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Texts -- 2 Samuel 14:1-22 (NET)

Context
David Permits Absalom to Return to Jerusalem
14:1 Now Joab son of Zeruiah realized that the king longed to see Absalom . 14:2 So Joab sent to Tekoa and brought from there a wise woman . He told her, “Pretend to be in mourning and put on garments for mourning . Don’t anoint yourself with oil . Instead, act like a woman who has been mourning for the dead for some time . 14:3 Go to the king and speak to him in the following fashion .” Then Joab told her what to say . 14:4 So the Tekoan woman went to the king . She bowed down with her face to the ground in deference to him and said , “Please help me, O king !” 14:5 The king replied to her, “What do you want?” She answered , “I am a widow ; my husband is dead . 14:6 Your servant has two sons . When the two of them got into a fight in the field , there was no one present who could intervene . One of them struck the other and killed him. 14:7 Now the entire family has risen up against your servant , saying , ‘Turn over the one who struck down his brother , so that we can execute him and avenge the death of his brother whom he killed . In so doing we will also destroy the heir .’ They want to extinguish my remaining coal , leaving no one on the face of the earth to carry on the name of my husband.” 14:8 Then the king told the woman , “Go to your home . I will give instructions concerning your situation.” 14:9 The Tekoan woman said to the king , “My lord the king , let any blame fall on me and on the house of my father . But let the king and his throne be innocent !” 14:10 The king said , “Bring to me whoever speaks to you, and he won’t bother you again !” 14:11 She replied , “In that case , let the king invoke the name of the Lord your God so that the avenger of blood may not kill ! Then they will not destroy my son !” He replied , “As surely as the Lord lives , not a single hair of your son’s head will fall to the ground .” 14:12 Then the woman said , “Please permit your servant to speak to my lord the king about another matter .” He replied , “Tell me.” 14:13 The woman said , “Why have you devised something like this against God’s people ? When the king speaks in this fashion , he makes himself guilty , for the king has not brought back the one he has banished . 14:14 Certainly we must die , and are like water spilled on the ground that cannot be gathered up again. But God does not take away life ; instead he devises ways for the banished to be restored . 14:15 I have now come to speak with my lord the king about this matter , because the people have made me fearful . But your servant said , ‘I will speak to the king ! Perhaps the king will do what his female servant asks . 14:16 Yes ! The king may listen and deliver his female servant from the hand of the man who seeks to remove both me and my son from the inheritance God has given us!’ 14:17 So your servant said , ‘May the word of my lord the king be my security , for my lord the king is like the angel of God when it comes to deciding between right and wrong ! May the Lord your God be with you!’” 14:18 Then the king replied to the woman , “Don’t hide any information from me when I question you.” The woman said , “Let my lord the king speak !” 14:19 The king said , “Did Joab put you up to all of this ?” The woman answered , “As surely as you live , my lord the king , there is no deviation to the right or to the left from all that my lord the king has said . For your servant Joab gave me instructions . He has put all these words in your servant’s mouth . 14:20 Your servant Joab did this so as to change this situation . But my lord has wisdom like that of the angel of God , and knows everything that is happening in the land .” 14:21 Then the king said to Joab , “All right! I will do this thing ! Go and bring back the young man Absalom ! 14:22 Then Joab bowed down with his face toward the ground and thanked the king . Joab said , “Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your sight , my lord the king , because the king has granted the request of your servant !”

Pericope

NET
  • 2Sa 14:1-33 -- David Permits Absalom to Return to Jerusalem

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • Jacob was ready to sacrifice part of his family expecting Esau to attack him, and he approached his brother as though Esau was his lord. In contrast, Esau welcomed Jacob magnanimously, reluctantly received his gift, and offer...
  • The Book of Samuel covers the period of Israel's history bracketed by Samuel's conception and the end of David's reign. David turned the kingdom over to Solomon in 971 B.C.3David reigned for 40 and one-half years (2 Sam. 2:11...
  • The basic theme in Samuel, that blessing, and in particular fertility of all kinds, follows from faithful commitment to God's revealed will, continues in this section. However another major motif now becomes more prominent. W...
  • Samuel's years of being a blessing to all Israel ended at this time. David took his place as God's major channel of blessing to the nation. It is appropriate that the notice of Samuel's death occurs here since Saul had just a...
  • (Continued from notes on 1 Samuel)V. David's triumphs chs. 1-8A. The beginning of David's kingdom 1:1-3:51. David's discovery of Saul and Jonathan's deaths ch. 12. David's move to Hebron 2:1-4a3. David's overtures to Jabesh-g...
  • The first 20 chapters of 2 Samuel are divisible into four units each of which ends with a list of names that is four verses long (1:1-3:5; 3:6-5:16; 5:17-8:18; 9:1-20:26).2The first two units conclude with lists of David's so...
  • "Saul the king is dead, Jonathan the heir apparent is dead, Abinadab and Malki-Shua (two of Jonathan's brothers) are dead (1 Sam 31:2), Abner the commander of the army is dead--and no other viable claimants or pretenders cont...
  • "As the story of David's accession to kingship over Judah (1:1-3:5) parallels that of his accession to the throne of Israel (3:6-5:16), each concluding with a list of his sons (3:2-5; 5:13-16), so the account of his powerful ...
  • The promises Yahweh made to David here are an important key to understanding God's program for the future.God rejected David's suggestion that he build a temple for the Lord and gave three reasons. First, there was no pressin...
  • Chapters 9-20 contrast with chapters 2-8 in that this later section is negative whereas the earlier one was positive. It records failure; the former records success. Compare the similar narrative of Saul's triumphs (1 Sam. 7-...
  • At first, David piously tried to salve Joab's conscience for his complicity in Uriah's death (11:25). The Hebrew word translated "displease"literally means "be evil in your sight."David was calling what was sin something othe...
  • This is the longest literary section in the Court History of David (chs. 9-20). It records Absalom's antagonism to David that resulted in the king having to flee Jerusalem, but it ends with David's defeat of his enemy and his...
  • Evidently Joab (David's commander-in-chief and nephew by his half-sister, Zeruiah) concluded that it would be politically better for David and Israel if David brought Absalom back to Jerusalem from Geshur (cf. vv. 7, 13-15). ...
  • Joab's masquerade proved effective. David agreed to allow Absalom to return to Jerusalem (v. 21). However even though he did not execute him, neither did David restore Absalom to fellowship with himself (v. 24). His forgivene...
  • This is the central unit of chapters 5-20, and its central focus is the judgment that Hushai's advice was better than Ahithophel's (17:14). This advice is the pivot on which the fortunes of David swung in his dealings with Ab...
  • "The mule was a royal mount; losing his mule [v. 9] Absalom has lost his kingdom."258The text says Absalom's head caught in an overhanging oak branch (v. 9). Josephus interpreted this, perhaps in view of 14:26, as his hair go...
  • "The account of Sheba's rebellion against David serves as a counterpoise to the story of Absalom's conspiracy (15:1-12) in chapters 15-20, which constitute the major part of the narrative that comprises chapters 13-20 (more p...
  • "With Joab's return to the king in Jerusalem, the grand symphony known as the Court History of David reaches its conclusion for all practical purposes (at least as far as the books of Samuel are concerned . . .). The last fou...
  • Achtemeier, Paul J., and Elizabeth Achtemeier. The Old Testament Roots of Our Faith. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1979.Ackerman, James S. "Knowing Good and Evil: A Literary Ananysis of the Court History in 2 Samuel 9-20 and ...
  • The first segment of the writer's story (1:1-2:12) continues the history of Israel's monarchy where 2 Samuel ended. It records the final events in David's reign that led to Solomon's succession to the throne. It answers the q...
  • David had warned Solomon to keep Shimei under close observation and to put him to death (vv. 8-9). Evidently David realized because of Shimei's past actions that it would only be a matter of time before he would do something ...
  • The events we read in chapter 3 took place four years after Esther became queen (cf. 2:16; 3:7).Agag was the name of an area in Media that had become part of the Persian Empire.54However, Agag was also the name of the Amaleki...
  • "But it is just here, when everything is blackest, that his faith . . . like the rainbow in the cloud . . . shines with a marvelous splendor."89This short section contains probably the best known verses in the book (vv. 23-27...
  • 31:2 The unusual address, "What, O my son?"is "affectionately reproachful."210She was getting his attention and appealed to him strongly to give heed to her words for two reasons. She had borne him, and he had some connection...
  • 21:8 The people where acknowledging Jesus as a King by spreading their garments on the road before Him (cf. 2 Kings 9:13). Likewise throwing small branches before Him symbolized the same thing (cf. 1 Macc. 13:51; 2 Macc. 10:7...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • 2 Samuel 14:14David's good-for-nothing son Absalom had brought about the murder of one of his brothers, and had fled the country. His father weakly loved the brilliant blackguard, and would fain have had him back, but was res...
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