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2 Samuel 18

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David Organizes His Forces 1–5

1
And David numbered the people that were with him, and set captains of thousands and captains of hundreds over them.
2
And David sent forth the people, a third part under the 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, I will surely go forth with you myself also. ​
3
But the people said, Thou shalt not go forth: for if we flee away, they will not care for us; neither if half of us die, will they care for us: but thou art worth ten thousand of us; therefore now it is better that thou be ready to succor us out of the city. ​
4
And the king said unto them, What seemeth you best I will do. And the king stood by the gate-side, and all the people went out by hundreds and by thousands.
5
And the king commanded Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Deal 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. ​

The Battle in the Wood of Ephraim 6–8

6
So the people went out into the field against Israel: and the battle was in the forest of Ephraim.
7
And the people of Israel were smitten there before the servants of David, and there was a great slaughter there that day of twenty thousand men.
8
For the battle was there spread over the face of all the country; and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword devoured. ​

Absalom Is Caught and Killed 9–18

9
And Absalom chanced to meet the servants of David. And Absalom was riding upon his mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between heaven and earth; and the mule that was under him went on. ​
10
And a certain man saw it, and told Joab, and said, Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak.
11
And Joab said unto the man that told him, And, behold, thou sawest it, and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground? and I would have given thee ten pieces of silver, and a girdle.
12
And the man said unto Joab, Though I should receive a thousand pieces of silver in my hand, yet would I not put forth my hand against the king’s son: for in our hearing the king charged thee and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Beware that none touch the young man Absalom. ​
13
Otherwise if I had dealt falsely against his life (and there is no matter hid from the king), then thou thyself wouldest have set thyself against me.
14
Then said Joab, I may not tarry thus with thee. And he took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak. ​
15
And ten young men that bare Joab’s armor compassed about and smote Absalom, and slew him.
16
And Joab blew the trumpet, and the people returned from pursuing after Israel; for Joab held back the people.
17
And they took Absalom, and cast him into the great pit in the forest, and raised over him a very great heap of stones: and all Israel fled every one to his tent. ​
18
Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself the 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 Absalom’s monument, unto this day. ​

The Messengers Race to David 19–23

19
Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok, Let me now run, and bear the king tidings, how that Jehovah hath avenged him of his enemies. ​
20
And Joab said unto him, Thou shalt not be the bearer of 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. ​
21
Then said Joab to the Cushite, Go, tell the king what thou hast seen. And the Cushite bowed himself unto Joab, and ran.
22
Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok yet again to Joab, But come what may, let me, I pray thee, also run after the Cushite. And Joab said, Wherefore wilt thou run, my son, seeing that thou wilt have no reward for the tidings?
23
But come what may, said he, I will run. And he said unto him, Run. Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the Plain, and outran the Cushite. ​

David Receives the News and Mourns Absalom 24–33

24
Now David was sitting between the two gates: and the watchman went up to the roof of 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. And he came apace, and drew near.
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, I think the running of the foremost is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok. And the king said, He is a good man, and cometh with good tidings. ​
28
And Ahimaaz called, and said unto the king, All is well. And he bowed himself before the king with his face to the earth, and said, Blessed be Jehovah thy God, who hath delivered up the men that lifted up their hand against my lord the king.
29
And the king said, Is it well with the young man Absalom? And Ahimaaz answered, When Joab sent the king’s servant, even me thy servant, I saw a great tumult, but I knew not what it was. ​
30
And the king said, Turn aside, and stand here. And he turned aside, and stood still.
31
And, behold, the Cushite came; and the Cushite said, Tidings for my lord the king; for Jehovah hath avenged thee this day of all them that rose up against thee.
32
And the king said unto the Cushite, Is it well with the young man Absalom? And the Cushite answered, The enemies of my lord the king, and all that rise up against thee to do thee hurt, be as that young man is. ​
33
And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son! ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for 2 Samuel 18

Verse 2

a third part … under the hand of Ittai the Gittite — The three commanders are Joab, his brother Abishai, and Ittai, the foreigner who had sworn 'whether in death or life' (2 Sam 15:21). Gideon (Judg 7:16) and Saul (1 Sam 11:11) also divided their men into three companies. David's 'I will surely go forth with you myself also' is answered in v.3.

Verse 3

thou art worth ten thousand of us — 'They will not care' is literally 'will not set the heart' (sim leb) on them. The people judge the king to be the one the enemy seeks, as Ahithophel's plan to 'smite the king only' showed (2 Sam 17:2). David's men again keep him from battle in 2 Sam 21:17, 'that thou quench not the light of Israel'. 'Succour' is azar, to help.

Verse 5

Deal gently for my sake — At, gently, softly. David calls Absalom 'the young man' (na'ar), as in vv.12, 29 and 32. 'Commanded' and 'gave … charge' are both tsavah, the verb that appears again in v.12, 'in our hearing the king charged thee', so the order was given before all the people.

Verse 8

the wood devoured more people — Akal, to eat, the verb of David's own word to Joab, 'the sword devoureth one as well as another' (2 Sam 11:25). Here the wood devours more than the sword. The battle was 'in the wood of Ephraim' (v.6) and 'scattered over the face of all the country'.

Verse 9

between the heaven and the earth — The verse says his head 'caught hold' (chazaq) of the oak; it does not mention his hair, which 2 Sam 14:26 describes. The mule (pered) was a royal mount: 'all the king's sons … every man gat him up upon his mule' (2 Sam 13:29), and David had Solomon ride his own (1 Kings 1:33). The man who saw him says 'Absalom hanged in an oak' (v.10).

Verse 12

a thousand shekels of silver — Joab had offered ten shekels of silver and a girdle (v.11); the man says he would refuse a thousand. His reason is the charge made 'in our hearing' (literally 'in our ears'): 'Beware that none touch the young man Absalom'. He would not 'put forth mine hand' against the king's son.

Verse 14

three darts — Shebet, the common word for a rod, staff or tribe, here a weapon Joab holds. He strikes 'while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak', and v.15 adds that ten young men who bare his armour 'smote Absalom, and slew him'. The violent death in David's house was foretold in 2 Sam 12:10.

Verse 17

a very great heap of stones — The same heap is raised over Achan (Josh 7:26) and over the king of Ai, who was 'hanged on a tree' (Josh 8:29). Absalom, found hanged in the oak, is cast into 'a great pit in the wood' (pachath). 'All Israel fled every one to his tent', the end of the rebellion's army.

Verse 18

a pillar … in the king's dale — The king's dale is the valley of Shaveh, where the king of Sodom met Abram (Gen 14:17). Three sons were born to Absalom (2 Sam 14:27), so 'I have no son to keep my name in remembrance' means none of them lived; Scripture does not say how. 'Absalom's place' is literally Absalom's yad, 'hand', the word Saul's monument at Carmel bears in 1 Sam 15:12.

Verse 19

bear the king tidings — Basar, to bring news, the verb of Isa 52:7, 'him that bringeth good tidings'. 'Avenged' is shaphat, to judge: 'the LORD hath judged him from the hand of his enemies'. Ahimaaz is one of the two priests' sons who carried word to David in 2 Sam 17:17.

Verse 20

Thou shalt not bear tidings this day — The same basar as v.19, a word for glad news. Joab refuses it for this day, 'because the king's son is dead'. In 2 Sam 4:10 David had said of the man who brought news of Saul's death, 'thinking to have brought good tidings', that he slew him.

Verse 23

the way of the plain — Kikkar, the circle or plain of the Jordan, the 'plain of Jordan' of Gen 13:10. Ahimaaz takes it and 'overran' (abar, passed) Cushi, who had been sent first (v.21), though Joab had asked him, in v.22, 'seeing that thou hast no tidings ready?'

Verse 24

between the two gates — David sits at the gate where he had stood 'by the gate side' as the army marched out (v.4). The watchman goes 'up to the roof over the gate unto the wall' and sees 'a man running alone'. In v.25 David reasons, 'If he be alone, there is tidings in his mouth'; in 2 Sam 13:34 another watching young man had 'lifted up his eyes, and looked'.

Verse 27

He is a good man, and cometh with good tidings — 'Good' (tov) is said of both the man and the news. Adonijah says much the same of Jonathan son of Abiathar, 'thou art a valiant man, and bringest good tidings' (1 Kings 1:42), and good tidings are carried by the feet in Isa 52:7. The watchman knows Ahimaaz by his running.

Verse 29

Is the young man Absalom safe? — The Hebrew is 'Is there peace (shalom) for the young man?' David asks only about Absalom, not the battle, and asks it of Cushi again in v.32. Ahimaaz had told him in v.28 'All is well'; he now says he saw 'a great tumult' (hamon) but 'knew not what it was'.

Verse 32

be as that young man is — Cushi answers in the form of a wish for the king's good: 'The enemies of my lord the king … be as that young man is.' Abigail used the same form to David: 'let thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal' (1 Sam 25:26). Cushi makes the reply by that wish, without saying the word 'dead'.

Verse 33

O my son Absalom — 'Son' is said five times and 'Absalom' three in this one cry, which returns when Joab is told: 'O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!' (2 Sam 19:4). David had said of the first child, 'I shall go to him' (2 Sam 12:23); for Absalom he wishes to have died in his place. He goes up 'to the chamber over the gate' (aliyyah) to weep.