ABSALOM
Only son of David by Maacah, 2Sa 3:3. He was remarkable for his beauty and for his fine head of hair, 2Sa 14:25, which being cut from time to time when it incommoded him, used to weigh 200 shekels by the king’s standard, that is, probable about thirty ounces, an extraordinary, but not incredible weight. Ammon, another of the king’s sons, having violated his sister Tamar, Absalom caused him to be slain, and then fled to Geshur, where Talmai his grandfather was king. After three years, at the intercession of Joab, David permitted him to return to Jerusalem, and at length received him again into favor, 2Sa 14:1-33. Absalom, however, grossly abused his father’s kindness; he soon began to play the demagogue, and by many artful devices “stole the hearts of the people,” and got himself proclaimed king in Hebron. David retired from Jerusalem; Absalom followed him; and in the battle, which ensued, the troops of the latter were defeated, and he himself, being caught by his head in a tree, was found and slain by Joab. David was much affected by his death, and uttered bitter lamentations over him, 2Sa 18:33.
His history affords instructive lessons to the young against the sins to which they are prone, particularly vanity, ambition, lawless passions, and filial disobedience.
Fuente: American Tract Society Bible Dictionary
Absalom
(Hebrew: father of peace)
Beloved son of David, renowned for personal beauty (2 Kings, 13-18). To avenge his sister’s dishonor he killed his elder stepbrother, Amnon. Ambitious to attain the throne, he afterwards plotted against David; pursued by the royal forces, he was caught by his hair to the branches of a tree and there slain. David was inconsolable when he heard of his death.
Fuente: New Catholic Dictionary
Absalom
(Abhshalom in Hebrew; Abessalom, Apsalomos in Greek).
The name of several distinguished persons mentioned in the Old Testament (Kings, Par., Mach.), interpreted “The Father of Peace.”
(1) Absalom, Son of David
He is third in the order mentioned by the chronicler (2 Samuel 3:2, 3) of the sons born at Hebron during the first turbulent years of David’s reign over Judah, when Isboseth, son of Saul, still claimed by right of inheritance to rule over Israel. His mother was Maacha, daughter of Tholmai, King of Gessur. The sacred writer who sketches for us the career of Absalom (2 Samuel 13-18) lays stress upon the faultless beauty of the youth’s appearance, and mentions in particular the luxurious wealth of his hair, which, when shorn, weighed over ten ounces. The significance of this latter note becomes apparent when we remember the important part which the culture of the hair played in the devotions of the Eastern people (note even at this day the ceremonial prayers of the Dervishes). As shaving the head was a sign of mourning, so offering a comely growth of hair to the priest was a token of personal sacrifice akin to the annual offering of the first fruits in the sanctuary. Probably the chronicler had also in mind that it was this gift of nature which became the occasion of Absalom’s fatal death. To a pleasing exterior the youth Absalom joined a temperament which, whilst fond of display, was nevertheless reserved, bold, and thoughtful. These qualifications were calculated to nourish a natural desire to be one day the representative of that magnificent power created by his father, from the prospective enjoyment of which his minority of birth alone seemed to debar him. Despite his ambition, there appears to have been in the youth that generous instinct of honour which inspires noble impulses where these do not clash with the more inviting prospects of self-interest. Under such circumstances it is not strange that Absalom, idolized by those around him, whilst his natural sense of gratitude and filial duty became gradually dulled, was led to cultivate that species of egotism which grows cruel in proportion as it counts upon the blind affection of its friends.
There were other causes which alienated Absalom from his father. David’s eldest son, Amnon, born of a Jezrahelite mother, and prospective heir to the throne by reason of his seniority, had conceived a violent passion for Thamar, Absalom’s beautiful sister. Unable to control his affection, yet prevented from gaining access to her by the conventionalities of the royal court, which separated the King’s wives and kept Thamar in her mother’s household, Amnon, on the advice of his cousin Jonadab, feigns illness, and upon being visited by the King, his father, requests that Thamar be permitted to nurse him. It was thus that Amnon found opportunity to wrong the innocence of his stepsister. Having injured the object of his passion, he forthwith begins to hate her, and sends from him the aggrieved maiden, who must be to him a constant reminder of his wrongdoing. Thamar, departing in the bitterness of her sorrow, is met by Absalom, who forces from her the secret of Amnon’s violence to her. David is informed, but, apparently unwilling to let the disgrace of his prospective heir become public, fails to punish the crime. This gives Absalom the pretext for avenging his sister’s wrong, for which now not only Amnon, the heir to the throne, but also David appears responsible to him. He takes Thamar into his house and quietly but determinedly lays his plan. The sacred writer states that Absalom never spoke to Amnon, neither good words nor evil, but he hated him with a hatred unto death.
For two years Absalom thus carried his resentment in silence, when at length he found occasion to act openly. From the days of the patriarchs it had been customary among the shepherd princes of Israel to celebrate as a public festival of thanksgiving the annual sheep-shearing. The first clip of the flocks was ordained for the priests (Deuteronomy 18:4), and the sacredness of the feast made it difficult for any member of the tribal family to absent himself. The sacred writer does not state that there was in the mind of David a secret suspicion that Absalom meditated mischief, but to one whose in sight into past and future events was so clear as that of the Royal Seer, it might easily have occurred that there had been in the days of his forefather, Jacob, another Thamar (Genesis 38:6) who figured at a sheep-shearing, and who found means of avenging a similar wrong against herself, though in a less bloody way than that contemplated by Absalom on the present occasion. Although David excuses himself from attending the great sheep-shearing, he eventually yields to Absalom’s entreaty to send Amnon there to represent him. The festive reunion of the royal household takes place at Baalhasor, in a valley east of the road that leads to Sichem, near Ephraim. When the banquet is at its height, and Amnon has fairly given himself over to the pleasures of wine, he is suddenly overpowered by the trusted servants of Absalom, and slain. The rest of the company flee. Absalom himself escapes the inevitable anger of his father by seeking refuge in the home of his maternal grandfather at Gessur. Here he hopes to remain until, the grief of his father having died out, he might be forgiven and recalled to the royal court. But David does not relent so quickly. After three years of banishment, Absalom, through the intervention of Joab, David’s nephew and trusted general is allowed to return to the city, without, however, being permitted to enter the King’s presence. In this condition Absalom lives for two years, seeking all the while to regain through the instrumentality of Joab the favour of his father. Joab himself is reluctant to press the matter, until Absalom, by setting fire to the crops of his kinsman, forces Joab to come to him with a view of seeking redress for the injury. Absalom turns the opportunity of this altercation with Joab to good account by pleading his own neglected and humiliated condition: I would rather die ignominiously, he argues, than have this rancour of the King against me all the days of my life. As a result Absalom is received by the King.
Restored to his former princely dignity and the apparent confidence of his father, Absalom now enters upon that course of secret plotting to which his ambition and his opportunity seemed to urge him, and which has stamped his name as a synonym of unnatural revolt. By ingratiating himself in the good will of the people, and at the same time fostering discontent with the conditions of his father’s reign, he succeeds in preparing the minds of the disaffected for a general uprising. After four years [the Septuagint has “forty”, which is evidently a misreading, as appears from the Hebrew (Keri), Syriac, and Arabic versions] of energetic secret activity, Absalom asks leave of the King to repair to Hebron, that he might fulfil a self-imposed vow made while in captivity at Gessur. Preparations had already been consummated for a simultaneous uprising of the secret adherents of Absalom in different parts of the country, and emissaries were ready to proclaim the new king. Achitophel, one of David’s oldest counsellors, had joined the conspirators, and by his design a strong current was being directed against David. When, amid the sound of trumpets and the shouts of the military, the proclamation of the new king reaches David, he quickly assembles his trusted followers and flies towards Mount Olivet, hoping to cross the Jordan in time to escape the ambitious fury of his son. On the way he meets his faithful officer Chusai, whom he advises to join Absalom. “You will be of no use to me if you go with us. But if you join Absalom, and say to him: I am thy follower, O King, as once I was thy father’s, he will receive thee, and thou wilt have it in thy power to frustrate the designs of Achitophel who has betrayed me.” Chusai acts on the advice, and succeeds in gaining the confidence of Absalom. So skilfully does he play his role as adherent of the rebel party that his suggestion, pretending the uselessness of pursuing David, prevails against the urgent counsel of Achitophel, who urges Absalom to attack the King, lest he gain time to organize his bodyguard, lately strengthened by the accession of six hundred Gethaean soldiers. The event proves the accuracy of Achitophel’s foresight. David is secretly informed of Absalom’s delay, and forthwith sends his three generals, Joab, Abisai, and Ethai, to attack the rebel hosts from the eastern side of the hill. Shielded by a forest, David’s men proceed and meet Absalom’s unguarded forces on the edge of the woods which fringe the circular plain at a point marked by the present site (presumably) of Mukaah. A frightful slaughter ensues, and the disorganized rebel party is quickly routed. Absalom madly flies. Suddenly he finds himself stunned by a blow while his head is caught in the fork of the low hanging branches of a terebinth tree. At the same time his long loose hair becomes entangled in the thick foliage, whilst the frightened animal beneath him rushes on, leaving him suspended above the ground. Before he is able to extricate himself he is espied by one of the soldiers, who, mindful of the King’s words, “Spare me the life of Absalom”, directs Joab’s attention to the plight of the hapless youth. The old general, less scrupulous, and eager to rid his master of so dangerous a foe, thrice pierces the body of Absalom with his javelin. When the news of Absalom’s death is brought to David, he is inconsolable. “My son Absalom, Absalom my son: would to God that I might die for thee, Absalom my son, my son Absalom.” The sacred text states that Absalom was buried under a great heap of stones (2 Samuel 18:17) near the scene of his disaster. The traveller today is shown a tomb in Graeco-Jewish style, east of the Kidron, which is designated as the sepulchre of Absalom, but which is evidently of much later construction and probably belongs to one of the Jewish kings of the Asmonean period (Josephus, De Bello Jud., V, xii, 2). Absalom had three sons, who died before him. He left a daughter Maacha (Thamar), who was afterwards married to Roboam, son of Solomon (2 Chronicles 11:20), although there is some doubt as to the identity of this name mentioned in the Book of Kings and in Paralipomenon.
(2) Absalom, father of Mathathias
(1 Maccabees 11:70). Perhaps identical with Absalom, father of Jonathan (1 Maccabees 13:11).
(3) Absalom, father of Jonathan
One of the two ambassadors whom Judas Machabeus sent to Lysias, procurator of Antiochus (2 Maccabees 11:17), identical with the foregoing.
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H.J. HEUSER
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume ICopyright © 1907 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, March 1, 1907. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., CensorImprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York
Fuente: Catholic Encyclopedia
Absalom
(Heb. Abshalom’, , fully Abishalom’, , 1Ki 15:2; 1Ki 15:10, father of peace, i.e. peaceful; Sept. , Josephus, , Ant. 14, 4, 4), the name of three men.
1. The third son of David, and his only one (comp. 1Ki 1:6) by Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur (2Sa 3:3; 1Ch 3:2), born B.C. cir. 1050. He was particularly noted for his personal beauty, especially his profusion of hair, the inconvenient weight of which often (not necessarily every year, as in the Auth. Vers.) compelled him to cut it off, when it was found to weigh 200 shekels after the king’s weight an amount variously estimated from 112 ounces (Geddes) to 71 ounces (A. Clarke), and, at least, designating an extraordinary quantity (2Sa 14:25-26; see Journal de Trevoux. 1702, p. 176; Diedrichs, Ueb. d. Haare Absalom’s, Gott. 1776; Handb. d. A. T. p. 142 sq.; Bochart, Opp. 2, 384).
David’s other child by Maacah was a daughter named Tamar, who was also very beautiful. She became the object of lustful regard to her half- brother Amnon, David’s eldest son; and was violated by him, in pursuance of a plot suggested by the artful Jonadab (2Sa 13:1-20), B.C. cir. 1033. See AMNON. In all cases where polygamy is allowed we find that the honor of a sister is in the guardianship of her full brother, more even than in that of her father, whose interest in her is considered less peculiar and intimate (see Niebuhr, Beschr. p. 39). We trace this notion even in the time of Jacob (Gen 34:6; Gen 34:13; Gen 34:25 sq.). So in this case the wrong of Tamar was taken up by Absalom, who kept her secluded in his own house, and brooded silently over the injury he had sustained. It was not until two years had passed that Absalom found opportunity for the bloody revenge he had meditated, He then held a great sheep-shearing at Baal-hazoi near Ephraim, to which he invited all the king’s sons and, to lull suspicion, he also solicited the presence of his father. As he expected, David declined for himself, but allowed Amnon and the other princes to attend. They feasted together; and when they were warm with wine Amnon was set upon and slain by the servants of Absalom, according to the previous directions of their master. The others fled to Jerusalem, filling the king with grief and horror by the tidings which they brought. Absalom hastened to Geshur, and remained there three years with his grandfather, king Talmai (2Sa 13:23-38). SEE GESHUR.
Absalom, with all his faults, was eminently dear to his father. David mourned every day after the banished fratricide, whom a regard for public opinion and a just horror of his crime forbade him to recall. His secret wishes to have home his beloved though guilty son were, however, discerned by Joab, who employed a clever woman of Tekoah to lay a supposed case before him for judgment; and she applied the anticipated decision so adroitly to the case of Absalom, that the king discovered the object and detected the interposition of Joab. Regarding this as in some degree expressing the sanction of public opinion, David gladly commissioned Joab to call home his banished.
Absalom returned; but David controlled his feelings, and declined to admit him to his presence. After two years, however, Absalom, impatient of his disgrace, found means to compel the attention of Joab to his case; and through him a complete reconciliation was thus effected, and the father once more indulged himself with the presence of his son (2Sa 13:39; 2Sa 14:33), B.C. cir. 1027. Scarcely had he returned when he began to cherish aspirations to the throne, which he must have known was already pledged to another (see 2Sa 7:12). His reckless ambition was probably only quickened by the fear lest Bathsheba’s child should supplant him in the succession, to which he would feel himself entitled, as of royal birth on his mother’s side as well as his father’s, and as being now David’s eldest surviving son, since we may infer that the second son, Chileab, as dead, from no mention being made of him after 2Sa 3:3. It is harder to account for his temporary success, and the imminent danger which befell so powerful, a government as his father’s. The sin with Bathsheba had probably weakened David’s moral and religious hold upon the people; and as he grew older he may have become less attentive to individual complaints, and that personal administration of justice which was one of an Eastern king’s chief duties. The populace were disposed to regard Absalom’s pretensions with favor; and by many arts he so succeeded in winning their affections that when, four years (the text has erroneously 40 years; comp. Josephus, Ant. 7:9, 1; see Kennicott, Diss. p. 367; Ewald, Isr. Gesch. 2, 637) after his return from Geshur, he repaired to Hebron, and there proclaimed himself king, the great body of the people declared for him. It is probable that the great tribe of Judah had taken some offense at David’s government, perhaps from finding themselves completely merged in one united Israel; and that they hoped secretly for pre-eminence under the less wise and liberal rule of his son. Thus Absalom selects Hebron, the old capital of Judah (now supplanted by Jerusalem), as the scene of the outbreak; Amasa, his chief captain, and Ahithophel of Giloh, his principal counsellor, are both of Judah, and, after the rebellion was crushed, we see signs of ill-feeling between Judah and the other tribes (19, 41).
But whatever the causes may have been, the revolt was at first completely successful. David found it expedient to quit Jerusalem and retire to Mahanaim, beyond the Jordan. When Absalom heard of this, he proceeded to Jerusalem and took possession of the throne without opposition. Among those who had joined him was Ahithophel, who had been David’s counsellor, and whose profound sagacity caused his counsels to be regarded like oracles in Israel. This defection alarmed David more than any other single circumstance in the affair, and he persuaded his friend Hushai to go and join Absalom, in the hope that he might be made instrumental in turning the sagacious counsels of Ahithophel to foolishness. The first piece of advice which Ahithophel gave Absalom was that he should publicly take possession of that portion of his father’s harem which had been left behind in Jerusalem; thus fulfilling Nathan’s prophecy (2Sa 13:11). This was not only a mode by which the succession to the throne might be confirmed [ SEE ABISHAG; comp. Herodotus, 3, 68], but in the present case, as suggested by the wily counsellor, this villainous measure would dispose the people to throw themselves the more unreservedly into his cause, from the assurance that no possibility of reconcilement between him and his father remained. But David had left friends who watched over his interests. Hushai had not then arrived. Soon after he came, when a council of war was held to consider the course. of operations to be taken against David. Ahithophel counselled that the king should be pursued that very night, and smitten while he was weary and weak handed, and before he had time to recover strength. Hushai, however, whose object was to gain time for David, speciously urged, from the known valor of the king, the possibility and disastrous consequences of a defeat, and advised that all Israel should be assembled against him in such force as it would be impossible for him to withstand. Fatally for Absalom, the counsel of Hushai was preferred to that of Ahithophel; and time was thus afforded for the king, by the help of his influential followers, to collect his resources, as well as for the people to reflect upon the undertaking in which so many of them had embarked. David soon raised a large force, which he properly organized and separated into three divisions, commanded severally by Joab, Abishai, and Ittai of Gath.
The king himself intended to take the chief command; but the people refused to allow him to risk his valued life, and the command then devolved upon Joab. The battle took place in the borders of the forest of Ephraim; and the tactics of Joab, in drawing the enemy into the wood, and there hemming them in, so that they were destroyed with ease, eventually, under the providence of God, decided the action against Absalom. Twenty thousand of his troops were slain, and the rest fled to their homes. Absalom himself fled on a swift mule; but as he went, the boughs of a terebinth (or oak; see Thomson’s Land and Book, 1, 374; 2:234) tree caught the long hair in which he gloried, and he was left suspended there (comp. Josephus, Ant. 7, 10, 2; Celsii Hierob. 1, 43). The charge which David had given to the troops to respect the life of Absalom prevented any one from slaying him; but when Joab heard of it, he hastened to the spot and pierced him through with three darts. His body was then taken down and cast into a pit there in the forest, and a heap of stones was raised upon it as a sign of abhorrence (see Thomson, ibid. 2, 234). David’s fondness for Absalom was unextinguished by all that had passed; and as he sat, awaiting tidings of the battle, at the gate of Mahanaim, he was probably more anxious to learn that Absalom lived than that the battle was gained; and no sooner did he hear that Absalom was dead, than he retired to the chamber above the gate, to give vent to his paternal anguish. The victors, as they returned, slunk into the town like criminals when they heard the bitter wailings of the king: O my son Absalom! my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son! The consequences of this weakness might have been most dangerous, had net Joab gone up to him, and, after sharply rebuking him for thus discouraging those who had risked their lives in his cause, induced him to go down and cheer the returning warriors by his presence (2Sa 15:1; 2Sa 19:8; comp. Psa 3:1-8, title), B.C. cir. 1023.
Absalom is elsewhere mentioned only in 2 S. m. 20, 6; 1Ki 2:7; 1Ki 2:28; 1Ki 15:2; 1Ki 15:10; 2Ch 11:20-21; from the last two of which passages he appears to have left only a daughter (having lost three sons, 2Sa 14:27; comp. 18:18), who was the grandmother of Abijah (q.v.). See, generally, Niemeyer, Charakt. 4, 319 sq.; Kitto, Daily Bible Illust. in loc.; Debaeza, Com. Allegor. p. 5; Evans, Script. Biog. p. 1; Lindsay, Lect. 2; Dietric, Antiq. p. 353; Laurie, Lect. p. 68; Harris, Works, p. 209; Spencer, Sermons, p. 273; Simeon, Works, 3, 281, 294; Dibdin, Sermons, 3, 410; Williams, Sermons, 2, 190. SEE DAVID; SEE JOAB.
ABSALOMS TOMB. A remarkable monument bearing this name makes a conspicuous figure in the Valley of Jehoshaphat, outside Jerusalem; and it has been noticed and described by almost all travelers. It is close by the lower bridge over the Kedron, and is a square isolated block hewn out from the rocky ledge so as to leave an area or niche around it. The body of this monument is about 24 feet square, and is ornamented on each side with two columns and two half columns of the Ionic order, with pilasters at the corners. The architrave exhibits triglyphs and Doric ornaments. The elevation is about 18 or 20 feet to the top of the architrave, and thus far it is wholly cut from the rock. But the adjacent rock is here not so high as in the adjoining tomb of Zecharias (so called), and therefore the upper part of the tomb has been carried up with mason-work of large stones. This consists, first, of two square layers, of which the upper one is smaller than the lower; and then a small dome or cupola runs up into a low spire, which appears to have spread out a little at the top, like an opening flame. This mason-work is perhaps 20 feet high, giving to the whole an elevation of about 40 feet. There is a small excavated chamber in the body of the tomb, into which a hole had been broken through one of the sides several centuries ago. Its present Mohammedan name is Tantur Faraon (Biblioth. Sac. 1843, p. 34). The old travelers who refer to this tomb, as well as Calmet after them, are satisfied that they find the history of it in 2Sa 18:18, which states that Absalom, having no son, built a monument, to keep his name in remembrance, and that this monument was called Absalom’s Place ( , Absalom’s Hand, as in the margin; Sept. , Vulg. Manus Absalom), that is, index, memorial, or monument. SEE HAND.
Later writers, however, dispute such a connection between this history and any of the existing monuments on this spot. The style of architecture and embellishment, writes Dr. Robinson (Bib. Res. 1, 519 sq.), shows that they are of a later period than most of the other countless sepulchres round about the city, which, with few exceptions, are destitute of architectural ornament. But the foreign ecclesiastics, who crowded to Jerusalem in the fourth century, found these monuments here; and, of course, it became an object to refer them to persons mentioned in the Scriptures. Yet, from that day to this, tradition seems never to have become fully settled as to the individuals whose names they should bear. The Itin. Hieros. in A.D. 333 speaks of the two monolithic monuments as the tombs of Isaiah and Hezekiah. Adamnus, about A.D. 697, mentions only one of these, and calls it the tomb of Jehoshaphat . . . . The historians of the Crusades appear not to have noticed these tombs. The first mention of a tomb of Absalom is by Benjamin of Tudela, who gives to the other the name of king’ Uzziah; and from that time to the present day the accounts of travelers have been varying and inconsistent. Yet so eminent an architect as Prof. Cockerell speaks of this tomb of Absalom as a monument of antiquity, perfectly corresponding with the ancient notices (Athenaeum, Jan. 28, 1843). Notwithstanding the above objections, therefore, we are inclined to identify the site of this monument with that of Scripture. Josephus (Ant. 7, 10, 3) says that it was a marble pillar in the king’s dale [the Valley of Jehoshaphat, which led to the king’s gardens], two furlongs distant from Jerusalem, as if it were extant in his day. The simple monolith pillar may naturally have been replaced in after times by a more substantial monument. SEE PILLAR.
It is worthy of remark that the tradition which connects it with Absalom is not a monkish one merely; the Jewish residents likewise, who would not be likely to borrow from Christian legends, have been in the habit from time immemorial of casting a stone at it and spitting, as they pass by it, in order to show their horror at the rebellious conduct of this unnatural son. (See Williams, Holy City, 2, 451; Olin’s Travels, 2, 145; Pococke, East, 2, 34; Richter, Wallf. p. 33; Rosenmuller’s Ansichten von Palastina, 2, plate 14; Wilson, Lands of Bible, 1, 488; Thomson’s Land and Book, 2, 482; Crit. Sac, Thes. Nov. 1, 676; Frith, Palest. photographed, pt. 21).
2. (Sept. .) The father of Matathias (1Ma 11:70) and Jonathan (1Ma 13:11), two of the generals under the Maccabees.
3. (Sept. .) One of the two Jews sent by Judas Maccabaeus with a petition to the viceroy Lysias (2Ma 11:17, in some Absalon).
Fuente: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
Absalom
father of peace; i.e., “peaceful” David’s son by Maacah (2 Sam. 3:3; comp. 1 Kings 1:6). He was noted for his personal beauty and for the extra-ordinary profusion of the hair of his head (2 Sam. 14:25, 26). The first public act of his life was the blood-revenge he executed against Amnon, David’s eldest son, who had basely wronged Absalom’s sister Tamar. This revenge was executed at the time of the festivities connected with a great sheep-shearing at Baal-hazor. David’s other sons fled from the place in horror, and brought the tidings of the death of Amnon to Jerusalem. Alarmed for the consequences of the act, Absalom fled to his grandfather at Geshur, and there abode for three years (2 Sam. 3:3; 13:23-38).
David mourned his absent son, now branded with the guilt of fratricide. As the result of a stratagem carried out by a woman of Tekoah, Joab received David’s sanction to invite Absalom back to Jerusalem. He returned accordingly, but two years elapsed before his father admitted him into his presence (2 Sam. 14:28). Absalom was now probably the oldest surviving son of David, and as he was of royal descent by his mother as well as by his father, he began to aspire to the throne. His pretensions were favoured by the people. By many arts he gained their affection; and after his return from Geshur (2 Sam. 15:7; marg., R.V.) he went up to Hebron, the old capital of Judah, along with a great body of the people, and there proclaimed himself king. The revolt was so successful that David found it necessary to quit Jerusalem and flee to Mahanaim, beyond Jordan; where upon Absalom returned to Jerusalem and took possession of the throne without opposition. Ahithophel, who had been David’s chief counsellor, deserted him and joined Absalom, whose chief counsellor he now became. Hushai also joined Absalom, but only for the purpose of trying to counteract the counsels of Ahithophel, and so to advantage David’s cause. He was so far successful that by his advice, which was preferred to that of Ahithophel, Absalom delayed to march an army against his father, who thus gained time to prepare for the defence.
Absalom at length marched out against his father, whose army, under the command of Joab, he encountered on the borders of the forest of Ephraim. Twenty thousand of Absalom’s army were slain in that fatal battle, and the rest fled. Absalom fled on a swift mule; but his long flowing hair, or more probably his head, was caught in the bough of an oak, and there he was left suspended till Joab came up and pierced him through with three darts. His body was then taken down and cast into a pit dug in the forest, and a heap of stones was raised over his grave. When the tidings of the result of that battle were brought to David, as he sat impatiently at the gate of Mahanaim, and he was told that Absalom had been slain, he gave way to the bitter lamentation: “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!” (2 Sam. 18:33. Comp. Ex. 32:32; Rom. 9:3).
Absalom’s three sons (2 Sam. 14:27; comp. 18:18) had all died before him, so that he left only a daughter, Tamar, who became the grandmother of Abijah.
Fuente: Easton’s Bible Dictionary
Absalom
(“father of peace”.) Third son of David, by Maachah, daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur, a Syrian region N.E. of Palestine, near lake Merom. Polygamy bore its fatal fruits in engendering jealousies among the families by different wives, each with a separate, establishment (2Sa 13:8; 2Sa 14:24), and in fostering David’s own lust, which broke forth in the sad adultery with Bathsheba. Absalom, the fruit of David’s polygamy, was made the divine instrument of David’s punishment. Amnon, the half brother, violated Tamar, Absalom’s whole sister. David, though very wroth, would not punish Amnon, because he was his firstborn by Ahinoam the Jezreelitess. As Simeon and Levi avenged on Hamor their sister Dinah’s violation, so Absalom after two years’ dark, silent hatred, took vengeance on Amnon at a sheepshearing feast at Baal Hazor to which he invited all the king’s sons (2 Samuel 13). Then he fled to his father-in-law at Geshur for three years.
Joab perceiving how the king took to heart Absalom’s exile suborned a woman of Tekoa, by an imaginary case, to extort from the king (whose justice would not allow his love for Absalom to let him escape some penalty for Amnon’s murder) the admission of the general principle that, in special cases where the life taken could not be recalled, means for restoring the loved and living banished one should be devised; just as God, considering the brevity of man’s life, weak and irrecoverable when gone, “as water spilt on the ground, does not take a (sinner’s) soul away” (so the Hebrew text of 2Sa 14:14 for “neither doth God respect any person”), but deviseth means that His banished be not (for ever) expelled from Him.” David yielded, but would not see Absalom, though living at Jerusalem, for two more years. Impatient of delay in his ambitious schemes, he sent for Joab, and, not being heeded, he burnt Joab’s grain (as Samson did to the Philistines, Jdg 15:4), which drove Joab to intercede with David for Absalom’s admission to his presence. possibly he feared the succession of Bathsheba’s son to the throne, to which he had the title, being alone of royal descent by his mother’s side, also the oldest surviving son (Amnon being slain, and Chileab or Daniel dead, as his name does not occur after 2Sa 3:3).
Nathan’s mission from Jehovah to David, announcing that the Lord loved the child, and that his name therefore was to be Jedidiah, “beloved of the Lord,” implied Jehovah’s choice of Solomon as successor to David (2Sa 12:24-25). This excited Absalom’s fears. At all events, directly after receiving the king’s kiss of reconciliation, he began popularity hunting, to the disparagement of his father, whose moral hold on the people had been weakened by his sin with Bathsheba, and who probably as years advanced attended personally to judicial ministrations less than is the usual policy of oriental kings. Absalom intercepted suitors, lamenting that there was no judge appointed to help them to their rights such as he would be. His beauty too, as in Saul’s case (1Sa 9:2), and his princely retinue, attracted many (2Sa 14:25-26, where probably some error of number has crept in: though doubtless 200 shekels after the king’s weight is much less weight of hair than ordinary shekels would be; 2Sa 15:1-6).
Judah, from jealousy of Israel, with whom they had been merged by David, seems to have been too ready to be seduced from loyalty. Accordingly, Absalom chose Hebron, Judah’s old capital, as the head quarters of the revolt. He repaired thither after four (so we ought to read instead of “forty,” 2Sa 15:7) years, under the hypocritical pretense of a vow like that of pious Jacob (compare 2Sa 15:8 with Gen 28:20-21); David alludes to the hypocrisy of the rebels in Psa 4:5. Amasa, son of Abigail, David’s sister, and Jether, an Ishmaelite, owing to David’s neglect of him, and preference of his other sister Zeruiah’s sons (probably because of his Ishmaelite fatherhood), was tempted to join the rebellion, and Ahithophel of Giloh also, because of his granddaughter Bathsheba’s wrong (2Sa 11:8; 2Sa 23:34). Both were of Judah; Amasa became Absalom’s general, Ahithophel his counselor. This David felt most keenly (Psa 69:12; Psa 55:12-14; Psa 55:20; Psa 41:9).
By Ahithophel’s abominable counsel, Absalom lay with his father’s concubines, at once committing his party to an irreconcilable war, and him to the claim to the throne (according to oriental ideas: so Adonijah, 1Ki 2:13, etc.), and fulfilling God’s threatened retribution of David’s adultery in kind (2Sa 12:11-12). Hushai, David’s friend, defeated treachery by treachery. Ahithophel, like his anti-type Judas, baffled, went and hanged himself. Absalom, though well pleased at the counsel of “smiting the king only” and at once, was easily drawn aside by fear of his father’s bravery, and by indecision and vanity; all which Hushai acted on in his counsel to summon all Israel, and that Absalom should command in person. He waited to have himself anointed king first (2Sa 19:10). He lost the opportunity of attacking his father that night, while weak handed. The battle in Gilead in the wood of Ephraim (called from Ephraim’s defeat, Jdg 12:4) resulted in the defeat of his cumbrous undisciplined host.
His locks, on which he prided himself (Jdg 14:25-26), were the means of his destruction, for they kept him suspended from a terebinth tree until Joab pierced him; and David, whom the unnatural son would have gladly smitten, but who charged Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, his three generals, to spare the youth for his sake, mourned pathetically for his death: “O Absalom, my son, would God I had died for thee; my son, my son!” His grave was a pit, over which the insulting conquerors heaped stones, as over Achan and the king of Ai (Jos 7:26; Jos 8:29). After losing his three sons (2Sa 14:27; compare Psa 21:10), he had erected in the king’s dale (Gen 14:17) a pillar to commemorate his name; a sad contrast to this was his dishonored grave. The so-called tomb of Absalom, in the valley of Jehoshaphat outside Jerusalem, betrays its modern origin by Ionic columns; and besides could not have outlasted the various sieges and conquests to which the city has been exposed. David seems to have been a fond but weak father; and Absalom’s and Amnon’s course showed the evil effects of such indulgence (1Ki 1:6). Absalom’s fair daughter Tamar married Uriel, by whom she had Michaiah or Maachah, wife of Rehoboam and mother of (See ABIJAH.
Fuente: Fausset’s Bible Dictionary
ABSALOM
Absalom, the third son of David, first features in the Bible story when his sister Tamar was raped by Amnon, their older brother by a different mother (2Sa 3:2-3; 2Sa 13:1-22). Absalom was determined to have his revenge, no matter how long he had to wait. After two full years he found a suitable opportunity, and had Amnon murdered. He then fled into exile (2Sa 13:23-27).
After three years without a recognized heir to David in Jerusalem, Davids army commander Joab was worried about the stability of Davids dynasty. He therefore worked out a cunning plan to re-establish Absalom in Jerusalem, without the necessity for Absalom to face trial for murder (2Sa 13:38; 2Sa 14:1-24). Although Absalom returned from exile, David refused to receive him into the palace. But after two years Absalom forced his way in (2Sa 14:28-33).
Over the next four years Absalom built up a following for himself among the country people, particularly those from the south (2Sa 15:1-7). He then launched a surprise attack, seizing the throne and forcing David to flee for his life (2Sa 15:8-18; 2Sa 16:20-23). But one of Davids chief advisers stayed behind as a spy in Absaloms court. By appealing to Absaloms vanity, he was able to persuade Absalom to ignore the wise words of Absaloms chief adviser (2Sa 15:32-37; 2Sa 17:1-14). As a result Absalom decided to glorify himself in a full-scale battle with Davids army. His troops were no match for Davids hardened soldiers, and he himself was killed (2Sa 18:1-15).
Fuente: Bridgeway Bible Dictionary
Absalom
ABSALOM (father is peace).Third son of David, by Maacah, daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur (2Sa 3:3). His sister Tamar having been wronged by her half-brother Amnon, and David having failed to punish the criminal, Absalom assassinated Amnon and fled to Geshur, where he spent three years (ch. 13). Joab procured his recall, but he was not admitted into his fathers presence. In his usual imperious fashion he next compelled Joab to bring about his full restoration (2Sa 14:29 ff.). Then he assumed the position of heir-apparent (2Sa 15:1; cf. 1Sa 8:11, 1Ki 1:5), and began undermining the loyalty of the people. Four (not forty) years after his return he set up the standard of rebellion at Hebron, a town which was well-affected towards him because it was his birthplace, and aggrieved against David because it was no longer the metropolis. The old king was taken by surprise, and fled to the east of the Jordan. On entering Jerusalem, Absalom publicly appropriated the royal harem, thus proclaiming the supersession of his father. By the insidious counsel of Hushai time was wasted in collecting a large army. But time was on Davids side. His veterans rallied round him; his seasoned captains were by his side. When Absalom offered battle, near Mahanaim, the kings only anxiety was lest his son should be slain. This really happened, through Joabs agency. The fathers natural, but unseasonable, lamentation was cut short by the soldiers blunt remonstrance (2Sa 19:5 ff.). On the face of the history it is clear that, if Absalom lacked capacity, he possessed charm. His physical beauty contributed to this: 2Sa 14:25-27 is probably a gloss, but certainly rests on a reliable tradition; the polling of the hair was a religious act. According to 2Sa 18:18, Absalom had no son: this is more reliable than the statement in 2Sa 14:27. It is said that later generations, following Pro 10:7, always avoided the name Absalom, preferring the form Abishalom (which appears in 1Ki 15:2; 1Ki 15:10).
J. Taylor.
ABSALOM (in Apocr. [Note: Apocrypha, Apocryphal.] ).1. The father of Mattathias, one of the captains who stood by Jonathan at Hazor (1Ma 11:70 = Jos. [Note: Josephus.] Ant. XIII. v. 7). It is perhaps the same Absalom whose son Jonathan was sent by Simon to secure Joppa (1Ma 13:11 = Jos. [Note: Josephus.] Ant. XIII. vi. 4). 2. An envoy sent by the Jews to Lysias (2Ma 11:17).
Fuente: Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible
Absalom
Son of David. His history we have 2Sa 14:1-33; 2Sa 15:1-37; 2Sa 16:1-23; 2Sa 17:1-29; 2Sa 18:1-33. His name was but ill suited to his character; for he was of a rebellious, turbulent spirit. Ab, the father, Shalom, of peace.
Fuente: The Poor Mans Concordance and Dictionary to the Sacred Scriptures
Absalom (1)
absa-lom (, ‘abhshalom, father is peace, written also Abishalom, 1Ki 15:2, 1Ki 15:10): David’s third son by Maacah, daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur, a small territory between Hermon and Bashan.
1. A General Favorite
Absalom was born at Hebron (2Sa 3:3), and moved at an early age, with the transfer of the capital, to Jerusalem, where he spent most of his life. He was a great favorite of his father and of the people as well. His charming manners, his personal beauty, his insinuating ways, together with his love of pomp and royal pretensions, captivated the hearts of the people from the beginning. He lived in great style, drove in a magnificent chariot and had fifty men run before him. Such magnificence produced the desired effect upon the hearts of the young aristocrats of the royal city (2Sa 15:1).
2. In Exile
When Amnon, his half-brother, ravished his sister Tamar, and David shut his eyes to the grave crime and neglected to administer proper punishment, Absalom became justly enraged, and quietly nourished his anger, but after the lapse of two years carried out a successful plan to avenge his sister’s wrongs. He made a great feast for the king’s sons at Baalhazor, to which, among others, Amnon came, only to meet his death at the hands of Absalom’s servants (2Sa 13:1). To avoid punishment he now fled to the court of his maternal grandfather in Geshur, where he remained three years, or until David, his father, had relented and condoned the murderous act of his impetuous, plotting son. At the end of three years (2Sa 13:38) we find Absalom once more in Jerusalem. It was, however, two years later before he was admitted to the royal presence (2Sa 14:28).
3. Rebels Against His Father
Absalom, again reinstated, lost no opportunity to regain lost prestige, and having his mind made up to succeed his father upon the throne, he forgot the son in the politician. Full of insinuations and rich in promises, especially to the disgruntled and to those having grievances, imaginary or real, it was but natural that he should have a following. His purpose was clear, namely, to alienate as many as possible from the king, and thus neutralize his influence in the selection of a successor, for he fully realized that the court party, under the influence of Bathsheba, was intent upon having Solomon as the next ruler. By much flattery Absalom stole the hearts of many men in Israel (2Sa 15:6). How long a period elapsed between his return from Geshur and his open rebellion against his father David is a question which cannot be answered with any degree of certainty. Most authorities regard the forty years of 2Sa 15:7 as an error and following the Syriac and some editions of the Septuagint, suggest four as the correct text. Whether forty or four, he obtained permission from the king to visit Hebron, the ancient capital, on pretense of paying a vow made by him while at Geshur in case of his safe return to Jerusalem. With two hundred men he repairs to Hebron. Previous to the feast spies had been sent throughout all the tribes of Israel to stir up the discontented and to assemble them under Absalom’s flag at Hebron. Very large numbers obeyed the call, among them Ahithophel, one of David’s shrewdest counselors (2Sa 15:7).
4. David’s Flight
Reports of the conspiracy at Hebron soon reached the ears of David, who now became thoroughly frightened and lost no time in leaving Jerusalem. Under the protection of his most loyal bodyguard he fled to Gilead beyond Jordan. David was kindly received at Mahanaim, where he remained till after the death of his disloyal son. Zadok and Abiathar, two leading priests, were intent upon sharing the fortunes of David; they went so far as to carry the Ark of the Covenant with them out of Jerusalem (2Sa 15:24). David, however, forced the priests and Levites to take it back to its place in the city and there remain as its guardians. This was a prudent stroke, for these two great priests in Jerusalem acted as intermediaries, and through their sons and some influential women kept up constant communications with David’s army in Gilead (2Sa 15:24). Hushai, too, was sent back to Jerusalem, where he falsely professed allegiance to Absalom, who by thins time had entered the royal city and had assumed control of the government (2Sa 15:32). Hushai, the priests and a few people less conspicuous performed their part well, for the counsel of Ahithophel, who advised immediate action and advance upon the king’s forces, while everything was in a panic, was thwarted (2Sa 17:1); nay more, spies were constantly kept in contact with David’s headquarters to inform the king of Absalom’s plans (2Sa 17:15). This delay was fatal to the rebel son. Had he acted upon the shrewd counsel of Ahithophel, David’s army might have been conquered at the outset.
5. Absalom’s Death and Burial
When at length Absalom’s forces under the generalship of Amasa (2Sa 17:25) reached Gilead, ample time had been given to David to organize his army, which he divided into three divisions under the efficient command of three veteran generals: Joab, Abishai and Ittai (2Sa 18:1). A great battle was fought in the forests of Ephraim. Here the rebel army was utterly routed. No fewer than 20,000 were killed outright, and a still greater number becoming entangled in the thick forest, perished that day (2Sa 18:7). Among the latter was Absalom himself, for while riding upon his mule, his head was caught in the boughs of a great oak or terebinth, probably in a forked branch. He was taken up between heaven and earth; and the mule that was under him went on (2Sa 18:9). In this position he was found by a soldier who at once ran to inform Joab. The latter without a moment’s hesitation, notwithstanding David’s positive orders, thrust three darts into the heart of Absalom. To make his death certain and encouraged by the action of their general, ten of Joab’s young men compassed about and smote Absalom, and slew him (2Sa 18:15). He was buried in a great pit, close to the spot where he was killed. A great pile of stones was heaped over his body (2Sa 18:17), in accordance with the custom of dishonoring rebels and great criminals by burying them under great piles of stone (Jos 7:26; Jos 8:29). Thomson reforms us that Syrian people to this day cast stones upon the graves of murderers and outlaws (LB, II, 61).
6. David’s Lament
The death of Absalom was a source of great grief to the fond and aged father, who forgot the ruler and the king in the tenderhearted parent. His lament at the gate of Mahanaim, though very brief, is a classic, and expresses in tender language the feelings of parents for wayward children in all ages of the world (2Sa 18:33).
Little is known of Absalom’s family life, but we read in 2Sa 14:27 that he had three sons and one daughter. From the language of 2Sa 18:18, it is inferred that the sons died at an early age.
7. Absalom’s Tomb
As Absalom had no son to perpetuate his memory he reared up for himself a pillar or a monument in the King’s dale, which according to Josephus was two furlongs from Jerusalem (Ant., VII, x, 3). Nothing is known with certainty about this monument. One of the several tombs on the east side of the Kidron passes under the name of Absalom’s tomb. This fine piece of masonry with its graceful cupola and Ionic pillars must be of comparatively recent origin, probably not earlier than the Roman period.
Fuente: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Absalom (2)
(Apocrypha) (Codex Vaticanus, , Abessalomos and Abessalom; Codex Alexandrinus, Absalomos; the King James Version Absalon):
(1) Father of Mattathias, a captain of the Jewish army (1 Macc 11:70; Ant, XIII, v, 7).
(2) Father of Jonathan who was sent by Simon Maccabee to take possession of Joppa; perhaps identical with Absalom (1) (1 Macc 13:11; Ant, XIII, vi, 4).
(3) One of two envoys of the Jews, mentioned in a letter sent by Lysias to the Jewish nation (2 Macc 11:17).
Fuente: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Absalom
Absalom (father of peace) the third son of David, and his only son by Maachah, daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur (2Sa 3:3). He was deemed the handsomest man in the kingdom; and was particularly noted for the profusion of his beautiful hair, which appears to have been regarded with great admiration. David’s other child by Maachah was a daughter named Tamar, who was also very beautiful. She became the object of lustful regard to her half-brother Amnon, David’s eldest son; and was violated by him. In all cases where polygamy is allowed, we find that the honor of a sister is in the guardianship of her full brother, more even than in that of her father, whose interest in her is considered less peculiar and intimate. We trace this notion even in the time of Jacob (Gen 34:6; Gen 34:13; Gen 34:25, sqq.). So in this case the wrong of Tamar was taken up by Absalom, who kept her secluded in his own house, and said nothing for the present, but brooded silently over the wrong he had sustained and the vengeance which devolved upon him. It was not until two years had passed that Absalom found opportunity for the bloody revenge he had meditated. He then held a great sheep-shearing feast at Baal-hazor near Ephraim, to which he invited all the king’s sons. Amnon attended among the other princes; and, when they were warm with wine, he was slain by the servants of Absalom, according to the previous directions of their master. Absalom then hastened to Geshur, and remained there three years with his father-in-law, king Talmai.
Now Absalom, with all his faults, was eminently dear to the heart of his father, who mourned every day after the banished fratricide. His secret wishes to have home his beloved though guilty son were however discerned by Joab, who employed a clever woman of Tekoah to lay a supposed case before him for judgment; and she applied the anticipated decision so adroitly to the case of Absalom, that the king discovered the object, and detected the interposition of Joab. Regarding this as in some degree expressing the sanction of public opinion, David gladly commissioned Joab to ‘call home his banished.’ Absalom returned; but David, still mindful of his duties as a king and father, controlled the impulse of his feelings, and declined to admit him to his presence. After two years, however, Absalom, impatient of his disgrace, found means to compel the attention of Joab to his case; and through his means a complete reconciliation with the king was effected (2 Samuel 13-14).
Absalom was now, by the death of his elder brothers, Amnon and Chileab, become the eldest surviving son of David, and heir apparent to the throne. But under the peculiar theocratic institutions of the Hebrews, the Divine king reserved the power of bestowing the crown on any person whom he might prefer. The house of David was now established as the reigning dynasty, and out of his family Solomon had been selected by God as the successor of his father. In this fact, which was probably well known to the mass of the nation, we have a clear motive for the rebellion of Absalom, who wished to secure the throne, which he deemed to be his by the laws of primogeniture, during the lifetime of his father, while the destined successor was yet a child.
The fine person of Absalom, his superior birth, and his natural claim, pre-disposed the people to regard his pretensions with favor: and this pre-disposition was strengthened by the condescending sympathy with which he accosted the suitors who repaired for justice or favor to the royal audience, combined with the state and attendance with which, as the heir apparent, he appeared in public. By these influences ‘he stole the hearts of the men of Israel;’ and when at length, four years after his return from Geshur, he repaired to Hebron, and there proclaimed himself king, the great body of the people declared for him. So strong ran the tide of opinion in his favor, that David found it expedient to quit Jerusalem and retire to Mahanaim, beyond the Jordan.
When Absalom heard of this, he proceeded to Jerusalem and took possession of the throne without opposition. Among those who had joined him was Ahithophel, who had been David’s counselor, and whose profound sagacity caused his counsels to be regarded like oracles in Israel. This defection alarmed David more than any other circumstance, and he persuaded his friend Hushai to go and join Absalom, in the hope that he might be made instrumental in turning the sagacious counsels of Ahithophel to foolishness. The first piece of advice which Ahithophel gave Absalom was, that he should publicly take possession of that portion of his father’s harem which had been left behind in Jerusalem. This was not only a mode by which the succession of the throne might be confirmed [ABISHAG], but in the present case this villainous measure would dispose the people to throw themselves the more unreservedly into his cause, from the assurance that no possibility of reconciliation between him and his father remained. Hushai had not then arrived. Soon after he came, when a council of war was held to consider the course of operations to be taken against David, Ahithophel counseled that the king should be pursued that very night, and smitten, while he was ‘weary and weak handed, and before he had time to recover strength.’ Hushai, however, whose object was to gain time for David, speciously urged, from the known valor of the king, the possibility and fatal consequences of a defeat, and advised that all Israel should be assembled against him in such force as it would be impossible for him to withstand. Fatally for Absalom, the counsel of Hushai was preferred to that of Ahithophel; and time was thus given to enable the king to collect his resources. A large force was soon raised, which he properly organized and separated into three divisions, commanded severally by Joab, Abishai, and Ittai of Gath. The king himself intended to take the chief command; but the people refused to allow him to risk his valued life, and the command then devolved upon Joab. The battle took place in the borders of the forest of Ephraim; and the tactics of Joab, in drawing the enemy into the wood, and there hemming them in, so that they were destroyed with ease, eventually, under the providence of God, decided the action against Absalom. Twenty thousand of his troops were slain, and the rest fled to their homes. Absalom himself fled on a swift mule; but as he went, the boughs of a terebinth tree caught the long hair in which he gloried, and he was left suspended there. The charge which David had given to the troops to respect the life of Absalom prevented any one from slaying him: but when Joab heard of it, he hastened to the spot, and pierced him through with three darts. His body was then taken down and cast into a pit there in the forest, and a heap of stones was raised upon it.
David’s fondness for Absalom was unextinguished by all that had passed; and no sooner did he hear that his son was dead, than he retired to his chamber and gave vent to his paternal anguish in the most bitter wailings’O my son Absalom! my son, my son Absalom! I would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!’ The consequences might have been most dangerous, had not Joab gone up to him, and, after sharply rebuking him for thus discouraging those who had risked their lives in his cause, induced him to go down and cheer the returning warriors by his presence (2Sa 13:1 to 2Sa 19:8).
Fuente: Popular Cyclopedia Biblical Literature
Absalom
[Ab’salom]
The third son of David, by Maacah, daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur. He was remarkable for his beauty and his luxuriant hair. 2Sa 14:25-26. Because of his putting his half-brother Amnon to death he fled from his father and remained at Geshur three years. By the instigation of Joab, Absalom was recalled, but not admitted into the presence of his father until a later period. (This reconciliation was effected at the expense of righteousness, and without any repentance on Absalom’s part – a total contrast to God’s ministry of reconciliation. 2Co 5:18-20; etc.) It was declared to David that his successor was not yet born. 2Sa 7:12 This was told to David by Nathan the prophet, and probably became known to Absalom. Amnon being dead, and perhaps Chileab, his two elder brothers, he might naturally have thought that the throne should have descended to him, and this may have led to his treason. By artful acts of condescension he stole the hearts of the people, and then at Hebron he claimed to be king, and met with much encouragement. The rebellion was so strong that David fled from Jerusalem. Absalom entered the city and was joined by Amasa and Ahithophel. The latter advised Absalom to go in publicly to the concubines of David who were left at Jerusalem, that all hopes of a reconciliation might be abandoned – though this had been foretold as a punishment to David. 2Sa 12:11. By the advice of Hushai the further counsel of Ahithophel of an immediate pursuit was set aside, and David had time to collect an army, and reach a place of safety. A war followed, and Absalom in riding through a wood, was caught by his head in the branches of an oak, and was there put to death by Joab. David’s grief was extreme, but he was recalled to his duties by Joab. We read that Absalom had three sons and a daughter, 2Sa 14:27, yet that because he had no son left he raised up a pillar in the king’s dale, to keep his name in remembrance: it was called ABSALOM’S PLACE or monument. 2Sa 18:18. A building in the valley of the Kedron partly rock-hewn, is called Absalom’s tomb ; but it can have nothing to do with the above ‘pillar’ unless it has been much added to with comparatively modern architecture. Josephus says that in his day there was an object called Absalom’s ‘pillar’ about 2 stadia from Jerusalem. Apparently Absalom is called ABISHALOM in 1Ki 15:2; cf. 2Ch 11:21.
Fuente: Concise Bible Dictionary
Absalom
H53
Called also Abishalom.
Son of David by Maacah
2Sa 3:3; 1Ch 3:2
Beauty of
2Sa 14:25
Slays Amnon
2Sa 13:22-29
Flees to Geshur
2Sa 13:37-38
Is permitted by David to return to Jerusalem
2Sa 14:1-24
His demagogism
2Sa 15:2-6; 2Sa 15:13
Conspiracy
2Sa 15
Death and burial
2Sa 18:9-17
David’s mourning for
2Sa 18:33; 2Sa 19:1-8
Children of
2Sa 14:27; 2Sa 18:18; 1Ki 15:2; 2Ch 11:20
Pillar of
2Sa 18:18
Fuente: Nave’s Topical Bible
Absalom
Absalom (b’sa-lom), father of peace. The third son of David, by Maachah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur, born at Hebron. 2Sa 3:3; 1Ch 3:2. Absalom revenged the dishonor done to Tamar, his sister, by Amnon, his half-brother, by killing him at a feast, and then fled to his father-in-law, Talmai. 2Sa 13:1-39. After three years, by means of Joab, he was enabled to return to Jerusalem, and in two years more fully restored to David’s favor. Absalom was now nourishing the ambitious scheme of supplanting his father. He was very beautiful and had extraordinary hair, which when cut every year weighed 200 shekels, the exact equivalent to which in our weights it is not easy to ascertain; or, possibly, the hair was of 200 shekels’ value. He took great pains to acquire popularity, and after four years (so we may read, 2Sa 15:7) he raised the standard of revolt at Hebron. The history of this rebellion, its first successthere being evidently some ill-feeling in his own tribe of Judah towards Davidwith the iniquitous conduct of Absalom, and his final defeat, is in 2Sa 15:1-37; 2Sa 16:1-23; 2Sa 17:1-29; 2Sa 18:1-33. David wished to spare his unhappy son’s life; but, in the rout, his mule carrying him under the thick boughs of an oak, his head was caught; and Joab, being made aware of this, dispatched him. Absalom had three sons and a daughter, but it would seem that his sons died before him, as he erected a pillar to keep his name in remembrance. 2Sa 18:18. A monument outside the walls of Jerusalem now bears his name, but it is a structure of comparatively modern date.
Fuente: People’s Dictionary of the Bible
Absalom
Ab’salom. (father of peace). Third son of David by Maachah, daughter of Tamai king of Geshur, a Syrian district adjoining the northeast frontier of the Holy Land. (Born B.C. 1050). Absalom had a sister, Tamar, who was violated by her half-brother Amnon. The natural avenger of such an outrage would be Tamar’s full brother Absalom. He brooded over the wrong for two years, and then invited all the princes to a sheep-shearing feast at his estate in Baalhazor, on the borders of Ephraim and Benjamin. Here he ordered his servants to murder Amnon, and then fled for safety to his grandfather’s court at Geshur, where he remained for three years.
At the end of that time, he was brought back by an artifice of Joab. David, however, would not see Absalom for two more years; but at length, Joab brought about a reconciliation. Absalom now began at once to prepare for rebellion. He tried to supplant his father by courting popularity, standing in the gate, conversing with every suitor, and lamenting the difficulty which he would find in getting a hearing. He also maintained a splendid retinue, 2Sa 15:1 and was admired for his personal beauty. It is probable too that the great tribe of Judah had taken some offence at David’s government.
Absalom raised the standard of revolt at Hebron, the old capital of Judah, now supplanted by Jerusalem. The revolt was, at first, completely successful; David fled from his capital over the Jordan to Mahanaim in Gilead, and Absalom occupied Jerusalem. At last, after being solemnly anointed king at Jerusalem, 2Sa 19:10, Absalom crossed the Jordan to attack his father, who by this time had rallied round him a considerable force.
A decisive battle was fought in Gilead, in the wood of Ephraim. Here Absalom’s forces were totally defeated, and as he himself was escaping, his long hair was entangled in the branches of a terebinth, where he was left hanging while the mule, on which he was riding, ran away from under him. He was dispatched by Joab in spite of the prohibition of David, who, loving him to the last, had desired that his life might be spared. He was buried in a great pit in the forest, and the conquerors threw stones over his grave, an old proof of bitter hostility. Jos 7:26.
Fuente: Smith’s Bible Dictionary
ABSALOM
the son of David
(1) General References to
2Sa 3:3; 2Sa 13:29; 2Sa 13:37; 2Sa 14:25; 2Sa 15:2; 2Sa 15:14; 2Sa 17:1; 2Sa 18:9; 2Sa 18:14; 2Sa 18:33
(2) FACTS CONCERNING
Born of a polygamous marriage
2Sa 3:3
Murders his brother
2Sa 13:29
An exile from home
2Sa 13:37
Renowned for his beauty
2Sa 14:25
The designing politician
2Sa 15:2; 2Sa 15:3
Conspires against his father, David
2Sa 15:13; 2Sa 15:14
Comes to an untimely end
2Sa 18:9
–SEE Young Men, YOUNG PEOPLE
Fuente: Thompson Chain-Reference Bible
Absalom
the son of David by Maachah, daughter of the king of Geshur; distinguished for his fine person, his vices, and his unnatural rebellion. Of his open revolt, his conduct in Jerusalem, his pursuit of the king his father, his defeat and death, see 2 Samuel 16-18, at large.
Fuente: Biblical and Theological Dictionary
Absalom
2Sa 14:25 (c) This son of David may be taken as a type of a human being without GOD.
– He had developed his body to perfection. Those who observed him could see nothing but physical beauty. From head to foot there was no blemish in him. With all of this, however, his heart was wicked.
– He hated his father David who was GOD’s chosen king.
– He refused and rejected GOD’s plan and purpose in regard to Solomon.
– He was fit for neither Heaven nor earth, and so he died between the two of them on the tree.
So is the religious hypocrite of today. He presents many aspects of beauty and characteristics of loveliness, yet his heart is not right with GOD.
2Sa 15:2 (c) In this passage Absalom is a type of the ingratitude and infidelity of professing Christians who are not really saved. When the test came he proved to be an enemy of GOD’s king, and of GOD’s program. He did not take his place on GOD’s side. He wanted to assert his own sufficiency and his own supremacy.