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2 Samuel 19

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David's Grief and Joab's Rebuke 1–8

1
And it was told Joab, Behold, the king weepeth and mourneth for Absalom. ​
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And the victory that day was turned into mourning unto all the people; for the people heard say that day, The king grieveth for his son. ​
3
And the people gat them by stealth that day into the city, as people that are ashamed steal away when they flee in battle.
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And the king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son! ​
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And Joab came into the house to the king, and said, Thou hast shamed this day the faces of all thy servants, who this day have saved thy life, and the lives of thy sons and of thy daughters, and the lives of thy wives, and the lives of thy concubines; ​
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in that thou lovest them that hate thee, and hatest them that love thee. For thou hast declared this day, that princes and servants are nought unto thee: for this day I perceive, that if Absalom had lived, and all we had died this day, then it had pleased thee well.
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Now therefore arise, go forth, and speak comfortably unto thy servants; for I swear by Jehovah, if thou go not forth, there will not tarry a man with thee this night: and that will be worse unto thee than all the evil that hath befallen thee from thy youth until now. ​
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Then the king arose, and sat in the gate. And they told unto all the people, saying, Behold, the king is sitting in the gate: and all the people came before the king. Now Israel had fled every man to his tent. ​

The Tribes Debate David's Return 9–15

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And all the people were at strife throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, The king delivered us out of the hand of our enemies, and he saved us out of the hand of the Philistines; and now he is fled out of the land from Absalom. ​
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And Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. Now therefore why speak ye not a word of bringing the king back?
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And king David sent to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, saying, Speak unto the elders of Judah, saying, Why are ye the last to bring the king back to his house? seeing the speech of all Israel is come to the king, to bring him to his house. ​
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Ye are my brethren, ye are my bone and my flesh: wherefore then are ye the last to bring back the king? ​
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And say ye to Amasa, Art thou not my bone and my flesh? God do so to me, and more also, if thou be not captain of the host before me continually in the room of Joab. ​
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And he bowed the heart of all the men of Judah, even as the heart of one man; so that they sent unto the king, saying, Return thou, and all thy servants. ​
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So the king returned, and came to the Jordan. And Judah came to Gilgal, to go to meet the king, to bring the king over the Jordan.

Shimei Seeks Pardon 16–23

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And Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite, who was of Bahurim, hasted and came down with the men of Judah to meet king David. ​
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And there were a thousand men of Benjamin with him, and Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they went through the Jordan in the presence of the king.
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And there went over a ferry-boat to bring over the king’s household, and to do what he thought good. And Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king, when he was come over the Jordan.
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And he said unto the king, Let not my lord impute iniquity unto me, neither do thou remember that which thy servant did perversely the day that my lord the king went out of Jerusalem, that the king should take it to his heart. ​
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For thy servant doth know that I have sinned: therefore, behold, I am come this day the first of all the house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king.
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But Abishai the son of Zeruiah answered and said, Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed Jehovah’s anointed? ​
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And David said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah, that ye should this day be adversaries unto me? shall there any man be put to death this day in Israel? for do not I know that I am this day king over Israel? ​
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And the king said unto Shimei, Thou shalt not die. And the king sware unto him.

David and Mephibosheth 24–30

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And Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king; and he had neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came home in peace. ​
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And it came to pass, when he was come to Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said unto him, Wherefore wentest not thou with me, Mephibosheth?
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And he answered, My lord, O king, my servant deceived me: for thy servant said, I will saddle me an ass, that I may ride thereon, and go with the king; because thy servant is lame. ​
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And he hath slandered thy servant unto my lord the king; but my lord the king is as an angel of God: do therefore what is good in thine eyes. ​
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For all my father’s house were but dead men before my lord the king; yet didst thou set thy servant among them that did eat at thine own table. What right therefore have I yet that I should cry any more unto the king?
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And the king said unto him, Why speakest thou any more of thy matters? I say, Thou and Ziba divide the land. ​
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And Mephibosheth said unto the king, yea, let him take all, forasmuch as my lord the king is come in peace unto his own house. ​

David Thanks Barzillai 31–40

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And Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Rogelim; and he went over the Jordan with the king, to conduct him over the Jordan. ​
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Now Barzillai was a very aged man, even fourscore years old: and he had provided the king with sustenance while he lay at Mahanaim; for he was a very great man.
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And the king said unto Barzillai, Come thou over with me, and I will sustain thee with me in Jerusalem. ​
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And Barzillai said unto the king, How many are the days of the years of my life, that I should go up with the king unto Jerusalem?
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I am this day fourscore years old: can I discern between good and bad? can thy servant taste what I eat or what I drink? can I hear any more the voice of singing men and singing women? wherefore then should thy servant be yet a burden unto my lord the king? ​
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Thy servant would but just go over the Jordan with the king: and why should the king recompense it me with such a reward?
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Let thy servant, I pray thee, turn back again, that I may die in mine own city, by the grave of my father and my mother. But behold, thy servant Chimham; let him go over with my lord the king; and do to him what shall seem good unto thee. ​
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And the king answered, Chimham shall go over with me, and I will do to him that which shall seem good unto thee: and whatsoever thou shalt require of me, that will I do for thee.
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And all the people went over the Jordan, and the king went over: and the king kissed Barzillai, and blessed him; and he returned unto his own place.
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So the king went over to Gilgal, and Chimham went over with him: and all the people of Judah brought the king over, and also half the people of Israel.

Conflict Between Israel and Judah 41–43

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And, behold, all the men of Israel came to the king, and said unto the king, Why have our brethren the men of Judah stolen thee away, and brought the king, and his household, over the Jordan, and all David’s men with him? ​
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And all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, Because the king is near of kin to us: wherefore then are ye angry for this matter? have we eaten at all at the king’s cost? or hath he given us any gift? ​
43
And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, and said, We have ten parts in the king, and we have also more right in David than ye: why then did ye despise us, that our advice should not be first had in bringing back our king? And the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel. ​

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

Study Notes for 2 Samuel 19

Verse 1

the king weepeth and mourneth for Absalom — The report reaches Joab straight after the messengers' news (18:31–33). 'Weepeth' is bakah, 'mourneth' 'abal, to bewail or lament. It is the cry of 18:33, 'O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom!', now spreading through the camp.

Verse 2

turned into mourning — 'Victory' is teshuah, deliverance or salvation; it is exchanged for 'ebel, mourning. The cause is stated: 'the people heard say that day how the king was grieved for his son'. Verse 3 adds that they came into the city 'by stealth', like men fleeing in battle.

Verse 4

covered his face — The covered head marked David's flight up Olivet, 'and had his head covered' (2 Sam 15:30). Here the king 'cried with a loud voice' (za'aq, a shriek of anguish) and repeats the words of 18:33, 'O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!'

Verse 5

Thou hast shamed this day the faces — Yavesh (hiphil) means to put to shame. Joab says the servants 'saved' (malat, to rescue) the lives of the king, his sons, daughters, wives and concubines. It is the Joab who thrust three darts through Absalom's heart (18:14) who now rebukes David.

Verse 7

speak comfortably — The Hebrew is literally 'to the heart' (lev). Joab swears 'by the LORD' that none will 'tarry' (lun, lodge for the night) with David if he does not go out, and that 'will be worse unto thee than all the evil that befell thee from thy youth until now'.

Verse 8

sat in the gate — The gate was where the king received his people: David had sat there awaiting news (18:24), and Absalom had stood by the gate road to meet those with a case for the king (15:2). 'Israel' here are those who had followed Absalom, who 'had fled every man to his tent'.

Verse 9

The king saved us — The tribes reason from David's record: he delivered them 'out of the hand of the Philistines' (see 2 Sam 8:1), yet 'now he is fled out of the land for Absalom', the flight begun at 15:14. 'Delivered' is malat, the verb rendered 'saved' in v.5.

Verse 11

Zadok and… Abiathar the priests — They had carried the ark back to Jerusalem and stayed there (2 Sam 15:29), where David counted on them to pass on what was said in the king's house (15:35–36). He now sends to the 'elders of Judah', his own tribe, who are 'the last' ('acharon) to move.

Verse 12

my bones and my flesh — The kinship formula goes back to Adam, 'bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh' (Gen 2:23). All the tribes used it to David at Hebron: 'we are thy bone and thy flesh' (2 Sam 5:1). David now applies it to Judah, 'etsem and basar, to shame them for coming last.

Verse 13

Amasa — Absalom had made Amasa 'captain of the host instead of Joab' (17:25); his mother was Abigail (1 Chr 2:17), so he is David's kin. David offers him Joab's post under the oath-form 'God do so to me, and more also' (compare Ruth 1:17). Joab had been 'over the host' since 8:16.

Verse 14

bowed the heart — Natah is to stretch or bend. The men of Judah are swayed 'as the heart of one man', the phrase used of Israel gathered 'as one man' in Judg 20:1. They send back the invitation: 'Return thou, and all thy servants.'

Verse 16

Shimei the son of Gera — Shimei is the man who cursed David and threw stones at Bahurim (2 Sam 16:5, 13), 'of the family of the house of Saul'. He 'hasted' (mahar) to meet the king. David later reminds Solomon of that curse (1 Kings 2:8).

Verse 19

Let not my lord impute iniquity — Shimei asks that David not reckon (chashab) guilt ('avon) to him nor remember what he 'did perversely' ('avah, to make crooked) 'the day that my lord the king went out of Jerusalem'. The day he names is that of the flight from Jerusalem (15:14), on which he cursed David (16:5–13).

Verse 21

cursed the LORD'S anointed — Abishai's charge echoes the law, 'Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people' (Ex 22:28). It is Abishai who had asked leave to strike Saul, and David answered that none could stretch out a hand 'against the LORD'S anointed, and be guiltless' (1 Sam 26:9).

Verse 22

ye sons of Zeruiah — David used the same words at 16:10, and had said at 3:39 that these men 'be too hard for me'. 'Adversaries' is satan, an opponent. 'Shall there any man be put to death this day in Israel?' recalls Saul's word at his own victory (1 Sam 11:13).

Verse 24

neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes — 'Dressed' and 'trimmed' are one verb, 'asah, to do or make. These are signs of mourning kept 'from the day the king departed until the day he came again in peace' (shalom). Mephibosheth is Saul's grandson, Jonathan's son (9:6).

Verse 26

my servant deceived me — Ramah is to beguile or betray. Ziba had brought David saddled asses and told him that Mephibosheth stayed at Jerusalem hoping the kingdom would be restored to him (16:1–3). Mephibosheth says he meant to saddle an ass himself, 'because thy servant is lame' (pisseach; see 4:4).

Verse 27

an angel of God — Ragal is to go about as a tale-bearer, from regel, foot. The compliment is one David had heard before: the woman of Tekoa said, 'my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God' (14:20). Mephibosheth leaves the matter to the king's own eyes.

Verse 29

Thou and Ziba divide the land — At 16:4 David had given Ziba 'all that pertained unto Mephibosheth'; originally Ziba and his household were to farm the land for Mephibosheth (9:10). 'Divide' is chalaq, to apportion. Verse 30 gives Mephibosheth's answer.

Verse 30

let him take all — Mephibosheth's reason is that the king 'is come again in peace' (shalom), the word with which v.24 marks the end of his mourning. Laqach, 'take', gives his consent to Ziba holding all of the land, over and above the division the king had named.

Verse 31

Barzillai the Gileadite — He is named among those who brought David beds and food at Mahanaim (2 Sam 17:27–29). Rogelim means 'fullers', a place east of the Jordan. He now comes down to escort the king over the river, 'to conduct him over Jordan'.

Verse 33

I will feed thee with me — The verb is kul, to sustain, the one in v.32 where Barzillai 'had provided the king of sustenance'. David answers that support at Mahanaim by offering him a place at the royal table in Jerusalem, as he gave Mephibosheth one (9:13).

Verse 35

fourscore years old — Barzillai lists what age has taken: discernment 'between good and evil', taste for 'what I eat or what I drink', hearing 'the voice of singing men and singing women'. Ps 90:10 speaks of 'fourscore' as the limit 'by reason of strength'. A 'burden' is massa.

Verse 37

thy servant Chimham — Barzillai asks only to die 'in mine own city' by the grave of his parents and sends Chimham in his place. David agrees (v.38) and Chimham crosses with him (v.40). David later charged Solomon, 'shew kindness unto the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite' (1 Kings 2:7).

Verse 41

stolen thee away — Ganab, to steal, the verb of v.3 where the people came 'by stealth' into the city. Israel's complaint is that Judah brought over the king, his household 'and all David's men' without them. Ephraim had made a like complaint to Gideon, 'Why hast thou served us thus' (Judg 8:1).

Verse 42

near of kin — Qarob, near. Judah rests its case on the claim David himself made in v.12, 'ye are my bones and my flesh', and denies profit, asking whether the men of Judah had 'eaten at all of the king's cost'. The answer is a plea of kinship, not of reward.

Verse 43

ten parts in the king — 'Parts' is yad, hands; Israel claims ten shares to Judah's one. The ten pieces torn from the kingdom in 1 Kings 11:31 are the same number. 'Fiercer' (qashah) words from Judah lead straight to Sheba, of whom David says, 'more harm than did Absalom' (2 Sam 20:6).