18<\/strong>. the king’s dale<\/em> ] In Gen 14:17<\/span> “the king’s dale” is given as an alternative name for “the valley of Shaveh” in which the king of Sodom met Abram. But its situation is uncertain. Josephus ( Antiq.<\/em> VII. 10. 3) says that Absalom’s monument was two furlongs distant from Jerusalem, and in accordance with this statement the Tomb of Absalom is shewn in the valley of the Kidron. But this building is of Roman work; and it cannot even mark the site of Absalom’s monument, for the “king’s dale” was a broad open valley (Heb. mek<\/em>), not a narrow ravine like the Kidron (Heb. nachal<\/em>).<\/p>\n I have no son<\/em> ] His three sons (ch. 2Sa 14:27<\/span>) must have all died young.<\/p>\n Absalom’s place<\/em> ] Lit. Absalom’s hand<\/em>, i.e. monument. Cp. 1Sa 15:12<\/span>. The historian evidently intends to mark the contrast between this splendid cenotaph, and the heap of stones which marked the rebel’s grave in the forest of Ephraim.<\/p>\n The kings dale – <\/B>Anciently the valley of Shaveh (marginal reference), and apparently in the near neighborhood of Sodom; but the exact site is not known. It quite agrees with Absaloms preference for Hebron 2Sa 15:7<\/span>, that his monument should be reared by him in the south. If Absaloms monument be placed in the ravine of the Kedron, the kings dale here is a different place from the dale of Shaveh.<\/P> Absaloms place – <\/B>literally, Absaloms hand. (1Sa 15:12<\/span> note.)<\/P> <\/p>\n 2Sa 18:18<\/span><\/p>\n Now Absalom in his life-time had taken and reared up for himself a pillar.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n An infidel at the grave of Absalom<\/strong><\/p>\n Dr. Eremete Pierrotti, a French scientist, architect, and engineer, when an infidel, journeyed through Palestine with the avowed intention of disproving the truth of the Bible. Visiting the heap of stones over Absaloms grave, an Arab woman came by with her little child, which she held by the hand. In passing, she threw a stone upon the heap marking the tomb of Absalom, and bade the child do the same. What do you do that for? Because it was the grave of a wicked son who disobeyed his father. And who was he? The son of David, she replied. The professor started as if a blow had struck him. Here was an Arab woman, a Mahommedan, who probably had never seen a copy of the Scriptures, and could not read a word of them; yet she held these ancient facts, and was teaching her child to fling a stone at the monument called by the name of a son who rebelled against his father. Dr. Pierrotti, Bible in hand, turned to the story of Absalom, and as he read it a new light shone on him. This was the first of many convictions which so wrought upon him that at length he embraced the faith he once attempted to destroy, and devoted his life to the proof and illustration of the sacred Scriptures.<\/p>\n Monuments<\/strong><\/p>\n The man who deserves a monument never needs one, and the man who needs one never deserves it.<\/p>\n Verse 18<\/span>. Reared up for himself a pillar<\/B><\/I>] There was a marble pillar in the time of Josephus called Absalom’s pillar<\/I>: and there is one shown to the present day under this name; but it is comparatively a modern structure.<\/P> <\/P> Absalom’s place.<\/B><\/I>] Literally Absalom’s HAND<\/I>. 1Sa 15:12<\/span>.<\/P> <\/p>\n A pillar, <\/B>to preserve his name in memory; whereas it had been more for his honour if his name had been buried in perpetual oblivion. But this was the effect of his pride and vain-glory. <\/P> The kings dale; <\/B>a place near Jerusalem so called. Gen 14:17<\/span>. <\/P> He said, I have no son.<\/B> <\/P> Object.<\/B> He had three sons, 2Sa 14:27<\/span>. <\/P> Answ.<\/B> Either they were all now dead; or if one of them was left alive, he thought him unfit and unworthy to keep up his name and honour; or he erected this pillar before his sons were born. But the first opinion seems most probable; and it was a remarkable judgment of God, that he who struck at his fathers life, should be punished with the death of all his sons. <\/P> Absaloms place, <\/B>Heb. Absaloms hand<\/I>, i.e. his work, made though not by his hand, yet for him and his glory, and by his procurement. <\/P> <\/p>\n 18. Absalom in his lifetime hadreared up for himself a pillar<\/B>literally, “hand.” Inthe valley of Jehoshaphat, on the east of Jerusalem, is a tomb orcenotaph, said to be this “pillar” or monument: it istwenty-four feet square, dome-topped, and reaches forty feet inheight. This may occupy the spot, but cannot itself be the work ofAbsalom, as it evidently bears the style of a later architecture.<\/P><\/p>\n Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken<\/strong>,…. Had taken it into his head, had of himself devised it, as Kimchi explains it; he contrived the following scheme to perpetuate his memory:<\/p>\n and reared up for himself a pillar, which [is] in the king’s dale<\/strong>: or valley, the valley of Jehoshaphat; this pillar was of marble, as Josephus o says, and stood about two furlongs or a quater mile from Jerusalem. The author of Cippi Hebraici p places it at the bottom of the mount of Olives: this is observed to show how vain are the devices and contrivances of men’s hearts; Absalom intended to have been buried under or by this monumental pillar near Jerusalem, and, lo, he was buried in a pit, under an heap of stones, in a wood on the other side Jordan; whether his bones were ever removed hither it is not certain, though a notion has obtained that his grave was near this pillar. Rauwolff q says, that as you go from the valley of Jehoshaphat r to the Mount of Olives, you see below, towards your left hand, near unto the bridge of the river Kidron, an old square building like unto a steeple; this, although it is believed to this day, not only by Christians, but also by Turks and Moors, to be the grave of Absalom, as you shall see them fling stones into it as they go by, to revenge his unfaithfulness to his father, yet was he not buried there. Sandys s says, at the east end of the bridge (over Kidron), and a little on the north, stands the pillar of Absalom, being yet entire, and of a good fabric, rising in a lofty square, below adorned with half columns, wrought out of the sides and corners, of the Doric form; and then changing into a round, a good height higher doth grow to a point in fashion of a bell, all framed of the growing stone; against this there lies a great heap of stones, which increaseth daily, by Jews and Mahometans throwing stones as they pass by; so that the frontispiece of it, which faces the road, as Le Bruyn t says, looks like a mountain of stones; but as to the fabric itself, he says, there is not a finer piece of workmanship to be met with in all those parts; it takes up a compass of ground of eighty two feet and an half square; the body, which is square, with its moulding, is one entire piece; and the coping, which is an ornament to it, and runs up into a point, taken with the rest of the work, is above thirty feet high; twenty columns, cut out of the same rock, add to the beauty of this pile; one sees through a broken window a great many pieces of antiquity that hang up in a chamber. Adrichomius also relates u, from travellers, that in the king’s valley is now a tower, and a large heap of stones, which is increased every day more and more; for Heathens and strangers passing by there have a custom to cast everyone a stone at it, as it were revenging, according to the law, Absalom’s rebellion against David his father, and curse him after this manner; let Absalom the parricide be cursed, and whoever unrighteously persecutes their parents are cursed for ever:<\/p>\n for he said, I have no son to keep my name in remembrance<\/strong>; for though he had three sons, it seems they were all dead, see 2Sa 14:27<\/span>;<\/p>\n and he called the pillar after his own name, and it is called unto this day Absalom’s place<\/strong>; or his “hand” w, the work of his hand; some wrongly think it was in the form of an hand; it was an obelisk, or monument, erected to preserve his name; but since it became so infamous, it would have been better to have had it buried in oblivion. Such sepulchral monuments were used in other nations; so Minerva advised Telemachus x to go in quest of his father Ulysses, and if he could not find him, but was assured of his death, then to raise a signal or monument in memory of him, which he resolved to do.<\/p>\n o Antiqu l. 7. c. 10. sect. 3. p P. 26. Ed. Hotting. q Travels, part 3. c. 21. p. 310, 311. Ed. Ray. r So Benjamin. Itinerar. p. 43. s Travels, l. 3. p. 147. Ed. 5. t Voyage to the Levant, c. 48. p. 188. u Theatrum Terrae Sanet. p 174. w , Sept. “manus”, V. L. Montanus. x Homer. Odyss. 1. ver. 297. Odyss. 2. ver. 243.<\/p>\n Absalom had erected a monument to himself in the king’s valley during his lifetime; “for he said, I have no son to preserve the remembrance of my name, and he called the monument by his own name; and so it was called hand (memorial) of Absalom unto this day.” The before is apparently pleonastic; but it belongs to the diffuse and circumstantial character of the antiquated Hebrew diction (as in Num 16:1<\/span>). , a memorial of stone; whether in the form of a column, or an obelisk, or a monolith, cannot be determined (vid., Gen 28:22<\/span>; Gen 31:52<\/span>). The king’s valley, which received its name from the event narrated in Gen 14:17<\/span>, was two stadia from Jerusalem according to Josephus ( Ant<\/em>. vii. 10, 3), and therefore not “close to the Dead Sea,” or in regione transjordanensi <\/em> (Ges .<\/em> Thes<\/em>. pp. 1045, 1377), or “in the Jordan valley in Ephraim” (Tuch and Winer). It was on the eastern side of Jerusalem, in the Kidron valley; though Absalom’s pillar, which ecclesiastical tradition has transferred thither, a monument about forty feet in height and pointed like a pyramid, is not of early Hebrew, but of Grecian origin. On the words “I have no son,” see at 2Sa 14:27<\/span>. <\/p>\n (18) The kings dale.<\/strong>Called also in Gen. 14:17<\/span> the valley of Shaveh. Its site has not been identified, and writers differ as to whether it was near Jerusalem, in the valley of the Kidron, which seems probable, or was near the site of Sodom. On Absaloms statement that he had no son, see note on 14:27.<\/p>\n 18<\/strong>. <\/strong> Came to a man’s house in Bahurim <\/strong> They found they were pursued, and even in the village of the hostile Shimei (chap. 2Sa 16:5<\/span>) they obtained a shelter. This man, in whose court they were concealed, was probably some old acquaintance and friend.<\/p>\n 18<\/strong>. <\/strong> A pillar <\/strong> A monumental column inscribed with his own name. <\/p>\n King’s dale <\/strong> Supposed by some to be the lower part of the Kidron valley, near the pool of Siloam. See at Gen 14:17<\/span>. <\/p>\n No son <\/strong> The three sons mentioned (2Sa 14:27<\/span>) seem to have died in childhood, and their names were never registered. <\/p>\n Called unto this day, Absalom’s place <\/strong> That is, at the time of the writer the pillar was yet standing and its history known. There still stands in the Kidron valley a monument bearing this name. It is an isolated block hewn out of the rocky ledge, twenty-four feet square and forty in height. Most travellers have decided, with Robinson, that its style of architecture shows the work of a later age than that of Absalom; but some are inclined to identify it with the ancient pillar.<\/p>\n The Tidings Of Victory, And Of The Death Of Absalom, Reach David Who Falls Into A Fit Of Mourning ( 2Sa 18:18-33<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> ). <\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n This passage is placed within an inclusio which commences with Absalom having built a pillar for himself in order to preserve his name, and ends with David mourning the death of His son, and repeating his name three times (a complete number of time). He needed no pillar to remind him of his son. <\/p>\n The passage as a whole describes the sending off and arrival of two messengers, the first bringing the news of victory and the second the news of Absalom’s death. Ahimaaz was forbidden by Joab to mention the death of Absalom, and as he had seemingly not seen it himself it was only hearsay for him anyway. Thus he was justified in simply describing the victory and the general tumult that there had been around Absalom. The Cushite may well actually have witnessed Absalom’s death, but he was in no danger of death. We are not justified in assuming that all messengers who brought bad news to David were in danger of being killed. 1:15-16 and 4:10-11 were both very special cases, one where the messenger had falsely claimed to have slain YHWH’s anointed, and the other where the messengers had actually done so. The Cushite was simply carrying a message from Joab. <\/p>\n Analysis. <\/p>\n a <\/strong> Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself the pillar, which is in the king’s dale, for he said, “I have no son to keep my name in remembrance,” and he called the pillar after his own name, and it is called ‘Absalom’s monument’ to this day’ (2Sa 18:18<\/span>). <\/p>\n b <\/strong> Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said, “Let me now run, and bear the king tidings, how that YHWH has avenged him of his enemies”. And Joab said to him, “You will not be the bearer of tidings this day, but you will bear tidings another day. But this day you will bear no tidings, because the king’s son is dead” (2Sa 18:19-20<\/span>). <\/p>\n c <\/strong> Then Joab said to the Cushite, “Go, tell the king what you have seen.” And the Cushite bowed himself to Joab, and ran” (2Sa 18:21<\/span>). <\/p>\n d <\/strong> Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said yet again to Joab, “But come what may, let me, I pray you, also run after the Cushite.” And Joab said, “Why will you run, my son, seeing that you will have no reward for the tidings?” (2Sa 18:22<\/span>). <\/p>\n e <\/strong> “But come what may,” he said, “I will run.” And he said to him, “Run.” Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the Plain, and outran the Cushite (2Sa 18:23<\/span>). <\/p>\n f <\/strong> Now David was sitting between the two gates, and the watchman went up to the roof of the gate to the wall, and lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, a man running alone (2Sa 18:24<\/span>). <\/p>\n g <\/strong> And the watchman cried, and told the king. And the king said, “If he is alone, there is tidings in his mouth.” And he came quickly, and drew near (2Sa 18:25<\/span>). <\/p>\n f <\/strong> And the watchman saw another man running; and the watchman called to the porter, and said, “Look, another man running alone.” And the king said, “He also brings tidings.” ’ (2Sa 18:26<\/span>). <\/p>\n e <\/strong> And the watchman said, “I think the running of the foremost is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok.” And the king said, “He is a good man, and comes with good tidings” (2Sa 18:27<\/span>). <\/p>\n d <\/strong> And Ahimaaz called, and said to the king, “All is well.” And he bowed himself before the king with his face to the earth, and said, “Blessed be YHWH your God, who has delivered up the men who lifted up their hand against my lord the king.” And the king said, “Is it well with the young man Absalom?” And Ahimaaz answered, “When Joab sent the king’s servant, even me your servant, I saw a great tumult, but I knew not what it was.” And the king said, “Turn aside, and stand here.” And he turned aside, and stood still.’ (2Sa 18:28-30<\/span>). <\/p>\n c <\/strong> And, behold, the Cushite came, and the Cushite said, “Tidings for my lord the king, for YHWH has avenged you this day of all those who rose up against you” (2Sa 18:31<\/span>). <\/p>\n b <\/strong> And the king said to the Cushite, “Is it well with the young man Absalom?” And the Cushite answered, “The enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise up against you to do you hurt, be as that young man is” (2Sa 18:32<\/span>). <\/p>\n a <\/strong> And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept, and as he went, he said thus, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would I had died for you, O Absalom, my son, my son!” (2Sa 18:33<\/span>). <\/p>\n Note that in ‘a’ Absalom had built a monument so that his name would be remembered, and in the parallel the king remembered Absalom threefold. In ‘b’ Ahimaaz was forbidden to go because the king’s son was dead, and in the parallel the Cushite announces the death of the king’s son. In ‘c’ the Cushite is sent with tidings of victory and in the parallel he arrives with the tidings. In ‘d’ Ahimaaz insists on running after the Cushite with the good tidings, and in the parallel he announces to the king the good tidings. In ‘e’ Ahimaaz outran the Cushite, and in the parallel the watchman saw two men running, the foremost of whom was Ahimaaz. In ‘f’ the watchman announces that he had seen a man running alone, and in the parallel he announces that he has seen another man running alone. Centrally in ‘g’ the messenger draws near to the king with his tidings. <\/p>\n 2Sa 18:18<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ‘<\/strong> Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself the pillar, which is in the king’s dale, for he said, “I have no son to keep my name in remembrance,” and he called the pillar after his own name, and it is called ‘Absalom’s monument’ to this day.’ <\/p>\n The thought in this verse was suggested by the pile of stones erected over Absalom’s body in the previous verse, with the thought that his inglorious end was far different from the glorious end that he had expected, but it undoubtedly also forms an inclusio with David’s threefold act of bewailing the death of his son in 2Sa 18:33<\/span>. For there the king three times commemorates the name of Absalom. He would certainly be remembered, but not honourably. <\/p>\n The raising of memorial pillars and obelisks was a regular custom with ancient kings, for they pandered to their vanity. They longed to be remembered. It is thus being made clear that, unlike David, but like Saul, Absalom had been a king ‘like all the nations’ (see 1Sa 9:5<\/span>), and had died in the same way. The pillar was raised by Absalom in order to perpetuate his memory after his death, because sadly he had no sons to carry on his name. Clearly his three sons had died in infancy (a not uncommon occurrence in those days), which explains why 2Sa 14:27<\/span> names Absalom’s daughters but not his sons. Thus at this stage he was sonless. <\/p>\n The king’s dale, or valley, is probably the one mentioned in Gen 14:17<\/span> which was not far from Jerusalem, (although it is not certain and others have suggested differed identifications). It has been identified with the Kidron Valley. The monument was still known in the writer’s day (‘to this day’). There is there today a monument called Absalom’s pillar but it is of Hellenistic construction from around 1st century and therefore not the genuine Absalom’s pillar. <\/p>\n 2Sa 18:19<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ‘<\/strong> Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said, “Let me now run, and bear the king tidings, how that YHWH has avenged him of his enemies.” ’ <\/p>\n Along with his brother Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok the high priest, had constantly been David’s messenger, running between Jerusalem and David with the news of what was happening, and nearly being caught in the process (2Sa 15:36<\/span>; 2Sa 17:17-21<\/span>). He may well have seen himself as ‘the king’s messenger’. So now he asked Joab’s permission to run to the king with the tidings of how YHWH had avenged him on his enemies. Very often a messenger who brought good news was rewarded for his efforts. <\/p>\n 2Sa 18:20<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ‘<\/strong> And Joab said to him, “You will not be the bearer of tidings this day, but you will bear tidings another day. But this day you will bear no tidings, because the king’s son is dead.” ’ <\/p>\n But Joab demurred, pointing out that the news that had to be taken was not all good, because the king’s son was dead. It would be better to leave it to someone else. No one quite knew how the king would respond. <\/p>\n 2Sa 18:21<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ‘<\/strong> Then Joab said to the Cushite, “Go, tell the king what you have seen.” And the Cushite bowed himself to Joab, and ran.” ’ <\/p>\n So instead Joab called on a Cushite, of North African descent, to take the news to David. (There is no reason at all for thinking that Joab considered that his life might be in danger, otherwise he would no doubt have instructed the messenger on how he should present the news. He had presumably had no part in the killing of Absalom). The Cushite politely bowed, and then ran off to convey the news. It would appear that he took the direct route through the forest. <\/p>\n 2Sa 18:22<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ‘<\/strong> Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said yet again to Joab, “But come what may, let me, I pray you, also run after the Cushite.” And Joab said, “Why will you run, my son, seeing that you will have no reward for the tidings?” ’ <\/p>\n But Ahimaaz was persistent. He wanted to be the first to take the good news of the victory to David. So he asked permission to run after the Cushite. Joab, however, pointed out in a fatherly way that there would be no reward for the one who took to the king the tidings of his son’s death. <\/p>\n 2Sa 18:23<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n “<\/strong> But come what may,” he said, “I will run.” And he said to him, “Run.” Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the Plain, and outran the Cushite.’ <\/p>\n Ahimaaz was still persistent in spite of Joab’s arguments, and in the end Joab gave his permission. He was probably confident that the Cushite, who was no doubt noted for being a swift messenger, would now arrive first. But what he had not reckoned on was that Ahimaaz knew his way around, and instead of attempting to make his way through the tangle of the forest, ran along the Jordan rift valley (the plain of Jordan) and then up the canyon of the River Jabbok which enabled him to make easier progress. The result was that he outran the Cushite. <\/p>\n 2Sa 18:24<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ‘<\/strong> Now David was sitting between the two gates, and the watchman went up to the roof of the gate to the wall, and lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, a man running alone.’ <\/p>\n David was meanwhile eagerly awaiting news of the outcome of the battle, and especially of the safety of his son, and was therefore sitting in the courtyard of the gate-tower to which any news would inevitably first come, and from there he sent a watchman to the wall on the roof of the gate-tower to report anything that he saw. The watchman stood there constantly surveying the horizon and after a while he spotted a man on his own, running towards the city. <\/p>\n 2Sa 18:25<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ‘<\/strong> And the watchman cried, and told the king. And the king said, “If he is alone, there is tidings in his mouth.” And he came quickly, and drew near.’ <\/p>\n So the watchman shouted the news down to the king about the running man, and the king declared, ‘If he is alone it must be because he brings news of what has happened’. The runner meanwhile continued to make speedy progress towards Mahanaim. <\/p>\n It should be noted that from here to 19:11 David is simply spoken of as ‘the king’ (over twenty times) without mention of his name. This was possibly in order to emphasise that it was David who was the true and sole king of Israel. <\/p>\n 2Sa 18:26<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ‘<\/strong> And the watchman saw another man running; and the watchman called to the porter, and said, “Look, another man running alone.” And the king said, “He also brings tidings.” ’ <\/p>\n The watchman then spotted another runner some way behind the first one. And he called to the gate-keeper, who informed the king. The king’s response was, ‘he must also be bringing tidings’. <\/p>\n 2Sa 18:27<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ‘<\/strong> And the watchman said, “I think the running of the foremost is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok.” And the king said, “He is a good man, and comes with good tidings.” ’ <\/p>\n As the first runner drew closer the watchman recognised him from his method of running, and called down to the king that it looked as though it must be Ahimaaz. That gladdened David’s heart because he knew Ahimaaz for a good man, and he realised that a messenger like Ahimaaz would only have been sent by Joab with good news. <\/p>\n 2Sa 18:28<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ‘<\/strong> And Ahimaaz called, and said to the king, “All is well.” And he bowed himself before the king with his face to the earth, and said, “Blessed be YHWH your God, who has delivered up the men who lifted up their hand against my lord the king.” ’ <\/p>\n The king then presumably went to the outer gate in readiness to receive the messenger, and when Ahimaaz saw him he called out, “All is well”. And once he had reached the gate he bowed low to the king and informed him that YHWH had given him victory. Those who had rebelled against him had been suitably dealt with by YHWH his God. <\/p>\n 2Sa 18:29<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ‘<\/strong> And the king said, “Is it well with the young man Absalom?” And Ahimaaz answered, “When Joab sent the king’s servant, even me your servant, I saw a great tumult, but I knew not what it was.” ’ <\/p>\n The king then put the question that was tearing at his heart. “Is it well with the young man Absalom?” Having been forbidden by Joab to inform the king of what had happened to Absalom, and not having seen it for himself, Ahimaaz prevaricated and declared that he had seen a great tumult but had not known what it was. We must remember that he was acting under military orders. His mission had only been to declare the victory, not to report on hearsay. <\/p>\n 2Sa 18:30<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ‘<\/strong> And the king said, “Turn aside, and stand here.” And he turned aside, and stood still.’ <\/p>\n The king then told him to stand by him while the second messenger arrived, which he accordingly obediently did. <\/p>\n 2Sa 18:31<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ‘<\/strong> And, behold, the Cushite came, and the Cushite said, “Tidings for my lord the king, for YHWH has avenged you this day of all those who rose up against you.”’ <\/p>\n The Cushite then ran up and cried out, “Tidings for my lord the king, for YHWH has avenged you this day of all those who rose up against you.” He may well not have been aware that Ahimaaz had already brought the good news. They may well have come in different directions. <\/p>\n 2Sa 18:32<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ‘<\/strong> And the king said to the Cushite, “Is it well with the young man Absalom?” And the Cushite answered, “The enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise up against you to do you hurt, be as that young man is.” ’ <\/p>\n The king then asked the question that was eating at his heart. “Is it well with the young man Absalom?” The Cushite replied discreetly, reminding the king that Absalom had been his enemy and had risen up to do him hurt. He had probably been well coached by Joab. Then indirectly he indicated that Absalom was indeed dead, along with his other enemies. It is presumably deliberate that the messenger of grief is identified by his origin rather than his name, as with the Amalekite who had brought the news of the deaths of Saul and Jonathan. Messengers who bring bad news concerning death in battle are always anonymous. (Some, however, consider that the word Cushi indicated the messenger’s name rather than his nationality). <\/p>\n 2Sa 18:33<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ‘<\/strong> And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept, and as he went, he said thus, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would I had died for you, O Absalom, my son, my son!” ’ <\/p>\n The king was deeply upset by the news and went up to a room in the gate-tower, weeping as he went and crying out “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died for you, O Absalom, my son, my son!” <\/p>\n The heart-rending words were a reminder of a father’s love for his son. They were fairly similar in intent to his words when he heard of the death of Saul and Jonathan and issued his lament. There too he had mourned and wept (2Sa 1:11-12<\/span>; 2Sa 1:17-27<\/span>) and cried out in his distress. But it is worth noting that he published no lament here. That would have been too much of an insult to his people. The threefold mention of his son’s name emphasises the completeness and depth of his grief. It was a better memorial of Absalom than any monument could ever be. <\/p>\n We can probably, however, see in this depth of grief for a treacherous son David’s own stark awareness of why it had happened. He was being made to face up to the fact that it was because of his own great sins that Absalom was dead. Because of those sins YHWH had not allowed Absalom to live, any more than He had allowed the infant son born to Bathsheba, or Amnon, to live. Here was a further fulfilment of YHWH’s words through Nathan, ‘now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house’ (2Sa 12:10<\/span>). While already forgiven David was reaping the consequences of his own sins. <\/p>\n 2Sa 18:18<\/span><\/em><\/strong>. <\/strong>Now Absalom in his life time hadreareda pillar<\/em><\/strong><\/strong> The sacred writer mentions this particular, not only to shew the vanity of Absalom, but, we may reasonably conclude, still further to shew the vanity of human life in general. Absalom having lost his sons, (ch. 2Sa 14:27<\/span>.) and being desirous to perpetuate his memory, had erected a pillar, which, no doubt, he designed as a mausoleum or burying-place, and which we may reasonably conclude was equally magnificent with the ambition of him who reared it. But see how short-sighted are mortals! This same Absalom, so far from being buried in this proud monument which he had erected, was killed and buried like a traitor, thrown into a pit, and a great heap of stones laid upon him. The king’s dale <\/em>(mentioned also in Gen 14:17<\/span>.) was near Jerusalem; and to this day there is a monument shewn to travellers, called Absalom’s pillar; <\/em>but it is evidently of modern structure. In the time of Josephus, it was nothing more than a single marble pillar. See Doughty, Analect. p. 1. Exerc. 96: <\/p>\n REFLECTIONS.<\/strong>We have here Absalom among the fugitives, no longer exulting in confidence of success, but seeking by flight to escape the devouring sword. Divine vengeance, however, suffereth him not to live; for, though David’s servants, whom he met, offered not to molest him, and his swift beast would quickly carry him out of danger; yet, <\/p>\n 1. He is arrested in his flight by the thick boughs of an oak, under which he furiously drove; and his flying locks caught hold of the branches, whilst his mule, on full speed, left him thus hanging. Note; <\/em>(1.) They who fly from God’s arm only rush into the toil. (2.) If his hair was his halter, we see that what was his pride proved at last his shame. (3.) Let disobedient children look to this rebellious son, and tremble at God’s vengeance. <\/p>\n 2. Joab is informed of the accident, and chides the messenger for not immediately dispatching Absalom; but the man pleads the king’s commandment, which, for a thousand shekels, he would not transgress. Joab does not controvert the man’s assertion, but, in haste to be gone, inquires the place, and takes his attendants with him; there, beholding the fair mark exposed, with three darts he strikes him through his heart, as he was yet alive, though hung; and, to make sure work, his ten attendants pierce him with many a mortal wound, and leave him dead on the spot. Note; <\/em>Many find fault with others for not doing that, for which, had they done it, they would have been the first to condemn them. <\/p>\n 3. The arch-rebel being dispatched, a retreat is sounded, as the rest would return to their allegiance; and enough of blood had been spilt, so that there needed no prisoners to be executed. Note; <\/em>In rebellion, severity must be tempered with clemency; every subject that bleeds is a loss to the state itself. <\/p>\n 4. Absalom’s body is cast into a pit, and covered with a heap of stones, disgraced even in the dust; and thus terminates his aspiring course in the deepest ignominy. Alas! he had erected near Jerusalem a noble sepulchral monument to perpetuate his memory! Note; <\/em>(1.) To be solicitous about a tomb for our bodies, while we are living in neglect of our souls, is the height of folly. (2.) To perpetuate the remembrance of a great wicked name, is only to perpetuate infamy. (3.) Of all characters, a disobedient child is among the most abhorred. <\/p>\n 2Sa 18:18 Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself a pillar, which [is] in the king’s dale: for he said, I have no son to keep my name in remembrance: and he called the pillar after his own name: and it is called unto this day, Absalom’s place.<\/p>\n Ver. 18. Had reared up for himself a pillar.<\/strong> ] A pyramis,<\/em> a triumphal arch, or rather a sepulchral monument; to make him a name, which yet would not be. God crossed him in his pride: for it proved a , as the Greeks call it; and he as a dead beast was cast out of the way. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n Which is in the king’s dale.] As hoping one day to be a king amongst them: and pity but he had been served as that false Earl of Athol was, who, having murdered James, king of Scots, in hope to attain the crown, as his witches had promised him, was indeed crowned, but it was with a crown of red-hot iron clapped upon his head; being one of the tortures wherewith he ended at once his wicked days and desires. a<\/em> <\/p>\n <\/p>\n For he said, I have no son.<\/strong> ] His sons all died similiarily, after he came from Geshur. God would not allow him to live in his children, who had so wicked a heart toward his father. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n And he called the pillar after his own name.<\/strong> ] But took no care at all whether his name were “written in the Book of life.” See Trapp on “<\/em> Jdg 9:54 “<\/em> Erasmus telleth us of some of his time who being at last gasp, would give a great sum of money for a cardinal’s hat, that they might have the title of cardinals engraven upon their tombs. <\/p>\n<\/p>\nFuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n