out to him, "What town are you from?" He would answer, "Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel." GILL, "And Absalom rose up early,.... Every morning, to show how diligent and industrious he should be, and closely apply himself to business, was he in any office 25
- 26. trader the king,and especially when he should be king himself; this he did to ingratiate himself into the affections of the people: and stood beside the way of the gate; either of the king's palace, so Josephus (d), or of the city, where courts of judicature are held: the former seems most probable by what follows: and it was so, that when any man that had a controversy came to the king for judgment; that had a controversy with another man on any account, and came to the king to have it decided according to law, or the rules of justice and equity: then Absalom called unto him, and said, of what city art thou? which question he asked, only to lead on to some further discourse: and he said, thy servant is of one of the tribes; that is, of one of the cities of the tribes of Israel, and not of a city of another nation. HENRY, "(2.) A good opinion of his own fitness to rule. That the people might say, “O that Absalom were a judge!” (and they are apt enough to desire changes), he recommends himself to them, [1.] As very diligent. He rose up early, and appeared in public before the rest of the king's sons were stirring, and he stood beside the way of the gate, where the courts of judgment sat, as one mightily concerned to see justice done and public business despatched. [2.] As very inquisitive and prying, and desirous to be acquainted with every one's case. He would know of what city every one was that came for judgment, that he might inform himself concerning every part of the kingdom and the state of it, 2Sa_15:2. [3.] As very familiar and humble. If any Israelite offered to do obeisance to him he took him and embraced him as a friend. No man's conduct could be more condescending, while his heart was as proud as Lucifer's. Ambitious projects are often carried on by a show of humility, Col_2:23. He knew what a grace it puts upon greatness to be affable and courteous, and how much it wins upon common people: had he been sincere in it, it would have been his praise; but to fawn upon the people that he might betray them was abominable hypocrisy. He croucheth, and humbleth himself, to draw them into his net, Psa_10:9, Psa_10:10. JAMISON 2-6, "Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate — Public business in the East is always transacted early in the morning - the kings sitting an hour or more to hear causes or receive petitions, in a court held anciently, and in many places still, in the open air at the city gateway; so that, as those whose circumstances led them to wait on King David required to be in attendance on his morning levees, Absalom had to rise up early and stand beside the way of the gate. Through the growing infirmities of age, or the occupation of his government with foreign wars, many private causes had long lain undecided, and a deep feeling of discontent prevailed among the people. This dissatisfaction was artfully fomented by Absalom, who addressed himself to the various suitors; and after briefly hearing their tale, he gratified everyone with a favorable opinion of his case. Studiously concealing his ambitious designs, he expressed a wish to be invested with official power, only that he might accelerate the course of justice and advance the public interests. His professions had an air of extraordinary generosity and disinterestedness, which, together with his fawning arts in lavishing civilities on all, made him a popular favorite. Thus, by forcing a contrast between his own display of 26
- 27. public spirit andthe dilatory proceedings of the court, he created a growing disgust with his father’s government, as weak, careless, or corrupt, and seduced the affections of the multitude, who neither penetrated the motive nor foresaw the tendency of his conduct. BENSON, "2 Samuel 15:2. Absalom rose up early — He accustomed himself to rise betimes in the morning, that he might make a show of solicitude for the good of the public, and of every private person. When any man came to the king for judgment — The king, it appears, reserved all weighty causes for his own hearing; and appeals were made to him from the other courts. Absalom called to him — Preventing him with the offers of his assistance. And, as if he were ready to make particular inquiry into the state of his cause, and intended, to take peculiar care of his interest, kindly inquired concerning his city, family, situation in life, and the place of his abode. HAWKER, "Verses 2-6 (2) And Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate: and it was so, that when any man that had a controversy came to the king for judgment, then Absalom called unto him, and said, Of what city art thou? And he said, Thy servant is of one of the tribes of Israel. (3) And Absalom said unto him, See, thy matters are good and right; but there is no man deputed of the king to hear thee. (4) Absalom said moreover, Oh that I were made judge in the land, that every man which hath any suit or cause might come unto me, and I would do him justice! (5) And it was so, that when any man came nigh to him to do him obeisance, he put forth his hand, and took him, and kissed him. (6) And on this manner did Absalom to all Israel that came to the king for judgment: so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel. It is awful to consider the depth of guilt and sin in the heart of man. Here is a man wishing himself a Judge, that merited judgment, and punishment, for the murder even of his own brother! Here is such a character aspiring to a crown, and yet apparently so very humble as to embrace the poorest creature in the kingdom. Dearest Jesus! hadst thou not come down from heaven to redeem our nature, and hadst thou not sent thy blessed Spirit to renew our nature; what man alive would have believed that the same seeds of sin as are here seen bringing forth their deadly fruit in the instance of Absalom, are in every man's heart by nature. Lord keep me from that evil man myself! LANGE, "2 Samuel 15:2 sq. Vivid description of his condescending behaviour (in contrast with his pompous appearance) to gain the favor of the people in connection with their law-matters. [He “rose up early” in order to show his zeal and get opportunities; and such legal business is usually attended to very early in the East; Malcolm (quoted by Philippson) says that Oriental ministers hold their levees at an hour when Western people of quality are not yet up.—Tr.]. The “gate” here referred to is the gate of the royal palace, whither those came that sought the decision of the king in law-matters. “For judgment,” that Isaiah, for 27
- 28. legal decision. The“hearer” is the judicial officer whose duty it was first to hear and understand the people’s matters, and then lay them before the king, an auscultator. For just decision everything depends on careful hearing and understanding. But there is no hearer for thee on the part of the king.—Absalom guards indeed against accusing the king himself of injustice; but he excites in the minds of the people distrust of the king’s whole judicial practice by saying that there was no regular judicial process for a good and just cause. Perhaps neglect and partiality had crept in, so that Absalom could find some handle for his charges, and avail himself of an already existing dissatisfaction. In the words: See, thy matters are good and right, he gives (in order to win favor) a judicial decision before thorough investigation has been made. Thy just cause, says Hebrews, is not investigated; else thou would’st not lack a favorable decision. [Absalom shows himself master of the art of political intriguing—he flatters the people and brings charges against the rulers. Perhaps his insinuations were directed in part against the princes his brothers, possibly against Solomon (Patrick), whose age, however, at this time we do not know, or whether it had been intimated that he was heir to the throne.—Tr.]. PETT, "2 Samuel 15:2 ‘And Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate, and it was so, that, when any man had a suit which should come to the king for judgment, then Absalom called to him, and said, “Of what city are you?” And he said, “Your servant is of one of the tribes of Israel.” ’ But he went further. Every day he would go down to the city gate (which was where justice would normally be exercised) early in the morning and when anyone came by, who had come to see the king in order to seek justice, he would begin to chat with him and find out who he was and what his case was all about. 3 Then Absalom would say to him, "Look, your claims are valid and proper, but there is no representative of the king to hear you." BARNES, "To flatter each man by pronouncing a favorable verdict in his case, to excite a sense of grievance and discontent by censuring the king for remissness in trying the causes brought before him by his subjects, and to suggest a sure and easy remedy for all such grievances, namely, to make Absalom king; all this, coupled with great affability and courtesy, which his personal beauty and high rank made all the more effective, were the arts by which Absalom worked his way into favor with the people, who were light and fickle as himself. 28
- 29. GILL, "And Absalomsaid unto him,.... After some further talk, and finding he had a suit at law to bring on, and either seeing it drawn up in writing, or hearing his account of it, at once declared, without hearing the other party: see, thy matters are good and right; thy cause is a good cause, and if it could be heard by proper persons there is no doubt but things would go on thy side, and thou wouldest carry thy cause: but there is no man deputed of the king to hear thee; the king is grown old himself and his sons are negligent, and do not attend to business, and there are none besides them appointed to hear causes; and he suggested, as appears by what follows, that he was not in commission, but if he was, or should he appointed a judge, he would attend to business, and people should not go away after this manner, without having justice administered unto them, HENRY, "II. Absalom will seem very good too, but with a very bad design. Had he proved himself a good son and a good subject, and set himself to serve his father's interest, he would have done his present duty, and shown himself worthy of future honours, after his father's death. Those that know how to obey well know how to rule. But to show how good a judge and how good a king he will be is but to deceive himself and others. Those are good indeed that are good in their own place, not that pretend how good they would be in other people's places. But this is all the goodness we find in Absalom. BENSON, "2 Samuel 15:3. Absalom said, See, thy matters are good and right — Upon some very slight hearing of any man’s cause he approved of it, that he might oblige him; flattering all that they had right on their side, so that, if their causes should go against them, they might conclude, if Absalom had been judge, it would have been otherwise. There is no man deputed of the king to hear thee — None that will do thee justice. The other sons and relations of the king, and the rest of the judges and rulers under him and them, are wholly corrupt; or, at least, not careful and diligent as they should be, and my father, being grown in years, is negligent of public affairs. So Absalom said, or insinuated. And it is always the way of turbulent, aspiring men, to reproach the government they are under. Even David, we see, one of the best of kings, could not escape the worst of censures, and that even from his own son; for what could be worse than that which is here thrown out against him, that he neglected to administer true and impartial justice and judgment to his people? It is marvellous that David did not observe and nip this growing insurrection in its bud. But Delaney is of opinion that he was dangerously ill at this time, and that therefore Absalom seized this as a fit opportunity to take the steps here mentioned to increase his popularity, and draw the people after him. ELLICOTT, "(3) There is no man deputed of the king.—There is no official hearer appointed. It was impossible for the king to hear every case in detail; certain persons were therefore appointed to hear causes and report the facts to the king, who thereupon pronounced his judgment. Absalom uses the same arts which have been used by the demagogue in all ages. He does not accuse the king 29
- 30. himself of wrong,but insinuates that the system of government is detective, and expresses his own earnest wish to set things right. PETT, "2 Samuel 15:3 ‘And Absalom said to him, “See, your matters are good and right, but there is no man deputed of the king to hear you.” ’ And once he knew the details he would point out to the man that his case was good and right, but that there did not appear to be anyone there, deputed by the king to hear it. Thus everyone got the impression that Absalom would certainly have ensured that their case was heard and that if only Absalom had heard their case they would have succeeded in their bid for justice. We know in fact from the case of the wise woman of Tekoa that the court of David was open to such suppliants, but those who came (somewhat pensively because they were not sure what to expect, and knowing that justice was usually dispensed at the city gate) were no doubt soon persuaded that there was no opportunity of justice available because there was no one at the gate to dispense it, but that had Absalom been king it would have been very different. It is probable that in Jerusalem justice was not dispensed at the numerous gates of the city, but at a place appointed by the king. But the ordinary people visiting from other cities would not necessarily know that. 4 And Absalom would add, "If only I were appointed judge in the land! Then everyone who has a complaint or case could come to me and I would see that he gets justice." GILL, "Absalom said, moreover,.... To the same persons, at the same time: oh that I were made judge in the land; by which it appears that he had no office under the king; partly either because of his crime, and so not thought fit, and partly because he appeared to be an ambitious aspiring man, and so it was thought not safe to put him into any office: that every man that hath any suit or cause might come unto me, and I would do him justice; at once, without any further trouble, or coming often, and in vain, and to no purpose. 30
- 31. HENRY 4-6, "1.He wishes that he were a judge in Israel, 2Sa_15:4. He had all the pomp and all the pleasure he could wish, lived as great and in as much ease as any man could; yet this will not content him, unless he have power too: O that I were a judge in Israel! He that should himself have been judged to death for murder has the impudence to aim at being a judge of others. We read not of Absalom's wisdom, virtue, or learning in the laws, nor had he given any proofs of his love to justice, but the contrary; yet he wishes he were judge. Note, Those are commonly most ambitious of preferment that are least fit for it; the best qualified are the most modest and self- diffident, while it is no better than the spirit of an Absalom that says, O that I were a judge in Israel! 2. He takes a very bad course for the accomplishing of his wish. Had he humbly petitioned his father to employ him in the administration of justice, and studied to qualify himself for it (according to the rule, Exo_18:21), no doubt he would have been sure of the next judge's place that fell; but this is too mean a post for his proud spirit. It is below him to be subordinate, though to the king his father; he must be supreme or nothing. He wants to be such a judge that every man who has any cause shall come to him: in all causes, and over all persons, he must preside, little thinking what a fatigue this would be to have every man come to him. Moses himself could not bear it. Those know not what power is that grasp at so much, so very much. To gain the power he aims at, he endeavours to instil into the people's minds, (1.) A bad opinion of the present administration, as if the affairs of the kingdom were altogether neglected, and no care taken about them. He got round him all he could that had business at the council-board, enquired what their business was; and, [1.] Upon a slight and general enquiry into their cause, he pronounced it good: Thy matters are right. A fit man indeed to be a judge, who would give judgment upon hearing one side only! For he has a bad cause indeed that cannot put a good colour upon it, when he himself has the telling of the story. But, [2.] He told them that it was to no purpose to appeal to the throne: “There is no man deputed of the king to hear thee. The king is himself old, and past business, or so taken up with his devotions that he never minds business; his sons are so addicted to their pleasures that, though they have the name of chief rulers, they take no care of the affairs committed to them.” He further seems to insinuate what a great want there was of him while he was banished and confined, and how much the public suffered by his exile; what his father said truly in Saul's reign (Psa_75:3) he says falsely: The land and all the inhabitants of it are dissolved, all will go to wreck and ruin, unless I bear up the pillars of it. Every appellant shall be made to believe that he will never have justice done him, unless Absalom be viceroy or lord-justice. It is the way of turbulent, factious, aspiring men, to reproach the government they are under. Presumptuous are they, self-willed, and not afraid to speak evil of dignities, 2Pe_2:10. Even David himself, the best of kings, and his administration, could not escape the worst of censures. Those that aim to usurp cry out of grievances, and pretend to design nothing but the redress of them: as Absalom here. (2.) A good opinion of his own fitness to rule. That the people might say, “O that Absalom were a judge!” (and they are apt enough to desire changes), he recommends himself to them, [1.] As very diligent. He rose up early, and appeared in public before the rest of the king's sons were stirring, and he stood beside the way of the gate, where the courts of judgment sat, as one mightily concerned to see justice done and public business despatched. [2.] As very inquisitive and prying, and desirous to be acquainted with every one's case. He would know of what city every one was that came for judgment, that he might inform himself concerning every part of the kingdom and the state of it, 2Sa_15:2. [3.] As very familiar and humble. If any Israelite offered to do obeisance to him he took him and embraced him as a friend. No man's conduct could be more condescending, while his heart was as proud as 31
- 32. Lucifer's. Ambitious projectsare often carried on by a show of humility, Col_2:23. He knew what a grace it puts upon greatness to be affable and courteous, and how much it wins upon common people: had he been sincere in it, it would have been his praise; but to fawn upon the people that he might betray them was abominable hypocrisy. He croucheth, and humbleth himself, to draw them into his net, Psa_10:9, Psa_10:10. BENSON, "2 Samuel 15:4-6. Absalom said, O that I were made judge in the land! — Though he was admitted to come to court, and see the king, he had no office there, as, it seems, the rest of the king’s sons had. This he took ill, and endeavoured to bring the people to do so too, by persuading them that, if he were in authority, he would take speedy care to do them justice. When any man came nigh to do him obeisance — To fall prostrate before him as the king’s son. He put forth his hand and took him — That is, prevented him from prostrating himself, and condescended even to salute him with a kiss. In this manner did Absalom to all Israel — Robbed his father of the affections of the people, and possessed himself of them; some admiring his beauty and gallantry; others his courtesy and civility; and others being taken with his magnificent promises of the noble things he would do if he were their king. K&D, "2Sa_15:4 Absalom also said, “Oh that I might be judge in the land, and every one who had a cause might come before me; I would procure him justice!” יִנ ֵמ ִשְׂי י ִמ is a wish: “who might (i.e., oh that one might) appoint me judge,” an analogous expression to ן ֵתִּי ot י ִמ (vid., Gesenius, §136, 1, and Ewald, §329, c.). ַילָﬠ placed before א ִָבי for the sake of emphasis, may be explained from the fact that a judge sat, so that the person who stood before him rose above him (comp. Exo_18:13 with Gen_18:8). יק ִדּ ְצ ִ,ה to speak justly, or help to justice. LANGE, "2 Samuel 15:4. “O that I were made Judges,” literally: “who will make me judge!” (Ges. § 136, 1). “That to me [lit. “on me”], might come every man.” The “to me” is put first for the sake of emphasis; Absalom contrasts himself as just judge with the state of things under his father. לַﬠ (“on me”) stands for ל ֶא (“to me”), or, the sentence is to be explained with Thenius from the collective idea “all men” (ישׁ ִל־אָכּ): “In imagination Absalom sees the litigants assembled around him;” comp. Exodus 18:13; Judges 3:19; 1 Samuel 22:6. The phrase “on me” is not to be explained from the sitting of the judge and the people standing around above him. [The phrase “come on me” is like English “press on,” “lean on,” and implies probably that Absalom would bear their burdens, or else, the proposition here = “at, near, with” (apud).—Tr.].—I would do him justice.—Absalom here presumes on the people’s litigiousness and their confidence in the justice each man of his own cause, and, having brought his father’s judicial procedure into discredit with them, promises to do every man justice. Vulg.: “I should judge justly.” PETT, "2 Samuel 15:4 ‘Absalom said moreover, “Oh that I were made judge in the land, that every man who 32
- 33. has any suitor cause might come to me, and I would do him justice!” ’ Having given his assurance to each one who came that had he been ruler they would have succeeded in their case, Absalom would then proclaim for all within hearing to hear that if only he were king in the land every man would be able to come to him and would obtain justice, in other words would win his case. 5 Also, whenever anyone approached him to bow down before him, Absalom would reach out his hand, take hold of him and kiss him. GILL, "And it was so, that when any man came nigh to him to do him obeisance,.... To pay his respects, and bow to him, as being the king's son, a prince of the blood, and heir to the crown, as was supposed: he put forth his hand, and took him, and kissed him; he put out his hand and shook hands with him, or took him about the neck and kissed him, and by this free, familiar, affable, and courteous manner, strangely won upon and gained the affections of the people, as follows. Fortunatus Schacchus (e) thinks he put forth his hand to be kissed by them, and then kissed them, which was more than was usual. K&D, "2Sa_15:5 And when any one came near to him to prostrate himself before him, he took him by the hand and kissed him. It was by conduct of this kind that Agamemnon is said to have secured the command of the Grecian army (Euripid. Iphig. Aul. v. 337ff.). LANGE, "2 Samuel 15:5 sq. [Absalom’s affability]. He magnanimously puts aside the honor gained by these arts, and attaches the people to him by a pretended fraternization with every man. The result of these preparations for the purposed insurrection: Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.—The phrase (ֵבל ַבנָגּ) may also mean “to deceive the heart,” as in Genesis 31:20; but the connection shows that the meaning here is “to steal the heart.” [Sept. very well: “made his own the heart,” ἰδιοποιεῖτο; Vulg.: solicitabat corda.—Tr.]. He turned the hearts of the people by guile from his father to himself. [Patrick: a most vile piece of flattery ( 2 Samuel 15:5), yet acceptable to the people. So Plato (Rep. Lib. viii.), describes those as doing that would get possession of the government; and see Aristotle Pol. V:4. Absalom’s beautiful person no doubt attracted the people, as well as his condescending familiarity of manner.—Tr.] 33
- 34. PETT, "2 Samuel15:5 ‘And it was so, that, when any man came near to do him obeisance, he put forth his hand, and took hold of him, and kissed him.’ And he not only assured each person that they would each obtain justice (as they saw it) from him, but when they approached him to do obeisance to him as the king’s son, he would wave it aside, put out his hand, take hold of them and kiss them as though they were his best friends. 6 Absalom behaved in this way toward all the Israelites who came to the king asking for justice, and so he stole the hearts of the men of Israel. BARNES, "Stole the hearts - i. e., deceived them, for so the same phrase means Gen_31:20, Gen_31:26. CLARKE, "So Absalom stole the hearts - His manner of doing this is circumstantially related above. He was thoroughly versed in the arts of the demagogue; and the common people, the vile mass, heard him gladly. He used the patriot’s arguments, and was every thing of the kind, as far as promise could go. He found fault with men in power; and he only wanted their place, like all other pretended patriots, that he might act as they did, or worse. GILL, "And in this manner did Absalom to all Israel that came to the king for judgment,.... Told them there was none to be had, wished that he was in office to administer it to them, and behaved in the above loving manner towards them: so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel; got the affections of the people in a private and clandestine manner, and robbed the king of them, who had the best right unto them. K&D, "2Sa_15:6 Thus Absalom stole the heart of the men of Israel. ב ֵל בֵ ִ does not mean to deceive or cheat, like ב ֵל בֵ ִ in the Kal in Gen_31:20, but to steal the heart, i.e., to bring a person over to his side secretly and by stratagem. PETT, "2 Samuel 15:6, "‘And in this manner did Absalom to all Israel who came to the king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.’ 34
- 35. This was theway in which Absalom behaved towards all in Israel who came to the king seeking justice. It was the way by which he ‘stole the hearts of all Israel’. Soon the word would get around which would convince the people of what a wonderful king Absalom would make. David was about to learn that if you invite a snake into your bed you should not be surprised if you are bitten. 7 At the end of four years, Absalom said to the king, "Let me go to Hebron and fulfill a vow I made to the LORD . BARNES, "Forty years - An obvious clerical error, though a very ancient one for four years, which may date from Absalom’s return from Geshur, or from his reconciliation with David, or from the commencement of the criminal schemes to which 2Sa_15:1 refers. Hebron - This, as having been the old capital of David’s kingdom and Absalom’s birthplace, was well chosen. It was a natural center, had probably many inhabitants discontented at the transfer of the government to Jerusalem, and contained many of the friends of Absalom’s youth. As the place of his birth (compare 1Sa_20:6), it afforded a plausible pretext for holding there the great sacrificial feast (“the serving the Lord,” 2Sa_15:8), which Absalom pretended to have vowed to hold to the glory of God. CLARKE, "After forty years - There is no doubt that this reading is corrupt, though supported by the commonly printed Vulgate, the Septuagint, and the Chaldee. But the Syriac has arba shanin, Four years; the Arabic the same arba shinin, Four years; and Josephus has the same; so also the Sixtine edition of the Vulgate, and several MSS. of the same version. Theodoret also reads four, not forty; and most learned men are of opinion that ארבעים arbaim, Forty, is an error for אברע arba, Four; yet this reading is not supported by any Hebrew MS. yet discovered. But two of those collated by Dr. Kennicott have יום yom instead of שנה shanah, i.e., forty Days, instead of forty Years; and this is a reading more likely to be true than that in the commonly received text. We know that Absalom did stay Three years with his grandfather at Geshur, 2Sa_13:38; and this probably was a year after his return: the era, therefore, may be the time of his slaying his brother Amnon; and the four years include the time from his flight till the conspiracy mentioned here. GILL, "And it came to pass after forty years,.... Or four years; so long it was 35
- 36. from the reconciliationof Absalom to David, as Josephus (f) says; and so read Theodoret on the place, the Syriac and Arabic versions: but some say it was either forty years from the time Israel first had a king; and which might be an era of reckoning with the Jews, as the era of Seleucidae was with the Greeks, on the like account; or from the time Saul slew the priests at Nob, as Jerom (g); or from the time of David's being anointed by Samuel; or this was the year of Absalom's age, or of David's reign: but these, and other attempts made to account for this passage, are not entirely satisfactory; and therefore one may be tempted to conclude there must be a mistake in the copy, of "arbaim" for "arba", forty for four; which makes it quite easy, and confirms the first sense: that Absalom said unto the king, I pray thee, let me go and pay my vow, which I have vowed unto the Lord, in Hebron; not what he vowed in Hebron; for according to his own account he had vowed it in Geshur, as in 2Sa_15:8; but his request is, that he might pay it in Hebron; which place he fixed upon, being his native place, and where David was anointed king; and which, being about twenty miles from Jerusalem, was at a proper distance to lay the scene of his conspiracy in, and bring it to perfection. HENRY, "We have here the breaking out of Absalom's rebellion, which he had long been contriving. It is said to be after forty years, 2Sa_15:7. But whence it is to be dated we are not told; not from David's beginning his reign, for then it would fall in the last year of his life, which is not probable; but either from his first anointing by Samuel seven years before, or rather (I think) from the people's desiring a king, and the first change of the government into a monarchy, which might be about ten years before David began to reign; it is fitly dated thence, to show that the same restless spirit was still working, and still they were given to change: as fond now of a new man as then of a new model. So it fell about the thirtieth year of David's reign. Absalom's plot being now ripe for execution, I. The place he chose for the rendezvous of his party was Hebron, the place where he was born and where his father began his reign and continued it several years, which would give some advantage to his pretensions. Every one knew Hebron to be a royal city; and it lay in the heart of Judah's lot, in which tribe, probably, he thought his interest strong. JAMISON 7-9, "after forty years — It is generally admitted that an error has here crept into the text, and that instead of “forty,” we should read with the Syriac and Arabic versions, and Josephus, “four years” - that is, after Absalom’s return to Jerusalem, and his beginning to practice the base arts of gaining popularity. my vow, which I have vowed unto the Lord — during his exile in Geshur. The purport of it was, that whenever God’s providence should pave the way for his re-establishment in Jerusalem, he would offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving. Hebron was the spot selected for the performance of this vow, ostensibly as being his native place (2Sa_3:3), and a famous high place, where sacrifices were frequently offered before the temple was built; but really as being in many respects the most suitable for the commencement of his rebellious enterprise. David, who always encouraged piety and desired to see religious engagements punctually performed, gave his consent and his blessing. 36
- 37. BENSON, "2 Samuel15:7. After forty years — That is, as some say, from the change of the government into a monarchy, which change took place about ten years before David began to reign. So that this fell out about the thirtieth year of his reign. But the Syriac and Arabic, whom Houbigant follows, read, After four years; that is, from the time of his father’s reconciliation with him. Josephus, Theodoret, the manuscripts mentioned in the Benedictine edition of Jerome’s version, the canon of the Hebrew verity, (supposed to be made about the ninth century, and altered by some correcting hand,) the reading of the famous Latin Bible of Sextus, the Latin manuscript in Exeter college library, marked C. 2. 13., and the ancient Latin manuscript written in Gothic characters, the variations of which are published in Blanchini’s Vindiciæ, all have it, four; so that Grotius, and, after him, Patrick, were well supported in having pronounced so decisively, that it would admit of no doubt that an error had crept into the text, and that instead of ,ארבעים arbagnim, forty, should be read ,ארבע arbang, four. See Kennicott’s Dissert., vol. 2. p. 358, and Houbigant’s note. Let me go and pay my vow which I have vowed to the Lord in Hebron — To wit, to perform there by some solemn sacrifice. As Delaney is of opinion that a very grievous sickness of David gave Absalom occasion to take the forementioned steps, so he thinks that his father’s unexpected recovery, perhaps through God’s extraordinary influence, broke Absalom’s measures for some time, and made him postpone his wicked purpose. In the mean time, his popularity had all the field he could wish. As all the people of Israel resorted to Jerusalem thrice in every year, on the three solemn festivals, he had so often an opportunity of paying his court, and insinuating his poison, till the infection spread through the whole body of the realm, and wanted nothing but a fair occasion to display itself in all its malignity, which Absalom sought by going to Hebron. COFFMAN 7-11, ""At the end of four years" (2 Samuel 15:7). The KJV and other ancient versions have "forty years" here instead of "four"; but the RSV is doubtless correct here in following the Syriac and certain texts of the LXX.[9] This indicates that it took Absalom four years from the time he was reconciled with David to launch his attempted coup de etat. "In Hebron" (2 Samuel 15:1,9,10). The reason for Absalom's choice of Hebron as the place to launch his rebellion might have been complex. He was born in Hebron and might have had many friends there. Young wrote that, "Hebron still bore a grudge against David because he had moved the seat of his government to Jerusalem. Also, the allied clans of the Negev, through whose good offices David first mounted the throne, were jealous of the northern tribes who had become the dominant partner in the united kingdom, and whose power had made them very influential with the king."[10] "Absalom sent secret messengers throughout all the tribes of Israel" (2 Samuel 15:10). "It is evident that much more elaborate preparations had been made for this effort of Absalom to seize the throne than appears on the surface of this 37
- 38. concise narrative."[11] "With Absalomwent two hundred men from Jerusalem" (2 Samuel 15:11). These were invited guests, probably the most influential and powerful men in Jerusalem; but they were not co-conspirators with Absalom. Although ignorant of Absalom's plans, they would have been supposed by the citizens of Hebron to be Absalom's partisans. Furthermore, if they had, in any manner, objected to Absalom's having himself proclaimed as king, they would have, at once, become his hostages. This was a clever maneuver indeed. ELLICOTT, "(7) After forty years.—The reading is certainly incorrect. Absalom was born after David began his reign in Hebron, and his whole reign was only forty years. Absalom therefore was not yet forty at his death. The reading found in the Syriac and most MSS. of the Vulgate, and adopted by Josephus, four years, is probably correct. It remains uncertain from what point this four years is to be reckoned; probably it is from Absalom’s return to Jerusalem. Pay my vow . . . in Hebron.—We have no means of knowing whether this vow was real or fictitious; certainly Absalom now uses it as a pretext, and yet there is nothing improbable in his having actually made such a vow during his exile. Hebron was the place of his birth and childhood, as well as a holy city from very ancient times, and was thus a suitable place for the performance of his vow; it was also at a convenient distance from Jerusalem, and had been the royal city of David for the first seven years of his reign. It was thus well adapted to be the starting place of Absalom’s rebellion, and it is not unlikely, moreover, that the men of Hebron may have resented the transfer of the capital to Jerusalem, and therefore have lent a willing ear to Absalom. Like many other culprits, Absalom veils his crime under the cloak of religion, pretending submission to his father, and receiving his blessing at the very moment when he is striking at his crown and his life. HAWKER, "Verses 7-9 (7) ¶ And it came to pass after forty years, that Absalom said unto the king, I pray thee, let me go and pay my vow, which I have vowed unto the LORD, in Hebron. (8) For thy servant vowed a vow while I abode at Geshur in Syria, saying, If the LORD shall bring me again indeed to Jerusalem, then I will serve the LORD. (9) And the king said unto him, Go in peace. So he arose, and went to Hebron. It is not very easy to ascertain the time from whence we are to calculate these forty years. It cannot mean after forty years of David's reign; for his whole reign was no more than forty; and it should seem that this rebellion broke out at least ten years before the death of David. Some have thought that it means after forty years that Israel had been governed by a king. And if so, this makes the 38
- 39. calculation to bejust, as it happened in about the thirtieth year of David's reign. Here is another proof of the fallacy of the human heart, to make religion a covering for the basest designs. Was it not enough, Absalom, that you leveled a dagger at your too kind and indulgent father; but must God himself be impiously mocked in the attempt? K&D 7-8, "Absalom's rebellion. - 2Sa_15:7, 2Sa_15:8. After the lapse of forty (?) years Absalom said to the king, “Pray I will go (i.e., pray allow me to go) and perform a vow in Hebron which I vowed to the Lord during my stay at Geshur” (2Sa_15:8). The number forty is altogether unsuitable, as it cannot possibly be understood either as relating to the age of Absalom or to the year of David's reign: for Absalom was born at Hebron after David had begun to reign, and David only reigned forty years and a half in all, and Absalom's rebellion certainly did not take place in the last few weeks of his reign. It is quite as inappropriate to assume, as the terminus a quo of the forty years, either the commencement of Saul's reign, as several of the Rabbins have done, as well as the author of the marginal note in Cod. 380 of De Rossi (שאול ,)למלכות or the anointing of David at Bethlehem, as Luther (in the marginal note) and Lightfoot do; for the word “after” evidently refers to some event in the life of Absalom, to which allusion has previously been made, namely, either to the time of his reconciliation with David (2Sa_14:33), or (what is not so probable) to the period of his return from Geshur to Jerusalem (2Sa_14:23). Consequently the reading adopted by the Syriac, Arabic, and Vulgate, also by Theodoret and others, viz., “four years,” must certainly be the correct one, and not “forty days,” which we find in Codd. 70 and 96 in Kennicott, since forty days would be far too short a time for maturing the rebellion. It is true, that with the reading ע ַ ְרፍ we should expect, as a rule, the plural יםִנ ָ.שׁ At the same time, the numbers from two to ten are sometimes construed with a singular noun (e.g., 2Ki_22:1; cf. Gesenius, §120, 2). The pretended vow was, that if Jehovah would bring him back to Jerusalem, he would serve Jehovah. הָּוהְת־י ֶא ד ַב ָ,ע “to do a service to Jehovah,” can only mean to offer a sacrifice, which is the explanation given by Josephus. The Chethib יב ִשָׁי is not the infinitive, but the imperfect Hiphil: si reduxerit, reduxerit me, which is employed in an unusual manner instead of the inf. absol., for the sake of emphasis. The Keri שׁוּבָי would have to be taken as an adverb “again;” but this is quite unnecessary. LANGE, "2 Samuel 15:7. The statement of time: At the end of forty years, is certainly wrong according to the connection. An immediate sequence of events being indicated in 2 Samuel 15:1 [see on 2 Samuel 15:1 and translator’s note], the phrase “at the end of” can only point to a previous occurrence in Absalom’s life—not, however, to his return from Geshur, which is not important enough in the narrative to serve as reckoning-point (terminus a quo) for a new series of events, but rather to his reconciliation with David (14:33). But Absalom’s procedure here described ( 2 Samuel 15:1-6) up to his insurrection cannot have lasted forty years; and further, such a space of time cannot be fitted into the history of David and Absalom, though this would be allowable only in case there were here indicated some chronological- historical point of support, as it has been attempted to find, for example, in Absalom’s age at this time or in the duration of David’s reign. According to these conjectures Absalom’s conspiracy must have occurred in the last days of David’s reign, and this would be wholly unhistorical. The reading of Codd70,90 (Kennicott) “forty days” is a violent attempt to remove the difficulty, and only introduces another 39
- 40. difficulty, since fortydays is too short a time after Absalom’s reconciliation with his father for all his preparations here described. We must read “four years” with Syr, Arab, Vulg. [but Codex Amiatinus has “forty”—Tr.], Josephus, Theodoret (Capellus, Grotius, Ewald, Thenius, Keil and others [Bib-Com.]).[FN21] [Others, (as Ussher, Patrick, Cahen, Philippson) retain the number “forty,” and reckon it in various ways, some from the beginning of David’s reign (Abarbanel), some from David’s anointment by Samuel (Ussher and others), some from the people’s demand for a king (Seder Olam); but the objection to all these is (as Erdmann above suggests) that there is no hint in the text of so remote a terminus a quo as any of them; the time is evidently reckoned from some near event. Though the number four is more probable than forty, it is after all only a conjecture, though a well-supported one; the chronology must here be regarded as uncertain.—Tr.]. PETT, "Absalom Attempts A Coup (2 Samuel 15:7-11). Once he felt that he had won over sufficient men of Israel and Judah to his side Absalom decided he would attempt a coup at Hebron. Hebron had been David’s previous capital city and was the capital city of Judah, and the inhabitants of Hebron may well have felt especially disaffected towards David because of his transfer of the status of capital city to Jerusalem. It may well be that at this time the Tabernacle was in Hebron, where a Tabernacle would have been set up by David when he was made king of Judah. If so, it would later be transferred to Gibeon (1 Kings 3:4), possibly as a result of what now happened. Being crowned at the Tabernacle (we are specifically informed that Absalom was anointed as king - 2 Samuel 19:10) would add to his legality in Israel’s eyes. Analysis. a And it came about at the end of forty years, that Absalom said to the king, “I pray you, let me go and pay my vow, which I have vowed to YHWH, in Hebron” (2 Samuel 15:7). b “For your servant vowed a vow while I abode at Geshur in Syria, saying, ‘If YHWH shall indeed bring me again to Jerusalem, then I will serve YHWH” (2 Samuel 15:8). c And the king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he arose, and went to Hebron (2 Samuel 15:9). b But Absalom sent scouts throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then you shall say, ‘Absalom is king in Hebron.’ ” (2 Samuel 15:10). a And with Absalom went two hundred men out of Jerusalem, who were invited, and went in their simple innocence, and they knew nothing (2 Samuel 15:11). Note that in ‘a’ Absalom wished to go to Hebron on a special occasion to pay his vow, and in the parallel he did so accompanied by two hundred men. In ‘b’ his pretence is that he is going to serve YHWH, and in the parallel his intended service of YHWH will turn out to be a very different one than David had thought. Centrally in ‘c’ David wishes him peace, and he goes off in order to rebel. 2 Samuel 15:7 40
- 41. ‘And it cameabout at the end of forty years, that Absalom said to the king, “I pray you, let me go and pay my vow, which I have vowed to YHWH, in Hebron.” ’ It is quite apparent from what follows that Absalom’s plotting continued, extending further and further through disaffected people until it had spread throughout large parts of Israel and Judah, especially in key cities, with the result that gradually he felt that his support had become wide enough for him to be able to act with a good chance of success. It is also apparent that one powerful group of such conspirators was in Hebron, a group which was sufficiently powerful to guarantee his acceptance there as king. Thus he appears to have had support in both Israel and Judah. This suggests that David’s popularity had, through the years, waned outside the capital away from the court. It may well be that once his military successes were behind him and the grateful country gradually began to accept its security as its right, it began to have greater expectations than David was fulfilling. It serves to bring out that David was perhaps not as good at local administration as he was at winning battles. Indeed much of his concentration would have been on the wider empire. As a consequence he had tended to overlook the need to keep his own people happy. All this must have been so for the rebellion to take hold so easily. Hebron itself may also have become disillusioned because he had moved the centre of his government, and part of the emphasis on worship, away from that ancient sanctuary and from the Tabernacle, to Jerusalem with its sacred Tent containing the Ark. While Jerusalem was an equally ancient sanctuary with an ancient priesthood, it had until recently been a Canaanite sanctuary, and the enthusiasm of David had not necessarily been infectious outside the ranks of his own supporters. “And it came about at the end of forty years.” The question that this raises is as to what the ‘end of forty years’ refers to. If we take the number literally then it produces a definite problem. There are a number of possibilities: · Some have seen it as signifying forty years from the time when the kingship was first established and Saul was anointed king, but that is to ignore other evidence, for elsewhere we learn that Saul himself reigned for about forty years. He seemingly became king as a young man in the first stage of his life, and died alongside his adult sons who themselves had been warriors for many years. Furthermore Acts 13:21 would support such a period. · Others see it as referring to forty years from David’s anointing, but it is difficult in that case to see why the writer should particularly have had that incident in mind without explaining the fact here. · Many consider that the number four has been inaccurately copied as forty so that really we should read ‘four’ here. That would certainly be sufficient time for the rebellion to spread. But in our view emendation of the text in such a way without textual evidence must always be seen as the last resort (even granted that number symbols could easily be wrongly copied, or might even change in significance over centuries). · The probability, therefore, is that we should rather see it as signifying, not a literal forty years, but the period from Absalom’s birth to the time when he attained maturity, sufficiently to rebel. Such a special event as coming to maturity would adequately explain why he took with him two hundred chosen men, who were totally unaware of what was really happening, in order to perform a vow, something which would surely have been suspicious had it not been on a very special occasion. We can, for example, compare how in Genesis marriage consistently took place when 41
- 42. someone was ‘fortyyears’ old, in other words was seen as mature enough for marriage (Genesis 25:20; Genesis 26:34). It is very unlikely that in either case they would literally have waited until they were forty years of age. But larger numbers were used in this general kind of way. See also Joshua 14:7, where Joshua said of himself that he was ‘forty years old’ when he was sent out as a spy into Canaan (which if taken literally would mean that he began the conquest when he was seventy eight years old), and compare the constant use of ‘forty years’ as indicating important periods in the books of Judges, Samuel and Kings, where it is unlikely that we should take them too literally (see Judges 3:11; Judges 5:31; Judges 8:28; Judges 13:1; 1 Samuel 4:18; 2 Samuel 2:10; 2 Samuel 5:4; 1 Kings 2:11; 1 Kings 11:42; 2 Kings 12:1). They may well in these cases signify ‘a generation’. This is not to say that the figure is ‘incorrect’. It is, in the terms of the time when it was written, fully correct. It was simply the Hebrew way of indicating a longish period which was complete in itself (compare the similar use of ‘forty days’), something not simply confined to the Hebrews. For we should remember that whereas we have been brought up to think numerically, the majority of ancients were innumerate and saw larger numbers as being used as adjectives in order to give an impression rather than as intended to be numerically accurate. This verse is thus probably saying that Absalom, having attained the age of maturity, wanted to go to Hebron to ‘pay his vow’. The age of maturity may actually have been twenty, the age at which he became eligible to fight for Israel (Numbers 1:3; etc), or twenty five, the age at which the Levite apprenticeship began (Numbers 8:24), or even thirty when the Levite (and presumably the priest) came to full maturity (Numbers 4:3; etc). Absalom was after all one of the king’s ‘priests’. This would also make sense as explaining why at this time he wished to fulfil his vow in order to be a true priest to YHWH, that is, to ‘serve YHWH’. 8 While your servant was living at Geshur in Aram, I made this vow: 'If the LORD takes me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the LORD in Hebron. [2] ' " CLARKE, "While I abode at Geshur in Syria - Geshur, the country of Talmai, was certainly not in Syria, but lay on the south of Canaan, in or near Edom, as is evident from Jdg_1:10; 1Sa_27:8; 2Sa_13:37. Hence it is probable that ארם Aram, Syria, is a mistake for אדם Edom; ד daleth and ר resh being easily interchangeable. Edom is the reading both of the Syriac and Arabic. I will serve the Lord - Here he pretended to be a strict follower of Jehovah, even while he was in a heathen country; and now he desires liberty to go and perform a vow at Hebron, which he pretends to have made while he was resident at Geshur. And all this was the more perfectly to organize his system of rebellion against his venerable father. 42
- 43. GILL, "For thyservant vowed a vow while I abode at Geshur in Syria,.... When at his grandfather's court there: saying, if the Lord will bring me again indeed to Jerusalem; which he might be sincerely desirous of: then I will serve the Lord; but it is a question whether he ever made a vow to this purpose, or concerned himself about serving the Lord; but it rather may be, this was a lie of his, now framed in order to get leave of the king to go to Hebron. HENRY, "II. The pretence he had both to go thither and to invite his friends to him there was to offer a sacrifice to God, in performance of a vow he had made during his banishment, 2Sa_15:7, 2Sa_15:8. We have cause enough to suspect that he had not made any such vow; it does not appear that he was so religiously inclined. But he that stuck not at murder and treason would not make conscience of a lie to serve his purpose. If he said he had made such a vow, nobody could disprove him. Under this pretence, 1. He got leave of his father to go to Hebron. David would be well pleased to hear that his son, in his exile, was so desirous to return to Jerusalem, not only his father's city, but the city of the living God, - that he looked up to God, to bring him back, - that he had vowed, if he were brought back, to serve the Lord, whose service he had hitherto neglected, - and that now, being brought back, he remembered his vow, and resolved to perform it. If he think fit to do it in Hebron, rather than in Sion or Gibeon, the good king is so well pleased with the thing itself that he will not object against his choice of the place. See how willing tender parents are to believe the best concerning their children, and, upon the least indication of good, to hope, even concerning those that have been untoward, that they will repent and reform. But how easy is it for children to take advantage of their good parents' credulity, and to impose upon them with the show of religion, while still they are what they were! David was overjoyed to hear that Absalom inclined to serve the Lord, and therefore readily gave him leave to go to Hebron, and to go thither with solemnity. BENSON, "2 Samuel 15:8-9. If the Lord shall bring me again to Jerusalem, &c. — This vow, we see, of Absalom is conceived exactly in the style of the patriarchal piety; and plainly implies, that however he was tempted by his grandfather to serve the gods of Geshur, yet he continued steady to the true religion, and determined against idolatry. This, we may be sure, David was highly delighted to hear, and therefore gave a ready consent to the performance of his vow, saying, Go in peace. So he arose and went to Hebron — This place he chose as being an eminent city, and next to Jerusalem, the chief city of the tribe of Judah. It was also the place of his birth, the place where his father had begun his kingdom, which he took for a good omen, and where the seat of government had been several years. Here, likewise, they were wont to sacrifice till the temple was built. It was at a convenient distance from Jerusalem, and, no doubt, he had here secured many friends. He therefore thought it the most commodious place for his purpose, next to Jerusalem. LANGE, "2 Samuel 15:8. Absalom’s “vow” and “serving the Lord” is to be understood of the offering of a sacrifice. He wished to sacrifice in Hebron, ostensibly, no doubt, because it was his birth-place, but really because (his father 43
- 44. having there assumedthe crown) he considered it a peculiarly suitable place for his being proclaimed king. He chose this place, not because there was dissatisfaction at the removal of the royal residence to Jerusalem (Thenius and Keil, following the “Exegetical Manual”), but because he could there count on a numerous following from the tribe of Judah.[FN22] [We have here an example of sacrificial feasting not in connection with the Tabernacle (as in David’s history 1 Samuel 20:6), an indication that the strict law of Leviticus ( Leviticus 17:3-4; comp. Deuteronomy 12:13-14) was not in practical operation; else David would have objected to sacrificing in Hebron.—Tr.]. PETT, "2 Samuel 15:8 “For your servant vowed a vow while I abode at Geshur in Aram (Syria), saying, ‘If YHWH shall indeed bring me again to Jerusalem, then I will serve YHWH.” Absalom then explained how when he was in Geshur he had made a solemn vow to YHWH that if He would restore him to his rightful position in Jerusalem, he would ‘serve Him’. The verb ‘to serve’ can have a general significance of obedience to YHWH (e.g. Deuteronomy 6:13) but it can also have the special significance of ‘serving’ in a levitical or priestly fashion (e.g. Numbers 3:7; Numbers 18:7). If the king’s sons were seen as ‘priests after the order of Melchizedek’, and as connected with the sanctuary as intercessory priests (see on 2 Samuel 8:18), this would make good sense. Others see it as signifying his intention to offer freewill sacrifices of thanksgiving. In the end, however, it was only really an excuse to go to Hebron without arousing suspicion. 9 The king said to him, "Go in peace." So he went to Hebron. GILL, "And the king said unto him, go in peace,.... He gave him leave to go, and wished happiness and prosperity might attend him: so he arose and went to Hebron; with a company of men, whose number is after mentioned. K&D, "The king consented, and Absalom went to Hebron. Absalom had selected this city, probably assigning as the reason that he was born there, but really because his father David had been made king there, and also possibly because there may have been many persons there who had been displeased by the removal of the court to Jerusalem. LANGE. "2 Samuel 15:9. David permits himself to be deceived by the pretence of a 44
- 45. thank-offering in Hebron,which Absalom might have offered as well, or better, in Jerusalem. Ewald remarks: “that David observed nothing of all this till the startling news reached him that the heart of Israel was turned to Absalom, cannot be reckoned to his disadvantage, since so ancient and simple a kingdom had nothing like our modern state-police; it is rather a mark of the noble-minded security that we elsewhere see in him, that he gives so free scope to his beloved Song of Solomon, who might be regarded as first-born and heir-apparent, and whose quiet nature certainly even greatly pleased him.” PETT, "2 Samuel 15:9 ‘And the king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he arose, and went to Hebron.’ Such a proposal that he should ‘serve YHWH’ would have gladdened the king’s heart for he would have wanted nothing more than that his sons properly fulfil their responsibilities towards YHWH. So totally unsuspectingly he bade him ‘go in peace’. This was a general farewell wish indicating a situation of wellbeing between the parties, but it gains special significance in this case because the reader and listener know that he is doing anything other than going in peace. And the consequence was that Absalom ‘went to Hebron’, to cause war. 10 Then Absalom sent secret messengers throughout the tribes of Israel to say, "As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpets, then say, 'Absalom is king in Hebron.' " CLARKE, "Absalom sent spies - These persons were to go into every tribe; and the trumpet was to be blown as a signal for all to arise, and proclaim Absalom in every place. The trumpet was probably used as a kind of telegraph by the spies: trumpet exciting trumpet from place to place; so that, in a few minutes all Israel would hear the proclamation. GILL, "But Absalom sent spies throughout all the land of Israel,.... To sound the disposition of the people towards him, to insinuate things into their minds in favour of him, and to improve every opportunity of recommending him to their esteem and affections: saying, as soon as ye hear the sound of the trumpet; in any place; and which it is probable he employed men to sound in many places: then ye shall say, Absalom reigneth in Hebron: which is the cause of the trumpet's sounding; and by this means they would learn how the people stood 45
- 46. affected to him,whether the news was grateful or not. JAMISON, "2Sa_15:10-12. He forms a conspiracy. Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel — These emissaries were to sound the inclination of the people, to further the interests of Absalom, and exhort all the adherents of his party to be in readiness to join his standard as soon as they should hear that he had been proclaimed king. As the summons was to be made by the sound of trumpets, it is probable that care had been taken to have trumpeters stationed on the heights, and at convenient stations - a mode of announcement that would soon spread the news over all the country of his inauguration to the throne. BENSON, "2 Samuel 15:10. Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes — Before he left Jerusalem he took care to send his emissaries into all parts; doubtless under colour of inviting persons of distinction to the sacrifice; but in reality to carry the watchword and signal, before agreed on between them. As soon as ye shall hear the sound of the trumpet, &c. — This was the signal which was to be given for the people’s taking up arms, their hearing the sound of the trumpet, which Absalom took care should be blown in all the tribes at the same time, by persons purposely placed in the towns and villages, at such a distance from one another as that each trumpet could be heard by the person appointed to blow the next. The spies, or emissaries, immediately upon hearing the sound of it, were to proclaim that Absalom was crowned king in Hebron. Upon this being done, all his partisans, it is likely, shouted, God save King Absalom. HAWKER, "Verses 10-12 (10) But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, As soon as ye hear the sound of the trumpet, then ye shall say, Absalom reigneth in Hebron. (11) And with Absalom went two hundred men out of Jerusalem, that were called; and they went in their simplicity, and they knew not anything. (12) And Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counsellor, from his city, even from Giloh, while he offered sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong; for the people increased continually with Absalom. We feel pity for those two hundred men drawn by surprise into such a conspiracy: but as to Ahithophel, David's counsellor and friend, we feel indignation at his conduct. But here, blessed Jesus! do I not feel my soul drawn to thee and thine unequalled trials, from the perfidy of Judas? Alas! what situation hath any of thy faithful ones been ever placed in from the baseness of unfaithful men, but thou hast experienced it before them. Probably, David wrote the forty-first Psalm on the occasion of this conspiracy, in which he particularly takes notice of the falseness of the familiar friend which eat bread with him. But if so, it is still more interesting and striking, typically considered, in reference to the perfidy of Judas towards our Lord Jesus Christ. And indeed, as such, the Lord himself applies it. See John 13:18. LANGE, "2 Samuel 15:10. “Absalom sent.” The verb is not Pluperfect but 46
- 47. Imperfect, since thesending out of emissaries might be synchronous with the journey to Hebron, where Absalom’s accomplices had gotten everything in readiness for proclaiming him king, else he could not have said: As soon as ye hear the sound of the trumpet,[FN23] say, Absalom is become king in Hebron. Absalom sent emissaries into all the tribes of Israel, to find out public opinion and prepare for his attempt throughout the whole kingdom at the same time, he having already gotten the favor of the people by the arts above-related, and thrown his net over them. The emissaries had only to spread the net wider and deeper, and then at the signal to draw it in and catch the people. K&D 10-11, "When Absalom went to Hebron, he sent spies into all the tribes of Israel to say, “When ye hear the sound of the trumpet, say, Absalom has become king in Hebron.” We must suppose the sending the spies to have been contemporaneous with the removal of Absalom to Hebron, so that ח ַל ְשׁ ַו is used quite regularly, and there is no reason for translating it as a pluperfect. The messengers sent out are called “spies,” because they were first of all to ascertain the feelings of the people in the different tribes, and were only to execute their commission in places where they could reckon upon support. The conspiracy had hitherto been kept very secret, as we may see from the statement in 2Sa_15:11 : “With Absalom there had gone two hundred men out of Jerusalem, invited (to the sacrificial festival), and going in their simplicity, who knew nothing at all of the affair.” (ר ָב ָ ל־ ָⅴ ּאל: nothing at all.) PETT, "2 Samuel 15:10 ‘But Absalom sent scouts throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then you shall say, ‘Absalom is king in Hebron.’ ” And it was from Hebron, where he was seemingly greeted as prospective king, (it is apparent that a number of negotiation must have been going on meanwhile), that he sent out messengers to selected groups with the news that when they heard the blowing of the ram’s horns then they were to declare that ‘Absalom is king in Hebron’. His coronation, when he would be anointed as king (2 Samuel 19:10), was evidently imminent. This stress on ‘in Hebron’ might suggest that there was general disaffection among many throughout the whole of Israel over David’s selection of a Canaanite stronghold as his capital city, something which Absalom was taking advantage of. Hebron at least was an ancient sanctuary of YHWH, and the home of the Tabernacle, and ancient traditions die hard. Many would not have been pleased with the change of emphasis to Jerusalem. Absalom was again playing the people for all he was worth. 11 Two hundred men from Jerusalem had accompanied Absalom. They had been invited as guests and went quite innocently, knowing nothing 47
- 48. about the matter. CLARKE,"Went two hundred men - These were probably soldiers, whom he supposed would be of considerable consequence to him. They had been seduced by his specious conduct, but knew nothing of his present design. GILL, "And with Absalom went two hundred men out of Jerusalem, that were called,.... Invited by him to go with him and partake of his peace offerings, as the payment of his vow in Hebron; part of which was made a feast of for his friends, whomsoever he should think fit to invite, as he did to the number of two hundred, and for the entertainment of whom a large provision ought to be made; the Jews (h) have a tradition, that he had leave of his father only to invite two to go with him, and that he asked two more unknown to the first, and so on, two after two, until they amounted to two hundred: and they went in their simplicity; to partake of the feast of the peace offerings, to which they were invited; being quite harmless and upright in their intentions, having no thought of disloyalty and rebellion in their breasts: and they knew not anything; of an intended conspiracy; howbeit, doubtless many of them were drawn into it when got thither; and as these may be supposed to be some of the principal men of Jerusalem, it was a great weakening of David's interest, and laid a considerable foundation for Absalom to begin upon. HENRY, "He got a good number of sober substantial citizens to go along with him, 2Sa_15:11. There went 200 men, probably of the principal men of Jerusalem, whom he invited to join with him in his feast upon his sacrifice; and they went in their simplicity, not in the least suspecting that Absalom had any bad design in this journey. He knew that it was to no purpose to tempt them into his plot: they were inviolably firm to David. But he drew them in to accompany him, that the common people might think that they were in his interest, and that David was deserted by some of his best friends. Note, It is no new thing for very good men, and very good things, to be made use of by designing men to put a colour upon bad practices. When religion is made a stalking-horse, and sacrifice a shoeing-horn, to sedition and usurpation it is not to be wondered at if some that were well affected to religion, as these followers of Absalom here, are imposed upon by the fallacy, and drawn in to give countenance to that, with their names, which in their heart they abhor, not having known the depths of Satan. JAMISON, "with Absalom went two hundred men ... that were called — From their quality, reputation, and high standing, such as would create the impression that the king patronized the movement and, being aged and infirm, was willing to adopt his oldest and noblest son to divide with him the cares and honors of government. BENSON, "2 Samuel 15:11. With Absalom went two hundred men that were 48
- 49. called — Thatis, that were invited by him to feast with him on his sacrifice, and were such as he had picked out as fit for his purpose; principal persons of the city, no doubt, and of some reputation with the king and people. These he took with him that they might give a countenance to his undertaking, and cause the people at first to think that he was acting in all this by his father’s consent and approbation, as being now aged and infirm, and willing to resign the kingdom to his son. They went in their simplicity, and knew not anything — Of his design, but only went to attend him, and pay him respect as the king’s son, who did them the honour to invite them to a holy feast. It is no new thing for good men to be made use of by designing men, to put a colour on ill practices. LANGE, "2 Samuel 15:11. The two hundred men that accompanied him were not “poor, dependent people,” which would certainly have excited surprise, but courtiers such as ususually accompanied kings and kings’ sons on their journeys without causing remark. That these men might be perfectly at their ease, under the impression that they were going to a sacrificial feast at Hebron, and that the real purpose might the better be concealed from David, nothing was said to them of Absalom’s design; they knew “nothing at all” of the matter. Taken by surprise in Hebron by the sudden proclamation of Absalom as king, they must have appeared to the people at Jerusalem and elsewhere as part of the royal retinue. [Bib-Com. points out the extreme secrecy of the affair as explaining David’s ignorance of it, and also Absalom’s taste for large entertainments.—Tr.]. 2 Samuel 15:12. Ahithophel appears as Absalom’s secret counsellor in the contriving of the conspiracy, and so as traitor to David, whose counsellor he was. His native city Giloh was near and south of Hebron ( Joshua 15:51; Joshua 15:54). The text reads literally: “He sent Ahithophel from his city,” that Isaiah, he caused him to come. Either this expression is to be regarded as a pregnant one=“he sent and brought” (Keil), or we must change the vowel-points.[FN24] Why Ahithophel abandoned David is not said; probably from dissatisfaction and ambition. [Patrick: “And it is supposed by the Jews that Ahithophel was incensed against David for abusing Bathsheba, whom they take to have been his grand-daughter, she being the daughter of Eliam (11:3), and Eliam being the son of Ahithophel (23:34).”—So Blunt, Coincidences, Part II. (ix.)—Tr.]—No doubt he had been slyly working at Giloh, and had prepared everything for proclaiming Absalom. The conspiracy grew rapidly, and the people came to Absalom in constantly increasing numbers. It is noticeable that it is in the tribe of Judah that this defection from David is consummated. The elements of this so astonishingly successful insurrection of Absalom were David’s grievous sins, his weakness towards Amnon and Joab, the lacks of the royal government and the consequent dissatisfaction among the people. [The expression: “while he offered bloody offerings” is difficult. If the subject be Ahithophel, it does not appear why his offering should be mentioned; or if, as is more probable, the subject is Absalom, the reason for his sending for Ahithophel while he was offering is not clear; we should rather have expected the latter to be present at the beginning of the solemn sacrifice that was to pledge the conspirators. As the text stands, it cannot be rendered: “he sent for Ahithophel to be present when he offered,” nor: “and while he sacrificed, the conspiracy grew strong,” though something like one of these renderings seems to be the meaning. The text is discussed in “Text, and 49
- 50. Gram.”—Grotius refers tothe similar procedure of Civilis (pledging conspirators at a feast), Tacit, Hist. IV:14.—Tr.] ELLICOTT, "(11) Went in their simplicity.—The two hundred guests whom Absalom had invited to take part with him in his sacrifices, were doubtless prominent and influential citizens of Jerusalem. That they were entirely ignorant of Absalom’s purposes shows the extreme secrecy with which the affair was managed. Absalom, no doubt, hoped when he once had them at Hebron, to secure them for his side, or, failing this, forcibly to prevent their opposition. In any case it would appear to the people that they were with him, and he would thus secure additional prestige. PETT, "2 Samuel 15:11 ‘And with Absalom went two hundred men out of Jerusalem, who were invited, and went in their simple innocence, and they knew nothing.’ Absalom took with him ‘two hundred men’ out of Jerusalem, men who were in simple innocence of what his motives were. Whether we take the two ‘hundreds’ as strictly numerical, or see it as indicating two family/clan or other groupings (Israelites and Geshurites?), such an invitation indicated that this was being seen as a very special occasion. And if it was so they were being taken in order to allay suspicions. They would, however, no doubt have been selected because they were known to be his ‘friends’. 12 While Absalom was offering sacrifices, he also sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counselor, to come from Giloh, his hometown. And so the conspiracy gained strength, and Absalom's following kept on increasing. BARNES, "Ahithophel - It has been with great probability supposed that Ahithophel was estranged from David by personal resentment for his conduct in the matter of Bath-sheba and Uriah (see 2Sa_11:3). While he offered sacrifices - Rather, that Absalom sent for Ahithophel to be present when he offered the sacrifices; the intention being that all who partook of the sacrifice should be bound together to prosecute the enterprise. Absalom, too, would take advantage of the excitement of the great feast to inflame the ardour of the 50
- 51. guests, and pledgethem irrevocably to his cause. CLARKE, "Sent for Ahithophel - When Absalom got him, he in effect got the prime minister of the kingdom to join him. GILL, "And Absalom sent for Ahithophel, the Gilonite, David's counsellor,.... To advise with about this treasonable affair he was engaged in, and to get out of him David's secrets, who was reckoned the best counsellor in the land; and he might rather hope he would come to him, if he was the grandfather of Bathsheba, as say the Jews, 2Sa_11:3; since he might be disgusted with and resent David's adultery with Bathsheba his granddaughter, and the murder of her husband Uriah: him he sent for: from his city, even from Giloh; a city in the tribe of Judah, in the mountainous part of it, near to Hebron, where Absalom now was; and, according to Bunting (i), twenty miles from Jerusalem, see Jos_15:48, while he offered sacrifices; not Ahithophel, but Absalom, his peace offerings at Hebron, to which he invited Ahithophel to come and partake of: and the conspiracy was strong; or there was a great number in the conspiracy, who were assembled together: for the people increased continually with Absalom; being drawn to him by the comeliness of his person, his affable behaviour, the pomp and magnificence in which he appeared, the great number of the principal inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and he the king's eldest son, and so heir to the crown; whereas it might begin to be rumoured about, that David designed Solomon, a son of Bathsheba, a young prince, to be his successor, which did not meet with general approbation at first. HENRY, " The project he laid was to get himself proclaimed king throughout all the tribes of Israel upon a signal given, 2Sa_15:10. Spies were sent abroad, to be ready in every country to receive the notice with satisfaction and acclamations of joy, and to make the people believe that the news was both very true and very good, and that they were all concerned to take up arms for their new king. Upon the sudden spreading of this proclamation, “Absalom reigns in Hebron,” some would conclude that David was dead, others that he had resigned: and thus those that were in the secret would draw in many to appear for Absalom, and to come into his assistance, who, if they had rightly understood the matter, would have abhorred the thought of it, but, being drawn in, would adhere to him. See what artifices ambitious men use for the compassing of their ends; and in matters of state, as well as in matters of religion, let us not be forward to believe every spirit, but try the spirits. IV. The person he especially courted and relied upon in this affair was Ahithophel, a politic thinking man, and one that had a clear head and a great compass of thought, that had been David's counsellor, his guide and his acquaintance (Psa_55:13), his familiar friend, in whom he trusted, who did eat of his bread, Psa_41:9. But, upon some disgust of David's against him, or his against David, he was banished, or retired 51
- 52. from public business,and lived privately in the country. How should a man of such good principles as David, and a man of such corrupt principles as Ahithophel, long agree? A fitter tool Absalom could not find in all the kingdom than one that was so great a statesman, and yet was disaffected to the present ministry. While Absalom was offering his sacrifices, in performance of his pretended vow, he sent for this man. So much was his heart on the projects of his ambition that he could not stay to make an end of his devotion, which showed what his eye was upon in all, and that it was but for a pretence that he made long offerings. V. The party that joined with him proved at last very considerable. The people increased continually with Absalom, which made the conspiracy strong and formidable. Every one whom he had complimented and caressed (pronouncing his matters right and good, especially if afterwards the cause went against him) not only came himself, but made all the interest he could for him, so that he wanted not for numbers. The majority is no certain rule to judge of equity by. All the world wondered after the beast. Whether Absalom formed this design merely in the height of his ambition and fondness to rule, or whether there was not in it also malice against his father and revenge for his banishment and confinement, though this punishment was so much less than he deserved, does not appear. But, generally, that which aims at the crown aims at the head that wears it. JAMISON, "Absalom sent for Ahithophel — who he knew was ready to join the revolt, through disgust and revenge, as Jewish writers assert, at David’s conduct towards Bath-sheba, who was his granddaughter. Giloh — near Hebron. the conspiracy was strong — The rapid accession of one place after another in all parts of the kingdom to the party of the insurgents, shows that deep and general dissatisfaction existed at this time against the person and government of David. The remnant of Saul’s partisans, the unhappy affair of Bath-sheba, the overbearing insolence and crimes of Joab, negligence and obstruction in the administration of justice - these were some of the principal causes that contributed to the success of this widespread insurrection. K&D, "Moreover, Absalom sent for Ahithophel, David's councillor, to come from his own town Giloh, when he offered the sacrifices. The unusual construction of ת ֵא ח ַל ְשִׁי with ּורי ִע ֵמ may be explained from the pregnant character of the expression: he sent and bade come, i.e., he summoned Ahithophel out of his city. Giloh, Ahithophel's home, was upon the mountains of Judah, to the south or south-west of Hebron (see at Jos_15:51). Ahithophel had no doubt been previously initiated into Absalom's plans, and had probably gone to his native city, merely that he might come to him with the greater ease; since his general place of abode, as king's councillor, must have been in Jerusalem. “And the conspiracy became strong; for the people multiplied continually with Absalom” (the latter is a circumstantial clause). These words give a condensed summary of the result of the enterprise. BENSON, "2 Samuel 15:12. Absalom sent for Ahithophel, David’s counsellor — None are more capable of doing mischief to kings than those who have been of their privy council, and know their secrets. It is supposed by the Jews that Ahithophel was incensed against David for his conduct to Bath-sheba, who they 52
- 53. think, was hisgrand-daughter, being the daughter of Eliam, 2 Samuel 11:3, and Eliam the son of Ahithophel, 2 Samuel 23:34. It doubtless must have been matter of great surprise and inexpressible affliction to David, to find the two men, whom of all others he seems to have most loved and confided in, combining against him, and compassing his death, Absalom and Ahithophel, his son and his counsellor. While he offered sacrifices — Or, rather, after he had offered sacrifices: for it seems he sent for him while he sat at dinner. And the conspiracy was strong — Ahithophel was too cunning to discover himself till he saw all things favourable and prosperous on the part of Absalom: and they both very well judged that his accession to the conspiracy, in those circumstances, was the likeliest means to ensure its success. For the people increased continually — Most of whom, it is probable, intended no harm at first, perhaps not even to divest David of his crown and dignity, much less to take away his life; but only to substitute Absalom as a coadjutor to him, for the executing of the royal authority during David’s life, and to be his successor after his death. However, it is evident they did proceed so far, at last, as to design to kill David for their own greater security. For so Ahithophel advised, and they all consented to it, 2 Samuel 17:2; 2 Samuel 17:4; which shows how dangerous it is to go out of the right way; for we do not know down what horrid precipices we may fall afterward. And it may serve as a warning to us never to begin any thing that is wrong, which may lead us to commit that in the issue which we abhorred at the first, when we find we cannot be safe in one wickedness, unless we commit a greater. COFFMAN, ""He sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counselor, from his city Giloh" (2 Samuel 15:12). Ahithophel was a very wise man, and if Absalom had possessed enough intelligence to follow his counsel, he might easily have triumphed over David. "From his city Giloh" (2 Samuel 15:12). Some have supposed this place was south or southwest of Hebron, but Willis identified it with, "The modern Khirbert Jala approximately five miles northwest of Hebron."[12] It is very significant that Ahithophel was available at the nearby city of Giloh when Absalom called for him, instead of being in the city of Jerusalem where he belonged as a confidential advisor of King David. From this Keil very logically concluded that, "Ahithophel had been previously initiated into Absalom's plans and had gone to his native city, merely that he might go to Absalom with greater ease."[13] It appears from this that Ahithophel himself might have been one of the principal architects of the rebellion. The reason usually assigned and which we mentioned earlier, is that Ahithophel was the grandfather of Bathsheba and that he hated David for David's treatment of her and for his murder of her husband Uriah. Of course, there could have been some truth in this. However, Ahithophel was far too wise a man to have joined the conspiracy unless he had been quite sure of its success; and, no doubt, it would have been a success if his advice had been followed. But he knew that if David was given time to gather his forces the coup would fail; and when he saw that Absalom rejected his advice, he promptly committed suicide. 53
- 54. But if thecoup had been successful, did not Ahithophel foresee that Bathsheba and her son Solomon, Ahithophel's great-grandson, would have been killed? "Even if Bathsheba had been spared (through Ahithophel's influence), there is no way that Absalom would have refrained from murdering Solomon."[14] From these considerations we still find it very difficult to imagine why Ahithophel consented to aid Absalom. AND ALL THE WORLD WONDERED AFTER THE BEAST (Revelation 13:3) To this writer, it seems that the above unrelated text from Revelation is an appropriate designation of the popularity that came to Absalom, as related in 2 Samuel 15:13 below. ELLICOTT, "(12) Sent for Ahithophel.—Giloh, the city of Ahithophel, was one of the groups of towns just south of Hebron (Joshua 15:51), and Ahithophel may have gone there in readiness to be summoned by Absalom. Why he deserted David does not appear. It has been conjectured that he was aggrieved at David’s treatment of Bath-sheba, who is supposed to have been his granddaughter. Bath- sheba’s father was Eliam (2 Samuel 11:3) and Ahithophel had a son Eliam (2 Samuel 23:34), but there is no evidence that these were the same, and if they had been, Ahithophel probably would have felt honoured rather than aggrieved that his daughter should have been made queen. It is more likely that Ahithophel and many others of the tribe of Judah were alienated because, in the rapidly growing empire of David, their relative importance was of necessity constantly diminishing. It is noteworthy that the rebellion was cradled in Judah, and seems to have found there its chief strength. There is a difference of opinion whether Psalms 41 was written on this occasion; but its ninth verse certainly applies very pointedly to Ahithophel; and his conduct, both in his treachery and his suicide, forms a striking parallel to that of Judas, to whom this verse is applied in John 13:18. Many writers also consider that Psalms 55 was composed with reference to Ahithophel. While he offered sacrifices.—Absalom had arranged these, apparently with pomp and circumstance, to continue through several days. This gave time for the conspiracy to gain strength, and the accompanying feasting allowed Absalom an excellent opportunity for using his popular arts, and with such success that “the people increased continually with Absalom.” PETT, "David Learns Of The Rebellion And Flees Jerusalem While Absalom Enlists The Services of Ahithophel (2 Samuel 15:12-31). Once messengers had gone out throughout Israel, and preparations had begun in 54
- 55. Hebron for Absalom’scoronation (he was anointed by the people as king in Hebron - 2 Samuel 19:10), it was inevitable that David’s loyal supporters would bring him news of the fact, and on receiving that news David immediately determined to quit Jerusalem. He was aware of the unrest in the country and that being shut up in Jerusalem would have prevented him from gathering his own support around the country, and would also have cut him off from that support. It would also inevitably have brought destruction and desolation on Jerusalem itself. Thus he needed to find a safer haven in an area where he still had strong support, and from the intelligence that he had he clearly considered that to be in Transjordan. Furthermore the city that he had in mind, Mahanaim, was a recognised royal city in opposition to Hebron. (While David had reigned in Hebron, Ish-bosheth had reigned in Mahanaim). And they would be delighted to be recognised as such once more. His immediate decision to leave Jerusalem and cross the Jordan into Transjordan meant that all those who were in Jerusalem also had to consider their own positions. The question was whether they should accompany David on his flight and subsequent fight back, or whether they should remain in Jerusalem and appear to be loyal to whoever ruled from Jerusalem. It would make David aware of who were truly his friends. David was accompanied on his flight by the royal bodyguard, his loyal courtiers, his wives and concubines (apart from those left to tend his palace in Jerusalem), and many who also joined him as his loyal supporters. Absalom meanwhile hastily summoned Ahithophel to join him from his home city of Giloh, because he was aware that he needed his expert advice. The importance of Ahithophel, because of his wisdom, was clearly appreciated by both sides (2 Samuel 15:12; 2 Samuel 15:31). Both sides knew that his wise advice might turn the tide in favour of the one whom he supported, and his being summoned, and the description of his wisdom, forms an inclusio for this passage. Analysis. a And Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counsellor, from his city, even from Giloh, while he was offering the sacrifices (2 Samuel 15:12 a). b And the conspiracy was strong, for the people increased continually with Absalom. And there came a messenger to David, saying, “The hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom” (2 Samuel 15:12-13). c And David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, “Arise, and let us flee, for otherwise none of us will escape from Absalom. Make haste to depart, lest he overtake us quickly, and bring down evil on us, and smite the city with the edge of the sword” (2 Samuel 15:14). d And the king’s servants said to the king, “Look, your servants are ready to do whatever my lord the king shall choose” (2 Samuel 15:15). e And the king went forth, and all his household after him. And the king 55
- 56. left ten women,who were concubines, to keep the house (2 Samuel 15:16). f And the king went forth, and all the people after him, and they tarried in Beth-merhak (2 Samuel 15:17). g And all his servants passed on beside him, and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six hundred men who came after him from Gath, passed on before the king (2 Samuel 15:18). h Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, “Why do you also go with us? Return, and abide with the king, for you are a foreigner, and also an exile. Return to your own place. Inasmuch as you came but yesterday, should I this day make you go up and down with us, seeing I go wherever I may? Return you, and take back your brothers. Mercy and truth be with you” (2 Samuel 15:19-20). i And Ittai answered the king, and said, “As YHWH lives, and as my lord the king lives, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether for death or for life, even there also will your servant be” (2 Samuel 15:21). h And David said to Ittai, “Go and pass over.” And Ittai the Gittite passed over, and all his men, and all the little ones who were with him (2 Samuel 15:22). g And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over. The king also himself passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over, towards the way of the wilderness (2 Samuel 15:23). f And, lo, Zadok also came, and all the Levites with him, bearing the ark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God. And Abiathar went up, until all the people had done passing out of the city (2 Samuel 15:24). e And the king said to Zadok, “Carry back the ark of God into the city. If I shall find favour in the eyes of YHWH, he will bring me again, and show me both it, and his habitation, but if he say thus, ‘I have no delight in you’, behold, here am I, let him do to me as seems good to him” (2 Samuel 15:25-26). d The king said also to Zadok the priest, “Are you not a seer? Return into the city in peace, and your two sons with you, Ahimaaz your son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. See, I will tarry at the fords of the wilderness, until there come word from you to certify me” (2 Samuel 15:27-28). c Zadok therefore and Abiathar carried the ark of God again to Jerusalem: and they abode there (2 Samuel 15:29). b And David went up by the ascent of the mount of Olives, and wept as he went up, and he had his head covered, and went barefoot, and all the people who were with him covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as they went up (2 Samuel 15:30). a And one told David, saying, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” And David said, “O YHWH, I pray you, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness” (2 Samuel 15:31). Note that in ‘a’ Absalom sent for Ahithophel, and in the parallel David prayed that Ahithiophel’s advice might be seen by Absalom as foolishness. In ‘b’ all the people followed Absalom, and in the parallel all the people who followed David were weeping as they thought of what this was going to mean. In ‘c’ David and those who were with him in Jerusalem fled, and in the parallel, at David’s 56
- 57. request, the Arkremained in Jerusalem and abode there. In ‘d’ all declared their willingness to do whatever David required, and in the parallel Zadok and his two sons were to return to Jerusalem before Absalom arrived there so as to attend to the Ark and act as seer in Jerusalem and also in order to keep David informed of what happened in Jerusalem. In ‘e’ David left his concubines to attend to his palace in Jerusalem and in the parallel he left Zadok, along with the Ark, to attend to YHWH’s habitation in Jerusalem. In ‘f’ David went forth and all the people after him, and tarried in Beth-merhak, and in the parallel Zadok and all the Levites came too him there bearing the Ark of God, along with Abiathar when all the people had finished passing out of the city. In ‘g’ all David’s courtiers and commanders passed on beside him, together with his bodyguard, and in the parallel all the people passed over, including the king himself. In ‘h’ David gives Ittai the Gittite and his ‘brothers’ permission to return because they are recently arrived foreigners and have no real duty owed to David, and in the parallel David gives Ittai permission to go over with him because he has declared his loyalty. Centrally in ‘i’ Ittai declares his loyalty to David ‘as YHWH lives’ demonstrating both his loyalty to YHWH and to David, thus symbolising the loyalty of all who were following David. 2 Samuel 15:12 ‘And Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counsellor, from his city, even from Giloh, while he was offering the sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong, for the people increased continually with Absalom.’ Even while Absalom was offering his sacrifices in Hebron in accordance with his proclaimed purpose for coming there, he sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counsellor, to come from his home city Giloh to act as his adviser. Ahithophel's home city was in the mountains of Judah, to the south or south- west of Hebron (see Joshua 15:51). Meanwhile support for Absalom was growing as the news of his coup began to spread around. There is in this confirmation that there was general disillusionment about David’s kingship, possibly because in his period of complacency and arrogance, he had become too overbearing and inaccessible to the common people. He was no longer the David of Ziklag. The importance of Ahithophel in this situation clearly cannot be overstated, as even David realised (2 Samuel 15:31). He was a man of genius such that his counsel was ‘as if a man had enquired at the oracle of God’ (2 Samuel 16:23), and it is in fact possible that had his advice been followed things might have turned out very differently (although not necessarily so, for while David might certainly have been at a disadvantage, there was no doubt that he was accompanied by an extremely efficient and militarily effective fighting force, and already had many friends gathering to him. He was never a man to be trifled with). But there is no doubt that following Ahithophel’s advice would certainly have given Absalom a better chance of succeeding. Indeed once Absalom refused his advice Ahithophel hung himself because he knew that with that refusal all hope of success had gone. 57
- 58. Ahithophel’s defection mustbe seen in the light of the fact that he was probably Bathsheba’s uncle. Bathsheba was the daughter of Eliam and Ahithophel had a son named Eliam who was one of David’s mighty men (2 Samuel 23:34). This would serve to explain the depth of his bitterness against David because of what he had done to his family, and his disaffection is emphasised by his being at Giloh at this time, either because he was no longer acting as counsellor, or because he was in on the conspiracy and had gone there in readiness for it. David was once more reaping what he had sown with Bathsheba. David Flees 13 A messenger came and told David, "The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom." CLARKE, "The hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom - It is very difficult to account for this general defection of the people. Several reasons are given: 1. David was old or afflicted, and could not well attend to the administration of justice in the land. 2. It does appear that the king did not attend to the affairs of state, and that there were no properly appointed judges in the land; see 2Sa_15:3. 3. Joab’s power was overgrown; he was wicked and insolent, oppressive to the people, and David was afraid to execute the laws against him. 4. There were still some partisans of the house of Saul, who thought the crown not fairly obtained by David. 5. David was under the displeasure of the Almighty, for his adultery with Bath- sheba, and his murder of Uriah; and God let his enemies loose against him. 6. There are always troublesome and disaffected men in every state, and under every government; who can never rest, and are ever hoping for something from a change. 7. Absalom appeared to be the real and was the undisputed heir to the throne; David could not, in the course of nature, live very long; and most people are more disposed to hail the beams of the rising, than exult in those of the setting, sun. No doubt some of these causes operated, and perhaps most of them exerted less or more influence in this most scandalous business. 58
- 59. GILL, "And therecame a messenger to David,.... Perhaps one of the two hundred that went with Absalom, ignorant of his design; which, when discovered, he disapproved of, and got away from him, and came to David, and informed him how things were: saying, the hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom; to make him king. HENRY, "Here is, I. The notice brought to David of Absalom's rebellion, 2Sa_ 15:13. The matter was bad enough, and yet it seems to have been made worse to him (as such things commonly are) than really it was; for he was told that the hearts of the men of Israel (that is, the generality of them, at least the leading men) were after Absalom. But David was the more apt to believe it because now he could call to mind the arts that Absalom had used to inveigle them, and perhaps reflected upon it with regret that he had not done more to counterwork him, and secure his own interest, which he had been too confident of. Note, It is the wisdom of princes to make sure of their subjects; for, if they have them, they have their purses, and arms, and all, at their service. JAMISON, "2Sa_15:13-37. David flees from Jerusalem. K&D, 13-14, "David's flight from Jerusalem. - 2Sa_15:13, 2Sa_15:14. When this intelligence reached David, “The heart of the men of Israel is after Absalom” (ר ַהፍ הָי ָ,ה as in 2Sa_2:10, to be attached to a person as king; see at 1Sa_12:14), he said to his servants that were with him in Jerusalem, “Arise, let us flee, for there will be no escape for us from Absalom! Make speed to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly, and drive the calamity (the judgment threatened in 2Sa_12:10-11) over us, and smite the city with the edge of the sword.” David was perhaps afraid that Jerusalem might fall into Absalom's power through treachery, and therefore resolved to fly as speedily as possible, not only in order to prevent a terrible massacre, but also to give his own faithful adherents time to assemble. CONSTABLE, "David's flight from Jerusalem 15:13-37 The people of Israel had formerly given the kingdom to David as a gift (2 Samuel 5:1-3), but now they took that gift from him (2 Samuel 15:13). [Note: Gunn, "David and . . .," p. 22.] David knew that Absalom was popular with the people. Evidently he fled Jerusalem to save his own life and to spare the capital from destruction. Perhaps Absalom planned to destroy David's capital as well as to kill the king and reassert Judean supremacy. Clearly David planned to return to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 15:16). He was fleeing from an attack, not going into exile. The Cherethites and Pelethites were David's bodyguard. The 600 men from Gath (2 Samuel 15:18) were probably mercenary soldiers. These foreigners were loyal to David even when his own son deserted him. "Ancient kings quite often preferred to employ foreign bodyguards, since they were unlikely to be affected by local political considerations or won over by local political factions." [Note: Payne, p. 231.] David later repaid Ittai, another former resident of Gath, for his loyalty by 59
- 60. making him commanderof one-third of his army (2 Samuel 18:2). David urged Ittai to return to Jerusalem and to remain loyal to him there (2 Samuel 15:19), but Ittai insisted on accompanying the king. Ittai's commitment to David (2 Samuel 15:19-22) recalls Ruth's commitment to Naomi (Ruth 1:16-17). David crossed the Kidron Valley immediately east of Zion and moved up the Mount of Olives that lay on the other side of the valley. In this he anticipated the movement of his descendant, Jesus Christ, who also crossed the Kidron Valley to pray on Mt. Olivet during His passion (John 18:1). At this time there were two leading priests in Israel: Zadok (who was also a prophet, 2 Samuel 15:27) and Abiathar. Probably Zadok was responsible for worship in Jerusalem where David built a new structure to house the ark. Abiathar seems to have functioned for many years as David's personal chaplain. Earlier Zadok had been in charge of the Gibeon sanctuary (1 Chronicles 16:39-42). God's "habitation" (2 Samuel 15:25) most likely refers to the new tent David had recently completed in Jerusalem (cf. 1 Chronicles 15:1). These facts suggest another reason for Absalom's rebellion and the support he enjoyed. Many of the Israelites probably considered David's projects of building a new tabernacle and bringing the ark into Jerusalem inappropriate, since Jerusalem was a formerly Canaanite stronghold. Many other people may have shared Michal's reaction (2 Samuel 6:16-20). [Note: Ibid., p. 185.] David's complete submission to God's authority over his life is admirable (2 Samuel 15:26). The phrase "the fords of the wilderness" (2 Samuel 15:28) probably refers to the place people forded the Jordan River near the wilderness of Judah (cf. 2 Samuel 17:22). David did not believe superstitiously that the presence of the ark would ensure his victory (cf. 1 Samuel 4:3). David trudged up the Mount of Olives, attired for mourning (2 Samuel 15:30), praying as he wept (2 Samuel 15:31). On Mt. Olivet David was still only a few hundred yards from the City of David. It rises about 200 feet above the city to its east. Walking barefoot (2 Samuel 15:30) symbolized "the shameful exile on which he is now embarking (cf. Isaiah 20:2-3; cf. similarly Micah 1:8)." [Note: Youngblood, p. 997.] David's friend (i.e., counselor) Hushai came from a family that evidently lived on Ephraim's southern border between Bethel and Ataroth (Joshua 16:2). [Note: Cf. Carl G. Rasmussen, Zondervan NIV Atlas of the Bible, p. 227.] He was probably quite old. Chapter 15 teaches us a lot about friendship. Absalom is the negative example, and David's supporters as he left Jerusalem are the positive ones. David lost Absalom as a friend because he failed to reach out to him in genuine forgiveness. David won the friendship of many others in Israel because he had a heart for God that expressed itself in lovingkindness for people (cf. Matthew 22:37-39). This made people love David, and we see the marks of their friendship in their dealings with David in this chapter. The king's servants modeled true service by offering to do whatever David needed them to do (2 Samuel 15:15-18). Ittai 60
- 61. expressed his friendshipby being a companion to David (2 Samuel 15:19-23). Zadok and Abiathar became informants and made sure their friend had the information he needed to guarantee his welfare (2 Samuel 15:24-29). Hushai was willing to hazard his own safety to defend David in the presence of his enemies (2 Samuel 15:30-37). These people proved to be "sheltering trees" [Note: Samuel Taylor Coleridge, "Youth and Age," in Poems That Live Forever, p. 256.] for their friend in his hour of need. "Meanwhile David showed a commendable attitude very much in contrast to Absalom's arrogance. He was completely willing to submit to God's will (2 Samuel 15:25 f.), whatever that might prove to be. Such willingness to surrender leadership at the right time is another hallmark of good leadership." [Note: Payne, p. 232.] HAWKER, "Verse 13-14 (13) ¶ And there came a messenger to David, saying, The hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom. (14) And David said unto all his servants that were with him at Jerusalem, Arise, and let us flee; for we shall not else escape from Absalom: make speed to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly, and bring evil upon us, and smite the city with the edge of the sword. David was a man of great personal bravery, wherefore then did he wish to flee? No doubt he saw the hand of the Lord in the affliction. God had said, I will raise up evil out of thine own house. 2 Samuel 12:11. Reader! that affliction which comes immediately from the Lord, and as the correction of sin, throws down self- confidence, and makes men cowards. It is sweet to see the hand of him that corrects however, because as his name is, so is his mercy. PINK, "There are few incidents in the checkered life of David more pathetic than the one which is now to engage our attention, illustrating as it also does the providential ups and downs and the alternating spiritual prosperity and adversity which is the lot of God’s people on this earth. All is not unclouded sunshine with them, nor is it unrelieved gloom and storm. There is a mingling of both; joys and sorrows, victories and defeats, assistance from friends and injuries from foes, smiles from the Lord’s countenance and the hidings of His face. By such changes opportunities are afforded for the development and exercise of different graces, so that we may, in our measure, "know how to be abased and how to abound . . . both to be full and to be empty" (Phil 4:12); and above all, that we may, amid varying circumstances, prove the unchanging faithfulness of God and His sufficiency to supply our every need. David was called to leave the lowly plains of Bethlehem to participate in the honors of Saul’s palace. From tending the flock he became the conqueror of Goliath and the popular hero of Israel. But soon Saul’s friendship was changed to enmity, and David had to flee for his life, and for many weary months he was hunted as a partridge on the mountains. Subsequently his fortunes were again greatly altered, and from being an outcast he was crowned king of Israel. Then he was enabled to capture Jerusalem, the stronghold of Zion, which became "the 61
- 62. city of David"(2 Sam. 5:7). There he established his court and thither he "brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the voice of the trumpet" (2 Sam. 6:15). But now we are to behold him fleeing from Jerusalem and being separated from the holy ark: a fugitive once more, in humiliation and deep anguish. Ah, my reader, if you be one of God’s elect, expect not a smooth and easy path down here, but be prepared for varying circumstances and drastic changes. The Christian’s resting place is not in this world, for "here have we no continuing city" (Heb. 13:14). The Christian is a "pilgrim," on a journey; he is a "soldier," called on to fight the good fight of faith. The more this be realized, the less keen will be the disappointment when our ease is disturbed and our outward peace rudely broken in upon. "Many are the afflictions of the righteous," and if they come not to us in one form, they most certainly will in another. If we really "appropriate" this promise (!) then we shall not be so staggered when those afflictions come upon us. It is written that "we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22), and therefore we should make up our minds to expect the same, and to "think it not strange" (1 Peter 4:12) when we are called upon to pass through "the fiery trial." Affliction, tribulation and fiery trial were now David’s portion. "And there came a messenger to David, saying, The hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom" (2 Sam. 15:13). Visualize the sad scene: the dark clouds of a threatened revolt had been steadily gathering, and now the storm bursts on the king’s head. By this time David was some sixty years of age, with health and strength greatly impaired. Ahithophel, his trusted counselor, had deserted him, and Absalom his favorite son was now risen in rebellion against him. Not only his throne, but his very life was in danger, together with the lives of his wives and their little ones— Solomon was scarcely ten years old at this time. What, then, does the king do? Nothing! There was no calling of a counsel, no effort made to provision Jerusalem for the withstanding of a siege, no determination to stand his rightful ground and resist his lawless son. "And David said, unto all his servants that were with him at Jerusalem, Arise, and let us flee; for we shall not else escape from Absalom: make speed to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly; and bring evil upon us, and smite the city with the edge of the sword" (v. 14). Now that at last the blow falls, David passively acquiesces in what he evidently felt to be God’s righteous chastisement upon him. When the awful news arrives that Absalom had set up the standard of revolt at Hebron, David’s only thought was immediate flight. The intrepid warrior was now almost cowardly in his eagerness to escape, and was prepared to give up everything without a blow. It seemed as though only a touch was needed to overthrow his throne. He hurries on the preparations for flight with nervous haste. He forms no plans beyond those of his earlier wish to fly away and be at rest. That David had good reason to conclude the situation which now confronted him was a just retribution upon his own crimes is quite evident. First, the Lord had declared, "I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house" (2 Sam. 12:1), fulfilled here in the insurrection of his favorite son. Other evidences thereof will come before us later, but at this point we will consider, second, Ahithophel’s 62
- 63. joining hands withthe rebel. No sooner had Absalom determined to execute his daring plan than he looked to Ahithophel. He appears, for some reason not specifically mentioned, to have confidently counted upon his cooperation; nor was he disappointed. "And Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counsellor, from his city, even from Giloh" (15:12). It is to be carefully noted that immediately after Ahithophel’s coming to Absalom, we are informed, "And the conspiracy was strong, for the people increased continually with Absalom" (v. 12)—intimating that Ahithophel was a host in himself. "And the counsel of Ahithophel, which he counselled in those days, was as if a man had inquired at the oracle of God: so was all the counsel of Ahithophel both with David and with Absalom" (16:23): in view of this statement we need not be surprised that his joining heart and hand with Absalom so greatly strengthened his cause. There is no doubt that he was the chief instrument in this conspiracy, and the prime reason why so many in Israel turned from the king to his traitorous son. His official status and the great influence which he possessed over the people made Absalom glad to avail himself of his help, both to sink the spirits of David’s party and to inspire his own with confidence, for Ahithophel was commonly regarded as a prophet. But what was it that made Ahithophel respond so readily to Absalom’s invitation, and cause him to find still greater favor in the eves of the people, as one who had been grievously wronged and deserved to be avenged of his adversity? To answer this question the Scriptures must be searched and passage carefully compared with passage. In the second half of 2 Samuel 23 the names are given of the thirty-seven men who formed the special body "guard’ (v. 23) of David. Among them we find "Eliam the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite" (v.34) and "Uriah the Hittite" (v. 39). Thus Eliam and Uriah were fellow-officers and would be much thrown together. Hence, we need not be surprised to learn that Uriah married the daughter of Eliam (see 2 Sam. 11:3). Thus Bathsheba, whom David so grievously wronged, was the grand-daughter of Ahithophel; and Uriah, whom he so cruelly murdered, was his grandson by marriage! Does not this fact explain why David’s "familiar friend" (Ps. 41:9) became his deadly foe, and account for his readiness to aid Absalom—thus seeking to avenge the dishonor brought upon his house. Some years had passed since this dishonor had come upon the family of Ahithophel, and during that interval it appears that he had turned his hack upon David and the court, and had quietly retired to his birthplace (15:12). Brooding over the grievous wrongs which David had done to his family, the spirit of revenge would rankle in his heart. It seems that Absalom was well aware of this, and perceived that Ahithophel was only waiting for a suitable opportunity to give vent to his feelings and execute his meditated wrath upon the head of David. Does not this explain why Absalom approached him with confidence, made known to him his treason, and counted on him welcoming the news and becoming his fellow-worker? Does not this also account for so many of the people transferring their allegiance from a throne which they knew to be defiled with adultery and murder to the rebellious son? Not only does Ahithophel’s blood-relationship to Bathsheba explain his readiness to take sides with Absalom against the king, and account for the common 63
- 64. peoples’ transference ofloyalty, but it also supplies the key to David’s own attitude and conduct at this time. It was additional evidence to him that God was now dealing with him for his sins—other proofs of this will come before us later, but we must not anticipate. And most blessed is it to observe him bowing so meekly to the divine rod. David felt that to withstand Absalom would be to resist the Lord Himself; therefore, instead of strengthening his forces in Jerusalem and maintaining his ground, he flees. We cannot but admire the lovely fruit brought forth by the Spirit at this time in David’s heart, for to Him, and not to mere nature, must be attributed that which is here presented to our view. Long before this we had occasion to admire the beautiful spirit evidenced by David when suffering for righteousness, now we behold it again when he was suffering for transgressions. Then we saw him as the martyr in the days of Saul, bringing forth the fruits of meekness, patience, and confidence in God, willing to be hounded by Saul day after day, and refusing to take vengeance into his own hands and smite the Lord’s anointed. But here we see David as the penitent: his sin has found him out, brought into remembrance before God, and he submissively bows his head and accepts the consequences of his wrongdoing. This is quite beautiful, manifesting again the workmanship of the Spirit of God in David. He alone can quiet the turbulent heart, subdue the rebellious will, and mortify that innate desire to take matters into our own hands; as He alone can bring us to humble ourselves beneath the mighty hand of God, and hold our peace when He visits our iniquity "with stripes" (Ps. 89:32). Yes, it is, as we said in our opening paragraphs, changing circumstances that afford opportunity for the development and exercise of different graces. Some graces are of the active and aggressive kind, while others are of a passive order, requiring quite another setting for their display: some of the traits which mark the soldier on a battlefield would be altogether out of place were he languishing on a bed of sickness. Spiritual joy and godly sorrow is equally beautiful in its season. It would be most incongruous to mourn while the Bridegroom was present, but it is fitting for the children of the Bridechamber to fast when He is absent. As there are certain vegetables, fruits and flowers which cannot be grown in lands which are unvisited by nipping winds and biting frosts, so there are some fruits of the Spirit which are only produced in the soil of severe trials, troubles and tribulations. "And the king’s servants said unto the king, Behold, thy servants are ready to do whatsoever my lord the king shall appoint" (v. 15). What we have just said above is equally pertinent to this verse: the sad situation confronting David revealed plainly the state of heart of those in his immediate employ. The revolt of Absalom and his stealing the hearts of so many of the people afforded an opportunity for these servants of David to manifest their unswerving loyalty and deep devotion to their master. Exceedingly blessed is this, supplying as it does the sequel to what was before us in verse 6. There we saw that Absalom was a man well calculated to captivate the multitude. But let it be duly noted that he possessed no attractions for those who were nearest to David. That illustrates an important principle: while we maintain communion with Christ, the antitypical David, the baits of Satan will have no influence over us! Let us observe too that changing circumstances are necessary in order to test the 64
- 65. loyalty of thosewho are on intimate terms with us. Not only did this revolt of Absalom’s provide an occasion for the manifestation of David’s subjection to the will of God, but it also served to make unmistakably evident who were for and who were against him. Prosperity is often a mixed blessing, and adversity is far from being an unmixed calamity. When the sunshine of providence smiles upon a person, he is soon surrounded by those who profess great attachment to him; but when the dark clouds of providence cover his horizon, most of those fawning flatterers will quickly take their departure. Ah, my reader, it is worth something to discover who really are our friends, and therefore we should not murmur if it takes the shaking of our nest and the disrupting of our peace to make this plainly evident to us. Adversities are a gain when they expose to us the hypocrisy of an Ahithophel, and still more so when they prove the loyalty and love of the few who stand by us in the storm. "And the king went forth, and all his household after him. And the king left ten women, which were concubines, to keep the house" (v. 16). The writer feels his heart awed as he reads the second half of this verse—a prosaic statement, yet one possessing depths which no human mind can fathom. Apparently David acted quite freely when he made this simple domestic arrangement, yet really he could not do otherwise, for he was being directed by the unerring and invincible hand of God, unto the outworking of His own counsels. David’s object in leaving behind the ten concubines was "to keep the house," that is, to maintain the palace in some order and cleanliness; but God’s design was to make good His own word. A part of the punishment which the Lord had announced should Fall upon David for his evildoing was, "I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall be with thy wives in the sight of this sun. For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel" (2 Sam. 12:11, 12). The execution of that threat is recorded in, "So they spread Absalom a tent upon the top of the house and Absalom went in unto his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel" (16:22). The connecting link between the two is seen here in our present passage: "And the king left ten women which were concubines, to keep the house" (v. 16). Again, we say, David’s object in leaving them behind was that they should "keep the house," but God’s purpose was that they should be publicly insulted, raped by Absalom. Unspeakably solemn is this fact: God directs those actions which eventuate in evil as truly as He does those which terminate in good. Not only all events, but all persons, and their every action, are under the immediate control of the Most High. "For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are, all things; to whom be glory forever." (Rom. 11:36). Yet this neither makes God the "Author of sin" nor man an irresponsible creature: God is holy in all His ways, and man is accountable for all his actions. Whether or not we perceive the "consistency" of them, each of these basic truths must be held fast by us; nor must one be so maintained that the other is virtually negatived. Some will argue, If God has foreordained our every action, then we are no better than machines; others insist, If man is a free agent, his actions cannot be directed by God. But Holy Writ exposes the vanity of such reasonings: so far as David knew it was a voluntary act on his part when he decided to leave ten of his concubines in the house, nevertheless he was divinely 65
- 66. "constrained" in itfor the accomplishment of God’s purpose. "And the king went forth, and all the people after him, and tarried in a place that was far off. And all his servants passed on beside him; and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six hundred men which came after him from Gath, passed on before the king" (vv. 17, 18). No "fair weather friends" were these. They had enjoyed with him the calm, they would not desert him in the storm; they had shared the privileges of Jerusalem, they would not abandon him now that he had become a fugitive and outcast. It is striking to note that while Absalom "stole the hearts of the men of Israel," all the Cherethites, Pelethites, and Gittites remained steadfast to David—a foreshadowment of Christ, for whereas the Jewish nation despised and rejected Him, yet God’s elect among the Gentiles have not been ashamed to be His followers. 14 Then David said to all his officials who were with him in Jerusalem, "Come! We must flee, or none of us will escape from Absalom. We must leave immediately, or he will move quickly to overtake us and bring ruin upon us and put the city to the sword." BARNES, "And smite the city - David’s kind nature induced him to spare Jerusalem the horrors of a siege, and the risk of being taken by assault. He had no standing army with which to resist this sudden attack from so unexpected a quarter. Possibly too he remembered Nathan’s prophecy 2Sa_12:10-12. CLARKE, "David said - Arise - let us flee - This, I believe, was the first time that David turned his back to his enemies. And why did he now flee? Jerusalem, far from not being in a state to sustain a siege, was so strong that even the blind and the lame were supposed to be a sufficient defense for the walls, see 2Sa_5:6. And he had still with him his faithful Cherethites and Pelethites; besides six hundred faithful Gittites, who were perfectly willing to follow his fortunes. There does not appear any reason why such a person, in such circumstances, should not act on the defensive; at least till he should be fully satisfied of the real complexion of affairs. But he appears to take all as coming from the hand of God; therefore he humbles himself, weeps, goes barefoot, and covers his head! He does not even hasten his departure, for the habit of mourners is not the habit of those who are flying before the face of their enemies. He sees the storm, and he yields to what he conceives to be the tempest of the Almighty. 66
- 67. GILL, "And Davidsaid unto all his servants that were with him at Jerusalem,.... His courtiers and ministers of state, the officers of his household, as many of them as were with him in the city; for some of them very probably were in the country, as Ahithophel was, and some might be along with Absalom, whom he had invited to his peace offerings: arise, and let us flee; it is much that a man of such courage and valour as David should be so intimidated at once as to make a flight as soon as he heard of a conspiracy forming against him: for we shall not else escape from Absalom; his fears ran so high, that he fancied he would be upon them presently: make speed to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly; which still more clearly shows the panic he was in: and bring evil upon us; kill them, or make them prisoners: and smite the city with the edge of the sword; the inhabitants of it, should they make resistance. HENRY, "II. The alarm this gave to David, and the resolutions he came to thereupon. We may well imagine him in a manner thunderstruck, when he heard that the son he loved so dearly, and had been so indulgent to, was so unnaturally and ungratefully in arms against him. Well might he say with Caesar, Kai su teknon - What, thou my son? Let not parents raise their hopes too high from their children, lest they be disappointed. David did not call a council, but, consulting only with God and his own heart, determined immediately to quit Jerusalem, 2Sa_15:14. He took up this strange resolve, so disagreeable to his character as a man of courage, either, 1. As a penitent, submitting to the rod, and lying down under God's correcting hand. Conscience now reminded him of his sin in the matter of Uriah, and the sentence he was under for it, which was that evil should arise against him out of his own house. “Now,” thinks he, “the word of God begins to be fulfilled, and it is not for me to contend with it or fight against it; God is righteous and I submit.” Before unrighteous Absalom he could justify himself and stand it out; but before the righteous God he must condemn himself and yield to his judgments. Thus he accepts the punishment of his iniquity. Or, 2. As a politician. Jerusalem was a great city, but not tenable; it should seem, by David's prayer (Psa_51:18), that the walls of it were not built up, much less was it regularly fortified. It was too large to be garrisoned by so small a force as David had now with him, He had reason to fear that the generality of the inhabitants were too well affected to Absalom to be true to him. Should he fortify himself here, he might lose the country, in which, especially among those that lay furthest from Absalom's tampering, he hoped to have the most friends. And he had such a kindness for Jerusalem that he was loth to make it the seat of war, and expose it to the calamities of a siege; he will rather quit it tamely to the rebels. Note, Good men, when they suffer themselves, care not how few are involved with them in suffering. JAMISON, "David said ... Arise, and let us flee — David, anxious for the preservation of the city which he had beautified, and hopeful of a greater support 67
- 68. throughout the country,wisely resolved on leaving Jerusalem. BENSON, "2 Samuel 15:14. David said, Arise, and let us flee — As soon as he had received information of what had passed, he saw the danger was instant, and took his measures accordingly. He knew Absalom would lose no time to accomplish his design, and that the nature of it required him to strike home at once. David therefore orders his servants, soldiery, and friends, to depart from Jerusalem immediately. For, though the fort of Zion was strong, and he might have defended himself there for some time, yet he had not laid in provisions for a long siege; and, if he had been once besieged there, Absalom would have got speedy possession of his whole kingdom, whereas, if he marched abroad, he might raise a considerable army for his defence. Besides, the greatest part of Jerusalem could not be well defended against an enemy. And if it could, “he did not care to expose a favourite city, built by himself, and the residence of the tabernacle of God, to all the evils incident to sieges, and almost inseparable from them. Nor, perhaps, did he incline to trust the inhabitants of a place so long exposed to the taint of Absalom’s temptations.” This, some think, appears from the 55th Psalm, which, they suppose, was meditated and poured out in prayer to God upon the discovery of Absalom’s conspiracy. And from thence it is evident that he had discerned the seeds and workings of a conspiracy in the city, and that Ahithophel was at the bottom of it: and not only so, but that David foresaw his sudden and sad end. — Delaney. For we shall not else escape from Absalom — He was well acquainted with the young man’s impetuosity, and the madness of the people, and therefore judged that the only method to be pursued, in order to safety, was to give way to the fury of the flood, and not attempt to stem it in the fulness of its overflowing. LANGE, "2 Samuel 15:14. Up! let us flee. David’s immediate flight is to be explained (according to the reason that he himself here gives) by the fact that seized not with momentary fear (Thenius), but doubtless with sudden terror at the unexpected revolution, he yet sees that the fulfilment of Nathan’s prophecy of approaching “misfortune” (12:10, 11) is now beginning, that the punishment cannot be warded off, and that to stay in Jerusalem will only occasion a storming of the city with much bloodshed, which he wishes to avoid. “Against an insurrection so vigorous, and yet so thoroughly groundless and unintelligible, the best defence was to withdraw quietly and try to gain time; the first fright happily gotten over, sober thought would soon return in many places” (Ewald). [How far Jerusalem was now in condition to stand a siege (Zion was probably fortified), or whether David had a well-organized standing army, and how much of the army Absalom carried off, we do not know; David’s forces seem not to have received any important addition after he left the city. Two reasons for leaving Jerusalem would be: to spare the city the horrors of a siege, and to gain the advantage of his military skill and of the discipline of his tried warriors in the open country.— Tr.]—[ 2 Samuel 15:15. David’s servants (soldiers) declare themselves ready to obey his commands—a comfortable faithfulness in the midst of general defection.—Tr.] 68
- 69. COFFMAN 14-18, ""Lesthe ... smite the city with the edge of the sword" (2 Samuel 15:14). Some have criticized David's forsaking Jerusalem; but, in all probability, it was precisely that maneuver that saved his life and his throne. If Absalom had promptly surrounded Jerusalem, David would have been trapped and eventually defeated; but in the open country Absalom had nothing that could stand against David and his men of war. "The fact that David's loyal followers did not question his decision to leave Jerusalem indicates that his decision was not based upon cowardice but upon the cold calculations of an experienced military specialist."[15] Besides that, David loved Jerusalem and did not wish to see it subjected to the horrors of a siege. Also, Caird suggested that, "David must have been afraid of treachery from within Jerusalem."[16] In the terrible sorrows of this rebellion, David's character as "a man after God's own heart" is once more manifest, especially in the beautiful, heart-moving Psalms which he wrote during these hours of shame and grief. "The six hundred Gittites" (2 Samuel 15:18). Some have questioned the identity of these; but Keil stated that, "It is dear enough that these are the six hundred old companions in arms of David who gathered around him during the days of his flight from Saul, who emigrated with him to Gath, and later to Ziklag."[17] These were the skilled soldiers who were capable of defeating an army ten times their size. "Such seasoned troops would find Absalom's levies an easy prey."[18] As a matter of fact, when it finally came down to fighting, Absalom lost tens of thousands of his troops. "Passed on before the king" (2 Samuel 15:18). "This refers to their crossing the brook Kidron east of Jerusalem."[19] PETT, "2 Samuel 15:14 ‘And David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, “Arise, and let us flee, for otherwise none of us will escape from Absalom. Make haste to depart, lest he overtake us quickly, and bring down evil on us, and smite the city with the edge of the sword.” ’ On receipt of this news David recognised that his wisest course would be to leave Jerusalem, where he could have become entrapped by the arrival of Absalom’s forces, and move immediately into an area over the Jordan which had not been so affected by Absalom’s propaganda. From there he could then begin to organise his own counter measures. Transjordan was regularly the place of refuge for those who fled the central part of Israel, for the Transjordanians were, to some extent at least, a unit in themselves and historically their loyalty was not so tied in with the tribes on the western side of the Jordan. To quite a large extent they saw themselves as having their own agenda. And they would have been delighted at the thought that Mahanaim was being recognised once 69
- 70. more as aroyal city. David’s departure would also save Jerusalem from being taken before the defences could be properly and efficiently organised, something which would be accompanied by great slaughter, or alternatively from suffering the effects of a prolonged siege, with all the consequences that would then follow if the siege was successful. He could also not be sure quite how many in Jerusalem might be supporting Absalom. 15 The king's officials answered him, "Your servants are ready to do whatever our lord the king chooses." GILL, "And the king's servants said unto the king,.... In answer to him, and to show that they were quite conformable to his pleasure: behold, thy servants are ready to do whatsoever my lord the king shalt appoint; or "choose" (k), whether to prepare to fight, and defend him and the city, or to depart and make their escape. HENRY, "III. His hasty flight from Jerusalem. His servants agreed to the measures he took, faithfully adhered to him (2Sa_15:15), and assured him of their inviolable allegiance, whereupon, 1. He went out of Jerusalem himself on foot, while his son Absalom had chariots and horses. It is not always the best man, nor the best cause, that makes the best figure. See here, not only the servant, but the traitor, on horseback, while the prince, the rightful prince, walks as a servant upon the earth, Ecc_10:7. Thus he chose to do, to abase himself so much the more under God's hand, and in condescension to his friends and followers, with whom he would walk, in token that he would live and die with them. 2. He took his household with him, his wives and children, that he might protect them in this day of danger, and that they might be a comfort to him in this day of grief. Masters of families, in their greatest frights, must not neglect their households. Ten women, that were concubines, he left behind, to keep the house, thinking that the weakness of their sex would secure them from murder, and their age and relation to him would secure them from rape; but God overruled this for the fulfilling of his word. 3. He took his life-guard with him, or band of pensioners, the Cherethites and Pelethites, who were under the command of Benaiah, and the Gittites, who were under the command of Ittai, 2Sa_15:18. These Gittites seem to have been, by birth, Philistines of Gath, who came, a regiment of them, 600 in all, to enter themselves in David's service, having known him at Gath, and being greatly in love with him for his virtue and piety, and having embraced the Jews' religion. David made them of his garde du corps - his body-guard, and they adhered to him in his distress. The Son of David found not such great faith in Israel as in a Roman centurion and a woman of Canaan. HAWKER, "Verses 15-18 70
- 71. (15) And theking's servants said unto the king, Behold, thy servants are ready to do whatsoever my lord the king shall appoint. (16) And the king went forth, and all his household after him. And the king left ten women, which were concubines, to keep the house. (17) And the king went forth, and all the people after him, and tarried in a place that was far off. (18) And all his servants passed on beside him; and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six hundred men which came after him from Gath, passed on before the king. No doubt, in this flight, David's mind was much occupied in a variety of thoughts. It is much, however, that we hear nothing of his presenting himself in this distress before the Lord; in seeking counsel and protection. PETT, "2 Samuel 15:15 ‘And the king’s servants said to the king, “Look, your servants are ready to do whatever my lord the king shall choose.” ’ All his courtiers and commanders declared that they would acquiesce in whatever David decided was best. They clearly had full confidence in his ability to escape from the net that was drawing in around him, and were ready to trust his experience. He was after all the most outstanding general that Israel had ever had, and furthermore had under his command a fighting force which though small, was of massive experience and military efficiency. MACLAREN, "A LOYAL VOW We stand here at the darkest hour of King David’s life. Bowed down by the consciousness of his past sin, and recognising in the rebellion of his favourite son the divine chastisement, his early courage and buoyant daring seem to have ebbed from him wholly. He is forsaken by the mass of his subjects, he is preparing to abandon Jerusalem, and to flee as an exile, as he says himself so pathetically, ‘whither I may.’ And at that moment of deepest depression there comes one little gleam of consolation and one piece of chivalrous devotion which brightens the whole story. His special retainers, apparently a bodyguard mostly of foreigners, rally round him. Mostly foreigners, I say, for these hard words ‘Cherethites and Pelethites’ most probably mean inhabitants of the island of Crete, and Philistines. And as to six hundred of them, at all events, there can be no doubt, for they are expressly said to be ‘men of Gath who followed after him.’ At all events, there was a little nucleus of men, not his own subjects, who determined to share his fate, whatever it was. And the words of my text are their words, ‘Behold, thy servants are ready to do whatsoever the king shall appoint.’ Or, as the word stands in the original, in an abrupt, half- finished sentence, even more pathetic, ‘According to all that my lord the king shall appoint, behold thy servants.’ These men were foreigners, not bound to render obedience to the king, but giving it because their hearts were touched. They were loyal amongst rebels, so many Abdiels, ‘among the faithless, faithful only’ these, and they avowed their determination to cleave to the sovereign of their choice at a time when his back was at the wall, and their determination to follow him meant only peril and privation. They were filled with a passionate personal attachment to the king, and that personal attachment was ready to manifest itself as a willing sacrifice, as such love always is ready. 71
- 72. Now surely inall this there is a lesson for us. The heroism of men towards a man, the uncalculating devotion and magnificent self-sacrifice of which the poorest human soul is capable when touched to fine issues by some heart-love, are surely not all meant to be lavished on fellow-creatures, who, alas! generally receive the most of them. But these rude Philistines and Gittites, Goliath’s fellow-townsmen, may preach to us Christians a lesson. Why should not we say as they said, ‘According to all that my Lord the King shall appoint, behold Thy servants’? I. So then, first, our King’s will ought to be our will. The obedience that is promised in these words is not the obedience of action only, but it is the bowing down of the heart. And for us Christian men there is neither peace nor nobleness in our lives, except in the measure in which the will of Jesus Christ and our wills are accurately conterminous and identical. Wheresoever the two coincide, there is strength for us; wheresoever they diverge, there are weakness and certain ruin. These two wills ought to be like two of Euclid’s triangles, or other geometric figures, the one laid upon the other, and each line and curve and angle accurately corresponding and coinciding, so that the two cover precisely the same ground. Christ’s will my will; that is religion. And you and I are Christians just in the measure in which that coincidence of wills is true about us, and not one hair’s-breadth further, for all our professions. Wheresoever my will diverges from Christ, in that particular I am not His man; and ‘Christian’ simply means ‘Christ’s man.’ I belong to Him when I think as He does, love as He does, will as He does, accept His commandment as the law of my life, His pattern as my example, His providence as sufficient and as good. Where we thus yield ourselves to Him, there we are strong, and so far, and only so far, have we a right to say that we are the King’s servants at all. This absolute submission we do render to one another when our hearts are touched; and the fact that men can and do give it-husbands to wives, wives to husbands, children to parents, friends to one another- the fact that there is the capacity for that giving of one’s self away, lodged deep in our nature, tells us what we are meant to do with it. ‘Whose image and superscription hath it?’ Was it meant that we should thus live in slavish submission even to the dearest loved ones? Surely not; for that is the destruction of individuality. No, but it was meant that we should lay our wills down at Christ’s feet and say, ‘Not my will, but Thine,’ and Thine mine because I have made it mine by love. Then there is rest, and then we have solved the secret of the world, and are what our Lord would have us to be. Oh! do not our relations to our dear ones, with all that infinite power of self-sacrifice that our love brings with it, rebuke the partial extent of our surrender to our Master? and may we not be ashamed when we contrast the joy that we feel in giving up to those that we love, and the reluctance with which, too often, we obey the Master’s commandments, and the long years of repining and murmuring before we ‘submit,’ as we call it, which too often means accept His providences as inevitable, though not as welcome? To be ‘ready to do whatsoever my Lord the King shall choose,’ believing that His choice is wisdom and kindness for us, and His commandments a blessing and a gift, is the attitude and temper for us all. Is there any other attitude to Jesus Christ which corresponds to our relation to Him, to what He has done for us, to what we say that He is to us? He has the right to us, because He has given us Himself. He asks nothing from us but that of which He has already set us the example. ‘He gave Himself for us, as the Apostle says with emphasis that is often unnoticed. ‘He gave Himself for us’ that He might ‘purchase us for Himself.’ He who would possess another must impart Himself, and love, that yields a whole man to the loved one, only springs when the loved one mutually yields her whole heart. The King does not command from above, but He comes down amongst us, and He says, ‘I gave Myself for thee; what givest thou to 72
- 73. Me?’ O brethren,let us answer with that brave, chivalrous old Gittite:-’As the Lord liveth, and as my Lord the King liveth, surely in what place my Lord the King shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will Thy servant be.’ II. Then notice again, still sticking to our story, that this yielding up of will, if it is worth anything, will become the more intense and fervent when surrounded by rebels. All Israel, with that poor feather-headed, vain Absalom, were on the one side, and David and these foreigners were on the other. Years of quiet uneventful life would never have brought out such magnificent heroism of devotion and self-surrender, as was crowded into that one moment of loyalty asserted in the face of triumphant rebels and traitors. In like manner, the more Christ’s reign is set at nought by the people about us, and the less they recognise the blessedness and the duty of submission to Him, the more strong and unmistakable should be the utterance of our loyalty. We should grasp His hand tighter by reason of the storms that may rage round about us. And if we dwell amongst those who, in any measure, deny or neglect His merciful dominion, let us see to it that we all the more hoist our colours at our doors, and stand by them when they are hoisted, that nobody may mistake under which King we serve. You in your places of business, you young men in your warehouses, and all of us in our several spheres, have to come across many people who have no share in our loyalty and offer no allegiance to our King. That is the reason for intenser loyalty on our part. Never you mind what others say or do; do not take your orders from them. Better be with the handful that rally round David than with the crowds that run after Absalom! Better be amongst the few that are faithful than amongst the multitudes that depart! Dare to be singular, if it comes to that; and at all events remember that your relationship to your Master is a thing that concerns Him and you chiefly, and that you are not to take the pattern of your loyalty, nor the orders for your lives, from any lips but His own. Hush all other voices that would command, and hush them that you may listen to Him. It is always difficult enough for Christian men to ascertain, in perplexed circumstances, the clear path of duty; but it is impossible if, along with His voice, we let the buzz of the crowd be audible in our ears. There is only one way by which we can hear what our ‘Lord the King appoints,’ and that is by making a great stillness in our souls, and neither letting our own yelping inclinations give tongue, nor the babble of men round us, and their notions of life and of what is right, have influence upon us, but waiting to hear what God the Lord, speaking in Christ the King, has to say to us. And, remember, the more rebels there are, the more need for us to be conspicuously loyal to our King. III. Again, this complete yielding of ourselves in practical obedience and heart submission to command merits and providences is to be maintained, whatsoever it may lead to in the way of privation and difficulty. It was no holiday vow, made upon some parade day, that these brave foreigners were bringing to their king now, but it meant ‘we are ready to suffer, starve, fight, lose everything, die if need be, to be true to thee.’ And the very thought of the impending danger elevated the men’s consciousness, and made heroes out of very common people. And perhaps that is the best effect of our difficulties and sorrows, that they strike fire sometimes (if they are rightly accepted and used) out of what seems to be only dead, lumpish matter, and many a Christian shoots up into a stature of greatness and nobleness in his sorrow, who was but a very commonplace creature when all things went well with him. That is the kind of obedience that Christ delights 73
- 74. to accept, obediencethat is ready for anything, and does not wait to make sure that there is no danger of forfeiting a whole skin and a quiet life, before it vows itself to service. Are we only to be ‘fair-weather Christians,’ or are we to be prepared for all the trials and sufferings that may befall us? A Christianity that does not bring any worldly penalties along with it is not worth much. Christians of Christ’s pattern have generally to give up something for their Christianity. They give up nothing that it is not gain to lose, nothing that they are not better without, but they have to surrender much in which other people find great enjoyment, and which their weaker selves would delight in too. Are you ready, my brother, for that? ‘Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.’ The old days of heroism and martyrdom are done with, as far as we are concerned, whatever may lie in the future. But do we make willingly and gladly the surrenders and the self-abnegations that are demanded by our loyalty to our Master? Have we ever learned to say about any line of action that our poor, lower nature grasps at, and our higher, enlightened by communion with Jesus Christ, forbids: ‘So did not I because of the fear of the Lord’? We can talk about following Christ’s footsteps; do you think that if we had stood where these rude soldiers stood, or had anything as dark in prospect, as the price of our faithfulness to our King, as they had as the price of faithfulness to theirs, there would have rung from our lips the utterly sincere vow that sprang joyously from theirs: ‘Behold Thy servants, ready to do whatever our Lord the King shall appoint’? IV. A final thought, which travels beyond my text, is that such thorough-going obedience, irrespective of consequences, is the secret of all blessedness. ‘Great peace have they which love Thy law’: the peace of conscience; the peace of ceasing from that which is our worst enemy, self-will; the peace of self-surrender; the peace of feeling ‘‘Tis His to command; ‘tis mine to obey’; the peace of casting the whole settling of the campaign on the King’s shoulders, and of finding our duty restricted to tramping along with cheery heart on the path that He has appointed. That is worth having. Oh! if we could cease from self and lay our wills down before Him, then we should be quiet. The tranquil heart is the heart which has the law of Christ within it, and the true delight of life belongs to those who truly say, ‘I delight to do Thy will.’ So yielding, so obeying, so submitting, so surrendering one’s self, life becomes quiet, and strong, and sweet. And, if I might so turn the story that we have been considering, the faithful soldiers who have been true to the King when His throne was contested, will march with laurelled heads in His triumphant train when He comes back after His final and complete victory, and reign with Him in the true City of Peace, where His will shall be perfectly done by loving hearts, and all His servants shall be kings. 16 The king set out, with his entire household following him; but he left ten concubines to take care of the palace. GILL, "And the king went forth,.... Which determined the case: 74
- 75. and all hishousehold after him family and his court; they followed his example, and attended him in his flight: and the king left ten women, which were concubines, to keep the house; not to defend it, which they were unable to do, but to look after the household goods and furniture, that they were not damaged by the conspirators; though one would think they could be of little service, and may wonder what he should leave them behind for; but this seems to be ordered by the overruling providence of God, to bring about what was threatened him, 2Sa_12:11; and it is much he had not thought of it; but it was hid from his eyes, that it might be fulfilled. BENSON, "2 Samuel 15:16. The king went forth, and all his household after him — Or, as the Hebrew, ,ברגליו berag-laiv, rather means, on foot: which the king probably chose to do, that he might humble himself under the hand of God; might encourage his adherents in this hard and comfortless march; and might move compassion in his people toward him. The king left ten women — Supposing that their sex and quality, and especially their relation to him, being his concubines, would be a sufficient protection to them, and gain them some respect, or, at least, safety from his son. What became of his wives is not here related; but it is probable they went along with him, to take care of him; as the other women were left to take care of the house. PETT, "2 Samuel 15:16 ‘And the king went forth, and all his household after him. And the king left ten women, who were concubines, to keep the house.’ So the king departed with all his household, including his wives and children and most of his concubines, and all the palace officers and servants, leaving behind a handful of concubines (‘ten’ often means ‘a number of’) to look after the needs of the palace. His hope was that Absalom would see no need to ill-treat his concubines. He should perhaps have foreseen what Ahithophel would advise Absalom to do, make use of the concubines for propaganda purposes by making love to them, but he seemingly either did not think of it, or did not consider that it mattered. There is no suggestion, however, that they were treated cruelly. Having to lie with ‘the king’ would simply have been seen as a reasonable part of their duties. 17 So the king set out, with all the people following him, and they halted at a place some distance away. 75
- 76. CLARKE, "And tarriedin a place - He probably waited till he saw all his friends safely out of the city. GILL, "And the king went forth,.... From Jerusalem; which is repeated, that it might be observed in what a hurry and fright he was: and all the people after him; his family, court, and servants, and as many of the people of Jerusalem as chose to go with him: and tarried at a place that was afar off; when they had got at some distance from the city, they stopped and stayed a while; it could not be a great way from it, for they had not as yet passed over the brook Kidron, 2Sa_15:23. HENRY 17-18, "3. He took his life-guard with him, or band of pensioners, the Cherethites and Pelethites, who were under the command of Benaiah, and the Gittites, who were under the command of Ittai, 2Sa_15:18. These Gittites seem to have been, by birth, Philistines of Gath, who came, a regiment of them, 600 in all, to enter themselves in David's service, having known him at Gath, and being greatly in love with him for his virtue and piety, and having embraced the Jews' religion. David made them of his garde du corps - his body-guard, and they adhered to him in his distress. The Son of David found not such great faith in Israel as in a Roman centurion and a woman of Canaan. 4. As many as would, of the people of Jerusalem, he took with him, and made a halt at some distance from the city, to draw them up, 2Sa_15:17. He compelled none. Those whose hearts were with Absalom, to Absalom let them go, and so shall their doom be: they will soon have enough of him. Christ enlists none but volunteers. K&D, "When outside the city the king and all the people in his suite (i.e., the royal family and their servants) halted at “the house of the distance.” ק ָח ְר ֶ ַה is probably a proper name given to a house in the neighbourhood of the city and on the road to Jericho, which was called “the farthest house,” viz., from the city. BENSON, "2 Samuel 15:17-18, The king went forth, and all the people after him — That is, all those of Jerusalem who were well affected to him. And tarried in a place that was far off — At a good distance from the city, where, it is likely, he put the people, that had come out in a confused state, into good order, and waited to see what other friends would join him. And all his servants passed on beside him — His household servants, or body-guards, marched probably on both hands of him. And all the Gittites, six hundred men — These marched in the front of his little army; but who they were it is hard to say; for we read nothing of them before. Some take them to have been proselytes, born in Gath of the Philistines, and think they came with Ittai to David, being attracted by the fame of his piety and happy success. Others take them to have been Jews, who had fled to David in his exile, when he was at Gath, and accompanied him ever after, not only in the time of Saul’s persecution, but after he came to the crown of 76
- 77. Israel and Judah. LANGE,"2 Samuel 15:17. “All the people,” all persons attached to the court, including the numerous body of servants = “the whole household” ( 2 Samuel 15:16). They halted at “the farthest (or far) house” [Eng. A. V.: “a place that was far off”] on the road to Mount Olivet, but this side the Kidron. So the German phrase “the last cent” (der letzte Heller) used as a proper name to designate a farm lying at the extremity of a region. Probably this designation had already become a proper name among the people. [Bib. Com.: “very likely a fort guarding the passage of the Kidron.” Others write: Beth-merhak.—Tr.] PETT, "2 Samuel 15:17 ‘And the king went forth, and all the people after him, and they tarried in Beth- merhak.’ The king not only went forth with his household, but also with ‘all the people’, that means, of course, all his followers in Jerusalem, not stopping until they came to Beth-hermack (‘the house of the distances’) where they organised themselves and regrouped. Beth-hermack may have been the name given to the last house in the environs of greater Jerusalem which was seen as indicating its boundary. It would be the natural place to wait for all who wanted to join them in their flight as they arrived from different parts of the city and the countryside round about. 18 All his men marched past him, along with all the Kerethites and Pelethites; and all the six hundred Gittites who had accompanied him from Gath marched before the king. BARNES, "Passed on - Rather, “crossed” the Brook Kidron, as in 2Sa_15:22-23. Gittites - During David’s residence in the country of the Philistines he attached such a band to himself; and after the settlement of his kingdom, and the subjugation of the Philistines, the band received recruits from Gath, perhaps with the king of Gath’s consent. They were now under the command of Ittai the Gittite, a foreigner 2Sa_15:19, and “his brethren” 2Sa_15:20. The number 600 probably indicates that this band or regiment of Gittites had its origin in David’s band of 600 1Sa_23:13; 1Sa_27:2. They were at first, it is likely, all Israelites, then Gittites mixed with Israelites, and at last all Gittites. 77
- 78. GILL, "And allhis servants passed on beside him,.... Or at his hand or side; his household servants walking perhaps some on one side of him, and some on the other, see 2Sa_16:6, and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites; which were his bodyguards, see 2Sa_8:18, and all the Gittites, six hundred men which came after him from Gath; which either came with him from Gath, when he conquered that city, and took it out of the hands of the Philistines, 2Sa_8:1; compared with 1Ch_18:1; and who might become proselytes, and be incorporated into the commonwealth of Israel, and into David's army, a troop of men, of which Ittai, after mentioned, was captain, 2Sa_ 15:22; or else these were Israelites, so called, because with David they sojourned in Gath a while, when he fled from Saul; and so Josephus (l) says, they were companions of him in his first flight, when Saul was living; and this number is just the number of the men that were with him at Gath, 1Sa_27:2; and it may be David kept a troop of men always of the same number, to whom he gave this name in memory of them, having been a set of trusty and faithful men to him: these, with the Cherethites and Pelethites: passed on before the king: in this form and manner David and his men marched in their flight. JAMISON, "all the Gittites, six hundred men — These were a body of foreign guards, natives of Gath, whom David, when in the country of the Philistines, had enlisted in his service, and kept around his person. Addressing their commander, Ittai, he made a searching trial of their fidelity in bidding them (2Sa_15:19) abide with the new king. K&D, "And all his servants, i.e., his state officers and attendants, went along by his side, and the whole body-guard (the Crethi and Plethi: see at 2Sa_8:18); and all the Gathites, namely the six hundred men who had come in his train from Gath, went along in front of the king. David directed the fugitives to all into rank, the servants going by his side, and the body-guard and the six hundred old companions in arms, who probably also formed a kind of body-guard, marching in front. The verb ר ַב ָע (passed on) cannot be understood as signifying to file past on account of its connection with ּודָל־י ַע (beside him, or by his side). The expression Gittim is strange, as we cannot possibly think of actual Gathites or Philistines from Gath. The apposition (the six hundred men, etc.) shows clearly enough that the six hundred old companions in arms are intended, the men who gathered round David on his flight from Saul and emigrated with him to Gath (1Sa_27:2-3), who afterwards lived with him in Ziklag (1Sa_27:8; 1Sa_29:2; 1Sa_30:1, 1Sa_30:9), and eventually followed him to Hebron and Jerusalem (2Sa_2:3; 2Sa_5:6). In all probability they formed a separate company of well-tried veterans or a kind of body-guard in Jerusalem, and were commonly known as Gathites. (Note: The Septuagint also has πάντες οᅷ Γεθαሏοι, and has generally rendered the Masoretic text correctly. But יו ָד ָב ֲל־ע ָⅴ has been translated incorrectly, or at all events in a manner likely to mislead, viz., πάντες οᅷ παሏδες αᆒτοሞ. But in the Septuagint text, as it has come down to us, another paraphrase has been 78
- 79. interpolated into theliteral translation, which Thenius would adopt as an emendation of the Hebrew text, notwithstanding the fact that the critical corruptness of the Alexandrian text must be obvious to every one.) PETT, "2 Samuel 15:18 ‘And all his servants passed on beside him, and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six hundred men who came after him from Gath, passed on before the king.’ David was not only accompanied by his own large household, but also by all his loyal courtiers and by his equally loyal bodyguard (‘his men’). This bodyguard included the highly effective Cherethites and Pelethites (see on 2 Samuel 8:18), possibly already under Benaiah’s command, who were both highly skilled and very experienced warriors. In view of the reference to ‘the six hundred’ (compare 1 Samuel 27:2 and often) ‘all the Gittites’ would appear simply to have been repeating the idea of the Cherethites and Pelethites (‘all the Cherethites and all the Pelethites, even all the Gittites’), called Gittites because they had been with David in Gath. These formed six military units. Whichever way we take the description they were not the kind of men you would wish to suddenly come up against in the mountains, something of which Absalom would be well aware. That was why he would choose the pathway of caution which guaranteed his downfall. Absalom may have had the numbers, but he knew perfectly well that David had the quality. PINK, The second half of 2 Samuel 15 displays a striking blending of lights and shadows: in David’s darkest hour we not only see the shining forth of some of his own loveliest virtues, but we also behold his friends and followers at their best. It is the way of our gracious God to temper our severest crosses by mingling comforts with them. David’s favorite son and his chief counsellor had both turned traitors against him, but the loyalty of part of his army, the faithfulness of the Levites, the sympathy expressed by those of the common people who witnessed his distress, afforded some real consolation to his stricken heart. In times of deep distress and seasons of sore despondency we are apt to imagine that our enemies are more numerous than is actually the case, and that we have fewer friends than is really so; but David was now to discover that a goodly number were prepared to cleave to him at all costs. It is not so much from the natural (though even here there is much that is praiseworthy) as the spiritual viewpoint that our passage needs to be pondered. The key to it lies in the state of David’s heart at this time. He is to be viewed as the penitent soul, as one who realized that in justice he was being afflicted. He knew that his sin had found him out, that he was being lovingly yet righteously chastised for the same. He was filled with godly sorrow and mourned before Him whose Name had been so dishonored by him. He humbly bows to God’s rod and submissively receives its stroke. In this spirit he would be alone in his trouble, for he alone had sinned and provoked Jehovah: therefore does he counsel the Gittites to leave him. In the same lowly spirit he sends the ark—the symbol of Jehovah’s manifested presence—back to Jerusalem: it was his chief joy, and that he felt he was not now entitled to taste. But we will not generalize any further upon our passage, but consider its details. 79
- 80. "Then said theking to Ittai the Gittite. Wherefore goest thou also with us? return to thy place, and abide with the king (Absalom, who now usurped the throne): for thou art a stranger, and also an exile. Whereas thou camest but yesterday, should I this day make thee go up and down with us? seeing I go hither I may, return thou, and take back thy brethren: mercy and truth be with thee" (2 Sam. 15:19, 20). What a lovely spirit did the king here evidence: in the midst of his own deep trouble, his thought and concern was for those about him, desiring them to escape the hardships and peril which now lay before him. What a gracious example for us to heed in this selfish age—that even in our sorest trials we must not impose upon those who are kind to us and load them with our troubles. "For every man shall bear his own burden" (Gal. 6:5). It would appear that Ittai was the leader of the six hundred Gittites (v. 18). They had thrown in their lot with David while he sojourned in Gath of the Philistines, and followed him when he returned to the land of Israel: either because they believed that Philistia was doomed or, more likely, because they were attracted by David himself. They were now among the king’s most faithful attendants, having accompanied him as he fled from the royal city. They would be a most useful bodyguard for him at this time, but in his noble generosity and tender compassion David desired to spare them the inconveniences and dangers which were now his portion. How this makes us think of David’s Son and Lord, who, probably, at this identical place, said to those who had come to arrest Him, "If therefore ye seek Me, let these go their way" (John 18:8). The Antitype should ever be in mind as we read the Old Testament Scriptures. "And Ittai answered the king, and said, As the Lord liveth, and my lord the king liveth, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in life or death, even there also will thy servant be" (v. 21). David desired to dismiss them, but their attachment to him and his cause was much stronger than that of many of the Israelites. Most blessed and striking is this, for David had nothing to offer them now save fellowship with him in his rejection and sufferings; yet they valued his companionship so highly that they refused to leave their stricken leader. Spiritually, that love of the brethren which is the fruit of the Spirit of Christ, when it is healthy and vigorous, will not be deterred through tears of hardship or danger, but will stand by and render assistance to those in affliction. Antitypically, this verse teaches us that we should cleave faithfully to Christ no matter how low His cause in the world may be. "And David said to Ittai, Go and pass over. And Ittai the Gittite passed over, and all his men, and all the little ones that were with him" (v. 22). Such devotion as had been displayed by these loyal followers must have touched the king’s heart, the more so as it proceeded from those who were of a heathen stock. From Ittai’s words, "as the Lord liveth" (v. 21), it would seem that they were influenced by David’s religion as well as his person; and assuredly he would not have kept them so near him, or have said "mercy and truth be with thee" (v. 20), unless they had definitely renounced all idolatry. There is a seeming ambiguity in his words here "go and pass over," yet this disappears in the light of the next verse: it was the Kidron they crossed—thus they were given the place of chief honor, taking the lead and heading David’s present company! "And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over" (v. 80
- 81. 23). Though themultitude favored Absalom, yet there were many who sympathized with David. It must indeed have been a hard heart which remained unmoved by such an affecting sight: the aged king forsaking his palace, with but a small retinue, fleeing from his own son, now seeking shelter in the wilderness! They had been less than human if they grieved not for poor David. And let it be duly noted that the Spirit has recorded their weeping, for God is not unmindful of genuine tears, either of personal repentance or pity for others. This mention of their weeping plainly teaches that we should feel deeply for those parents who are abused or ruined by their children. "The king also himself passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over, toward the way of the wilderness" (v. 23). This manifestly foreshadowed one of the most bitter episodes in our Lord’s passion. Not only is this same brook actually mentioned in John 18:1—the slight difference in spelling being due to the change from the Hebrew to Greek—but there are too many points of analogy between David’s and Christ’s crossing of it to miss the merging of the type into the antitype. But before tracing these striking resemblances, let us—as its solemn historical interest requires—make a few remarks upon the brook itself. Significantly enough "Kidron," or to use the more familiar spelling of John 18:1 "Cedron," signifies "black." It was aptly named, for it was a dark rivulet which ran through the gloomy valley of Moriah, which Josephus tells us was on the east side of Jerusalem. It lay between the bases of the temple hill and the mount of Olivet. Into this brook was continually emptied the sewage of the city, as well as the filth from the temple sacrifices for sin. This was the "unclean place without the city" (Lev. 14:40, 45), where the excrements of the offerings were deposited and carried away by the waters of this brook. In a figure it was the sins and iniquities of the people which were being washed away from before God’s face— from the temple, where He dwelt in Israel’s midst. It is interesting to note there are other references to "Kidron" in the Old Testament, and what is recorded in connection therewith is in striking and solemn harmony with what we have just pointed out above. This brook not only (later) received the filth of the city and the refuse from the temple, but into its foul waters the godly kings of Judah cast the ashes of the idols they had destroyed: see 2 Chronicles 15:16; 30:14; 2 Kings 23:4, 6. Over this unclean brook our blessed Saviour passed on His dolorous way to Gethsemane, where His holy soul loathed our iniquities put into His "cup," represented by this filthy and nasty Cedron. That foul brook served as a suitable reminder of the deep mire (Ps. 69:2) into which Christ was about to sink. Nothing could be more repulsive and nauseating than the soil and waters of this brook, and nothing could be more loathsome to the Holy One than to be encompassed with all the guilt and filth of sin belonging to His people. But let us now consider the points of resemblance between the type and antitype. First, it was at this brook the humiliating flight of David began, and the crossing of the same marked the commencement of the Saviour’s "Passion" (Acts 1:3). Second, it was as the despised and rejected king that David now went forth, and so it was with the Redeemer as He journeyed to Gethsemane. Third, yet David was not entirely alone: a little company of devoted followers, still clung to him; thus it was with the Antitype. Fourth, Ahithophel, his familiar friend, had now 81
- 82. joined forces withhis enemies: in like manner, Judas had gone forth to betray Christ to His foes. Fifth, though the multitude favored Absalom, some of the common people sympathized with and "wept" for David; so, while the general cry against the Lord Jesus was "crucify Him," nevertheless, there were those who wept and bewailed Him (Luke 23:27). "And lo Zadok also, and all the Levites were with him, bearing the ark of the covenant of God: and they set down the ark of God; and Abiathar went up, until all the people had done passing out of the city" (v. 24). This spoke well for David, that even the Levites, and the high priest himself, were prepared to throw in their lot with him in the day of his rejection. Notwithstanding his sad failures, the ministers of the tabernacle knew full well the affection which the sweet Psalmist of Israel had for them and their office. The policy which Absalom had followed in order to curry favor with the people had not appealed at all to these servants of the Lord, and therefore they steadfastly adhered to the king, in spite of the drastic change in his fortunes. Alas, how often has it been otherwise, when the religious leaders turned traitors at the time the ruling monarch most needed their support and ministrations. Ministers of God should always set an example of submission and loyalty to "the powers that be" (Rom. 13:1), and more especially should they openly manifest their fealty unto those rulers who have countenanced and protected them in their pious labors, when those rulers are opposed by rebellious subjects. "Fear God: honour the king" (1 Peter 2:17) are joined together in Holy Writ, and if the ecclesiastical leaders fail to render obedience to this divine precept, how can we expect that those who are under their charge will do better? "They that are friends to the ark in their prosperity, shall find it a friend to them in their adversity. Formerly, David would not rest till he had found a resting place for the ark (Ps. 132); and now, if the priests may have their mind, the ark shall not rest till David returns to his resting place" (Matthew Henry). "And the king said unto Zadok, Carry back the ark of God into the city; if I shall find favour in the eyes of the Lord, He will bring me again, and show me both it and His habitation" (v. 25). This too is very impressive, bringing out as it does the better side of David’s character. The presence of the Levites, and particularly of the ark, would have considerably strengthened the king’s cause. That ark had figured prominently in Israel’s history, and the very sight of it would hardly have failed to stir the hearts of the people. Moreover, it was the recognized symbol of God’s presence, esteemed by David more highly than anything else. But the king, like Eli of old, was extremely solicitous of the welfare of the sacred coffer, and therefore he refused to expose it to the possible insults of Absalom and his faction. He "preferred Jerusalem—the honour of the Lord— above his chief joy" (Ps. 137:6). Furthermore, David knew that he was under the divine rebuke, and so felt himself to be unworthy for the ark to accompany him, and therefore while he was being chastised for his sins, he refused to pretend that God was on his side. "If I shall find favour in the eyes of the Lord, He will bring me again, and show me both it and His habitation." Clearly, David recognized that everything hinged upon the unmerited "favour" of the Lord. This is a point of considerable importance, for our modern dispensationalists suppose that Israel was under 82
- 83. such a sternregime of Law that the grace of God was virtually unknown, yea that He did not exercise it till Christ appeared—a view based on an entirely erroneous interpretation of John 1:17. This is a great mistake, for the Old Testament Scriptures make it unmistakably clear that God’s free grace is the foundation of all blessing: see Numbers 14:8; Deuteronomy 10:15; 1 Kings 10:9; 2 Chronicles 9:8; Acts 7:46. It is blessed to observe David’s "If I shall find favour in the eyes of the Lord, He will bring me back again and show me (not "my place," but) both it and His habitation:" he valued the humble tabernacle far more highly than his own throne and honor! "But if He thus say, I have no delight in thee: behold, here am I, let Him do to me as seemeth good unto Him" (v. 26). Precious submission was this. The Lord was rebuking him for his sins, and he knew not what would be the outcome. He humbled himself beneath the mighty hand of God, and left the issue to His sovereign pleasure. He hoped for the best, but was prepared for the worst. He realized that he deserved to suffer the continued displeasure of the Holy One, and therefore did he commit the outcome of his cause unto God’s sovereign grace. Mark it carefully, dear reader, that David saw God’s disciplinary hand in this dark hour of Absalom’s revolt, and that preserved him, in measure at least, both from rebellion against heaven and the fear of man. The more we discern the controlling hand of the Most High in all events, the better for our peace of mind. There is much important and precious instruction for our hearts in this incident. It is a true act of faith when we yield ourselves to that sovereign pleasure of God wherein He is gracious to whom He will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom He will show mercy" (Ex. 33:19); yes, just as truly so as when we appropriate one of God’s promises and plead it before Him. We conceive it was thus that David’s faith now directed him in the sore strait that he was then in. He knew not how grievously the Lord was provoked against him, nor how things were now likely to go; so he bowed before His throne and left Hint to determine the case. Many a sorely-stricken soul has obtained relief here when all other springs of comfort have completely failed him, saying with Job, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him" (Job 13:15). A sin-entangled soul with guilt burdening his conscience, sees that, in himself, be is unquestionably lost: how the Lord will deal with him, he knows not. His signs and tokens are completely eclipsed: he can discern no evidence of God’s grace in him, nor of His favor unto him. What is a guilt-bowed soul to do when he is at such a stand? To definitely turn his back upon God would be madness, for "Who hath hardened himself against God and hath prospered?" (Job 9:4). Nor is there the slightest relief to be obtained for the heart except from and by Him, for "who can forgive sins, but God only?" The only recourse, then, is to do as David did: bring our guilty soul into God’s presence, wait upon the sovereign pleasure of His grace, and gladly acquiesce in His decision. "If I shall find favour in the eyes of the Lord, He will bring me again, and show me both it and His habitation. But if He thus say, I have no delight in thee; behold, here am I, let Him do to me as seemeth good unto Him." Here is an anchor for a storm-tossed soul: though it may not (at once) give rest and peace, yet it secures from the rock of abject despair. To solace the heart with a "who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from His fierce anger, that 83
- 84. we perish not?"(Jonah 3:9), or a "Who can tell whether God will be gracious to me?" (2 Sam. 12:22), is far better than giving way to a spirit of hopelessness. "Who knoweth if He will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind Him" (Joel 2:14): there the soul must abide until more light from above break forth upon it. ELLICOTT, "(18) Cherethites . . . Pelethites.—See Note on 2 Samuel 8:18. Gittites.—This word in its form would naturally mean men of Gath, and it has therefore been understood by some commentators of a body of Philistines in David’s service. But the term is distinctly explained here as meaning the “six hundred men which came after him from Gath,” and called “Gittites” for that reason, a body of men with whom the previous history of David has made us very familiar. They had gathered to him during his outlawry (1 Samuel 22:1-2), had been with him at Keilah (1 Samuel 23:13), in the wilderness of Paran (1 Samuel 25:13), and at Gath (1 Samuel 27:3), “came after him from Gath” to Ziklag, and shared with him in his life and exploits there (1 Samuel 27:8; 1 Samuel 29:2; 1 Samuel 30:1-9), and went up with him to Hebron (2 Samuel 23), and thence to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 5:6). They are generally supposed to have afterwards constituted the body of “heroes” or “mighty men,” to whom frequent reference is made (2 Samuel 10:7; 2 Samuel 16:6; 2 Samuel 20:7; 1 Kings 1:8). The Vatican LXX. here, as often, adds considerably to the text. LANGE, "2 Samuel 15:18. David having halted here with his immediate retinue (of his household), caused first all his servants to pass by at his side (ָדוֹיל־ַ,)ﬠ then his body guard and six hundred Gittites (who had followed him from Gath) to pass before him, so that the latter formed the vanguard. On the “Cherethites and Pelethites” comp8:18. As the “six hundred men that followed him from Gath” are called “all the Gittites,” they must be those six hundred faithful companions- in-arms that gathered about David during Saul’s persecution ( 1 Samuel 22:2; 1 Samuel 23:13; 1 Samuel 25:13), went with him to Gath ( 1 Samuel 27:2 sq.) and settled with him in Ziklag ( 1 Samuel 27:8; 1 Samuel 29:2; 1 Samuel 30:1; 1 Samuel 30:9). Thence they marched with him to Hebron (2:3) and Jerusalem (5:6). They are the same that are called “Gibborim” [heroes, mighty men] in16:6, and appear as his military escort. Comp20:7; 23:8 sqq, where the Gibborim seem to be identical with these. “They very probably formed, from the time that David went to reside at Jerusalem, a special body, known as ‘the Gibborim,’ kept always in full number (hence here also, six hundred), living in barracks at Jerusalem (see Appendix to the Books of Kings, § 7), employed only in the most important undertakings (10:7; 20:7, 9) the Old Guard, as it were, who here also will protect the retreat of their lord with their stout, faithful bodies” (Thenius). They are here called “the Gittites” because they were so called by the people, as having followed David “from Gath on” (Keil). There is no necessity for read- Gibborim instead of Gittites (Thenius), especially as all the versions have the latter. [This reading is discussed in “Text. and Gram.” Some hold these “Gittites” to be foreigners (Philistines) that had entered David’s service, as we know many foreigners did; and this is probable, if we retain the present text. But 84
- 85. that the Gibborimwere called “Gittites” (Keil) is not probable, and as there is no account of such a body of Philistines having followed David from Gath (that Isaiah, when he lived there), there is strong reason for reading Gibborim instead of Gittites.—Tr.] 19 The king said to Ittai the Gittite, "Why should you come along with us? Go back and stay with King Absalom. You are a foreigner, an exile from your homeland. CLARKE, "Thou art a stranger, and also an exile - Some suppose that Ittai was the son of Achish, king of Gath, who was very much attached to David, and banished from his father’s court on that account. He and his six hundred men are generally supposed to have been proselytes to the Jewish religion. GILL, "Then said the king to Ittai the Gittite,.... Who was over the band of Gittites, the six hundred men, 2Sa_15:22, wherefore goest thou also with us? one should think the king should not have discouraged any from joining and following him, when his numbers were not very large, and the in such fear on account of Absalom: return to this place; to Jerusalem, where his station was: and abide with the king; with Absalom, who set himself up for king, and whom the people perhaps had proclaimed as such in Hebron, where the conspiracy began: for thou art a stranger, and also an exile; not a native of Israel, but of another nation, and at a distance from it, and therefore not altogether under the same obligations to attend David in his troubles as others were; and by this it seems that he was a Gittite by nation, whatever the six hundred men were, and rather favours the first sense given of them in 2Sa_15:18. HENRY 19-20, "IV. His discourse with Ittai the Gittite, who commanded the Philistine-proselytes. 1. David dissuaded him from going along with him, 2Sa_15:19, 2Sa_15:20. Though he and his men might be greatly serviceable to him yet, (1.) He would try whether he was hearty for him, and not inclined to Absalom. He therefore bids him return to his post in Jerusalem, and serve the new king. If he was no more than a soldier of fortune (as we say), he would be for that side which would pay and prefer him best; and to that side let him go. (2.) If he was faithful to David, yet David would not have 85
- 86. him exposed tothe fatigues and perils he now counted upon. David's tender spirit cannot bear to think that a stranger and an exile, a proselyte and a new convert, who ought, by all means possible, to be encouraged and made easy, should, at his first coming, meet with such hard usage: “Should I make thee go up and down with us? No, return with thy brethren.” Generous souls are more concerned at the share others have in their troubles than at their own. Ittai shall therefore be dismissed with a blessing: Mercy and truth be with thee, that is, God's mercy and truth, mercy according to promise, the promise made to those who renounce other gods and put themselves under the wings off the divine Majesty. This is a very proper pious farewell, when we part with a friend, “Mercy and truth be with thee, and then thou art safe, and mayest be easy, wherever thou art.” David's dependence was upon the mercy and truth of God for comfort and happiness, both for himself and his friends; see Psa_61:7. K&D, "A military commander named Ittai, who had emigrated from Gath and come over to David not long before, also accompanied the king from the city. It is evident from 2Sa_18:2, where Ittai is said to have commanded a third part of the army sent against Absalom, and to have been placed on an equality with Joab and Abishai the most experienced generals, that Ittai was a Philistian general who had entered David's service. The reason for his going over to David is not known. According to 2Sa_15:22 of this chapter, Ittai did not come alone, but brought all his family with him (taph: the little ones). The opinion expressed by Thenius, that he had come to Jerusalem as a hostage, is merely founded upon a false interpretation of the last two clauses of the verse before us. David said to Ittai, “Wherefore goest thou also with us? return and stay with the king; for thou art a stranger, and also emigrating to thy place.” There is no irony in the words “stay with the king,” as Thenius and Clericus suppose (viz., “with the man who behaves as if he were king”); nor is there an acknowledgment of Absalom as king, which certainly could never have emanated from David. The words contain nothing more than the simple though: Do you remain with whoever is or shall be king, since there is no necessity for you as a stranger to take sides at all. This is the explanation given by Seb. Schmidt: “It is not your place to decide this context as to who ought to be king; but you may remain quiet and see whom God shall appoint as king, and whether it be I or Absalom, you can serve the one that God shall choose.” This is the only way in which we can explain the reason assigned for the admonition, viz., “Thou art a stranger,” and not an Israelite. There is some difficulty connected with the following words (rendered in the Eng. version “and also an exile”). In the Septuagint and Vulgate they are rendered καᆳ ᆋτι µετώκησας σᆷ ᅚκ τοሞ τόπου σου, et egressus es de loco tuo (and thou hast gone out from thine own place); but in adopting this rendering the translators have not only passed over the םַ (also), but have taken ָך ְּומק ְמ ִל for ָך ְּומק ְ ִ.מ Nevertheless Thenius proposes to bring the text into harmony with these versions for the purpose of bringing out the meaning, “and moreover thou art one carried away from his own home.” But this is decidedly a mistake; for David would never have made a Philistine - who had just before been carried away from his own home, or, as Thenius understands it, who had been brought to Jerusalem as a hostage - the commander of a third of his army. The meaning is rather the following: “And thou hast still no fatherland,” i.e., thou art still wandering about through the earth like an exile from his country: wherever thou findest a place, and art allowed to settle, there only canst thou dwell. SBC. "I. We have in this passage a remarkable instance of the spirit of 86
- 87. truepatriotism, all themore remarkable because, in one sense, patriotism is not quite the word to apply to Ittai, for he was a stranger and an alien, though a naturalised Israelite. In him we have a singular instance of that devotion to a person which will always be the leading characteristic of the Christian life. The legalist may be devoted to a system; the moralist may be devoted to an idea; the real Christian will be devoted to a Person, to the person of a living Christ. II. Ittai was the kind of man that David wanted, and he is the kind of man that Christ wants now. There are many people ready enough to make the Lord Jesus Christ a kind of stepping-stone to help them into heaven. If they can make a convenience of Him and He can serve their purpose in a dying hour, it is all very well. It is not such as these the Lord wants. The "citizens of heaven" are men who are partakers of their Master’s nobility. III. It was the fact that David had received him as an exile that first bound Ittai’s heart to him. We also are strangers and exiles. Christ gives us a home. Our adoption into His family should be a motive power which will bear us through all the shocks of the battle of life and make us "more than conquerors through Him that loved us." W. Hay Aitken, Mission Sermons, 1st series, p. 168. BENSON, "2 Samuel 15:19-20. Then said the king to Ittai the Gittite, &c. — He seems to have been the commander of those six hundred men before mentioned. And the Jews make him the son of Achish, king of Gath, who, they say, out of religion and friendship came to David. Return to thy place — To Jerusalem, where thy place of residence is. And abide with the king — With Absalom, king by usurpation. For thou art a stranger and an exile — Not much concerned in our affairs, and therefore thou oughtest not to be involved in our troubles. And, as a stranger, thou mayest hope to be civilly treated by Absalom. Whereas thou camest but yesterday — That is, very lately; should I this day make thee go up and down with us? — Should I unsettle thee again so soon? Seeing I go whither I may — Or, I know not whither, having now no certain dwelling-place. Take back thy brethren — Thy countrymen the Gittites. Mercy and truth be with thee — Since I am now unable to recompense thy kindness and fidelity to me, my hearty prayer to God is, that he would show to thee his mercy, in blessing thee with all sorts of blessings, and his faithfulness in making good all these promises which he hath made, not to Israelites only, but to all true-hearted proselytes, such as thou art. COFFMAN, "The picture that emerges here is that of David standing by the Brook Kidron, taking with him all of the city of Jerusalem who wished to accompany him. "David compelled none. Those whose hearts were with Absalom, to Absalom let them go, and so shall their doom be. They will soon have enough of him. Christ enlists none but volunteers."[20] Apparently, David was surprised by the arrival of Ittai and his company who had come to Jerusalem only recently. That group should not be confused with the Gittites mentioned a moment earlier. Those first mentioned were the faithful 87
- 88. six hundred veteransof many of David's victories; but Ittai's group included women, children and brethren of Ittai. It also included some powerful soldiers. Ittai himself was evidently a very powerful and skilled general, because David placed him in command of a third of the army that defeated Absalom and his forces (2 Samuel 18:2). ELLICOTT, "(19) Ittai the Gittite.—The patronymic must here be understood literally, since David calls him “a stranger and also an exile;” he had but comparatively recently (2 Samuel 15:20) attached himself to David’s service, bringing with him his family and others of his countrymen. From the fact that David afterwards entrusted him with the command of a third of his forces, it is clear that he must have been an experienced general. It cannot be shown positively that he was a proselyte, although this is probable. In the latter part of this verse the English has unnecessarily changed the order of the words. Read, “Return and abide with the king, for thou art a stranger and an exile at thy place,” viz., at Jerusalem. David neither means to recognise Absalom as king, nor yet to speak of him ironically; he only means to tell Ittai that, as a foreigner, he need not concern himself in such a question, but is quite justified in serving the king de facto, whoever he may be. Ittai’s answer may be compared with Ruth’s (Ruth 1:16-17). HAWKER, "Verses 19-22 (19) Then said the king to Ittai the Gittite, Wherefore goest thou also with us? return to thy place, and abide with the king: for thou art a stranger, and also an exile. (20) Whereas thou camest but yesterday, should I this day make thee go up and down with us? seeing I go whither I may, return thou, and take back thy brethren: mercy and truth be with thee. (21) And Ittai answered the king, and said, As the LORD liveth, and as my lord the king liveth, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be. (22) And David said to Ittai, Go and pass over. And Ittai the Gittite passed over, and all his men, and all the little ones that were with him. This is an interesting conversation David held with Ittai. But I admire the generosity and attachment of this poor Gittite. At the time when David's own son, whom he had cherished and loved so greatly, was seeking his life, this stranger's heart was warm towards him. Reader! can you and I say as much for our rightful Lord and King, Christ Jesus? Oh! dearest Redeemer! be it my portion to take up the same gracious resolution; and where thou art, there as thy servant may I be. LAMGE, "2 Samuel 15:19. Ittai was a Philistine of Gath, “who had lately with other bold Philistine warriors come over to David, and, having probably had a good position in his native city, was also assigned a high place by David” (Ewald). According to 2 Samuel 15:22 his wife and children were with him. He 88
- 89. was given commandof one-third of the army (18:2), and stood along with Joab and Abishai as an able general. It need not surprise us that a foreigner should occupy such a military position; comp11:3, Uriah the Hittite. David advises this faithful follower not to go with him, but to remain “with the king” at Jerusalem. This phrase cannot mean: with him that is or will be king, according to God’s will, whether it be David or Absalom (Keil, and so Seb. Schmidt: “it is not your business to decide this contest: wait quietly, see whom God chooses and serve him”), but it must be referred definitely to Absalom, who in David’s eyes is now king de facto. Ewald: David gave him the friendly advice to stay in Jerusalem with the new king. David thus neither recognizes Absalom as rightful king (Böttch.), nor ironically so calls him = “with him who is acting as if he were king” (Clericus). In this usurpation of the throne David recognizes and submits to a divine dispensation, and so calls Absalom king.—The reason for his counsel to Ittai: “For thou art a stranger and moreover an emigrant (exile) in thy place. “Stranger” = not an Israelite; “emigrant or exile” (ֶהלֹ)גּ = one not in his native land. The last phrase may be rendered: “for[FN26] thy place,” or “in respect to thy place,” or may be taken to express a state of quiet (comp. Ges. § 154, 3 e). The meaning is: “as a foreigner, thou needst not care who is king, or join either side; stay where thou art.” The reading of Sept, Vulg, Syr, Arab.: “thou hast come from thy place,” does not warrant us in changing the preposition “to” of the Heb. into “from;” for, if the latter were the original text, it is hard to see how the present difficult reading came. [The passage reads literally: “Return, and abide with the king, for thou art a stranger and also an exile to thy place.” Eng. A. V. transposes the last phrase, or supposes a parenthesis: “return to thy place and abide,” etc. (and so Kimchi), and Bib-Com.: “Return and dwell with the king (for thou art a foreigner and thou art an exile) at thy place” (i. e. Jerusalem). Erdmann in his translation of the chapter (prefixed to the Exposition) gives: “for thou art a stranger and moreover a man that has been carried away from his place,” but here renders it quite differently: “for thou art a stranger and an exile in thy place,” that Isaiah, remaining quietly in thy place (Jerusalem, thy adopted home). Philippson: “thou art a stranger, etc., in respect to thy place” (Gath, thy native place). The parenthesis of Eng. A. V. is improbable, and Erdmann’s rendering in the Exposition is impossible; we must adopt Philippson’s, or change the Prep. and read “from,” as Erdmann in his translation. See the discussion in “Text. and Gram.”—Tr.]—Whether Ittai came with his family ( 2 Samuel 15:22) and his kinsfolk ( 2 Samuel 15:20) to Jerusalem as hostage (Thenius), or went over to David with other warriors (Ewald), cannot be determined, as nothing is said thereon. But as he was a man in high position and a distinguished military leader, and as David broke the Philistines’ supremacy in the last war with them (8:1), it is probable ( 2 Samuel 15:20 : “thou camest yesterday”) that this victory of David’s was the occasion of his coming to Jerusalem. PETT, "2 Samuel 15:19 ‘Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, “Why do you also go with us? Return, and abide with the king, for you are a foreigner, and also an exile. Return to 89
- 90. your own place.”’ On top of David’s six hundred there was a mercenary force of Gittites under Ittai who were recent arrivals (the ‘six hundred’ might refer to them). David, however, did not see them as being under any obligation to stay with him in the circumstances. So when Ittai arrived in order to go with him he encouraged him to return and serve whoever was king in Jerusalem, pointing out that as a foreigner, and an exile from his own country, he only owed a duty to those who paid him. Alternately reference to ‘your own place’ may signify that the king in mind was Achish, the king of Gath, to whom he should return. 20 You came only yesterday. And today shall I make you wander about with us, when I do not know where I am going? Go back, and take your countrymen. May kindness and faithfulness be with you." BARNES, "Thou camest but yesterday - Meaning, “Thou art not a native Israelite, but only a sojourner for a few years, it is not reason therefore that thou shouldst share my calamities. Return to thy place, thy adopted home Jerusalem, and to the king, Absalom” 2Sa_15:34-35. CLARKE, "Mercy and truth be with thee - May God ever show thee mercy, as thou showest it to me, and his truth ever preserve thee from error and delusion! GILL, "Whereas thou camest but yesterday,.... From Gath, or from an expedition he and his men had been on: should I this day make thee, go up and down with us? wander up and down from place to place with David, when he was but just come off a journey, weary and fatigued: seeing I go whither I may; where it will be most safe for me, I know not where; may be obliged to flee here and there, which would be very inconvenient to Ittai in his circumstances: return thou, and take back thy brethren; the six hundred men under him, and whom David could ill spare at this time, and yet, consulting their ease, advises to return to Jerusalem with them: mercy and truth be with thee; the Lord show mercy and kindness to thee, in that 90
- 91. thou hast shownfavour and respect to me, and make good all his promises to thee, who hast been true and faithful to me. K&D, "“Thy coming is yesterday (from yesterday), and should I disturb thee to- day to go with us, when I am going just where I go?” i.e., wherever my way may lie (I go I know not whither; Chald.: cf. 1Sa_23:13). The Chethib ָך ֲנוּע ֲא is a copyist's error. The thought requires the Hiphil ָך ֲיעִנ ֲא (Keri), as ַנוּע in the Kal has the intransitive meaning, to totter, sway about, or move hither and thither. “Return and take thy brethren back; grace and truth be with thee.” It is evidently more in accordance with the train of thought to separate ְך ָ ִע from the previous clause and connect it with ת ֶמ ֱאֶו ד ֶס ֶ,ח though this is opposed to the accents, than to adopt the adverbial interpretation, “take back thy brethren with thee in grace and truth,” as Maurer proposes. (For the thought itself, see Pro_3:3). The reference is to the grace and truth (faithfulness) of God, which David desired that Ittai should receive upon his way. In the Septuagint and Vulgate the passage is paraphrased thus: “Jehovah show thee grace and truth,” after 2Sa_2:6; but it by no means follows from this that ָך ְ ִע ה ֶשׂ ֲעַו הָּוהְו has fallen out of the Hebrew text. LANGE, "2 Samuel 15:20. The sense is: “Shall 1 drag[FN27] thee, a stranger lately come, and an exile, into my unquiet and precarious life?” Since I go whither I go, without certain aim, “whither the way leads me” (Maurer). Comp. 1 Samuel 23:13.— David wishes Ittai the favor and the faithfulness of God. From this and from Ittai’s saying: “as the Lord lives,” it is probable that Ittai with his whole house had already become a believer in the God of Israel. [From this expression we cannot infer anything as to Ittai’s religious position, much less as to that of his family. Any foreigner might believe in Jehovah as a deity and swear by His name (so Achish, 1 Samuel 29:6) without giving up his own gods. On general grounds it is not improbable that Ittai accepted the God of Israel; but we have no information as to any special religious depth or conversion in his history.—Tr.] It is doubtful whether we should render: “carry thy brethren back with thee in grace and truth.” (Maurer), or take the latter part separately: “with thee be grace and truth,” that Isaiah, God’s (Keil); the accents favor the first, the connection of thought the second. Sept. and Vulg. have: “and the Lord will do with thee grace and truth,” to which Vulg. adds: “because thou hast shown grace and faithfulness,” whence Thenius (with Ew. and Böttch. for the Sept. reading) will correspondingly change the Heb. text.[FN28] But the words of Sept. and Vulg. seem to be an interpreting paraphrase, with the similar words in2:5, 6, in mind. The text without this addition gives a good sense: “lead thy brethren back; with thee be grace and faithfulness.” PETT, "2 Samuel 15:20 “Inasmuch as you came but yesterday, should I this day make you go up and down with us, seeing I go wherever I may? Return you, and take back your brothers. Mercy and truth be with you.” After all Ittai had only come to Jerusalem recently (although ‘yesterday’ was probably not intended to be taken literally). How then could David expect him to share his flight down to the Jordan rift and then into Transjordan, going wherever he felt it necessary in order to avoid Absalom’s forces, not knowing what the outcome may be? He might even never have the means by which to pay them. So David suggested that 91
- 92. he go backto Gath, and take with him his brother Philistines, and wished him ‘mercy and truth’. 21 But Ittai replied to the king, "As surely as the LORD lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king may be, whether it means life or death, there will your servant be." GILL, "And Ittai answered the king, and said,.... With an oath, as follows: as the Lord liveth, and as my lord the king liveth; which he took to confirm what he after says, and to put an end to the debate between them: surely, in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be; signifying that he would attend him wherever he went, hazard his life in his cause, and live and die with him. HENRY, "2. Ittai bravely resolved not to leave him, 2Sa_15:21. Where David is, whether in life or death, safe or in peril, there will this faithful friend of his be; and he confirms this resolution with an oath, that he might not be tempted to break it. Such a value has he for David, not for the sake of his wealth and greatness (for then he would have deserted him now that he saw him thus reduced), but for the sake of his wisdom and goodness, which were still the same, that, whatever comes of it, he will never leave him. Note, That is a friend indeed who loves at all times, and will adhere to us in adversity. Thus should we cleave to the Son of David with full purpose of heart that neither life nor death shall separate us from his love. K&D, "But Ittai replied with a solemn oath, “Assuredly at the place where my lord the king shall be (stay), whether for death or life, there will thy servant be.” ם ִא י ִⅴ means “only,” as in Gen_40:14, Job_42:8; here, in a declaration on oath, it is equivalent to assuredly (vid., Ewald, §356, b.). The Chethib is therefore correct, and the erasure of ם ִא in the Keri is a bad emendation. The י ִⅴ in the apodosis is either an emphatic declaration, yea, or like ᆋτι merely introduces a distinct assertion. PETT, "2 Samuel 15:21 ‘And Ittai answered the king, and said, “As YHWH lives, and as my lord the king 92
- 93. lives, surely inwhat place my lord the king shall be, whether for death or for life, even there also will your servant be.” ’ But Ittai was made of sterner stuff. He would having nothing of it. He knew enough about David to have summed him up, and he liked what he had seen. So he swore his loyalty to David on the life of YHWH (compare how Achish had done the same - 1 Samuel 29:6) and on the life of the king himself. He stressed that he was willing to follow David no matter whether such a path led to life or death, for he saw David as his true lord and king. MACLAREN, "ITTAI OF GATH It was the darkest hour in David’s life. No more pathetic page is found in the Old Testament than that which tells the story of his flight before Absalom. He is crushed by the consciousness that his punishment is deserved-the bitter fruit of the sin that filled all his later life with darkness. His courage and his buoyancy have left him. He has no spirit to make a stand or strike a blow. If Shimei runs along the hillside abreast of him, shrieking curses as he goes, all he says is: ‘Let him curse; for the Lord hath bidden him.’ So, heartbroken and spiritless, he leaves Jerusalem. And as soon as he has got clear of the city he calls a halt, in order that he may muster his followers and see on whom he may depend. Foremost among the little band come six hundred men from Gath- Philistines-from Goliath’s city. These men, singularly enough, the king had chosen as his bodyguard; perhaps he was not altogether sure of the loyalty of his own subjects, and possibly felt safer with foreign mercenaries, who could have no secret leanings to the deposed house of Saul. Be that as it may, the narrative tells us that these men had ‘come after him from Gath.’ He had been there twice in the old days, in his flight from Saul, and the second visit had extended over something more than a year. Probably during that period his personal attraction, and his reputation as a brilliant leader, had led these rough soldiers to attach themselves to his service, and to be ready to forsake home and kindred in order to fight beside him. At all events here they are, ‘faithful among the faithless,’ as foreign soldiers surrounding a king often are-notably, for instance, the Swiss guard in the French Revolution. Their strong arms might have been of great use to David, but his generosity cannot think of involving them in his fall, and so he says to them: ‘I am not going to fight; I have no plan. I am going where I can. You go back and “worship the rising sun.” Absalom will take you and be glad of your help. And as for me, I thank you for your past loyalty. Mercy and peace be with you!’ It is a beautiful nature that in the depth of sorrow shrinks from dragging other people down with itself. Generosity breeds generosity, and this Philistine captain breaks out into a burst of passionate devotion, garnished, in soldier fashion, with an unnecessary oath or two, but ringing very sincere and meaning a great deal. As for himself and his men, they have chosen their side. Whoever goes, they stay. Whatever befalls, they stick by David; and if the worst come to the worst they can all die together, and their corpses lie in firm ranks round about their dead king. David’s heart is touched and warmed by their outspoken loyalty; he yields and accepts their service. Ittai and his noble six hundred tramp on, out of our sight, and all their households behind them. Now what is there in all that, to make a sermon out of? I. First, look at the picture of that Philistine soldier, as teaching us what grand passionate self-sacrifice may be evolved out of the roughest natures. Analyse his words, and do you not hear, ringing in them, three things, which are the 93
- 94. seed of allnobility and splendour in human character? First, a passionate personal attachment; then, that love issuing, as such love always does, in willing sacrifice that recks not for a moment of personal consequences; that is ready to accept anything for itself if it can serve the object of its devotion, and will count life well expended if it is flung away in such a service. And we see, lastly, in these words a supreme restful delight in the presence of him whom the heart loves. For Ittai and his men, the one thing needful was to be beside him in whose eye they had lived, from whose presence they had caught inspiration; their trusted leader, before whom their souls bowed down. So then this vehement speech is the pure language of love. Now these three things,-a passionate personal attachment, issuing in spontaneous heroism of self-abandonment, and in supreme satisfaction in the beloved presence,- may spring up in the rudest, roughest nature. A Philistine soldier was not a very likely man in whom to find refined and lofty emotion. He was hard by nature, hardened by his rough trade; and unconscious that he was doing anything at all heroic or great. Something had smitten this rock, and out of it there came the pure refreshing stream. And so I say to you, the weakest and the lowest, the roughest and the hardest, the most selfishly absorbed man and woman among us, has lying in him and her dormant capacities for flaming up into such a splendour of devotion and magnificence of heroic self-sacrifice as is represented in these words of my text. A mother will do it for her child, and never think that she has done anything extraordinary; husbands will do such things for wives; wives for husbands; friends and lovers for one another. All who know the sweetness and power of the bond of affection know that there is nothing more gladsome than to fling oneself away for the sake of those whom we love. And the capacity for such love and sacrifice lies in all of us. Prosaic, commonplace people as we are, with no great field on which to work out our heroisms; yet we have it in us to love and give ourselves away thus, if once the heart be stirred. And lastly, this capacity which lies dormant in all of us, if once it is roused to action, will make a man blessed and dignified as nothing else will. The joy of unselfish love is the purest joy that man can taste; the joy of perfect self-sacrifice is the highest joy that humanity can possess, and they lie open for us all. And wherever, in some humble measure, these emotions of which I have been speaking are realised, there you see weakness springing up into strength, and the ignoble into loftiness. Astronomers tell us that sometimes a star that has shone inconspicuous, and stood low down in their catalogues as of fifth or sixth magnitude, will all at once flame out, having kindled and caught fire somehow, and will blaze in the heavens, outshining Jupiter and Venus. And so some poor, vulgar, narrow nature, touched by this Promethean fire of pure love that leads to perfect sacrifice, will ‘flame in the forehead of the morning sky’ an undying splendour, and a light for evermore. Brethren, my appeal to you is a very plain and simple one, founded on these facts:- You all have that capacity in you, and you all are responsible for the use of it. What have you done with it? Is there any person or thing in this world that has ever been able to lift you up out of your miserable selves? Is there any magnet that has proved strong enough to raise you from the low levels along which your life creeps? Have you ever known the thrill of resolving to become the bondservant and the slave of some great cause not your own? Or are you, as so many of you are, like spiders living in the midst of your web, mainly intent upon what you can catch by it? You have these capacities slumbering in you. Have you ever set a light to that inert mass of enthusiasm that lies within you? Have you ever woke up the sleeper? Look at this rough soldier of my text, and learn from him the lesson that there is nothing that so ennobles and dignifies a commonplace nature as enthusiasm for a great cause, or 94
- 95. self-sacrificing love fora worthy heart. II. The second remark which I make is this:-These possibilities of love and sacrifice point plainly to God in Christ as their true object. ‘Whose image and superscription hath it?’ said Christ, looking at the Roman denarius that they brought and laid on His palm. If the Emperor’s head is on it, why, then, he has a right to it as tribute. And then He went on to say, ‘Render, therefore, unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.’ So there are things that have God’s image and superscription stamped on them, and such are our hearts, our whole constitution and nature. As plainly as the penny had the head of Tiberius on it, and therefore proclaimed that he was Emperor where it was current, so plainly does every soul carry in the image of God the witness that He is its owner and that it should be rendered in tribute to Him. And amongst all these marks of a divine possession and a divine destination printed upon human nature, it seems to me that none is plainer than this fact, that we can all of us thus give ourselves away in the abandonment of a profound and all- surrendering love. That capacity unmistakably proclaims that it is destined to be directed towards God and to find its rest in Him. As distinctly as some silver cup, with its owner’s initials and arms engraved upon it, declares itself to be ‘meet for the master’s use,’ so distinctly does your soul, by reason of this capacity, proclaim that it is meant to be turned to Him in whom alone all love can find its perfect satisfaction; for whom alone it is supremely blessed and great to lose life itself; and who only has authority over human spirits. We are made with hearts that need to rest upon an absolute love; we are made with understandings that need to grasp a pure, a perfect, and, as I believe, paradoxical though it may sound, a personal Truth. We are made with wills that crave for an absolute authoritative command, and we are made with a moral nature that needs a perfect holiness. And we need all that love, truth, authority, purity, to be gathered into one, for our misery is that, when we set out to look for treasures, we have to go into many lands and to many merchants, to buy many goodly pearls. But we need One of great price, in which all our wealth may be invested. We need that One to be an undying and perpetual possession. There is One to whom our love can ever cleave, and fear none of the sorrows or imperfections that make earthward-turned love a rose with many a thorn, One for whom it is pure gain to lose ourselves, One who is plainly the only worthy recipient of the whole love and self-surrender of the heart. That One is God, revealed and brought near to us in Jesus Christ. In that great Saviour we have a love at once divine and human, we have the great transcendent instance of love leading to sacrifice. On that love and sacrifice for us Christ builds His claim on us for our hearts, and our all. Life alone can communicate life; it is only light that can diffuse light. It is only love that can kindle love; it is only sacrifice that can inspire sacrifice. And so He comes to us, and asks that we should just love Him back again as He has loved us. He first gives Himself utterly for and to us, and then asks us to give ourselves wholly to Him. He first yields up His own life, and then He says: ‘He that loseth his life for My sake shall find it.’ The object, the true object, for all this depth of love which lies slumbering in our hearts, is God in Christ, the Christ that died for us. III. And now, lastly, observe that the terrible misdirection of these capacities is the sin and the misery of the world. I will not say that such emotions, even when expended on creatures, are ever wasted. For however unworthy may be the objects on which they are lavished, the man himself is the better and the higher for having cherished them. The mother, when she 95
- 96. forgets self inher child, though her love and self-forgetfulness and self-sacrifice may, in some respects, be called but an animal instinct, is elevated and ennobled by the exercise of them. The patriot and the thinker, the philanthropist, ay! even-although I take him to be the lowest in the scale-the soldier who, in some cause which he thinks to be a good one, and not merely in the tigerish madness of the battlefield, throws away his life-are lifted in the scale of being by their self-abnegation. And so I am not going to say that when men love each other passionately and deeply, and sacrifice themselves for one another, or for some cause or purpose affecting only temporal matters, the precious elixir of love is wasted. God forbid! But I do say that all these objects, sweet and gracious as some of them are, ennobling and elevating as some of them are, if they are taken apart from God, are insufficient to fill your hearts: and that if they are slipped in between you and God, as they often are, then they bring sin and sorrow. There is nothing more tragic in this world than the misdirection of man’s capacity for love and sacrifice. It is like the old story in the Book of Daniel, which tells how the heathen monarch made a great feast, and when the wine began to inflame the guests, sent for the sacred vessels taken from the Temple of Jerusalem, that had been used for Jehovah’s worship; and (as the narrative says, with a kind of shudder at the profanation), ‘They brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the House of God, which was at Jerusalem, and the king and his princes, his wives and his concubines, drank in them. They drank wine and praised the gods.’ So this heart of mine, which, as I said, has the Master’s initials and His arms engraven upon it, in token that it is His cup, I too often fill with the poisonous and intoxicating draught of earthly pleasure and earthly affections; and as I drink it, the madness goes through my veins, and I praise gods of my own making instead of Him whom alone I ought to love. Ah, brethren! we should be our own rebukers in this matter, and the heroism of the world should put to shame the cowardice and the selfishness of the Church. Contrast the depth of your affection for your household with the tepidity of your love for your Saviour. Contrast the willingness with which you sacrifice yourself for some dear one with the grudgingness with which you yield yourselves to Him. Contrast the rest and the sense of satisfaction in the presence of those whom you love, and your desolation when they are absent, with the indifference whether you have Christ beside you or not. And remember that the measure of your power of loving is the measure of your obligation to love your Lord; and that if you are all frost to Him and all fervour to them, then in a very solemn sense ‘a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.’ ‘He that loveth father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me.’ And so let me gather all that I have been saying into the one earnest beseeching of you that you would bring that power of uncalculating love and self-sacrificing affection which is in you, and would fasten it where it ought to fix-on Christ who died on the cross for you. Such a love will bring blessedness to you. Such a love will ennoble and dignify your whole nature, and make you a far greater and fairer man or woman than you ever otherwise could be. Like some little bit of black carbon put into an electric current, my poor nature will flame into beauty and radiance when that spark touches it. So love Him and be at peace; give yourselves to Him and He will give you back yourselves, ennobled and transfigured by the surrender. Lay yourselves on His altar, and that altar will sanctify both the giver and the gift. If you can take this rough Philistine soldier’s words in their spirit, and in a higher sense say, ‘Whether I live I live unto the Lord, or whether I die I die unto the Lord; living or dying, I am the Lord’s,’ He will let you enlist in His army; and give you for your marching orders this command and this hope, ‘If any man serve Me let him follow 96
- 97. Me; and whereI am there shall also My servant be.’ 22 David said to Ittai, "Go ahead, march on." So Ittai the Gittite marched on with all his men and the families that were with him. GILL, "And David said unto Ittai, go, and pass over,.... It being his resolution to abide with him, he urged him no more to depart, but bid him pass over the brook Kidron before him: and Ittai the Gittite passed over, and all his men; the six hundred Gittites that were under his command: and all the little ones that were with him; that belonged to him and his men, and no doubt their wives also. K&D, "After this assurance of his devotedness, David let Ittai do as he pleased. ּרב ֲעַו ְך ֵ,ל “go and pass on.” ר ַב ָע does not mean to pass by, but to go forward. Thus Ittai and his men and all his family that was with him went forward with the king. By “the little ones” (taph) we are to understand a man's whole family, as in many other instances (see at Exo_12:37). 2Sa_15:22-23 The king crosses the Kidron, and sends the priests back with the ark to Jerusalem. - 2Sa_15:23. All the land (as in 1Sa_14:25) wept aloud when all the people went forward; and the king went over the brook Kidron, and all the people went over in the direction of (lit. in the face of) the way to the desert. The brook Kidron is a winter torrent, i.e., a mountain torrent which only flows during the heavy rains of winter (χείµαሜምος τοሞ Κεδρών, Joh_18:1). It is on the eastern side of Jerusalem, between the city and the Mount of Olives, and derives its name from the appearance of the water when rendered muddy through the melting of the snow (cf. Job_6:16). In summer it is nothing more than a dry channel in the valley of Jehoshaphat (see Robinson, Pal. i. 396, and v. Raumer, Pal. p. 309, note 81). “The wilderness” (midbar) is the northern part of the desert of Judah, through which the road to Jericho and the Jordan lay. PETT, "2 Samuel 15:22 ‘And David said to Ittai, “Go and pass over.” And Ittai the Gittite passed over, and all his men, and all the little ones who were with him.’ 97
- 98. Acknowledging his braveryand loyalty David acquiesced in his position and told him to go forward and pass over along with the others. And so Ittai the Gittite passed over, along with all his mercenaries, and all their children who were with them. They added great strength to David’s arm. We can in fact see why Ahithophel was so eager for Absalom to catch David and his forces while they were still disjointed and unorganised. It was his only chance of defeating them. David certainly had with him ‘a hundred’ (and more) who would be quite capable of ‘putting ten thousand to flight’ (Leviticus 26:8). 23 The whole countryside wept aloud as all the people passed by. The king also crossed the Kidron Valley, and all the people moved on toward the desert. CLARKE, "The brook Kidron - This was an inconsiderable brook, and only furnished with water in winter, and in the rains. See Joh_18:1. GILL, "And all the country wept with a loud voice,.... The people that came out of the country villages round about, upon the report of the king's leaving Jerusalem, because of his son's conspiracy against him; these wept when they saw him in the circumstances in which he was, obliged to fly from a rebellious son: and all the people passed over; the people that were with David passed over Kidron, and so the Cherethites, and Pelethites: the king also himself passed over the brook Kidron; this explains what place it was they passed over, which is not before mentioned, but is particularly named in the account of the king's passing over it; over which same brook the Messiah, his antitype, passed a little before his sufferings and death; of which brook; see Gill on Joh_18:1. It is often by Josephus (m) called a valley, sometimes a brook, it having little water, except in winter; Mr. Maundrell (n) says, it ran along the bottom of the valley of Jehoshaphat, a brook in the wintertime; but without the least drop of water in it all the time, says he, we were in Jerusalem; and so Reland (o), that in summertime it ceases to be a river, and has the name of a valley; and Le Bruyn says (p), it is at present dried up; it runs along the valley of Jehoshaphat, and is not above three paces broad; it has no other but rain water, which flows from the adjacent hills: and all the people passed over to the way of the wilderness; which lay between Jerusalem and Jericho. 98
- 99. HENRY, "V. Thecommon people's sympathy with David in his affliction. When he and his attendants passed over the brook Kidron (the very same brook that Christ passed over when he entered upon his sufferings, Joh_18:1), towards the way of the wilderness, which lay between Jerusalem and Jericho, all the country wept with a loud voice, 2Sa_15:23. Cause enough there was for weeping, 1. To see a prince thus reduced, one that had lived so great forced from his palace and in fear of his life, with a small retinue seeking shelter in a desert, to see the city of David, which he himself won, built, and fortified, made an unsafe abode for David himself. It would move the compassion even of strangers to see a man fallen thus low from such a height, and this by the wickedness of his own son; a piteous case it was. Parents that are abused and ruined by their own children merit the tender sympathy of their friends as much as any of the sons or daughters of affliction. Especially, 2. To see their own prince thus wronged, who had been so great a blessing to their land, and had not done any thing to forfeit the affections of his people; to see him in this distress, and themselves unable to help him, might well draw floods of tears from their eyes. JAMISON, "the brook Kidron — a winter torrent that flows through the valley between the city and the eastern side of the Mount of Olives. BENSON, "2 Samuel 15:23. All the country wept — All about Jerusalem, and the generality of the people by whom they passed, being extremely afflicted to see their king, under whom they had lived in great peace and prosperity, reduced to such extremities. It must be considered, that Absalom’s friends and partisans were gone to him to Hebron, and the rest of the people thereabouts were either well-wishers to David, or at least moved with compassion at the sad and sudden change of so great and good a king, which was sufficient to affect a heart of stone. All the people passed over — All that continued faithful to David in those parts. The king also passed over the brook Kidron — Or Cedron, which was near Jerusalem. The very same brook which Christ passed over, when he entered upon his sufferings, John 18:1. Toward the way of the wilderness — Which lay between Jerusalem and Jericho. HAWKER, "(23) And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over: the king also himself passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over, toward the way of the wilderness. Much as I am pleased with what is here said of the affection of the people to David, I gladly leave the subject of David's passing over Kidron, to view thee, thou dear Redeemer, accompanied with thy chosen few, going over the very same memorable brook, in the night of thy sufferings, when thou enteredst into the garden. Had my soul seen thee, dearest Jesus, in that awful hour; and had I then known what through thy gracious teachings I now know, that that Kidron's brook, into which all the black, polluted waters, emptied themselves from the sacrifices of the temple, was typical of the guilt and defilement of my soul, which is poured upon thee; Oh! how should I, like the people following David, have lifted up my voice and wept. John 18:1. 99
- 100. LANGE, "2 Samuel15:20. The sense is: “Shall 1 drag[FN27] thee, a stranger lately come, and an exile, into my unquiet and precarious life?” Since I go whither I go, without certain aim, “whither the way leads me” (Maurer). Comp. 1 Samuel 23:13.—David wishes Ittai the favor and the faithfulness of God. From this and from Ittai’s saying: “as the Lord lives,” it is probable that Ittai with his whole house had already become a believer in the God of Israel. [From this expression we cannot infer anything as to Ittai’s religious position, much less as to that of his family. Any foreigner might believe in Jehovah as a deity and swear by His name (so Achish, 1 Samuel 29:6) without giving up his own gods. On general grounds it is not improbable that Ittai accepted the God of Israel; but we have no information as to any special religious depth or conversion in his history.—Tr.] It is doubtful whether we should render: “carry thy brethren back with thee in grace and truth.” (Maurer), or take the latter part separately: “with thee be grace and truth,” that Isaiah, God’s (Keil); the accents favor the first, the connection of thought the second. Sept. and Vulg. have: “and the Lord will do with thee grace and truth,” to which Vulg. adds: “because thou hast shown grace and faithfulness,” whence Thenius (with Ew. and Böttch. for the Sept. reading) will correspondingly change the Heb. text.[FN28] But the words of Sept. and Vulg. seem to be an interpreting paraphrase, with the similar words in2:5, 6, in mind. The text without this addition gives a good sense: “lead thy brethren back; with thee be grace and faithfulness.” PETT, "2 Samuel 15:23 ‘And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over. The king also himself passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over, towards the way of the wilderness.’ Meanwhile the whole country was in mourning. We are not necessarily to see that they were weeping simply for David. They were indeed mainly weeping because civil war was coming and they did not like what they saw ahead. (To many it made little difference who was king as long as there was peace in the land). They knew that civil war was especially hard on everyone. Meanwhile all the people who were with David passed over the Wadi Kidron which was on the edge of Jerusalem towards the east before reaching the Mount of Olives. They were moving forward towards The Way of the Wilderness, the road which would lead them via Jericho into Transjordan. The Wadi Kidron was dry in summer but would flood with the winter rains. 24 Zadok was there, too, and all the Levites who were with him were carrying the ark of the covenant of God. They set down the ark of God, and Abiathar 100
- 101. offered sacrifices [3]until all the people had finished leaving the city. BARNES, "Abiathar went up - i. e., continued to ascend the Mount of Olives. Abiathar was high priest 1Ki_2:35. Perhaps Zadok is addressed by David 2Sa_15:25 as the chief of those who were actually bearing the ark. CLARKE, "Bearing the ark - The priests knew that God had given the kingdom to David; they had no evidence that he had deposed him: they therefore chose to accompany him, and take the ark, the object of their charge, with them. GILL, "And, lo, Zadok also,.... The priest, as he is called, 2Sa_15:27, and all the Levites were with him: with Zadok, or with David, and indeed with both; but the former is rather meant here, being the immediate antecedent: bearing the ark of the covenant of God: these were the Kohathite Levites, whose business it was to bear the ark when carried from place to place, Num_3:31; called the ark of the covenant, because the law which was the covenant between God and the people, was put into it: and they set down the ark of God: from off their shoulders, on which they carried it: and Abiathar went up; who was the high priest, and whose business it was to attend the ark, and inquire before it, as occasion required; he went up very probably to the mount of Olives, later mentioned, 2Sa_15:30, until all the people had done passing out of the city; for from the top of that mountain he could see the city of Jerusalem, and the people as they passed out of it, and observe when they were all come out, or however ceased coming, and so knew when it was a proper time to march forward. HENRY, "Here we have, I. The fidelity of the priests and Levites and their firm adherence to David and his interest. They knew David's great affection to them and their office, notwithstanding his failings. The method Absalom took to gain people's affections made no impression upon them; he had little religion in him, and therefore they steadily adhered to David. Zadok and Abiathar, and all the Levites, if he go, will accompany him, and take the ark with them, that, by it, they may ask counsel of God for him, 2Sa_15:24. Note, Those that are friends to the ark in their prosperity will find it a friend to them in their adversity. Formerly David would not rest till he had found a resting-place for the ark; and now, if the priests may have their mind, the ark shall not rest till David return to his rest. 101
- 102. JAMISON, "Zadok also,and all the Levites ..., bearing the ark — Knowing the strong religious feelings of the aged king, they brought it to accompany him in his distress. But as he could not doubt that both the ark and their sacred office would exempt them from the attacks of the rebels, he sent them back with it - not only that they might not be exposed to the perils of uncertain wandering, for he seems to place more confidence in the symbol of the divine presence than in God Himself - but that, by remaining in Jerusalem, they might render him greater service by watching the enemy’s movements. K&D, "2Sa_15:24 Zadok the priest and all the Levites (who were in Jerusalem) left the city with the fugitive king, bearing the ark of the covenant: “And they set down the ark of God, and Abiathar came up, till all the people had come completely over from the city.” ל ַעַ ַ,ו ᅊνέβη, ascendit (lxx, Vulg.), may probably be accounted for from the fact that Abiathar did not come to join the fugitives till the procession halted at the Mount of Olives; so that ה ָל ָ,ע like ᅊναβαίνειν, merely refers to his actually going up, and ל ַעַ ַו affirms that Abiathar joined them until all the people from the city had arrived. The rendering proposed by Michaelis and Böttcher (“he offered sacrifices”) is precluded by the fact that ה ָל ָע never means to sacrifice when written without ה ָּולע, or unless the context points distinctly to sacrifices, as in 2Sa_24:22; 1Sa_2:28. The ark of the covenant was put down, because those who went out with the king made a halt, to give the people who were still coming time to join the procession. BENSON, "2 Samuel 15:24. Zadok also, and all the Levites were with him — They knew David’s great regard for them and their office, notwithstanding his failings; and the arts which Absalom had used to gain the people’s affections had made no impression upon them. They saw that he had little religion in him, and therefore they steadily adhered to David. Bearing the ark of the covenant of God — As a pledge of God’s presence and assistance. And they set down the ark of God — Either in expectation of drawing forth more people to David’s party, if not from their loyalty to their lawful king, yet from their piety and reverence to the ark; or, that all the people might pass along, and the ark might come in the rear of them, for their safeguard and encouragement. Abiathar went up — From the ark to the city, which was on higher ground; that so he, being high-priest, might use his authority with the people, to persuade them to do their duty; and there he stayed until all those whom he could persuade were gone forth. COFFMAN, "David appears here as the giant of faith which he was. How he had grown spiritually! He relied upon the power and lovingkindness of God as totally distinct from such a talisman as the ark of the covenant, important as that ark was. Furthermore, David courageously faced the truth that it might indeed be God's will to punish him with death for the terrible sins which had marred his life; but David would willingly submit to that, if it should be God's will. "Let him do to me what seems good to him." His whole attitude here was one of submission to God; he would fearlessly trust the outcome of Absalom's rebellion to the Lord. Let God's will be done. 102
- 103. "I will waitat the fords ... until word comes from you to inform me" (2 Samuel 15:28). There was also an excellent practical reason why David sent the ark and its priestly and Levitical attendants back to Jerusalem. David would require accurate and confidential information on Absalom's movements and other developments of the rebellion; and he promptly arranged to procure such information via the sons of the two priests mentioned here. "May the Lord show steadfast love and faithfulness to you" (2 Samuel 15:20). This is an unwelcome change from the text as given in ASV; KJV and NIV; and Willis noted, "The last line of 2 Samuel 15:20 should read, `Mercy and truth be with thee,' as in KJV, ASV, and NIV."[21] "And Abiathar came up, and lo, Zadok came also, with all the Levites bearing the ark of the covenant of God" (2 Samuel 15:24). We are pleased indeed that the RSV has retained these words, thus effectively checkmating the old critical dictum advanced in the last century to the effect that, "The Levites are unknown to the Books of Samuel, so obviously (this mention of Levites) is a late insertion."[22] Such opinions, of course, are unacceptable. The Levites are mentioned in both Samuels, here and in 1 Samuel 6:15. Parallel accounts also which are found in Kings and Chronicles indicate most emphatically that the Levites during the reign of David fulfilled their usual purpose regarding the ark of the covenant; and there is no good reason for supposing that they were not involved here. ELLICOTT, "(24) Zadok also.—Zadok appears here as in charge of the ark, and David (2 Samuel 15:27) addresses him exclusively, while Abiathar is merely mentioned. This gives no indication of the relations existing between the two, but merely shows how matters went on this day of hurry and confusion. The language is obscure, but probably means that Zadok and the Levites brought the ark out of the city, and set it down while the multitude were assembling; meantime Abiathar led the multitude forward up the Mount of Olives until they had all come out of the city. HAWKER, "Verses 24-26 (24) ¶ And lo Zadok also, and all the Levites were with him, bearing the ark of the covenant of God: and they set down the ark of God; and Abiathar went up, until all the people had done passing out of the city. (25) And the king said unto Zadok, Carry back the ark of God into the city: if I shall find favour in the eyes of the LORD, he will bring me again, and shew me both it, and his habitation: (26) But if he thus say, I have no delight in thee; behold, here am I, let him do to me as seemeth good unto him. I have often admired the blessed frame of mind David was in, when he thus expressed himself. Surely nothing but the grace and presence of the Lord with 103
- 104. him could haveinduced it at such a season. It is delightful to see that though the Lord (according to his solemn declaration by Nathan) had raised evil out of his own house, and though the Lord was correcting, he at the same time sustained him under the pressure. His direction to Zadok is as high an evidence of David's devotion and resignation, as we meet with in his whole history. Go Zadok, carry back the Ark! what though I have not the symbol and representation of Jesus, yet I shall have Jesus himself with me; and that will abundantly answer for all. What the designs of my God are in this humbling, sorrowful providence, I know not. Whether I shall ever see Jerusalem again, or whether I shall not; let my Jesus choose for me, I have no choice myself. If I shall find favour in his eyes to return, the Ark will be doubly sweet to my view; the habitation of God's house, and all things pertaining to ordinances. But, if my God say nay to this, he will not say nay to my soul in loving me. He hath spoken peace, and therefore will not unsay it. Oh, Reader! what a frame of mind is here. Better to be thus in God's hottest furnace, living upon Jesus, than at ease under any pleasing frames, or supposed attainments of our own. LANGE, "2 Samuel 15:24. Zadok (of the branch of Eleazar) with the priests took the ark from its place ( 2 Samuel 6), brought it out to David, and set it down where he halted (after passing the Kidron) on the declivity of the mount of Olives, “to give the people that were yet coming on time to join the procession” (Keil). On the other hand Abiathar (of the line of Eli [branch of Ithamar]) had remained in the city “till the people had all passed over from the city.” He went up, that Isaiah, of course, to the summit of Mount Olivet, where the ark was set down; the rendering: “he sacrificed” (Schultz, Böttcher), is impossible, since the verb ()עלה never has this meaning except in connection with the substantive “burnt-offering” (ָהל)עוֹ [or some other offering, Isaiah 57:6.—Tr.], or without reference to it in the connection; in the passages cited by Böttcher, 1 Samuel 2:28; 2 Samuel 24:22; 1 Kings 3:15, the context points to offering. Thenius proposes to read: “and Abiathar waited,”[FN31] for which there is no necessity, as the text in the connection (in respect to the locality) gives a good sense.— [Böttcher: “And Zadok, etc., bearing the ark, etc., of God, and Abiathar the son of Ahimelech at the head of all the Levites, and they set down the ark of God, and Abiathar offered sacrifices until,” etc., an improbable reading, in which the inserted clause is suggested by the Sept. ἀπὸ βαινὰρ = Abiathar. Wellhausen acutely suggests that the words: “and Abiathar went up (or, offered sacrifices),” are in the wrong place; the text reads: “they set down the ark till all the people,” etc. It is hard to get any good sense from the present text, or to explain what part Abiathar took in the proceedings. Some think he staid in the city till the ark was set down; others (contrary to the text) that he preceded the ark, which was not set down till he stopped. Probably Abiathar ought to be somehow connected with Zadok in the bearing of the ark (see the plural “your” in 2 Samuel 15:27), and perhaps in sacrificing; but we have not the means of satisfactorily restoring the text.—Tr.] PETT, "2 Samuel 15:24 104
- 105. ‘And, lo, Zadokalso came, and all the Levites with him, bearing the ark of the covenant of God. And they set down the ark of God. And Abiathar went up, until all the people had done passing out of the city.’ Along with all the others came Zadok and the Levites, bearing the Ark of the Covenant of God (suitably covered) which they had carried from the Tent in Jerusalem. And once there they took the Ark of God up a hillside and set it down where all the people could see it as they passed by as an indication that YHWH was with David. Meanwhile Abiathar the Priest had arrived later, possibly from the Tabernacle at Hebron, and he also went up on the hillside before the Ark in front of all the people. Thus all knew by this that YHWH was with David. And this continued until all the people who were likely to come had arrived and had finished passing out of the city. 25 Then the king said to Zadok, "Take the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the LORD's eyes, he will bring me back and let me see it and his dwelling place again. CLARKE, "Carry back the ark - David shows here great confidence in God, and great humility. The ark was too precious to be exposed to the dangers of his migrations; he knew that God would restore him if he delighted in him, and he was not willing to carry off from the city of God that without which the public worship could not be carried on. He felt, therefore, more for this public worship and the honor of God, than he did for his own personal safety. GILL, "And the king said unto Zadok, carry back the ark of God into the city,.... The reason of which is not easy to account for, since being carried back it would fall into the hands of the conspirators; and now the priests were with it to take care of it, and there might be occasion to inquire at it before the Lord; but David thought it being a sacred thing would not be violated by Absalom and his men, and that it would be safest in its own habitation or tabernacle, which David had built for it; for, that the reason of it should be, what Procopius Gazaeus suggests, cannot be given into, that he could not bear to carry about him the law, which accused of adulteries and murders: if I shall find favour in the eyes of the Lord: if he will appear for me, be on my side, and deliver me from those who have risen up against me: he will bring me again: to Jerusalem, and to his palace there: and show me both it and his habitation; the ark, and the tabernacle he had 105
- 106. erected for it,2Sa_6:17. K&D 25-26, "2Sa_15:25-26 Then the king said to Zadok, “Take back the ark of God into the city! If I find favour in the eyes of Jehovah, He will bring me back and let me see Him (i.e., himself: the reference is to God) and His dwelling (i.e., the ark of the covenant as the throne of the divine glory in the tent that had been set up for it). But if He thus say, I have not delight in thee; behold, here am I, let Him do to me as seemeth good to Him.” Thus David put his fate in believing confidence into the hand of the Lord, because he felt that it was the Lord who was chastising him for his sons through this rebellion. HENRY 25-26, "II. David's dismission of them back into the city, 2Sa_15:25, 2Sa_15:26. Abiathar was high priest (1Ki_2:35), but Zadok was his assistant, and attended the ark most closely, while Abiathar was active in public business, 2Sa_ 15:24. Therefore David directs his speech to Zadok, and an excellent speech it is, and shows him to be in a very good frame under his affliction, and that still he holds fast his integrity. 1. He is very solicitous for the safety of the ark: “By all means carry the ark back into the city, let not that be unsettled and exposed with me, lodge that again in the tent pitched for it; surely Absalom, bad as he is, will do that no harm.” David's heart, like Eli's trembles for the ark of God. Note, It argues a good principle to be more concerned for the church's prosperity than for our own, to prefer Jerusalem before our chief joy (Psa_137:6), the success of the gospel, and the flourishing of the church, above our own wealth, credit, ease, and safety, even when they are most in hazard. 2. He is very desirous to return to the enjoyment of the privileges of God's house. He will reckon it the greatest instance of God's favour to him if he may but once more be brought back to see it and his habitation. This will be more his joy than to be brought back to his own palace and throne again. Note, Gracious souls measure their comforts and conveniences in this world by the opportunity they give them of communion with God. Hezekiah wished for the recovery of his health for this reason, that he might go up to the house of the Lord, Isa_38:22. 3. He is very submissive to the holy will of God concerning the issue of this dark dispensation. He hopes the best (2Sa_15:25), and hopes for it from the favour of God, which he looks upon to be the fountain of all good: “If God favour me so far, I shall be settled again as formerly.” But he provides for the worst: “If he deny me this favour - if he thus say, I have no delight in thee - I know I deserve the continuance of his displeasure; his holy will be done.” See him here patiently awaiting the event: “Behold, here am I, as a servant expecting orders;” and see him willing to commit himself to God concerning it: “Let him do to me as seemeth good to him. I have nothing to object. All is well that God does.” Observe with what satisfaction and holy complacency he speaks of the divine disposal: not only, “He can do what he will,” subscribing to his power (Job_9:12), or, “He has a right to do what he will,” subscribing to his sovereignty (Job_33:13), or, “He will do what he will,” subscribing to his unchangeableness (Job_23:13, Job_ 23:15), but, “Let him to what he will,” subscribing to his wisdom and goodness. Note, It is our interest, as well as duty, cheerfully to acquiesce in the will of God, whatever befals us. That we may not complain of what is, let us see God's hand in all events; and, that we may not be afraid of what shall be, let us see all events in God's hand. BENSON, "2 Samuel 15:25-26. The king said unto Zadok, Carry back the ark — This he ordered, 1st, Through his care of and reverence for the ark, which, though it might be carried out to a certain place, yet, he might justly think, ought 106
- 107. not to betaken about from place to place, he knew not whither. And, 2d, Lest, if he had carried it about with him everywhere, he should seem to trust in that which was but the token of God’s presence, more than he did in God himself, who had preserved him in the persecution of Saul, when he had not the ark with him. But was he not exposing the priests to the violence of the usurper, by thus sending them back to Jerusalem; especially as they had just given such evidence of their fidelity to their king? To this it may be answered, that David hoped the sacredness of their character would be a security to them against all violence. If I find favour in the eyes of the Lord, &c. — If he shall be pleased to pardon the sins for which he is now justly, although so severely, chastising me. He will bring me again, and show me both it and his habitation — Will restore me to the enjoyment of the privileges of his house, and the ordinances of his worship, which I shall consider one of the greatest evidences of the return of his favour, and one of the greatest blessings his goodness can confer upon me, even greater than the being restored to my palace and throne. But if he say, I have no delight in thee — I will not receive thee into my favour, nor restore thee to thy throne and city, and to the enjoyment of my ordinances. Here I am — Ready to obey him, and to submit to his will and pleasure concerning me. David saw plainly that God, according to his threatening, had raised up this evil to him out of his own house, and was punishing him for his sins, and he receives the chastisement with resignation. “I imagine,” says Dr. Delaney, “I now hear him taking up the same lamentation which Alphonsus the Wise, king of Arragon, afterward did upon a like occasion: ‘I wonder not so much at my people’s ingratitude to me, as at my own to God.’ Hence, in this spirit of humiliation, David would not presume to have the ark, the symbol of the divine presence borne before him in that war: that was an honour of which he deemed himself utterly unworthy. And, therefore, referring himself and his affairs to the disposal of the Divine Providence, he remanded Zadok and Abiathar back to the city with the ark.” Let him do with me as seemeth him good — I have nothing to object; it is all well that God doth. Thus ought we cheerfully to acquiesce in the will of God, whatever befalls us. And that we may not complain of what is, let us see God’s hand in all events. And that we may not be afraid of what shall be, let us see all events in God’s hand. LANGE, "2 Samuel 15:25 sqq. The ark sent back. David declares that he does not need this sign of God’s gracious presence and protection. His reason for this is expressed in the words [ 2 Samuel 15:26]: “if I find favor,” etc., wherein in contrast with the visible sign of God’s presence he emphasizes His spiritual nearness, on which everything depends, and gives himself unconditionally up to the will of the Lord, whom he knows to be present, whose hand he sees in these events, according to the announcement made him by Nathan. He resigns himself to God in the proper sense of the word for “favor or disfavor.” David speaks only to Zadok, who here (as in in 2 Samuel 15:24) appears as the officiating high- priest at the head of the Levites. [But from 1 Kings 2:35 it seems that Abiathar was the superior (Bib-Com., Bähr on “Kings” (Lange’s Bible-work), Patrick). It is not improbable that some mention of Abiathar has here fallen out of the text (see 2 Samuel 15:29); though it may be that in the distribution of duties the care of the ark fell to Zadok. The two priests are throughout this narrative 107
- 108. represented as equallyfaithful to David.—Tr.] PETT, "2 Samuel 15:25-26 ‘And the king said to Zadok, “Carry back the ark of God into the city. If I shall find favour in the eyes of YHWH, he will bring me again, and show me both it, and his habitation, but if he say thus, ‘I have no delight in you’, behold, here am I, let him do to me as seems good to him.” ’ But David was not happy at the thought that the Ark of God should be required to join their wanderings. He had established it in a sacred Tent in Jerusalem, and in his view that was where it belonged. And he had no doubt that YHWH could help him from there. In his view to remove it would be an act of surrender and an indication that he was not expecting to return. So he informed Zadok that he should take it back to the city. As far as he was concerned all, including his own future, was in YHWH’s hands and YHWH would do whatever He would, no matter where His physical abode. Thus whether he himself was to find favour at YHWH’s hands did not depend on the whereabouts of the Ark, for YHWH was not limited and could work how and where He would. It simply depended on YHWH’s own will and purpose. And that was what mattered. If YHWH was intending to show favour to him then he would be brought safely back to the place where the Ark dwelt, but if YHWH was, on the other hand, now saying ‘I have no delight in you’, then he was willing to leave all in His hands. Let YHWH do to him what seemed good. Emergencies like this always brought out the best in David, and he was being reminded both of how dependent he was on YHWH, and how universal was His power. 26 But if he says, 'I am not pleased with you,' then I am ready; let him do to me whatever seems good to him." GILL, "But if he thus say, I have no delight in thee,.... As a king, or in his temporal prosperity, though he might and had delight in him as a chosen vessel of salvation, as a saint and child of God, and in his spiritual and everlasting welfare: behold, here am I; his humble servant, ready to be, and do and suffer whatever is his pleasure: let him do to me as seemeth good unto him; strip me of all the ensigns of royalty, dispossess me of my crown and kingdom, and dispose of me as seems good in his sight; who is a sovereign Being, and has a right to do with his creatures what he 108
- 109. pleases. ELLICOTT, "(26) Lethim do to me as seemeth good.—David recognises that he is suffering under the punishment pronounced by Nathan for his sin, and he seeks to throw himself entirely into the hands of God, trusting in His mercy. (Comp. 2 Samuel 24:14.) He is, therefore, unwilling to have the ark carried with him lest he should seem to undertake to compel the Divine presence and blessing. He feels sure that if God so will, he shall be brought again in peace; but if not, yet he will perfectly submit himself to God’s ordering. 27 The king also said to Zadok the priest, "Aren't you a seer? Go back to the city in peace, with your son Ahimaaz and Jonathan son of Abiathar. You and Abiathar take your two sons with you. BARNES, "Art not those a seer? - If the text be correct, the sense would be, “Art thou not a seer? therefore go back to the city, and observe, and certify me of what thou seest” 2Sa_15:28. Others, by a slight alteration of the original text, read “Art not thou a chief” (priest), etc. CLARKE, "Art not thou a seer? return into the city in peace - That is, As thou art the only organ of the public worship, that worship cannot be carried on without thee; and as thou art the priest of God, thou hast no cause to fear for thy personal safety: the nation has not abandoned their God, though they have abandoned their king. It appears also, that he wished these priests, by means of their sons, Ahimaaz the son of Zadok, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar, to send him frequent intelligence of the motions and operations of the enemy. GILL, "And the king said unto Zadok the priest, art not thou a seer?.... A prophet, as well as a priest; see 1Sa_9:9; or a seeing, knowing, man; one that can penetrate into men and things, and so might be of more service to David at Jerusalem than with him: wherefore he said to him: return into the city in peace; to the city of Jerusalem with peace, quietness, and satisfaction of mind; where he doubted not, at least hoped and wished, he would be in safety and prosperity, being one of the Lord's priests: and your two sons with you, Ahimaaz thy son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar; the one was of the line of Eleazar, and the other of the line of Ithamar. 109
- 110. HENRY 27-30, "III.The confidence David put in the priests that they would serve his interest to the utmost of their power in his absence. He calls Zadok a seer (2Sa_ 15:27), that is, a wise man, a man that can see into business and discern time and judgment: “Thou hast thy eyes in thy head (Ecc_2:14), and therefore art capable of doing me service, especially by sending me intelligence of the enemy's motions and resolutions.” One friend that is a seer, in such an exigency as this, was worth twenty that were not so quick-sighted. For the settling of a private correspondence with the priests in his absence, he appoints, 1. Whom they should send to him - their two sons, Ahimaaz and Jonathan, whose coat, it might be hoped, would be their protection, and of whose prudence and faithfulness he had probably had experience. 2. Whither they should send. He would encamp in the plain of the wilderness till he heard from them (2Sa_15:28), and then would move according to the information and advice they should send him. Hereupon they returned to the city, to await the event. It was a pity that any disturbance should be given to a state so happy as this was, when the prince and the priests had such an entire affection for the confidence in each other. IV. The melancholy posture that David and his men put themselves into, when, at the beginning of their march, they went up the mount of Olives, 2Sa_15:30. 1. David himself, as a deep mourner, covered his head and face for shame and blushing, went bare-foot, as a prisoner or a slave, for mortification, and went weeping. Did it become a man of his reputation for courage and greatness of spirit thus to cry like a child, only for fear of an enemy at a distance, against whom he might easily have made head, and perhaps with one bold stroke have routed him? Yes, it did not ill become him, considering how much there was in this trouble, (1.) Of the unkindness of his son. He could not but weep to think that one who came out of his bowels, and had so often lain in his arms, should thus lift up the heel against him. God himself is said to be grieved with the rebellions of his own children (Psa_95:10) and even broken with their whorish heart, Eze_6:9. (2.) There was much of the displeasure of his God in it. This infused the wormwood and gall into the affliction and misery, Lam_3:19. His sin was ever before him (Psa_51:3), but never so plain nor ever appearing so black as now. He never wept thus when Saul hunted him: but a wounded conscience makes troubles lie heavily, Psa_38:4. 2. When David wept all his company wept likewise, being much affected with his grief and willing to share in it. It is our duty to weep with those that weep, especially our superiors, and those that are better than we; for, if this be done in the green tree, what will be done in the dry? We must weep with those that weep for sin. When Hezekiah humbled himself for his sin all Jerusalem joined with him, 2Ch_32:26. To prevent suffering with sinners, let us sorrow with them. K&D, "2Sa_15:27-28 He also said still further to Zadok, “Thou seer! return into the city in peace.” ה ָ ፍ ה ֶּואר ֲ,ה with ֲה interrog., does not yield any appropriate sense, as ֲה cannot stand for ּואל ֲה here, simply because it does not relate to a thing which the person addressed could not deny. Consequently the word must be pointed thus, ה ֶּאר ָה (with the article), and rendered as a vocative, as it has been by Jerome and Luther. ה ֶּאר, seer, is equivalent to prophet. He applies this epithet to Zadok, as the high priest who received divine revelations by means of the Urim. The meaning is, Thou Zadok art 110
- 111. equal to aprophet; therefore thy proper place is in Jerusalem (O. v. Gerlach). Zadok was to stand as it were upon the watch there with Abiathar, and the sons of both to observe the events that occurred, and send him word through their sons into the plain of the Jordan. “Behold, I will tarry by the ferries of the desert, till a word comes from you to show me,” sc., what has taken place, or how the things shape themselves in Jerusalem. Instead of ּותר ְב ַע ְ , the earlier translators as well as the Masoretes adopted the reading ּותב ְר ַע ְ , “in the steppes of the desert.” The allusion in this case would be to the steppes of Jericho (2Ki_25:5). But Böttcher has very properly defended the Chethib on the strength of 2Sa_17:16, where the Keri has ּותב ְר ַע again, though ּותר ְב ַע is the true reading (cf. 2Sa_19:19). The “ferries of the desert” are the places where the Jordan could be crossed, the fords of the Jordan (Jos_2:7; Jdg_ 3:28). BENSON, "2 Samuel 15:27. Art thou not a seer? Return into the city in peace — “It should seem from hence,” says Delaney, “that Zadok was a prophet: however, as a priest, he was a teacher; and as such, bound to stay with his people in the greatest exigencies, and instruct them in their duty: besides that, by staying to do his duty to his people, he might also do good offices to his prince.” Indeed, the word ,ראה roeh, here rendered seer, means also a seeing, discerning and observing man: an interpretation which suits well with the present state of David’s mind and affairs. As if he had said, Thou art a wise man, fit to make observations on what is passing in Jerusalem, and to give me information thereof. Accordingly David concerted a plan, both with Zadok and Abiathar, of corresponding with him, and sending him intelligence of all his enemies’ measures by their sons, Ahimaaz and Jonathan. ELLICOTT, "(27) Art not thou a seer?—The Hebrew is difficult, and must be translated either. Art thou a seer? or, with a very slight change in a vowel, as an address, Thou seer. Zadok is so called because he was now in some sort to fulfil the office of a prophet in guiding David’s course, and also in making known to him the events taking place in Jerusalem which would show God’s will concerning him. Nothing is said in any part of this narrative of Nathan and Gad, both of whom were certainly still living (2 Samuel 24:11; 2 Samuel 24:13-14; 1 Kings 1:11). Your two sons with you.—Zadok only has been mentioned, and probably Abiathar was not present at the moment, but David shows by this way of speaking that he means to address them both. HAWKER, "Verses 27-29 (27) The king said also unto Zadok the priest, Art not thou a seer? return into the city in peace, and your two sons with you, Ahimaaz thy son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. (28) See, I will tarry in the plain of the wilderness, until there come word from you to certify me. (29) Zadok therefore and Abiathar carried the ark of God again to Jerusalem: and they tarried there. 111
- 112. Observe, how strongconfidence he put in the counsel of God's Seer, that is, God's prophet; through whom the Lord might graciously be pleased to convey instruction. And, Reader! have not we that which is better than a thousand Seers now? even his holy word, which is a constant light to our feet, and a lamp to our paths. LANGE, "2 Samuel 15:27 sqq. [The king says to Zadok: Return to the city, and I will await word from you at the fords.] The word הראה [Eng. A. V. seer] presents great difficulties if we adopt the interrogative pointing, and render: “Seest thou not?” (Grot.), where the insertion of the negative is unwarranted, or: “Seest thou?” (De Wette), or: “Understandest thou?” namely, what I have just said (Böttcher), which renderings are partly too heavy, partly superfluous. [These translations take the word as Participle. Eng. A. V. takes it as a substantive, and unwarrantably inserts a negative, leaving out which, the rendering: “art thou a seer?” is grammatically possible, but not suitable to the circumstances.—Tr.] Instead of the Interrogative particle (ֲה) we must read the Article (ָ,)ה and render: “Thou seer,” that Isaiah, thou prophet, “since a high-priest might certainly bear this higher, yet archaic name” (Ewald). The high-priest might well be called a seer, because he received divine revelations through the Urim and Thummim. David’s reason for so naming him here is found in his words in 2 Samuel 15:25 sqq. Zadok is to return to Jerusalem and learn God’s will through events, and through him David is to learn whether the Lord will again take him into favor and restore him to Jerusalem; that Isaiah, Zadok was to act as seer for him.— [This interpretation is hardly conveyed by the words. Zadok was to act as observer, as reporter or intermediary between Hushai and David, and in fact does so act. But he performs none of the functions of the official Roeh or Seer, and it is not easy to see why he should be so called. Usage forbids us to take the word in its literal sense: “seeer” = observer. Wellhausen’s reading: “high-priest” ()ראש belongs to a later time, and that of the Sept. “see!” (ה ֵא ְ)ר seems to offer fewer difficulties than any other.—Tr.]—Ahimaaz and Jonathan the sons of the two high-priests are to be the messengers to bring news from Jerusalem; comp. 2 Samuel 15:28 and 2 Samuel 15:36.—In 2 Samuel 15:28 we retain (from17:6 comp. with19:19) the Kethib or text: “the fords of the wilderness” (instead of the Qeri “plains”[FN32] [so Eng. A. V.], 2 Kings 25:5), the point where one passed from the wilderness over the Jordan. Thither (to the west side of the Jordan) David had to repair in order to escape any threatening danger by crossing the river at one of the several fords in the vicinity; and there he would await information from Jerusalem. Comp. the Jordan-fords, Joshua 2:7; Judges 3:28. PETT, "2 Samuel 15:27 ‘The king said also to Zadok the priest, “Are you not a seer? Return into the city in peace, and your two sons with you, Ahimaaz your son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar.” ’ David then pointed out to Zadok that he was a seer. He was thus one who could 112
- 113. see farther thanothers, could even see into men’s hearts, and could act as David’s eyes in Jerusalem. That was why he and Abiathar should return there with his son and Abiathar’s son. It was clear that he was confident that Zadok and Abiathar would be safe in Jerusalem because they would be expected to be where the Ark of God was whoever ruled there. Their loyalty was to YHWH. “Are you not a seer? Return into the city --” could equally be translated as, ‘You seer. Return to the city,’ but it makes little difference. The emphasis is on the fact that Zadok could ‘see’ beyond the ordinary. Whether this was because he and Abiathar could make use of the Urim in order to discern YHWH’s will, or because Zadok actually had special prophetic gifts, is not made clear to us. What mattered was that David’s expectation was that Zadok would be aware of all that was happening and yet, as long as he arrived back there before the coming of Absalom, would not be under suspicion because as a priest and prophet his place was with the Ark of God. 28 I will wait at the fords in the desert until word comes from you to inform me." GILL, "See, I will tarry in the plain of the wilderness,.... Towards the way of which David and the people went when they came over Kidron, 2Sa_15:23, until there come word from you to certify me; of the truth of the conspiracy, of the number of the conspirators, and who they are, what progress they have made, whether come to Jerusalem, and how they behave there, if come; or of anything relative hereunto he could get intelligence of. ELLICOTT, "(28) The plain of the wilderness.—This is the reading of the Hebrew margin here and at 2 Samuel 17:16, and is followed by the ancient versions. It is used for the wide valley of the Jordan in which Jericho is situated; but in both places the Hebrew text is better, the fords, both as a more definite place where messengers would find David, and also as a place of strategic importance where a retreat across the Jordan was open at any moment. 113
- 114. 29 So Zadokand Abiathar took the ark of God back to Jerusalem and stayed there. GILL, "Zadok therefore and Abiathar carried the ark of God again to Jerusalem,.... That is, ordered it to be carried, and took care that it was carried, by the Kohathite Levites, and they themselves attended it: and they tarried there; at Jerusalem; though their two sons that went with them entered not into the city, but stayed at a place called Enrogel, at some little distance from it, 2Sa_17:17. K&D, "2Sa_15:29 Zadok and Abiathar then returned to the city with the ark of God. 30 But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went; his head was covered and he was barefoot. All the people with him covered their heads too and were weeping as they went up. BARNES, "His head covered - See the marginal references and Jer_14:3-4; Eze_24:17; the sign of deep mourning. CLARKE, "Had his head covered - This was not only the attitude of a mourner, but even of a culprit; they usually had their heads covered when condemned. See the case of Haman. When the king had pronounced his condemnation, they immediately covered his face, and led him out to punishment; Est_7:8 (note). See also Quintus Curtius, De Philota, cap. vi.: I, Lictor; caput obnubito. GILL, "And David went up by the ascent of Mount Olivet,.... So called from 114
- 115. the olive treesthat grew upon it, which is often mentioned in the New Testament, and where our Lord Jesus Christ, the antitype of David, often was, in his state of humiliation, Mat_26:30, and from whence he ascended to heaven after his resurrection, Act_1:12; it was about a mile from Jerusalem, to the east of it: and wept as he went up; thinking perhaps of the wickedness and rebellion of his son, of his own hard case, to be obliged to quit his metropolis and palace, and make his flight afoot; and perhaps also of his own sins, which were the cause of his calamities: and had his head covered; with his mantle, with which he enwraped himself as a mourner, 2Sa_19:4; so the Egyptians used to cover their heads in mourning, and the Romans in later times (q); so Megara in sorrowful circumstances is represented as having her head covered with a garment (r): and he went barefoot; in token of mourning also, and like one forlorn, and going into captivity, see Isa_20:2, and all the people that was with him covered every man his head; as David did, and in imitation of him, and sympathizing with him; and which was sometimes done when men were ashamed and confounded, Jer_14:3, and they went up, weeping as they went up; the mount of Olivet, grieved for their king, and the distresses and calamities that were coming upon them. JAMISON, "David went up by the ascent of mount Olivet — The same pathway over that mount has been followed ever since that memorable day. had his head covered — with a mourning wrapper. The humility and resignation of David marked strongly his sanctified spirit, induced by contrition for his transgressions. He had fallen, but it was the fall of the upright; and he rose again, submitting himself meekly in the meantime to the will of God [Chalmers]. K&D 30-31, "Ahithophel and Hushai. - 2Sa_15:30, 2Sa_15:31. When David was going by the height of the olive-trees, i.e., the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, with his head covered, and barefooted, as a sign of grief and mourning (see Est_6:12; Eze_24:17), and with the people who accompanied him also mourning, he received intelligence that Ahithophel (see at 2Sa_15:12) was with Absalom, and among the conspirators. ידִ ִה דִו ָדְו gives no sense; for David cannot be the subject, because the next clause, “and David said,” etc., contains most distinctly an expression of David's on receiving some information. Thenius would therefore alter ידִ ִה into the Hophal דַ ֻ,ה whilst Ewald (§131, a) would change it into ידִ ֻ,ה an unusual form of the Hophal, “David was informed,” according to the construction of the Hiphil with the accusative. But although this construction of the Hiphil is placed beyond all doubt by Job_31:37; Job_26:4, and Eze_43:10, the Hiphil is construed as a rule, as the Hophal always is, with ְל of the person who receives information. Consequently דִו ָ must be altered into דִו ָד ְ,ל and ידִ ִה taken as impersonal, “they announced to David.” Upon receipt of this intelligence David prayed to the Lord, that He would “turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness,” make it appear as folly, i.e., frustrate it, - a prayer which God answered (vid., 2Sa_17:1.). 115
- 116. BENSON, "2 Samuel15:30. David went up by the ascent of mount Olivet, and wept as he went up — To think that one who was the offspring of his own body should thus lift up the heel against him, and reflecting on his own conduct in the matter of Uriah, as the cause of this calamity. And had his head covered — Through shame and confusion. And he went up barefoot — In testimony of his deep sorrow and humiliation for the sins whereby he had procured this evil to himself; for these were the habits of mourners; and to take a holy revenge upon himself for his former delicacy and luxury. “A more memorable event, surely, was never recorded in history, nor a more moving spectacle exhibited to mortal eyes! A king, venerable for his years and victories; sacred in the characters, both of his piety and prophecy; renowned for prowess, and revered for wisdom, reduced to the condition of a fugitive! to a sudden and extreme necessity of fleeing for his life, from the presence of his own son, his darling and delight; and a whole country loudly lamenting his fate! In this condition, David went up the mount, and when he reached the summit of it, fell down prostrate before God. Josephus tells us, that when David reached the top of the mountain, he took a view of the city, and prayed to God with abundance of tears. The reader will perhaps think it worth his notice, that Josephus should tell us, that David wept and viewed the city in the same spot from which, the evangelist informs us, our blessed Saviour wept over it.” — Delaney. And is this the glorious king of Israel, the beloved of God, the wise, the victorious David, who slew his ten thousands? Strange change indeed! What has produced this sad reverse? Sin alone has wrought all this! These are its baneful effects: he forgot the commandment of the Lord his God, and from hence has flowed all this evil! You that plead an excuse for sin, because David, the man after God’s own heart, fell into it; remember, likewise, what bitter and grievous punishments he underwent for it. Are you willing to pay such a price for sin? And yet, be assured, the inviolable laws of God require you to pay it in one way or other. COFFMAN, "This account of David's leaving the city of Jerusalem, barefoot and with his head covered, weeping as he went was called by Tatum, "One of the saddest passages in the Bible."[23] "Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom" (2 Samuel 15:31). This was a terrible blow indeed to David, as indicated by David's pouring out his heartbreak in one of the Psalms written on this occasion. He responded to the sad news with a prayer. "O Lord turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness" (2 Samuel 15:31). God answered his prayer at once. Hushai agreed to return to Jerusalem to keep David informed of things he might hear there concerning Absalom's strategy,"[24] and also to frustrate, if possible, the counsel of Ahithophel. HAWKER, "(30) And David went up by the ascent of mount Olivet, and wept as he went up, and had his head covered, and he went barefoot: and all the people 116
- 117. that was withhim covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as they went up. How very suitable a frame was David now in! He saw the hand of God in this affliction. This gave the additional bitterness to it. Moreover, be knew not what the event might be. Either way, in success, or the contrary, it was full of evil. If he conquered, it was a son, a beloved son, he subdued. If he fell himself, death would be the consequence. In such a state, as a mourner, he might well go barefoot and weeping. But Reader! can you accompany David in idea up the ascent of Mount Olivet, and not recollect that holy mourner there, David's Lord? Surely! no true believer in Christ can ever hear, or read, the name of Olivet, without connecting with it Jesus, and his agonies there. That was the memorable spot where thy Redeemer, my soul, sweat drops of blood, when the agony and convulsion of his soul was so great in sustaining all the weight and pressure of the divine justice due to thy sins, that David's grief for Absalom compared to it was but as nothing. Here the powers of hell besieged him also, until it became necessary that an angel from heaven should be dispatched to strengthen him. And Reader! you will not forget, I hope, how the Son of God in that tremendous hour in Olivet, was agitated backward and forward; when his whole soul was exceeding sorrowful, even unto death; and when his few faithful disciples were drenched in sleep, as if on purpose that no help, no comfort, should be afforded him: and that, in redemption-work, of the people there should be none with him. Isaiah 63:8. LANGE, "2 Samuel 15:30. David went up the height of the olive trees, that Isaiah, Mount Olivet [Eng. A. V.: the ascent (or acclivity) of Mount Olivet]. Deep and loud mourning of David and all the faithful people that accompanied him. “Covering the head” is the symbol of the mind sorrowfully sunk in itself, wholly withdrawn from the outer world. Comp. Esther 6:12; Ezekiel 24:17. Of David it is said besides that he went “barefoot,” “as a penitent” (Ewald), or: “to manifest his humiliation in the sight of God” (Thenius). PINK, "We resume at the point left off in our last. "The king said also unto Zadok the priest, Art not thou a seer? return into the city in peace, and your two sons with you, Ahimaaz thy son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar. See, I will tarry in the plain of the wilderness, until there come word from you to certify me" (vv. 27, 28). Though they could not be permitted to minister unto him in holy things, he does not disdain their services; they could further his interests by returning to their post of duty, and from there acquaint him with developments in Jerusalem. What implicit confidence in them was evidenced by this experienced strategist, in revealing to them his immediate plans—the place where he intended to remain for the time being! O that God’s servants today so conducted themselves that those in trouble would not hesitate to confide in them and seek their counsel. "Zadok therefore and Abiathar carried the ark of God again to Jerusalem: and they tarried there" (v. 29). Blessed obedience: sinking their own wishes, complying with the will of their master. 117
- 118. "And David wentup by the ascent of mount Olivet, and wept as he went up, and had his head covered, and he went barefoot" (v. 39). Let not the reader forget what was said in the opening paragraphs of the preceding chapter, where we pointed out that the real key to the whole of this passage is to be found in the state of David’s heart. Throughout he is to be viewed as the humble penitent. God’s rebuke was heavy upon him, and therefore did he humble himself beneath His mighty hand. Hence it is that we here see him giving outward expression to his self-abasement and grief for his sins, and for the miseries which he had brought upon himself, his family, and his people. Suitable tokens of his godly sorrow were these, for the covering of his head was a symbol of self-condemnation, while his walking barefooted betokened his mourning (cf. Isa. 20:2, 4; Ezek. 24:17). "And David went up by the ascent of mount Olivet, and wept as he went up. How striking is this, coming right after his crossing of the brook Kidron! In the previous chapter we pointed out five respects in which that foreshadowed our Lord’s crossing that same brook on the night of His betrayal. Who can fail to see here another unmistakable analogy? After His crossing of that doleful brook, our Saviour entered Gethsemane, where His soul was "exceeding sorrowful" and where His supplications were accompanied with "strong crying and tears" (Heb. 5:7). Yet while observing the comparison, let us not forget the radical contrast: his own sins were the cause of David’s grief, but the sins of His people occasioned Christ’s tears. "And all the people that were with him covered every man his head, and they went up weeping as they went up" (v. 30). It is our duty to weep with those that weep, and those that were with him were deeply affected by their king’s grief. Once again our minds revert to our Saviour’s passion, and discover another resemblance between it and David’s case here, though it has been strangely overlooked by many. The disciples who accompanied Christ into the Garden failed, it is true, to "watch with Him" for one hour, yet it most certainly was not through indifference, nor because they sought fleshly ease in slumber, for as the Holy Spirit expressly informs us, Christ "found them sleeping for sorrow" (Luke 22:45). Thus the weeping people who Followed David up Olivet found its counterpart in the sorrowing of those disciples who had accompanied the Saviour unto Gethsemane. "And one told David, saying, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom" (v. 31). With the exception of his own sons insurrection, this was the bitterest ingredient in the cup which David was now having to drink. It was no ordinary blow For him to bear, for Ahithophel was no ordinary man. He was one whom the king had taken into his confidence, numbered among his closest friends, and to whom he had shown much kindness. He not only enjoyed the most intimate relations with David concerning the affairs of state, but had close fellowship with him in spiritual things. This is evident from the Psalmist’s own statement "We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company" (55:14). Fickle and treacherous is human nature. Our sharpest trials often come from those in whom we have reposed the most trust and to whom we have shown the greatest kindness; yet, on the other hand, the most unlikely friends are sometimes raised up among those from whom we had the least expectations—as the Gittites attached to David (v.21). "And one told David, saying, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom." Troubles rarely come singly: often they crowd one on top of another, as was the case with Job. This sad news was brought to the king just when he was being the most 118
- 119. severely tried. Absalomhad revolted, and now his "prime minister" turned traitor at the most crucial moment. It was a vile requital for the king’s generosity to him. Here again we may perceive these historical incidents shadowing forth events even more solemn and frightful in connection with our blessed Lord, for Ahithophel is undoubtedly a striking type of Judas, who, after being admitted to the inner circle of Christ’s disciples, basely turned against Him and went over to the side of His enemies. Sufficient, then, for the disciple to be as his Master: if His charity was rewarded with cruel treachery, let us be prepared for similar treatment. How keenly David felt the perfidy of Ahithophel is evident from several statements in the Psalms which obviously refer to him. In Psalm 41 he mentions one evil after another which afflicted him, and finishes with "Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me" (v. 9)— that was the climax: anything worse could scarcely be imagined, as the opening "Yea," suggests. Ahithophel had not only forsaken David in his hour of need, but had gone over to the side of his foe. The "lifted up his heel against me" is the figure of a horse which has just been bedded by its master, and then lashing out with his feet, viciously kicks him. More plainly still is his anguish evidenced in "For it was not an enemy that reproached me: then I could have borne it; neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me: then I would have hid myself from him. But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance" (55:12, 13). There is still another reference in the Psalms where David laments, "For my love they are my adversaries; but I give myself unto prayer. And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love" (109:4, 5). This sad trial of David’s was illustrative of what is often the most painful experience of the Church, for her troubles usually begin at home: her open enemies can do her little or no harm until her pretended friends have delivered her into their hands. The statement that David "gave himself to prayer" at once links up with our passage, for there we read next, "And David said, O Lord, I pray Thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness" (v. 31). It is apparent that David was more afraid of Ahithophel’s wisdom than he was of Absalom’s daring, for he was a man of experience in statecraft, and was highly respected by the people (2 Sam. 16:23). "And David said, O Lord, I pray Thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness." Here again the type points forward to the antitype, in fact, that is the outstanding feature of our passage. David’s crossing of the Kidron (v. 23), his complete surrender of himself to the will of God (v. 26), his tears (v. 30), and now his praying, present one of the most remarkable prefigurations of our Lord’s sufferings to be found anywhere in the Old Testament. In asking the Lord to defeat the counsel of Ahithophel, David recognized and acknowledged that all hearts are in His hands, that He can "make the judges fools" (Job 12:17). There was no suitable opportunity for David to engage in a lengthy season of prayer, nor was that necessary, for we are not heard for our much speaking. Apparently, a brief ejaculation was all that now issued from his heart; but it was heard on high! What a blessed and encouraging example David has here left us! Prayer should ever be the believer’s resource, for there is never a time when it is unseasonable. We too may pray for God to bring to nought the crafty counsel of the wicked against His people. We too may come to Him when all appears to be lost, and spread our case before Him. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much, for vain is 119
- 120. all worldly wisdomand power against it. So it proved here: though David’s petition was a brief one, yet it met with an unmistakable answer as 2 Samuel 17:14 shows, where we are told, "And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel; for the Lord had commanded to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the Lord might bring evil upon Absalom." Let us take encouragement from this incident, then, and "in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let our requests be made known unto God" (Phil. 4:6). "And it came to pass, that when David was come to the top of the mount, where he worshipped God" (v. 32). This is blessed and teaches a lovely practical lesson: "weeping must never hinder worshipping" (Matthew Henry). No, why should it? We may worship God in the minor key as truly as in the major. We may adore the Lord as genuinely in the valley of humiliation as from the heights of jubilation. Furthermore, we may worship God as acceptably from the rugged mountaintop as in the most ornate cathedral. This principle was clearly apprehended by the spiritually minded in Old Testament times, as is evident from our passage: though David was away from the tabernacle, he realized that God was still accessible in spirit. Let us, then, grasp this fact, that nothing should prevent us worshipping the Lord, even though we no longer have access to His public ordinances. How thankful we should be for such a merciful provision in a day like ours. "And it came to pass, that when David was come to the top of the mount, there he worshipped God." There are some who believe—we consider with good reason—that David sang Psalm 3 as a part of his worship on this occasion, for it bears the title "a Psalm of David when he fled from Absalom his son." It has been well said that "Among all the Psalms of David there is none which more remarkably evidences the triumph of his faith out of the depths of affliction and chastisement than this one" (B. W. Newton). There was no shutting or his eyes to the gravity of his situation, no ignoring the imminency of his danger, for he said, "Lord, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me. Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah" (Ps. 3:1,2). David described his foes as being numerous, and as boasting there would be no deliverance for him by the Lord. As we have seen (2 Sam. 15:12), the revolt had assumed considerable dimensions, and the conspirators were assured that David’s sins had turned away the aid of heaven from his cause. "But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head" (Ps. 3:3): this is most blessed—he opposes their malicious utterances and confident hatred by the conviction that admidst real perils Jehovah was still his defence. With bowed and covered head he had fled from Jerusalem but "Thou art the lifter up of mine head" was his confidence. "Though the dangers were still present, yet in faith he speaks of them as past (Hebrew); the deliverance was yet future, yet he speaks of it as already come" (B. W. Newton). "I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and He heard me out of His holy hill. Selah" (Ps. 3:4). He was an exile from the tabernacle on Zion, and he had sent back the ark to its rest; but though he had to cry to God from the mountain side, He graciously answers from "His holy hill." "He and his men camped admidst dangers, but an unslumbering Helper mounted guard over the undefended slumberers" (A. Maclaren): "I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the Lord sustained me" (Ps. 3:5). Such was the calm confidence of David, even while multiplied perils were still encircling him. Refreshed 120
- 121. by the night’srepose, heartened by the divine protection granted while sheltering in caves or sleeping in the open, the Psalmist breaks forth in triumphant exclamation: "I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people that have set themselves against me round about" (Ps. 3:6). Betaking himself for renewed energy to the weapon of prayer, even before the battle David sees the victory, but ascribes it solely to his God. "Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God: for Thou host smitten all mine enemies upon the cheekbone; Thou host broken the teeth of the ungodly. Salvation belongeth unto the Lord: Thy blessing is upon Thy people. Selah" (Ps. 3:7,8). "Nor was his confidence in vain. He was restored and allowed again to see Israel in peace—again to prove that God’s blessing is upon His people. How precious is the individual use of such a Psalm as this, to every one who, after having backslidden or trespassed, has only turned again to the mercies and faithfulness of God. Even though the tokens of divine rebuke and chastisement be present on every side, even though every tongue may say ‘there is no help for him in God,’ such an one may remember David, and again say, ‘Thou, O Lord, art a shield for me: my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.’ Thus, even the sins and chastisements of God’s servants are made blessings in result to His people" (B. W. Newton). "Behold Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat rent, and earth upon his head" (v. 32). From 1 Chronicles 27:33 we learn that Hushai was another who had taken a prominent part in the affairs of state, for there it is recorded, Hushai the Archite was the king’s companion." That Hushai was regarded as a man of wisdom is also apparent from the fact that, a little later, Absalom applied to him for advice (2 Sam. 17:5). In the light of what immediately follows, it seems to us that the coming to David of Hushai is often His way to so regulate our circumstances as to exhibit the secret workings of our hearts—that we may, subsequently, be humbled thereby, and brought to prize more highly that grace which bears so patiently with us. "Unto whom David said, If thou passest on with me, then thou shalt be a burden unto me; But if thou return to the city, and say unto Absalom, I will be thy servant, O king; as I have been thy father’s servant hitherto, so will I now also be thy servant: then mayest thou for me defeat the counsel of Ahithophel. And hast thou not there with thee Zadok and Abiathar the priests? therefore it shall be, that what thing so ever, thou shalt hear out of the king’s house, thou shalt tell it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests. Behold, they have there with them their two sons, Ahimaaz Zadok’s son, and Jonathan Abiathar’s son; and by them ye shall send unto me every thing that ye can hear. So Hushai David’s friend came into the city, and Absalom came into Jerusalem" (vv. 33-37). "As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man" (Prov. 27:19). Alas, cannot both writer and reader see in the above incident a reflection of his own character? Have there not been times when we confidently committed our cause and case unto the Lord, and then we saw an opportunity where, by fleshly scheming, we thought that we could secure the answer to our prayers? It is far easier to commit our way unto the Lord, than it is to "rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him" (Ps. 37:5, 7). It is there that the real test of faith often lies: whether we leave things entirely in God’s hands, or seek to take matters into our own. Learn, then, that the appearing of a willing Hushai at the critical moment is often permitted to put us to the proof— whether or nor our heart be still inclined to lean upon an arm of flesh. 121
- 122. Various attempts havebeen made seeking to vindicate David for sending Hushai to become a spy for him in Absalom’s camp. Strategy may be permissible in warfare, but nothing could justify the king in causing Hushai to act and utter a lie. It is true that God overruled, and through Hushai defeated Ahithophel’s counsel, but that no more proves He approved of this deception, than did the flowing of water from the smitten rock show God’s approbation of Moses’ anger. The best that can be said is, "Alas! where shall we find wisdom and simplicity so united in any mere man that we can perceive nothing which admits of censure and needs forgiveness?" (Thomas Scott). There has only been One on this earth in whom there was no spot or blemish. PETT, "2 Samuel 15:30 ‘And David went up by the ascent of the mount of Olives, and wept as he went up, and he had his head covered, and went barefoot, and all the people who were with him covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as they went up.’ David and his attendants then went up over the Mount of Olives, and as he went he wept, had his hair covered, and went barefoot. These were all symbols of mourning and repentance before YHWH, and an indication of great distress (compare Esther 6:12; Ezekiel 24:17; Isaiah 20:2-3). David wanted YHWH to recognise that he recognised the sinfulness of his own heart and was aware that all this was a chastisement from YHWH because of his sins. 31 Now David had been told, "Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom." So David prayed, "O LORD , turn Ahithophel's counsel into foolishness." CLARKE, "Turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness - Ahithophel was a wise man, and well versed in state affairs; and God alone could confound his devices. GILL, "And one told David,.... That came either from Hebron or from Jerusalem: Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom; Absalom sent for him, and it seems he came to him, and continued with him, see 2Sa_15:12, and David said, O Lord, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness; either suffer him to give foolish counsel, or confound the schemes 122
- 123. projected by him,and let them not be carried into execution; for God can, and sometimes does, disappoint crafty counsellors, that they cannot perform what they devise, but they are taken in their own craftiness, and their counsel is carried headlong, Job_5:12; this prayer was answered, 2Sa_17:14. HENRY, "Nothing, it seems, appeared to David more threatening in Absalom's plot than that Ahithophel was in it; for one good head, in such a design, is worth a thousand good hands. Absalom was himself no politician, but he had got one entirely in his interest that was, and would be the more dangerous because he had been all along acquainted with David's counsels and affairs; if therefore he can be baffled, Absalom is as good as routed and the head of the conspiracy cut off. This David endeavours to do. I. By prayer. When he heard that Ahithophel was in the plot he lifted up his heart to God in this short prayer: Lord, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness, 2Sa_15:31. He had not opportunity for a long prayer, but he was not one of those that thought he should be heard for his much speaking. It was a fervent prayer: “Lord, I pray thee, do this.” God is well pleased with the importunity of those that come to him with their petitions. David is particular in this prayer; he names the person whose counsels he prays against. God gives us leave, in prayer, to be humbly and reverently free with him, and to mention the particular care, and fear, and grief, that lies heavily upon us. David prayed not against Ahithophel's person, but against his counsel, that God would turn it into foolishness, that, though he was a wise man, he might at this time give foolish counsel, or, if he gave wise counsel, that it might be rejected as foolish, or, if it were followed, that by some providence or other it might be defeated, and not attain the end. David prayed this in a firm belief that God has all hearts in his hand, and tongues too, that, when he pleases, he can take away the understanding of the aged and make the judges fools, (Job_12:17; Isa_3:2, Isa_3:3), and in hope that God would own and plead his just and injured cause. Note, We may pray in faith, and should pray with fervency, that God will turn that counsel into foolishness which is taken against his people. JAMISON, "David said, Turn, O Lord, ... the counsel of Ahithophel — this senator being the mainstay of the conspiracy. BENSON, "2 Samuel 15:31. One told David — Or, David told; that is, being informed that Ahithophel was among the conspirators, he mentioned it to his friends, to excite them to join with him in the following prayer against him. Turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness. Either infatuate him, that he may give foolish counsel; or let his counsel be contemned and rejected as foolish; or let it miscarry in the execution. Thus David’s constant recourse, in all his dangers and difficulties, was unto God by prayer. HAWKER, "(31) ¶ And one told David, saying, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, O LORD, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness. Reader! do observe how near the Lord is to his people in all that they call upon him for. The issue of this prayer, and the success of it, the subsequent history 123
- 124. proves. Ahithophel's counselwas considered foolishness. And through this, as an instrument in the Lord's hand, Absalom lost his cause, Oh! the privilege of the faithful, in their nearness of access to God! PETT, "2 Samuel 15:31 ‘And one told David, saying, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” And David said, “O YHWH, I pray you, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.” ’ And as he went up the Mount someone came to him with the worst news that he had received up to this point. It was that his famed and wise counsellor Ahithophel had joined the rebellion on Absalom’s side, and was advising Absalom. Recognising what that could mean for the success of the rebellion David turned to the only One Whom he felt could help him in such a situation and prayed, “O YHWH, I pray you, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.” David knew how much depended on that prayer. He knew that Ahithophel’s advice could make all the difference between success and failure. 32 When David arrived at the summit, where people used to worship God, Hushai the Arkite was there to meet him, his robe torn and dust on his head. BARNES, "Render ... “when David was come to the top of the mount where people worship God.” The top here, and in 2Sa_16:1, is used almost as a proper name. No doubt there was a high-place upon the top of the Mount of Olives. CLARKE, "Where he worshipped God - Though in danger of his life, he stops on the top of Mount Olivet for prayer! How true is the adage, Prayer and provender never hinder any man’s journey! Reader, dost thou do likewise? Hushai the Archite - He was the particular friend of David, and was now greatly affected by his calamity. GILL, "And it came to pass, that when David was come to the top of the mount,.... Of the mount of Olives: where he worshipped God; by prayer and praise; here very probably he 124
- 125. composed and sungthe third psalm Psa_3:1, which, as the title shows, was made when he fled from Absalom: behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him, with his coat rent, and earth upon his head; in token of mourning, and as a bringer of bad tidings, see 2Sa_1:2; perhaps he was an inhabitant of Archi, at least originally, which lay on the borders of the tribe of Ephraim, Jos_16:2; from whence he had his name. HENRY 32-37, "II. By policy. We must second our prayer with our endeavours, else we tempt God. It is good service to countermine the policy of the church's enemies. When David came to the top of the mount, he worshipped God, 2Sa_15:32. Note, Weeping must not hinder worshipping, but quicken it rather. Now he penned the third Psalm, as appears by the title; and some think that his singing this was the worship he now paid to God. Just now Providence brought Hushai to him. While he was yet speaking, God heard, and sent him the person that should be instrumental to befool Ahithophel. He came to condole with David on his present trouble, with his coat rent and earth upon his head; but David, having a great deal of confidence in his conduct and faithfulness, resolved to employ him as a spy upon Absalom. He would not take him with him (2Sa_15:33), for he had now more need of soldiers than counsellors, but sent him back to Jerusalem, to wait for Absalom's arrival, as a deserter from David, and to offer him his service, 2Sa_15:34. Thus he might insinuate himself into his counsels, and defeat Ahithophel, either by dissuading Absalom from following his advice or by discovering it to David, that he might know where to stand upon his guard. How this gross dissimulation, which David put Hushai upon, can be justified, as a stratagem in war, I do not see. The best that can be made of it is that Absalom, if he rebel against his father, must stand upon his guard against all mankind, and, if he will be deceived, let him be deceived. David recommended Hushai to Zadok and Abiathar, as persons proper to be consulted with (2Sa_15:35), and to their two sons, as trusty men to be sent on errands to David, 2Sa_15:36. Hushai, thus instructed, came to Jerusalem (2Sa_15:37), whither also Absalom soon after came with his forces. How soon do royal palaces and royal cities change their masters! But we look for a kingdom which cannot be thus shaken and in the possession of which we cannot be disturbed. JAMISON, "when David was come to the top of the mount, where he worshipped — looking towards Jerusalem, where were the ark and tabernacle. Hushai the Archite — A native of Archi, on the frontiers of Benjamin and Ephraim (Jos_16:2). Comparing the prayer against Ahithophel with the counsel to Hushai, we see how strongly a spirit of fervent piety was combined in his character with the devices of an active and far-seeing policy. K&D, "On David's arrival at the height where people were accustomed to worship, i.e., upon the top of the Mount of Olives, the Archite Hushai came to meet him with his clothes rent and earth upon his head, that is to say, in the deepest mourning (see 1Sa_4:12). It is evident from the words וגו הֶו ֲח ַ ְשִׁר־י ֶשׁ ֲא that there was a place of worship upon the top of the Mount of Olives, probably a bamah, such as continued to exist in different places throughout the land, even after the building of the temple. According to 2Sa_15:37; 2Sa_16:16, and 1Ch_27:33, Hushai was ה ֶע ֵ,ר a friend of David, i.e., one of his privy councillors. י ִⅴ ְרፍ ָה (the Archite), if we may judge from Jos_16:2, was the 125
- 126. name of afamily whose possessions were upon the southern boundary of the tribe of Ephraim, between Bethel and Ataroth. Hushai was probably a very old man, as David said to him (2Sa_15:33, 2Sa_15:34), “If thou goest with me, thou wilt be a burden to me. But if thou returnest to the city and offerest Absalom thy services, thou canst bring for me the counsel of Ahithophel to nought. If thou sayest to Absalom, I will be thy servant, O king; servant of thy father (i.e., as regards this) I was that of old, but now I am thy servant.” The ו before יִנ ֲא introduces the apodosis both times (vid., Ewald, §348, a.). BENSON, "2 Samuel 15:32. The top of the mount, where he worshipped — Looking, doubtless, toward Jerusalem, where the ark and tabernacle, which he had made for it, were. Hushai, the Archite came to meet him — Probably he was from Archi, a city in the tribe of Ephraim, (see Joshua 16:2,) and coming to Jerusalem, was made one of David’s privy council because of his wisdom; otherwise, it is not likely that Absalom would so readily have entertained him, and admitted him to his secrets. The coming of Hushai just at this time seems to have been ordered by God’s peculiar providence, in answer to David’s prayer mentioned in the preceding verse. With his coat rent, and earth upon his head — In token of his great sorrow on David’s account. COFFMAN, ""When David came to the summit where God was worshipped" (2 Samuel 15:32). The words `where God was worshipped,' refer to the fact that David and his company paused there to worship God, despite the fact of their lives all being in the most serious jeopardy. DeHoff said, "David was in danger of his life, but he stopped on Mount Olivet for prayer,"[25] a prayer, incidentally, which was answered by the events in this paragraph almost instantaneously. Yes, God was with David even in the manifold sorrows of this dreadful experience. THE ECHO OF ALL THESE EVENTS IN THE PSALMS "The rebellion of Absalom and the humiliating flight of David brought out all the better parts of the king's character and set him once more before us as a man after God's own heart; and this part of his life is richly illustrated by the Psalms which he wrote during the pressure of this great affliction. Psalms 41 shows how poignant was his anguish over Ahithophel's treachery."[26] "Psalms 3 and Psalms 4 were David's morning and evening songs `when he fled from Absalom his son.' David's grief at the loss of his privileges of worship in Jerusalem. In Psalms 27, we have the contrast between Jehovah's abiding goodness and the inconstancy of man; and Psalms 61 and Psalms 62 were probably written at Mahanaim when David's anguish of mind had been assuaged."[27] In our commentary on the Psalms, we have explored many such thoughts as these. ELLICOTT, "(32) Where he worshipped God.—Rather, where men worship. 126
- 127. The original indicatesa customary act. David had taken the road over the crest of the Mount of Olives, and there, in all probability, was one of those “high places” which abounded in Israel. Hushai the Archite.—His place is mentioned in Joshua 16:2 as on the border between Ephraim and Benjamin, and he may have been at his own home when the rebellion broke out. His coming appears as the beginning of the answer to David’s prayer in 2 Samuel 15:31. HAWKER, "Verses 32-37 (32) And it came to pass, that when David was come to the top of the mount, where he worshipped God, behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat rent, and earth upon his head: (33) Unto whom David said, If thou passest on with me, then thou shalt be a burden unto me: (34) But if thou return to the city, and say unto Absalom, I will be thy servant, O king; as I have been thy father's servant hitherto, so will I now also be thy servant: then mayest thou for me defeat the counsel of Ahithophel. (35) And hast thou not there with thee Zadok and Abiathar the priests? therefore it shall be, that what thing soever thou shalt hear out of the king's house, thou shalt tell it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests. (36) Behold, they have there with them their two sons, Ahimaaz Zadok's son, and Jonathan Abiathar's son; and by them ye shall send unto me everything that ye can hear. (37) So Hushai David's friend came into the city, and Absalom came into Jerusalem. Here we find David at his devotions. Not all the hurry of business, nor all the precipitancy of flight, could stop the fervor of David in his communion with God. The title of the third Psalm gives us an acquaintance with the sum and substance of David's prayer, what he said to the Lord upon this occasion: and very sweet the petitions are, to which I refer the Reader. He complains of the number, and of the malice of his enemies: but takes refuge in God, both as a sun and shield, to whom salvation alone belonged. Probably David poured out his soul to the Lord as he ascended the mount, weeping and praying as he went, and even praising God through all. Beautiful pattern for afflicted souls! Whether suffering under the effects of sin, the ungraciousness of children, or of the world. See Ps 3. The coming of Hushai seems to have been providential. And the event fully justified the advice of David in the moment. REFLECTIONS PAUSE, Reader! over the perusal of this Chapter, and in the contemplation both of the father and of the son, David and Absalom, learn to observe what nature is, and how much grace is needed to correct and reform poor fallen man. Behold in Absalom the awful consequence of indulging the corrupt and pampered passions of children. Had David, as a king in Israel, followed up the divine law, in punishing him for murder, painful as it might have been to nature, yet perhaps 127
- 128. the Lord wouldthen have sent his servant the Prophet to interpose; and Absalom being convicted and convinced of the atrocious sin of murdering his brother, would have called forth mercy in his exemplary sorrow and repentance. At least this effect would have been produced by it, that he could not so shortly after have been found in open rebellion against his father. But, when David in the feeling of the father lost sight of his duty as a king, and took again to his bosom the murderer of a son, can it be wondered at, that the serpent so fostered should sting him, or that the wretch forgiven the blood-shedding of a brother, should so ripen in iniquity, as to aim the dagger at the father! Oh! what hath sin wrought in our fallen nature! What is not the heart of man capable of devising in evil, void of divine grace! Reader! let us remark in David also, how sure God's judgments are, and how certain it is that our sin will find us out. How much more amiable David appears in ascending the hill of Olivet, weeping as he went, than when triumphing in his conquests over Bath-sheba and Uriah! How very gracious the Lord is in condescending to correct his people, in order to bring their hearts home to him, when without those corrections they would wander from him forever. Precious Jesus! how dear are thy recoveries! Oh! how very sweet, to thy people, are thy many, many redemptions. Yes! dearest Lord, thou hast not only redeemed us to God by thy blood; but the everlasting efficacy of thy precious blood-shedding and righteousness, again and again pleads for us, when by our frequent departures, thy corrections for our recovery are rendered necessary, Oh! Lord! grant that such may be the views, both of him that writes and him that reads, (if it be thy blessed will), of all thy tender corrections for our trespasses, that though thou mayest bring us down by affliction, our faith may yet be assured thou wilt not cast us off: though we are, chastened, yet not destroyed. Though in us there is nothing of worth, yet with Jesus there is perpetual merit. He ever liveth to make intercession; and his blood cleansed from all sin. Now, Lord, would I sing that song, even before I quit this mortal life; and ere long I shall chant it loud amidst the heavenly host: Worthy is the Lamb that was slain; for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood. PETT, "YHWH Answers David’s Prayer In The Person Of Hushai The Archite (2 Samuel 15:32-37). Having prayed that YHWH would turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness in the eyes of Absalom, David made his way to the top of the Mount ‘where God was worshipped’ and there before his very eyes he saw the almost instant answer to his prayers in Hushai the Archite, his loyal and faithful counsellor who was known as ‘the King’s Friend’. Here if anywhere was the solution to his problem. For Hushai too had a reputation for wisdom, and if he was in the right place could hopefully counteract any counsel that Ahithophel gave. The appearance of Hushai at this very time would have been an encouraging sign to David that YHWH was still with him. 128
- 129. Analysis. a And itcame to about that, when David was come to the top of the ascent, where God was worshipped, behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat torn, and earth on his head (2 Samuel 15:32). b And David said to him, “If you pass on with me, then you will be a burden to me, but if you return to the city, and say to Absalom, ‘I will be your servant, O king. As I have been your father’s servant in time past, so will I now be your servant.’ Then will you defeat for me the counsel of Ahithophel” (2 Samuel 15:33-34). c “And have you not there with you Zadok and Abiathar the priests?” (2 Samuel 15:35 a). b “Therefore it shall be, that whatever thing you shall hear out of the king’s house, you will tell it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests. Behold, they have there with them their two sons, Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son, and Jonathan, Abiathar’s son, and by them you will send to me everything that you shall hear” (2 Samuel 15:35-36). a So Hushai, David’s friend, came into the city, and Absalom came into Jerusalem (2 Samuel 15:37). Note that in ‘a’ Hushai the Archite came out of the city to meet David, and in the parallel he returned to the city in time to meet Absalom. In ‘b’ he was to act to counter the wisdom of Ahithophel before Absalom, and in the parallel he was to act as the king’s eyes in the house of Absalom. Central in ‘c’ was the important fact of the presence of Zadok and Abiathar the priests in the city who would give him their support. So even before Absalom arrived in the city David had planted counter-conspirators to act on his behalf. 2 Samuel 15:32 ‘And it came to about that, when David was come to the top of the ascent, where God was worshipped, behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat torn, and earth on his head.’ As David reached the top of the Mount of Olives ‘where God was worshipped’ he saw Hushai the Archite hurrying to meet him, bearing in his person all the signs of grief over what was happening. Both the tearing of the coat and the earth on the head expressed his deep emotion. Hushai the Archite was one of David’s counsellors and was known as David’s Friend which was probably the title resulting from his official position as his chief personal adviser. He was almost certainly old, a wise man seen as having the extra wisdom that came with age. His being an Archite probably linked him with the family whose possessions were on the southern boundary of the tribe of Ephraim, between Bethel and Ataroth as described in Joshua 16:2. 129
- 130. That God ‘wasworshipped’ at the top of the Mount of Olives is a reminder that in David’s day there were still high places where YHWH was worshipped. As we have seen previously, once the one sanctuary at Shiloh had ceased there were a number of places where YHWH worship was carried on. It was fitting that at such a place he would receive the answer to his prayers in such a specific way. 33 David said to him, "If you go with me, you will be a burden to me. CLARKE, "Then thou shalt be a burden unto me - It appears that Hushai was not a warrior, but was a wise, prudent, and discreet man, who could well serve David by gaining him intelligence of Absalom’s conspiracy; and he directs him to form a strict confederacy with the priests Zadok and Abiathar, and to make use of their sons as couriers between Jerusalem and David’s place of retreat. GILL, "Unto whom David said,.... After he had heard what he had to say, and what tidings he brought: and if thou passest on with me; in his march and flight: then thou shalt be a burden to me; being to be maintained by him; and David having but scanty provisions, and so could not receive useless persons, as Hushai might be, perhaps an old man, that could be of no service to him, and unfit for travelling, and so would rather be an hinderance than an help unto him. BENSON, "2 Samuel 15:33. If thou passest on with me, thou shalt be a burden, &c. — For he was not provided, it seems, with sufficient support for his own family; and Hushai, though famous as a counsellor in the cabinet, being unpractised in the camp, and no soldier, could not be so useful to him in the army as he might be at court. David therefore, conceives the idea of employing him in endeavouring to defeat or render abortive the counsel of Ahithophel. LANGE, "2 Samuel 15:30. David went up the height of the olive trees, that Isaiah, Mount Olivet [Eng. A. V.: the ascent (or acclivity) of Mount Olivet]. Deep and loud mourning of David and all the faithful people that accompanied him. “Covering the head” is the symbol of the mind sorrowfully sunk in itself, wholly withdrawn from the outer world. Comp. Esther 6:12; Ezekiel 24:17. Of David it is said besides that he went “barefoot,” “as a penitent” (Ewald), or: “to manifest his humiliation in the sight of God” (Thenius). 130
- 131. 34 But ifyou return to the city and say to Absalom, 'I will be your servant, O king; I was your father's servant in the past, but now I will be your servant,' then you can help me by frustrating Ahithophel's advice. GILL, "But if thou return to the city,.... To the city of Jerusalem, from whence it seems he came: and say unto Absalom, I will be thy servant, O king; as he was by usurpation, and by the proclamation of the people with him. David directs him to address him thus, that he might have no suspicion of him, having been an old friend of his: as I have been thy father's servant hitherto; perhaps in the character of a counsellor, as it should seem, since as such he was afterwards employed by Absalom: so will I now also be thy servant; in whatsoever thou shall please to employ me under thee: then mayest thou for me defeat the counsel of Ahithophel; for being taken into Absalom's service, and made one of his counsellors, he would be privy to the advice of Ahithophel, and so be able to work against him. JAMISON, " BENSON, "2 Samuel 15:34. Say unto Absalom, I will be thy servant, O king, &c. — This crafty counsel of David to Hushai, advising him to use such great dissimulation, cannot be justified. It must, of necessity, be reckoned among his sins, as being a plain violation of the law of truth, and only intended to deceive. Nevertheless, as this was with David the hour of temptation, and this evil advice was suggested by his present and pressing straits, God was mercifully pleased to pardon and direct it to a good end. Thou mayest for me defeat, &c. — That is, by advising different measures, which, considering the great reputation that Hushai had for wisdom, David judged Absalom would be inclined to hearken to, rather than to those proposed by Ahithophel. ELLICOTT, "(34) Say unto Absalom.—David here counsels fraud and treachery, and Hushai willingly accepts the part assigned to him, in order to thwart Ahithophel’s counsel and weaken Absalom’s rebellion. The narrative simply states the facts without justifying them. But while we cannot too strongly 131
- 132. condemn such astratagem, two things are to be remembered: first, that like frauds in time of war and rebellion have been practised in all ages, and still continue; and, secondly, that David and Hushai had but slender knowledge of the Divine revelation of truth and righteousness which enables us to condemn them, and, therefore, did with a clear conscience many things which we see to be wrong. 35 Won't the priests Zadok and Abiathar be there with you? Tell them anything you hear in the king's palace. GILL, "And hast thou not there with thee Zadok and Abiathar the priests?.... To assist in forming schemes directly opposite to Ahithophel's, or to whom he could communicate the secrets of Absalom's court: therefore it shall be that what thing soever thou shalt hear out of the king's house; Absalom's, who had now, at possession of the house and palace of David: thou shalt tell it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests; to whom he might have recourse without suspicion, pretending he had business with them as priests, on religious accounts, to offer sacrifices for him, &c. K&D, "David then commissioned him to communicate to the priests Zadok and Abiathar all that he should hear of the king's house, and send word to him through their sons. PETT, "2 Samuel 15:35 “And have you not there with you Zadok and Abiathar the priests? Therefore it shall be, that whatever thing you shall hear out of the king’s house, you will tell it to Zadok and Abiathar the priests.” Furthermore he was not to think that he would be alone there. For Zadok and Abiathar the priests would also be with him in Jerusalem. Thus whatever he learned in Absalom’s palace he could pass on to them. 36 Their two sons, Ahimaaz son of Zadok and 132
- 133. Jonathan son ofAbiathar, are there with them. Send them to me with anything you hear." GILL, "Behold, they have there with them two sons, Ahimaaz, Zadok's son, and Jonathan, Abiathar's son,.... As in 2Sa_15:27; not that they were in the city with them, but they were near it, 2Sa_17:17; with whom they had a communication: and by whom ye shall send unto me everything that ye can hear; that is, by the sons of the priests; he telling the priests how things were at court, and they sending their sons with messages to David; which was a good scheme to get intelligence, and easy to be put into execution. BENSON, "2 Samuel 15:36-37. They have there with them their two sons — Not in Jerusalem, but in a place near it, to which they could easily send upon occasion. So Hushai came into the city — Where, it is likely, he waited for the coming of Absalom. And having got thither before him, he so ordered his affairs that it was not known to Absalom’s party that he had been with David to offer him his services. And Absalom came into Jerusalem — How soon do royal cries and royal palaces change their masters! But we look for a kingdom which cannot be moved. PETT, "2 Samuel 15:36 “Behold, they have there with them their two sons, Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son, and Jonathan, Abiathar’s son, and by them you will send to me everything that you shall hear.” Then Zadok and Abiathar would be able to send to the king their two sons, Ahimaaz and Jonathan, with any information that was gleaned, assuming that it was considered of sufficient importance to pass on. 37 So David's friend Hushai arrived at Jerusalem as Absalom was entering the city. CLARKE, "Absalom came into Jerusalem - It is very probable that he and his partisans were not far from the city when David left it, and this was one reason 133
- 134. which caused himto hurry his departure. Reader, behold in the case of David a sad vicissitude of human affairs, and a fearful proof of their instability. Behold a king, the greatest that ever lived, a profound politician, an able general, a brave soldier, a poet of the most sublime genius and character, a prophet of the Most High God, and the deliverer of his country, driven from his dominions by his own son, abandoned by his fickle people, and for a time even by his God! See in his desolate state that there is none so exalted that God cannot abase, and none so abased that God cannot exalt. He was forsaken for a time, and his enemies triumphed; God returned, and his enemies were confounded. His crime, it is true, was great and God had declared by Nathan what had now come to pass. God is just, and in numberless instances sees right to show his displeasure even at those sins which his mercy has forgiven. In all cases it is a fearful and bitter thing to sin against the Lord. GILL, "So Hushai David's friend came into the city,.... The city of Jerusalem, by the direction and persuasion of David, and in obedience to him, in order to serve him to the uttermost: and Absalom came into Jerusalem: just at the same time; so that he knew not that Hushai had been out of it, and been with David, and which also appears from what he said to him, 2Sa_16:17. K&D, "So Hushai went into the city when Absalom came to Jerusalem. The w| before the second clause, followed by the imperfect ּואבָ,י indicates contemporaneous occurrence (vid., Ewald, §346, b.). PETT, "2 Samuel 15:37 ‘So Hushai, David’s friend, came into the city, and Absalom came into Jerusalem.’ So Hushai, David’s ‘Friend’ (his most prominent personal adviser), fell in with David’s suggestion and returned to the city, and he was only just in time, for with David’s fifth column now safely in position Absalom arrived soon afterwards in Jerusalem with his troops, unaware of the groundwork that David had laid. It was, of course, difficult for Absalom to know who could be trusted or who could not. That is one problem with a rebellion. How do you know which of those who have joined you are genuine rebels, and are ‘patriots’ who want to do their best for their country whoever is in charge, and which are actually spies and likely to be subversive? Even the most disaffected would have had to pretend to be loyal to David. Hushai then appeared no different from the others. 134