The Second Book of Samuel, otherwise called the Second Book of the Kings
2 Samuel 18
Chapter XVIII · Vol. II, pp. 701–704
1 David viewing the armies in their march giveth them charge of Absalom. 6 The men of Israel are sore smitten in the wood of Ephraim. 9 Absalom, hanging in an oak, is slain by Joab, and cast into a pit. 18 Absalom's place. 19 Ahimaaz and Cushi bring tidings to David. 33 David mourneth for Absalom.
1 And David anumbered the people that were with him, and set captains1 of thousands and captains of hundreds over them.
2 And David sent forth ba third part of the people under cthe hand of Joab, and a third part under the hand of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, and a third part under the hand of Ittai the Gittite: and the king said unto the people, dI will surely go forth with you myself also.
3 But the people answered, eThou shalt not go forth: for if we flee away, they will not care for us;2 neither if half of us die, will they care for us: but now thou art fworth ten thousand of us:3 therefore now it is better that thou gsuccour us out of the city.
e ch.21.17; 17.2. 1 Ki. 22.31.
2 Heb. set their heart on us.
f Heb as ten thousand of us, La.4.20.
3 This was no flattering compliment. Their liberties—for David was a just king; their prosperity, for he was a wise one—all depended upon his success over an unprincipled young man, and an unnatural wicked rebellion.—C.
g Ex.17.10-12. Ps.3.1-8; 50.15; 91.15.
4 And the king said unto them, What seemeth you best I will do. And the king hstood by the gate-side, and all the people came out by hundreds and by thousands.4
h De.32.12. Ps. 3. 6-8.
4 In modern phrase he reviewed his troops at the gate.—C.
5 And the king commanded Joab, and Abishai, and Ittai, saying, iDeal gently, for my sake, with the young man, even with Absalom. And all the people heard when the king gave all the captains charge concerning Absalom.
i De.21.20,21. ch.12.10,11. Lu.23.34. Ps.103.13.
6 So the people went out into the field against Israel: and the battle was in the kwood of Ephraim;5
k Ju.12.5, 8, near to which Jephthah slew the Ephraimites.
5 Rosenmüller, in his Bibl. Geography, Winer, in his Bibl. Dictionary, and other German writers, maintain that this was in the tribe of Ephraim, on this side Jordan; but English writers hold it to have been beyond Jordan, near Mahanaim. It is certain that Absalom and his army did cross the Jordan and pitch in the land of Gilead (ch. 17. 26), and as there is no mention of that river having been recrossed either by them or by David's men previous to the battle, the inference is that it was fought beyond Jordan. If we suppose that the Ephraimites, who lived on the Jordan, were in the habit of sending their cattle over the river for pasture, that circumstance might give rise to the name.—I.
7 Where the people of Israel were slain before the servants of David, and there was there a lgreat slaughter that day of twenty thousand men.
8 For the battle was there scattered over the face of all the country: and mthe wood ndevoured6 more people that day than the sword devoured.
m Ps.3.7; 43.1. Ju.5.20,21. Ex.15.10. Jos.10.14.
n Heb. multiplied to devour, Ps.77.17.
6 From ignorance of the nature of the ground, we cannot tell how the wood devoured so many; but precipices, pits, morasses (see ver. 17), or even prickly shrubs and trees, many of which are sufficient to empale either man or beast, may well account for such destruction in a fleeing army. Some, however, attribute the 'devouring' to wild beasts, which may also be partly true.—C.
9 And Absalom met the servants of David: And Absalom rode upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his ohead caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the heaven and the earth; and the mule that was under him went away.
o ch.14.26; 17.23. De.21.23. Job 18. 9,10. Pr. 30.17. Je.48.44.
10 And a certain man saw it, and told Joab, and said, Behold, I saw Absalom hanged in an oak.7
7 The special notice formerly taken of Absalom's hair now receives its explanation. That ornament of which he was so vain, now occasions his ruin.—C.
11 And Joab said unto the man that told him, And, behold, thou sawest him; and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground? and I would have given thee ten shekels of silver[≈ 110 g · 4 oz · silver worth ≈ US$200],8 and a girdle.
8 About 23s.
12 And the man said unto Joab, Though I should receive9 a thousand shekels of silver[≈ 11 kg · 25 lb · silver worth ≈ US$20,000]1 in mine hand, yet would I not put forth mine hand against the king's son: for in our hearing the king pcharged thee and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Beware2 that none touch the young man Absalom.
9 Heb. weigh upon mine hand.
1 About £115.
p ver.5.
2 Heb. beware whosoever ye be of, &c.
13 Otherwise I should have wrought falsehood qagainst mine own life: for there is no matter hid from the king, and thou thyself wouldest have set thyself against me.
q Ex.20.13; 21.12,14. Ge.9.5,6. Nu.35.31,33.
14 Then said Joab, I may not tarry thus with thee.3 And he took three darts4 in his hand, and rthrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he was yet alive in the smidst of the oak.
3 Heb. before thee.
4 Three javelins, such as Saul usually carried when he assaulted David and Jonathan. Most probably he took the darts instead of a sword, that he might throw them from a distance, that so the evidence of his knowing Absalom might be rendered uncertain, should the king call him to account for his disobedience.—C.
15 And ten young men that bare Joab's armour compassed about and smote Absalom, and slew him.
16 And Joab tblew the trumpet, and the people returned from pursuing after Israel: for Joab held back the people.
t ch.2.28; 20.22.
17 And they took Absalom, and cast him into a great pit in the wood, and ulaid a very great heap of stones5 upon him: and all Israel fled every one to his tent.
u De. 21. 21-23. Je. 22.18,19. Jos.7.26; 8.29; 10.27.
5 This mode of marking a grave has been practised in many nations. The Celtic cairns in Ireland and Scotland, and the barrows or tumuli in many parts of England, are of the same description.—C.
18 Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself a pillar, xwhich is in the king's dale: for he said, yI have no son to keep my name in remembrance: and he zcalled the pillar after his own name: and it is called unto this day, Absalom's Place.6
x Ge.14.17.
y ch.14.27. Job 18.17. Is.14.20,21. Je.22.30.
z Ps. 49. 11. 1 Sa.15.12.
6 The words literally signify 'Absalom's hand;' and it is probable that it was so called from being surmounted by a hand. Niebuhr informs us, that the mosque of Ali, instead of the Turkish crescent, has at top a hand; and in European heraldry, a hand, or hand and arm, armed or unarmed, may be seen as the crest of the armorial bearing of different families. Absalom's pillar was standing in the time of Josephus. A building known by that name is still shown in the valley of Jehoshaphat; and in all probability is either in part the ancient building, or a more modern structure raised upon its site.—C.
19 Then said aAhimaaz the son of Zadok, Let me now run and bear the king tidings, how that the LORD hath bavenged him of his enemies.
A.M. 2983. B.C. 1021.
a ch.15.36; 17.17.
b Heb. judged him from the hand, &c. Ju.2. 16. De. 32. 35, 40. Ps.9.4.
20 And Joab said unto him, Thou shalt not cbear tidings this day, but thou shalt bear tidings another day: but this day thou shalt bear no tidings, because the king's son is dead.
c Heb. be a man of tidings, ch.4.4.
21 Then said Joab to dCushi, Go tell the king what thou hast seen. And Cushi bowed himself unto Joab, and ran.
22 Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok yet again to Joab, But, howsoever,6 let me, I pray thee, also run after Cushi.7 And Joab said, Wherefore wilt thou run, my son, seeing that thou hast no tidings ready?8
6 Heb. be what may.
7 He had continued with David since bringing tidings from Hushai, and was present in the battle, perhaps sounding one of the sacred trumpets. Having accompanied David for the express purpose of conveying to him information, he was anxious to be the first to communicate the tidings of the victory. But Joab was unwilling, out of regard both to David and Ahimaaz, to make so respectable a person the bearer of the intelligence of Absalom's death. With a delicacy we should scarcely have expected from his character, he felt that to carry these sad tidings would have been unsuitable to the young priest's pious and friendly design, and made them doubly unwelcome to the afflicted father. He therefore selects for the message a man whose name intimates that he was perhaps an Ethiopian and a slave.—I.
8 Or, convenient?
23 But howsoever, said he, let me run. And he said unto him, Run. Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the plain, and overran Cushi.
24 And David sat ebetween the two 9gates: and the watchman went up to the froof over the gate unto the wall, and lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold a man running alone.
25 And the watchman cried, and told the king. And the king said, If he be alone, there is tidings in his mouth.1 And he came apace, and drew near.
1 David, as an experienced general, drew this conclusion correctly. The messenger, being alone, must either come with a demand for succour, ver. 3, or news of victory. Had there been a defeat, many would have been running.—C.
26 And the watchman saw another man running: and the watchman called unto the porter, and said, Behold another man running alone. And the king said, He also bringeth tidings.
27 And the watchman said, Me thinketh the running2 of the foremost is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok. And the king said, gHe is a good man, and cometh with good tidings.
2 Heb. I see the running.
28 And Ahimaaz called, and said unto the king, 3All is well.4 And he hfell down to the earth upon his face before the king, and said, Blessed be the LORD thy God, which hath idelivered up the men that lifted up their hand against my lord the king.
29 And the king said, Is the young man Absalom safe?5 And Ahimaaz answered, When Joab sent the king's servant, and me thy servant, I saw a great tumult, but I knew not what it was.6
5 Heb. Is there peace to, &c.
6 See note on ch. 17.20. Ahimaaz most probably tells truth about the tumult and his ignorance of its cause, and thereby evades David's question; but he conceals the unwelcome truth which he well knew, ver. 20, and thereby incurs the penalty of falsehood. The sacred historian, however, merely records, but does not reprove the suppression, that being sufficiently done by other portions of Scripture.—C.
30 And the king said unto him, Turn aside, and stand here. And he turned aside, and stood still.
31 And, behold, Cushi came; and Cushi said, Tidings,7 my lord the king: for the LORD hath kavenged thee this day of all them that rose up against thee.
32 And the king said unto Cushi, Is the young man Absalom safe? And Cushi answered, The enemies of my lord the king, and all that rise against thee to do thee hurt, be as that young man8 is.
8 There was both discretion and delicacy in this announcement. Without mentioning Absalom's name, or the tragical manner of his death, Cushi with much address does not deny its having occurred, but dwells solely upon the fact of its being the death of an enemy and a rebel.—I.
33 And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate,9 and wept; and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom! my son, my son Absalom! lwould God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!1
9 Over the gate there was a tower, the principal apartment in which was used sometimes as a state-room, and sometimes as a private parlour. 'In most cases this room has a window towards the street; which in Egypt and Turkey projects forward, and is called a kiosk' (Kitto).—I.
l ch.19.4, with ch.12.10,23. Pr.10.1; 17.25.
1 A father only could have so lamented—a renewed spirit only could have so forgiven. Yet how low is our admiration of David weeping over his lovely son, when compared with Jesus weeping over his enemies, Lu.19.41.—C.
Notes
Reflections.—In dangerous times great care ought to be taken for the security and honour of princes: and good advice from inferiors ought to be readily complied with. No undutifulness can root out or obliterate strong parental affection. What then must be the affection of God to his children! How quickly, how easily, the enemies of God are overthrown, and that by means the most unexpected! Both the hopes and joys of the wicked soon issue in misery and shame: and they who flee from God's arm only rush into his net. Pride proves men's shame at last. A head trimmed at the expense of neglecting the soul is like to prove ruinous to both. Monuments of fame often serve only to perpetuate the disgrace of the erectors. Fearful is the guilt, and dreadful the end, of rebellious children. But success, whether in work or warfare, should be wholly ascribed to the Lord: and messages of evil cannot be too tenderly delivered. Yet is it not astonishing to find so great and good a man neglecting to praise God for his wonderful salvation; quarrelling with his kind providence; opposing the justice of the nation; uttering things unadvisedly with his lips; and so immoderately bewailing a son abandoned of Heaven to everything vile and hateful!
Measures in square brackets are modern equivalents added for this edition. They are not in the King James text or in Brown’s notes. They use common scholarly estimates: a cubit is about 45.7 cm (18 in), a shekel about 11.4 g (0.4 oz), an ephah about 22 litres. Money values give the worth of the silver or gold at spot prices on 28 October 2026, not what the sum would buy in the ancient world.