2 Samuel 18:1 And David numbered the people that were with him, and set captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds over them.
That is, David mustered the people, organizing his forces for the impending attack. Men were constantly flocking to him and needed to be incorporated into already existing detachments or organized into new units.
2 Samuel 18:2 And David sent forth a third part of the people under the hand of Joab, and a third part under the hand of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, and a third part under the hand of Ittai the Gittite. And the king said unto the people, I will surely go forth with you myself also.
The army was organized into three grand divisions. How large each of these divisions was is not revealed. Some think that there was a total of only 3,000 men, with 1,000 men in each division, but of this there is no evidence. The division of armies into three parts seems to have been common among the Hebrews (see
Judges 7:16; 9:43; 1 Sam. 11:11).
Joab was the commander in chief, under David. His name is always listed first among the three commanders (see
vs. 5, 12), and he is clearly recognized as the one in supreme command (
vs. 10, 16, 20, 21, 29). Joab was made
“chief” of the army when David first captured Jerusalem (
1 Chron. 11:6), and at the close of David’s reign he still held the supreme command (
2 Sam. 24:2; 1 Chron. 27:34).
Ittai was of the Philistine city of Gath and had only recently come to Israel and joined himself to the forces of David (
ch. 15:19-21). He had accepted the Hebrew religion and proved himself true both to David and to Israel’s God (see PP 732).
David was facing the supreme crisis of his career, but he lacked nothing of courage. He was willing to take the same risks he was asking of his people, and more.
2 Samuel 18:3 But the people answered, Thou shalt not go forth: for if we flee away, they will not care for us; neither if half of us die, will they care for us: but now thou art worth ten thousand of us: therefore now it is better that thou succour us out of the city.
The soldiers saw that in this instance David’s presence with them would be more of a hindrance than a help. If the opposing army learned that David was with his men, every effort would be made against his person. If he could be slain, Absalom would have attained his purpose. So David was urged not to be present in the battle.
In the majority of the Hebrew manuscripts the clause thus introduced reads literally, “For now like us [there are] ten thousand.” The translation of the KJV is obtained from the LXX, the Syriac, the Vulgate, and two Hebrew manuscripts. The difference between the two readings of this clause is only one letter in the Hebrew.
Taking his place in the city with the reserve forces, David would be in a position to take advantage of any turn of battle. If things went against his men, he would be able to send relief. Whatever turn the battle might take, the army would know that their commander was safe. His presence within the walls of the fortress would be a source of strength and inspiration to them as they fought, stirring them up to effort and bravery.
2 Samuel 18:4 And the king said unto them, What seemeth you best I will do. And the king stood by the gate side, and all the people came out by hundreds and by thousands.
In this instance the counsel of the army was better than the will of the king, and David recognized it as such. Instead of rashly insisting that he join his men in the conflict, he bowed to their wishes and expressed his willingness to comply with their purpose. David may actually have been happy to remain behind, because it would not have been easy for him to direct this battle in person against his son.
2 Samuel 18:5 And the king commanded Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Deal gently for my sake with the young man, even with Absalom. And all the people heard when the king gave all the captains charge concerning Absalom.
Joab as the commander in chief came first, leading his men. As he passed by, David gave his last parting instructions. This was a battle against his own son, who must be defeated, or David would lose both his throne and his life. But as the battle began, David’s tender heart went out in love and pity to his son. His last words to Joab were to deal gently with Absalom—the leader of the rebellion. At the time it seemed to David that he would rather lose his own life and his kingdom than to see harm come to his wicked son. David’s fatherly concern for the man who had brought to the nation so much of pain and suffering only intensified the bitterness of Joab and his men against Absalom (see PP 743).
2 Samuel 18:6 So the people went out into the field against Israel: and the battle was in the wood of Ephraim;
There is not other reference in the Bible to this wood. The location was in Gilead, to the east of the Jordan, although Ephraim itself was to the west. In a wooded area the huge army of Absalom would find itself at a disadvantage. It would be impossible to keep under control the large number of undisciplined men. Battling here and there in the woods, separated from one another, not knowing what was going on elsewhere, the men would become confused.
2 Samuel 18:8 For the battle was there scattered over the face of all the country: and the wood devoured more people that day than the sword devoured.
Over the face of all the country.
These words give a vivid picture of the fluid nature of the battle. It was spread over a vast area, with men running in all directions, becoming lost in the woods, separated from one another, and entangled in the brush.
The rocky thickets and dense vegetation of the wild terrain, intricate thorn groves interspersed with swamps and stretches of gravel and sand, provided a battlefield that was evidently more deadly to the hosts of Absalom than to the seasoned veterans of David.
2 Samuel 18:11 And Joab said unto the man that told him, And, behold, thou sawest him, and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground? and I would have given thee ten shekels of silver, and a girdle.
Why didst thou not smite him?
Joab realized that if the leader of the conspiracy could be put out of the way, victory would be won and the rebellion be over. Joab had done much for Absalom, befriending him and securing his return to Jerusalem (
ch. 14:1-24). But Absalom’s shameless betrayal of the trust placed in him turned Joab bitterly against him. Joab was determined to put him out of the way regardless of the orders of David.
2 Samuel 18:12 And the man said unto Joab, Though I should receive a thousand shekels of silver in mine hand, yet would I not put forth mine hand against the king’s son: for in our hearing the king charged thee and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Beware that none touch the young man Absalom.
The soldier was a man of principle and would obey the command of the king, however unreasonable it might appear. He reminded Joab of the orders that had been given him and all the army, and he felt that those orders should be obeyed.
2 Samuel 18:13 Otherwise I should have wrought falsehood against mine own life: for there is no matter hid from the king, and thou thyself wouldest have set thyself against me.
Literally, “against his life.” The reading of the KJV is found in the margin of the Hebrew Bible and in a number of Hebrew manuscripts. If the soldier had taken the life of Absalom, inquiry would have immediately been made, and when it was discovered who had disobeyed the king’s command, the offender would have been slain. Joab himself would probably have taken his stand against him and issued the order for the execution. Joab was a valiant commander, but he was self-willed and unscrupulous. Happy though he might have been over Absalom’s death, he might have feigned great indignation at such a gross violation of the king’s command and have ordered the violator put to death.
2 Samuel 18:14 Then said Joab, I may not tarry thus with thee. And he took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak.
I may not tarry thus with thee.
The Targums and one of the manuscripts of the LXX read, “wherefore I will pierce [him] in thy presence.” Joab felt the thrusts of the man’s argument, but he was determined to have Absalom slain.
2 Samuel 18:15 And ten young men that bare Joab’s armour compassed about and smote Absalom, and slew him.
These men composed Joab’s bodyguard.
2 Samuel 18:16 And Joab blew the trumpet, and the people returned from pursuing after Israel: for Joab held back the people.
The blast on the trumpet was the signal that the war was over (see
ch. 2:28; 20:22). The death of Absalom ended the struggle. With the leader of the revolt out of the way, there was no need of further bloodshed; so Joab immediately called off the battle.
2 Samuel 18:17 And they took Absalom, and cast him into a great pit in the wood, and laid a very great heap of stones upon him: and all Israel fled every one to his tent.
Cast him into a great pit.
To deny him the honor of burial in the family tomb. Like some dead beast, his body was tossed into a pit in the forest where he was slain. That was the end of the proud and handsome prince who placed his own interests before the interests of his people, his father, and his God.
A lasting memorial of ignominious reproach.
In this narrative the expression refers to the followers of Absalom (see
v. 16).
2 Samuel 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.
Absalom had erected for himself a beautiful and costly monument. But instead of being interred in a sepulcher of the kings, his body was thrown into a pit in the forest. The site of Absalom’s pillar has not been identified. Some think that it was in Jerusalem and others believe that it was at Hebron.
The so-called “Absalom’s Tomb,” an elaborate square structure with columns in partial relief carved from the rock, in the upper Kidron Valley, actually dates from the Hellenistic period and has nothing to do with Absalom, except in name.
The Hebrew word translated “place” literally means “hand,” and may, perhaps, stand for a stele. In the excavations of Lachish an altar was found with a right hand, palm outward and fingers spread, depicted in deep relief on one of its sides. Hands were also carved into the steles of Carthage. Hence it is possible that Absalom had a stele erected with a hand carved in it.
His three sons (
ch. 14:27) presumably died in infancy.
2 Samuel 18:19 Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok, Let me now run, and bear the king tidings, how that the Lord hath avenged him of his enemies.
Ahimaaz the son of Zadok.
It was Ahimaaz who with Jonathan had carried Hushai’s message to David (
ch. 17:17-21; cf.
ch. 15:27). He appears to have been a well-known runner (
ch. 18:27). In the present war he served as a messenger, and thus was ready to carry the tidings to David as soon as the trumpet had sounded and the battle was over.
2 Samuel 18:20 And Joab said unto him, Thou shalt not bear tidings this day, but thou shalt bear tidings another day: but this day thou shalt bear no tidings, because the king’s son is dead.
Joab recognized that the tidings that were to be carried to David would not be regarded by him as good. He would be concerned over one thing only—the fate of Absalom. Under the circumstances, nothing else mattered, whether it was defeat or victory, as long as Absalom was safe.
2 Samuel 18:21 Then said Joab to Cushi, Go tell the king what thou hast seen. And Cushi bowed himself unto Joab, and ran.
Literally, “to the Cushite.”
2 Samuel 18:22 Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok yet again to Joab, But howsoever, let me, I pray thee, also run after Cushi. And Joab said, Wherefore wilt thou run, my son, seeing that thou hast no tidings ready?
The victory over the forces of Absalom was news of the greatest importance, and Ahimaaz keenly desired to carry that message to David.
The Hebrew word for
“tidings” may also be translated
“reward for good tidings” (
ch. 4:10). In the LXX the clause is translated
“thou hast no tidings for profit.” Ahimaaz would be expected to be the bearer of good tidings (
v. 27), but Joab knew well that David would receive the word of Absalom’s death as a most heartbreaking and tragic report. For the delivery of such a sad message Ahimaaz would have no thanks from the king.
2 Samuel 18:23 But howsoever, said he, let me run. And he said unto him, Run. Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the plain, and overran Cushi.
Probably by the way of the Jordan valley rather than the shorter but more difficult way over the hills. The two roads probably met some distance from Mahanaim. Starting later, but being a fleet runner and choosing the swifter way, Ahimaaz outran the Cushite.
2 Samuel 18:24 And David sat between the two gates: and the watchman went up to the roof over the gate unto the wall, and lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold a man running alone.
There was frequently a tower over the gate of an Oriental city, and on the roof a watchman stood, eagerly looking for the approach of some messenger with news of the battle.
2 Samuel 18:25 And the watchman cried, and told the king. And the king said, If he be alone, there is tidings in his mouth. And he came apace, and drew near.
David immediately caught the significance of a man running alone—he would be a messenger with news of the battle. If he were a fugitive from the battle he would probably not be alone, others would be running with him.
2 Samuel 18:27 And the watchman said, Me thinketh 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 cometh with good tidings.
David judged the nature of the message from the nature of the runner. Such a man as Ahimaaz would be the bearer of welcome tidings.
2 Samuel 18:28 And Ahimaaz called, and said unto the king, All is well. And he fell down to the earth upon his face before the king, and said, Blessed be the Lord thy God, which hath delivered up the men that lifted up their hand against my lord the king.
In his eager haste Ahimaaz announced to the king that all was well— the battle was over, and the Lord had delivered David’s enemies into his hand. Such news indeed was good, but that was not the news the king was most interested to hear.
2 Samuel 18:29 And the king said, Is the young man Absalom safe? And Ahimaaz answered, When Joab sent the king’s servant, and me thy servant, I saw a great tumult, but I knew not what it was.
Ahimaaz skillfully evaded David’s question. He well knew that Absalom was dead, for it was his death that had brought an end to the battle. But the information as to exactly what had taken place he left for the Cushite to deliver.
2 Samuel 18:31 And, behold, Cushi came; and Cushi said, Tidings, my lord the king: for the Lord hath avenged thee this day of all them that rose up against thee.
The Cushite’s message was couched in the same general terms as that of Ahimaaz, but it clearly implied that Absalom had been killed. Out of deference to the king, however, that detail was not specifically mentioned.
2 Samuel 18:33 And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!
There are few places in the Bible that picture more poignant grief. David’s sorrow was not merely that of a father for his departed son, although for the tenderhearted king such a sorrow would be heavy enough. What made the situation more difficult for David was that he himself was responsible for the course of events that had had its climax in this terrible tragedy. Absalom had slain his brother after Amnon had violated his sister, Tamar, and now he in turn was slain in battle against his own father.
All this followed in natural consequence of David’s heinous sin.