Now Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king's heart [was] toward Absalom. Ver. 1. _Now Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived,_] _sc., _ By probable signs; as being a cunning old courtier, and long conversant about David: he could easily find which way his pulse beat. That the king's heart was... [ Continue Reading ]
And Joab sent to Tekoah, and fetched thence a wise woman, and said unto her, I pray thee, feign thyself to be a mourner, and put on now mourning apparel, and anoint not thyself with oil, but be as a woman that had a long time mourned for the dead: Ver. 2. _And Joab sent to Tekoah._] A city of Judah... [ Continue Reading ]
And come to the king, and speak on this manner unto him. So Joab put the words in her mouth. Ver. 3. _And come to the king, and speak on this manner,_] viz, By way of parable: the property whereof is, deeply to affect, and to leave a very vehement impression behind it.... [ Continue Reading ]
And when the woman of Tekoah spake to the king, she fell on her face to the ground, and did obeisance, and said, Help, O king. Ver. 4. _She fell on her face to the ground, &c._] And so she insinuateth, by her civility showed in her gestures, _humilitatis et honoris ergo._... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, I [am] indeed a widow woman, and mine husband is dead._ Ver. 5. _And the king said unto her, What aileth thee?_] Kings and princes should courteously admit, patiently hear, and readily help their suppliant subjects. Antonius the emper... [ Continue Reading ]
And thy handmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and [there was] none to part them, but the one smote the other, and slew him. Ver. 6. _And they two strove together in the field._] Upon some sudden and perhaps slight occasion; such as was that recorded by Camerarius, who te... [ Continue Reading ]
And, behold, the whole family is risen against thine handmaid, and they said, Deliver him that smote his brother, that we may kill him, for the life of his brother whom he slew; and we will destroy the heir also: and so they shall quench my coal which is left, and shall not leave to my husband [neit... [ Continue Reading ]
And the king said unto the woman, Go to thine house, and I will give charge concerning thee. Ver. 8. _Go to thine house._] Suitors are to be timely dismissed, when they cannot be presently despatched, as Jethro adviseth. Exo 18:13-23... [ Continue Reading ]
And the woman of Tekoah said unto the king, My lord, O king, the iniquity [be] on me, and on my father's house: and the king and his throne [be] guiltless. Ver. 9. _The iniquity be on me,_] _q.d., _ I am so confident of my surviving son's innocency, that I doubt not to take the blame upon myself, a... [ Continue Reading ]
And the king said, Whosoever saith [ought] unto thee, bring him to me, and he shall not touch thee any more. Ver. 10. _Bring him to me._] This word, Bring him, is spoken to one of David's officers, saith Vatablus, whom he had assigned for a helper to the woman. _Est enim secundae personae masculinu... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then said she, I pray thee, let the king remember the LORD thy God, that thou wouldest not suffer the revengers of blood to destroy any more, lest they destroy my son. And he said, [As] the LORD liveth, there shall not one hair of thy son fall to the earth._ Ver. 11. _Let the king remember the Lor... [ Continue Reading ]
Then the woman said, Let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak [one] word unto my lord the king. And he said, Say on. Ver. 12. _And he said, Say on._] _See Trapp on "_ 2Sa 14:5 _"_... [ Continue Reading ]
And the woman said, Wherefore then hast thou thought such a thing against the people of God? for the king doth speak this thing as one which is faulty, in that the king doth not fetch home again his banished. Ver. 13. _Wherefore then hast thou thought such a thing?_] Here is the reddition; an appli... [ Continue Reading ]
For we must needs die, and [are] as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect [any] person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him. Ver. 14. _For we must needs die._] This is her second argument, as she had them ready coined... [ Continue Reading ]
_Now therefore that I am come to speak of this thing unto my lord the king, [it is] because the people have made me afraid: and thy handmaid said, I will now speak unto the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his handmaid._ Ver. 15. _It is because the people have made me afrai... [ Continue Reading ]
For the king will hear, to deliver his handmaid out of the hand of the man [that would] destroy me and my son together out of the inheritance of God. Ver. 16. _For the king will hear._] Or else he hath lost his old wont. And if he yield to me for the rescuing of my son, will he not do the like for... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then thine handmaid said, The word of my lord the king shall now be comfortable: for as an angel of God, so [is] my lord the king to discern good and bad: therefore the LORD thy God will be with thee._ Ver. 17. _The word of my lord the king shall now be comfortable._] As binding upon the arguments... [ Continue Reading ]
Then the king answered and said unto the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, the thing that I shall ask thee. And the woman said, Let my lord the king now speak. Ver. 18. _Then the king answered and said._] Hitherto he had with great delight hearkened to her silken words: and now as smelling a pl... [ Continue Reading ]
And the king said, [Is not] the hand of Joab with thee in all this? And the woman answered and said, [As] thy soul liveth, my lord the king, none can turn to the right hand or to the left from ought that my lord the king hath spoken: for thy servant Joab, he bade me, and he put all these words in th... [ Continue Reading ]
To fetch about this form of speech hath thy servant Joab done this thing: and my lord [is] wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all [things] that [are] in the earth. Ver. 20. _To fetch about this form of speech._] _Ut rei faciem inverterem:_ that I might tell thee a story of my... [ Continue Reading ]
And the king said unto Joab, Behold now, I have done this thing: go therefore, bring the young man Absalom again. Ver. 21. _And the king said unto Joab._] Who was present, it seemeth, when this woman acted her part, and had brought her in to the king for that purpose. _ Behold now, I have done thi... [ Continue Reading ]
And Joab fell to the ground on his face, and bowed himself, and thanked the king: and Joab said, To day thy servant knoweth that I have found grace in thy sight, my lord, O king, in that the king hath fulfilled the request of his servant. Ver. 22. _And thanked the king._] The king could have found... [ Continue Reading ]
So Joab arose and went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem. Ver. 23. _And brought Absalom to Jerusalem._] Where, though he escaped the lash of the law, yet not the furies of his own conscience - as little as did Cain after his fratricide, or Orestes and Nero after their matricide - unless h... [ Continue Reading ]
And the king said, Let him turn to his own house, and let him not see my face. So Absalom returned to his own house, and saw not the king's face. Ver. 24. _Let him turn to his own house._] This was a piece of prudent severity: as well for the better humbling of Absalom, whom David knew to be of an... [ Continue Reading ]
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. Ver. 25. _There was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty._] This was no great commendation, that he was _pulcherrimu... [ Continue Reading ]
And when he polled his head, (for it was at every year's end that he polled [it]: because [the hair] was heavy on him, therefore he polled it:) he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels after the king's weight. Ver. 26. _And when he polled his head._] He had a pride in his hair, and mi... [ Continue Reading ]
_And unto Absalom there were born three sons, and one daughter, whose name [was] Tamar: she was a woman of a fair countenance._ Ver. 27. _And unto Absalom there were born three sons, and one daughter._] This was but _luctuosa faecunditas; _ for they all died before their father, 2Sa 18:18 wherein G... [ Continue Reading ]
So Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem, and saw not the king's face. Ver. 28. _Dwelt two full years in Jerusalem._] During which time he had used means, likely, to be reconciled, and admitted to the royal presence. Robert, Earl of Essex, when banished the court, wrote to Queen Elizabeth, that... [ Continue Reading ]
_Therefore Absalom sent for Joab, to have sent him to the king; but he would not come to him: and when he sent again the second time, he would not come._ Ver. 29. _But he would not come to him._] As disliking his pride and ambition, saith Pellican; as fearing lest David thereby might suspect that t... [ Continue Reading ]
Therefore he said unto his servants, See, Joab's field is near mine, and he hath barley there; go and set it on fire. And Absalom's servants set the field on fire. Ver. 30. _Go and set it on fire,_] viz., That he may have cause to come and speak with me. So - but in a mere just way - God fetcheth h... [ Continue Reading ]
Then Joab arose, and came to Absalom unto [his] house, and said unto him, Wherefore have thy servants set my field on fire? Ver. 31. _Then Joab arose._] Then he came speedily. Affliction hath whipped many a soul to heaven, whom, otherwise, prosperity had coached to hell. When God's people leave thi... [ Continue Reading ]
And Absalom answered Joab, Behold, I sent unto thee, saying, Come hither, that I may send thee to the king, to say, Wherefore am I come from Geshur? [it had been] good for me [to have been] there still: now therefore let me see the king's face; and if there be [any] iniquity in me, let him kill me.... [ Continue Reading ]
So Joab came to the king, and told him: and when he had called for Absalom, he came to the king, and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king: and the king kissed Absalom. Ver. 33. _And the king kissed Absalom._] He should have kicked him rather; and not have hardened him to further... [ Continue Reading ]