Bible Commentaries

Now Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king's ^a heart [was] toward Absalom.

(a) That the king favoured him.

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 ^b anoint not thyself with oil, but be as a woman that had a long time mourned for the dead:

(b) In token of mourning: for they used anointing to seem cheerful.

And thy handmaid had two ^c 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.

(c) Under this parable she describes the death of Amnon by Absalom.

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 ^d 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 [neither] name nor remainder upon the earth.

(d) Because he has slain his brother he ought to be slain according to the law, (Genesis 9:6) ; (Exodus 21:12).

And the woman of Tekoah said unto the king, My lord, O king, the ^e iniquity [be] on me, and on my father's house: and the king and his throne [be] guiltless.

(e) Concerning the breach of the Law which punishes blood, let me bear the blame.

Then said she, I pray thee, let the king ^f 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.

(f) Swear that they will not revenge the blood, which are many in number.

And the woman said, Wherefore then hast thou ^g 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.

(g) Why do you give contrary sentence to your son Absalom?

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 ^h means, that his banished be not expelled from him.

(h) God has often provided ways (as sanctuaries) to save them, whom man judges worthy of death.

Now therefore that I am come to speak of this thing unto my lord the king, [it is] because the people ⁱ 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.

(i) For I thought they would kill my son.

Then thine handmaid said, The word of my lord the king shall now be comfortable: for as an ^k angel of God, so [is] my lord the king to discern good and bad: therefore the LORD thy God will be with thee.

(k) Is of great wisdom to discern right from wrong.

And the king said, [Is not] ^l 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 the mouth of thine handmaid:

(l) Have you not done this by the counsel of Joab.

To fetch about this ^m 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.

(m) By speaking further in a parable than plainly.

And the king said unto Joab, Behold now, I have ⁿ done this thing: go therefore, bring the young man Absalom again.

(n) I have granted your request.

And the king said, Let him ^o 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.

(o) Covering by this his affection, and showing some part of justice to please the people.

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 ^p shekels after the king's weight.

(p) Which weighed 6 pounds 4 ounces after half an ounce the shekel.

Therefore he said unto his servants, See, Joab's field is near mine, and he hath barley there; go and set it ^q on fire. And Absalom's servants set the field on fire.

(q) The wicked are impatient in their affections, and spare no unlawful means to accomplish them.

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 ^r if there be [any] iniquity in me, let him kill me.

(r) If I have offended by revenging my sister's dishonour: thus the wicked justify themselves in their evil.