2 Samuel 19:1,2
2 Samuel 19:1-8. David roused from his grief by Joab 2. _the victory_ The Heb. word means literally _the salvation_or _deliverance_. Cp. 1 Samuel 9:16; 1 Samuel 11:3; 2 Samuel 3:18, &c.... [ Continue Reading ]
2 Samuel 19:1-8. David roused from his grief by Joab 2. _the victory_ The Heb. word means literally _the salvation_or _deliverance_. Cp. 1 Samuel 9:16; 1 Samuel 11:3; 2 Samuel 3:18, &c.... [ Continue Reading ]
_gat them by stealth_, &c. Out of respect for the king's sorrow the army stole into the city silently in small parties, like disgraced fugitives, instead of entering in military order with shouts of triumph for the victory. _that day_ Clearly the day of the battle, which must therefore have been fo... [ Continue Reading ]
_covered his face_ See note on ch. 2 Samuel 15:30.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Joab came into the house to the king_ The crisis illustrates the good as well as the bad features of Joab's character his loyalty to David, and his practical sagacity, as well as his hard unsympathetic nature. Exaggerated and unfeeling as his speech was, it roused David from the extravagance of his... [ Continue Reading ]
_neither princes nor servants_ Neither the CAPTAINS of the army (ch. 2 Samuel 18:1; 2 Samuel 18:5), nor the soldiers.... [ Continue Reading ]
_speak comfortably_ Speak to them in a friendly way, encourage them, and appease their discontent. _I swear_, &c. This is not a threat that he will persuade the army to desert David; but an asseveration in the strongest possible terms that they will not continue faithful to a king who allows a priv... [ Continue Reading ]
_in the gate_ Where kings and rulers were accustomed to give audience to their subjects. See note on ch. 2 Samuel 15:2. _for Israel had fled_ The words should begin a new sentence, BUT ISRAEL HAD FLED, &c. _Israel_, that part of the nation which had followed Absalom, is contrasted with "the people,... [ Continue Reading ]
Negotiations for David's Restoration. His return 10. _whom we anointed_ The anointing of Absalom is not elsewhere mentioned. At the end of the verse the Sept. adds, "And the word of all Israel came to the king," that is, either he heard of the movement for his restoration, or he actually received... [ Continue Reading ]
_the elders of Judah_ The representatives of the tribe, who would naturally be its leaders in the restoration of the king. Cp. ch. 2 Samuel 5:3. Their backwardness is explained by the prominent part which Judah had taken in the insurrection (see note on ch. 2 Samuel 15:10), while David's message to... [ Continue Reading ]
_my bones and my flesh_ See note on ch. 2 Samuel 5:1. _Bones_should be, as there, BONE.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Art thou not of my bone, and of my flesh_ ART THOU NOT MY BONE AND MY FLESH, exactly as in 2 Samuel 19:12. Amasa was David's nephew, the son of his sister or step-sister Abigail. See ch. 2 Samuel 17:25. Of course the message was to be privately conveyed to Amasa through the priests. It was a bold s... [ Continue Reading ]
_And he bowed_, &c. By this message David inclined the hearts of the men of Judah to restore him to the throne.... [ Continue Reading ]
_to Gilgal_ Gilgal, between Jericho and the Jordan, was the rendezvous for the representatives of Judah probably the elders who were sent to escort the king back to Jerusalem.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Shimei_ See ch. 2 Samuel 16:5 ff. Shimei and Ziba came with guilty consciences to curry favour by seeming to shew special zeal in bringing back the king.... [ Continue Reading ]
David's return. Episodes on the journey 16 23. Shimei sues for pardon... [ Continue Reading ]
_And_there were a _thousand men of Benjamin with him_ Omit _there were_, and join this clause to 2 Samuel 19:16. _they went over Jordan before the king_ Ziba and his retinue dashed into the river and crossed it the word for _went over_is a peculiar one, expressing impetuous movement to shew their z... [ Continue Reading ]
_And there went over a ferry-boat_ AND THE FERRY-BOAT WAS PASSING TO AND FRO, placed at the service of the king by the men of Judah. _as he was come over Jordan_ This probably means _as David was crossing over the Jordan_, i.e. during the general proceedings of the transit, not necessarily during t... [ Continue Reading ]
_the house of Joseph_ The ten tribes of Israel as distinguished from Judah are thus named from Ephraim, the most powerful tribe among them (Genesis 48:5). Cp. Psa 78:67-68; 1 Kings 11:28; Amos 5:6. Shimei the Benjamite claims to be the first representative of Israel to welcome the king.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Abishai_ True to his fierce, impetuous character. See ch. 2 Samuel 16:9. _cursed the_Lord's _anointed_ Since the king was Jehovah's representative, to curse him was almost as heinous an offence as to curse Jehovah Himself. Exodus 22:28; Lev 24:15; 1 Kings 21:10.... [ Continue Reading ]
_adversaries_ Opposing my true interests. The Heb. word is _satan._Cp. Matthew 16:23. _that I_am _this day king_ The rejoicing of the day which saw him restored to his kingdom must not be marred by any bloodshed. Cp. 1 Samuel 11:13.... [ Continue Reading ]
_the king sware unto him_ David cannot be acquitted of breaking the spirit if not the letter of his oath by the charge which he gave to Solomon (1 Kings 2:8 ff.).... [ Continue Reading ]
Mephibosheth's meeting with David 24. _had neither dressed his feet_, &c. The neglect of his person, the unwashed feet, the untrimmed moustache, the soiled garments, were outward signs of extreme grief. Cp. ch. 2 Samuel 12:20; Ezekiel 24:17. The Sept. adds "nor trimmed his nails," after "dressed hi... [ Continue Reading ]
_when he was come to Jerusalem_ If the reading is right, the meeting between David and Mephibosheth must have taken place in Jerusalem, and is introduced here out of the strictly chronological order, because of the mention of Ziba in 2 Samuel 19:17. "Came down" in 2 Samuel 19:24 must then be explain... [ Continue Reading ]
_said, I will saddle me an ass_ Meaning of course, _I will have my ass saddled_. The Sept. however reads, _said unto him, Saddle me the ass_, which certainly suits the context better. Apparently Ziba, after receiving the order, saddled the asses, loaded them with provisions, and went to meet David w... [ Continue Reading ]
_as an angel of God_ To discern the truth, and decide justly. Cp. ch. 2 Samuel 14:17; 2 Samuel 14:20.... [ Continue Reading ]
_were but dead men_ For David might have put them all to death. Possibly there is an allusion to the surrender of Saul's sons to the Gibeonites (ch. 2 Samuel 21:6-9). _what right_, &c. Since all David's favours to him were undeserved, he had no ground for making a complaint, and demanding the resto... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thou and Ziba divide the land_ This is usually supposed to be a compromise between the two claimants, either because David suspected the truth of Mephibosheth's story, or because he was unwilling to alienate Ziba, and possibly a considerable party of Benjamites, by entirely revoking the grant to hi... [ Continue Reading ]
_Yea, let him take all_ Mephibosheth's affection was for his master, not for his property. There is no reason for supposing that his version of the story was false and Ziba's true, in spite of Blunt's ingenious arguments to prove that he was a traitor and a hypocrite (_Undes. Coinc._p. 157 ff.).... [ Continue Reading ]
Barzillai's farewell to David 31. _Barzillai_ See ch. 2 Samuel 17:27.... [ Continue Reading ]
_provided … of sustenance_ An obsolete use of the preposition _of_where we now employ _with_. _lay_ i.e. abode. Cp. Joshua 2:1, _marg_.... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will feed thee_ I WILL PROVIDE THEE WITH SUSTENANCE; the same word as in 2 Samuel 19:32, and Genesis 45:11 (E. V. _nourish_).... [ Continue Reading ]
_fourscore years_ Cp. Psalms 90:10. _singing men and singing women_ Musicians were a part of royal state (Ecclesiastes 2:8); banquets were commonly enlivened by music. See Isaiah 5:11-12; Isaiah 24:8-9; Amos 6:4-6.... [ Continue Reading ]
and be buried _by the grave_, &c. The ancient affection for the family sepulchre is very remarkable. See Judges 8:32; 2 Samuel 2:32; 2Sa 17:23; 2 Samuel 21:14; 1 Kings 13:22. _Chimham_ Barzillai's son, who with his brothers was specially commended to Solomon's care (1 Kings 2:7). From the mention of... [ Continue Reading ]
_all the people_ David's followers, who are repeatedly termed _the people_in this narrative. _kissed Barzillai, and blessed him_ A farewell salute. Cp. Genesis 31:55.... [ Continue Reading ]
Dispute between the men of Judah and the men of Israel 41. _And behold, all the men of Israel_ This must be read in connexion with the preceding verse which introduces and explains it. The northern tribes had been foremost in proposing the restoration (2 Samuel 19:9), but owing no doubt to tribal je... [ Continue Reading ]
_to us_ Lit. _to me_: and so _art thou angry_: and in 2 Samuel 19:43 the pronouns are singular throughout; each party being as it were personified and regarded as a unit. _have we eaten at all of the king's cost_, &c. They defend themselves by alleging the purity of their motives. Some see in the w... [ Continue Reading ]
_ten parts_ The northern tribes claimed a share of the king in proportion to their number. Ephraim and Manasseh are counted as one in the reckoning of Israel as _ten_tribes. Cp. 1 Kings 11:31; 1 Kings 11:35. _and we have also more_right _in David than ye_ AND EVEN IN DAVID WE HAVE MORE RIGHT THAN YE... [ Continue Reading ]