CHAPTER 9
1. Then David said, “Is there still anyone left belonging to the house of Sha’ul, so that I might do him kindness on account of Y’honathan?”
Now we see a glimpse of David’s next priority: keeping his promises. He had promised Y’honathan that he would not cut off his posterity when YHWH had cut off all his enemies. (1 Shmu’el 18:3; 20:14) Do him kindness: This phrase is first used of the messenger who is sparing Lot’s life just before he destroys S’dom (Gen. 19:19) Avraham also uses it in the context of his life being spared. (Gen. 20:13) So this phraseology especially signifies matters of life and death.
2. And there was a servant belonging to the household of Sha’ul, and his name was Tziva, so they summoned him for David, and the king said to him, “Are you Tziva?” And he said, “Your servant!”
I.e., “At your service!” Tziva means “one who is stationed”, as in an army post, and the term is also used for a statue—i.e., one who stays in place. And indeed, of all the thousands who must have served Sha’ul, he has not abandoned his master’s household, though the head of the house has died. Clearly others in the household have dissipated, but Tziva has kept track of where to find the heir to the throne.
3. So the king said, “Has there ceased to be [any] man left belonging to the house of Sha’ul, that I may carry out Elohim’s kindness to him?” And Tziva said, “There is still Y’honathan’s son [who has] damaged legs.”
Tziva might well have been suspicious of David’s intentions, as there were few rulers who would be sincere in asking such a question, as we well know from Herod’s tendencies to feign kindnesses like this. He is also warning David, because he knows David has no affinity for the blind or lame. This was a test for David, and he passed it by getting beyond his feelings or preferences, and keeping his promise. The story behind why Y’honathan’s son was lame was told in a parenthetical note in chapter 4.
4. So the king said to him, “Where is he?” And Tziva told the king, “He’s right there at the home of Makhir the son of Ammi’el in Lo-Dvar!”
Lo-Dvar was a place of hospitality for David later as well when he needed shelter. (Chapter 17) It is located in Menashe’s tribal territory, so this Makhir was probably named after Menashe’s son. (Gen. 50:23)
5. So King David sent and brought him from the home of Makhir the son of Ammi’el from Lo-Dvar.
Makhir means “sold” or “merchandiser”. Ammi’el means “Elohim is my kinsman”. Lo-Dvar means “no pasture” or “no word”, but the root meaning is “not arranged in order”. The picture here will be more fully described below. The term dvar is used of a pasture in Mikha 2:12, which says the remnant of Israel will be gathered in such a place, then led out from there by their king. So the word for “wilderness”, midbar, could also mean “the place of pasture”, and indeed it is the place where the “flocks” of Israel gathered once, and will again be arranged in order before we can re-enter the Land. The “Word” cannot be fully applicable until we are all gathered together. The more we attach ourselves to Torah, the more properly we will be arranged.
6. As Mefibosheth the son of Y’honathan the son of Sha’ul was coming to David, he fell on his face and prostrated himself. Then David said, “Mefibosheth!” And he said, “Here is your servant!”
7. And David said, “Don’t be afraid, because I will certainly treat you kindly on account of Y’honathan your father, and I will restore to you all of your ancestor Sha’ul’s land, and you yourself will regularly eat bread at my table!”
Anyone summoned before the great king David would certainly have some apprehension, but the grandson of his predecessor would especially fear because of the tendency of kings to wipe out any possible heirs to their throne. By restoring Sha’ul’s land, he was keeping Torah, when already the ancient boundaries were greatly disrupted. He restored order to Israel in this way. David’s descendant Yahshua instructed his servants to invite the lame and blind to the banquets they give, since they cannot repay the kindness, like Mefibosheth. (Luqa 14:13)
8. And he prostrated himself and said, “What is your servant, that you should turn to look at such a dead dog as I am?”
Notice how he humbles himself before the one in whose hand his life rests. He considered himself a “dead dog” because though once in line to be king, he was now in no position to do so, due to his inability to even begin to fight battles. But David had used this same phrase when asking why Sha’ul would hound one so insignificant. (1 Shmu’el 24:14) It may have been a common idiom of the day, but if not, Mefibosheth is using the same phrase to bring to mind the promise David made to Sha’ul in the same context not to cut off his posterity (24:21-22) But David was already only interested in blessing him, not in being blessed.
9. Then the king called for Tziva the servant of Sha’ul and said to him, “All that belonged to Sha’ul, including everything that was in his house, I have given to the son of your master,
10. “and you must work the ground for him—you and your sons and your servants—and when you have brought [in its produce], it will serve as your master’s son’s food, so that he may eat, and Mefibosheth, the son of your master, will regularly eat bread at my table.” (Now Tziva had 15 sons and 20 servants.)
Mefibosheth means “exterminator of the shameful thing”. He is also called Merib-baal in 1 Chron. 8:34. This either means “Baal is my advocate” or “contender with Baal”—either the opposite meaning, or one basically the same, except that Y’honathan may have overridden his wife’s name for her son with one that did not include the name of a pagan deity. He is thus a picture of the Northern Kingdom (of which he was in line to be king), whose name was changed from “Not a People” to “Sons of the Living Elohim”. (Hos. 1:10) They are being taken out of the “house of the merchandiser” who claims a relationship with Elohim, but dwells without the Word of YHWH in that it considers much of it to be outdated. Its true heritage is being restored to it by the Messiah (YHWH’s anointed, whom David both pictures and is pictured by), though once intimately connected to his counterfeit, the imaginary “Jesus” who supposedly annulled the Torah, because of the faithfulness of some who were in that household through no fault of their own, often at odds with its head because they knew of no other place to go at that time, but were faithful to the anointed one to the degree that they could encounter him then (as Y’honathan was). Indeed, its restoration will include the blind and lame. (Yirmeyahu 31:8) It is now being given real “food” to eat. Tziva is a picture of the remnant who stayed faithful, though in the household of the counterfeit Messiah. His is put in charge of the entire estate because he lived up to his name. Again he is a servant with servants of his own. But note how many of them there are as compared to the two named that they serve. They may be a picture of those who are called least in the Kingdom—in a lower position, but there nonetheless.
11. So Tziva said to the king, “Your servant will do everything just as my master the king has ordered his servant [to do], though Mefibosheth is eating at my table as one of the king’s sons.”
Though: It is as if he is saying that Mefibosheth would not have been hurting for food if David had left Tziva in charge of him as well, but that he would honor the king’s request anyway.
12. Now Mefibosheth had a small son, whose name was Mikha. So all who lived in Tziva’s house were Mefibosheth’s servants,
Mikha’s sons are only mentioned in one place (1 Chron. 8:34-35), and they disappear from the story, so it seems that the historian here is emphasizing that although he was lame in his legs, Mefibosheth was not sterile, but could still procreate and did continue Sha’ul’s line, so that David’s sons could continue to honor his oath. Since Mefibosheth was 5 years old when Sha’ul died, this may already be some fifteen years into David’s reign. If the next chapters are chronological, it could not yet be 20 years into his reign because the heir to his throne was not yet born, nor was David yet married to his mother, and he was 20 years old when David died.
13. but Mefibosheth stayed in Yerushalayim, because he was regularly eating at the king’s table, as he was lame in both legs.
Mefibosheth would indeed respond to this kindness with the greatest appreciation. (19:28)
CHAPTER 10
1. Now what took place after the same [was] that the king of the sons of Ammon died, and his son Khanun began to reign in his place.
The parallel passage in 1 Chron. 19 gives some additional details about his event.
2. And David said, “I will deal kindly with Khanun the son of Nakhash, just as his father dealt kindly with me.” So David sent [a message] by the hands of his servants to console him concerning his father. When David’s servants came into the land of the sons of Ammon,
Whatever kindness Nakhash had shown David does not seem to be mentioned anywhere in the Scriptural text, but the sons of Ammon are some of the descendants of Avraham’s nephew Lot, which may be another reason David was eager to maintain the peace with them when the new administration came to power. Khanun’s name even means “great favor”, so David wished to start the relationship with his neighboring kingdom off on such a note. But whenever a new ruler comes to power, the dynamics between two nations can change radically and quickly…
3. the leaders of the sons of Ammon said to their master Khanun, “Is David really honoring your father, as you see it, just because he has sent people to console you? Hasn’t David sent his servants to you [instead] to explore the city and spy it out in order to overthrow it?”
They were wise to be suspicious of outsiders, for this type of veiled spying was a common practice, as we know from the story of Yosef and his brothers. (Gen. 42:9) But they did not in any way substantiate the threat in this particular case, but acted on it before asking questions. Israel is different from other nations, at least when David is its ruler, and they failed to make the distinction YHWH does between Israel and all other nations. They failed to look at David’s fruit; they only saw him as a military threat, without looking into the other aspects of his nature, and made a very foolish assumption. David’s grandson Rekhav’am would have such unwise counselors as well. (1 Kings 12)
4. So Khanun took David’s servants and shaved off half of their beards and cut off their [long] garments halfway—as far as their buttocks, and sent them away.
Khanun made a mockery of his own name, and mocked those who had come to express their mourning. Though forbidden in Israel, it was a common practice for pagan nations to shave their heads and beards (Lev. 19:27-28), and even Israelites would frequently tear their garments in mourning, so these cruel men turned them into a parody of mourning. They appeared as if they were violating Torah, with the added injury of having had the part of their garments with the tzitziyoth (Num. 15:38-39) removed as well. Garments: This particular word comes from a root meaning “to stretch”. Nakhash was the one who had offered to make a peace treaty with Sha’ul’s nascent kingdom only on the condition that he gouge out the right eyes of all the men of Yaveysh-Gil’ad, which would have degraded them even more permanently. (1 Shmu’el 11) In a way that would have been worse than simply killing them. This type of reproach to other nations seems to have been a common trait of these people.
5. When they reported [this] to David, he sent [someone] to meet them, because they were extremely humiliated, and the king said, “Remain in Y’rikho until your beards grown [back], and then return.”
Humiliated: put to shame, insulted. It was not just the indecent exposure they had subjected these couriers to. In Israel, for a man to be beardless is not just a matter of fashion, but to be emasculated (except in cases where a Nazirite shaves after fulfilling his vow—but even then it is not clear whether he only shaves his head hair or if his beard is included). They may have simply given them a pagan-looking beard such as a goatee, but more likely they divided their beards down the middle and removed all the hair on one side. This type of dishonorable treatment was repeated during the Holocaust. Since a beard only continues to grow to a genetically-determined length, they may have had to wait for the other side of their beards to catch up to the side that was left on. Or, they may have simply shaved off the other half so their beard could get to an acceptable length more quickly. Y’rikho was never supposed to be rebuilt (Y’hoshua 6:26), so there should have been few people there to witness their shameful appearance, but it was within the safety of the borders of Israel, so it could be a transitional lodging place.
6. When the sons of Ammon saw that they had made themselves odious to David, the sons of Ammon sent and hired the Arameans of Beyth-Rekhov, as well as the Arameans of Tzovah—20,000 foot-soldiers—as well as the king of Maakhah (1,000 men) and the men of Tov (12,000 men).
Saw: They may have literally seen an armed escort coming to meet the envoys (suggested in v. 5), but the term can simply mean “perceived” or “realized”. Josephus says they knew they had violated their league and were liable to be punished for it. David did not overlook this insult or say, “Let’s talk about it” in the modern fashion, for this is not realistic. This is why the Arabs, who are willing to fight to the death for honor (which is very different from ego), have the advantage in today’s military context. A wrong had been done and there was no attempt by the perpetrators to settle it or make restitution; instead they tried to cover their sin and buy their way out of the inevitable retaliation. They should have used the thousand talents of silver with which they hired 32,000 mercenary chariots (1 Chron. 19:6-7) to placate David instead, and he might have only killed the actual advisors who came up with such a plan. So David responded in a way that many condemn today, and made use of the strength he had to bring these pagans to the point of lowering themselves and confessing that he was in the right. Beyth-Rekhov means “place of wide open spaces”, but this is probably not a place, but rather the household (dynasty) of the father of the king named Rekhov whom David had conquered and required to pay tribute. (8:12) So he had a reason to bear a grudge against David, in his mind, and was thus ready to respond to anyone who might ally with them against David. Maakhah is northeast of the Kinnereth (Sea of Galilee) and Tov is southeast of there, at modern-day Al-Tayiba, Jordan, 20 miles east-northeast of Ramoth-Gil’ad.
7. When David heard, he sent Yo’av and the whole army of heroic men.
Despite Yo’av’s earlier brutality, David was willing to use him, because this was not a time for mercy, but was the job for a ruthless man, as YHWH had put the tribe of Levi’s bloodthirstiness to a worthwhile use.
8. Then the sons of Ammon came out and arranged themselves in order [for] battle at the opening of the gate, while the Arameans of Tzovah and Rekhov as well as the men of Tov and Maakhah were in the field separately.
Opening of the gate: either the time the gate of the city opened, or the beginning of the gate complex, which included more than just doors, but also administrative offices and the court of justice for the city. Which city? Most likely Rabbath-Ammon, the capital of the Ammonite kingdom (now Amman, Jordan). Separately: or alone, by themselves, in part. Tzovah is a region between Khamath and Damaseq.
9. When Yo’av saw the battle fronts coming toward him—from ahead [of him] and from behind—he chose from all the select in Israel, and got in position to encounter Aram.
Toward him: or, against him.
10. And the rest of the people he put in his brother Avishai’s hand and he got them in position to meet the sons of Ammon.
11. And he said, “If Aram is stronger than I, then you will serve as deliverance for me, and if the sons of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will to your rescue.
12. “Hold strong and let us be courageous for the sake of our people and for the cities of our Elohim! And may YHWH do what is best in His eyes.”
Let us be courageous: or, let us hold tightly to one another. It was truly a frightening situation even for this seasoned warrior. They needed each other’s strengths, and operated together though on separate fronts. This was the Israelite way, and the Assyrians, knowing this, would later attack several cities in a vicinity at once to keep them all busy so none of them could come to the aid of its neighbor when they besieged it, and they would eventually starve or surrender.
13. Then Yo’av and the people who were with him approached to engage Aram in battle, and they ran away from his face!
14. When the sons of Ammon saw that Aram had fled, they too fled from the presence of Avishai, and went into the city. So Yo’av came back from over the sons of Ammon and came into Yerushalayim.
Khanun’s brother treated David better than he had. (2 Shmu’el 17:28ff) YHWH came to the aid of the weaker of the two armies by causing the Ammonites to assume that their allies were quitting the battle altogether. They knew that they were not strong enough without the Arameans.
15. But when Aram saw that it was beaten before Israel, they regrouped themselves,
16. and Hadar-ezer sent and had the Arameans from the other side of the river brought, and they came [to] Kheylam, and Shovakh was the captain of the army of Hadar-ezer in front of them.
Hadar-ezer: elsewhere (8:3) written as Hadad-ezer, and the pronunciation would hardly change. Here it may be spelled differently to remove the reference to a pagan deity (Hadad), or it may simply be a scribal error, since the Hebrew equivalents of “r” and “d” differ only by a small stroke. Rather than admit defeat, he hired reinforcements. Josephus says Shovakh had 80,000 footmen and 10,000 horsemen. The river: that is, the Euphrates. Kheylam: “their army” or “the stronghold”.
17. When it was reported to David, he assembled all Israel and crossed the Yarden [himself], and came to Kheylam. And the Arameans got in position to encounter David, and they fought with him.
Now David realized that those he had sent to do what he thought was just “light work” (due to the size of Ammon) would not be adequate, so he took it to the next level and himself got involved, rather than just leaving the battle to his generals. He used more than just the professional army, calling on all the men of Israel who were of military age (from 20 to 50), who were always to be ready for such a situation. He did not send the young men out to die and wait in safety, but led them out himself. He was the greatest warrior in the Land, so now they had to “play with the big boys”.
18. But Aram fled from the face of Israel, and David killed 700 mounted men from Aram, as well as 40,000 war horses. He even struck down Shovakh, the captain of its army, and he died there.
700: 1 Chronicles 19 has 7,000. Mounted men…war horses: or, charioteers and horsemen. They had to lose so many because of their stubbornness. If someone had not won decisively, the feud would have continued to smolder.
19. When all the kings who served Hadar-ezer saw that they were beaten in the face of Israel, they made peace with Israel and began to serve them, and Aram was afraid to ever come to the rescue of the sons of Ammon again.
They did the honorable thing and served the people who had defeated them.
CHAPTER 11
1. But what took place at the turning of the year—the time when the representatives go out—was that David sent Yo’av and his servants with him, and all of Israel, and they spoiled the sons of Ammon and besieged Rabbah, but David remained in Yerushalayim.
Turning of the year: Since this is mainly speaking of the practice of other nations, this probably means shortly after the beginning of the civil year, at which time the harvest would be brought in and armies would more logically try to plunder other peoples. Representatives: or messengers—i.e., those who went to war on behalf of their king. This is often taken as a scribal error for “kings” (there being only one letter different in Hebrew), hinting that it was actually David’s responsibility to go to war at that time and would have therefore avoided the events of this chapter altogether. Some scribes have noted in the margin that this is what they think would be more likely in context, supported by the ancient Aramaic interpretation. But this is how it reads in the extant Masoretic text. This was really only a mop-up operation after the larger battles in chapter 10, and he did have other responsibilities as king. On the other hand, David knew that his part in establishing the kingdom of Israel was to do battle, even though he had no direct command to defeat this enemy, since it was not in the land of Israel. Go out: a common idiom for battle. Spoiled: or ruined, even destroyed. Rabbah: often called Rabbath-Ammon, the capital of the Ammonites, and the capital city of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan today (Amman).
2. And what took place toward the time of the evening was that David got up from [being] on his couch and was walking around on the roof of the palace, and from up on the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was of very pleasant appearance.
Though he was a man who usually judged every motive by the Torah, like the forbidden fruit in Genesis, the “lust of the eyes” got the better of him. Palace: literally, king’s house. Bathing: or simply washing. She was probably in a courtyard, bathing modestly since she was closed off from the street, but because the palace was higher in elevation than the rest of the city (as evidenced in verse 10) and also taller, he could see down into places otherwise expected to be out of common view. David was also on the roof—a place she might not expect someone to be walking. There is no indication of any lewdness or seduction on her part.
3. And David sent and [carefully] inquired about the woman, and [someone] said, “Isn’t this Bath-Sheva, Eli’am’s daughter, the wife of Uriyah the Hittite?”
Bath-Sheva’ means “seventh daughter” or “daughter of an oath”. In 1 Chronicles she is called Bath-Shua, which would mean “daughter of wealth”. Eli’am means “Elohim of the people” or “El is a kinsman”. In 1 Chron. 3:5 the order of the components of his name is reversed to Ammi’el. Uriyah means “YHWH is my light” (or energy). Hittite: He was among those foreigners who had joined themselves to David and proven loyal. But though he is listed among the mighty men in 23:39, David does not appear to have known him by name. Though the Torah calls taking another man’s wife a “defilement” (Lev. 18:20), the fact that they said Uriyah was a Hittite—the descendant of Heth, the second son of Kanaan--apparently made him think he was not truly David’s “neighbor” (considering the command to not covet one’s neighbor’s to wife apply only to one’s fellow Israelite), and that therefore he could partake of her favors despite the fact that she was married. He probably thought that she should not be married to a foreigner anyway.
4. So David sent messengers and fetched her, and she came to him and he lay with her (as she had been setting herself apart from her ritual impurity), and she returned to her house.
Either she had been taking her miqveh at the time he saw her, or she stayed with him long enough to become ritually clean again after this act, which would mean at least until the following evening. (Lev. 15:18) If her miqveh was to end her monthly time of being set apart, and she conceived immediately, it suggests that some even observed the two-week niddah period then as many Orthodox Jews do today.
5. But the woman had conceived, and she sent and informed David, “I am pregnant.”
We have no indication that she had any children by Uriyah, which indicates that he may have been such a committed soldier that he even gave up his right to exemption from the military for the first year of marriage (Deut. 24:5) to go serve his king instead.
6. So David sent [word] to Yo’av, “Send me Uriyah the Hittite.” So Yo’av sent Uriyah to David.
7. When Uriyah had come to him, David asked about Yo’av’s welfare and the safety of the people, and how the war was going.
8. Then David said to Uriyah, “Go down to your home and wash your feet.” So Uriyah left the palace, and a portion [of food] contributed by the king [was sent] out after him.
Wash your feet: It is doubtful that he had come directly from the battlefield to the palace, not even having time to clean up. This appears to be an idiom for sexual relations, for he clearly intended to cover his tracks by making it look as if the child was Uriyah’s own, and if he was with his wife so soon after she became pregnant, he would not suspect any mischief when it became obvious to all. But the fact that we know about this today is a prime example of how what is done in secret will be shouted from the rooftops. (Luqa 12:3) A portion: the term can even mean a flame—possibly an allusion to Uriyah’s own name, suggesting that as he left, the presence of YHWH left as well.
9. But Uriyah lay down at the entrance to the palace with all of his master’s servants, and did not go down to his house.
There would naturally be a guard-post in front of the palace, and other soldiers coming to and from missions in the field would have a place to stay there as well, or this may simply have been the quarters of the maids and butlers who served the house itself.
10. When they reported to David, saying, “Uriyah did not go down to his house”, David said to Uriyah, “Aren’t you coming from a journey? Why haven’t you gone down to your house?”
11. But Uriyah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Yehudah are dwelling in temporary shelters, while with my master Yo’av and my master’s servants are camping on the surface of the field, so should I go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? [By] your life and [by] the life of your soul, [I swear that] if I would do this thing…!”
What a noble answer! It seems to come from a man accustomed to subordinating self to his community’s needs. By these first words it now became obvious to David that this man was no longer a Hittite, but a man truly inclined to serve YHWH and consumed for his king--and David’s loophole was gone. He now knew that he had sinned. Heth, being Kanaanite, was appointed by Noach to be a servant, but he was in the right household and it is against Torah to remind someone who has joined himself to Israel where he came from.
12. So David said to Uriyah, “Stay here today also, and tomorrow I will give you a sendoff.” So Uriyah remained in Yerushalayim that day and the next.
A sendoff: in this case, it would include a feast:
13. Then David called for him, and he ate before him, and drank, and he got him drunk, then he went out in the evening to lie down on his bed with his master’s servants, but he did not go down to his own house.
David wanted to dissipate Uriyah’s judgment, so he would forget his commitment, and drunkenness is a natural aphrodisiac, but Uriyah was stubbornly faithful to his ideals despite the fact that his wife was obviously a “knockout”. David failed to offer the “firstborn” of his thoughts to YHWH, and now all he is left with is to attempt damage control:
14. So it turned out that in the morning, David wrote a letter to Yo’av and sent [it] by Uriyah’s own hand,
15. and he wrote in the document, “Set Uriyah toward the front face of the fiercest battle, then withdraw from him so that he may be wounded and die.”
David had very little experience in having to deal with his own sin (compare his actions toward Sha’ul even when it would have seemed he was justified in harming him), and he panicked. With Uriyah dead, he could not accuse David when he found out by whom his wife was pregnant, in which case he could have held David to the death penalty. (Lev. 20:10) And his motivation may have been that he simply still wanted this woman and could not have her any other way. This was his weakness, and for reasons like this the rabbis encourage as little interaction between the sexes as possible. This may be an overreaction, but here it started a hurricane that continued to have repercussions for the rest of David’s life and beyond, leading even to the dividing of Israel. It was bad enough to kill such a loyal man, but to have him carry his own death warrant was adding insult to injury. The document was probably sealed, but if it was not, and Uriyah looked at it and trusted the king’s judgment and gone to his death anyway would only add credit to his loyalty. David would not have done such a thing before he was king, but would have turned to YHWH for a solution. But the adage that “power corrupts” applied even to him.
16. So it came about that as Yo’av was guarding the city, he assigned Uriyah to a place where he knew there were valiant men.
17. When the men of the city came out and fought against Yo’av, some of the people from David’s servants fell, and Uriyah the Hittite died as well.
But his name survived unsullied. Since Yo’av did not follow David’s orders precisely, possibly to avoid making obvious to Yo’av what was going on, other lives were lost as well.
18. When Yo’av sent and reported to David all the affairs of the war,
19. he gave orders to the messenger, saying, “When you finish telling the king [about] all the affairs of the war,
20. “then what you should [do] if the king’s anger is aroused and he says to you, ‘Why did you go so close to the city to fight? Didn’t you know that they would shoot from the wall?
21. “‘Who struck down Avimelekh the son of Yerubbesheth? Didn’t a woman drop a piece of an upper millstone on him from up on the wall, so that he died in Thebetz? Why did you get so close to the wall?’ Then say, ‘Even your servant Uriyah the Hittite died.’”
This was designed to temper David’s wrath, since it would be welcome news to him. The details of this account are given in Judges chapter 9. David expected his soldiers to know the military history of their nation, and learn from it. Israeli conscripts today begin with an on-site course about Biblical warfare, and we too will do well to know the battles in Scripture, because they all teach us about spiritual warfare as well.
22. So the messenger went, then approached and reported to David all that Yo’av had sent him [to say].
23. And the messenger told David, “Because the men prevailed over us and came out toward us in the [open] field, we were upon them as far as the entrance to the gate,
24. “and the archers shot at your servants from up on the wall, and some of the king’s servants were dying, and even your servant Uriyah the Hittite died.”
25. So David said to the messenger, “This is what you must say to Yo’av: ‘Don’t let this matter be troublesome in your eyes, because the sword may devour this one or that one. Tighten up your battle against the city, and overthrow it!’ And encourage him [in this way].”
He made it sound as if the whole thing was a matter of chance rather than design, as if that would let him “off the hook”.
26. When Uriyah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she began to bewail her master.
27. But when the mourning was passing away, David sent and added her to his household, and she became a wife to him, and bore a son to him. But the thing that David had done was displeasing in the eyes of YHWH.
He seems to have thought that by doing the right thing and making official the marriage that he had consummated in fact, he could cancel the effects of his adultery and murder, as if they had never taken place. YHWH did not see it that way. And notice that the blame is placed on no one but David. He did not specify why he wanted Uriyah killed, so Yo’av may have thought it was for a political reason. Judging by the wording in v. 26, Bath-sheva saw herself as property anyway, and being very young, would probably have trusted the king’s judgment. She might not even have known the Torah, but he certainly did. That “the king gets what the king wants” has limits is precisely why the king of Israel was always required to write and keep a copy of the Torah with him at all times. (Deut. 17:18) This went down in history as the one blot on David’s name—the only time he turned aside from the ways of YHWH. (1 Kings 15:5) Despite an extremely righteous walk, he has a stain on his record. That he was so well-schooled in what was right only made this failure heavier, for a righteous man’s wrongdoing carries more weight than that of one who sins habitually. More is required of him. Not only did he take her into his household; she became his primary wife.
CHAPTER 12
1. And YHWH sent Nathan to David, so he came to him and said, “There were two men in one city, one [of them] rich and [the other] one impoverished.
David might have thought he had gotten away with the affair of Uriyah, but YHWH knew and revealed it to his prophet. Josephus says that, knowing that kings can tend to let their passions outweigh justice, Nathan asked David to give his opinion what was just in the following case:
2. “The rich many had a great many flocks and herds,
3. “while the poor man had nothing at all except one little ewe-lamb, which he had bought and kept alive, and it had grown up together with him and with his sons. It ate from the little he had and drank from his cup, and lay in his bosom, and was like a daughter to him.
This suggests that Bath-sheva might have grown up with Uriyah and been his sweetheart “since high school”.
4. “Then a traveler came to the rich man, and he was hesitant to take from his own flock or his own herd to prepare [something] for the journeyman who had come to him, so he took the poor man’s ewe-lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him!”
This man was quite the opposite of Avraham’s self-sacrificing hospitality!
5. And David’s anger burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan, “[By the] life of YHWH, because the man who did this is a son of death!
I.e., he deserves to die! Nathan used the same roundabout method of jurisprudence that Tamar had used when she was about to be executed for carrying Yehudah’s child.
6. “And he must double the fourfold compensation as a consequence of doing this thing and because he would not spare [the lamb]!”
The fourfold compensation is a normal standard of Torah (Ex. 21:37); this is the minimal fine for stealing a sheep, but David is saying this is not enough. Normally, if the item stolen is found alive in the robber’s possession, he must pay double. David thought this sheep was dead, but wanted to add to his sentence. Interestingly enough, in reality the “sheep” Nathan was talking about was still alive, and was in David’s possession.
7. Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what YHWH, the Elohim of Israel, says: ‘I Myself anointed you as king over Israel, and I recovered you from Sha’ul’s hand,
Once David has determined what the sentence should be, Nathan reveals who the culprit is so that there is no escaping the weight of the analogy.
8. “‘and I gave you your master’s house and your master’s women into your bosom, and I gave the House of Israel and Yehudah to you, and if [that] fell short, I would have added to you [more] just like it—and just like [the other]!
His desire could have been assuaged by any of his wives, and he had even legally been given Sha’ul’s concubines upon his accession to the throne. (Interestingly, Nathan’s name means, “He gave”.) How many women of his own did he need in order to leave someone else’s alone? The “journeyman” that David felt compelled to feed (v. 4) was the extreme lust that came and went and was not an everyday part of him. But this is one “visitor” to which he should not have shown hospitality at all. One would not let a leper into his tent, nor entertain someone who was cut off from another tribe of Israel according to Torah. We must screen which thoughts we entertain as well.
9. “‘Why have you disregarded the word of YHWH to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriyah the Hittite and have taken his wife for yourself as a wife, and you have had him murdered by the sword of the sons of Ammon!
10. “‘So now the sword will not depart from your household forever as a consequence because you have disregarded Me and taken the wife of Uriyah the Hittite as a wife for yourself.’
Disregarded: or, despised, shown no respect for, considered unworthy of notice. YHWH’s Torah says one should not covet his fellow’s wife. (Ex. 20:17) To do what he did, David had to ignore this or think it did not apply to him. Nathan described his sin with a term that really caught David’s attention, because YHWH was usually at the forefront of his attention.
11. “This is what YHWH says: ‘Watch me! I am raising up an evil from [within] your household, and I will take your wives before your own eyes and permit your fellow to lie with them in broad daylight,
In broad daylight: literally, to the eyes of this [very] sun. “This sun” may simply have been something he could point to at the time, or it may be a way of saying, “within this year”. It was already specified that this would be perpetrated by someone from his own household, but who besides the king’s own family could be called his “fellow”? So this clues us in to the fact that it would be one of his own sons who would do this thing. His son would also have to break YHWH’s commandment in order to do this, bringing further shame on David’s house, yet YHWH decreed it would be so because he had earned this by sinning knowingly.
12. “‘because you acted in secrecy, but I will do this thing in front of the eyes of all Israel and out in the open.’”
Out in the open: literally, in front of the sun. (Compare Luqa 12:3) Paul said to rebuke openly as a deterrent to others from doing the same thing. (1 Tim. 5:20)
13. Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against YHWH!” And Nathan told David, “YHWH has also let your sin pass by; you will not die.
Even if the king might have been exempt from some rulings since in one sense no one was his peer, still he had delivered his own sentence. But his response was exactly what YHWH had been looking for in Adam and Chawwah when they sinned, and did not find in them. Here was a man who responded the way He had always wanted human beings to respond to their errors when pointed out. So He is willing to show him a measure of mercy.
14. “‘However, since you have given great occasion for the enemies of YHWH to scorn through this thing too, the son that will be born to you will [be the one to] die the death.
We have often been told that YHWH gives blank check forgiveness, but this shows that there is more to the equation when one sins willingly. There is still a price to pay. He does not get away with the sin, though his sentence is less harsh than it could have been. He did not have to die; this might have been disastrous to the nation of Israel in YHWH’s eyes, but he did have to pay fourfold: he would lose four of his sons before his own death (this one, Amnon, Adoniyah, and Avshalom). This might have been harder for David to bear than his own death would have been. Given great occasion: Aramaic, you have indeed opened the mouth of the enemies of the people of YHWH--i.e., gave them something bad to say about Him. Die the death: Josephus took this to mean he would die soon. This may have been one of the roots of the bad treatment David’s own tribe, the Jews, has received over the centuries.
15. Then Nathan went to his own house, and YHWH struck the boy whom Uriyah’s wife had borne to David , and he became incurably ill.
Note that she is still not called David’s rightful wife. We could say that this child was rightfully Uriyah’s—had he been alive. Became incurably ill: Elsewhere in Scripture this word is used to describe plagues sent directly by YHWH.
16. And David pleaded with YHWH on behalf of the lad, and he started fasting and went and spent the night lying on the ground.
David was demonstrating the greatest possible humbling of himself to try to persuade YHWH to relent, probably mainly for the sake of Bath-Sheva, it being her first and possibly only child, whereas he already had other children. But YHWH had given him all the mercy he was going to give in this case. The terms used to describe the child seem to imply that he was more than an infant by this time, unless verse 18 refers to the seventh day of the baby’s life. Yet no name is given to the child, royal though he is.
17. And the elders of his household rose up over him to lift him up from the earth, but he was not willing, nor would he consume bread with them.
They were concerned about his honor; what was a king doing lying prostrate?
18. But it turned out that on the seventh day, the boy died, and David’s servants were afraid to inform him that the boy was dead, because they said, “Look, while the child was alive, we spoke to him, and he would not listen to our voice, so how can we tell him the boy is dead? Then he might do harm!”
Do harm: either to himself, or possibly, that he might kill the messengers as he had done with the one who brought word that Sha’ul had been killed. But he did that because the man claimed to be the one who had killed him. They really did not know him as well as they thought. Seventh day: probably of David’s fast, rather than the baby’s life.
19. When David noticed his servants whispering to one another, he discerned that the child was dead. So David said to his servants, “Is the boy dead?” And they said, “[He is] dead.”
He was very perceptive, as a king must be; they were clearly not whispering about a surprise birthday party for him!
20. And David got up from the ground and bathed and put on ointment and changed his clothing, then he came into the house of YHWH and bowed down. When he came to his house, he asked that they set out bread for him, and he ate.
21. And his servants said to him, “What is this thing you have done? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept for the child, but when the child died, you got up and at bread!”
They were afraid he had “lost his mind”. This is the opposite of the way he reacted when Sha’ul had died, and very much against the cultural norm of his day. He was not mourning, wailing, or tearing his clothes, as they would expect. He had done all of this before his son died. He may have brought to mind Aharon’s neglect of mourning for his sons (Lev. 10:6-20), and there are many similarities, since both knew it was from YHWH and the punishment was deserved.
22. So he said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept because I said, ‘Who knows? YHWH might take pity on me and let the child live!’
23. “But now that he has died, what is the point of my fasting? Can I bring him back again? I am going to him, but he will not come back to me.”
He accepted responsibility openly, in front of all of his servants, and did not wallow in self-pity. He could no longer change anything, so why prolong the agony? This is very logical, especially since he had not eaten for seven days, and must have been very hungry. I am going to him: Some deduce from this that innocent children who die so young will be included in the first resurrection and the Messianic Kingdom. Of course, only YHWH knows if this is so.
24. When David had consoled Bath-sheva has wife, he approached her and lay with her, and she gave birth to a son and he called his name Shlomoh, and YHWH loved him.
Now that the price has been paid, she is finally called David’s wife. The child born before should have belonged to Uriyah. Either the child was at least 40 days old when he died, or some elapsed here, because he could not lie with her for forty days after the boy’s birth. (Lev. 12:2-4) This is now nearly 20 years into David’s reign.
25. And He sent [word] by the hand of Nathan the prophet, who called his name Y’didyah, on account of YHWH.
Y’didyah means “beloved of YHWH”. Unlike Bath-Sheva’s first child, this son is given two names! One was given as a blessing from YHWH. YHWH may have been compensating Bath-Sheva for the loss of her very righteous husband and son, neither of which was her fault. Shlomoh means “his peace”, and he was so named because YHWH had promised to give him rest from his enemies all around. (1 Chron. 22:9)
26. As Yo’av fought against Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, he captured the royal city.
Sons of Ammon: There was no one named Ammon. Their ancestor’s actual name had been Ben-Ammi (“son of my relative”), but his people must have tried to cover up the incest made obvious by this name by changing their identity to the sons of the “great(est) people”. Besides the immediate reason for fighting them (ch. 10), there were other underlying reasons. YHWH had protected them to some extent because they were Lot’s descendants and part of Avraham’s family. He let them retain their land when Israel was passing through it. (Deut. 2:19) They had some promises from YHWH, yet still went their own way and joined themselves to other peoples, even after Avraham saved their ancestor Lot’s life twice. And Israel even wanted to copy their ways. (1 Shm. 12:12) Because of all of these characteristics, we can see them as a foreshadowing of Christians today. Though they are heirs to some of the promises and the “cousins” of Israel, the “great people” will fall when we take responsibility for what our fathers have done. (See Ts’fanyah 2:9-10.)
27. And Yo’av sent messengers to David and said, “I have waged war against Rabbah; I have even captured the city of water!
City of water: i.e., he cut off the water source for the whole city of Rabbah. When we can stop the flow of the “water” of Torah, as the Roman Catholic Church did, it is easy to control people.
28. “So now, assemble the rest of the people and encamp above the city and capture it, lest I capture the city and it be called by my name!”
He wanted to give David the honor for the capture of the capital. By being so loyal in the case of this particular enemy, he was reversing the effect of Lot having chosen the better land than he left to his master, Avraham. He had done all the hard work; the Ammonites would be very weak when David arrived, so it would really only be a formal handing over of power.
29. So David assembled all he people and went to Rabbah, fought against it, and captured it.
All the people: not the whole nation, but apparently only those from Yerushalayim who were not part of the professional army but were of fighting age. This would give more of the men of Israel a share in the glory, since many of the standing army were foreign mercenaries.
30. And he took the crown of their king from off his head, and its weight was a talent of gold with a precious stone, and it was put onto David’s head, and he brought out the spoils of the city to [his] great increase.
A talent: some define it as 6,000 sheqels, or about 189.5 pounds; Whiston sees it as only 7 pounds. Now the justice for the shocking dishonor the king of Ammon had perpetrated against David and his servants was complete. And since David repented quickly and confessed his error readily, YHWH rewarded him with an additional kingdom.
31. And the people that were in it, he brought out and set them at the stone-cutting saw, the iron sharpening-tools, the iron cutting-tools, and made them pass bricks through the kiln, and he did the same to all the cities of the sons of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Yerushalayim.
Some, including Josephus and the targum interpreters, have taken this as his torturing the Ammonites—by sawing them in two or having them pass through the furnace! But 1 Chron. 20:3 clarifies that he put them to work. After all, his priority was preparing for Shlomo to build the Temple; he could use a whole nation’s worth of slaves! He was now their king, and they had to leave their ordinary work behind to accomplish what he required. It is no mistake that this account is tied to Shlomo’s birth in the text. Without power tools, this is all the hardest work, which no one would really want to do if given the option, so the enemies who had mocked them so cruelly were put to work on them. He did not see them in terms of universal brotherhood, as modern philosophy would have it. He saw those on the outside as existing for the purpose of helping Israel accomplish YHWH’s will, as when they plundered the Egyptians under Moshe. YHWH distinguishes between Israel and the nations, and we will only find Scripture confusing if we do not. Israel must become foremost before it can properly benefit other nations; to treat them as equals in today’s milieu is to get the cart before the horse.
CHAPTER 13
1. And what took place after the same [is] that Avshalom the son of David had a beautiful sister, and her name was Thamar, and David’s son Amnon fell in love with her.
Thamar means “a date palm”—certainly the most beautiful sight to one traveling across a desert! Avshalom (“father of peace”) and Amnon had different mothers. Like Dinah, Yaaqov’s daughter, this is the only daughter of David mentioned (cf. 1 Chron. 3:9), and for nearly the same reason. Fell in love: Unlike Greek, the Hebrew word for “love” carries about as many meanings as the English one does. So it can signify lust as well as commitment.
2. And Amnon was distressed to [the point of] making himself sick on account of his sister Thamar, because she was a virgin, and Amnon saw it as beyond his power to do anything to her.
If she were not a virgin, he reasoned, he could get away with carrying the affection others might expect in a brother a little too far. He was spoiled as the firstborn of a king, and used to getting what he wanted. This challenge (for that is all it turned out to be—a conquest) really bothered him.
3. But Amnon had a peer whose name was Yonadav the son of Shim’ah, David’s relative, and Yonadav was a very shrewd man.
This peer was his cousin. Yonadav means “YHWH has been generous”. He may have thought he was expressing “YHWH’s generosity” to Amnon by helping him get what he wanted (“actualize himself”), assuming, as most modern people do, that that would be the loving thing to do. Shim’ah means “fame” (from the word meaning “to hear of”). Relative: most literally, brother; if so, this must be another name for Shammah, which means “astonishment” or “horror”. Shrewd: or wise, but not in the sober sense; today we might call him “slick”.
4. And he said to him, “Why do you, the king’s son, languish like this morning by morning? Won’t you tell me?” So Amnon told him, “I love Thamar, the sister of my brother Avshalom.”
5. Then Y’honadav said to him, “Lie down on your bed and make like you’re sick, and when your father comes to see you, you have to say to him, ‘Please let my sister Thamar come in and feed me bread, and let her prepare the food in my sight so I can see her and eat from her hand.”
6. So Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill, and the king came to see him, and Amnon said to the king, “Please let my sister Thamar come so she can bake me couple of cakes so I can eat from her hand.”
This may have been a common thing for sisters to do, or her cooking was famous; in any case this behavior that is strange to us apparently did not strike David as at all suspicious. His gauntness would make it unsurprising that he should be sickly, suggesting that he was not eating well enough, but it is possible that the sudden illness he feigned was meant to suggest that he had been poisoned, as the one expected to be the crown prince, to give him an excuse to appear concerned that he watch the whole process of preparing any food he ate.
7. So David sent to Thamar in the house and said, “Please go to your brother Amnon’s house and prepare food for him.”
He appears to have had a home of his own. David may have built a house for each of his sons when they came of age. Amnon was becoming shrewd like his cousin; he involved David in this so that in case things went wrong for him, he could claim that David was the one who sent Thamar to him, and that he should have known better than to send her alone.
8. So Thamar went to her brother Amnon’s house. While he was lying down, she took the unleavened dough and kneaded it and made cakes in his sight, and cooked the cakes.
Cakes: from a word meaning “to make plump” but also “to ravish” and “make the heart beat faster”! Apparently the play on words was intentional, but she, being innocent, did not catch on. Amnon means “extremely faithful”, “a firm support”, or “sure and reliable”. His sister must have been counting on him to live up to his name. Cooked: literally boiled, so maybe they were dumplings like today’s “matzah ball soup”.
9. Then she took the baking-pan and started pouring them out in front of him, but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, “Have every man go out from around me!” So every man went out from around him.
The ruse goes on to make him think he only wanted peace and quiet so he could settle down to eat.
10. Then Amnon said to Thamar, “Bring the food into the bed-chamber and I will eat [it] from your hand.” So Thamar took the cakes that she had made and brought them to her brother Amnon in the bed-chamber.
Bed-chamber: one of many “red flags” he set up by which to claim she should have known better, as many rape victims are still today blamed. But she is probably barely a teenager, and possibly too innocent to notice them.
11. As she brought them near for him to eat, he took hold of her and said to her, “Come lie with me, my sister!”
Took hold of: or, grabbed, seized, prevailed upon. “My sister” was also an idiom used for wooing for a lover, as seen in Song of Songs chapters 4 and 5—much like “baby” is today.
12. But she said to him, “No, my brother! Don’t humiliate me, because it is not done this way in Israel! Don’t do this foolish thing!
She knew it was wrong, but might not have known it was against Torah, for much of the common people’s Torah education came on account of its folklore, and she would know the story of Dinah and Sh’khem better than the more intricate rulings therein. Foolish: senseless or disgraceful. The term is used in a sexual context in Deut. 22:21.
13. “As for me, where could I cause my disgrace to go? And you would be like one of the fools in Israel! Please just go now and speak to the king, because he would not withhold me from you!”
A marriage between children of the same father was forbidden in Lev. 18:9. She either did not know this, or was plea bargaining, knowing he was stronger than she, and so uses logic to dissuade him. At least it would not seem as bad as what he was asking her to do. But she was probably buying time, hoping that when someone (e.g., her father) consulted the Torah, she could then be released from this bind.
14. But he was not willing to listen to her voice, and he overpowered her and forced her down, and lay with her.
No matter what she quoted, he only knew what he wanted. One could argue that she was culpable for not crying out (Deut. 22:24), but she had been sent there by her father; it was not even a situation she had put herself in, nor was she lured there. She was also in the house of the king’s son, and she might not have thought she dared slander him because of the protocol of the house; the king’s son would have many more privileges than a king’s daughter, who would still have little say even in whom she married (though in Hebrew tradition women have usually been allowed more than in most cultures, but Torah does not specify this). Her father’s reputation rested with her tongue.
15. Then Amnon began to hate her with a very strong hatred, because the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, “Get up! Go!”
Since she had refused and rebuked him, his feelings for her changed. He had also reached his goal of conquering her, and now he despised her, found her boring, and did not want the reminder of the rebuke in his sight any longer.
16. But she told him, “[There is] no reason! This evil—to send me away—[would be] greater than the last one that you have done to me!” But he was not willing to listen to her.
17. And he called his young [servant] who was attending to him, and said to him, “Please send this [one] out from me, and bar the door after her!”
This one: Note the tone of degradation. He was a true scoundrel.
18. And she had on a long tunic [reaching to the] palms and soles [of her feet], because this is how the virgin daughters of the king would dress. When his attendant had brought her outside and bolted the door after her,
Josephus says she wore “a loose coat tied at the sleeves and let down to the ankles so that the inner coats might not be seen”. It is the same term used for the coat Yaaqov gave Yoseyf, causing so much envy from his brothers. (Gen. 37:3) It was obviously a sign of royalty or at least very high status.
19. Thamar put ashes on her head and tore the long-sleeved tunic that was on her, put her hand over her head, and left, and went around crying.
Ashes: or dust. Put her hand over her head: as she was no longer a virgin but did not have a head covering, not having expected to need one.
20. And her brother Avshalom said to her, “Has your brother Amnon been with you? But now, my sister, keep quiet; he is [after all] your brother! Don’t set your heart on this matter.” So Thamar stayed in the house of Avshalom her brother, but she was inconsolable.
He probably knew where she was going, and the torn cloak told the whole story. Amnon’s servant was also a witness and might also have spread the word more quickly than she got there. Now he was the one concerned with the honor of the house, since her outcry was loud and public. Interestingly, David, though a great warrior, never sent his sons to war, but was training them to be politicians instead. Inconsolable: or awestruck, appalled, stunned, deflowered. She may have been in shock. She was no longer a virgin, and therefore not a political tool by which her father could seal another peace treaty. Josephus said she lived as a widow.
21. When King David heard all these things, it angered him greatly.
Like Yaaqov, he did nothing about his disgust, leaving his son to take matters into his own hands. Another son, Shlomoh, probably wrote his proverbs about undisciplined sons with his own brothers in mind. David may have realized he was reaping what he himself had sown, and not felt he had the right to rebuke his son for an action similar to his own.
22. But Avshalom did not speak with Amnon [either] negatively or positively, because Avshalom hated Amnon on account of the matter in which he humiliated his sister Thamar.
He was a very patient man, and bided his time, possibly to make it appear that he had let the matter “blow over”, so Amnon would not be expecting retribution from him any longer.
23. But it turned out that two full years [later], Avshalom’s sheepshearers were in Ba’al-Hatzor, which is with Efrayim, and Avshalom summoned all the king’s sons.
Avshalom had his own flocks—possibly bought only for this purpose, since sheep have to be sheared every year, not every two. But this may only be part of David’s estate given him as “capital” so he could gain his own wealth and thus bring even more honor to his father’s house by his industry. All the king’s wives were undoubtedly pushing their sons to be impressive so the people would want them to be the next king. Baal-Hatzor: not the large northern city of Hatzor, for Efrayim’s territory is in the central part of the Land.
24. And Avshalom came to the king and said, “Please look! Your servant has shearers; please let the king and his servants go with your servant!”
If he was planning a murder, why would he want the king there? It would be the perfect cover, for no one would expect any foul play with the king there.
25. But the king said to Avshalom, “No, my son, please don’t have us all go, so we won’t be a burden on you. And he compelled him, but he was unwilling to go, but he gave him [his] blessing.
26. So Avshalom said, “If not, please let my brother Amnon go with us.” But the king said, “Why should he go with you?”
Now David’s suspicions were raised, because he knew what Amnon had done and that Avshalom’s sister was the victim. So he sent his other sons, though they were not explicitly invited.
27. But Avshalom pressed him, so he sent Amnon and all the sons of the king with him.
28. And Avshalom gave orders to his young [servants], saying, “Please watch [and notice] when Amnon’s heart is glad with wine. When I tell you, ‘Strike Amnon!’, then put him to death. Don’t be afraid; am I not the one who put you in charge?”
He would take full responsibility, and he appears to have had some seniority among David’s children. He also appears to be alluding to Y’hoshua 1:9 to inspire additional courage in the men, though he does not really have the authority to liken himself to Y’hoshua. Though Amnon should indeed have been killed for this deed, Avshalom acted beyond his authority. As will be seen, he was by nature a “take charge” kind of man, and he had an “advisor” as
29. So Avshalom’s young [servants] did to Amnon just as Avshalom had ordered. Then all the sons of the king got up and each mounted his mule and fled.
In some sense Amnon did deserve this revenge. The mule is not as fast as a horse, but is more sure-footed, has skin less susceptble to disease, and is capable of defending its rider from even a mountain lion. Since they may have thought he wanted to be the next king and wanted all rivals out of the way.
30. But what took place [was that while] they were on the way, the report came to David, saying, “Avshalom has struck down all the sons of the king, and not one of them is left!”
Like most rumors, this one accrued a lot of embellishments along the way!
31. And the king rose up and tore his garments, and lay down on the ground, and all of his servants were standing by with [their] clothes torn.
They joined in the king’s expression of grief.
32. But Yonadav the son of David’s brother Shim’ah responded by saying, “My master, do not say that they have killed all the young men—the king’s sons—because only Amnon is dead, since by the mouth of Avshalom it has been determined since the day he humiliated his sister Thamar.
33. “So now do not let my master the king take the word to his heart that says, ‘All of the sons of the king have died’, because Amnon alone is dead.”
34. But Avshalom ran away. Then the young man who was keeping watch lifted up his eyes and looked, and lo and behold, numerous people were walking from the road behind him, from the mountain side!
35. Then Yonadav said to the king, “Look! The king’s sons have come! It has turned out just like your servant said!”
He is saying, “”See? Didn’t I tell you so?”, trying to elevate himself in David’s eyes, though he himself was the one who had encouraged the act that got Amnon in trouble.
36. And indeed, as he finished speaking, there came the sons of the king! And they lifted up their voices and wept, and the king and all of his servants also wept with very loud crying.
37. When Avshalom ran away, he had gone to Thalmai the son of Ammikhur, the king of G’shur, and David was mourning for his son every day.
Every day: literally, all the days—that is, the normal number of days designated for mourning. Thalmai (“furrowed”) is named after one of the giants called Anaqim that had inhabited Hevron until Y’hoshua’s day. Ammikhur means “a people of white linen”, but it may be a scribal error for Ammikhud (“my people is majestic”), as it is spelled repeatedly throughout the book of Numbers. Thalmai was his maternal grandfather. (3:3) But since Avshalom’s mother is evidence of a peace treaty with G’shur, he knows David will not send an army to force him to come back—or kill it. G’shur is east-northeast of the Kinnereth (Sea of Galilee), part of the present-day Golan Heights in the area of Gamla. Had the G’shurites defeated Menashe, who land they occupied, or was it in response to a sin in Menashe that YHWH let another people have some of their land?
38. When Avshalom fled and went to G’shur, he ended up [staying] there three years.
39. Then David resolved to go out to Avshalom, because he had been consoled concerning Amnon since he had died.
Since: or, because. I.e., not that he was not saddened or that his grief was only a show in order to meet public expectations, but this brought closure and relief to an injustice that had never been remedied. Now he just wants his other son backl. Incidentally, Thamar, who had been unceremoniously sent away without a bill of divorce as soon as she had been “married”, was free to marry another.
CHAPTER 14
1. Now Yo’av knew that the king’s heart was on Avshalom,
2. so Yo’av sent to T’qoah and brought a crafty woman and said to her, “Please make yourself a ‘mourner’ and please put on mourning garments, and do not apply an oil to yourself, and you must be like a woman who has been mourning for the dead for many days.
T’qoah is in the mountains a few miles southeast of Beyth-Lekhem, his hometown. This would have been a distant relative of his. In any case she is from his area, so Yo’av thinks this will add to the credibility in David’s view. Make yourself a mourner: i.e., pretend to be in mourning. Apply oil to yourself: as one might use perfume or a skin cream today.
3. “Then you must go to the king and speak to him with such and such a message.” And Yo’av put the words into her mouth.
4. So the woman of T’qoah spoke to the king, then fell down with her nose to the ground and did homage, saying, “Deliver [me], O king!”
5. And the king said to her, “What do you have?” And she said, “Rather, I am a widow-woman—that is, my husband has died!
What do you have: i.e., Are you ill?
6. “And your servant had two sons, and the two of them were struggling in the field, and there was no one to pull them away from each other, and one hit the [other] one and killed him.
Servant: the term is feminine. We are told to bring to the judge issues about “degrees of guilt for bloodshed” if they are too difficult for the constituted leaders of tens, fifties, hundreds, or thousands. (Deut. 17:8) At that time there was no king, and YHWH gave this duty to the Levites. But one of the things He said about the king is that he would be a judge as well. (1 Shmu’el 8:6; Psalm 2:10; Prov. 29:4) This is one of the few times we actually see David in this role, though it was probably very common for him to do so.
7. “And now the whole family has risen up against your servant and said, ‘Turn over to us the one who struck down his brother, so that we can execute him for the soul of his brother whom he murdered, and we will also exterminate the heir!’ Thus they will extinguish my [one] remaining coal, and this way they will keep my husband from having a name or a remnant on the face of the earth!”
The only way he could justify leaving the young man alive was that the Torah places more weight on guaranteeing Israelites’ inheritance than on vengeance being brought on a murder, and the woman is counting on David’s knowledge of this.
8. So the king said to the woman, “Go to your home, and I will give orders concerning you.”
9. And the woman of T’qoah said to the king, “O master the king, let the guilt be on myself and on my father’s house, and the king and his throne be held exempt [from responsibility].”
Thus the guilt would also be averted from her husband’s household.
10. And the king said, “Anyone who speaks to you, have him brought to me, and he won’t be able to touch you anymore.”
Touch you: i.e., bother you about this matter.
11. But she said, “Please let the king remember YHWH your Elohim, to [keep the] avengers of blood from exterminating any more, so that they will not annihilate my son!” And he said, “[As surely as] YHWH lives, if [one] of the hairs of your son’s head falls to the ground…”
The latter phrase was used of the sparing of Y’honathan in 1 Shmu’el 14.
12. And the woman said, “Please let your servant tell the king about a matter.” And he said, “Tell me.”
13. And the woman said, “Why, then, have you planned the same kind of thing against the people of Elohim? For the king is addressing this matter as the guilty [party], in failing to bring his outcast back!
14. “Because we are indeed dying and are like waters that are spilt out on the ground and cannot be collected again. But Elohim will not take away a life, but has devised a plan so that the outcast is not banished from Him.
In a different context, this would be a fitting summary of YHWH’s dealings with both houses of Israel.(See Hoshea 1 in particular.) It would also fit the story that began with Adam in Eden. But in this context, she has the wrong idea. She does not know the Torah well enough, so, “wise” though she is, her answer is simply not true. It sounds like a modern-day Christian or humanistic philosophy in which our ideas of what YHWH would or would not do are based on our emotions. She does not have a foot to stand on, but she just “knows this in her heart”.
15. “And now that I have come to speak this word to the king, my master, because the people have made me afraid, and your handmaid said, ‘Please let me speak to the king; maybe the king will carry out the word of his servant,
16. “‘since the king has listened to rescue his servant-woman out of the clutches of the man [who was] to make me and my son together perish out of Elohim’s heritage.’
17. “And your handmaid said, ‘Please let the word of my master the king be comforting’, because my master the king is the same as an angel of Elohim to hear the right and the wrong, and YHWH your Elohim has been with you.”
18. Then the king responded and said to the woman, “Please do not conceal from me the thing I am asking you.” And the woman said, “Please let my master the king speak.”
19. So the king said, “Is Yo’av’s hand with you in all of this?” And the woman answered and said, “[As surely as] your soul lives, my master the king, if anyone could turn to the right or left from anything my master the king has said! Because your servant Yo’av is the one who gave me orders and he put all these words into the mouth of your servant!
Is Yo’av’s hand with you: i.e., Did Yo’av put you up to this? Yo’av must have tried to persuade David to do the same previously, but not been heeded, and David recognized the source, to her amazement. Yo’av had taken pity on David’s heart since he saw him pining away for Avshalom but also unsure of how to respond to his killing of his other son. He could not stand to see him wasting away, and it broke his heart to see his king and his uncle slowly dying. His advice made sense, but would turn out to be a big mistake. What he does to try to spare his heart will end up tearing his heart out, because it whitewashed the real problem. Yo’av saw that Nathan had reprimanded David with a parable, and David responded well, so he used the same tactic to get his point across. He chose a woman, who could pull David’s heartstrings more easily with her manner than a man could. But the king’s heart must be even more carefully influenced by Torah than the rest of the people’s, because he is subject to unique temptations. (Deut. 17:17) YHWH is merciful, but there is a certain order we must follow to receive it. Avshalom should have been in a city of refuge in Israel, where he could learn from the Levites about the sort of person he should be, but he was not very teachable.
20. “Your servant Yo’av has done this thing in order to reverse the appearance of this matter, but my master is skilled like the wisdom of an angel of Elohim to be aware of everything that is in the Land!”
Appearance of this matter: literally, the face of this word.
21. Then the king said to Yo’av, “See here; I have carried out this matter. So go, bring back the young man, Avshalom!”
David gave in because he wanted to be convinced this was the right course, but when we find the answer we are already looking for, we are most likely to be wrong. Young man: He must have been in his twenties, so this may have either been used as a term of endearment (“the lad”), or to emphasize Avshalom’s juvenile tendencies.
22. And Yo’av fell to the ground on his face and bowed and bent [his] knees to the king. And Yo’av said, “Today your servant has become sure that I have found favor in your eyes, my master the king, since the king has carried out the word of his servant.”
Despite his obvious usefulness to the king because of his military savvy, his favor with the king had been seriously diminished after he killed Avner (chapter 3).
23. Then Yo’av got up and went to G’shur and brought Avshalom to Yerushalayim.
24. But the king said, “Let him circle around to his own house, and not see my face.” So Avshalom went in a roundabout way to his house and did not see the king’s face.
Though he was home, David was still not sure how to deal with Avshalom. He was glad to have him back, but could not shake the fact that he had killed his other son. Yerushalayim was a tiny place at that time, and Avshalom undoubtedly lived close to David’s palace, so he would have to continue skirting it by a circuitous route.
25. Now there was not a man as handsome as Avshalom in all of Israel, who made [people] go quite wild; from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was not a flaw in him.
26. And when he shaved his head (because it was at the end of each year that he shaved it, because it was heavy on him)—when he shaved it, he weighed the hair of his head [at] two hundred sheqels on the king’s stone.
Each year: literally, days to days. Josephus interprets this as “every 8 days”! But it makes more sense that the end of the year is just before spring, when he would want to remove the hair that had warmed him through the winter. Stone: that is a scale or plummet stone against which something was weighed in a balance. Two hundred sheqels is 2 kilograms, or a little over 4 pounds. Whiston estimates up to six pounds—the weight of many newborn infants! So there is something abnormal about this to begin with. 200 sheqels is the weight of the silver that Akhan had stolen (Y’hoshua 7:21), and another bad association is that it was enough to make an idol (Judges 17:4), and indeed, in a man, long hair is usually associated with pride.
27. And three sons were born to Avshalom, as well as one daughter, and her name was Thamar, and [what] a woman--she was a beautiful sight!
Thamar: He named her after his sister, who was also beautiful, partly to make up for what had been done to her, and partly to bless her with a new start. Josephus says she later became Rehav’am’s wife and the mother of King Aviyah.
28. And Avshalom remained in Yerushalayim two years, but he had not seen the king’s face!
29. And Avshalom sent [word] to Yo’av to have him sent to the king, but he was not willing to come to him. And he sent two more [times], but he would not agree to come.
All that Yo’av really cared about in this matter seems to have been that David’s spirits were lifted, and that being accomplished, he no longer makes it his priority. And he was trying to honor David’s request.
30. So he said to his servants, “See? Yo’av’s property is beside mine, and he has barley there. Go and set it on fire!” So Avshalom’s servants set the parcel [of land] on fire.
Property/parcel: literally, allotted portion, i.e., the inheritance that was theirs by lot when it was being divided out. He thought this was the only way to get Yo’av’s attention.
31. Then Yo’av got up and came to Avshalom in his house and said to him, “Why have your servants set the parcel allotted to me on fire?”
As with Avshalom’s servants who killed Amnon for him, though the servants are the perpetrators, the blame is placed on their master.
32. So Avshalom said to Yo’av, “Look! I sent for you, saying, ‘Come here, so I can send you to the king to say, “Why have I come from G’shur? It would be better if were still there!”’ So now, let me see the king’s face, and if there is any crookedness in me, he can have me executed!”
It seemed this was the only way to get his attention, but only because he was used to getting his own way, so Yo’av did not expect better of him, and therefore gave in and let him get away with this childishness. Why have I come? I.e., I really don’t have to stay here! (Compare Exodus 14:11.) Like many who “hop” from church to church when their wills are crossed, he had simply moved to a place where what he had done was not an issue. It meant nothing to his grandfather that he had killed the son of another of David’s wives. Having lain in wait for his fellow, he should have been brought to a city of refuge for trial. (Deut. 19:9-12) That he did not go there either meant he knew he was guilty and would be turned over to be executed, or that he simply did not see himself as part of Israel. G’shur means “to join” and is the root for the Hebrew word for “bridge”. Like a bridge, he was between two options that were equally viable for him, so he was fully committed to neither side. He could still run back to his grandfather in a time of crisis. He might just as well have inherited the throne of G’shur, since his mother was royalty there, and his comments here make that seem likely. Though he might have found a loophole in that he did not shed the blood himself and was crafty enough to talk his way out of it, and though his half-brother did deserve to die for his deeds, still Avshalom would not allow himself to be judged by anyone. He is used to getting what he wants, and is already a king in his own mind. When one will not accept judgment, it is a great hindrance to order in the kingdom. He clearly had some sense of justice, but it was warped because he would not allow himself to be held to a standard, and thus became a “spoiled brat”. In a city of refuge, though he would be confined for some time, he might at least have learned from the Levites, but instead he sought refuge among Gentiles, who undoubtedly influenced some of the later events in his life.
33. So Yo’av came to the king and reported [this] to him, so he called for Avshalom, and he came to the king and bowed to him with his face on the ground in the presence of the king. And the king started kissing Avshalom.
His plea for forgiveness was just another evidence of his political genius. But it may have sprung from a genuine need for his father’s approval—something every son yearns for at some level of his being (Psalm 27:8-10; 68:5-6), no matter how slick or vain he is. Both were probably the case to some extent, and Avshalom now has all his bases covered. The kiss was part of the very real blessing that a father can confer on his son—a part of passing on what is best in oneself. Now that he feels he is back in the king’s favor, Avshalom can go about whatever business he chooses without the king’s soldiers watching him too closely. Avshalom was an admirable individual with much knowledge and skill, though he was misled to some extent. He was very crafty, though not essentially evil. He had great potential, had it been shaped with the proper discipline.
CHAPTER 15
1. But what took place afterward went like this: Avshalom prepared a chariot and horses for himself, with fifty men running ahead of him.
He took advantage of the wide margin David had given him, as his brother later would as well (1 Kings 1-2), though with less successful results. He made a big show of his arrival, presuming to be as important as Yoseyf in Egypt. (Gen. 41:43) The chariot was a symbol of great prosperity and military power. A German group who set out to build a chariot in the ancient manner found that it required some 600 hours to build just one. But as we will see, much of Avshalom’s panache was just “smoke and mirrors”.
2. Then Avshalom rose up early and stood beside the road [to the] gate, and whenever any man who had a dispute was coming to the king for a ruling, Avshalom would call to him and say, “What city are you from?” And [if] he would say, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel”,
He caught the attention of mainly those who were not of his own tribe, who might possibly have thought Yehudah was receiving favored treatment. This trend would later come to such proportions as to split the kingdom in two.
3. Avshalom would say to him, “Look, your cases are appropriate and straightforward, but there is no one from the king to hear you.”
Avshalom dispensed with a standard and appealed to people’s feelings, making them all think that they had a worthy cause and that David was just not doing enough about them.
4. Then Avshalom said, “Who will position me as a judge in the Land? Then anyone who has a legal dispute could come to me, and I could bring [him] justice!”
Like any “stumping” politician, he says that if only he were “elected”, he could do so much better than the incumbent. He makes it sound like David, who is more concerned with real justice than with catering to people’s natural preferences, is doing nothing at all, when in fact we have already seen two examples of his ruling rightly in what turned out to be figurative cases; they were just not in line with Avshalom’s agenda.
5. And it turned out that whenever a man approached to do homage to him, he put out his hand, took hold of him, and kissed him.
Sheer flattery! He gains favor with the masses by his pleasantries. But this is the clue to whom he foreshadows—a ruler in the end times who will “come peaceably and obtain the kingdom by flatteries”. (Daniel 11:21-34) Many call him the “antichrist”, which means not so much “one who opposes the Messiah” as “one who usurps the position of or takes the place of the Messiah”. This will undoubtedly be a literal particular person, but leading up to him is the long history of Christianity’s forging a legendary “Jesus” that has ended up in opposition to the true historical Yahshua, though originally based on writings about him, and most commonly among the exiled tribes of Israel, rather than Yehudah, which can still read the original writings and knows how they are normally interpreted. In most people’s minds, he has become the reality and what Yahshua stood for has been demonized, as we will see was the result for David because of Avshalom’s public relations campaign. (16:7-8)
6. And Avshalom acted according to this manner for all of Israel—whoever came to the king for judgment, and Avshalom stole the hearts of all the men of Israel.
David had to have heard of this, yet again he did not rebuke him.
7. Now at the end of 40 years, it took place: Avshalom said to the king, “Please let me go into Hevron so I can fulfill my vow, which I made to YHWH,
40 years: Since David’s entire reign was only 40 years (5:4; 1 Kings 2:11), this is an internal contradiction and of necessity a scribal error which was carried on by later copyists. Four years makes complete sense, and Josephus has this reading; one version of the LXX from which the Armenian text was translated makes it probable that another version of the Masoretic text that is no longer extant also said “four”. Again we see Avshalom building his support base very patiently until he sees he has enough power to “swing the people”. This is nine years after the incident with Thamar which set all of this in motion.
8. “because your servant made a vow when I was living at G’shur in Aram, saying, ‘If YHWH indeed allows me to return to Yerushalayim, then I will serve YHWH.’”
Serve: in this case, apparently, he meant that he would make a large offering to YHWH. Compare Yaaqov’s vow in Gen. 28:21. He is speaking Torah language, but does not actually have a heart to serve YHWH. It is somewhat doubtful whether Avshalom had ever made such a vow.
9. And the king said to him, “Go in peace!” So he arose and went to Hevron.
Avshalom knew David’s love for YHWH, and knew that to speak of serving YHWH himself would be very pleasing to his father, and that he would hardly turn down such a request. Arose: Indeed, it turned out to be an “uprising”, though this was not yet obvious. This parallels the other apostles’ approving Paul’s mission to the Gentiles, though its result eventually turned out to be a far cry from their own agenda of returning Israel to the Torah.
10. And Avshalom sent footmen throughout all the tribes of Israel to say, “When you hear the sound of the shofar, then say, ‘Avshalom has [begun to] reign at Hevron!’
Hevron was where David had begun his rule, but it was Avshalom’s birthplace, and there seem to have been certain offerings that people had to go to their hometowns to offer. (1 Shmu’el 20:6, 29) Footmen: sometimes also idiomatic for spies, slanderers (talebearers), or explorers. Hevron is the city in Israel with the highest elevation, and is thus a picture of the heavenlies, from which true rule emanates. Avshalom appears to receive his “power from on high” in the place of the ancient judges, just as Christianity’s catching on in Rome allowed it to spread much faster due to the clout this appeared to afford it. Like the announcements of Avshalom’s arrival (v. 1), Christianity has been impossible to miss, either because of televangelists’ “crusades” or their genuine namesake. Avshalom announces something that has not yet become a reality, but people assume it is true and official, and the idea that David had already been deposed will bring out the latent dissatisfaction with David in many who would not otherwise dare to voice it, making his power base in fact greater, just as the media today often take an issue that was obscure and make it well-known so that it receives backing from people who would have otherwise never heard of it. Again this parallels the baseless propaganda that Yahshua had made the “old law” null and void, which caught on because it was wishful thinking for many, and has become “truth” in the minds of many simply due to the apparent credibility of its proponents. As Avshalom’s blurring the standard made him appear “nicer” than David, many took the clean-slate idea of “grace with no accountability” as a way to get away with their own agendas.
11. And two hundred men left Yerushalayim with Avshalom—[those whom he had] invited—but they went out in their integrity and were not aware of anything.
They only thought they were attending a special state sacrifice—a spectacle to witness, certainly. They would, however, appear to be backing Avshalom. They parallel the many who were deceived into thinking “Jesus” was the same as Yahshua, when one is genuine and one is only an imaginary caricature, a projected image that has no substance whatsoever except that which is credited to it by verses taken out of context or mistranslated, not to mention the groundless idea that “Jesus” had long hair just like Avshalom!
12. And Avshalom sent Akhithofel the Gilonite, David’s advisor, out from his city (Giloh), while he offered the slaughterings. Thus the conspiracy was confirmed, as the people were increasingly going with Avshalom.
Akhithofel was apparently Bath-Sheva’s grandfather and thus especially respected by David. (Compare 11:3 with 23:34.) Giloh means “uncovered” or “removed into exile”, which is the “city” of most whose only information about Yahshua has long been in the form of the Sunday-School “Jesus”. Giloh is between Hevron and Yerushhalayim. Conspiracy: or alliance (from a word for binding together), but the term is always used in a treasonous or unlawful sense.
13. Then the bearer of news came to David to say, “The hearts of the men of Israel have gone after Avshalom!”
The bearer of news: a reporter or announcer, possibly Akhithofel himself, considering that he was sent away by Avshalom (v. 12). He might have been told to bring this news in order to strike fear in David, but still appear to be on his side. He then could have slipped away quietly amid the busyness that followed. (See v. 31.) Hearts of the men: both terms are actually in the singular in Hebrew, so it could read, ‘The heart of the man Israel’—as if they were acting as one man but for the wrong purpose.
14. So David said to all his servants who were with him in Yerushalayim, “Get up, and let’s hurry away, because there is no refuge for us from the face of Avshalom. Depart quickly, so he won’t overtake us very fast and thrust injury upon us and strike the city with the mouth of the sword!”
It may be that he simply did not want Yerushalayim destroyed. However, with Yo’av in command of his army, it is unlikely that Avshalom’s army (which David only assumes exists) could not get very close to the city. But despite his skill as a warrior, David believed the rumors that Avshalom had already amassed so much power, and assumed he would now march on Yerushalayim, though the messenger said nothing about this. Avshalom had not usurped David’s throne, but had established a provisional, alternate government in the same land.
15. So the king’s servants said to the king, “Of course, your servants will do whatever my master the king chooses in every [respect].”
What he was saying clearly did not make much sense, but they did not want to argue with the king! But he had not enquired of YHWH. Why doesn’t he call Nathan the prophet for advice? And we will later see that the priests were in Yerushalayim with him; why did he not go through them to ask YHWH what to do? He may have assumed that since YHWH had said trouble would arise from his own household, and since YHWH had not relented last time he had asked for a reprieve from punishment, he thought he should just accept what might come about. But since he was repentant and YHWH had put him in his position, he may have been taking the fact that he did have a price to pay for his earlier sin a little too far. It is wise to distrust self, but he was also betraying those who had made him king. The main issue seems to be that he wanted to avoid killing his only son, which he might have to do if he accepted the challenge of battle, as he was a seasoned warrior who could easily beat him. So he simply gave up his crown and his city to avoid having to make that choice. Avshalom knew his father well enough to recognize that his hesitancy to be too harsh with people close to him (which had even included King Sha’ul) was his “Achilles heel”, and he took advantage of this. He knew how to move not only the masses, but David himself, and made him feel that he had already been defeated.
16. So the king went out with his whole household at his feet, but the king left behind ten women [who were] concubines to keep the house.
Left behind: The term often means to forsake or neglect as well. Keep: or watch, guard, protect—i.e., to manage it while he was gone; he may have left them there because he intended to come back and did not want the palace to be a shambles when he did. Or, he might have remembered the prophecy that his fellow would lie with his own wives in broad daylight, and chose these particular women as the least important to him, thus “abandoning” them to Avshalom, but this is unlikely. Ten is the number of completion, and this may symbolize that he still has charge over his palace, though prophetically, women ruling the house of David during Avshalom’s revolt symbolizes the fact that “bleeding hearts”—even if male, those ruled by emotion rather than according to Torah—have been the ones who have usually been ruling since Christianity displaced the original followers of Yahshua. Revelation 17:3-7 suggests an intimacy between the Counterfeit Messiah and those who are supposed to be in the House of David. But he abandons her, just as Amnon abandoned Thamar after using her, which is what got Avshalom started. Another reason David failed to discipline his son may have been because of the politics involved in one wife thinking her son was chastised in a worse way than another wife’s son. He may have regretted his borderline disobedience of the command that a king should not amass wives to himself, and been attempting to divest himself of some of them.
17. As the king went out, and all the people at his feet, they stopped at the furthermost house,
18. and all his servants were passing beside him, along with all the Krithites and all the Plethites as well as all the Githites—600 men who came at his feet from Gath—passing on before the face of the king.
I.e., just before leaving the city, David stopped and let some of the others go ahead of him. The first two groups were his personal bodyguards, made up of foreign mercenaries. At his feet: Today we would say “at his heels”.
19. And the king said to Ithai the Githite, “Why are you going with us too? Go back to your place and stay with ‘the king’, because you are a foreigner and even an exile!
Note that he already calls Avshalom ‘the king’. He assumes his reign is already over! In his own eyes, he was a “has-been”, and is not walking in the position that YHWH gave him as a man of war. A foreigner: Ithai was apparently the leader of this group of 600 (v. 20), but Githites were from Golyath’s home city of Gath! They were Filistines, yet they were among David’s most trusted men. They probably joined David all the way back when David requested the city of Tziqlag to “avoid being a burden to the king of Gath” (1 Shm. 27:1-7) There were 600 men with David at that time, and they may be the same ones. Exile: He could hardly expect to survive if he went back to Gath after having sided with the Filistines’ arch-enemy!
20. “You came in yesterday, and today should I make you unstable with us, to go when I go and where I go? Turn back, and take your brothers back with you—kindness and faithfulness!
I.e., Why should you get involved in my troubles and our internal politics? Kindness and faithfulness: i.e., That is very kind of you and you have proven you are faithful, but I don’t expect you to endanger yourselves because of me! But Ithai means “with me”. His very name bespeaks loyalty. Came in yesterday: Not that they were “Johnny-come-lately’s”, because they had been with David for more than 20 years; he is emphasizing that they were not born Israelites. But their children were. (v. 22)
21. But Ithai responded to the king by saying, “[As surely as] YHWH lives and my master the king is alive, in whatever place my master the king may be, whether it means death or life, your servant will certainly be there!”
This attitude in itself is foreign to most of us today, but like Uriyah, this foreigner is more trustworthy than his own people and even his own tribe. Was familiarity breeding contempt? Their loyalty may be due to the fact that they swear in YHWH’s name. This might have just been a customary formula by this time, but it appears to indicate that they were not foreigners at heart.
22. So David told Ithai, “Go ahead and cross over.” So Ithai the Githite and all of his men and all the little ones who were with him crossed over.
Little ones: literally, toddlers (“tripping ones”). Crossed over: now, though foreigners, they were Hebrews, because Hebrew means “one who crosses over”. The fact that they brought their families with them meant they were more than mercenaries, though initially they had probably joined his army because they were warriors and they respected him more than any other king in the region at that time, and wanted to be aligned with the greatest warrior they knew. They are a picture of those from many nations who, though possibly not even of Israelite ancestry, are willing to lay down their lives for him. David, on the other hand, was crossing over in the wrong direction, away from Yerushalayim and even the Land of Israel proper.
23. And the whole Land was wailing with a loud voice, and all the people were crossing over the streambed of the Qidron. (Now all of the people crossed over in front of the Road with the Wilderness.)
Or, crossed the wilderness on the surface of the road. The Qidron Valley is sometimes called the “Valley of the Shadow of Death” because no light from the Temple reached it due to the topography. It is possible that David wrote Psalm 23—“though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I will fear no harm, because You are with me”—at this time, as he certainly must have felt the threat of death.
24. There came even Tzadoq and all the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of Elohim, and they set down the ark of Elohim, and Evyathar ascended until all the people had finished crossing over out of the city.
25. Then the king said to Tzadoq, “Take the ark of Elohim back to the city. If I find favor in the eyes of YHWH, He will bring me back and allow me to see it as well as its resting place.
26. “But if this is what He says: ‘I have not been pleased with you’, here I am; let Him do whatever seems best in His eyes.”
David was realistic in not assuming that if evil was coming upon him, it might indicate YHWH’s displeasure, though he had “kept accounts current” with YHWH in regard to the sins he was aware of. He humbly recognized that it was YHWH’s to decide what would befall him, and he knew that having the ark along would not be a “lucky charm” if YHWH had reason to be displeased with him. Besides, he remembered that the last time the ark had been taken into battle, it was captured. He did not expect that Avshalom would destroy the ark or YHWH’s sanctuary, though Avshalom had just “taken YHWH’s name in vain” by claiming that his reason for going to Hevron was to worship YHWH, when in fact this was nothing more than a smokescreen to cover his intentions.
27. And the king said to Tzadoq the priest, “Are you a seer? Go back to the city in peace along with Akhimaatz your son and Y’honathan the son of Evyathar—both of your sons with you.
He may be somewhat cynically saying, “You’re a prophet; can’t you see that you need to stay here?” He is also under stress, but his job is to know what YHWH’s will is, and he will not take along those who could continue to reveal it to him. It is because he knows that YHWH has given him authority to defeat his enemies, but will not admit that his son is indeed now his enemy. David would not hold the priests as guilty if they remained at the sanctuary, though it meant they would appear to be loyal to Avshalom. In fact, he only saw it as their being loyal to the place where YHWH had chosen to set His name.
28. “Look, I will delay at the fords of the wilderness until word comes from you to report to me.”
29. So Tzadoq and Evyathar took the ark of Elohim back to Yerushalayim, and they stayed there.
30. As David climbed the ascent of [the Mount of] Olives, he was weeping as he was going up, and he had his head covered and had taken his shoes off, so all the people who were with him had each covered their heads and gone up, weeping as they went.
This would be the last place along the route he was taking from which he could see the holy city, and he may have indeed wondered whether he was paying it his last respects. Psalm 43, which speaks of his needing to be delivered from an unjust and deceitful man and wanting to return to YHWH’s holy hill, may have been written at this time. He has mentally removed himself from being a warrior, not seeing battle as an option in this case (in part because Avshalom is also the grandson of another king with whom he has a treaty), and thus is totally out of his element and therefore confused. He is also certainly depressed by the apparent fact that the people for whom he has lived his whole life are now betraying him. He is walking away from where YHWH stationed him, and he is not strong in other areas. He decides to just wait and see what YHWH might do. Yahshua also said, “Not my will, but Yours be done”, but the difference was that at that time he was entering the greatest battle of his life, though it was not a physical one. David is following his own heart, and there cannot but be repercussions from that. But he does have an underlying strategy in leaving, which will come out further along in the story.
31. And it was reported to David, “Akhithofel is among those conspiring with Avshalom.” So David said, “O YHWH, please turn Akhithofel’s counsel into foolishness.”
Recall that Akhithofel had been David’s advisor. (v. 12) David assumed he would play the same role for Avshalom. He makes a play on Akhithofel’s name (which means “my brother is foolish”, though a synonym of the term used here, not the same word).
32. Now when David had come as far as the top, where he bowed himself prostrate to Elohim, lo and behold, Hushai the Arkite [came] to meet him [with] his tunic torn and soil on his head.
Arkite: a native of Erekh, a city between Babylon and Ur, so he, too, is a very loyal foreigner.
33. But David said to him, “If you cross over with me, you will be a burden to me.
Burden: No particular reason is given. He may have just been emphasizing that Hushai would be of much more value to him if he stayed on as a well-placed spy, just as YHWH left some faithful people among the corrupt Temple administration in Yahshua’s day and later kept some in the church for as long as possible to preserve whatever order they could:
34. “But if you return to the city and say to Avshalom, ‘I myself will be your servant, O king! I used to be your father’s servant, but now I too will be your servant.’ Thus you can frustrate the counsel of Akhithofel for me!
35. “And aren’t Tzadoq and Evyathar the priests with you there? So it must be that everything that you hear from the palace you must report to Tzadoq and Evyathar the priests.
He would have loyal co-counter-conspirators.
36. “Their sons are even there with them—Akhimaatz belonging to Tzadoq and Y’honathan belonging to Evyathar. And you can send to me by their hand every word that you hear.”
He wants to know what is going on with his son.
37. So David’s associate Hushai came into the city. Then Avshalom arrived in Yerushalayim.
Associate: or fellow; the term was used in a technical sense for a particular position among the palace staff—his closest advisor, in fact. (1 Kings 4:5)
CHAPTER 16
1. When David had passed a little beyond the top, lo and behold, Tziva, Mefibosheth’s young [servant], [came] to meet him with a pair of saddled donkeys laden with 200 [loaves of] bread, 100 clusters of raisins, 100 summer [fruits], and a skin-bottle of wine.
Top: that is, the summit of the Mount of Olives. That he is now going downhill symbolizes the fact that his leadership is in decline as well. Saddled: or simply, tied or bound. These foods will keep well and give them plenty of energy. Had Avshalom wanted to kill his father, he could have easily caught up with him.
2. So the king said to Tziva, “What? Are these yours?” And Tziva said, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride on, and as for the bread and summer fruit, [they are] for the young men to eat, and the wine is for those who are fatigued in the wilderness to drink.”
3. And the king said, “But where is the son of your master?” And Tziva said to the king, “Believe it or not, he remains in Yerushalayim, because he said, ‘Today the House of Israel will give me my ancestor’s dominion back!’”
My ancestor: that is, Sha’ul, whose throne he could have inherited had he not been crippled and unable to go to battle.
4. So the king said to Tziva, “Okay, everything that belongs to Mefibosheth is yours!” And Tziva said, “I have bowed myself; may I find favor in your eyes, O my master, the king!”
He must have been thinking, “Why, that scoundrel, after all I have done for him!” But although Tziva was very diplomatic and politically savvy, the fact that he talks about bowing rather than actually doing it is a hint that something here is not quite what it seems. His flattering tongue should also have told David something was fishy, and it would indeed turn out to be the case. David is also losing his discernment. All he sees is a generous friend, but it is actually a bribe; Tziva has invented a story that will get him a royal land grant. (19:24-30) David had made him caretaker of Mefibosheth’s land (9:10), because Mefibosheth was powerless to work it, being crippled, which also means he is powerless to know what Tziva is doing now, or to do anything about it if he did know.
5. When the king, David, had come as far as Bakhurim, lo and behold, a man from the clan of the household of Sha’ul was coming out, and his name was Shim’i the son of Gera. As he was coming out, he came out and showed contempt:
Notice how the scribe corrects the fact that David had called Avshalom “the king” (15:19), by clarifying that the real king is David. Showed contempt: belittled or cursed, treated him as unimportant. He is saying David no longer carried any weight in Israel.
6. he started pelting David and all of the servants of King David with stones, so all the people and all the brave champions [got] on his right and on his left.
7. And this is what Shim’i said in his contempt: “Get out! Get out, you man of blood and you worthless man!
Worthless: or one who fails to ascend or make progress. Man of blood: If he is not blaming David (wrongfully) for the deaths of Ish-bosheth and Avner, his relatives, then he may have been buying into Avshalom’s modern philosophy that everyone has a case and everyone should be able to get along; as in our own day, killing has become a part of the old regime, and the young generation does not do things that way anymore and finds it contemptible, Avshalom’s life is the textbook for “spin doctors”. Worthless: literally, one that does not profit or help us ascend, and indeed, the more David takes this passive attitude of defeatism, the more true it is becoming.
8. “YHWH has brought back on you all the blood of the household of Sha’ul, in that you have been king rather than he! So YHWH will hand the kingdom over to Avshalom, your son, and that’s what you get for your wickedness, because you are a bloody man!”
Avshalom had apparently made the way of the “gentleman” the standard of his day, casting David’s greatest skill in a bad light, as if killing people was innately evil in its every occurrence—make like the philosophy that reigns today—even though YHWH had commanded David to be a man of war.
9. And Avishai the son of Tz’ruyah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog make light of my master the king? Give me leave to go over, and take his head off!”
David would later regret no having let him do so, and would count it unfinished business on his deathbed. (19:16ff; 1 Kings 2:1) David had it easily within his power to completely crush this rebellion, but because it is his own son, he lets his emotions get the better of him. His men are trying to talk some sense into him. But since he was trying to punish himself, he is distancing himself from those, like Yo’av, who he knows would get the job done. Avishai: This presence shows that now not just foreign mercenaries, but at least part of the Israelite professional army is now with David.
10. But the king said, “What is [the benefit] for me or for you sons of Tz’ruyah? Just let him dishonor [me], because [if] YHWH has told him, ‘Make light of David’, then who can say, ‘Why have you acted like that?’”
David had answered his own question long ago, before he was even king, when he asked, “Who can stretch out his hand against YHWH’s anointed and be guiltless?” (1 Shmu’el 26) Now he is the one who is YHWH’s anointed, so the guilt of Shim’i should have been obvious to him.
11. And David said to Avishai and to all of his servants, “Look, my own son, who came out of my organs, is seeking my life, so of course the Binyamite [will do the same] now! Let it rest, and let him curse, because YHWH has told him [to]!
I.e., if even his own son wants to dispossess him, he is not at all surprised that someone from Sha’ul’s tribe should want to. He feels that he deserves this treatment, but discipline that is truly from YHWH always teaches us in the process. He still fights for YHWH’s honor, but not for his own. He knows this is his fault, but he is trying to add to YHWH’s punishment by punishing himself like those who try to “identifying with Christ’s suffering” by flogging themselves and being nailed to crosses. Though he is right in recognizing that this could not be taking place without YHWH’s permission, but he is willfully ignorant of whether or not YHWH wants him to respond, because he has left behind the priests who could tell him YHWH’s will. Yahshua also allowed himself to be betrayed by his subjects, but he did so because he saw the victory on the other side, while David is so concerned to spare his son that he is letting his own people down by not being the picture of hope that a king is meant to be. This is the “exception that establishes the rule”; the one who has been such an example to us all is acting in a very disappointing manner. He is surrendering—something he is not built to do. Yahshua may have thus drawn his teaching about denying even one’s own family for the sake of the kingdom (Luqa 14:26) from his own ancestor’s bad example.
12. “Maybe YHWH will take note of my misery and YHWH will repay me well for his vilification today!”
Psalm 25 may have been written at this time (considering especially verses 17-19 of that psalm).
13. But as David was going with his people along the road, Shim’i was walking along the mountain ridge parallel to him, and would make light [of him] as he went, also pelting him with stones [from] alongside, and dusting him with loose dirt.
14. So the king and all who were with him arrived exhausted, and refreshed themselves there.
Arrived: probably at the ford where he said he would await word from Tzadoq. (15:28) Those who had wearied themselves defending David (v. 6) needed rest before they could go on.
15. When Avshalom and the whole nation of the men of Israel arrived at Yerushalayim, Akhithofel was with him.
16. And it turned out that when Hushai the Arkite, David’s associate, came to Avshalom, Hushai said to Avshalom, “[Long] live the king! [Long] live the king!”
17. But Avshalom said to Hushai, “Is this [how] you show kindness to your companion? Why haven’t you gone with your friend?”
Avshalom still had some sense of decency, and was surprised that someone so close to his father would be so easily shaken from that loyalty. This made him suspicious that some mischief was afoot.
18. So Hushai said to Avshalom, “No, because the one whom YHWH has chosen—as well as this people and all the men of Israel—[that’s] who I will belong to, and with him I will remain.”
This people: apparently the tribe of Yehudah in particular, for he contrasts them with the rest of Israel, though they are working in tandem at this point. But it is very democratic to assume that he will of the people must be YHWH’s will—though, of course, Hushai does not really believe this. While these intrigues brought out the true evil colors in many, this was an occasion for Hushai to use the “left hand of righteousness” to deceive the rebel, suppressing his loyalty for the sake of his very loyalty.
19. And the second time, “Whom should I serve? [Should I] not [serve] in the presence of his son? Just as I served in the presence of your father, in the same way I will be in your presence.”
Avshalom apparently believed him after he bent over backwards to reiterate his loyalty to Avshalom. Josephus has him say that it really does not dissatisfy him to serve Avshalom rather than his father since they are from the same dynasty.
20. Then Avshalom said to Akhithofel, “Bring the counsel that you have among you: what shall we do?”
I.e., What should be the first political priority, our first “act of state”? These two men turn out to be his primary advisors.
21. So Akhithofel told Avshalom, “Go in to your father’s concubines, whom he left to watch the house, and when all of Israel hears that you have made yourself odious to your father, the hands of all who are with you will have a firm grip!”
Concubines are secondary wives who are not offered the same protections; they came into the relationship without a contract, and are on the same level as slaves in some respects. By taking his father’s harem, he was declaring himself king and David’s conqueror. Because of the dishonor this would bring him, it would end any relations David would have had with them. This part of the story continues in chapter 20. Like Yaaqov, for the sake of peace David did not respond when his daughter was violated, so his sons took action, but sexual sin kept coming back to haunt them, as both had their sons take their concubines. Is Akhithofel trying to get revenge on David for apparently choosing the son of another wife over that of his granddaughter, Bath-sheva, as heir to his throne?
22. So they had a tent pitched for Avshalom on the roof, and Avshalom went in to his father’s concubines for the eyes of all Israel [to see].
This fulfilled Nathan’s prophecy. (12:11-12)
23. And the counsel of Akhithofel by which he advised in those days was just like one would [eagerly] seek the word of Elohim—that was how all of Akhithofel’s counsel was, both to David and to Avshalom.
Clearly David had valued his counsel and would miss it now, but David was also already aware that he was a turncoat, so his counsel would now be nauseating to him, though he knew it would be greatly to Avshalom’s advantage. He must have felt as blessed as the company that recently hired the retired chairman of the Federal Reserve as its financial advisor! How could he lose now? But though politically savvy, he had no standards and could be bought. That is why David had begged YHWH to thwart his advice, and why he had set Hushai in place as the instrument to do so. (15:31)
THE SECOND BOOK OF
Shmu'el
the prophet
INTRODUCTION: This book begins where I Shmu’el leaves off—when David is told of King Sha’ul’s death, very close to 1000 B.C.E. Why is the book named after Shmu’el when Shmu’el has already died before it begins? Shouldn’t it be called the Book of David instead? That is whom it is mainly about. But Shmu’el was responsible for putting David in his position, as he had been for Sha’ul. The division of the book of Shmu’el into two parts originated with the Greek Septuagint (LXX) in the second century B.C.E. It was not until the 15th century C.E. (A.D.) that it was divided into two parts in the Hebrew scriptures.
Note the terraced topography of the City of David, which would have allowed David such a vantage point over other courtyards in the city, though there were walls around it, allowing Bathsheva's mikveh to be modest from a street-level view. His palace would have been the highest structure in the city before the Temple was built.
Y'rikho
