Bible Commentaries

INTRODUCTION TO SECOND SAMUEL 15

This chapter relates how that Absalom by various artful methods stole away the hearts of the people of Israel, 2 Samuel 15:1; that pretending a vow he had made, he got leave of the king to go to Hebron to perform it, 2 Samuel 15:7; where he formed a considerable conspiracy, 2 Samuel 15:10; of which David having information, thought it advisable to depart from Jerusalem, both for his own safety, and the good of the city, which he did with his family, and guards, and much people, 2 Samuel 15:13; though he would have persuaded Ittai the Gittite to have returned, but could not prevail upon him, 2 Samuel 15:19; however, he sent back the priests and the Levites with the ark, lest any harm should come to that, 2 Samuel 15:24; and as he and the people went up the mount of Olives weeping, it was told him that Ahithophel was among the conspirators, on which he put up a prayer that his counsel might be infatuated, 2 Samuel 15:30; and Hushai the Archite coming to him at that juncture, he sent him back to Jerusalem to defeat the counsel of Ahithophel, and to send him word by the priests what he should hear there from time to time, 2 Samuel 15:32.

And it came to pass after this,.... After the reconciliation of David and Absalom, and the latter was admitted to court again:

that Absalom prepared him chariots and horses; to make himself look grand and respectable among the people; perhaps he got these from his grandfather at Geshur in Syria:

and fifty men to run before him; which added to his pomp and magnificence; and such great personages in later time have had; Nero the Roman emperor never went on a journey with less than a thousand calashes or chariots, and a great number of men that ran before him (c): and this was tacitly setting himself up for king, at least preparing for it, as Adonijah afterwards did in the same way and manner, 1 Kings 1:5.

(c) Suetonius in Vit. Neron. c. 30. Vid. Senecae, Ephesians 87. & 123.

And Absalom rose up early,.... Every morning, to show how diligent and industrious he should be, and closely apply himself to business, was he in any office trader the king, and especially when he should be king himself; this he did to ingratiate himself into the affections of the people:

and stood beside the way of the gate; either of the king's palace, so Josephus (d), or of the city, where courts of judicature are held: the former seems most probable by what follows:

and it was so, that when any man that had a controversy came to the king for judgment; that had a controversy with another man on any account, and came to the king to have it decided according to law, or the rules of justice and equity:

then Absalom called unto him, and said, of what city art thou? which question he asked, only to lead on to some further discourse:

and he said, thy servant is of one of the tribes; that is, of one of the cities of the tribes of Israel, and not of a city of another nation.

(d) Antiqu. l. 7. c. 9. sect. 1.

And Absalom said unto him,.... After some further talk, and finding he had a suit at law to bring on, and either seeing it drawn up in writing, or hearing his account of it, at once declared, without hearing the other party:

see, thy matters are good and right; thy cause is a good cause, and if it could be heard by proper persons there is no doubt but things would go on thy side, and thou wouldest carry thy cause:

but there is no man deputed of the king to hear thee; the king is grown old himself and his sons are negligent, and do not attend to business, and there are none besides them appointed to hear causes; and he suggested, as appears by what follows, that he was not in commission, but if he was, or should he appointed a judge, he would attend to business, and people should not go away after this manner, without having justice administered unto them,

Absalom said, moreover,.... To the same persons, at the same time:

oh that I were made judge in the land; by which it appears that he had no office under the king; partly either because of his crime, and so not thought fit, and partly because he appeared to be an ambitious aspiring man, and so it was thought not safe to put him into any office:

that every man that hath any suit or cause might come unto me, and I would do him justice; at once, without any further trouble, or coming often, and in vain, and to no purpose.

And it was so, that when any man came nigh to him to do him obeisance,.... To pay his respects, and bow to him, as being the king's son, a prince of the blood, and heir to the crown, as was supposed:

he put forth his hand, and took him, and kissed him; he put out his hand and shook hands with him, or took him about the neck and kissed him, and by this free, familiar, affable, and courteous manner, strangely won upon and gained the affections of the people, as follows. Fortunatus Schacchus (e) thinks he put forth his hand to be kissed by them, and then kissed them, which was more than was usual.

(e) Eloeochrism. Myrothec. l. 3. c. 34. col. 964.

And in this manner did Absalom to all Israel that came to the king for judgment,.... Told them there was none to be had, wished that he was in office to administer it to them, and behaved in the above loving manner towards them:

so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel; got the affections of the people in a private and clandestine manner, and robbed the king of them, who had the best right unto them.

And it came to pass after forty years,.... Or four years; so long it was from the reconciliation of Absalom to David, as Josephus (f) says; and so read Theodoret on the place, the Syriac and Arabic versions: but some say it was either forty years from the time Israel first had a king; and which might be an era of reckoning with the Jews, as the era of Seleucidae was with the Greeks, on the like account; or from the time Saul slew the priests at Nob, as Jerom (g); or from the time of David's being anointed by Samuel; or this was the year of Absalom's age, or of David's reign: but these, and other attempts made to account for this passage, are not entirely satisfactory; and therefore one may be tempted to conclude there must be a mistake in the copy, of "arbaim" for "arba", forty for four; which makes it quite easy, and confirms the first sense:

that Absalom said unto the king, I pray thee, let me go and pay my vow,

which I have vowed unto the Lord, in Hebron; not what he vowed in Hebron; for according to his own account he had vowed it in Geshur, as in 2 Samuel 15:8; but his request is, that he might pay it in Hebron; which place he fixed upon, being his native place, and where David was anointed king; and which, being about twenty miles from Jerusalem, was at a proper distance to lay the scene of his conspiracy in, and bring it to perfection.

(f) Antiqu. l. 7. c. 9. sect. 1.((g) Trad. Heb. in 2 lib. Reg. fol. 78. M.