Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Samuel 14:13
And the woman said, Wherefore then hast thou thought such a thing against the people of God? for the king doth speak this thing as one which is faulty, in that the king doth not fetch home again his banished.
13. Wherefore then, &c.] David’s resolution to keep Absalom in exile was an injury to the people of God, for he was the heir to the throne.
for the king, &c.] Better, and by the king’s speaking this word he is as one guilty. The promise of protection to her son was a condemnation of his own conduct towards Absalom. He had acknowledged the possibility of an exception to the general rule of punishment for murder, but he had not extended this exception to his own son, in spite of the strongest reasons for so doing.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 13. Wherefore then hast thou thought such a thing] The woman, having now got the king’s promise confirmed by all oath, that her son should not suffer for the murder of his brother, comes immediately to her conclusion: Is not the king to blame? Does he now act a consistent part? He is willing to pardon the meanest of his subjects the murder of a brother at the instance of a poor widow, and he is not willing to pardon his son Absalom, whose restoration to favour is the desire of the whole nation. Is that clemency to be refused to the king’s son, the hope of the nation and heir to the throne, which is shown to a private individual, whose death or life can only be of consequence to one family? Why, therefore, dost thou not bring back thy banished child?
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
If thou wouldst not permit the avengers of blood to molest me, or to destroy my son, who are but two persons; how unreasonable is it that thou shouldst proceed in thy endeavours to avenge Amnons blood upon Absalom, whose death would be highly injurious and grievous to the whole commonwealth of Israel, all whose eyes are upon him as the heir of the crown, and a wise, and valiant, and amiable person, unhappy only in this one act of killing Amnon, which was done upon a high and heinous provocation, and whereof thou thyself didst give the occasion, by permitting Amnon to go unpunished!
The king doth speak this thing as one which is faulty; by thy word, and promise, and oath given to me for thy son, thou condemnest thyself for not allowing the same equity towards thy own son.
His banished, to wit, Absalom, from that heathenish country, where he is in evident danger of being infected with their idolatry and other vices; which is likely to be a great and public mischief to all thy people, if he come to reign in thy stead, which he is very likely to do. It is true, there was a considerable disparity between her sons and Absaloms case, the one being a rash and sudden action, the other a deliberate and premeditated murder; but that may seem to be balanced in some measure, partly by Amnons great and lasting provocation, and principally by the vast difference between a private injury, which was her case, and in a public calamity and grievance, which she affirmed, and the king easily believed, was Absaloms case: and what David said in the case of Joabs murder of Abner, that he could not revenge it, because the sons of Zeruiah were too hard for him, 2Sa 3:39; the like peradventure might have been said in this case, where the peoples hearts may seem to have been universally and vehemently set upon Absalom, and the rather, because his long banishment moved their pity, and his absence made him more desirable, as it frequently happens among people; and therefore it might really be out of the kings power to punish him; and so he might seem to be obliged to spare him for the common safety of his whole kingdom.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
13-17. Wherefore then hast thouthought such a thing against the people of God, c.Her argumentmay be made clear in the following paraphrase:You have granted methe pardon of a son who had slain his brother, and yet you will notgrant to your subjects the restoration of Absalom, whose criminalityis not greater than my son’s, since he killed his brother in similarcircumstances of provocation. Absalom has reason to complain that heis treated by his own father more sternly and severely than themeanest subject in the realm and the whole nation will have cause forsaying that the king shows more attention to the petition of a humblewoman than to the wishes and desires of a whole kingdom. The death ofmy son is a private loss to my family, while the preservation ofAbsalom is the common interest of all Israel, who now look to him asyour successor on the throne.
2Sa14:22-33. JOAB BRINGSABSALOM TO JERUSALEM.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Wherefore then hast thou thought such a thing against the people of God?…. That they would be so wicked as to slay my son, or that they are the people of God that would slay Absalom; people so cruel could not be reckoned such, as the king’s sons; so Abarbinel; who gives it as the sense of Ephodaeus, that by the people of God are meant Absalom, and his men; or Absalom only, one man being sometimes called people, Ex 21:8; and she expostulates with the king how he could entertain such a thought, as to seek to take away his life, when he had so fully expressed himself in her case on behalf of her son, who had slain his brother; or rather the meaning is, why he should think of doing such a thing as this, so contrary to the will of the people of Israel, the people of God, who would be greatly offended and grieved at it; so contrary to their wishes, which were to see him fetched back from an Heathenish court and country, where he was in danger of being corrupted, and to be restored to his father’s favour and to his country, that he might be upon the spot at his death, to succeed in the throne and kingdom; for the provocation that Absalom had to kill Amnon had greatly lessened the evil in the esteem of the people:
for the king doth speak this thing as one which is faulty: he contradicts and condemns himself, in swearing that her son who had killed his brother should not die, nor an hair of his head be hurt, but should be in the utmost safety; and yet he sought to put his own son to death for a like crime, as the next clause explains it:
in that the king doth not fetch home again his banished; meaning Absalom, who was in a foreign country, an exile, 2Sa 13:34, and in danger of falling into idolatry; not daring to come home, lest his father should order him to be put to death; and which he might justly fear he would, should he return without leave, since he sought not by any means to fetch him back.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(13) Against the people of God.This phrase, according to constant usage, can only mean Israel. The woman finds that the time has come when she must show the king that he stands condemned for his conduct towards Absalom by his own decision. She does this cautiously, and her language is therefore somewhat obscure; she rather hints at than plainly expresses what she wants to say. Her first point is that the king is in some way wronging the people, and then that he does this in opposition to the spirit of the decision he has just given, by leaving Absalom (whom she does not name) in banishment.
The king doth speak . . .A more literal translation would be, from the kings speaking this word he is as one guilty.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
13. His banished The exiled Absalom. Here the woman skilfully insinuates her ulterior object in this visit to the king. In this he sees the hand of Joab. 2Sa 14:19.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
2Sa 14:13 And the woman said, Wherefore then hast thou thought such a thing against the people of God? for the king doth speak this thing as one which is faulty, in that the king doth not fetch home again his banished.
Ver. 13. Wherefore then hast thou thought such a thing? ] Here is the reddition; an application of the parable which now she brings home to David’s self, making intercession for Absalom by many arguments; but briefly and darkly, quippe perita cure perito: and first she thus reasoneth here: Whereas thou, O king, dislikest the proceeding of my kindred against my son; why art thou so severe and stern against Absalom, upon whom are set the eyes of all the people, as upon their coal and thy successor?
For the king doth speak this thing,
As one which is faulty,
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Wherefore: 2Sa 12:7, 1Ki 20:40-42, Luk 7:42-44
people: 2Sa 7:8, Jdg 20:2
in that the king: 2Sa 13:37, 2Sa 13:38
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
14:13 And the woman said, Wherefore then hast thou {g} thought such a thing against the people of God? for the king doth speak this thing as one which is faulty, in that the king doth not fetch home again his banished.
(g) Why do you give contrary sentence to your son Absalom?