1 David then mustered the men who were with him
and set over them commanders of a thousand men and commanders of a hundred
men. He sent forth the army, of which one third was under the command of
Joab;
2 one third, under the command of Abi shai, son of Zeruiah, Joab¡¯s brother,
and one third, under the command of Ittai, the Gittite. Then the king said
to the men, ¡°I myself will go out with you.¡±
3 But the men replied, ¡°You shall not go out. They could not care less if we
flee or if half of us die. But you are worth ten thousand of us and it is
better if you are able to send us assistance from the city.¡±
4 So the king said to them, ¡°I will do whatever seems best to you.¡± Then the
king stood by the side of the gate while the entire army marched out by
hundreds and by thousands.
5 The king ordered Joab, Abishai and Ittai, ¡°Don¡¯t hurt the young man
Absalom for my sake.¡± All the army heard the king giving orders to all the
commanders concerning Absalom.
Defeat and death of Absalom
6 The army of David went out into the field against Israel. The battle was
fought in the forest of Ephraim
7 where the Israelites were defeated by the men of David. The slaughter
there on that day was great, numbering twenty thousand men.
8 The battle spread over the entire country and more people perished in the
ravines of the forest than were killed by the sword that day.
9 Absalom was riding a mule and happened to meet the guards of David. As the
mule passed under the thick branches of a big oak tree, his head was caught
in the oak tree and he was left hanging between heaven and earth, while the
mule he was riding went its way.
10 Someone reported to Joab, ¡°I saw Absa lom hanging from an oak tree.¡±
11 Joab said to the man who reported this, ¡°What! You saw him but did not
strike him at once? I would have given you ten pieces of silver and a belt.¡±
12 But the man answered Joab, ¡°Even if I felt in my hand the weight of a
thousand pieces of silver, I would not raise my hand against the king¡¯s son,
for we heard the king command you, Abi shai and Ittai: ¡®For my sake, spare
the young man Absalom.¡¯
13 If I had not done my duty, the king would come to know about it and you
yourself would have kept your distance.¡±
14 Joab replied, ¡°I will not waste time talking with you.¡± So he took three
spears in his hand and thrust them into Absalom¡¯s heart while he was still
alive in the oak tree.
15 Then ten guards, Joab¡¯s armor-bearers, surrounded Absalom and struck him
down.
16 Joab blew the trumpet and the troops stopped pursuing the Is raelites as
Joab restrained them.
17 They then took Absalom, threw him into a deep pit in the forest and
covered him with a great heap of stones. In the meantime all the Israelites
fled, each one to his own home.
18 During his lifetime Absalom had a memorial created for himself in the
king¡¯s Valley for he said, ¡°I have no son by whom my name may be
remembered.¡± He called the pillar after his own name and, to this day, it is
called Absalom¡¯s monument.
19 Then Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok, said, ¡°Let me run and report to the king
that Yahweh has delivered him from the power of his ene mies.¡±
20 But Joab said to him, ¡°Today you would not be a bearer of good news;
another day you will run, but today there is no good news because the king¡¯s
son is dead.¡±
21 Joab then said to a Cushite, ¡°Go tell the king what you have seen.¡± The
Cushite bowed before Joab and ran.
22 But Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok, again said to Joab, ¡°Come what may, let me
also run behind the Cushite.¡± Joab asked, ¡°Why must you run, my son, seeing
that you will have no reward for this news?¡±
23 Ahimaaz insisted, ¡°It does not matter, I will run.¡± So Joab allowed him
to go, and Ahimaaz ran by way of the plain, outrunning the Cushite.
David is told of Absalom¡¯s death
24 David was sitting between the two gates. The watchman posted at the roof
of the gate, on the wall, saw a man running alone.
25 So he called out and reported to the king who said, ¡°If he is alone, he
brings good news.¡± As he was drawing near,
26 the watchman saw another man running. So he called to the gatekeeper and
said, ¡°Look, another man is running alone!¡± The king said, ¡°He also brings
good news.¡±
27 The watchman said, ¡°The first man runs like Ahi maaz, the son of Za dok.¡±
The king replied, ¡°He is a good man, so he comes with good news.¡±
28 Then Ahimaaz cried out to the king, ¡°All is well.¡± Bowing before the king
with his face to the ground, he said, ¡°Blessed be Yahweh your God who has
delivered up the men who rebelled against my lord the king!¡±
29 The king asked him, ¡°How is the young Absalom?¡± Ahimaaz an swered, ¡°When
Joab sent your servant, I saw a great tumult but did not know what it was
all about.¡±
30 So the king said, ¡°Move away and stand here.¡± He moved aside and stayed
there.
31 The Cushite arrived and said, ¡°Good news for my lord the king! Yahweh has
done you justice today and saved you from all those who rebelled against
you.¡±
32 The king asked the Cushite, ¡°How is the young Absalom?¡± The Cushite an
swered, ¡°May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rebel against you
end up like that young man.¡±
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Comments 2 Samuel, Chapter 18
• 18.6 This account, very lively and beautiful, is difficult to abridge.
The scene, doubtless, reminds us of the parable of the Prodigal Son. Even
though the son left his father¡¯s house and did him much harm, the father
does not lose hope. More over, so much love has he that he stands at the
gates of the city waiting for word, like the father in the parable who was
the first to see his son as he returned.
Joab is right from the political standpoint, but David is closer to God¡¯s
thinking.