Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 21 Aug 2022
Just to recap where we’re at, Absalom has staged a coup against King David his father, so David has fled across the Jordan River and taken refuge in the city of Machanaim. Absalom has come out against him with a full army, taking up a position nearby in the high plains of Gilead. This is where our story picks up at the beginning of chapter 18. Please follow along in your Bible as I read from my translation.
Then David set up a chain-of-command with the people that was with him, and he installed over them officers over thousands and officers over hundreds. Then David commissioned the people: one third under the control of Joab, and one third under the control of Abishai son of Tseruiah (Joab’s brother), and one third under the control of Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the people, “Indeed I am definitely going out with y’all myself!” But the people said, “You’re not coming out. Because, if we flee pell-mell, it’s not on us that they will set their heart. Even if they kill half of us, it’s not on us that they will set their heart , rather {you} are as good as 10,000 of us. So it’s better now that you be {in} the city to bring help to us.” Then the king said to them, “That which is best in y’all’s eyes is what I will do.” So the king stood by the side of the gate while all the people went forth by hundreds and by thousands. Nevertheless, the king gave an order to Joab and Abishai and Ittai saying, “Be gentle for me toward the young man – toward Absalom,” and all the people heard it when the king gave the order to all the officers concerning the matter of Absalom. So the people went forth to the field to call upon Israel, and the fighting happened in the forest of Ephraim. And the people of Israel were routed there before the front of David’s servants, and the rout there was massive on that day – 20,000 {men}, and there the fighting was dispersed across the surface of the whole land, and the forest devoured more {of} the people than those whom the sword devoured on that day. And Absalom had a close-call in front of David’s servants while Absalom was riding on his mule, then the mule went under the branches of the big oak-tree, but his head caught fast in the oak-tree, so he was {hung up} between the heavens and the earth, and the mule which was under him passed on. Then one man saw him and communicated it to Joab, so saying, “Look, I saw Absalom hanged in the oak-tree!” But Joab said to the man who had communicated it to him, “Look, if you saw him, then why didn’t you strike him down to the ground right there? Then it would have been incumbent upon me to give you ten in silver as well as one equipment-belt!” But the man said to Joab, “Even if I were weighing 1,000 in silver on my palm, I would not extend my hand against the son of the king, for it was in our own hearing that the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, saying, ‘Take care with the young man {} Absalom for me.’ Otherwise, had I acted treacherously against his soul (since there can’t be concealed from the king any matter), then as for you, you would have taken a position of being non-responsive.” Then Joab said, “Then {I’ll take the lead} I’m not going to wait around in front of you!” And he took three staves in his grasp, and he struck them to the heart of Absalom, who was still alive in the heart of the oak-tree. Then ten of the young men who carried Joab’s gear came around and struck Absalom down, and so they put him to death. Then Joab blew into his horn, and the people returned from pursuing after Israel because Joab restrained the people. Then they took Absalom into the forest and cast him into the big trench, and they erected over him a very large heap of stones, and all Israel fled, each to his tent. (Now, while he was alive, Absalom had taken and erected for himself a pillar, which was in the valley of the king, “Because,” he said, “I do not have a son to cause my name to be remembered,” so he called the pillar after his own name, and it has been called the Monument of Absalom unto this day.)
Once David got the women and children to safety within the walled city, he began organizing the able-bodied men among his followers for battle.
It appears that he set up three divisions of a thousand soldiers each, two under his nephews Joab and Abishai, and one under the Philistine nobleman Ittai who had had just declared his loyalty to David.
It seems likely that, as David made the trek to Machanaim, more and more Israelites had joined him along the way so that, by the time David was ready to organize his troops, there were a lot more than the 600 soldiers he had originally set out with.
If the comment in verse 3 means that 10,000 was half their number, then they had 20,000 troops, and that would mean there were other officers besides Joab, Abishai, and Ittai over the other divisions of thousands, but it’s hard to tell for sure how many there actually were with David1. He may have only had about 3,000 soldiers: a thousand each under Joab, Abishai, and Ittai.
David understood that success in any enterprise depends mostly on leadership. Pick leaders with integrity who are wise, disciplined, responsive to authority and who share your values and vision, and everything else will fall into place.
And, even though David was in his late sixties, he fantasized about going into battle one last time, where he could go out in a blaze of glory, so he inspires all his loyal followers by assuring them he will ride in the vanguard. (He learned his lesson not to stay home during a way back during the Ammonite campaign with the Bathsheba and Uriah debacle!)
But his men wisely and gently tell him that it would be too risky for him to go into battle.
All it would take for David would be one move that was a little too slow, and he would be dead, and Absalom would be king for good. That was not a risk they could take.
Besides, they had already had to save David recently in a battle with the Philistines when David had gotten over his head in a fight with another giant (We’ll read about that later in chapter 21.), and they were afraid David was losing his edge as a warrior.
They reasoned with David that the goal of Absalom’s troops wasn’t to kill any of David’s troops in particular; their only goal was to kill David, so if David was anywhere on the battle field, they would all be going after David and only killing David’s soldiers incidentally in order to kill him. So the odds of David getting killed would be greatly increased in this special circumstance, making the risk too great.
Then they throw David a bone, saying that it will be strategic for him to stay in the walls of the city, in order to send aid from the city into the battle. Jewish commentators suggest that David’s soldiers particularly wanted David praying for them while they were away in the battle.
David’s humility is admirable. Recognizing his personal limitations and recognizing the value of the advice of wise counselors, he submitted to their better judgment rather than claiming his privileges as king and forcing his will.
So it was that David found himself standing in the gateway, watching his army leave without him.
As Joab exited the gate with the first thousand soldiers, David called out, “Be gentle for me toward the young man – toward Absalom!”
And then, as Abishai filed out with the second thousand soldiers, David called out again, “Deal gently for my sake with the young man, with Absalom!”
And as the third group of a thousand warriors filed out with Ittai, David once more called out, “Hey, about Absalom, go easy on the lad for me, will you?”
Everybody heard and knew David’s will on the matter.
Now, at the entrance to a walled city like this during the Iron Age, they often built two gates, one in front of the other, with a little plaza inbetween them that had storage rooms or guard-quarters opening off of the plaza, and it was in that plaza that David stationed himself to be the first to see whoever came in or went out of the gates of Machaniam.
He wanted to be the first to hear the news when it came in, so he could immediately send the right kind of help, or, if worst came to worst, be the first to defend the gates with his own sword.
Even though he had been denied the role of going out to war, David was vigilant to fulfill the homebase role that had been placed upon him by his council2.
Just because you were not called into the thick of the battle does not mean you can retire to your bed. You can be strategically engaged in the spread of God’s kingdom even from home, just like David was in this story! And prayer is a great place to start!
As for the actual battle, we are not told much about it.
Most commentators say the battle was fought on the East side of the Jordan River, on territory that the Ephraimites had expanded into around Gilead3, so it was between David’s station at Machanaim and Absalom’s battle camp on the plains of Gilead4.
The troops under Absalom appear to have outnumbered Davids troops by a massive margin, and Absalom must have been hoping for an easy victory, but Hushai wasn’t kidding about how tough David’s army veterans were,
and the Israelites apparently were not properly trained and equipped for combat in a forested area. Somehow, David’s army must have lured Absalom’s army off the high plain down into the woods, where more men died as a result of getting injured or lost in the trees than even got killed in combat.
A whopping 20,000 of Absalom’s soldiers died that day5, and Absalom was one of them. What was the impact of such a death count on the country of Israel?
Joab’s census taken around this time indicated a total of 1,300,000 men of military age6, so that was a loss of 15 out of every thousand men.
Many an Israelite household was rocked back on their heels by this news. Wait, do you mean that David was still king, but I sent my husband off in Absalom’s army to fight against David? What were we thinking? God have mercy!
Matthew Henry wrote, “[T]hey found what it was to take up arms for a usurper, who with his kisses and caresses had wheedled them into their own ruin. Now where are the rewards, the preferments, the golden days, they promised themselves from him? Now they see what it is to ‘take counsel against the Lord and his anointed...’”
It is curious that Absalom ended his life alone without any of his supporters. Had they all deserted him?
It appears that Absalom had some sort of a close-call with David’s troops while riding on his mule, and instead of fighting them, he turned his mule to run away into the woods, but as he did so, his head got caught in the thick network of branches of an oak tree which were high enough off the ground for his mule to walk under, but low enough to clothesline Absalom on top of the mule.
It is hard to imagine getting one’s head stuck in tree branches such that you couldn’t get free, but that’s what it says.
Josephus suggested that his long hair is what got tangled in the branches, and his suggestion has unfortunately been written into many children’s Bible story books as though it were an established fact7,
but Absalom could have simply been knocked unconscious by the impact with the tree branches and that’s why he couldn’t free himself,
but whatever the case, there he was, just dangling helplessly from the big oak tree as his donkey wandered away.
It would be hard to come up with a more embarrassing situation for this proud, upstart king. The justice of it is strangely satisfying to our hearts which long to see proud oppressors humbled by God’s justice.
Deut. 21:22-23 said "If a man has committed a sin deserving of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree... he who is hanged is accursed of God.” (NKJV)
The word for “hanging” in the law is the same Hebrew word used to describe Absalom’s situation.
Hanging was what was done to foreign enemies8, not to Israelites.
And it is in this condition that an unnamed soldier on David’s side discovered him.
I suspect that he may have been in the party of soldiers that Absalom had narrowly avoided a run-in with earlier, and that this soldier may have given chase and seen Absalom’s encounter with the tree, and that this passage is based on this soldier’s eye-witness account.
Otherwise, if soldiers had run across Absalom’s body hanging from a tree, they would have assumed that enemies had hung him there.
And if Absalom was conscious, and anyone had gotten close enough to identify who it was hanging in the tree, Absalom would have been offering all kinds of bribes to him to be rescued from his predicament.
I suspect that, as soon as this soldier saw from a distance Absalom get stuck, he may have turned around to tell Joab.
Part of the reason I think this is that he indicates that Absalom was alive, last he saw him. Otherwise, anybody discovering a body hanged in a tree would have assumed it was dead.
Also, if all that the soldier could tell Joab was the little bit recorded in v.10, “I saw Absalom hanged in the oak,” Joab would have also assumed that Absalom was dead, since he had been hanged (I would note that the verb in the Hebrew and in the Greek is passive “hanged” – indicating a shameful execution, rather than active, as in “dangling.”) Instead his message leaves Joab assuming Absalom is alive and needs to be killed, so the soldier must have told Joab the whole story, but only a summary of that was written down in v. 10.
It would also make sense to me if this soldier described to Joab the way that he had seen Absalom get caught, in order to clear himself of suspicion of being the one who had hanged Absalom (Remember, the two guys back in chapter 4 who told David that they had killed IshBosheth, were put to death by hanging, so he didn’t want to risk David doing that to him!).
However, Joab, upon hearing the report, he flips out and yells at the soldier for not killing Absalom.
He says literally that it would have been “on [him] to give him [a bounty of] 10 silver [pieces] as well as an equipment-belt.”
This suggests that Joab has already contradicted David’s order by offering a bounty to any of his soldiers who could kill Absalom in this battle.
The offer of the belt may have implied being promoted to the position of a captain over 100 men in the army. (Gill, Henry, Jamieson)
The silver, however, was not much of a bounty, seeing as all the other bounty payments mentioned in the Bible in silver coin were more than this – some of them over 100 times that sum!
And the faithful soldier picks up on that in his response, saying, “Even if you were offering a thousand silver dollars and not just ten, I wouldn’t risk disobeying a direct order from King David over it. You know the king has ways of finding out everything he wants to know, and there’s no way I’d be able to keep the fact hidden from David if I were the one who killed his son. And furthermore, I doubt that you would even stand up for me if he did get mad at me for it, even if I claimed I had acted on your orders. I don’t trust you not to throw me under the bus.”
The soldier is insightful about Joab’s lack of integrity and Joab’s carelessness about following orders, and Joab knows it, so, rather than arguing back, he says something to the effect of, “Well, I see it would be pointless to wait for you to kill him, so I guess I’ll have to do it myself!” And he grabs some staves and rides off in search of Absalom.
Joab considered Absalom’s offenses to be too great to allow him to keep living: Absalom had murdered his half-brother Amnon (13:28), he had destroyed Joab’s crops (14:30), he had usurped David’s throne, and now he was trying to kill David.
Joab was not willing to wait on God, and he was not willing to wait on his own king’s government to properly execute justice. Joab impatiently took vengeance into his own hands, and he would live to regret it9.
What Joab may not have been thinking about was that God had prophesied to David that the consequences of David’s adultery and murder would be an ongoing series of violent deaths in his family: “Now therefore, the sword shall never turn away from your household, in that you despised me and you took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to become your wife.” ( 2 Sam. 12:10, NAW) This doesn’t excuse Absalom or Joab for what they did, but it does shows God’s sovereignty despite them, and it does show how serious the consequences of sin are.
Perhaps there was some significance to Joab hitting10 Absalom with staves/javelins/darts rather than giving him a more honorable death from a sword. The Hebrew word for these javelins is the same word translated “rod” used in the context of discipline and punishment everywhere else in the Bible, so I think Joab wanted Israel to know that Absalom died under judgment as a criminal rather than dying as a warrior on the battlefield.
Absalom is not even given the honor of being killed by an important person. It is the young men-in-training with Joab who finish him off and cut him down from the tree. The lead armor-bearer, Naharai the Beerothite, is the only name we have, mentioned later in 23:37.
Once it is established that Absalom, the contender for the throne, is dead, and David the King is still alive, there is no reason to continue fighting, so Joab gives the signal on his horn, and the soldiers start heading back to the tents where they had pitched the night before, and then home from there.
Meanwhile, Absalom’s dead body is dragged deeper into the woods and buried under a huge pile of stones. Heaping stones11 was a way to show disgrace. The only other times Israelites piled a heap of stones over someone’s dead body like that were:
Why all this ignominy and shame? Because it was God’s time to bring justice to this son of David who had turned away from the worship of God, spurned the anointing of God, dishonored his father, killed his brother, rebelled against his leaders, committed adultery with his father’s concubines, and generally lived boastfully and pridefully.
If you think I’m being too uncharitable by saying that Absalom spurned God, consider the pillar that he erected. Do you know what the last three instances of this word for “pillar” were in the Bible? The were all in the law of Deuteronomy:
7:5 “...you shall break down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars …”
12:3 “You shall tear down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars…”
16:22 “And you may not construct for yourself a pillar; it is what Yahweh your God hates.” (NAW)
So what does Absalom do? He constructs for himself a pillar.
This is just one of many reasons why God’s judgment is breaking loose upon Absalom.
Now some might wonder how it is that Absalom claimed he had no son to carry on his name when it says four chapters back that three sons and a daughter had been born to him14.
The Bible doesn’t explain that to us, but it is generally assumed that, among the judgments that God heaped upon Absalom, one of them was that his three sons died young,
and so, at some point after he had lost them, when Jerusalem was under David’s control, Absalom had set up this marble pillar-monument in the King’s Valley, right next to Jerusalem to the Southeast.
Today there is a 50 foot tall stone monument in that location which people call Absalom’s Monument. The currently-visible structure of it, however, was built about a thousand years after Absalom’s time, so most historians believe that other men throughout history built monuments on the spot, so the monument that is there now isn’t only Absalom’s anymore15.
The main point of this story seems to be the humiliating downfall of Absalom wrought by the justice of God.
In Psalm 14:4-6 David wrote, “Will evildoers never learn— those who devour my people as men eat bread and who do not call on the LORD? There they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the righteous. You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor, but the LORD is their refuge.” (NIV)
Psalm 18:25-27 “With the kind You show Yourself kind; With the blameless You show Yourself blameless; With the pure You show Yourself pure, And with the crooked You show Yourself astute. For You save an afflicted people, But haughty eyes You abase.” (NASB)
The obvious application to us is to repent of our arrogant pride and humble ourselves before our maker and before the authorities He has placed in our lives.
Psalm 94:8-23 “Pay heed, you senseless among the people; And when will you understand, stupid ones? He who planted the ear, does He not hear? He who formed the eye, does He not see? He who chastens the nations, will He not rebuke, Even He who teaches man knowledge? The LORD knows the thoughts of man, That they are a mere breath.… 22 But the LORD has been my stronghold, And my God the rock of my refuge. He has brought back their wickedness upon them And will destroy them in their evil; The LORD our God will destroy them.” (NASB)
Proverbs 11:2-3 “When pride comes, then comes dishonor, But with the humble is wisdom. The integrity of the upright will guide them, But the crookedness of the treacherous will destroy them.” (NASB)
Proverbs 16:5 “Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; Assuredly, he will not be unpunished.” (NASB)
Proverbs 16:18 “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” (NIV)
Prov. 29:23 “A man's pride will bring him low, But a humble spirit will obtain honor.” (NASB)
Philippians 2:3 “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves” (NASB)
James 4:6-10 “But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, ‘GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.’ ... 10 Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.” (NASB)
And the corollary is this: when you are being mistreated by proud, arrogant people, put your hope in the Lord and wait patiently for Him to bring about justice, and He will do so in time.
Proverbs 3:31-35 “Do not envy a man of violence And do not choose any of his ways. For the devious are an abomination to the LORD; But He is intimate with the upright. The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, But He blesses the dwelling of the righteous. Though He scoffs at the scoffers, Yet He gives grace to the afflicted. The wise will inherit honor, But fools display dishonor.” (NASB)
Luke 1:49-55 "For the Mighty One has done great things for me; And holy is His name. AND HIS MERCY IS UPON GENERATION AFTER GENERATION TOWARD THOSE WHO FEAR HIM. He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart. He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And has exalted those who were humble. HE HAS FILLED THE HUNGRY WITH GOOD THINGS; And sent away the rich empty-handed. He has given help to Israel His servant, In remembrance of His mercy, As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and his descendants forever." (NASB)
Psalm 31:23-24 “O love the LORD, all you His godly ones! The LORD preserves the faithful And fully recompenses the proud doer. Be strong and let your heart take courage, All you who hope in the LORD.” (NASB)
Ex. 12:37 & Num. 11:21 |
Men who came out of Egypt |
600,000 |
Ex. 32:28 |
Killed by Levites for idolatry |
- 3,000 |
Ex. 38:26 & Num. 1 |
Temple census of all men over 19 |
603,550 |
Num 16:49 |
Plague + Korah’s rebellion |
- 15,000 |
Num. 25:9 |
Plague re. Moab |
- 24,000 |
Num 26:51 |
Census (+23k Levites) |
601,730 |
Judges 9:49 |
Shechemites burned by Ahimelek (includes women) |
-1,000 |
Judges 12:6 |
Ephriamites killed by Jephthah |
- 42,000 |
Judges 20:2 |
Israelite and Benjamite soldiers |
426,700 |
|
Israelite soldiers killed by Benjamites |
- 40,000 |
|
Benjamite soldiers killed by Israelites |
- 25,100 |
|
Jabesh Gileadites killed by Israelites |
- 12,000 |
1 Sam. 4:2-10 |
Israelite soldiers killed by Philistines from Aphek |
- 34,000 |
1 Sam. 6:19 |
Struck by God for looking into Ark @ Beth Shemesh |
- 50,000 |
1 Sam. 11:8 |
Saul’s census of soldiers |
330,000 |
1 Sam. 15:4 |
Saul’s second muster |
210,000 |
2 Sam. 24:9 |
Joab’s census of soldiers |
1,300,000 |
|
God’s plague for taking census |
- 70,000 |
LXX |
Brenton |
DRB |
KJV |
NAW |
MT |
1 Καὶ ἐπεσκέψατο Δαυιδ τὸν λαὸν τὸν μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ καὶ κατέστησεν ἐπ᾿ αὐτῶν χιλιάρχους καὶ ἑκατοντάρχους, |
1
And David |
1 And David, having reviewed his people X X, appointed over them captains of thousands and X of hundreds, |
1
And David |
1 Then David set up a chain-of-command with the people that was with him, and he installed over them officers over thousands and officers over hundreds. |
1 וַיִּפְקֹד דָּוִד אֶת-הָעָם אֲשֶׁר אִתּוֹ וַיָּשֶׂם עֲלֵיהֶם שָׂרֵי אֲלָפִים וְשָׂרֵי מֵאוֹת: |
2
καὶ ἀπέστειλεν
Δαυιδ τὸν λαόν,
τὸ τρίτον ἐν χειρὶ
Ιωαβ καὶ τὸ
τρίτον ἐν χειρὶ
Αβεσσα υἱοῦ
Σαρουιας ἀδελφοῦ
Ιωαβ καὶ τὸ
τρίτον ἐν χειρὶ
Εθθι τοῦ Γεθθαίου.
καὶ εἶπεν |
2
And David sent away the people,
the third part under the hand
of Joab, and the third part under the hand
of Abessa the son of Saruia, the brother of Joab, and the third
part under the hand
of Ethi the Gittite. And |
2
And X
sent forth |
2
And David sent forth |
2 Then David commissioned the people: one third under the control of Joab, and one third under the control of Abishai son of Tseruiah (Joab’s brother), and one third under the control of Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the people, “Indeed I am definitely going out with y’all myself!” |
2 וַיְשַׁלַּח דָּוִד אֶת-הָעָם הַשְּׁלִשִׁית בְּיַד- יוֹאָב וְהַשְּׁלִשִׁית בְּיַד אֲבִישַׁי בֶּן-צְרוּיָה אֲחִי יוֹאָב וְהַשְּׁלִשִׁת בְּיַד אִתַּי הַגִּתִּי ס וַיֹּאמֶר הַמֶּלֶךְ אֶל-הָעָם יָצֹא אֵצֵא גַּם-אֲנִי עִמָּכֶם: |
3
καὶ εἶπαν X
X Οὐκ
ἐξελεύσῃ, ὅτι
ἐὰν φυγῇ φύγωμεν,
οὐ θήσουσιν
ἐφ᾿ ἡμᾶς καρδίαν,
καὶ ἐὰν ἀποθάνωμεν
τὸ ἥμισυ ἡμῶν,
οὐ θήσουσιν
ἐφ᾿ ἡμᾶς καρδίαν,
ὅτι |
3
And they
said, Thou shalt not go out: for if we should indeed flee, they
will not care
for us; and if half of us should X
|
3
And the people
answered: Thou shalt not go forth: for if we flee away, they will
not [much]
mind
X
us:
or if half of us should X
|
3
But the people
answered, Thou shalt not go forth: for if we flee away, they will
not care
for us; neither if half of us X
|
3 But the people said, “You’re not coming out. Because, if we flee pell-mell, it’s not on us that they will set their heart. Even if they kill half of us, it’s not on us that they will set their heart , rather {you} are as good as 10,000 of us. So it’s better now that you be {in} the city to bring help to us.” |
3 וַיֹּאמֶר הָעָם לֹא תֵצֵא כִּיE אִם-נֹס נָנוּס לֹא- יָשִׂימוּ אֵלֵינוּ לֵב וְאִם-יָמֻתוּ חֶצְיֵנוּ לֹא-יָשִׂימוּF אֵלֵינוּ לֵבG כִּי-עַתָּהH כָמֹנוּ עֲשָׂרָה אֲלָפִים וְעַתָּה טוֹב כִּי-תִהְיֶה-לָּנוּ מֵעִירI לַעְזִירJ: ס |
4 καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτοὺς ὁ βασιλεύς Ὃ ἐὰν ἀρέσῃ ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς ὑμῶν, ποιήσω. καὶ ἔστη ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀνὰ χεῖρα τῆς πύλης, καὶ πᾶς ὁ λαὸς ἐξεπορεύετο εἰς ἑκατοντάδας καὶ εἰς χιλιάδας. |
4 And the king said to them, Whatsoever shall seem good in your eyes I will do. And the king stood by the side of the gate, and all the people went out by hundreds and by thousands. |
4 And the king said to them: What seemeth good to you, that will I do. And the king stood by the X X gate: and all the people went forth [by their troops,] by hundreds and by thousands. |
4 And the king said unto them, What seemeth X you best I will do. And the king stood by the gate side, and all the people came out by hundreds and by thousands. |
4 Then the king said to them, “That which is best in y’all’s eyes is what I will do.” So the king stood by the side of the gate while all the people went forth by hundreds and by thousands. |
4 וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵיהֶם הַמֶּלֶךְ אֲשֶׁר- יִיטַב בְּעֵינֵיכֶם אֶעֱשֶׂה וַיַּעֲמֹדK הַמֶּלֶךְ אֶל-יַד הַשַּׁעַר וְכָל-הָעָם יָצְאוּ לְמֵאוֹת וְלַאֲלָפִים: |
5 καὶ ἐνετείλατο ὁ βασιλεὺς τῷ Ιωαβ καὶ τῷ Αβεσσα καὶ τῷ Εθθι λέγων Φείσασθέ μοι τοῦ παιδαρίου τοῦ Αβεσσαλωμ· καὶ πᾶς ὁ λαὸς ἤκουσεν ἐντελλομένου τοῦ βασιλέως πᾶσιν τοῖς ἄρχουσιν ὑπὲρ X Αβεσσαλωμ. |
5 And the king commanded Joab and Abessa and Ethi, saying, Spare for my sake X the young man X Abessalom. And all the people heard X the king charging all the commanders concerning X Abessalom. |
5 And the king commanded Joab, and Abisai, and Ethai, saying: Save X me X the boy X Absalom. And all the people heard X the king giving charge to all the princes concerning X Absalom. |
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 X Absalom. |
5 Nevertheless, the king gave an order to Joab and Abishai and Ittai saying, “Be gentle for me toward the young man – toward Absalom,” and all the people heard it when the king gave the order to all the officers concerning the matter of Absalom. |
5 וַיְצַו הַמֶּלֶךְ אֶת-יוֹאָב וְאֶת- אֲבִישַׁי וְאֶת-אִתַּי לֵאמֹר לְאַטL-לִי לַנַּעַר לְאַבְשָׁלוֹם וְכָל-הָעָם שָׁמְעוּM בְּצַוֹּת הַמֶּלֶךְ Nאֶת-כָּל- הַשָּׂרִים עַל-דְּבַר אַבְשָׁלוֹם: |
6
καὶ ἐξῆλθεν
πᾶς ὁ λαὸς εἰς
τὸν |
6
And all the people went out into the |
6 So the people went out [in]to the field against X Israel, and the battle was [fought] in the forest of Ephraim. |
6 So the people went out [in]to the field against X Israel: and the battle was in the wood of Ephraim; |
6 So the people went forth to the field to call upon Israel, and the fighting happened in the forest of Ephraim. |
6 וַיֵּצֵא הָעָם הַשָּׂדֶה לִקְרַאת יִשְׂרָאֵל וַתְּהִי הַמִּלְחָמָה בְּיַעַר אֶפְרָיִם: |
7 καὶ ἔπταισεν ἐκεῖ ὁ λαὸς Ισραηλ ἐνώπιον τῶν παίδων Δαυιδ, καὶ ἐγένετο X ἡ θραῦσις μεγάλη ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ, εἴκοσι χιλιάδες [ἀνδρῶν]. |
7
And the people of Israel fell
down
there before the servants of David, and there was X |
7
And the people of Israel were defeated
there |
7
X
Where
the people of Israel were slain
before the servants of David,
and there was there |
7 And the people of Israel were routed there before the front of David’s servants, and the rout there was massive on that day – 20,000 {men}, |
7 וַיִּנָּגְפוּ שָׁם עַם יִשְׂרָאֵל לִפְנֵי עַבְדֵי דָוִד וַתְּהִי- שָׁם הַמַּגֵּפָה גְדוֹלָה בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא עֶשְׂרִים אָלֶףQ: |
8 καὶ ἐγένετο ἐκεῖ ὁ πόλεμος διεσπαρμένος ἐπὶ πρόσωπον πάσης τῆς γῆς, καὶ ἐπλεόνασεν ὁ δρυμὸς τοῦ καταφαγεῖν ἐκ τοῦ λαοῦ ὑπὲρ οὓς κατέφαγεν [ἐν τῷ λαῷ] ἡ μάχαιρα ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ. |
8 And the battle there was scattered over the face of all the land: and the wood consumed more of the people than the sword consumed [among the people] in that day. |
8 And the battle there was scattered over the face of all the country, and there were [many] more of the people [whom] the forest consumed, than whom the sword devoured XR that day. |
8 For the battle was there scattered over the face of all the country: and the wood devoured more X X people X that day than X the sword devoured. |
8 and there the fighting was dispersed across the surface of the whole land, and the forest devoured more {of} the people than those whom the sword devoured on that day. |
8 וַתְּהִי-שָׁם הַמִּלְחָמָה נָפֹצֵיתS עַל-פְּנֵי כָל-הָאָרֶץ וַיֶּרֶב הַיַּעַר לֶאֱכֹל Tבָּעָם מֵאֲשֶׁר אָכְלָה הַחֶרֶב בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא: |
9
καὶ συνήντησεν
Αβεσσαλωμ
ἐνώπιον τῶν παίδων
Δαυιδ, καὶ
Αβεσσαλωμ
ἐπιβεβηκὼς
ἐπὶ τοῦ ἡμιόνου
[αὐτοῦ],
καὶ εἰσῆλθεν
ὁ ἡμίονος ὑπὸ
τὸ δάσος τῆς
δρυὸς τῆς μεγάλης,
καὶ ἐκρεμάσ |
9
And Abessalom [went
to]
meet XU
the
servants of David: and Abessalom was mounted on his mule, and the
mule came under the thick boughs of |
9
And [it
happened that]
Absalom met X
the
servants of David, X
X riding
on a mule: and as the mule went under a thick and large oak, his
head stuck
in the oak: and while he |
9
And Absalom met X
the
servants of David. And Absalom rode upon a mule, and the mule went
under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught
hold
of the oak, and he was |
9 And Absalom had a close-call in front of David’s servants while Absalom was riding on his mule, then the mule went under the branches of the big oak-tree, but his head caught fast in the oak-tree, so he was {hung up} between the heavens and the earth, and the mule which was under him passed on. |
9 וַיִּקָּרֵא אַבְשָׁלוֹם לִפְנֵי עַבְדֵי דָוִד וְאַבְשָׁלוֹםW רֹכֵב עַל-הַפֶּרֶד וַיָּבֹא הַפֶּרֶד תַּחַת שׂוֹבֶךְ הָאֵלָה הַגְּדוֹלָה וַיֶּחֱזַק רֹאשׁוֹ בָאֵלָה וַיֻּתַּןX בֵּין הַשָּׁמַיִם וּבֵין הָאָרֶץ וְהַפֶּרֶד אֲשֶׁר-תַּחְתָּיו עָבָרY: |
10 καὶ εἶδεν ἀνὴρ εἷς καὶ ἀνήγγειλεν Ιωαβ καὶ εἶπεν Ἰδοὺ ἑώρακα τὸν Αβεσσαλωμ κρεμάμενον ἐν τῇ δρυί. |
10
And |
10
And one saw |
10
And a certain man saw it,
and told X
Joab,
and said, Behold, I saw Absalom hanged in |
10 Then one man saw him and communicated it to Joab, so saying, “Look, I saw Absalom hanged in the oak-tree!” |
10 וַיַּרְא אִישׁ אֶחָדAA וַיַּגֵּד לְיוֹאָב וַיֹּאמֶר הִנֵּה רָאִיתִי אֶת-אַבְשָׁלֹם תָּלוּי בָּאֵלָה: |
11
καὶ εἶπεν Ιωαβ
τῷ ἀνδρὶ τῷ
ἀπαγγέλλοντι
Καὶ ἰδοὺ ἑόρακας·
τί ὅτι οὐκ ἐπάταξας
αὐτὸν εἰς τὴν
γῆν; καὶ ἐγὼ |
11
And Joab said to the man who reported it to him, And, behold, thou
didst see him: X
why
didst thou not smite him there to the ground? and I |
11
And Joab said to the man that told X
him:
X
If
thou sawest him, X
why
didst thou not |
11
And Joab said unto the man that told X
him,
And, behold, thou sawest him,
and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground? and I |
11 But Joab said to the man who had communicated it to him, “Look, if you saw him, then why didn’t you strike him down to the ground right there? Then it would have been incumbent upon me to give you ten in silver as well as one equipment-belt!” |
11 וַיֹּאמֶר יוֹאָב לָאִישׁ הַמַּגִּיד לוֹ וְהִנֵּה רָאִיתָ וּמַדּוּעַ לֹא- הִכִּיתוֹ שָׁם אָרְצָה וְעָלַי לָתֶת לְךָ עֲשָׂרָהAB כֶסֶף וַחֲגֹרָהAC אֶחָת: |
12
εἶπεν δὲ ὁ ἀνὴρ
πρὸς Ιωαβ Καὶ
X
ἐγώ
εἰμι ἵστημι
ἐπὶ τὰς |
12
And the man said to Joab, Were
I even X
to
|
12
And X
X he
said to Joab: X
If
X
|
12
And the man said unto Joab, X
Though
I should
|
12 But the man said to Joab, “Even if I were weighing 1,000 in silver on my palm, I would not extend my hand against the son of the king, for it was in our own hearing that the king commanded you and Abiahsi and Ittai, saying, ‘Take care with the young man {} Absalom for me.’ |
12 וַיֹּאמֶר הָאִישׁ אֶל-יוֹאָב וְלֹאAD אָנֹכִי שֹׁקֵל עַל- כַּפַּי אֶלֶף כֶּסֶף לֹא-אֶשְׁלַח יָדִי אֶל-בֶּן-הַמֶּלֶךְ כִּי בְאָזְנֵינוּ צִוָּה הַמֶּלֶךְ אֹתְךָ וְאֶת-אֲבִישַׁי וְאֶת-אִתַּי לֵאמֹר שִׁמְרוּ-מִיAE בַּנַּעַר בְּאַבְשָׁלוֹםAF: |
13
|
13 so as to do no harm to his life: and nothing of the matter will be concealed from the king, and thou X wilt set thyself against [me]AG. |
13
[Yea
and]
if I should
have
acted
|
13
Otherwise I should
have wrought
falsehood
against |
13 Otherwise, had I acted treacherously against his soul (since there can’t be concealed from the king any matter), then as for you, you would have taken a position of being non-responsive.” |
13 אוֹ-עָשִׂיתִי בְנַפְשׁוֹAI שֶׁקֶר וְכָל-דָּבָר לֹא- יִכָּחֵדAJ מִן- הַמֶּלֶךְ וְאַתָּה תִּתְיַצֵּב מִנֶּגֶד: |
14 καὶ εἶπεν Ιωαβ [Τοῦτο ἐγὼ ἄρξομαι·] οὐχ οὕτως μενῶ ἐνώπιόν σου. καὶ ἔλαβεν [Ιωαβ] τρία βέλη ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐνέπηξεν αὐτὰ ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ Αβεσσαλωμ. ἔτι αὐτοῦ ζῶντος ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ τῆς δρυὸς |
14 And Joab said, [I will begin this;] I will not thus remain with X thee. And [Joab] took three darts in his hand, and thrust them into the heart of Abessalom, while he was yet alive in the heart of the oak. |
14
And Joab said: Not as
|
14 Then said Joab, I may not tarry thus with X 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. |
14 Then Joab said, “Then {I’ll take the lead} I’m not going to wait around in front of you!” And he took three staves in his grasp, and he struck them to the heart of Absalom, who was still alive in the heart of the oak-tree. |
14 וַיֹּאמֶר יוֹאָב לֹא-כֵן אֹחִילָה לְפָנֶיךָAK וַיִּקַּח שְׁלֹשָׁהAL שְׁבָטִיםAM בְּכַפּוֹ וַיִּתְקָעֵםAN בְּלֵב אַבְשָׁלוֹם עוֹדֶנּוּ חַי בְּלֵב הָאֵלָה: |
15 καὶ ἐκύκλωσαν δέκα παιδάρια αἴροντα τὰ σκεύη Ιωαβ καὶ ἐπάταξαν τὸν Αβεσσαλωμ καὶ ἐθανάτωσαν αὐτόν. |
15 And ten young men that bore Joab's armour compassed Abessalom, and smote him and slew him. |
15
X
Ten
young men, armourbearers of Joab, |
15 And ten young men that bare Joab's armour compassed about and smote Absalom, and slew him. |
15 Then ten of the young men who carried Joab’s gear came around and struck Absalom down, and so they put him to death. |
15 וַיָּסֹבּוּ עֲשָׂרָה נְעָרִים נֹשְׂאֵי כְּלֵי יוֹאָב וַיַּכּוּ אֶת-אַבְשָׁלוֹם וַיְמִיתֻהוּ: |
16 καὶ ἐσάλπισεν Ιωαβ ἐν κερατίνῃ, καὶ ἀπέστρεψεν ὁ λαὸς τοῦ μὴ διώκειν ὀπίσω Ισραηλ, ὅτι ἐφείδετο Ιωαβ τοῦ λαοῦ. |
16 And Joab blew X the trumpet, and the people returned from pursuing Israel, for Joab spared the people. |
16
And Joab sounded X
the
trumpet, and X
kept
back the people from pursuing after Israel |
16 And Joab blew X the trumpet, and the people returned from pursuing after Israel: for Joab held back the people. |
16 Then Joab blew into his horn, and the people returned from pursuing after Israel because Joab restrained the people. |
16 וַיִּתְקַע יוֹאָב בַּשֹּׁפָרAO וַיָּשָׁב הָעָם מִרְדֹף אַחֲרֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל כִּי-חָשַׂךְ יוֹאָב אֶת-הָעָם: |
17
καὶ ἔλαβ |
17
And |
17
And they took Absalom, and cast him into |
17
And they took Absalom, and cast him into |
17 Then they took Absalom into the forest and cast him into the big trench, and they erected over him a very large heap of stones, and all Israel fled, each to his tent. |
17 וַיִּקְחוּ אֶת-אַבְשָׁלוֹם וַיַּשְׁלִיכוּ אֹתוֹ בַיַּעַר אֶל- הַפַּחַתAP הַגָּדוֹל וַיַּצִּבוּ עָלָיו גַּל-אֲבָנִים גָּדוֹל מְאֹד וְכָל- יִשְׂרָאֵל נָסוּ אִישׁ לְאֹהֵלוֹAQ: ס |
18 καὶ Αβεσσαλωμ ἔτι ζῶν καὶ ἔστησεν ἑαυτῷ τὴν στήλην, ἐν ᾗ ἐλήμφθη, καὶ ἐστήλωσεν αὐτὴν λαβεῖν, τὴν στήλην τὴν ἐν τῇ κοιλάδι τοῦ βασιλέως, ὅτι εἶπεν Οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτῷ υἱὸς ἕνεκεν τοῦ ἀναμνῆσαι τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ· καὶ ἐκάλεσεν τὴν στήλην Χεὶρ Αβεσσαλωμ ἕως τῆς ἡμέρας ταύτης. |
18 Now Abessalom while yet alive had taken and set up for himself the pillar near which he was taken, and set it up so as to have the pillar in the king's dale; for he said he had no son to keep his name in remembrance: and he called the pillar, Abessalom's hand, until this day. |
18 Now Absalom had reared up for himself, in his lifetime, a pillar, which is in the king's valley: for he said: I have no son, and this shall be the monument of my name. And he called the pillar by his own name, and it is called the hand of Absalom, to this day. |
18 Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself a 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 unto this day, Absalom's place. |
18 (Now, while he was alive, Absalom had taken and erected for himself a pillar, which was in the valley of the king, “Because,” he said, “I do not have a son to cause my name to be remembered,” so he called the pillar after his own name, and it has been called the Monument of Absalom unto this day.) |
18 וְאַבְשָׁלֹם לָקַח וַיַּצֶּב-לוֹ בְחַיָוAR אֶת- מַצֶּבֶתAS אֲשֶׁר בְּעֵמֶק-הַמֶּלֶךְ כִּי אָמַר אֵין-לִי בֵן בַּעֲבוּר הַזְכִּיר שְׁמִי וַיִּקְרָא לַמַּצֶּבֶת עַל-שְׁמוֹ וַיִּקָּרֵא לָהּ יַד אַבְשָׁלֹם עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה: ס |
1Josephus wrote that he had under 4,000, Gill that he had over 4,000, and Willett that he had 6,000, but these are based on pure conjecture.
2Abarbinel suggested that it was at this point that David composed Psalm 20 "The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble"
3Willett
suggested that it was named Ephraim “because of the slaughter
of the Ephramites there made by Jephtha in Judges 12 and therefore
it had the name of Ephraim though it were situate in the tribe of
Manasseh.”
Jewish commentators like Rashi, Kimchi, and
Abarbinel wrote that Joshua gave the Ephriamites permission to graze
their cattle anywhere they wanted, so they drove some of their
cattle across the Jordan River to pasture in this place.
4Keil and Delitzsch, however, had an interesting theory based on the forest being labeled “Ephraim” and based on v.32, which appears to have Ahimaaz running from the battle across the Jordan River plain to get back to David at Machanaim, that the battle could have been on the West side of the Jordan River. The biggest thing against that theory, however, is why two armies who had crossed the Jordan to meet each other in battle on the East side suddenly started fighting on the West side.
5Willett, following Osiander, interpreted maggepheh as only those slaughtered by the sword, and estimated that the total losses, including those to the woods, were over 40,000, but it doesn’t make sense to me for a war statistician not to report total losses, and I question whether an accurate distinction could have been made concerning who was killed by a sword vs. who was killed by an accident in the woods. Gill was adamant that 20,000 was the total.
6Curiously, archaeologists have estimated the early Iron-Age Israelite population at much smaller numbers, Stager at 150,000 and Finklestein at less than 50,000, according to William G. Dever in Who Were the Early Israelites and Where Did They Come From? (p.98). The only explanation I can offer is that Joab probably had a lot more data available to him, whereas archaeologists have to construct theories as best they can by deductions from fragmentary data.
7Willet took for granted that it was Absalom’s hair, and in the New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Tsumura noted that in Hebrew, Japanese, and English, “head” can mean “hair.”
8The only occurrences of this verb in the history books of the Bible are of Joshua hanging the king of Ai (Josh. 8:29) and the 5 Kings of the Amorites (Josh. 10:26), the Philistines hanging up Saul’s carcass (2 Sam. 21:12), David’s hanging of the men who assassinated IshBosheth (2 Sam. 4:12), and the nine verses in Esther referring to the gallows which Haman had made to hang Mordecai, but upon which he and his 10 sons were hanged instead.
9Willett was of a different opinion that Joab did the best thing and had the authority to do so, noting that he was not charged with murder over Absalom’s death like he was with his other assassinations.
10Commentators Gill, Keil & Delitzsch, and Goldman raised the point that whatever Joab did with these shevetim, it wasn’t the death-blow, so perhaps the belev could be translated some way other than literally “though his heart.” This makes me wonder if it could be interpreted as a disciplinary beating with these “rods” “against his heart” followed by an execution performed by his men with swords?
11Death by stoning was also reserved for criminals, and several commentators noted the appropriateness of it for Absalom as a rebellious son in light of Deut. 21:21.
12Josh. 7:26 “Then they raised over him a great heap of stones, still there to this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of His anger. Therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Achor to this day.” (NKJV)
13Josh. 8:29 And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until evening. And as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his corpse down from the tree, cast it at the entrance of the gate of the city, and raise over it a great heap of stones that remains to this day. (NKJV)
142 Sam. 14:27 “There was also born to Absalom three sons and one daughter – and her name was Tamar. She became a woman of beautiful appearance.” (NAW)
15Gill in loc. wrote a detailed description of it, but now, photographs of it are easy to find on the Internet. There is an interesting post on Bible Reading Archaeology which postulates that the main part of the structure was built to honor Herod Antipas https://biblereadingarcheology.com/2016/06/03/the-mystery-of-absaloms-tomb-part-2/
AMy
original chart includes the NASB, NIV, and ESV, but their copyright
restrictions have forced me to remove them from the
publicly-available edition of this chart. (NAW is my translation.)
When a translation adds words not in the Hebrew text, but does not
indicate it has done so by the use of italics (or greyed-out text),
I put the added words in [square brackets]. When one version chooses
a wording which is different from all the other translations, I
underline it. When a version chooses a translation which, in
my opinion, either departs too far from the root meaning of the
Hebrew word or departs too far from the grammar form of the original
text, I use strikeout. And when a version omits a
word which is in the original text, I insert an X. (I also place an
X at the end of a word if the original word is plural but the
English translation is singular.) I occasionally use colors to help
the reader see correlations between the various editions and
versions when there are more than two different translations of a
given word. The only known Dead Sea Scrolls containing 2 Samuel 18
are 4Q51 Samuela containing parts of verses 1-11, dated
between 50-25 B.C. Where the DSS is legible and in agreement with
the MT, the MT is colored purple. Where
the DSS supports the LXX (or Vulgate) with omissions or text not in
the MT, I have highlighted with
yellow the LXX and its translation into English, and where I
have accepted that into my NAW translation, I have marked it with
{pointed brackets}.
BAquila and Theodotion’s Greek versions followed the MT with νυν, but Symmachus maintained the LXX “you.”
CDSS is obliterated here, but has room for the reduplication of the verb as it is here in the LXX. No other versions seem to do this. But since the simple form of the verb is there in the MT, it doesn’t change the meaning beyond adding some intensity.
DFields cited Greek manuscripts “Codd. XI, 29, 56” as omitting the reduplication of the verb (as the MT does), and cited a few more Greek manuscripts which ended with a first person plural pronoun “to us” or “of us” (“Comp., Codd. 19, 82, 93, 108, Reg.”).
EThe DSS omits this causative, but it’s in all the ancient versions (although I’m not sure about the Syriac).
FThe DSS omits the final vav, rendering this verb singular instead of plural, but it appears to be plural in all the ancient versions, furthermore, the sense could still be retained if the enemy is regarded as a singularity instead of a plurality. DSS also shortens the next word by removing the first letter, but it makes no difference in meaning.
GThis second instance of “heart” is omitted in the Syriac and a couple of Hebrew manuscripts, but it can be understood as being there in meaning by ellipsis, so this does not change the meaning.
HTwo
Hebrew manuscripts read “you” instead (which is spelled
very similarly אתה),
and this pronoun is what is also in the LXX, Symmachus, Vulgate, and
Targums. K&D wrote, “we must evidently
read אתה
for
עתה,
and עתה
has
merely got into the text on consequence of ועתה
following.”
There
is room for about 10 more characters or spaces in the DSS between
this word and the next legible word than the MT has. TWTY suggested
“and he will cut from the land” Targums seems to support
an insertion of that length withיָכֵיל
לְמִסעַד (“he
will overpower to help”). Vulgate inserts unus
(“alone”). K&D
wrote that infinitive Hiphil Kethib here “is not to be
disputed.”
ILXX, Old Latin, and Vulgate all have a preposition meaning “in” instead of “from.” Targums support the MT “from,” and the Syriac appears to have a different reading altogether. DSS is obliterated here, so not available for comparison.
JQere suggests instead a simple Qal form לַעְזוֹר ("to help") instead of the MT’s Hiphil form ("bring help"). Although a few Greek manuscripts follow the Qere, most reduplicate this verb, a few others add the pronoun ημιν or ημων.
KThe DSS has only two legible letters in this word, the mem which is in the MT, and before it, a shin, which is different from the MT. Perhaps it could be the verb “he kept” from שמר, which could be construed as a synonym. The Targums and Syriac render a synonym to the MT with קם (“he established [himself]”). The LXX ἔστη and Latin stetit (both meaning “stood”) support the MT.
LThis adverb occurs only 4 other places in the Hebrew Bible, describing gentle/soft walking pace (Gen. 33:14), mourning lifestyle (1 Ki. 21:27), speech (Job 15:11) and water (Isa. 8:6).
MThere is some debate over how this word should be spelled. The subject “people” is singular, so the verb shouldn’t be spelled plural, but it is plural in the MT and Targums here, and it has a plural form (although it is changed to a participle) in the DSS (שמעים). The LXX and Syriac and Latin, however, have singular verb-forms. Nevertheless, everyone understands “people” to be the subject of “heard,” and everyone understands that there was a plurality of persons represented by the singular word “people,” so there is no practical difference in meaning. The grammar error in the MT could be resolved by going back to the consonantal text and reading the final vav as a pronominal object “the people heard IT” instead of as a marker of plurality on the verb (“they heard”).
NThe DSS is obliterated at this point, but there isn’t quite enough space to fit all the words of the MT. A small word like the direct object indicator or the word “all” could be dropped out without a significant loss of meaning.
OThe omission of “there” (ibi) and “in” (in) is the fault of Douay in his English translation, not of Jerome, who included these words from the MT in the Latin Vulgate. Douay also added the word “men” at the end, which is not in the Vulgate or in the MT.
PKJV treats this adjective as though it were attributive, but, since it does not match in definiteness with the noun it modifies – either in the Hebrew or in the Greek, it is actually predicative (“the slaughter was great” not “it was a great slaughter”).
QDSS and LXX inserted “men” here hundreds of years before the oldest-known MT manuscript which dropped it out, and over a thousand years before the printed Targums which also dropped it out. The ancient Vulgate and Syriac, however support the terse reading of the MT. It doesn’t change the meaning, however, for the context requires that the number was of fighting men.
R“in” is in the Vulgate, matching the MT, but is missing in Douay’s English translation.
SThe Hebrew in this column is the Westminster text of the MT. The BHS text of the MT spells this word with a seghol instead of a sere in the penultimate syllable. Furthermore, the BHS has a Qere marginal note spelled נפוצת, whereas the Westminster spells it נָפֹצֶת. Either way, the Qere is a suggestion that the original plural spelling be changed to singular. The word “battle” is singular and is the only word which could be the subject, and the ancient Greek and Latin, as well as the modern English versions all read with the Qere.
TThe LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate all read “from the people” instead of the MT’s (and Targums’) “among the people,” and the DSS, although it is partially obliterated, agrees with the former against the MT with מן העם (grey characters being where the text is obliterated), definitely disagreeing with the MT by putting a simple definite article instead of a beth preposition before “people” and having space for the two extra consonants in the Hebrew preposition “from.” The sense comes out the same either way in Hebrew, but the sense is clearer the way the DSS spells it.
UThe Vaticanus matches the LXX; it does not add the verb “went” or omit the preposition “before” here, nor does it pluralize the “bough” or make “oak” indefinite, as Brenton made them in his English version.
VThe Masoretic pointing makes this verb Qal (Active) but the consonantal text that the LXX translated from could be construed as Niphal (passive).
WDSS reads “he” awhw instead of the MT’s “Absalom,” and the NIV follows the DSS here. Vulgate omits. But in every variant, the subject of the action is the same person, so there is no essential difference in meaning.
XDSS reads instead h*** ltyw “and he [was?] hung [there?/in the oak?/up?]” The verb matches the LXX ἐκρεμάσθη ἀνὰ (“he was hung up”) and the verb from the Vulgate suspenso, and the Syriac, and the Targums וְאִתְלִי. Also, when the verb recurs in the next verse of the MT, it is תל not תן.
YDSS is obliterated but has room for one more word, which may be the extra word found in the Syriac (ואזל) or a form of הלך (“went”) which might be what inspired the NIV translators to add “kept on.” LXX, Vulgate, and Targums, however, support the shorter reading of the MT. Either way, it is not a significant difference in meaning.
ZThe Vaticanus has the word for “one” here just like the LXX and MT do; it also uses a passive verb form for “hanged,” and employs a definite article before the word for “tree” at the end of the sentence, just like the LXX and MT do.
AADSS does not have this word “one” in between “man” and “told,” but it does have a strangely long space after “told” which would be just the right size to relocate the word for “one.” It makes no difference to the story, though.
ABVulgate inserts sicles probably for the same reason Targums insert סִלעִין – for the sake of explanation that “ten of silver” meant “ten silver coins.” K&D and Goldman agreed that “shekels” is implied. Curiously, in the DSS, this word for “ten” in the MT is instead spelled שים**, (asterices representing spaces where letters are illegible) matching the Hebrew word for “thirty” (which would be a fascinating corroboration with the bounty paid to Judas Iscariot in the Gospels) or “fifty” (which Josephus maintained) instead of the word for “ten,” but all the other ancient manuscripts read “ten” along with the MT. Trebling or quintupling the bounty would not change the shape of the story except to demonstrate the poor financial situation of Joab, since most bounties were a lot bigger than 10 pieces of silver (compare to Abimelech’s 1,000 in Gen. 20:16, Joseph’s 300 in Gen 45:22, Shechem’s 70 in Judges 9:4, the Philistines’ 1,100, Micah’s 10 per year + suit of clothes + room & board in Judges 17:10, and Judas’ 30 in Matt. 27:10).
ACThe only other places this word occurs in the Hebrew Bible are Gen. 3:7 (Adam & Eve’s fig leaves); 1 Ki. 2:5 (Joab’s war-belt); 2 Ki. 3:21 (Moabite’s equipping for war); and Isa. 3:24 (a woman’s sash).
ADQere spells “Oh/I wish” with an extra vav - וְלוּא (in the Westminster) or ולו (in the BHS) – to distinguish it more clearly from the negative particle (“and not”) which is also spelled ולא, but this is just a spelling variant, not a meaning variant.
AEMT reads without a preposition (“Take care me with the lad…”), and two Hebrew manuscripts (and the Leningrad Syriac) read without a preposition or a pronoun (“Take care of the lad…”), but two Hebrew manuscripts read with both the pronoun and preposition yl (“Take care with the lad Absalom to/for me”), which makes the most sense, and is the reading of the Septuagint, Targums, Vulgate, and most Syriac manuscripts.
AFSyriac, LXX, and Vulgate all omit the preposition before Absalom. It makes no difference in meaning, however, because the same preposition is with the matching word “boy.”
AGVaticanus matches LXX. The missing emphatic “you” and added “me” are Brenton’s contributions to the English version.
AHWillett supported interpreting this as an interrogative (although there is no indication in the Hebrew of it being interrogative) because he thought it would be too cheeky for a soldier speaking to his general not to frame it as a question.
AIMT reads “with his soul” but Qere suggests בְנַפְשִׁי (with my soul), based on other Hebrew manuscripts, and this is also the reading of the Syriac, Targums, Vulgate, and Lucian Rescription of the Greek, but the LXX matches the MT.
AJcf. 2 Samuel 14:18 Then the king answered and said to the woman, "Please don't conceal from me the thing which I am about to ask you." And the woman said, "Please let my lord the king speak." (NAW)
AKLXX, Vulgate, Targums (אְנָא אְשָׁרֵי קְֹדָמָך וּנסֵיב), and Syriac (אנא אשׁרא קדמיך ונסב) all have four words where the MT has only two. The DSS is too obliterated for comparison.
ALWillett listed numerous conjectures from older commentators on which three things about Absalom the three staves stood for, but he concluded that Joab took up more than one lance just “to make sure work, that he might thoroughly dispatch him.” Gill also suggested that the death blows from the 10 men were for the 10 concubines Absalom had violated, but I have my doubts that Joab and his men intended any symbolism by these numbers.
AMThis is the only time in English Bibles that this word is translated “spear/javelin/dart;” usually it is translated “rod” or “scepter” or “staff” or “tribe.” K&D translated it “staffs.” Gill interpreted them as “iron rods,” but he was the only commentator not to think of them as wooden.
ANThis verb is more often used to describe the “blowing” on a trumpet/shophar (as in v.15). The only other time in Samuel that it is used to mean something like “stab” is 1 Sam. 31:10 “And they put his weapons in the temple of Astaroth, and they impaled his body on the wall of Beth Shan.” (NAW) Alternately, the verb could be translated “clap/slap/spank,” which would be more appropriate use of such a “rod,” and could explain the separate “striking down” and “killing” by the armor-bearers, but the problem with this alternative would be the phrase “in the heart,” which isn’t the usual use of the rod as a disciplinary measure.
AOcf. 2 Sam. 2:28 “And Joab blew into his horn, then all his people stood down, and they did not pursue any more after Israel, and they did not continue to fight any more.” (NAW)
APcf. 2 Sam. 17:9 “Probably now he is hiding himself in one of his trenches…” (NAW)
AQSyriac supports the MT with singular “man” and singular “dwelling” למשׁכנה, but the Qere follows multiple Hebrew manuscripts which read לְאֹהָלָיו (plural rather than singular “tents,” while strangely retaining the singular object “his”), and the Targums follow suit with לְקִרווֹהִי (“to his walled-cities”). The LXX could be construed to follow either the MT or the Qere, since the neuter spelling of the word for “tent” is the same whether it is singular or plural. The Vulgate pluralizes both “tents” and “their.”
ARQere בְחַיָּיו suggests adding an extra yod to make it more obvious that it is plural, but this is just a spelling variation, not a variation in meaning.
ASThe only other place this same spelling of this word is found is Isaiah 6:13, where it is almost-universally translated “stump.” The previous three times the noun occurred, however, were in Deuteronomy’s warnings not to erect pillars!