2 Samuel 14

Chap. XIV. Ver. 1-33. Joab employs the woman of Tekoah to persuade David to recall Absalom, and he is reconciled.—We read, in the close of the preceding chapter, that Absalom fled to Geshur, and his father David longed to follow him. Joab, perceiving that the king’s heart was toward Absalom, and wishing herein to gratify him, employed the wise woman of Tekoah to plead for his return. By a well-wrought parable, she so far succeeded as to procure his recall to Jerusalem; but it was two years before the king would see him, (much as his heart was toward him,) because he had imbrued his hands in the blood of his brother Amnon. Nothing can be said to excuse the crime of Amnon; yet, as he had not been guilty of her death, Absalom had no right to slay him under the pretence of avenging her.

He might, indeed, have had him punished according to the law; but it is to be feared that at this time public morals were much relaxed, and justice much neglected. _The king himself must find it very difficult to administer it impartially, while Nathan’s words, ‘Thou art the man,’ must be whispered in his ears whenever a criminal was brought before him. That the Mosaic laws were not properly attended to, appears evident even from the case before us, although the story was wrought up with all the art of Joab, and well pleaded by a most ingenious advocate. If the case stated were not wilful murder, were there not cities of refuge for the manslayer? or was this benevolent provision now neglected, and the roads out of repair?

But if it were a case of wilful murder, the law was peremptory, and the king himself had no right to pardon. Yet the king pledged himself to do this, merely on the partial representation of the culprit’s mother; in which, as in most of his conduct, he appears to have acted more under the influence of his feelings than of his judgment. But to come to the application: it is not to be wondered that David felt the force of it, since it was so much in harmony with his wishes: and at the same time mixed up with a considerable portion of flattery, to make it the more palatable. It is, however, much to be doubted, whether David’s conduct was either just or prudent. He received no proof of penitence or reform in Absalom; on the other hand, he no sooner returned, than he began to plot against his father’s crown.

David had committed himself in Ver. 7. Quench my coal.—{A striking metaphorical expression used in Scripture promising pardon to the widow’s son, while his own was under banishment for a like offence; she therefore well said, that the king himself was ‘‘faulty;” that is, inconsistent, in not recalling Absalom. She farther urged him to this on the ground of the bial eh oe [value] of human life: “for we must needs die, and are as water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again;” and from a recollection that God himself hath “* devised means that his banished ones be not expelled from is extensive; and that, equally in the greatest and the smallest things, there him:” considerations which at all times, and under all circumstances, should deeply impress our minds, and influence our gratitude to the divine mercy.

Notes on the verses

Chap. XIV. Ver. 2. Tekoah.—{Tekoah was a city of Judah, situated, according to Eusebius and Jerome, 12 miles south of Jerusalem. Josephus says it was not far from the castle of Herodium; and Jerome says it stood on a hill six miles south from Bethlehem. Dr. Pococke places it at the same distance; and says there are still considerable ruins on the top of a hill, which is about half a mile long and a furlong broad. J—Bagster. _ g I Ver. 5. I am indeed a widow.—[It is very possible that the principal facts mentioned here were real; and that Joab found out a person whose circumstances bore a near resemblance to that which he wished to represent. She did not make the similitude too plain and visible, lest the king should see her intention, before she had obtained a grant of pre and thus, her circum: stances, her mournful tale, her widow’s dress, her aged person, (for Josephus says she was advanced in years,) and her impressive manner, all combined to see one united irresistible impression on the heart of the aged monarch.

}—ture to denote a man and his descendants. The heathens used the same similitude: so Plato terms those who escaped Deucalion’s deluge, ‘‘the few live coals of the human race.” ]—Bagster.: 5 Ver. 10. Bring him to me.—This seems equitable, that the king might hear the other party; but she wanted a pledge upon oath—not to defer the matter to a hearing, which would defeat her object. ’ Ver. 11. Remember the Lord.—The LXX. read, “‘Make mention of;” call his name to witness. Her object seems to be, to bind the king by an oath, (as Scott observes,) and so David himself appears to have understood it, and therefore immediately gives one.: Ver. 14, Neither doth God respect, &c.—See Margin. Perhaps the meaning may be, “God spared the human race, and did not cut us off in Adam, because he had devised means for our restoration by his Son.”

A respite encourages hope of pardon; as the crime had been so long unrevenged, she pleads that he might now be rescued wholly from the manslayers. ? Ver. 17. Angel of God.—{This is very much like the nice language which is addressed by the Hindoos to an European when they desire to obtain something from him; “‘Saheb,” say they, “can do every thing. No one can prevent the execution of Saheb’s commands. Saheb is God.’ (Ward’s View of the History, &c. of the Hindoos.) Though this expression may be imputed to the hyperbolical genius of these countries, yet there was, perhaps, more of real persuasion than we are apt to suppose. Sir J. Chardin states, that having found fault with the king of Persia’s valuation of a rich trinket, the grand joaillier told him that if a Persian had dared to have done such a thing, it would have been as much as his life was worth.

‘‘Know,” said he, “that the kings of Persia have a general and full knowledge of matters, as sure as it is nothing more just and sure than what they pronounce.”” See Harmer. jJ—Bagster. Ver. 26. When he polled his head—That is, cut off his hair, it weighed two hundred shekels. This text has very great difficulty. First, it is not certain Absalom polled his head “every year.” Dr. Boothroyd renders it, “from time to time;” and it is not certain how long that period might be. Absalom’s hair was doubtless very beautiful, and either on that account, or perhaps from a vow to wear it for a certain period, at the end of that period, when it had become no longer bearable, he hale jt; and when he weighed it, the weight was remarkable.

[If the shekel be allowed to mean the common shekel, the amount will be utterly incredible; for Josephus says, that ‘two hundred shekels make five mina;”’ and the mina, he says, “‘weighs two pounds and a half;”’ which calculation makes Absalom’s hair weigh twelve pounds and a half! But it is probable that the King’s shekel was that which Epiphanius and Hesychius say was the fourth part of an ounce, half a stater, or two drachms; the whole amount, therefore, of the 200 shekels is about 50 ounces, which make 4 lb. 20 oz. Troy weight, or 27 d. 2 oz. Avoirdupois. This need not be accounted incredible, especially as abundance of oil and ointments was used by the ancients in dressing their heads; as is evident, not only from many places in the Greek and Roman writers, but also from several places in the Sacred Writings.

Josephus also informs us, that the Jews also put gold dust in their hair, that it might sparkle in the sun. See Bochart. J|—Bagster. But others think he referred to the value of it, which, from its beauty, length, and thickness, might be worth two hundred shekels of silver; not that he suffered it to be sold, perhaps, but supposing it had been sold, it might have fetched such a sum. See Stackhouse, 393