Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Samuel 14:18
Then the king answered and said unto the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, the thing that I shall ask thee. And the woman said, Let my lord the king now speak.
2-21. And Joab sent to Tekoah, andfetched thence a wise womanThe king was strongly attached toAbsalom; and having now got over his sorrow for the violent death ofAmnon, he was desirous of again enjoying the society of his favoriteson, who had now been three long years absent. But a dread of publicopinion and a regard to the public interests made him hesitate aboutrecalling or pardoning his guilty son; and Joab, whose discerningmind perceived this struggle between parental affection and royalduty, devised a plan for relieving the scruples, and, at the sametime, gratifying the wishes, of his master. Having procured acountrywoman of superior intelligence and address, he directed her toseek an audience of the king, and by soliciting his royalinterposition in the settlement of a domestic grievance, convincedhim that the life of a murderer might in some cases be saved. Tekoahwas about twelve miles south of Jerusalem, and six south ofBeth-lehem; and the design of bringing a woman from such a distancewas to prevent either the petitioner being known, or the truth of herstory easily investigated. Her speech was in the form of aparablethe circumstancesthe languagethe mannerwell suitedto the occasion, represented a case as like David’s as it was policyto make it, so as not to be prematurely discovered. Having got theking pledged, she avowed it to be her design to satisfy the royalconscience, that in pardoning Absalom he was doing nothing more thanhe would have done in the case of a stranger, where there could be noimputation of partiality. The device succeeded; David traced itsorigin to Joab; and, secretly pleased at obtaining the judgment ofthat rough, but generally sound-thinking soldier, he commissioned himto repair to Geshur and bring home his exiled son.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Then the king answered and said unto the woman,…. Understanding plainly what she meant by all this, that the case she brought was a feigned one, and that the intention of it was to let him know the sense of the people with respect to Absalom, and the recall of him:
hide not from me, I pray thee, the thing that I shall ask thee; he suspected that this was not a scheme of her own, but some considerable person had formed it, and made use of her to execute it, which was what he desired to know:
and the woman said, let my lord the king now speak; ask what question he pleases, I am ready to answer.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(18) Then the king answered and said unto the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, the thing that I shall ask thee. And the woman said, Let my lord the king now speak. (19) And the king said, Is not the hand of Joab with thee in all this? And the woman answered and said, As thy soul liveth, my lord the king, none can turn to the right hand or to the left from ought that my lord the king hath spoken: for thy servant Joab, he bade me, and he put all these words in the mouth of thine handmaid: (20) To fetch about this form of speech hath thy servant Joab done this thing: and my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all things that are in the earth.
If David could discern under all coverings, and all disguise, think how open must be all the thoughts and imaginations of our hearts to his view, with whom we have to do! Hos 4:12-13 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
2Sa 14:18 Then the king answered and said unto the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, the thing that I shall ask thee. And the woman said, Let my lord the king now speak.
Ver. 18. Then the king answered and said. ] Hitherto he had with great delight hearkened to her silken words: and now as smelling a plot, he desires therein to be satisfied. Neither was she to seek of an answer, but comes off truly and trimly, extolling the king’s singular sagacity.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Restored Though Unrepentant
2Sa 14:18-33
Joab knew perfectly that David was well pleased to recall Absalom, in response, as it appeared, to the request of the most powerful of his subjects. But Joab was equally satisfied that Absalom was now in a position to execute plans for personal advancement. His refusal to meet Absalom was perhaps only a blind. David, at least, was bitterly to rue his weakness in restoring his wayward son without the latters penitence.
Absaloms behavior was based in the extreme. Beauty of body and deformity of soul often coexist in the same individual. A flower-covered grave may hide gross corruption. See in his case an illustration of what would happen if sin could be forgiven apart from repentance and regeneration. Justification without sanctification would turn heaven into hell. There must be deep soul-work, if we are to come forth into the light of the love of God. The barley-field, set on fire to bring about this meeting between Absalom and Joab, suggests how often God has to fire our choice possessions, that, as the flame flares up to heaven, we may be induced to seek the presence of Him whom we have deeply wronged.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
Hide not: 1Sa 3:17, 1Sa 3:18, Jer 38:14, Jer 38:25
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2Sa 14:18-19. The king said, Hide not from me, &c. Observing the uncommon art and dexterity of her address in the management of this affair, the king immediately began to suspect it was a thing concerted between her and Joab, and asked, Is not the hand of Joab with thee in all this? Hast thou not said and done all this by his direction? The woman said, None can turn, &c. That is, it is even so: thou hast discovered the truth: and I will not seek by any turnings or windings, this way, or the other, to dissemble the matter, but will plainly confess it. He put these words into the mouth of thy handmaid As to the sense and substance of them, but not as to all the expressions, for these were evidently varied as the kings answer gave occasion.